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Tuesday, July 17
Strategy pays off at Kentucky
By Dennis Setzer
Special to ESPN.com
SPARTA, Ky. -- Driving a race car (or in my case a truck) is often compared to playing a high-speed game of chess. You must be focused on making split second decisions that are often the difference between being a pawn and calling out checkmate.
Like chess, racing often comes down to a solid game of strategy. The teams that employ the best overall strategy are often found finishing in the front. The Acxiom/Computer Associates team proved they are on top of the game Saturday night at the Kroger 225.
When I arrive at the track each week, I have a game plan laid out of what I am expecting the team and myself to accomplish. With 2001 getting off to a slow start for Morgan/Dollar Motorsports, our recent focus has been on trying to win each race and obtain the best possible results we can. We believe we our out of the hunt for the championship, but feel like we can gain three or four more positions in the points standings before the end of the year. To achieve that goal we are dedicating ourselves to trying to win each race.
I was looking forward to coming back to the Kentucky Speedway this season after a difficult trip in 2000. I spun coming out of Turn 4 last year on my qualifying lap and could only produce a starting position of 33rd. We struggled to find the setup on the truck and could only muster a 12th-place finish.
However, this season I felt confident heading to Kentucky due to last week's run at the Kansas Speedway. The two tracks are similar in length and banking, and we decided to bring "Cartman," the same truck we raced to third in Kansas.
|  | | Dennis Setzer has top-5 finishes in three of his last four races. |
The No. 46 Silverado was difficult to dial in on Friday when I took to the track at 2 p.m. We changed shocks like six or seven times in the first practice session alone trying to find a comfortable setup. By the end of practice we were fifth fastest overall and I felt good about the qualifying attempt. But qualifying was disappointing, as we were only 10th fastest. The run, however, still put us in a solid place to start the race.
Qualifying is important, but is not the No. 1 goal of the weekend for me. I enjoy starting up front and gaining poles, but I feel concentrating on getting the truck setup for the race is the most important aspect. I would rather have a truck that is setup for long green flag runs and comfortable to drive in traffic, over a fast truck that falls into the field after 20 laps.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is good at offering fans the best style of racing in motorsports. We often race into the night (as was the case in Kentucky), which offers a different view for the fans as well as the drivers. Kentucky is a large track that is very well lit for its size. Most of the drivers have grown up racing half-mile tracks in the dark, but transfer that to 160 mph at 9 p.m. around a ½-mile oval. That often creates a freighting experience for some. I enjoy the night races, it adds another element to the racing and makes you adapt to the surroundings to be successful.
Ted Musgrave and Jack Sprague dominated the race, as they were definitely the class of the field. There were times when they had 10-second leads built up on the rest of the pack. The Acxiom/Computer Associates Chevrolet was running well and was responding to the track. We ran among the top-10 for much of the evening, dodging several wrecks that happened directly in front of me.
Race strategy began to thicken just after halfway for the Morgan/Dollar Motorsports team. We were forced to make a green flag pit stop changing right side tires and fuel. When we exited pit road the field was circulating through pit stops and Randy Tolsma had assumed the lead.
At that point a yellow flag came out and left us one lap down on the field. As Tolsma pitted under caution I was able to get back on the tail end of the lead lap. The disadvantage was that when the green flag came back out I was directly in front of new leader Scott Riggs, having to make up an entire lap to be back on par with the field.
When racing resumed, I jumped out to a three- or four-truck-length lead on Riggs, but he quickly ran me down once again dropping us one lap down. Three laps later the yellow flag flew and my radio lit up with Danny Gill screaming to find Riggs and race him to the line.
My hats off to Scott for allowing us to pass and get our lap back. We were stuck in a hole and he helped us, favors like that are very much appreciated. If we did not get back on the lead lap, I would have been unable to race for any higher position than 10th.
With six laps to go in the race Lance Norrick dove below me coming down the back stretch and I got a little sideways battling the lapped truck of Billy Bigley. Lance lost control of his truck and spun bringing out the races final caution flag. Gill made the call of the race in my mind at this point.
Danny came over the radio and asked what I thought about pitting for right side tires, we were in ninth place and were the last truck on the lead lap. I felt it was a strong call and we pitted with three laps to go following Travis Kvapil, changing ride side tires and a topping off the fuel.
New tires can often increase your lap times by two or three tenths of a second. When the green flag came out for the final time, I jumped behind Travis and the two of us drove through to the front of the field. In two laps I moved from ninth to fifth place. The end of that race was tough, as third through eighth were beating and banging all the way to the checkered flag. Danny's call to put right side tires on the truck was the call of the night. I could not of moved up as through the field without that set of new tires.
In the game of racing you sometimes have to make the tough calls to advance your position. Like the game of chess, you have to sacrifice your pawns in an attempt to move your king into that all-important striking position. Danny Gill made the call to pit, which is why Danny is the crew chief. It's his job to make the tough calls and this time he made the right one.
Dennis Setzer, driver of the No. 46 Acxiom/Computer Associates Chevrolet for Morgan/Dollar Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will provide a diary to ESPN.com throughout the 2001 season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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