Cook, HT Motorsports Ready To 'Rock' At Phoenix

Phoenix International Raceway is located in the desert hills just west of the city and according to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Terry Cook, the track’s surface is consistent with the dry, rocky Arizona terrain surrounding the one-mile facility.

“I call the racing surface at Phoenix ‘river bed rock asphalt,’” said Cook. “You literally racing on the top of the rocks. It really is hard on your tires and you slow down a bunch during a race run. It ultimately comes down to the team that slides the least throughout a race run. If you can be that guy, you have a good chance at a solid finish at Phoenix.”

Cook has had plenty of chances to form an opinion of the PIR surface having competed in 13 Truck Series events at the track. The driver of the No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra has had his share of solid finishes with a fifth in the 2002 race as his best effort to date.

Cook has also completed 2,058 of 2,069 laps contested in those 13 PIR Truck Series events, an amazing 99.5 percent of the laps run.

“The key to getting around Phoenix is being able to carry your momentum through Turns 3-4,” said Cook. “Turns 1-2 are hard braking corners. You carry a lot of speed through there, but they aren’t as critical as Turns 3-4. If you can roll those turns well, you can carry all of your momentum back to Turn 1. That’s where you get all of your speed at Phoenix.”

Last year, Cook wheeled his way to a Top-10 qualifying run and eventually finished 14th in the Casino Arizona 150.

“Phoenix is one of those tracks that’s really hard to get a handle on,” said Cook. “Last year was a prime example. We had a really fast truck, but the set up on it seemed to last only about 10 laps and then it would start to back up. It would just give up.”

This time out, Cook is hoping for a better result. His HT Motorsports Team will be featuring sponsorship from Vanguard National Trailer Corporation and he’ll be riding the wave of several solid runs over the past five events.

“I like my chances at Phoenix,” said Cook. “We have a really good shot at being competitive there. I’ve said all along that we’re going for wins and top finishes over the final five races. We’ve proved that the last six or seven weeks in a row. We have good trucks and good race plans going in. With any luck, we can get a Top-5 finish and compete for the win at both Phoenix and the following week in the final race of the year at Miami.”

Cook, 14th in the 2007 Truck Series championship standings, will take the green flag in the Casino Arizona 150 at Phoenix International Raceway this Friday, November 9. The event will be telecast live on SPEED at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

For more information about HT Motorsports, please log on to www.htmotorsports.com.