Lady Luck Challenges Waterloo Tool Storage Team Several Times
in Kroger 225
Lady luck challenged the Waterloo Tool Storage team the entire weekend at the
Kroger 225 NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Kentucky Speedway.
The Friday morning practice was productive as improvements were found, resulting
in 22nd fastest time of 40 trucks. During qualifying however, lady
luck offered her first challenge to the team. On the first lap of qualifying,
the left front tire contacted the apron in turn 3, upsetting the truck causing
it to spin. Driver, Larry Gunselman, managed to maintain control and returned
to turn 1 to build momentum to complete the second lap, resulting in a time
of 34.580 around the 1.5-mile super speedway for 32nd starting position.
The second challenge came during “happy hour”. Again, progress was being made
for the race set-up in the truck, but the engine expired halfway through happy
hour practice. The team changed engines for the race.
The third challenge occurred on lap 50 of the race, when a battery cable worked
loose, causing a weak battery. The crew installed a new battery and returned
to the track several laps down.
Despite all the challenges, the #63 Waterloo tool Storage Ford managed to finish
the race, completing 125 of the 150 lap race, for a 22nd place finish.
"We had a good truck today, " commented driver Larry Gunselman. 'The left front
tire touched the apron in turn 3 during qualifying, which upset the truck and
made us spin. Fortunately we did not hit anything and salvaged our second lap.
After all that we have overcome this weekend, we are pleased with the 22nd
place finish.”
"Our backup engine had run two other races, so we detuned the truck slightly
to help the engine get us through this race," stated owner & crew chief,
Mike Mittler. "I guess we'll label this engine "old reliable" after all the
work it has done over the past few weeks. We had several challenges this weekend,
but the crew did an outstanding job and never let up. We didn't know how long
we could run tonight, but we made it to the end. Without our battery problem
we would have been in the top-fifteen."
The next race for the #63 Waterloo Tool Storage Ford will be the “New England
300” at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 21, 2001. The race will
be broadcast live at 12:30 PM (eastern time) on ESPN television and MRN radio.
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