Terry Cook Heads To Home Track in International Truck and Engines Ford

(MOORESVILLE, N.C.) – Terry Cook and the International Truck and Engines Ford team head to Michigan International Speedway this weekend, site of what Cook considers his home track.  The Sylvania, Ohio native grew up less than an hour away from the two-mile speedway and has earned three top-10 finishes at the speedway in four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts.  The nine-year series veteran is one of only a handful of drivers entered this weekend that has competed in every truck event at Michigan.  Cook hopes this weekend will produce yet another solid top-10 effort with the International Truck and Engines Ford.

“Michigan is not only my home track, it’s my favorite track on the schedule,” said Cook.  “Since I was a little kid I’ve always enjoyed going to Michigan and watching the races.  Now being a participant is a dream come true for me.  Having watched drivers like David Pearson, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, some of my all-time heroes, race there is a big, big deal to me.  We’ve run at Michigan four times now and I just enjoy going back to the speedway.  You can run right against the fence, the Richard Petty line.  You can run at the bottom or you can run in the middle.  The groove is so wide you can stack ‘em eight-wide going into the corner and still have room to spare.  There’s no one distinct groove; it’s very fast.  You get to draft at Michigan like you’re at Daytona.  I truly enjoy racing at Michigan.”

Michigan International Speedway is site of yet another racing facility, where Cook has racked up impressive starts and finishes in the past.  Since his association with International Truck and Engine Corp., Cook has amassed 13 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes, including four victories.  A solid finish this weekend could very well propel Cook with the needed momentum for next week’s Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 

“Our crew chief, Jamie Jones, engineer, Ron Denton and myself, we’re all at an all-time high,” said Cook.  “We’re bringing a brand new truck to Michigan.  The truck was at Robert Yates Racing this week to make sure we’ve got the right horsepower.  Michigan is a combination of three things; aerodynamics, horsepower and handling.  The number one key element here is handling.  You can give up a little bit of horsepower at Michigan to make sure you handle good all day long because the turns are so long and so sweeping that if you’re not back on the throttle you could be 20 horsepower down to the guy in front of you.  If you step on the gas pedal 10 truck lengths sooner than the guy in front of you, then you’re going to drive circles around him in the race.  It may not show up in qualifying but it definitely will show up in the race.”

Based in Mooresville, N.C., ppc Racing enters its first season of competition in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with driver Terry Cook and the No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International race team.  ppc Racing continues its competition in the NASCAR Busch Series, its fifth season, with driver Jason Keller in the No. 22 Miller High Life Ford Taurus.  With co-owners Greg Pollex and Keith Barnwell, ppc Racing earned the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series championship and has scored 27 wins and more than 150 top-five finishes as it enters the 2004 season.