Craig Goess
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
No. 46 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota Tundra
Texas Motor Speedway Advance
Track Details
Construction Completed in 1996
Distance: 1.5 miles
Shape: D-shaped oval
Banking: 24° turns, 5° backstretch, 5° frontstretch
Seating: 159,585
Goess Returns to Site of Previous Success: Competing in 2010 for the ARCA Racing Series championship in the No. 81 Greenville Toyota Camry for current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) owner Eddie Sharp, Greenville, North Carolina native Craig Goess posted some of his best finish at the intermediate tracks on the schedule. Texas Motor Speedway was no exception, as Goess drove a competitive race and battled for the lead before finishing second when the series visited the 1.5-mile oval last spring.
ESR will bring the same chassis Craig competed in at both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway this season. Crew chief Trip Bruce and Goess invited fellow NCWTS driver Kyle Busch to climb into the No. 46 last weekend during the final practice session at Kansas to help relay information about the handling of the truck. The chassis was purchased from Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2010, and Busch was able to describe the handling of the truck from a builder’s perspective.
“We asked Kyle Busch to come over during practice and give us a feel of what adjustments he thought could be made to the truck,” team owner Eddie Sharp explained. “He gave Trip Bruce and the rest of the team great feedback, and advised Craig on a different line to try around the track. We used that last weekend to make some gains during the race, and we made a few extra changes before heading to Texas this week.
“It’s a learning experience that we’re all going through, but we’re going to keep chipping away at each week. Completing laps and running clean races is what’s important to us right now,” Sharp said.
Last Race: Unbearable heat and a slick racetrack led to a long day for most NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) teams Saturday afternoon for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. Greenville, North Carolina native Craig Goess started on the inside of row 13 for the historic 400th NCWTS race on Saturday afternoon in the Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) No. 46 Great Wolf Lodge/Greenville Toyota of North Carolina Tundra. Goess survived the blistering conditions for 167 laps, ran a clean race and took checkered flag in the 23rd position.
Craig Goess on Texas Speedway: “Texas always has a lot of great racing. The track has a lot of character and it’s really fast with the banking, pretty similar to Charlotte. It’s a night race, so the track shouldn’t be as slick as what we were dealing with last weekend at Kansas. Racing under the lights always creates a lot of excitement too, so it should be a good night.”
Crew Chief Trip Bruce on Texas Speedway: “Kansas was a real learning experience for all of us, and I think if we can improve on what we worked on there, we should have a good result at Texas. We’re making gains on the trucks and completing laps, which is helping us finish the races. It’s important in our first year to just get that experience and then build from there.”
Truck Information: Eddie Sharp Racing will bring chassis No. 008 to Texas Speedway this weekend for the third consecutive race. Remaining on the lead lap and logging valuable experience at Kansas Speedway last weekend with the Kyle Busch Motorsports-created chassis, the ESR crew swapped the race-used engine for a new Triad powered motor, loaded the No. 46 machine back onto the hauler and headed straight for Texas.
For More Information: Follow updates Eddie Sharp Racing, Craig Goess and the No. 46 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Tundra throughout the weekend by following @TeamESR on Twitter, and log on to the Eddie Sharp Racing Fan Page on Facebook.
Craig's NCWTS Texas Motor Speedway Preview
Craig has his sights set on success in Texas
