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

Round 11 of 25 – The Milwaukee Mile: Camping World RV Sales 200

Ted Musgrave is one of two drivers to have two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins at The Milwaukee Mile. Musgrave won at his home track in 2001 and 2004.

Can you become the first Truck Series driver to win three times at Milwaukee this week? “It would be really cool if we did. The competition is so strong right now that the odds get bigger and bigger against you doing it again every time. Not that we don’t put that much effort into every race because we do, but I am sure there will be some extra effort for us to come out with a good solid top-five finish this week. That’s really what we need right now. We’ve kind of put ourselves in a hole the past couple of weeks and a win would be great but a good top-five run would really get us back on track right now.”

Do you like racing at Milwaukee? “Racing here is unique. It is the oldest racetrack in the US. Look at all of the winners here – Indy cars, USAC Stock cars, ASA and now NASCAR. If you look at the Indy 500 winners and then look at the Milwaukee winners you will see a lot of them coincide. I used to come here and watch my dad race from the infield. There wasn’t much I could do other than eat potato chips and drink a Coke while he was racing though. It was really unique to go there and race for the first time.”

Do you put any added pressure on yourself for the Milwaukee race or is it just another race? “It’s a little of both. Once I’m in the truck it’s no different than any other race. But before that it’s so different. I see people that I used to see up here every week that come up to me and tell me they come out every year to Milwaukee just to see me race. It’s nice to see all those people from years past. Of course we have a lot of family that come out to this race too, and of course the Elmer Musgrave Memorial race is the very next night at Illiana.”

What is most important at Milwaukee: horsepower, handling or momentum? “For sure it’s handling. You can get away with being a little down on horsepower if you have a good handling truck that allows you to get to the gas sooner in the middle of the corner. That’s where you do all of your passing at Milwaukee, when you are coming off the corner. Momentum is not so important because you use a lot of brakes here. It’s not like a track like Texas or Michigan where you don’t really lift. Momentum is much more important there.”

Is there a second groove there or do you want to keep your truck right on the bottom? “Historically we haven’t seen an outside groove work itself in. Passing tends to happen off the corner. I usually like to keep it right on the bottom and beat them off the corner.”

Pit road is unique – you enter a third of the way down the straightaway – is it tighter than other pit roads? “It is very wide. You could easily run three or four wide there is enough room. But the pit boxes are very short and very narrow. And there is a considerable elevation change. The biggest issue you want to make sure is taken care of is that you want a nice flat area for your jackman to get the truck jacked up.”

How important is Saturday night at Illiana to your family? “It is very important. It’s something my mom put together after my dad passed away. She got together with the promoters at Illiana and they started the Elmer Musgrave Memorial race. It is big for all of us because our entire family gets together there. For me it is important because my dad was so instrumental to getting my racing career started.”

Ted Musgrave’s Milwaukee Stats: Ted has seven NCTS starts at The Milwaukee Mile with one pole (2004), two wins (2001 and 2004), five top-five finishes and five top-ten finishes. His average start is 5.7 and his average finish is 10.3. He has completed 1,281 of 1,408 possible competition laps (91.0%). He has led 152 laps (30 in 2001, 13 in 2003, and 109 in 2004).

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.