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Dennis Setzer closing in on MRD Motorsports’ first win
By Tim Tuttle - Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Friday, June 26, 2009
Will Dennis Setzer’s prowess at Memphis Motorsports Park deliver a breakthrough first triumph for MRD Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series in Saturday’s MemphisTravel.com 200?
Setzer and the Dave Malcolmson-owned team have been gaining momentum since he joined it for the third race of the season. Setzer has finished second twice in the past four races, including last week at Milwaukee, and has five top 10s in eight starts with MRD.
Memphis has been one of Setzer’s best tracks. In 10 starts on the three-quarter-mile oval, Setzer has one win (2001), seven top fives and an average finish of 6.6.
A fluke mishap likely cost Setzer a win in 2006. He had a commanding lead with 25 laps to go before making a final pit stop under caution. Another team hung its sign out before Setzer had passed it, and Setzer ran over it.
“The sign was down low, and they dropped it underneath my truck when I came by,” Setzer said. “When they went to jack my truck up, it was caught up there underneath the truck and when they tried to jack up the truck, it slipped off. It was an unfortunate deal.” The delay relegated Setzer to a 10th-place finish.
MRD, which missed the opening two races in 2009, has been in the series since 2003. The team doesn’t have a sponsor other than Malcolmson’s construction company, but it builds its Chevrolet trucks under the direction of crew chief Randy Dean. Engines are supplied by Pro Motors, the same company that supplies the Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet of points leader Ron Hornaday Jr.
“We don’t look at ourselves as a small team,” Setzer said. “Maybe some people think of us that way because we haven’t made all the races, but we’re a good, solid race team. Dave Malcolmson has been running this deal out of pocket, and we probably need a little help to finish the season.
“Dave deserves to get it. He’s the kind of owner that this series has been built upon.”
Setzer’s runner-up at Milwaukee was a boost to the organization.
“It’s huge,” he said. “It’s good for the owner. It gets him pumped up.”
Hornaday is coming off a dominant victory at Milwaukee and should be a major threat to win at Memphis, where he led 139 laps en route to victory last year. Hornaday also won at Memphis in 1998, was third in 2007, fourth in 2006 and has a 6.0 average finish in six races.
The winner at Memphis receives a bronze statue of Elvis Presley.
“I think it’s cool when a track goes the extra mile to make a trophy special,” Hornaday said. “When I won in 1998, they had not gotten him yet. (Wife) Lindy and I are big Elvis fans, so adding that to my collection last year was really cool.”
Fast facts
What: MemphisTravel.com 200
Where: Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park
When: Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
TV: Speed, 5:30 p.m. EDT
Radio: MRN/Sirius XM Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .75-mile oval
Race distance: 200 laps/150 miles
2008 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
2008 polesitter: Johnny Benson, Jr.
Mentioned Drivers: Dennis Setzer
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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