Hornaday Wins. Dak Dillon for TST

Ron Hornaday led 180 of 200 laps at The Milwaukee Mile on Saturday to win on his 51st birthday. It was Hornaday’s second win this year and 41st of his Truck career.
More coming soon!

Rain in Milwaukee. Dak Dillon for TST

It is now raining in Milwaukee… Stay tuned for updates from Milwaukee.

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Youngsters On Impressive Run In 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 15, 2009) - The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is known for its great competition amongst seasoned veterans and developing drivers, and over the past three weeks, young drivers like Colin Braun (No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford), Brian Ickler (No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts / Samsung Instinct Toyota) and Brian Scott (No. 16 Albertson’s Toyota) have been on their game, combining for two wins and a pole.

Braun is coming off an impressive victory at Michigan after passing one of NASCAR’s best, Kyle Busch, in the closing laps, giving him his first series victory. Braun moved up six spots in the standings to 12th - 27 points behind Scott (11th).

Team owner Jack Roush lauds the competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

“When he (Braun) jumped in here, like when I started in 1988, having had a lot of success road racing, I was ready to kill the world,” said Roush. “But NASCAR racing is the toughest racing on the planet, which makes me glad to be sitting next to Colin right now.”

Scott posted his first series victory at Dover International Speedway on May 30. He has one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes this season. Both Braun and Scott made their first starts at Milwaukee last season and both were caught in an accident and finished 31st and 32nd, respectively.

Ickler finished third at Michigan last Friday after starting on the pole. His top-five finish moved him up four spots in the standings to 24th. Ickler has put up two top fives this season in only five starts.

300: The Magic Number This Week In Sports

On paper, many would look at Phil Jackson, 2009 NBA champion coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Terry Cook (No. 25 Harris Trucking-Cajun Industries Toyota), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver for HT Motorsports, and wonder what would these two have in common.

But this week, the two share a special milestone in each of their respective sports. On Sunday, June 14, Jackson participated in his 300th NBA playoff game and won an NBA-leading 10th championship. On Friday, June 19, Terry Cook will make his 300th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at the famed Milwaukee Mile. Cook is second on the all-time list of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts behind Rick Crawford, who has 306. What is most impressive about Cook’s starts is 281 of his soon-to-be 300 starts were consecutive (from Jan. 18, 1998 - Present).

Cook heads to Milwaukee seventh in the standings after moving up two spots from ninth with his 10th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway last Friday.

Cook is having one of the best seasons of his career. He has posted three top fives and five top 10s in nine starts. He is 22 points behind David Starr (No. Zachry / Harris Trucking Toyota) in sixth, and 205 points back from standings leader Matt Crafton.

“This is a huge milestone for me in my career,” Cook said. “I’ve had some really great times in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and it has always been my favorite racing in NASCAR. But this is also my passion, my dream and my goal to be a race car driver since I was young. Three hundred starts has been a wonderful ride; I can’t wait to see how it continues.”

Roush Fenway Racing Is Focused And Carrying Momentum To Milwaukee

Roush Fenway Racing scored a series of firsts this past weekend at Michigan International Speedway. It was the team’s first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in 2009 and it was Colin Braun’s first series victory in his career. The win also marked a milestone, 50 series wins, for owner Jack Roush.

“It takes three elements to win these races,” Roush said. “It takes a great manufacturer like Ford Motor Company, it takes great technology like engineers and working in the wind tunnel, and it takes a great team and driver to put it all together. And we have that with this No. 6 team.”

As the No. 6 team heads to Milwaukee, momentum and belief in their young driver should prove to continue their early success.

“Colin is a good driver now, and is going to be a great driver once he gets more experience and figures how to be able to prevail when he has the fastest truck and be able to get the most out of it when it is not as fast,” Roush said. “But he is well on his way to being as good in this business as anybody has been.”

Roush Fenway Racing has two wins at the Milwaukee Mile, in 1999 with Greg Biffle and 2000 with Kurt Busch.

Ron Hornaday Jr. Doing Double Duty This Weekend At Milwaukee

When you speak of “double-duty drivers,” the first thing that comes to mind is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers participating in the NASCAR Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series, but not this weekend.

On Friday, Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Copart Chevrolet) will make his 10th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Milwaukee.

In nine previous series starts, Hornaday has one win, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes. He has led 199 laps and completed 100% of the laps.

Saturday, June 20, also will mark Ron Hornaday’s 51st birthday. On his birthday in 1998, Hornaday won at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series after starting from the pole and leading 187 of 200 laps, driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI). On this Saturday, the birthday boy looks to repeat his victory in ‘98 and score his fifth win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

It will be Hornaday’s 10th career start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Milwaukee. In nine previous starts at the track, Hornaday has one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes and has led 119 laps.

“Milwaukee is flat, and a lot like Phoenix,” Hornaday said. “Down the front and back straightaways you are pretty much wide open on the gas then hard on the brakes getting into the corners.

“The turns aren’t as narrow as Martinsville, they are more wide open so it is key to get a good arch to get down into them so you can quickly pick up the throttle and run hard down the straightaways.”

Loop Data: Crawford A Top-10 Lock At Milwaukee?

Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar / International Truck Engine Ford) can give Terry Cook some advice on how to celebrate 300 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts.

Crawford was the first driver ever to accomplish the feat, turning 300 at Atlanta earlier this season. Cook will join Crawford in the 300-start club this weekend at Milwaukee.

So, Crawford has the starts. Now he needs the finishes.

Crawford has been consistently around the top 10 this season, but has only cracked it twice, finishing fifth at both Martinsville and Texas.

Figure on making it three top-10 finishes this weekend.

Crawford has finished in the top 10 in each of the last six Milwaukee races. Since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics in 2005, Crawford ranks in the top five in practically every key category.

He has a Driver Rating of 102.0 (third-best), an Average Running Position of 9.3 (fifth), 39 Fastest Laps Run (fifth) and 715 Laps in the Top 15 (89.4%), which is second-best.

Though a few seasons away from the 300 start mark, Mike Skinner (No. 5 Brooklyn Products / Exide Toyota) is scheduled to make his 200th start by the end of this season. He is currently at 188 starts.

The way Skinner is running, he may also pick up his second championship by the end of this season. Third in points, Skinner is having a strong first year with Randy Moss Motorsports.

That should continue at Milwaukee, where Skinner won in 1995 and has a Driver Rating of 100.7 and a Driver Rating of 9.6 over the last four Milwaukee races.

Matt Crafton Turning Into ‘Mr. Consistency’ In 2009

In NASCAR two things bring success in a career as a driver: winning and consistency.

Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menards Chevrolet) is proving that the latter can take you to the top of the series standings. Crafton has posted a series-leading eight top-10 finishes in nine starts this season.

Crafton took the lead in the standings after Texas two weeks ago, and now leads standings by 39 points over veteran Ron Hornaday Jr. (second).

Crafton finished second to Johnny Benson last season at Milwaukee. He has made eight starts at Milwaukee, posting one top five and five top 10s.

NASCAR Season-To-Date Loop Data shows why Crafton is having such early success in 2009. He is ranked first in Laps In Top 15 with 88.6% of his laps completed in the top 15. He is ranked fourth in Driver Rating with (103.2).

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Milwaukee Mile Quick Facts

Most Wins by Driver: Johnny Benson (3)
Most Wins by Owner: Bill Davis and Jim Smith (3)
Most Poles: Jack Sprague (4)
Most Top Five Finishes: Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague (7)
Most Top-10 Finishes: Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague (9)

NCWTS Etc.

?Cream Rises To The Top In Rookie Race: Tayler Malsam (No. 81 One-Eighty Toyota), driving for Randy Moss Motorsports, continues to show why he’s leading this season’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. He’s currently two points ahead of second-place Johnny Sauter (No. 13 Fun Sand / Rodney Atkins / Curb Records Chevrolet) in the rookie standings.
Malsam posted his fourth top-10 finish of the season at Michigan last Friday. He also leads all other rookies in the series driver standings and is eighth overall, 205 points behind series leader Matt Crafton.
This Friday will be Malsam’s first start at Milwaukee. The other 1-mile size track he has competed on this season was Dover, where he finished 12th.

?Manufacturers’ Standings Rolling After First Nine Races: In the hometown of three of the four manufacturers in NASCAR, Ford came out strong with the win at Michigan. It was the fifth win for Ford at Michigan International Speedway - the series’ leader at the track.
Toyota continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings by 14 points over Chevrolet in second. Ford and Chevrolet lead the series in wins at Milwaukee with four, but Toyota is just one win behind with three. Ford trails Chevrolet by 18 points in the manufacturers’ standings

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2009 Manufacturers’ Championship Standings following Race 9 of 25 at Michigan International Speedway:
Toyota: 72
Chevrolet: 58
Ford: 40
Dodge: 28

Up Next: Memphis Motorsports Park

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head to Memphis, Tenn. next weekend for the MemphisTravel.com 200 at the famed Memphis Motorsports Park on Friday, June 27.

Ron Hornaday Jr. started third there last season and went on to win the event . Hornaday has six starts at Memphis, posting two wins, four top fives and five top 10s.

David Starr, Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

David Starr once again powered his way through the field in the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday. Many times in the first quarter of the race he said, “My truck is almost perfect.” Then on lap 33 Starr got spun by another competitor and the team did a great job of minimizing the damage without losing any laps so Starr could continue on in the race. Starr went on to finish in the 11th position and is in the sixth position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points battle.

The No. 24 Zachry Toyota Tundra Race Recap

* Starr qualified his Toyota Tundra in the 20th position with a time of 41.543 seconds at a speed of 173.314 mph.
* By lap one Starr had slingshotted his way around six other competitors and into the 14th spot.
* Then on lap eight the first caution came out. Starr, who was running ninth, told his Crew Chief Jason Miller, “It’s a little tight off the corners, but I like it.”
* The team took advantage of the time to double check the tires and top off with fuel due to the ensuing rain predicted to head toward the track. Starr restarted on lap 13 in the ninth spot.
* By the second caution on lap 27, Starr had worked his way into the sixth position. He said, “My truck is almost perfect.” So the team took advantage of the downtime and called Starr into the pits. He pitted on lap 29 for fresh tires and again on lap 30 for fuel. Miller called for a minor adjustment to the air pressure in the right front tire.
* Starr restarted in the seventh spot and just one lap later was clipped by another competitor. He was sent spinning in the middle of the race traffic but did a fantastic job of not collecting the field with him. He drove the No. 24 Tundra straight to pit road.
* The team pitted three times to keep Starr on the lead lap. They changed tires, placed bear bond over the damaged left rear fender while pulling it off the rear tire and added Sunoco fuel so Starr was back in business for the restart on lap 37.
* Starr pitted again under the next caution on lap 60. He said, “I need overall grip from the center off if you can help that please.” Miller adjusted air pressures again and the team gave Starr fresh Goodyear Wranglers and more fuel.
* Starr restarted on lap 63 in the eighth spot. In the ensuing laps Starr was battling the aerodynamic disadvantage of the wrecked fender. He managed to hold his own by finishing the 100-lap event in the 11th spot.

Colin Braun won the Michigan 200. Kyle Busch, Bryan Ickler, Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner followed in the top five.

Terry Cook, Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

For the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway Terry Cook and his HT Motorsports Racing Team maximized their time on every pit stop and used all the angles they knew of to help Cook bring the No. 25 Cajun Industries Toyota Tundra home in the 10th position. It was Cooks’ fifth top-10 finish this season. The promising placement also raised Cook to the seventh spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings.

The No. 25 Cajun Industries/ HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra Race Recap

* Cook qualified the No. 25 Toyota Tundra in the 21st position with a time of 41.700 seconds at a speed of 172.662 mph.

* By the first caution on lap eight of the 100-lap event Cook had already moved into the 12th position. He radioed in to Crew Chief Danny Rollins and said, “I need to be just a little bit tighter so I can put more steering into it.” Rollins called his driver into the pits on lap 10 to top him off with fuel and make a track bar adjustment in case the race was shortened due to the threatening rain.

* By the second caution on lap 27 Cook said, “It is snappy loose getting into the turns but tight off the corners.” The team made an air pressure and more track bar adjustments on the pit stop for tires and fuel.

* The race resumed on lap 32 but the following lap another accident happened right in front of Cook. Fortunately Cook missed the accident and moved into the 10th spot.

* The race restarted on lap 37 and by lap 58 Cook was still saying, “I’m tight from the center off and sliding the nose. Any wheel you put to this thing, it snaps loose on you.”

* Then NASCAR threw the fourth caution on lap 60 allowing Cook to pit for adjustments. More air pressure and track bar adjustments to help Cook were made before he was sent on his way in the 10th spot.

* The final caution came out on lap 64. Following the restart Cook worked his way in only a few laps to the sixth position.

* In the final laps Cook’s No. 25 Cajun Industries Toyota Tundra started feeling the snappy loose, but tight off the corners again. But Cook managed to hold onto the top-10 spot, bringing his Tundra home in the 10th position. “It was a little better at the beginning of that run, but then went back to the way it had felt earlier in the race. This truck was temper mental today!”

Colin Braun won the Michigan 200. Kyle Busch, Bryan Ickler, Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner followed in the top five.

Team Photo

J.R. Fitzpatrick’s first career start at Michigan International Speedway began on a high note, as the Cambridge, Ontario, Canada native started eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Michigan 200 and ran inside the top 10 most of the race in the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) No. 4 Auto-Owners Insurance truck. He ran as high as the fifth position before being involved in an accident on lap 64 that caused his day to end early.

“We had a good truck all weekend and could have definitely finished in the top 10, no question,” said Fitzpatrick. “I was running 10th on that restart on lap 63 and the trucks in front of me got a little jammed up. I went low to avoid contact and actually had it saved before it went around on me. The guys did an awesome job in the pits and picked up positions for me every time, so I want to thank them for that. I also want to thank the people at Auto-Owners Insurance for stepping up to the plate this week with sponsorship.”

Fitzpatrick was running in the 10th position and fighting a tight condition when the second caution of the race came out on lap 25 after an accident in turn one involving Chad McCumbee, Stacy Compton and KHI teammate Ron Hornaday. Crew chief John Monsam made the call for Fitzpatrick to come down pit road under caution on lap 29 to take four tires and again for fuel and a track-bar adjustment on lap 30. A quick, clean pit stop by the No. 4 crew put Fitzpatrick in the sixth position for the restart on lap 33.

After the caution came out on lap 34 for a multi-truck accident in turn four involving Johnny Sauter, David Starr, Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine, Fitzpatrick gained another spot to fifth, his highest position of the day, as the race restarted on lap 38. The No. 4 truck’s handling went to the loose side soon after the green flag waved and Fitzpatrick settled into the seventh position before rallying back to take the sixth spot on lap 55.

The fourth caution of the race came on lap 59 because of debris on the race track. Still running in the sixth position, Fitzpatrick came down pit road for his second cycle of pit stops on lap 61 when he took four tires. When he came back down pit road for fuel on lap 62, a malfunction with the gas can slowed the stop and caused Fitzpatrick to restart the race from the 10th position on lap 64.

As the field began exiting turn two on the restart, the truck of Dennis Setzer slowed in front of Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick tried to make a pass to the inside of Setzer, but his truck spun and made contact with the outside retaining wall. The crew attempted to repair the truck in the garage area, but was unable to return to the track before the race ended, relegating them to the 21st-place finish. Colin Braun won the race, earning his first career truck series victory. Rounding out the top five were Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner.

The series will resume Friday, June 19, at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile with Ricky Carmichael behind the wheel of the KHI All-Stars No. 4 Monster Energy truck.

Chad McCumbee, Team Photo

The SS Green Light team was looking to regain some of the magic it had at the beginning of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The team finished third at the California Speedway in February and was bringing the same truck to the similar two-mile oval in Michigan.

Following practice sessions on Friday, things looked good for McCumbee and the Bobby Dotter lead team, as Chad posted the third quickest time in the final session. He reported the truck was good, “I think we’re pretty racey,” he said following the session. “We might need to be a little better, but I think we have a solid top-ten truck.”

During Saturday mornings qualifying session, the truck did not feel right to Chad and the time showed on the track as the No. 07 had only the 15th quickest time. The SS Green Light team was forced to make an adjustment to the trucks front sway bar and by NASCAR rules that dropped Chad to the tail of the field at the start of the Michigan 200.

The trucks took the green flag Saturday afternoon and Chad charged toward the front of the field, reaching the top-fifteen by the twentieth lap. Chad had a spirited battle with Stacy Compton for several laps as the two fought for the thirteenth position. McCumbee finally overtook the No. 60 and started to pull away. While Chad was battling with Compton, Ron Hornaday had come to the pits for a flat tire. He was blasting through the field one lap down trying to get into position to get his lap back. On lap 29 Hornaday shot down to the inside to make a pass attempt at Chad and made contact with the left rear of McCumbee’s Chevy sending Chad hard into the outside wall. Compton was also involved plowing into the back of Hornaday’s truck. The damage was too severe for the No. 07 to continue and he was credited with 24th place in the event.

“Chissy (spotter, Jon Chisholm) said 33 and the next thing I knew I was in the wall. I’m sure he was about to tell me the 33 was looking inside, but it all happened so quick,” a dejected McCumbee said following the race. “Ron ran over after the race and apologized for the deal, I don’t know why he was so aggressive trying to get that spot being a lap down. We easily had a top-ten truck and maybe even better.”

“I feel really bad for the guys on this SS Green Light team. This was our best truck and now it’s all tore up. Bobby and the guys have worked so hard on this truck.” Chad continued, “We just don’t have the resources that many of the larger teams have, so this is a major deal to the whole team when we loose a truck like this.”

The SS Green Light team is actively seeking marketing partners for Chad McCumbee or talented, funded drivers for select races to run the entire twenty-five-race NCWTS schedule. Contact Bobby Dotter at (704) 664-0808 if you are interested in partnering with SS Green Light Racing.

Colin Braun won the race, his first ever in the NCWTS. The disappointing finish drops McCumbee to tenth in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings behind leader Matt Crafton. The trucks will race next at Milwaukee on Friday, June 19th for the Copart 200.

Colin Braun, driver of the #6 Con-Way Freight Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway on June 13, 2009 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, Mich. — On a gray Saturday with a threat of rain that never materialized, Colin Braun took his first step into the sun.

On Lap 77 of the Michigan 200, Braun took advantage of a rare mistake by Kyle Busch. With Busch’s momentum slowed through Turn 2 by the lapped truck of Norm Benning, Braun passed the No. 51 Toyota for the lead and sailed home in clean air the rest of the way.

Leading the final 24 circuits of the 100-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Braun crossed the finish line 1.790 seconds ahead of Busch, knowing he had beaten perhaps the top talent in NASCAR racing.

As he crossed the finish line, Braun, 20, thanked his crew and team owner Jack Roush, who collected his 50th win in the series.

“What an awesome truck — you poured your hearts into this,” Braun told his crew, then turned his attention to the owner. “Thanks, Jack. Thanks for sticking with me.”

The latter was a reference to the promise Braun had shown driving Roush Fenway Fords in both the truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series — promise that before Saturday had remained unfulfilled, as a combination of ill fortune and impatience had kept the young driver out of victory lane in his first 34 truck series starts.

“It was cool to beat Kyle, and it was also cool to beat Toyotas here,” Braun said, noting the proximity of MIS to Detroit, the home of the American auto industry.

Polesitter Brian Ickler finished third in his fifth start in the series, his best result to date. Matt Crafton ran fourth and extended his lead in the series standings to 39 points over seventh-place finisher Ron Hornaday Jr., who survived a Lap 28 accident that also involved Stacy Compton and Chad McCumbee.

Mike Skinner, third in points, came home fifth and trails second-place Hornaday by five points in the series standings.

Braun said that when he saw Busch about to pass Benning to the inside during the decisive sequence, he committed to the outside line.

“Luckily, Kyle got a little boxed up in traffic there, and we could get around him,” Braun said. “It’s been a tough year so far, but we’re on a roll now.”

Busch, who had led 62 of 76 laps to that point, acknowledged his mistake.

“It was just a mistake by the driver,” Busch said. “I saw a lapped truck (Benning) running a lane up off the bottom, and I’d been liking to run on the bottom. I went into the corner underneath him, and he kept coming down and coming across.

“Unfortunately, I lost all the momentum and all the speed that I had. Colin just drove right by on the top, and I lost the race for us. My fault. (My) team deserved it — they had a great Tundra out there. The guys did an awesome job preparing this thing. It’s the fastest I’ve ever been here and the most laps I’ve ever led here in a truck. It was fun while it lasted.”

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Michigan International Speedway

Erik Darnell’s dramatic victory over Johnny Benson a year ago was the closest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finish since the advent of computer scoring.

Darnell took the win by .005 seconds which works out to about a quarter inch of bumper cover.

The dramatic ending to the Michigan 200 left many fans buzzing. Others merely smiled knowingly.

Although the finish was the series’ second closest, margins of victory in fractions of a second are nothing new at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway where the 10th edition of the Michigan 200 unfolds on Saturday.

Five of seven races have been decided by less than a second. Two others ended under caution.

Greg Biffle set the standard in the track’s inaugural race, edging Jay Sauter by .153 seconds.

In 2002, the margin was even closer with Robert Pressley taking the measure of Jason Leffler by .102.

The 2003 Michigan 200 was an aberration. Brendan Gaughan ran away from his competition to win by 11.477 (fourth-widest margin ever in the series) and set a still-record pace of 154.044 mph.

The last three races, however, have seen a return to Michigan normalcy.

Benson prevailed by .116 in 2006. Travis Kvapil won his second Michigan 200 by .292 the following year.

Then there was the granddaddy of them all.

“I think the finish was a little more exciting than I would have liked it to be,” said Darnell, who gave Roush Fenway Racing its fourth Michigan victory. “It definitely makes for exciting racing the way the trucks go around here.”

(NASCAR PR)

Todd Bodine, driver of the #30 Copart.com Toyota performs a burnout following his victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Todd Bodine won his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 1.321 seconds in front of runner-up Matt Crafton in the WinStar World Casino 400.

Bodine became the first driver in the history of the series to have five victories at one track. They’ve all been accomplished in a Toyota for Germain Racing. It was Bodine’s 17th career victory in trucks, also all with Germain.

“It’s incredible to win five races at one track,” Bodine said. “It’s hard to win anywhere.”

Bodine took the lead on the 125th of 167 laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway and was never threatened. He had a 2.5-second lead over Crafton’s ThorSport Racing Chevrolet with 25 laps to go and 2.1 with five remaining. Making sure he had enough fuel to reach the checkered flag, Bodine backed off the throttle on the final lap.

Bodine had been running third behind Ron Hornaday Jr.’s Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet and Crafton when a sequence of green-flag pit stops began on lap 98.

Hornaday was penalized for a right-side tire violation and given a drive-through penalty, which put him a lap down. He never regained it. Hornaday had more trouble four laps from the end when he lost oil pressure and finished 19th.

With the series rule that limits trucks to taking only fuel or tires on a pit stop, Rick Crawford’s Circle Bar Racing Ford took the lead by making one stop for fuel as most of the rest of the trucks made two stops. It allowed Crawford to lead for 17 laps before the race’s second caution came out. Crawford pitted, along with all but two trucks: Bodine and Colin Braun’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

Bodine had made his last stop for fuel on lap 103. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. believed he could go the distance.

“We needed clean air,” Bodine said. “To get out front was key. Junior made a great call. I had to stretch the fuel at the end.”

Second was Crafton’s best finish of the season and moved him into the points lead for the first time in his nine seasons as a full-time driver in the series. He’s 30 points in front of Hornaday.

Crafton stopped during the final caution with 45 laps to go for four tires because of concerns of wear from a previous run that showed cords. Crafton restarted sixth and moved up to second with 30 laps remaining.

“Without a doubt, that’s the most disappointing second place I’ve ever had,” Crafton said.

Braun finished a season-best third. Johnny Benson’s Red Horse Racing Toyota was fourth and Crawford finished fifth.

Bodine averaged 152.282 mph in one of the fastest truck races in history. There were two cautions for 10 laps.

By Tim Tuttle
Special for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service