NASCAR NCTS (LAS VEGAS) - SERIES NOTES

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series News And Notes - Las Vegas

‘Intermediates’ Key To Championship LVMS 11 Years Later: Déjà Vu All Over Again Canadians Have Long, Rich History In Series IRL Champion Buddy Lazier Debuts in Las Vegas

Performance on the intermediate speedways – those measuring 1.5-miles in length – likely is the key to winning the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.

Simply stated, four of the remaining seven races, beginning with Saturday’s Smith’s Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will be contested on 1.5-mile ovals.

Who’s the favorite? Take your pick.

Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), who trails Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) by 29 points, is the defending winner at LVMS and blitzed the field at Kentucky Speedway in July – the most recent race on a 1.5-mile track.

Beginning with last year’s Las Vegas race, Skinner has three victories in the past nine 1.5-mile races. He also won in Atlanta in March.

Hornaday, who has yet to win at LVMS, won May’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The 49-year-old Californian counts four 1.5-mile victories – including wins at two remaining tracks – Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota), despite being 298 points behind Hornaday, shouldn’t be overlooked.

Bodine is the series’ intermediate track leader with eight victories – seven on the remaining tracks. He won in Las Vegas in 2005; at Texas Motor Speedway in June and four times overall; and in 2005 in Atlanta and Miami.

Eleven Seasons And 10 Races Later, Six Still Are Going Strong

The more the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series changes, the more it stays the same.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the fastest track when it joined the series in November 1996 but that speed – a lap of 157.909 mph – pales by comparison to this year’s Daytona top qualifying lap of 179.508 turned in by race winner Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota).

Sprague and four others – all series champions – share a common bond with Las Vegas Motor Speedway, host of Saturday night’s Smith’s Las Vegas 350. The race is the track’s 11th.

The five are among the six remaining active drivers who competed in the 1996 Carquest 420 won by Sprague. Mike Skinner clinched the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck title with a seventh-place finish.

Also in the field – and still racking up wins and top finishes – were Ron Hornaday Jr.; Mike Bliss (No. 4 Open Joist Dodge); and Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE Toyota). Joe Ruttman, 62, who runs a limited schedule for Bobby Hamilton Racing, also competed in the first event.

Bliss is absent this week competing in the NASCAR Busch Series at Dover.

Sprague is LVMS’ only two-time winner. Ruttman, Skinner – the defending winner – and Musgrave also have victories at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Villeneuve Isn’t First Canadian Competitor; Just The Next

Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve (No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) is set to make his NASCAR debut this week in Las Vegas.

But Canadian competitors are no strangers to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In fact, Randy Churchill of Windsor, Ontario, competed in 1995’s seventh race at I-70 Speedway near Kansas City.

Churchill’s father, Jerry, joined his son at Bristol, making them the first father-son entry in a series race. Randy MacDonald of Oshawa, Ontario, is the Canadian leader in starts (94) and winnings ($953,783).

MacDonald and his sister, Teri, are the only brother and sister to compete in the same race. Their most recent of four concurrent starts came at Darlington Raceway in 2003.

World class road racer Ron Fellows, however, remains the highest profile Canadian in the series – at least until Villeneuve’s debut.

Fellows, a Toronto native, won twice at Watkins Glen International in 1997 and 1999. He was the Bud Pole starter at WGI in three consecutive seasons.

Two Canadians have competed in 2007: Pierre Bourque of Ottawa and Peter Shepherd of Brampton, Ontario.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Canadian Competitors Driver Starts Winnings Randy MacDonald 94 $953,783 Ron Fellows* 15 196,000 Teri MacDonald 7 53,925 Jerry Churchill 7 18,075 Peter Shepherd 7 71,966 Trevor Boys 6 50,794 Jason Thom 6 44,920 Randy Churchill 3 9,100 Pierre Bourque 1 7,720 Darren Law 1 5,420 * Two wins and three Bud Poles

NCTS, Etc:

* Bowyer Joins The Club. Clint Bowyer had no luck in Saturday’s New Hampshire 200, exiting the race on the 57th lap when his No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet was involved in an accident. Bowyer, however, came back on Sunday to win his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event and become the 18th competitor to win in all three of NASCAR’s national series. * Perfect No Longer. Ron Hornaday Jr. became New Hampshire International Speedway’s first repeat winner Saturday with a convincing performance in which the two-time series champion lead 174 of 200 laps. Ironically, Hornaday’s 1996 victory saw the Californian lead only the final lap – the first series winner to lead only the last serial. * National Anthem. Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes, will sing the National Anthem prior to the Smith’s Las Vegas 350. * Moving – again. Dennis Setzer will drive the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge subbing for Ken Schrader, who is competing in the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway. Clay Rogers remains in the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet following his 12th-place finish in New Hampshire.

Indianapolis 500 Winner, IRL Champion Lazier To Make NASCAR Craftsman Truck Debut At LVMS

If former Indy Racing League champion Tony Stewart can win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, why not Buddy Lazier?

Lazier, who won the IRL championship in 2000 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1996, is the latest open-wheel star to sit in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck.

The Vail, Colo., native will drive Billy Ballew’s No. 15 Flanders Beef Patties Chevrolet. Lazier tested with the team in 2005 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Lazier will join Jacques Villeneuve in the Smith’s Las Vegas 350, marking the first time two Indianapolis 500 champions have started the same series event.

“IROC really was an eye-opener for me into the world of stock car racing,” said Lazier, whose four IRL starts at LVMS include a third-place finish in 2000. “Racing with the best in the NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series and others was a blast.

“It was probably the most fun racing experience for me in my 20 years of professional motorsports.” Lazier is the second Indianapolis 500 veteran to drive Ballew’s Chevrolet. John Andretti made four starts for the team in 2005.

“I look forward to a good start and finish and see what develops from there,” said the 39-year-old competitor.

Larry Foyt is the most recent of 21 “500” veterans to compete in the series. He finished 32nd at Daytona in February.

Manufacturers’ Standings: Win No. 5 For Chevrolet

Ron Hornaday Jr.’s New Hampshire 200 victory snapped a two-race Toyota win streak at the 1.058-mile track. It was the GM brand’s fifth victory of the 2007 season.

Toyota, however, has won nine times and continues to hold a solid lead of 16 points in the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship.

2007 Manufacturers' Championship Point Standings Toyota 127 Chevrolet 111 Ford 103 Dodge 55

In The Loop:

The miniscule 29-point lead Ron Hornaday Jr. enjoys over Mike Skinner might evaporate if past Las Vegas Motor Speedway trends continue.

Skinner is the defending champion of the race, and has won three consecutive poles there. Over the past two Las Vegas races, Skinner holds top marks in Driver Rating (131.5), Average Running Position (3.3), Laps in the Top 15 (298). He also has 45 Fastest Laps Run, which is third-best.

But what has to grab Hornaday’s attention is Skinner’s Vegas performance of a year ago. He led 114 laps that race, earned a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 and an Average Running Position of 1.5.

Hornaday does have success at Las Vegas as well, however. In six career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts there, Hornaday has four top fives and five top 10s (his worst finish was 13th in 2005). Over the past two Vegas races, he has a Driver Rating of 113.1 (fourth-best) and an Average Running Position of 7.1 (third-best).

Though outside the championship hunt, defending series champion Todd Bodine could also make noise in Vegas. He won there in 2005, and finished second in 2004. Over the past two races there, Bodine has a Driver Rating of 116.2 (fourth-best), an Average Running Position of 10.0 (sixth-best) and a series-high 54 Fastest Laps Run.

Compton Eyes 100

Stacy Compton (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford) will make his 100th series start at Las Vegas – the 24th driver to do so.

“One hundred will be more important if we win,” said Compton, whose last series victory came in 1998.

This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders (Through 18 races of the 25-race season) Points leader – Ron Hornaday Jr. (2,964) Driver Rating – Mike Skinner (120.4) Winnings – Mike Skinner ($585,600) Laps led – Mike Skinner (956) Victories – Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner (4) Bud Poles – Mike Skinner (9) Top-five finishes – Mike Skinner (14) Top-10 finishes – Ron Hornaday Jr. (17) Raybestos Rookie Leader – Tim Sauter (4 points over Willie Allen) Races led – Mike Skinner (17) Weeks in Top 10 – Nine drivers tied with 18

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

Willie Allen (No. 13 Pork Chevrolet) led six laps of the New Hampshire 200 but mechanical problems dropped him two laps behind Raybestos Rookie of the Year rival Tim Sauter (No. 07 Lester Buildings Chevrolet) at race’s end. Sauter, who finished 23rd, doubled his standings lead – from two to four points.

Driver Points 1. Tim Sauter 134 2. Willie Allen 130 3. Blake Bjorklund 110 4. Joey Clanton 109 5. Jason White 105

On Deck: Talladega Superspeedway

More than 80,000 fans turned out on a perfect autumn afternoon last year to see the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tackle the legendary high banks of Talladega Superspeedway.

None left unsatisfied with the sometimes five-wide competition that ended with Mark Martin coasting under the checkered and caution flags after a Turn 3 melee on the race’s final lap spoiled what could have been the closest, multi-truck finish in series history.

Judged by the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway – where a similar rules package is employed – Talladega’s Mountain Dew 250 should be even more dramatic the second time around. Jack Sprague, Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota) and Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Filters Ford) finished virtually side-by-side-by-side.

FAST FACTS

Next Race: Smith’s Las Vegas 350 The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway The Date: Sept. 221 The Time: 9:00 p.m. (ET) TV: SPEED 8:30 p.m. (ET) Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval Race Purse: $530,194 2006 Winner: Mike Skinner 2006 Pole: Mike Skinner

2007 Standings No. Driver Points 1 Hornaday Jr. 2,964 2 Skinner 2,935 3 Kvapil 2,693 4 Bodine 2,666 5 Benson 2,491 6 Crawford 2,481 7 Musgrave 2,268 8 Crafton 2,217 9 Darnell 2,196 10 Sprague 2,185

Schedule: Saturday – Practice 8:30–9:30 a.m.; Rookie practice 9:45-10:15 a.m.; Final practice 10:30–11:30 a.m. Qualifying 3:00 p.m.