NASCAR NCTS (DAYTONA) - SERIES NOTES
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series News and Notes - Toyota Tundra 200
• Benson Leads The Only Lap That Counts In ‘06
• Hornaday Looks For Concrete Sweep
• Mother Joins Son’s Over-The-Wall Crew
• Craftsman Posts $8,000 Lap 80 Leader Award
For Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota), his victory in the 2006 Toyota Tundra 200 was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Benson never held the lead until the final trip around Nashville Superspeedway’s 1.333-mile concrete surface and found third place the place to be in a green-white-checkered shoot-out.
The winner’s success came at the expense of teammate Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota), who had traded the lead four times over the race’s final 72 laps before contact left both trucks wedged against the Turn 3 wall.
Benson’s success marked the second time in the 2006 season the race winner led only the final lap. Ironically, Bodine measured Skinner in the same manner in June at Texas Motor Speedway.
The outcome of the race didn’t blunt Bodine’s charge to the championship – he still wound up with a finish of eighth while Skinner dropped to 17th.
But he and his team still think about the finish.
“We classify it as a ‘laughable memory’ and we put it behind us,” said Bodine. “Mike says we’re both boneheads, but we know better than that! We’ve chalked it up to hard-headed racing.”
And the message to Nashville fans? Don’t leave early.
Hornaday Needs Win To Sweep Concrete Speedways
A victory in Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200 will make Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) the only competitor to sweep all three concrete-surfaced tracks on the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.
Hornaday won June’s AAA Insurance 200 at Dover International Speedway and counts a pair of victories at Bristol Motor Speedway.
To complete the sweep, the 49-year-old Californian will have to rebound from last year’s 33rd-place finish. Hornaday was knocked out of the Toyota Tundra 200 by accident after leading 27 laps.
Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota) can complete a sweep of all four Tennessee tracks on which the series has competed – Nashville Superspeedway, Music City Motorplex, Memphis Motorsports Park and Bristol.
Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Engineering Ford) can complete the sweep of the three currently scheduled tracks in the Volunteer State. He has two wins in Memphis and a victory at Bristol in 2003.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Concrete Speedway Winners (Active Drivers) Driver Wins 1. Ron Hornaday Jr. 3 2. Mark Martin 2 3. Mike Bliss 1 Johnny Benson 1 Kyle Busch 1 Travis Kvapil 1 Mark Martin 1 Joe Ruttman 1 Mike Skinner 1 Jack Sprague 1
Mom Goes Over The Wall To Aid Son’s Nashville Effort
Leave it to mom.
With regular rear tire carrier Joe Szwaczkowski absent due to emergency surgery – and no other licensed NASCAR crew member available – Patricia “Tree” Stout will join the over-the-wall crew for son J.C. Stout’s (No. 91 Sterling Trucks Chevrolet) race this Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway.
Normally, Mrs. Stout is the team’s “mom” away from home who makes sure the team is well-fed and hydrated. She’ll still perform those duties but once racetime comes, Mrs. Stout will don a firesuit.
“I have to do whatever is needed to keep J.C. going,” she said.
Added Don Stout, her husband and the team’s manager, “In the face of adversity, you have to make lemons into lemonade.”
Driver J.C. Stout said, “She can do whatever she puts her mind to, and I love her for being willing to do this for me and our team.”
The mother and son as over-the-wall crew member and driver is believed to be a first in a NASCAR national series.
NCTS Etc.
* Bobby Hamilton Racing will hold its 7th Annual Open House on Thursday evening. Tickets are $5 with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. Driver Ken Schrader (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge) will make his first NASCAR start at Nashville Superspeedway – the last track on the 2007 schedule at which he is a “rookie.” “I ran the first event ever held at the Nashville Superspeedway,” said Schrader. “It was an ARCA race and we won. I am not sure why, but they did not present us with the guitar. I guess it was not given to the ARCA winner at that time. I was truly heartbroken. Everyone wants to win that guitar. I don’t think you will meet a driver in the garage area who doesn’t have that trophy on their list.” * Rick Crawford (No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) and David Starr (No. 10 MAXXForce Ford) agree with Schrader. “The guitar in Nashville is one of the most coveted trophies in all of racing,” said Crawford, who finished second in 2002. “A few years ago, we were close, but no guitar!” said Starr. * Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE Toyota) finished fourth in last year’s Toyota Tundra 200 – his worst performance in six tries that include a trio of seconds. “You have to drive that race track a little different than what it looks like. I don’t want to give out the secrets, but I kind of drive it different maybe than a lot of drivers,” he said. * David Green (No. 1 RFMS/Red Horse Racing Toyota) “doubled” in Nashville winning NASCAR Busch Series races at the fairgrounds in 1995 and Nashville Superspeedway. “Never did I dream that I’d have a shot at winning at the new track and to do that in 2003, as you can imagine, it makes Nashville one of my favorite places that we go,” said Green. Sprague also won a NASCAR Busch race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2002.
Craftsman Posts Lap 80 Leader Prize
As Craftsman celbrates its 80th anniversary in August, the Official Tools of NASCAR will offer a special bonus for teams competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
For both events run in that month, at Nashville Superspeedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, the team leading the race on Lap 80 will receive an additional $8,000 prize.
“We wanted to do something in the series to mark this important milestone for Craftsman,” said Scott Howard, manager, sponsorships and sales promotion for Sears Holdings. “The competition in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is always intense, but for these two races there is another dimension to deal with.
“The drivers and crew chiefs will have to manage setups, strategy and pit stops around being in front at Lap 80 as well as the end.”
No doubt the award is particularly appealing to series standings leader Mike Skinner, who has led at least one lap in each of the 14 races in 2007.
“This is a pretty cool deal,” he said. “It’s always neat to win an award. Obviously, I hope the No. 5 truck is leading the race on the 80th lap.”
Manufacturer Leader Two-For-Four In Music City
With more than 8,000 Toyota employees expected to attend Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200, it would seem important that the product they build winds up in Victory Lane.
And two out of three times since Toyota joined the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, it has.
David Reutimann scored his first victory at Nashville Superspeedway in 2005 with Johnny Benson following a year ago.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturers' Championship
Toyota 101 Chevrolet 84 Ford 80 Dodge 43
Quotable: “Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) didn’t hire me to sit back and ride around. If there is a truck in front of me, I am going to pass them somehow.” – Ron Hornaday Jr., on how he plans to run the remaining 21 races in pursuit of his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title.
In The Loop
For certain, Mike Skinner welcomes the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ return to Nashville Superspeedway. The track suits Skinner perfectly – big, wide open and fast.
Skinner, coming off a 20th-place finish at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, has had success in the past at Nashville.
He won the pole there in 2005 en route to a fourth-place finish, and last year led a race-high 50 laps (he finished 17th). Over the past two years, Skinner sits atop a number of key statistical categories.
Skinner is first in Driver Rating (133.3), the top Average Running Position (2.4), the most Fastest Laps Run (56) and the highest number of Laps in the Top 15 (295).
Ron Hornaday Jr., who closed to within 77 points of Skinner with his win at ORP, will have to improve on recent Nashville finishes if he wants to keep pace with the points leader. He has an average finish at Nashville of 22.5. He has a Nashville Driver Rating of 86.3 (15th-best), an Average Running has a Position of 17.6 (23rd-best) and has spent only 112 of the 301 total laps over the past two years in the top 15.
Johnny Benson, the defending champion of this event, Nashville Driver Rating of 110.4 and an Average Running Position of 8.0. He also has 277 Laps in the Top 15, which is second-most to Skinner.
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders (Through 14 races of the 25-race season)
* Points leader – Mike Skinner (2,346) * Driver Rating – Mike Skinner (121.8) * Winnings – Mike Skinner ($490,750) * Laps led – Mike Skinner (811) * Victories – Mike Skinner (4) * Bud Poles – Mike Skinner (7) * Top-five finishes – Mike Skinner (11) * Top-10 finishes – Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday Jr. (13) * Raybestos Rookie Leader – Tim Sauter (7 points over Willie Allen) * Races led – Mike Skinner (14) * Weeks in Top 10 – Nine drivers tied with 14
Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings
With just 16 points covering the top three Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates heading to Nashville, the battle for top freshman honors is expected to get even closer. The Toyota Tundra 200 is the season’s 15th race – and the first in which Tim Sauter, Willie Allen and Blake Bjorklund can begin disposing of “worst finishes.” The championship is based upon a candidate’s 14 best finishes plus end-of-season bonus points.
Driver Points 1. Tim Sauter 119 2. Willie Allen 112 3. Blake Bjorklund 103 4. Joey Clanton 79 5. Jason White 69 6. Kelly Bires 49 7. Peter Shepherd 32 8. Kevin Hamlin 26 9. Casey Kingsland 5 10. Brian Sockwell 1
Up Next: Bristol Motor Speedway
One of the biggest mid-week attractions in motorsports will be staged for the fifth time Aug. 22 when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series invades the reconfigured Bristol Motor Speedway. Upwards of 60,000 fans will head for Thunder Valley to witness what has become a “can’t miss” event on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck schedule.
This year’s race – the 10th at the East Tennessee facility – will be the first for NASCAR on Bristol’s new, compound banking. The previous concrete surface was removed after March’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Food City 500. Two days of testing several weeks ago found 2003 O’Reilly 200 winner Travis Kvapil atop the speed charts with a lap of 119.626 mph, closely followed by fellow NASCAR Craftsman Truck champion Ted Musgrave at 119.321.
Mark Martin is the defending winner of the O’Reilly 200 and is expected to compete in this year’s race.
FAST FACTS
Next Race: Toyota Tundra 200 The Place: Nashville Superspeedway The Date: Aug. 111 The Time: 6:30 p.m. (ET) TV: SPEED 6:00 p.m. (ET) Track Layout: 1.33-mile oval Race Purse: $484,584 2006 Winner: Johnny Benson 2006 Pole: Erik Darnell
2007 Standings: No. Driver Pts 1 Skinner 2,346 2 Hornaday Jr. 2,269 3 Bodine 2,100 4 Kvapil 2,095 5 Benson 1,896 6 Crawford 1,891 7 Sprague 1,767 8 Musgrave 1,728 9 Crafton 1,692 10 Darnell 1,613
Schedule: Friday – Practice 2:15 – 3:15 p.m., 3:45 – 4:15 p.m. (rookies) and 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. Saturday – Qualifying 12:30 p.m.