Cook Hopes Past Gateway Statistics Run True To Form

A quick look at Terry Cook’s career statistics at Gateway International Speedway and it’s easy to understand why the Madison, IL oval is one of the veteran driver’s favorite tracks.

“No doubt about it, I do like racing at Gateway,” said Cook, who will pilot the No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra in Saturday’s Ram Tough 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on the 1.33-mile St. Louis area track. “It’s a unique track, unlike anything else we race on. That, and the fact I’ve had quite a few good runs there, definitely makes it one of my favorites.”

Cook’s record at Gateway is an impressive one. A winner of the 2002 Truck Series event at the track, Cook (left) has managed five Top-10 efforts in nine Gateway NCTS starts. Both of those numbers might have been higher had Cook not crashed with 14 laps to go while leading the 2004 NCTS classic at Gateway.

Those 14 laps consist of the majority of time Cook has spent behind the wall at Gateway as he’s competed 98 percent of the laps (1432 out of 1454) contested in his nine Truck Series starts at the track.

“No matter what teams I’ve been with, we have always seem to run well at Gateway,” said Cook, who made his first career Gateway appearance in the 1998 NCTS event. “Last year, we qualified 13th, ran as high as third, and settled for a solid sixth-place run. Hopefully, we can repeat that, or better, this time around.”

Cook is due for a good run after a string of crashes and mechanical problems have derailed his HT Motorsports express over the past five races.

“We sure haven’t had much luck,” Cook stated, whose best finish in July and August was an 18th at Nashville three weeks ago. “We’ve kind of taken a hit in the points (14th), but we have nine races left this season, plenty of time to get this team a win, some Top-10 finishes, and a Top-10 finish in the points.”

Cook, who overcame an illness to win the 2002 Gateway Truck Series event, definitely knows what it takes to get to victory lane after that experience.

“I wound up going to the emergency room on Wednesday where they gave me an IV while I was hospital and some prescriptions to take with me,” Cook said of the 2002 Gateway event. “We had a test day at the track on Friday and I had to spend eight hours in the truck on top of the normal Saturday-Sunday race weekend schedule. I was totally worn down by the time we got to the race on Sunday, but somehow, we managed to lead quite a bit and I was in position to win the race again. About the last 20 laps of the race, I had really lost my stamina. I was exhausted, but I had such a great truck that I was able to drive away and win the race. It was my second career win and one that provided a lot of special memories because we had to go through so much to get it.”

In the end, a winning history and a new team has Cook hopeful of another top Gateway performance this weekend.

“This HT Motorsports bunch has been great to work with all season and the people at Toyota are among the best I have ever associated with,” Cook stated. “I’ve won at Gateway before, and with this team’s and Toyota’s help, I think we could have a winning combination again this time around.”

Saturday’s Ram Tough 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway will take the green flag at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The event will be televised live on The SPEED Channel and broadcast worldwide by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

For more information about Terry Cook, please log on to www.TerryCook.com.

To access information about HT Motorsports, please log on to www.htmotorsports.com.