Engine Woes Derail Winning Truck Series Effort For Cook At Gateway

A winner of six career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, Terry Cook had his sights on victory number seven when an engine failure eliminated him from competition in the Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Speedway Saturday.

“It was a heartbreaker because you don’t get many opportunities like this one,” said Cook (left). “It looked like we had a solid Top-5 for sure and a chance at a win. Unfortunately, you’re not going to do either when you are behind the wall.”

Cook’s No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra was clearly one of the trucks to beat from the time practice opened for the 160-lap event on the 1.25-mile St. Louis area oval.

“All season long, we’ve been talking about unloading fast,” said Cook, the winner of the 2002 Gateway Truck Series race. “This weekend, it all came together. Right off the trailer, we were the fastest truck throughout the first practice, we qualified third, and ran in the top four all race long. A lot of what we gained here this week we learned earlier in the week in a test at Chicagoland Speedway. We had a great piece and we came ready to race.”

As stated, Cook rolled off third in Saturday’s race – his best starting position of the 2007 NCTS campaign. Content to click off laps behind leaders Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday, Jr. in the early going, Cook knew he had the truck to win the event. All he had to do is stay out of trouble and make his move at the right time.

That time came after Cook pitted for fresh tires and fuel on Lap 60. Cook quickly grabbed the second spot from David Green on a green-flag restart and had his sights set on Hornaday and the lead when his day ended with a thud.

“I’m not sure what happened to the engine,” said Cook. “It just ran tight without any warning. It was very disappointing, but I can’t knock the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) guys one bit. That engine had phenomenal horsepower and they’ve given us great engines all year long. Something just broke inside the motor. It was just one of those things.”

Cook coasted around the track and made the hard left into the garage area – done for the day and eventually credited with a 30th-place finish. Despite the disappointment, Cook could still see plenty of positives coming out of the weekend.

“This was our best effort of the season and I think it was huge for HT Motorsports,” said Cook. “We needed a run like this and even though we didn’t get the finish that we wanted, it’s a big momentum builder for our team. It gives us the confidence to move forward with everything we’ve been doing.

“I’m excited about the final eight races of the season,” Cook continued. “Earlier in the year, our goal was to finish in the Top-10 in the season point standings. Unfortunately, we’ve definitely hurt ourselves in that area in the last month with a number of disappointing performances. It hasn’t been for a lack of effort, that’s for sure. Things just haven't gone our way. If we can keep running the way we did here at Gateway the rest of this season, I think we have a chance to get some Top-10s, Top-5s, and contest for some wins. Finishing in the Top-10 in points isn’t out of the question, but those are the goals now.”

Cook will take the same truck – HT 12 – to the next race on the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tour at New Hampshire International Speedway. The New Hampshire 200 will take the green flag at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, September 15. 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.