Truck Series teams test at Daytona

January 15, 2002
4:22 PM EST (2122 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH -- Dennis Setzer believes an open mind is among the most important things a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor can bring to the Jan. 18-20 test at Daytona International Speedway.

"You can't rule out anything before you go," says Setzer, a six-time series winner who drives the ACXIOM/Computer Associates Chevrolet for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. "If you did something two years ago and it didn't work, you can't automatically rule it out. It might be the best set-up this time."

Setzer's belief is underscored by the continued fine-tuning of rules governing the 2002 season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, set for Feb. 15. Aero packages have evolved since the Daytona debut of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series two years ago.

Teams this week will test with a modified rear spoiler measuring 68.75 inches wide -- but with a nine-inch tall center section of 56.75 inches, flanked by eight-inch tall outer sections of 12 inches in width. A year ago, the height of the total spoiler was eight inches. It carried a now-discarded wicker or Gurney lip.

Also, teams will compete for the first time at Daytona with 12-to-1 compression V8 engines and a 390-cfm carburetor. The 2001 rules specified a 9.5-to-1 compression V8 and 830-cfm carburetor.

"Last year, we went to [test at] Daytona with what we thought was a good truck and we wound up cutting the sides and nose off," recalls Setzer, who finished ninth in the 2001 NCTS championship standings with a victory at Memphis Motorsports Park. "I wouldn't be surprised to do that again."

Setzer will be among a number of competitors working with new crew chiefs in 2002. The Daytona test will give the 41-year-old Newton, N.C., veteran an opportunity to bond with John Monsam, who began the past year with Phelon Motorsports and finished with Lance Norick and L&R Motorsports. He joined the latter team at mid-season and aided Norick's run to an 11th-place title finish - the six-season competitor's best.

"The test gives you a good idea of where you are with the other guys in the garage," notes Monsam, an NCTS winner with Rick Carelli and Ron Hornaday. "You have to make sure you're competitive before you come back. The truck has to drive pretty well so the driver's happy."

Monsam says Craftsman trucks react significantly to small changes, unlike a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car. " The truck's a lot different from the car, where you had to come out of the box with a good one. We'll work on fenders, grille openings and suspension stuff," he says, adding that his philosophy is to fine-tune what Chevrolet engineers have given their teams.

"The engineers who built these things are pretty smart. They know more about (the basic truck) than we do," he notes.

This week's test, however, will be just one step in readying for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250.

"We'll work every day up to the race and the only thing that will stop you is the race itself," Monsam concludes.

Last year's Florida Dodge Dealers 250 testing saw single-truck speeds in the low 180s. Then Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year contender Ricky Hendrick posted the fastest lap of 182.615 mph, followed by Norick's 182.482. Both drove Chevrolet Silverado trucks.

Joe Ruttman returned three weeks later in a Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge to capture the Bud Pole Award at a speed of 186.173 mph, and then won the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 by less than a third of a second over Hendrick.