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No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado
AGE: 43 (2/27/60)
CAR OWNER: Rob Morgan, David Dollar
MARITAL STATUS: Wife, Darla
HEIGHT: 5’8”
WEIGHT: 170
CHILDREN: Son, Brandon
HOMETOWN: Newton, North Carolina
Dennis Setzer will be competing in his fourth straight season as driver of
the #46 Morgan-Dollar Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado. 2004 will also be
Dennis’ sixth straight full season of competition in the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series.
After phenomenal success and growth over the past three seasons, Dennis and
his Morgan-Dollar teammates are looking for nothing less than a championship
in 2004. Setzer, who just completed a three-year driving stint with
Morgan-Dollar is ready to get started on year one of another driver contract
that was signed at the end of the 2003 season. Dennis Setzer will be driving
the #46 Silverado-sponsored race truck through 2006.
However, the future is now. After finishing ninth, sixth, and second in his
past three seasons with Morgan-Dollar; the overall championship is the goal.
Setzer, a veteran driver who came extremely close to the 2003 championship
by finishing nine points behind the eventual winner is excited about the
team’s chances in 2004. “We have made some significant changes that will
improve our team from last year to this,” stated Setzer. “In the off-season
we moved our racing facilities from Oklahoma to North Carolina to give
ourselves a little better selection in personnel and equipment. We have a
brand new engine program with RCR and our over-the-wall crew should be
much-improved from last season. There are many areas that the team has
addressed in the off-season to enhance our performance. It should be another
good season for us.”
Dennis’ performance in 2003 saw him tie or set several records in the
Craftsman Truck Series. By winning the Lucas Oil 250 in March, he became
only the second driver to win a race in six consecutive seasons. Then,
Setzer and the #46 crew reeled-off 20 straight top-ten finishes to end the
season, which gave him the record for the most consecutive top-ten finishes
in a single season. The streak brought him to within nine points of the
overall championship. Dennis went on to score three wins, 15 top-five, and
23 top-ten finishes in just 25 races in 2003.
Setzer has been racing for over 20 years. He has raced up and down the east
coast racking up seven track championships at four different tracks – mostly
in the late model and sportsman divisions. Dennis made his first ARCA and
Busch Series starts in 1991. Dennis has two wins in 101 starts in the NASCAR
Busch Grand National Division and seven starts in NASCAR’s most elite
division – the Nextel Cup Series. In 1994, his rookie season in the Busch
Grand National Series, Setzer won twice - once at his home track at Hickory
and the other in South Boston, Virginia. In his first ever truck series
start, Setzer proved he had what it takes by finishing second to Mike
Skinner at the Milwaukee Mile in 1995. Dennis also holds the record for
winning from the worst starting position of a NCTS winner, (33rd) at
Martinsville in 2002.
Setzer’s Craftsman Truck Series career really began as a backup driver in
1998 for the #29 K-Automotive team and their injured driver/owner Bob
Keselowski. His performance landed him the full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series ride for the coming campaign. Setzer had posted top-10 finishes in
three of six starts, including a victory in the Dodge California Truck Stop
300 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, CA.
Dennis Setzer nearly captured the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship
in his first full season on tour, in 1999. Despite finishing 34th and last
in the Miami opener, Setzer went into the finale in California just 25
points off the lead. An early accident ended that bid, and after he came up
nine points short in 2004, Setzer learned what it takes to win a
championship and that you are never out until the last lap. |