Cook Has Winning Perspective At New Hampshire

As a former winner at New Hampshire International Speedway, Terry Cook has a unique perspective on what it will take to go to Victory Lane in this weekend’s New England 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

“You won’t have to have the fastest truck to win at New Hampshire,” said Cook. “You’ll have to have good race strategy, good pit stops, and have your truck intact so you can race at the end of the event. Track position is everything at New Hampshire. The truck with track position at the end of the race has a better chance of winning than an extremely fast truck that is stuck back in the field with 30 laps to go. Despite being fast, they’re not going to get to the lead.”

In 2002, Cook got near the front early at New Hampshire qualifying second and stayed there winning the New England 200 NCTS classic. This year, he’ll be trying to do the same when he turns his No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra loose on the NHIS ‘Magic Mile.”

“New Hampshire fits my driving style,” said Cook. “It’s more of finesse track. You can’t overcharge the corners. It’s a 200-lap race and you can’t use the brakes up. You have to go into the race with the mindset that you are going to run hard, but you are going to set a certain pace so you in a position to brakes and tires still on your truck so you can race for the win with 30 laps to go.”

Cook was in the right position in the most recent Truck Series event at Gateway International Raceway only to have a mechanical failure sideline an almost sure Top-5 effort. The Sylvania, OH native qualified third – his best effort of the 2007 Truck Series season – and was running second when the engine in his Harris Trucking sponsored mount expired leaving him with a 30th-place finish. The top effort, sans the good finish, has Cook looking forward to New Hampshire where he will run the same potent Toyota Tundra (HT-12, TRD-113) that he drove to the front at Gateway.

“I’m excited about the final eight races of the season, especially New Hampshire,” Cook stated. “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 less than satisfying performances. It hasn’t been for a lack of effort, that’s for sure. If we can keep running the way we did at Gateway the rest of this season, I think we have a chance to get some Top-10's, Top-5's, and contend for some wins. Finishing in the Top-10 in points isn’t out of the question, but winning races is the goals now.”

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 SPEED and broadcast worldwide by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

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