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From Team Press Release
September 25, 2003
1:24 PM EDT (1724 GMT)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series' west coast swing continues this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last Saturday Jon Wood earned his 15th top-10 finish of the season with a ninth place finish at California Speedway.
Although Wood was not entirely pleased with the ninth place finish, he decided to roll the dice and race the same truck at Las Vegas this weekend.
"The handling wasn't quite right in California last weekend, but I'm optimistic that this truck is better suited for Las Vegas," Wood said. "We were tight throughout most of the race and we just didn't have enough downforce, which is a common problem for the Fords at a track that big. I think this truck will handle better on a 1.5-mile track.
"You wouldn't think a half-mile would make that big of a difference, but it does. Drafting is pretty important at California, but you don't have that at Vegas. This truck ran really well at Kansas and Kentucky earlier this year, so it should be good at Vegas too."
Wood does not have a great track record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he intends to improve on that this year. His best finish is 18th, which he got last year. In his first outing in 2001, he finished 29th after a scrape with the wall early in the race. Last year the team struggled with the set-up, lost three laps throughout the race and finished 18th.
"I feel confident that we're going to be much better at Vegas this year," Wood said. "Racing at night will be fun since it should be really hot out there this time of year. California was pretty warm, so it will be nice to race after the sun goes down. Our Bob Graham for President F-150 should be very competitive and I think we'll have a good shot at the win."
A win would help Wood considerable in his quest for the championship. Although he remains fifth in the point standings, he now trails the leader by 206 points.
"We need to win a few races and get back to finishing in the top five again," Wood said. "We can't keep finishing ninth and expect to gain any points on anyone. The competition is too tough for that."
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