Colin in the Con-way Roush Fenway Racing
Ford F-150 at Daytona
Day 1 AM Testing at Daytona: #99-Erik Darnell was
the fastest in Day 1 AM Testing at Daytona Int'l Speedway with a
speed of 177.420 followed by #6-Colin Braun, #09-Joey Clanton,
#7-Andy Lally, #18-Stacy Compton. The fastest Toyota [10th] #5-Mike
Skinner.(NASCAR Media) [Of note: Truck number from #00 to #7 and
change in manufacturer from Toyota to Chevy for Andy Lally. Also Ted
Musgrave jumped in the driver's seat of the #59; may be just shaking
down the truck for Lia?](NASCAR Media)(1-11-2008)
It wouldn't be the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series if there wasn't a little fender-bending and
controversy.
Roush Fenway Racing drivers Erik Darnell, Colin Braun and Joey
Clanton led the pace Friday morning on the first day of NASCAR
Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, but the
opening day did not go gently into that good night.
In the final hour of the first of three days of testing there were
two multiple accidents, including one that brought out some
finger-pointing between Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Ballew
Motorsports Toyota, and Clanton, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford.
The first incident came through the tri-oval when Roush Fenway
Racing teammates Braun and Clanton got together and ended up in the
outside wall. Clanton's ride sustained severe left-rear and right
side damage, while Braun's Ford endured left-front, right-rear and
right-front damage.
"It's a veteran out there taking
advantage of a rookie. It's the same old thing we hear all the time.
It's Friday, the first day of practice and you don't bump draft,
especially a rookie that's never done it before,'' said Clanton.
"(Busch) got into Colin and got him upset through the tri-oval and
that ain't the place to do it. He shoved him up the race track and
we got together."
Busch, here earlier this weekend testing his No. 18 Toyota of Joe
Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, claimed he didn't
touch either of them and that he was behind Clanton.
Busch tried to make light of the situation by putting a neon "X' on
the right-rear quarter-panel of his No. 51 Toyota that read, "Stay
Off, Clanton,'' which a NASCAR official made the team remove at the
end of the day.
"He decided to show up in his diapers and I'm wearing pull-ups
today. He did a little crying saying I wrecked him and his teammate
out there and I wasn't close to him. He's been side-drafting
everybody in testing all day and we're not even in race practice
yet, let alone the race,'' said Busch. "He went to side-draft the 6
truck and when he got close to him he got into the V coming off the
nose and pulled him in and they got together and both shot up into
the fence. I don't have a mark on my truck. I wasn't anywhere near
them. I saw it all happen. He's being a cry-baby for some reason
like he always has been even from the ASA days so whatever."
Darnell led the morning session with a lap of 177.420 mph and the
entire Roush Fenway conglomerate posted the top-3 spots of the
morning test. Right behind Darnell's No. 99 Ford was the No. 6 Ford
of Braun (176.790 mph) followed by Clanton (176.509 mph).
"It sure felt like somebody got in the back of me and that truck
just took off like crazy. I felt bad it was Joey up there because I
knew we were coming up high,'' said Braun. "It's too bad it was my
teammate, but it took off like the rear-end was up in the air or
something. It was crazy."
FROM THE SPEED TV VIDEO TAPE:
Looks like Joey Clanton (#09) and Colin were side by
side with Colin low and Joey high in the Tri ova. Joey went
down toward Colin and got very close to Colin's RR fender.
This took the air off Colin's spoiler and sucked Colin up into Joey
and into the wall.
Both Roush teams went home tonight to start work on
the trucks. It was a shame as all 3 Roush trucks were fast
today. Mike beam and the #6 guys are such hard workers that
they will get it fixed and ready for the race.
Colin was disappointed for his guys and the extra
work he caused them. You can bet Colin will be there doing
everything he can to help his guys get ready for the Feb 15th
Daytona race.
FROM FORD RACING
Colin Braun, driver of the No. 6 Conway Trucking Ford F-150, and
Joey Clanton, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150, were involved
in a multi-car accident that also included Kyle Busch. As a result,
both teams will be packing up their equipment and heading back to
North Carolina. Braun and Clanton spoke about the incident, which
happened with less than an hour remaining in the afternoon session.
COLIN BRAUN -- No. 6 Conway Trucking Ford F-150
WHAT SPARKED THE INCIDENT? "For me the most disappointing thing is
these guys have to go back and work their butts off back in the shop
and fix the truck. It's really too bad that had to happen on the
first day, too. We had a lot of stuff we still wanted to get
through. It's good that we got some drafting practice in and got a
few things knocked out of the way, and I just feel bad for the guys.
It's too bad they have to go back and bust their butts for the next
couple of weeks."
THE 51 GOT IN THE BACK OF YOU? "That's sure what it felt like to me,
I don't know. But it sure felt like somebody got in the back of me
and that truck just took off like crazy. I felt bad it was Joey up
there because I knew we were coming up high. It's too bad it was my
teammate, but it took off like the rear-end was up in the air or
something. It was crazy."
ARE YOU GUYS DONE FOR TESTING? YOU HAVE ANOTHER 6 TRUCK HERE?
"That's our year-long backup. It's not really a speedway truck, it's
a backup, so we're gonna go back home and start working on our
primary truck here and get that thing fixed and ready to go for the
race. I think we got enough things accomplished, so we just need to
go back there and get our primary truck fixed."
DID YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT THINGS TO THAT POINT? YOU WERE AT THE TOP OF
THE SPEED CHART. "For sure. Right up until then everything was going
great, right to plan. We were working away at the things we wanted
to get done and I was getting a lot of experience drafting. It's
unfortunate it had to end short like that."
