Maybe there really is something to that old adage about life beginning at 40. For former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Terry Cook, he’s enjoying the post-40 turn just fine. From 1998 through the end of 2009, Cook appeared in all but one NCWTS race over 12 seasons, winning six times and earning 33 top-five and 112 top-10 finishes. A fine driving career by any measure. Now, at the ripe old age of 43, Cook has embarked on a second career, albeit one that remains firmly rooted in the Truck Series: He’s the new director of competition for Red Horse Racing, the Tom DeLoach and Jeff Hammond-owned team that fields a pair of Toyota Tundras for Timothy Peters and Miguel Paludo out of its shops in Mooresville, N.C. Cook’s new job is one that helps the others on the team do their jobs. In addition to his management duties, Cook is helping mentor Brazilian native Paludo, who cut his teeth racing go-karts and sports cars. Whenever the team gets to a new track, Cook takes Paludo for some laps in the pace car to show him the proper racing lines, braking points and where to turn and when to accelerate. “And then just mentor him through practice and basically just focus on the driving aspect,” said Cook. “‘This is what you’re going to feel in 30 laps, this is what you’re going to feel on sticker tires, this is what you’re going to feel here, and here’s the line you need to run around the race track. I’ve always wanted to come to work at Red Horse Racing in whatever capacity, and at the end of the season, Tom and Rick (Gay) approached me about being the director of competition,” Cook said. “Rick Gay was the competition director last year, he stepped back into the crew chief role for Miguel Paludo so that opened that slot and here I am. The rest is history. Honestly, out of all the teams in the Truck Series garage, I couldn’t think of a better one to work for.”(SPEEDtv.com)(3-8-2011)
