Gearing up for Bristol

Hey ya'll... Bubba here with another exciting addition to my race blogs. First, let’s catch up on the Nashville race. Chassis No. 43 turned out to be pretty quick in Nashville. Colin Braun sat on the pole for a long time during qualifying before being bumped towards the end by the No. 17 truck. Still, starting outside front row was definitely good for Colin and the team. Our race wasn't a pretty one... for some reason we just couldn't get Colin's truck dialed-in to his liking, but we didn't give up. After a couple of pit stops and some big-time adjustments, Colin roared to a third-place finish! We just need to find a way to slow down Ron Hornaday and that No. 33 bunch.

After a quick trip home, and a day of rest, it was off to Dover to do a tire test for Goodyear. If you remember, Colin blew a right front tire after taking the lead from Kyle Busch during the Dover race. We definitely thought that this test would be beneficial both for our team, and Goodyear. It was only a one-day test, so we were back late Tuesday night. Of course by this time, I was nearing my 70 hours, so I took a couple of days to help reset my log book. Testing after a race weekend definitely helps the week go by faster. We don't race again this weekend, so I'm spending most of my time this week catching up on some housekeeping at the shop. I have already had my tractor serviced, so now I am just going through all of our parts and pieces to make sure we're prepared for our next stretch of races. We are also preparing chassis No. 39 to go to Bristol. This track is definitely my favorite track. For anyone who has not been there, you just can't imagine what a feeling it is to see the trucks running around the track so close to you. I have had the pleasure of going to victory lane there in 2006 with Mark Martin... and last year with Colin, definitely a race both he and the team would like to forget. At a track like this, it comes down to survival, and I believe Colin is gonna be up for the challenge.

I want to give a special thanks to Sonny F. for coming to see us in Nashville. I really enjoyed meeting you, and look forward to seeing you at some future races. And I also want to say sorry to Bill... maybe next year we'll get you the guitar. I definitely feel the team is getting more confidence every week, and I'm sure this will soon bring us another win!


Stay safe...
Bubba