NASCAR (TEXAS) - Craftsman Truck Series News And Notes

Bodine Can Set Series Record With Texas Win
Hornaday And Skinner Swap Lead For Fifth Time In Six Races
Gaughan Determined To Find Lost Success
Battle For 10th Place Heats Up
Skinner Continues To Lead Races

This weekend’s trip to Texas Motor Speedway couldn’t have come at a better time for Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota). The defending series champion has won four times at Texas in six attempts, and is looking for a fifth victory to pick up much needed momentum as the season winds down.

Bodine is going through a mini-slump of sorts. He finished 24th at Atlanta after a 20th-place finish at Martinsville, marking the first time he has finished worse than 20th in consecutive races since June 2005. The slip has allowed Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota) to tie Bodine for fourth in the standings.

Another Texas victory for Bodine would do more than pull him ahead of Benson in the standings – it would give Bodine the series record for wins at a track. He currently shares the record with Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Chevrolet).

“I’m happy to have a lot of victories at Texas,” Bodine said. “I really like racing at Texas. But when we get to the track, nothing matters except we want to win. Holding the record for the most wins at Texas would be nice, but having the record on the line won’t change my approach – or the team’s approach – when we show up at the track.”

Round Six: Hornaday Edges Skinner

Much like two heavyweight fighters slugging it out until the final bell, Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) and Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) continue to trade shots, with Hornaday emerging from Atlanta with a four-point lead in the standings.

Hornaday entered the weekend trailing Skinner by 11 points. It was the fifth time in the last six weeks that the two former champions have traded the points lead. Hornaday knows it won’t be the last time, either.

“That’s okay for now, but after Homestead is when I’ll be jumping up and down,” Hornaday said. “I am sure Skinner will get it back next week and I will try to get it back the week after.”

Hornaday has reason to be cautious headed to Texas – Skinner has five consecutive top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile oval, including three runner-up finishes. Skinner trailed only Todd Bodine in each of his three runner-up finishes. Hornaday finished fourth at Texas in June, his highest career finish at the track.

“To have two great teams battling and changing the points lead each week is unbelievable,” Hornaday said.

Gaughan Searching For Old Touch

Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Chevrolet) knows it is not easy to win a race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He also knows that to win four straight at one track is something “special.”

“We had some special years,” said Gaughan, who won four consecutive races at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002 and 2003. “We had a very special race team, we had a very special truck, we had everything right…we’re trying to get back on that program.”

Gaughan has experienced sparse success since then, going winless in 73 consecutive starts.

To make matters worse, the truck that won the four consecutive races – ‘Lone Star’ – was involved in an accident at Texas in June and has since been ‘retired.’

With three races remaining, Gaughan’s focus is on climbing into the top 10. The team is currently 13th in the point standings, 126 out of the coveted 10th position.

“That’s our goal right now – the top 10 – and we believe that we have the ability to get there,” Gaughan said.

Two of the tracks coming up – Texas and Homestead – are very good tracks for me and suit my driving style. I believe that we’re going to go there with our best piece of equipment with the goal of winning and gaining on the guys in front of us.”

Consecutive Races Won At One Track (Active Tracks)

Driver Track Won Years Gaughan Texas 4 2002-2003 Musgrave California 3 2001-2003 Sprague Phoenix 3 1996-1997 7 drivers tied with 2 consecutive wins

NCTS Etc: Championship Isn’t Only Battle Brewing

* Top 10 Far From Locked In

David Starr (No. 10 International MAXX-FORCE Diesel Ford) finished 15th at Atlanta to jump into the top 10 in the standings for the first time all season. Starr had slowly been climbing the leaderboard since a 20th-place finish in the season opener. Although Starr is currently ninth in the standings, his position is not safe by any means.

Starr leads 10th-place driver Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-Way Freight Toyota) by eight points and 11th-place Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tools + Equipment Ford) by only 10.

Overall, 134 points separate positions nine through 13. Dennis Setzer (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge) is 12th, 83 points out of 10th and Brendan Gaughan is 13th, 126 behind Sprague.

The top 10 drivers will be honored at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series awards banquet at The Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 19.

* Skinner Out Front The Most

Mike Skinner led five laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway to extend his record of races led in a season to 21 out of a possible 22 races. The only race Skinner failed to lead a lap was at Bristol Motor Speedway. The previous record was 19 races shared by Greg Biffle in 1999 and Jack Sprague in 2001.

Skinner still has a ways to go, however, to catch the season records for miles and laps led. He currently has led 1,041 laps and 1,130.81 miles. He set the laps led in a season mark with 1,533 in 1996. Sprague has the most miles led with 1,443.02 in 2001.

* Chaffin Streaks To A Halt

Chad Chaffin (No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet) had his short-lived streak of consecutive top-10 finishes snapped at Atlanta. Chaffin had improved all four previous races he had started for Key Motorsports. After finishing 36th in his team debut at New Hampshire International Speedway, Chaffin finished 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, eighth at Talladega Superspeedway and seventh at Martinsville Speedway. The latter representing the top finishes for Key Motorsports in 45 series starts.

Chaffin has 29 top 10s in 99 career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts, including wins at Dover and O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis in 2004. He is expected to make his 100th career start at Texas, making him the 25th driver in series history to hit the milestone.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings: Clanton Continues Climb

Joey Clanton (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford) finished sixth at Atlanta Motor Speedway – his hometown track – and picked up 16 points in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings to close the gap on leaders Willie Allen (No. 13 Pork/ThorSport Chevrolet) and Tim Sauter (No. 07 Lester Buildings Chevrolet).

The finish tied a career high for Clanton, who also finished sixth at the season opener in Daytona.

Allen currently leads second-place Sauter by seven points and Clanton by eight. Clanton should continue to gain ground as he racks up more starts.

The Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings only count a driver’s top 14 starts of the season. Atlanta was Clanton’s 14th start, a mark that Allen and Sauter both hit two months ago. With three races remaining, Clanton has the opportunity to erase some of his poor finishes at the beginning of the season.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

Driver Points 1. Willie Allen 152 2. Tim Sauter 145 3. Joey Clanton 144 4. Jason White 120 5. Blake Bjorklund 110

In The Loop: Bodine, Skinner and Hornaday Top Texas Loop Charts

It’s been all or nothing for Todd Bodine at Texas Motor Speedway.

Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Bodine has won three times in five races. But the other two trips resulted in finishes of 14th and 30th. If Bodine wins this weekend, he’ll become the first driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to win five races at a given track. Clearly, the chances are good.

Bodine has some of the top stats at Texas. Overall since 2005, he has a Driver Rating of 101.1, an Average Running Position of 12.7, 74 Fastest Laps Run and has spent 69% of the total laps run in the top 15. In his three wins over that span, Bodine has Driver Rating of 116.7 and an Average Running Position of 7.1.

But all eyes will certainly be trained on the back-and-forth battle between Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner. Hornaday, with a second-place finish at Atlanta, retook the series lead by four points. But from the looks of things, one of two scenarios will likely play out – the lead will be short lived or stay relatively the same.

Both Hornaday and Skinner excel at Texas, with Skinner owning a slight edge since 2005.

Of those who have competed in all five races since 2005, Skinner holds the top ranks in Driver Rating (135.2), Average Running Position (2.4), Fastest Laps Run (144) and Laps in the Top 15 (99.2% – all but six of the total laps run).

Hornaday has a Driver Rating of 112.9, an Average Running Position of 7.8, 57 Fastest Laps Run and has spent 87.6% of the total laps in the top 15.

Manufacturers’ Preview – Texas

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is making its 20th trip to Texas Motor Speedway – the most of any track in series history. Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with seven wins, followed by five for Dodge, four for Toyota and three for Ford.

Manufacturers' Championship 2007 Point Standings

Toyota 157 Chevrolet 132 Ford 126 Dodge 69

This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders (Through 22 races of the 25-race season)

* Points leader – Ron Hornaday Jr. (3,547) * Driver Rating – Mike Skinner (117.4) * Winnings – Mike Skinner ($678,475) * Laps led – Mike Skinner (1,041) * Victories – Mike Skinner (5) * Bud Poles – Mike Skinner (9) * Top-five finishes – Mike Skinner (16) * Top-10 finishes – Ron Hornaday Jr. (10) * Raybestos Rookie Leader – Willie Allen (7 points over Tim Sauter) * Races led – Mike Skinner (21) * Weeks in Top 10 – Nine drivers tied with 21

On Deck: Phoenix International Raceway

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will travel to Phoenix International Raceway next week, one of three tracks the series has raced at each of its 13 seasons.

Johnny Benson won last year’s Casino Arizona 150 after qualifying on the pole.

Current points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. has two wins at Phoenix, as does second-place Mike Skinner.

FAST FACTS

Next Race: Silverado 350K The Place: Texas Motor Speedway The Date: November 21 The Time: 9:00 p.m. (ET) TV: SPEED 8:30 p.m. (ET) Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval Race Purse: $588,064 2006 Winner: Clint Bowyer 2006 Pole: Clint Bowyer 2007 Standings

No. Driver Points 1 Hornaday Jr. 3,547 2 Skinner 3,543 3 Kvapil 3,227 4 Benson 3,139 5 Bodine 3,139 6 Crawford 3,076 7 Musgrave 2,754 8 Crafton 2,666 9 Starr 2,610 10 Sprague 2,602

Schedule: Thursday: Practice 12:30–1:30 p.m., 2–2:30 p.m. (rookies) and 2:30–3:30 p.m., Qualifying 7 p.m.