Terry Cook Describes Bristol Motor Speedway as “Out of the Norm”

(MOORESVILLE, N.C.) – Terry Cook, driver of the No. 10 International Trucks and Engines Ford, describes Bristol Motor Speedway as a racetrack that is “out of the norm.”  With 36-degrees of banking and an unpredictable night race, Cook and the ppc Racing team look to make Wednesday night their night in Victory Lane.

“There is nothing we race on that is similar to Bristol,” said Cook, who started fourth in last year’s truck event.  “Bristol is such a unique track by itself.  Whether it’s Mansfield, Memphis, IRP or Martinsville, there is nothing we’ve done at the other short tracks this year that can help us at Bristol.  It’s a 36-degree banked track.  You’re going to see shock travels three times what you normally see at most tracks.  It takes a completely different setup to get around Bristol competitively.

“Last year was the first year back since 1999 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  It was something we all missed on the schedule; we were glad to see it come back.  Bristol is a race everyone looks forward to because it is different.  It’s kind of like Darlington Raceway; it’s anything different than the norm.”

Cook is a five-time series winner and has seen his success on the short tracks.  His last win came at Indianapolis Raceway Park; his best finish this year was a third at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway and his first-career pole and win came at Flemington (N.J.) Speedway, all tracks less than one mile in length.  Could Cook predict another short track success, only this time at Bristol Motor Speedway?

“You really can’t at Bristol,” said Cook.  “It’s very tough to pass at Bristol but you can do it if you have a really good truck.  You have to have good pit stops all night but you also have to qualify well.  Even if you put yourself in a position where you qualify well like we did last year in fourth, it doesn’t assure you’ll finish well.

“Bristol is a track where you can sit on the pole, be in lapped traffic and then suddenly get caught up in a wreck.  There’s a lot of luck that plays into itself and I usually don’t talk about luck because I believe you make your own as a race team.  I like going to Bristol because it is so different than any other track we compete at on the schedule.”