RICK CRAWFORD – No. 14 International Power Stroke Diesel Ford F-150 – IS THIS WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED? “Yeah, I told Wayne Auton earlier when we heard the jet dryers going around the race track. I told him it sounded like two jet cars running at an NHRA drag race against Force and those guys, and then I told him, ‘You know, I really don’t need to qualify. We can start on last year’s points and we’d be seventh,’ but I wanted to qualify because I thought we had a truck that could sit on the pole. I found that out yesterday in the second practice. It’s a great piece we have here in our International Truck and Engines Ford F-150. We’re Built Ford Tough and to represent the 2009 Motor Trend Truck of the Year is a great piece. I think a lot of people need to go out and test drive it and they’ll find out how come I’m in one. Number one, it’s fast. Number two, it’s safe and economical to drive so it’s the best truck on the market today.”

 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET THIS RACE IN TODAY OR DOES IT MATTER? “If we can get it in today, great. If we can’t, I’ve learned this a long time ago – I don’t mind not racing if nobody else gets to. We’ll be here Monday if the race is here Monday and we’ll put on a great show for the fans.”

 

HOW HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO THIS POINT BECAUSE YOU MUST FEEL YOU’RE BETTER THAN A SEVENTH-PLACE TEAM. “We are definitely. We’ve gotten some bruises. We got a bruise in Daytona. We’re not bleeding. We’re not cut, and our adrenaline is surely not out of us. We’re a good race team and I think if we keep the train on the tracks, which today helped, and every little ounce of encouragement and running good – the laps you turn on the race track help. Kevin Starland, myself, J.J. with the 10 truck and James Buescher, we went testing for two days and threw a lot of things at these trucks. We found out what we had, what we didn’t have and what we needed and we came here today and things like that just pay off.”