PETER SHEPHERD MAKES HIS TRUCK SERIES DEBUT

Courtesy Nancy Padula

MEMPHIS, T.N. (July 15, 2006)- Peter Shepherd made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut Saturday evening at Memphis Motorsports Park. He was out to prove he had what it takes to compete at this level of racing, a fete which he achieved once he took the checkered flag.

The team took advantage of the three practice sessions to give Shepherd more track time and to make sure the car was handling correctly. All their efforts paid off, Shepherd buried his nerves and laid down a 23.466 second lap around the .75-mile tri-oval for a 25th starting position.

Shepherd dropped a few spots in the opening laps of the O'Reilly 200 but he quickly found his rhythm. On lap 13, he was in the 31st position, but by lap 21, he had moved up to 30th. One by one, he moved his way forward and by lap 55, he was 26th.

The second caution of the day came out on lap 60 and Peter used the caution laps to report to his crew that the car was "tight" and was "sliding up in turns three and four." They took advantage of the caution and came down pit road for fuel and four tires. His crew performed a very fast pit stop, gaining him two positions on pit road. The field went back to green flag racing on lap 67 with Shepherd in the 24th position. He held his track position for 12 laps when the next caution came out.

"The car is tight on entry, and tight on exit," said Shepherd. "We really need long runs. It's not bad, it will come to me."

The team got the long green flag run they were looking for and Peter started to move forward, he took over the 22nd position on lap 96. The truck did not come around like they would have liked and Peter reported to his crew chief that it was " 'undriveably' tight," which caused them to drop back to the 25th position.

A caution came out on lap 177 for debris on the track, giving them the opportunity to pit for fuel, four tires and a track bar adjustment. The changes helped the handling and Shepherd went on to finish 23rd.

"I really want to thank Jack Roush for giving me this opportunity to drive the No. 50 Ford F-150 truck this weekend. I also want to thank Gridley Headz Board Games for sponsoring me in my first-ever truck series race. This has been a great learning experience for me and I couldn't have done it without the support of everyone behind me."