Ted Musgrave No. 59 Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra

Round 10 of 25 – Cool City Customs 200: Michigan International Speedway 

Ted Musgrave returns to Michigan International Speedway, the site of his first major-league NASCAR start and the track that helped put him on track for his first fully-funded competitive NASCAR ride with Roush Racing. Musgrave is a fan of the wide Michigan layout and expects to run competitively at the 2-mile D-shaped oval.

MIS plays a big role in your NASCAR history. How much would you like a win there? “My very first Cup start was at Michigan in 1990. We came back there with the DeWitt team in 1992 and got a solid top ten and then back in 1993 we finished fifth. Michigan and Pocono were places we went to and were able to really show what we could do with the right equipment. I think some owners saw that and realized ‘hey, Musgrave can get it done with a good car underneath him’ and we were able to get a good ride out of it with Roush. It would be really cool to finally get a win at MIS. We’ve been close a few times, maybe this year will be the year we get it done.” 

You were strong at Texas in the final stages. How close will your setup be this week at MIS? “There are a lot of similarities. The speeds are pretty close and the setups will be pretty close. We’ll make some minute changes to get it to handle to the particular track and we should be good to go. But once you hit on something all you need are a few small adjustments. We think we finally hit on something there at Texas in the second half and we were pretty good. We should be good at Michigan too.”

Why is MIS always rated as one of the drivers’ favorite tracks? “I like these types of tracks – the 1.5 mile and the 2 mile tracks – because they are so wide and so fast. There are a lot of grooves you can run – down low, in the middle, way up high. As a driver there are lots of options. You don’t have to keep it on the white line and bump and move people out of the way. If you need to move up a lane, you can. And you might actually be a little faster up there.” 

Do you have fun racing at MIS? “Yes because it is very forgiving. It is so wide that it allows you to cover up a lot of mistakes. You have so much room that we aren’t stacked on top of one another, which means you don’t see a lot of crashes here. Usually the only cautions we have are for engine failures or debris on the track. There are so few cautions most times and you might even see a green flag stop.” 

This week’s truck:  The truck Ted is racing in the Cool City Customs 200 is the same truck he drove last week in Texas as well as at Fontana, Atlanta, and Dover. Their previous finish in 2008 were sixth in Fontana, seventh at Atlanta, and eleventh at Dover and was running seventh last week in Texas before an engine failure ended the day.

Ted Musgrave’s Michigan International Speedway stats: Ted Musgrave has 20 Cup Series starts at Michigan with three top-5 and seven top-10 finishes. His best Cup finish at MIS was third in 1997. He’s led a total of 111 laps in Cup competition at MIS. Musgrave has six career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at MIS with three top-5 finishes. His best result is a pair of second-place finishes in 2003 and 2004. He has led 22 laps in four races. His average start is 11.0 and his average finish is 15.3

Introducing the 2008 No. 59 Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra:

Led by Crew Chief Danny Rollins:

About Team ASE: 

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has been involved in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 1995, with a mission to salute the technicians and other automotive professionals who demonstrate high performance every day.

ASE, a national non-profit organization, was founded in 1972 to help improve the quality of automotive service and repair through the voluntary testing and certification of automotive service professionals.  More than 400,000 ASE-Certified professionals work in dealerships, independent shops, service stations, auto parts stores, fleets, schools and colleges across the nation.