McCumbee Likes His Odds in Vegas

Still looking for that elusive first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory, Green Light Racing driver Chad McCumbee and his No. 08 The GPS Store/Garmin team roll into Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Smith's Las Vegas 350.

After last weekend's challenging events at Loudon, where a pre-race transmission change and a late-race flat tire left McCumbee in 20th place as the checkered flag fell, a trip west is a much-needed change of pace. Though McCumbee has never made a start on Sin City's 1.5-mile, he'll still be in familiar territory when he and his No. 08 Chevrolet Silverado take the track on Saturday evening. This season, McCumbee has excelled on intermediate tracks similar to LVMS, and his best finishes (9th and 7th) came on two of those courses (Texas and Nashville, respectively).

"I am excited to be heading back to a hi-speed track like Vegas," said McCumbee. "Another good thing from a rookie standpoint, is when everyone unloads on Friday it's like going to a new a new track on the schedule, with the track be reconfigured."

Green Light Racing co-owner Gene Christensen is also looking forward to having a level playing field with the new Vegas configuration. "It is a good feeling going to a track with a talented rookie driver knowing that the veteran drivers don't have a distinct advantage over you by having thousands of laps on that specific track," stated Christensen.

Aside from seeking his first Truck Series win, McCumbee comes to Vegas with his eye on the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year prize, as well. He remains second in rookie standings behind leader Erik Darnell.

Qualifying for the Smith's Las Vegas 350 is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the green flag falling at 9:10 p.m. ET. The event broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET on SPEED. More information on the race and the rest of the weekend's events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway can be found at www.lvms.com.

The Magic Mile Not What McCumbee & Team Hoped For

A promising Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway turned into a race-long struggle for the No. 08 Green Light Racing team and rookie driver Chad McCumbee.

The race was off to a sour start before it even began for McCumbee, when a post-qualifying transmission change forced him to take the green flag for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series New Hampshire 200 from the back of the pack. Still, McCumbee fought his way through traffic, pulling his The GPS Store/Garmin Chevrolet Silverado to 24th by lap 40. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough to prevent him from sliding into the clutches of the leaders, and he went a lap down to Johnny Benson and Clint Bowyer soon after.

McCumbee wouldn't be off the lead lap for long. A streak of three quick cautions culminating in a crash involving the No. 25 of Boston Reid led to McCumbee receiving the free pass on lap 83. Once on the lead lap again, McCumbee rode solidly in the top 20, running as high as 16th after yellow-flag pit stops on lap 120.

But, going with the theme of the day, the remainder of the race could not go smoothly for McCumbee. A flat left-side tire forced him to pit during a caution on lap 158, an event from which he could not recover. Though still on the lead lap, McCumbee's No. 08 was adversely affected by the flat, drifting back to 21st place with twelve laps to go before pulling into 20th for the checkered flag.

"We just got behind the eight ball from the start of the weekend and started to pick it up in the race until contact with the 20 truck cut down a tire and forced us to pit late in the race, said McCumbee.

McCumbee remains 17th in overall driver standings, 84 points behind 16th place Bobby Hamilton Jr.

The next event for the Craftsman Truck Series will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 23.