Truckin' Thursdays: Miguel Paludo on Chicagoland, Pocono and Paintballing

Chicagoland was a great race for us. We were just in the wrong place one, two, even three times. But we had a really great truck. We went from 30th to the top 10 after the first problem and even lead or stayed in second for a while. Then we ran up there toward the top 5 but kept having problems. I’m really proud of my team though because we were finally headed the right direction.

The problem we’ve had has been entry into the corners. We’ve always been too loose or too tight, but we changed a rear end housing and used something different. We had been using the same one we used all last season, but with the new one, it gave me a much better feel for what I was looking for. We were actually neutral going into the corners this weekend and that made it easier to drive. Plus Mike (Hillman, Jr., Crew Chief) is getting a better feel for what I like on the track every week and that helps a lot.

I’m really looking forward to heading to Pocono with the truck we ran at Chicagoland. We’ll continue using the rear end housing that we put in last week and that should help us a lot. To give you an idea about how I get around the track, Pocono has a very long straightaway and it’s very easy to lose five to ten positions if you lose your momentum at all. When you come out of turn one, the tunnel turn is almost right there and you have to hit it just right so you don’t lose momentum leaving it and heading to the big straightaway.

Hypothetically, if I were in charge of the Truck Series, I would definitely add more races, including road courses. I think it would be fun for the drivers and the fans and would be important for the championship.

Miguel Paludo’s Turner Motorsports team had a blast playing paintball last week before heading to Chicagoland Speedway.

We had a really fun team building exercise last week before Chicagoland–we went to play paintball. It was really fun and we all shot each other a lot. I think it was really good for the team and giving them a different perspective. It’s not like they weren’t there with positive attitudes before, but I could feel a different energy in them as we went to Chicago, so I think there will be more fun times like this one.

With my birthday coming up, I like a low key birthday with Patricia and Oliver and my family. My sister’s birthday was Wednesday, the day before mine and she’s in town. We may get together and head to Myrtle Beach (Florida) for a couple days, but other than that I’d just rather keep it low key.

Getting into a little more fun stuff, we have a black Tahoe that Patricia and I use to take Oliver everywhere. It’s nice because it has a lot of room for the car seat, bottles, everything we need for Oliver when we go out. But if I got to pick, my dream car would be a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. It’s a really nice car that’s a special edition and that would be neat to have.

*Fan Questions:*
_Hey fans! Do you have a question you’d like Miguel Paludo to answer? “Click here”:https://frontstretch.com/contact/14353/ to send them to me and look for the answer in the next edition of his diary on August 30th._

*What’s your favorite way to relax after a race?*

I like to sit down and re-watch the race to see what I could have done differently and to learn what I couldn’t see on the track. Also, I’ll always try to watch another race too–either the Cup race on Sunday or the Nationwide race on Saturday.

*What’s the one household chore that you’d rather not do?*

Let me ask Patricia…. (pause) Well it’s not a household chore, but I _hate_ going to the mall. Patricia goes and buys all of my clothes for me and I try them out. I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t go to the mall.

*Miguel’s Corner*

The Frontstretch would like to wish Miguel Paludo a very happy birthday!

*Update:* Oliver is doing great. We went to the doctor last week and we’re finally getting more used to how much insulin he needs. We were struggling and not giving him enough because we wanted to avoid a low blood sugar problem, but Patricia and I have been writing down everything he eats and how much insulin we give him and that has helped a lot. The doctor has been very happy with how he’s been doing.

*Basic Portuguese:*

*todo dia:* every day
*o dia inteiro:* all day long
*de manhã:* in the morning
*à tarde:* in the afternoon
*à noite:* in the evening, at night

*Tweet of the Week:*

“*@miguelpaludo:*”:http://www.twitter.com/miguelpaludo Best truck we had all year,great feeling driving it,solid on restarts and we were competitive all night long. Never give up,that’s what myself and my @TurnerMotorspts guys showed today. Thanks#TMSFanCrew and the fans for the tweets and support.I’m ready for Pocono.

“*@PatiSouzaPaludo:*”:http://www.twitter.com/patisouzapaludo Best friends since kindergarten! http://instagr.am/p/NbgGkuvcPc/

*Photo of the Week:*