Terry Cook Never Gives Up to Finish in Top 15 in Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford

(FONTANA, Calif.) – Terry Cook and the Power Stroke Diesel by International race team never gave up in Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at California Speedway.  Cook, who started ninth, raced two and three wide early one with the lead pack and pitted on lap 40 under the green flag.  Luck would not be on Cook’s side as the caution flag flew two laps later, putting Cook down one lap to the leaders.  However, the determination to finish in the top 10 kept Cook going as the nine-year series veteran finally got his lap back with 19 laps to go.  Cook crossed the start/finish line 15th and talked about his battle back to the front.

“The Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford was definitely not as good in race trim as we thought it would be,” said Cook.  “We never gave up.  The race is one hundred laps so you don’t give up at lap 75 and we kept on chugging along.  Fortunately we were able to get our lap back.  We weren’t able to make the right adjustments to get the truck where we needed it to be.  We went just before the second caution flag to pit and got a lap down and that just put us behind with the long green-flag run thereafter.  We chased the balance back and forth all night so I don’t see where the compound tires would have been an issue, too soft or too hard.  We just weren’t on tonight and need to do our homework back at the shop.  We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

Cook went one lap down to the leaders on lap 42 when the second caution flag came out after he pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments to the No. 10 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford.  Cook restarted 23rd and stayed outside the top 20 until getting his lap back on lap 81.  Cook charged to the front on the restart, picking up one truck at a time.  With a handful of the leaders running low on fuel, Cook was able to move into 15th place, his fourth top-15 finish at the two-mile speedway in eight starts.

Cook moves into a tie for 16th in the NCTS driver points standings and has a couple of weeks off until the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 18th, the third race under the lights in the 2005 racing season.