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AUTO RACING NOTEBOOK

Brackett gets shot in NASCAR trucks

Driver will try to run in Camping World race

By Bill Stewart bstewart@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Dale Brackett and his racing team spent most of Wednesday preparing the truck for what he hopes will be the race of his life.

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READY TO GO: Dale Brackett of Strong will make his debut on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series today in Indianapolis.

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By 5:30 p.m., the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado, weighing nearly 3,400 pounds, was loaded into a trailer. Shortly thereafter, Brackett and crew had left their homes in Strong for Indianapolis and O'Reilly Raceway Park.

After a three-month hiatus, thanks in part to a lack of sponsors, Brackett is ready and eager to ride in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

He will compete tonight in the AAA Insurance 200. The race, which begins at 7:30, will be televised on the SPEED network.

"We did our homework, got our sponsors and finally have the time," said Brackett, 31. "Before we didn't have that."

Brackett last attempted to race in the series March 27 in Martinsville, Va. He and his team made it to the Kroger 250, but qualifying got rained out. As a result, the field was set based on points, and Brackett was shut out.

He then hoped to compete in the Dover 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May, but didn't make the trip.

"It just didn't happen for us," Brackett said. "The funding didn't come through. Now we're ready."

Brackett will certainly be busy today, with two practices and qualifying scheduled prior to the race.

"It's one-day event, which we've never done before," he said. "We'll park the truck at 6 a.m. Friday and the garage opens at 8. The first practice is at 11 and the second is at 1:15. Qualifying starts at 3. It's going to be another learning curve to see how we unload off the trailer and then go straight to perform."

Brackett said he hopes to qualify and then finish the race.

"I want to run the truck over the checkers," he said. "If I could be on the lead lap, that would be awesome, too."

* * *

Cassius Clark is in the hunt for the Pro All Stars Series North points championship, sitting in third place behind Ben Rowe and leader Johnny Clark.

Cassius Clark, of Farmington, finished second last weekend in a PASS North race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

"We had a couple bad races but then we found a problem with the car and it's helping really well," he said. "We found a problem with the handling and now we've been good the last couple races. Hopefully, we're on the upswing."

Clark plans to race the PASS North circuit full time before taking the car south.

"We'll go jump around and do some stuff there," he said.

* * *

Richmond driver Casey Nash hopes to return to Wiscasset Raceway in the next two weeks.

Nash recently returned from a 10-day trip to North Carolina, where his son, Erik, and daughter, Leia, live.

"I plan on getting back," he said, "but it won't be this weekend. Maybe the next one."

Nash finished third in the 30-lap Late Model feature opening day, but a hectic summer has kept him away.

"I've only raced twice, but I'll be back," he said.

* * *

Sabattus native Zack Emerson is fourth in points in the Strictly Stock division at Oxford Plains Speedway.

"Overall, things are not too bad," he said. "We only have one top-three (finish), which isn't good. Sooner or later, we'll get to the front."

There is no racing at OPS this weekend, which Emerson said will provide ample time to fix what may be wrong with his 1984 Monte Carlo.

"We'll take the week and really go through the car," Emerson said. "We'll take the car apart make sure there is nothing wrong with it."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com