The following press release was supplied by Ford Motor Company

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks provide an exciting kick start to a Monday morning

Martinsville, VA (April 10, 2000)- Waiting through a downpour on
Saturday and ultimately a postponement of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
NAPA 250 until this morning proved to be a worthwhile investment of time.
Once again, the trucks provided an outstanding show for the loyal fans that
came to watch. The #2 Ford F-150 of Mike Wallace was once again the
dominant Ford of the 14 F-Series trucks that started the day here in
Martinsville, starting on the pole and finishing a strong second to Winston
Cup regular Bobby Hamilton and extending his NASCAR Craftsman Truck
series points lead over Andy Houston to 59 points. Other notables were
Scott Riggs in the #84 Ford sponsored by Long Brothers Racing. Greg
Biffle, in the #50 Ford finished 14th, while Roush teammate Kurt Busch
finished 23rd.

MIKE WALLACE—02—Team ASE/Ultra Wheels Ford
F-150—(Finished 2nd)— FINISHING SECOND TODAY TO BOBBY
HAMILTON TODAY IS ALMOST LIKE A WIN…HOW DID IT GO?
“Yeah, the only thing we didn’t win today was the winners money. We
were point racing and at the same time trying to win races. We just got beat
today by a little bit better truck today. Bobby Hamilton did a great job. Our
guys and the team ASE Ford F-150 did a wonderful job; phenomenal pit
stops. It looks like they got that thing figured out. Everytime I came into the
pits first, we left first and if we came in third they actually gained me a spot
or two. All in all I think it was a great day. We normally run good here but
end up breaking something and we didn’t today. We leave here with an
increased points lead and that’s really big for us.”

GREG BIFFLE—50—Grainger Ford F-150— (Finished 14th)—THE
TRUCK LOOKED GREAT ALL DAY, TELL ME ABOUT THE END
OF THE RACE? “That was not the finish we were looking for in the
Grainger Ford today, but we had an absolutely awesome truck. We were
going to go to Victory Lane today when we were sitting ninth with fresh
tires, the thing was just totally awesome. Then we got a slow leak on the
right rear and I got frustrated because I couldn’t do anything with these
guys. Then I could feel it start to wobble and it all started to make sense. I
could have drove by, and I say this with confidence, all of them on the
outside with the possible exception of the 4 and the 2. The 25, 43,1, I was
going by them all. The truck was just awesome. There is so much debris
and junk out there, I wasn’t surprised that we cut a tire, but I was a little
upset when they wouldn’t throw a yellow so we could get in and get a tire
changed. Overall, it was a good effort for the team and we are looking
forward to Portland.”

KURT BUSCH—99—Exide Batteries Ford F-150— (Finished 23rd)—
THIS CAN BE A LONG DAY, HOW DID IT GO? “Well, it wasn’t too
long because we were trying to get our lap back all day, so the laps went by
really fast. We were up front where we should have been, just a lap down.
The guys got a little racy early so it was a little tough. We brought the #99
Exide Ford back in as few pieces as possible, so well go home at get it
ready for the next race in Portland.”

RICK CRAWFORD—14—Milwaukee Electric Tools/Circle Bar Motel &
RV Park Ford F-150—(Finished 15th)—THE TRUCL WAS VERY
STRONG ALL DAY…THE GREEN FLAG TIRE CHANGE COST
YOU? “Yeah, and I don’t know how it happened either. Here at
Martinsville, you think you got gouged and cut a tire or whatever. It was a
deal where we were just racing and the tire went down and we couldn’t get
a caution to help or anything. At that point you’re just a sitting duck. Once
we got the tire on it, I bet you we passed a hundred trucks still managed to
finish fifteenth. Mike Cheek and all of the guys on the Milwaukee Electric
Tools Ford F-150 crew did a great job today. The Wilwood brakes
performed perfectly, and everything else held up great today so I have to
hand it to the crew today.”

RICK CARELLI—66—Carlin Burners & Controls Ford F-150—
(Finished 33rd)—THE TRUCK LOOKED STRONG ALL DAY UNTIL
YOU BROKE A REAR END, HOW DID IT FEEL? “The truck was fine.
It’s unfortunate; the Carlin Burners #66 Ford was running great today. We
had an opportunity to run up front, I just wish we would have had a chance
to race with them. It’s tough when you break a ring gear 20 or 30 laps in.
When I wanted to go, it would go. If I wanted to pass, it would pretty much
do anything I needed it to do. We’ll get all of this bad luck behind us and
we’ll go somewhere where all of those bad things won’t happen. Who
knows, maybe we can put this truck in Victory Circle.”

ROB MORGAN—Acxiom/ AbiliTec Ford F-150—(Finished 21st)—
THIS TRACK CAN GET A LITTLE CRAZY, HOW DID IT GO OUT
THERE TODAY? “I think it went real good. We were working on the
truck all day to get it to turn in the center, we were pretty tight. It was
getting better all day, but we now know not to bring this truck back to a
short track. Bill (Ingle, Crewchief) and I worked really well together and
I’m looking forward to having him on our team. I’m really looking forward
to going to Portland like you wouldn’t believe.”

BOBB Y GILL—15—Line-X Ford F-150—(Finished 34th)— THE
TRUCK LOOKED REAL STRONG AND YOU HAD LED FOR 11
LAPS WHEN IT BROKE…WHAT HAPPENED? “It broke the rear end
gear. We came into the pits and took left side tires and the leaders stayed
out. The truck got real tight and was pushing bad in the middle at first but
was getting better each lap. Then we got the lead and had the whole truck
to myself and the truck was working great. This crew and the Line-X Ford
have been wanting to run up front all week and something failed us in the
truck.”

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Ken Payne
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Admin
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