Race Rundown
Busch wins at Talladega: Coming to the line on the final lap, #18-Kyle Busch managed to grab the lead from #51-Aric Almirola to win the Mountain Dew 150 Fueled by Fred's at Talladega Superspeedway. The margin of victory, .002 seconds, is the closest margin when using electronic scoring in series history. Three trucks crossed the line together, but Busch had the inside line to take the checkered flag to finish first. Almirola held onto second place; #13-Johnny Sauter finished third. This is Busch's 7th win in 2010; his 22nd overall. Rounding out the top ten were #88-Matt Crafton, #4-Ricky Carmichael, #31-James Buescher, #3-Austin Dillon, #17-Timothy Peters, #23-Jason White, #46-Craig Goess. With less than five laps remaining, the race was red-flagged for almost ten minutes following an incident where #30-Todd Bodine got turned after being bump-drafted, and as a result #33-Ron Hornaday Jr. wound up on his roof. Hornaday was able to climb from the truck after safety crews turned the truck right-side up. There were 15 lead changes among 8 drivers, with 5 caution flags for 19 laps. Complete race results are posted on the Talladega Results Page.(Official)(11-1-2010)
Post-Race Fast Facts
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 25
Team: No. 18 - Toyota Tundra/TRAXXAS Toyota
Owner: Kyle Busch
Crew Chief: Eric Phillips
*Kyle Busch won the MOUNTAIN DEW 250 Fueled by Fred's, his 22nd victory in 82 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
*The margin of victory - .002 seconds - is the closest margin when using electronic scoring in series history.
*This is Busch's 83rd NASCAR national series victory, which ties Cale Yarborough for eighth on the all-time list.
*This is his sixth victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2010.
*This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Talladega Superspeedway.
*Aric Almirola (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 18th top-10 finish in 2010.
*Johnny Sauter (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Talladega Superspeedway.
*Austin Dillon (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
(Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, October 30, 2010 @ 05:35 PM Central)
Race Awards:
Featherlite Most Improved Driver: Timothy Peters, #17 27 Places
Keystone Light Pole Award: Ron Hornaday Jr, #33
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Triad, #18
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race: Aric Almirola, #51
O'Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award: Kyle Busch, #18 17 places
Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Austin Dillon, #3
Sunoco Diamond Performance: Kyle Busch, #18
WIX Filters Lap Leader: Ron Hornaday Jr, #33 49 Laps
(NASCAR PR)(10-30-2010)
Lucky Dog Awards - Who got a lap back on each caution at Talladega: (and finish)
Caution 1: #93-Mike Garvey, 14th
Caution 2: #31-James Buescher, 6th
Caution 3: #81-David Starr, 12th
Caution 4: #17-Timothy Peters, 7th
Caution 5: #93-Mike Garvey, 14th
(NASCAR Statistics)(10-30-2010)
Driver Point Standings following race #22 at Talladega Superspeedway:
1) #30-Todd Bodine, 3480
2) #51-Aric Almirola, 3264 -216
3) #13-Johnny Sauter, 3166 -314
4) #88-Matt Crafton, 3072 -408
5) #3-Austin Dillon, 3065 -415
6) #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., 2987 -493
7) #17-Timothy Peters, 2980 -500
8) #5-Mike Skinner, 2822 -658
9) #81-David Starr, 2780 -700
10) #23-Jason White, 2678 -802
Complete driver point standings are posted on the Talladega Driver Standings Page.(Official)(11-1-2010)
Owner point standings: following the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred's at Talladega Superspeedway are posted on the Talladega Owner Standings Page.(Official)(11-1-2010)
Talladega Pit Stall Selections
Hornaday wins the pole: #33-Ron Hornaday Jr. was the fastest qualifer with a top speed of 181.230 mph to win the pole for the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred's at Talladega Superspeeway. This is Hornaday's 3rd pole in 2010; his 26th overall. Rounding out the top ten were; #23-Jason White, #3-Austin Dillon, #2-Ken Schrader, #51-Aric Almirola, #84-Chris Fontaine, #4-Ricky Carmichael, #13-Johnny Sauter, #31-James Buescher, #30-Todd Bodine. DNQ: none. Complete starting lineup is posted on the Talladega Lineup Page.(10-29-2010)
Post-Qualifying Fast Facts:
Keystone Light Pole Winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
Age: 52
Team: No. E-Z-GO 2Five Chevrolet
Owner: DeLana Harvick
Crew Chief: Butch Hylton
*Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Keystone Light Pole for the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fredˇ¦s, his 26th Keystone Light Pole Award in 272 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts with a speed of 181.230 mph/52.839 seconds.
*Hornaday ranks third on the all-time series poles list, behind Mike Skinner (50) and Jack Sprague (32).
*This is Hornadayˇ¦s third pole of the season. It is his 20th top-10 start of the season. His last pole came at Kansas in May.
*This is Hornadayˇ¦s first pole at Talladega Superspeedway in five starts. His previous best start was seventh in 2008.
*Jason White (second) scored his fifth top-10 start of the season. He won the pole for the season-opening race at Daytona.
*Austin Dillon (third) was the fastest qualifying rookie. It is his 17th top-10 start of the season.
(Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Friday, October 29, 2010)
Skinner leads final practice: #5-Mike Skinner led the lone practice session for the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred's at Talladega Superspeedway with a top speed of 193.232 mph. Rounding out the top ten were; #17-Timothy Peters, #51-Aric Almirola, #60-Narain Karthikeyan, #3-Austin Dillon, #81-David Starr, #18-Kyle Busch, #30-Todd Bodine, #39-Ryan Sieg, #9-Max Papis. During the practice session broadcast, it was reported that there may have been a problem with DRM's #01-Larry Foyt as he didn't make it on track in that truck. He took a lap of practice in the #00; not clear how that will impact his qualifying status. There were 36 trucks on track for the final session. Final practice speeds are posted on the Talladega Practice Speeds Page.(10-29-2010)
Preliminary Entry List: There are 36 trucks listed on the Preliminary Entry List for the Mountain Dew 250 fueled by Fred's at Talladega Speedway. Complete entry list is posted on the Talladega Entry Page.(10-25-2010)
Some notes:
#00-Dominick Casola, [late entry per team] KOMA UNWIND Relaxation Drink Chevrolet for Daisy Ramirez Motorsports
#01-Larry Foyt, driver for the #01-Doug Hanson.com/KOMA UNWIND Chevy for DRM
#6-Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver for the Firestop/FWI/Fuel Doctor Dodge for Rick Ware Racing
#9-Max Papis, returns to the series in the GEICO Toyota for Germain Racing
#28-Andy Lally, driver for the FDNY Racing Chevrolet
#46-Craig Goess, 1st series start, driver for the Greenville Toyota Toyota for Team Gill Racing
#47-Donnie Neuenberger, driver Plan B Technologies Chevrolet for RWR
#60-Narain Karthikeyan, returns as driver for the SafeAuto Insurance/Wyler.com Chevrolet for TurnOne Racing
#95-Grant Enfinger, 1st series start, driver for the Team Gill Racing Ford(10-25-2010)
UPDATE:
#48-Bryan Silas, [late entry] in the TBA Chevrolet for Andy Hillenburg(10-27-2010)
NASCAR's News & Notes
Truck Series News & Notes - Talladega Superspeedway
Bodine vs. Busch: Battle Worth Watching
Inside The Cockpit With Turner Motorsports" Buescher
"HallowDega" Brings Back Halloween Memories
Bodine Vs. Busch: Battle Worth Watching
Though it would seem Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain.com Toyota) has all but wrapped up the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers" standings, the owners" standings display a totally different story. Bodine"s team owner – Steve Germain – holds a mere 39 point lead over Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota Tundra TRAXXAS Toyota).
A battle so close that neither Bodine nor Busch gained or lost a point at Martinsville. "We have a good set of four races to go," said Kyle Busch, owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports. "Of course Talladega is kind of a crap shoot. Anything can happen there. I look forward to it. I think we have a good shot at this. It is something I really want to do. I know Todd and the Germain Motorsports team want to make sure I don"t win the owner"s championship. Hoping I can go out there and steal a little bit of their thunder and win Kyle Busch Motorsports a championship in its first year out.
It would be easy to assume that Saturday"s Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred"s would be an automatic wild card, but not with these two. Busch is the defending race champion and Bodine is the only driver to score multiple wins (2007 and 2008) at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. And when Busch won a year ago, Bodine finished third. When Bodine won in 2008, Busch also came home third. "The truck we are racing is the same truck we"ve used for all four of our superspeedway wins," said Mike Hillman Jr., crew chief for Bodine. "We know this truck. A lot of that confidence comes from all of the hard work put into this truck by the guys in the paint shop, the fab shop, and by our team members. And a lot of our confidence comes from the guy behind the wheel—Todd Bodine. He has a unique talent for tracks like Talladega."
In the final four races of 2009, Busch won twice (Talladega Superspeedway /Texas Motor Speedway). Bodine has 11 wins at the final four tracks on the circuit.
Truck Series Venues Making 2011 More Fan Friendly
Nashville Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway announced fan-friendly ticket packages for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races in 2011. Nashville Superspeedway will offer seasons tickets for $129 and junior season tickets for $40 for fans 14 years old and younger for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series doubleheaders on April 22-23 and July 22-23. "Combining our 2011 race dates into two race weekends was the first step towards giving race fans a more efficient way to come see a race," said Cliff Hawks, vice president and general manager of Nashville Superspeedway. "Now with our revised season ticket pricing, fans can take advantage of one of the most affordable season ticket packages available in the sport."
The series returns for the Too Tough To Tame 200 on Saturday, March 12 for the running of the sixth truck series race at Darlington Raceway. All general admission seating will be free for youths age 17 and under. "NASCAR is a family sport and we want to make Darlington Raceway as family friendly as possible," said Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning. "We have free parking on our property and allow fans to bring outside food and drink into our facility, and the new special youth pricing will make the trip to Darlington even more affordable for families."
Inside The Cockpit With Turner Motorsports" James Buescher
At first glance you would have no idea James Buescher (No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet) did not compete in the first three races of the season. In just 18 races he has garnished six top-fives and eight top-10s and sits 13th in the series standings only 113 points outside the top-10. Though not originally what he planned for in 2010, a change early in the season proved to the right one for the Texas native.
Question: At the beginning of the 2010 season your plans included a limited NCWTS season and a full NNS season. You ended up parting ways with the NNS team and turning your focus to the remainder of the truck season. Obviously, now it was the right decision - Was that a hard decision at the time?
Buescher: I just wanted to have the opportunity to run for the win each and every week. I know that all the folks at Tuner Motorsports have worked hard all year to build competitive trucks that are capable of winning races and as a driver that is all I can ask for. Everyone on both the No. 31 and No. 4 teams have put in a lot of long hours to get us to this point. We have had fast trucks all year, but we are now able to put the entire package together. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity and I am making the most of it.
Question: Your average finish in 2009 was 16th out of 25 races. Your average finish in 2010 with four races to go is 10th. What did you learn last year that helped you not have the traditional sophomore slump?
Buescher: I think going back to race tracks with experience is invaluable. I know what the truck is going to do and we can focus our practice sessions on getting the truck better rather than get me comfortable with the track. I also think having confidence in my crew chief Mike Shelton and the No. 31 team are huge. When I say the truck is loose or tight they know what I mean and how to fix it. We spend a lot of time working on the adjustments we will make during the race so I know what to expect. It is the entire package. We have such great people at Turner Motorsports who all work together to make this team so strong.
Question: What do you think it will take to get that first win?
Buescher: At the beginning of the year we set some goals one of which was to win a race. We have been competitive and had opportunities to go to victory lane. We just need to continue to put ourselves in position and it will happen. The competition is so tough in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. There are so many great drivers. I know that we will win. It is just a matter of time.
Schrader: Will Start First Talladega Truck Race This Weekend
Ken Schrader will run his final race of the season with Kevin Harvick Inc. this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, and the versatile veteran will look to keep his perfect top-10 finish streak with the team alive. Schrader has run six races with KHI, and all six have resulted in top 10s. Two those were top fives (at Texas and Iowa). Competing in arguably the top equipment in the series clearly suits Schrader. In those six races, he has averaged a finish of 8.0. In the two races this season he ran in a non-KHI truck (both with his own team"s No. 52 Chevrolet), his average finish was 26.0.
Not surprisingly, Schrader"s 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series stats have been solid with KHI this year: a Driver Rating of 88.0, an Average Running Position of 11.0, seven Fastest Laps Run and an Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 89.2. Though he has yet to start a Talladega truck race, Schrader is no stranger to the massive Alabama track. He has 53 combined starts in NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series competition – two of which were wins.He won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race there in 1988, and a NASCAR Nationwide event in 1994. Overall at Talladega, he has seven top fives and 15 top 10s.
NASCAR Nationwide Series/NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Banquet 2010
The 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series/ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards Banquet is set for Monday, Nov. 22 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. This is the second year the series have been combined and will celebrate the driver and owner champions in both series. Drivers in both series who finish in positions 2-5 in the standings also will be featured on-stage, while those drivers in positions 6-10 also will be recognized for their accomplishments.
SPEED personalities Rick Allen and Krista Voda will host the banquet for the second consecutive year. Additionally, comedian Tom Papa (http://www.tompapa.com/bio.html), who was personally chosen by Jerry Seinfeld to host the popular NBC show "The Marriage Ref" and has toured with Seinfeld for nearly a decade, will entertain the crowd. The banquet will air on SPEED on Friday, Dec. 3 from 7-9 p.m. ET as a lead-in to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Banquet broadcast, also on SPEED.
A luncheon featuring the champions of both series, their crew chiefs, NASCAR President Mike Helton, NASCAR Nationwide Series director Joe Balash and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director Wayne Auton will precede the and is tentatively scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at the Loews (exact location TBA).
NCWTS, Etc.
The Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred"s will be the fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Toyota Tundra drivers (Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch) have won the last three races at the 2.66-mile tri-oval.
Ken Schrader (No. 2 Moore"s Marinade Chevrolet) will make his final start for Kevin Harvick Inc. in 2010. He has finished in the top-10 in his six previous starts for KHI. However, Schrader will not be the only one representing Moore"s Marinade – a Birmingham, Ala.-based company – this weekend. The Moore"s Marinade cooking team will compete in DEGAQUE Alabama Barbeque Championship on Saturday, Oct. 30th on Talladega grounds for a grand prize of $50,000.
Jeffrey Earnhardt (No. 6 Firestop-FWI-Fuel Doctor Dodge) returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend for his fourth start in the series this season. He scored a career-high 18th place finish in his last outing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month. It will be his – the grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr."s – first start at Talladega. Craig Goess (No. 46 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota) will make his NASCAR debut this weekend at Talladega this weekend. The 29-year-old driver finished second in the ARCA Racing Series standings in 2010. He finished fourth in the ARCA race held at the superspeedway in April.
"HallowDega" Brings Halloween Memories
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitors will not be the only thing rolling into Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Plenty of ghosts and goblins will be onsite for the famed "HallowDega" race weekend.
Mario Gosselin (No. 12 Tire Monkey Chevrolet) – who scored his first career top 10 last season at Talladega – reflects on his favorite Halloween memory. "My favorite costumes are last year"s monkey costumes made for my girls by Granny for the sponsor debut of Tire Monkey. I trick or treat with my daughters, we go to the in-laws neighborhood and follow them on the John Deere gator - watch them run house to house. Then I inspect the candy for safety and dad gets all the "bad" kit kats."
"Angie and I have a blast dressing up our three year old Doberman (Tundra) each year for Halloween," said Mike Skinner (No. 5 Exide Toyota). "This year Tundra is going to dress up as SIRIUS NASCAR radio host Dave Moody."
Ricky Carmichael (No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet) used to host an annual Halloween party at his Tallahassee, Fla. home, but since the birth of his twins Halloween has a new meaning. "Seeing what everyone would come dressed up as was always my favorite thing about hosting a party, but now that I have kids, it puts a whole new meaning to dressing up," said Carmichael. "It"s fun to watch them dress up and go trick or treating. I love seeing how excited they get when they get candy."
Most Popular Driver 2010
More than 40,000 votes have been cast for the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series most popular balloting. Fans can visit www.nascar.com and vote for their favorite driver on the NCWTS page. Fans also may write-in their favorite driver who is not among the nominees by sending an e-mail to fanfeedback@nascar.com to submit their write-in vote. Voting ends on Nov. 12. The winner will be announced at the NCWTS postseason banquet. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series awards will again take place in South Florida at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 22.
Up Next: Texas Motor Speedway
Bragging rights are on the line next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain.com Toyota) and Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota Tundra TRAXXAS Toyota) are currently tide for the most wins at Texas in NASCAR competition with six. Bodine won the most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the speedway in June and Busch comes into the November 5th weekend the defending race winner. The WinStar World Casino 350k will be the 26th running of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the 1.5-mile track. In previous 25 races 13 different winners have visited victory lane. (NASCAR PR)(10-26-2010)
