8/13/2007
Bill Lester
Turn Takes Out Tow and Top-Five Hopes
Lebanon, TN (August 13, 2007)-Bill Lester and the No. 15 Bowen Family Homes Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado team took to the track on Saturday afternoon with high hopes after their qualifying run placed the team in the sixth place position on the starting grid for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Toyota 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway.
After struggling in practice to find the right combination, Lester went out to qualify for the 150 lap / 200 mile event unsure of how the truck would perform. Crew chief Doug George’s changes after practice seemed to stick with Lester posting a qualifying run of 30.291 seconds at a speed of 158.423 mph.
At the start of the race, Lester took off like lightening advancing two positions by lap four in the 14th race of the 25 race Craftsman Truck Series season. By the time the first of five cautions came out on lap 43, Lester had reported that the truck was tight in the center and off the corner. Running ninth, Lester pulled down pit road for three rounds up on the rear track bar, air pressure adjustments and four fresh Goodyear Tires. Lester restarted in the 12th place position when the things on the racetrack began to heat up. Three-wide action was all around the track with Lester in the middle but he maintained control of his race truck reporting that the Silverado had begun to turn well in the center and off the corners.
At the halfway mark of the event on lap 75, Lester was in the eighth place position running times comparable to the leaders, but by lap 95 while running in the ninth position, Lester remarked the truck was going back to being tight and he had to feather off the gas to have a good corner exit. He had to drive in the corners hard to keep the nose of the truck from pushing. So when the caution flag once again flew on lap 111, Lester again came down pit road for more track bar adjustments.
Lester was in the 11th place position and battling for a spot when Jack Sprague in the No. 60 Tundra drove up underneath him tapping him in the rear quarter panel sending Lester for a spin. Nearly avoiding other trucks going by him during the spin, Lester was able to take control of the race truck and continued on until the caution on lap 122 when Lester discovered he had blown a tire due to being spun and had to pit for four cool scuffed tires.
Lester restarted in the 18th position on lap 123 but was loose on the start due to not having heat in the tires. The truck was not responding well to the scuffed tires and due to the damage in the tow of the truck, Lester dropped back to the 20th position staying there until the cross of the checkered flags on lap 150.
“We certainly didn’t finish where the truck was capable of running, Lester said. “We should have had a top-five truck. The truck was right where we needed it to be with the fresh tires and adjustments we made to loosen the Silverado up during the cautions. It’s a shame that we were spun by Sprague. I know its one of those racing deals but I am not very happy. The tow on the truck was knocked out after the spin and blowing a tire. It’s disappointing for all these guys that work on the truck every week and they did an outstanding job in the pits tonight. I'm really disappointed we didn't get the finish that we had hoped. I would have loved to bring home the Atlanta based businesses, Bowen Family Homes, RedTop Auto Auction and Larry Thacker Construction, a better finish.
Submitted By: Philip Hampton