Cook might have the right recipe at Daytona

By Troy Fletcher, Special to Turner Sports Interactive
February 4, 2002
3:55 PM EST (1555 GMT)

Off-season changes were quite plentiful in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2001.

With these changes in mind, the season-opening event -- the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 -- Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway, is shaping up to be a very intriguing race.

Terry Cook has high expectations for Daytona.

Joe Ruttman is scheduled to defend his crown, but he is no longer with Bobby Hamilton Racing, the team he won at Daytona with last year.

Instead, Ruttman is slated to drive R.D. Smith's No. 79 Dodge as part of a one-race arrangement.

There is no question Ruttman has the talent to reach Daytona's Victory Lane again, but a win is a long shot considering the lack of time he has spent with Smith's team.

As for the second to fifth-place drivers at Daytona's Truck Series race last season, they all will likely not be factors in 2002.

The reason? Very few of the top driver/team combinations are back together for the upcoming season. Ricky Hendrick and Scott Riggs have both moved on to the Busch Series. Meanwhile, fourth-place finisher Lance Norick is fighting an uphill battle since he is scheduled to drive the unsponsored No. 90 L&R Motorsports Chevrolet at Daytona, and Randy Tolsma, who was fifth a year ago, presently doesn't have a ride for the race.

All of these developments have left Terry Cook, who came in sixth last year in the No. 29 K Automotive Ford at Daytona, as one of the pre-race favorites.

And that suits him just fine.

"I am very excited to go to Daytona," Cook said. "Because that race has been very good to me in the past."

Cook, who has been participating in the NCTS since 1996, was fourth in the inaugural Truck Series race at Daytona in February of 2000.

"The last two times at Daytona I did very well without a major sponsor," said Cook, who will drive the No. 29 Power Stroke Diesel sponsored Ford at Daytona. "This year, we are going down there with a full blown sponsor and with those resources behind the K-Automotive team, are expectations are very high."

Not surprisingly, Cook and the K-Automotive team, which is headed up by Bob Keselowski, aren't planning on changing their approach to the legendary 2.5-mile track.

"I think our key to success at Daytona is that every time we have gone down there, we have been more concerned with our race setup and have not worried as much about qualifying. Daytona is a track where you can drive flat on the mat all day long and to run fast there, having the right chassis balance and aerodynamics package are very important. If you don't have the right chassis setup and aero package you will not be able to run at the bottom of the corners."

Granted, Cook wants to take Daytona's checkered flag, but he knows that it won’t be an easy task.

"The three main guys I am watching out for are Ron Hornaday, Robert Pressley and Ted Musgrave," Cook said. "That is not taking anything way from all the other good drivers in the field, but those three guys are the ones who concern me the most."

Hornaday, a two-time Craftsman Truck Series champ in 1996 and '98, spent last year in the Winston Cup ranks.

What's more, he is driving a Hendrick Motorsports machine in a one-race deal for Daytona, the team his rival Jack Sprague won the 1997, '99 and '01 NCTS crowns with. Sprague is running full-time in the Busch Series this season.

Pressley, meanwhile, is a Winston Cup veteran who is taking Ruttman's seat in the No. 18 Dodge for Bobby Hamilton Racing. As for Musgrave, the 10-year Cup driver made his debut in the Truck Series last season and came in second in the points standings on the strength of a series-high seven wins.

"I think the competition level in the Truck Series is higher than it has ever been," Cook said. "We have a lot of new faces to go along with a lot of guys with Winston Cup experience, so it should make for a super race at Daytona and for a great battle to win the points title."

Although Cook realizes Daytona's race is the Super Bowl of the NCTS, he is keeping the event in perspective.

"We look at Daytona and compare it to South Boston (Va.) Speedway," Cook said. "We need to do just as well at South Boston and the other 21 races on our schedule as Daytona if we want to reach our ultimate goal, which is to capture the series championship.

“Don't get me wrong, I would love to win at Daytona, but the points count the same at every track and we need to start off on the right foot at Daytona and maintain our consistency."