Daytona: Morgan-Dollar Motorsports race notes

Rocky Start to 2007 NCTS Season for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports

Daytona Beach, FL -- Heading to Daytona for the start of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) season, Kraig Kinser and the No. 47 Ginn Resorts Silverado were looking to score a top-10 finish. Instead, the Morgan-Dollar Motorsports (MDM) team went home with a 30th place finish, and their hopes of achieving Daytona magic would have to wait until 2008.

Kinser was involved in a multi-truck wreck on lap 22 while trying to avoid other race trucks that were scattered all over the front-stretch of the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Damage to the right front of the Silverado was repaired over a period of several caution laps by the Eric Phillips led crew, and an additional pit stop on lap 40 was made to fix the front bumper. On lap 41, Kinser radioed the crew and noted that the motor had lost RPM's, and then shut off involuntarily.

"I hate that Daytona had to turn out this way for the team again this year," stated Kinser. "I was trying to avoid wrecking with anyone else, and I thought that I was all good, but I went through the grass and just lost it. It sent me back up the track, and I smashed the front of the truck in the wall on the front-stretch. I feel awful, the team worked their tails off all week, and we felt fairly confident that we could avoid the wrecks and leave here with a top-10 finish, or better. We will just have to go to California next week, and hope for a better run. I know that we are capable of running with the best of them."

Also hoping for a Daytona NCTS Chevy Silverado HD 250 victory and another trophy to add to his collection was veteran driver Mike Wallace. Wallace teamed up with MDM and DirecTV HotPass for the season-opener. However, the night was over quickly for Wallace when his No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado was involved in an opening lap accident that relegated them to a 36th place finish.

"You got me on what happened," said Wallace. "I got clipped in the right rear quarter panel. Why in that part of the race track, I am just not sure what really happened except I got turned in to the outside wall. I am incredibly disappointed for our Chevrolet Silverado and the Premier HotPass from DirecTV. We were supposed to win this race, or at least go the distance. I even told the guys to not let me get in any predicaments with anybody. Make sure if I am clear, I am clear, if I am not, I am not. Somewhere along the line, I made a mistake or someone else made a mistake and the end result we are the first truck out, or crashed out. I am really sorry for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. They put a great truck under me. It was only a lap. It drove great in practice; I think we were going to be very much in contention to win the race. Unfortunately we aren't going to be able to."

The next event on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is on February 23, 2007 at the California Speedway. The first practice is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PST on Thursday, February 22nd followed by the one-hour final practice at approximately 4:00 p.m. PST. Qualifying will be held at 1:10 p.m. PST on Friday, February 23rd and the trucks will be impounded until the scheduled race start on Friday, February 23rd, at 6:00 p.m. PST.

-credit: mdm