Event Schedule
Friday, March 11th
11:00 AM NCWTS HAULERS ENTER
11:30 AM NCWTS REGISTRATION OPENS
12:00 PM NCWTS GARAGE OPENS
4:00 PM NCWTS REGISTRATION CLOSES
5:00 PM NCWTS GARAGE CLOSES
Saturday, March 12th
7:00 AM NCWTS GARAGE & REGISTRATION OPENS
7:30 AM TRACK SERVICE MEETING
8:00 AM NCWTS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS
8:00 AM NCWTS RANDOM DRAWING
9:00 AM -- 10:00 AM NCWTS PRACTICE
10:30 AM -- 12:00 PM NCWTS FINAL PRACTICE
1:30 PM 2:30 PM NCWTS AUTOGRAPH SESSION
3:15 PM NCWTS QUALIFYING (TWO LAPS, ALL POSITIONS)
4:15 PM NCWTS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING
4:30 PM NCWTS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS-SECURITY–CLEAR PIT ROAD
5:00 PM NCWTS RACE (147 LAPS, 200.8 MILES)
5:30 PM NCWTS REGISTRATION CLOSES
Note: All times listed in Eastern Time Zone.
Race Rundown
Kahne wins at Darlington: Kasey Kahne, driving the #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra, dominated throughout most of the race and easily held that lead following a late caution with less than four laps remaining to win the "Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway. This is the third win for Kahne in just four series starts, and is his second win at Darlington. #33-Ron Hornaday Jr. managed to take over the second position from #30 Todd Bodine when Bodine got a little loose and Hornaday was able to get by in those final laps. Bodine finished third. Rounding out the top ten were; #88-Matt Crafton, #31-James Buescher, #17-Timothy Peters, #2-Elliott Sadler, #60-Cole White, #13-Johnny Sauter, #81-David Starr. There were 10 caution flags for 44 laps with 8 lead changes among 4 drivers. Complete race results are posted on the Darlington Race Results Page.(Official)(3-14-2011)
Post Race Fast Facts
Darlington Raceway
6th Annual "Too Tough To Tame 200"
Race Winner: Kasey Kahne(i)
Age: 30
Team: No. 18 - Toyota Toyota
Owner: Kyle Busch
Crew Chief: Eric Phillips
*Kasey Kahne(i) won the 6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200, his third victory in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
*This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2011.
*This is his second victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Darlington Raceway.
*Ron Hornaday Jr. (second) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Darlington Raceway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2011.
*Todd Bodine (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Darlington Raceway.
*Cole Whitt (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
(Matt Crafton leads the point standings by 6 points over Cole Whitt.
(Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 12, 2011 @ 07:38 PM Eastern)(3-12-2011)
Race Awards:
Exide Start Positive, Stay Positive Award: Ron Hornaday Jr, #33
Featherlite Most Improved Driver: David Starr, #81 24 Places
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Triad, #18
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Ron Hornaday Jr, #33
O'Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award: Shane Sieg, #93 19 places
Pole Award: Cole Whitt, #60 173.933 mph
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Cole Whitt, #60(NASCAR Statistics)(3-12-2011)
Lucky Dog Awards - Who got a lap back on each caution at Darlington: (and finish)
Caution 1: No benefactor
Caution 2: #57-Norm Benning, 26th
Caution 3: #10-Chase Mattioli, 34th
Caution 4: #10-Chase Mattioli, 34th
Caution 5: #07-Jamie Dick, 23rd
Caution 6: #81-David Starr, 10th
Caution 7: #20-Johanna Long, 31st
Caution 8: #9-Max Papis, 18th
Caution 9: #07-Jamie Dick, 23rd
Caution 10: #15-Dusty Davis, 21st
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-12-2011)
Driver point standings following race #3 at Darlington Raceway:
1) #88-Matt Crafton, 111
2) #60-Cole Whitt, 105 -6
3) #17-Timothy Peters, 104, -7
4) #92-Clay Rogers, 104 -8
5) #13-Johnny Suater, 102 -9
6) #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., 99 -12
7) #30-Todd Bodine, 92 -19
8) #3-Austin Dillon, 92 -19
9) #9-Max Papis, 87 -24
10)#1-Jeffrey Earnhardt, 86 -25(Unofficial)(3-12-2011)
Complete driver point standings are posted on the Darlington Point Standings Page.(Official)(3-14-2011)
- Owner point standings: following the "Too Tough To Tame 200" at Darlington Raceway are posted on the Darlington Owner Standings Page.(Official)(3-14-2011)
- Darlington Pit Stall Selections
Whitt wins Darlington pole: Cole Whitt, driving the #60 Red Bull Chevrolet for Turn One Racing was the fastest qualifer with a top speed of 173.933 mph [settting a new track record] to win the pole for the "Too Tough To Tame 200" at Darlington Raceway. This is his first pole in just his fourth series starts. Rounding out the top ten were; #18-Kasey Kahne, #13-Johnny Sauter, #88-Matt Crafton, #3-Austin Dillon, #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., #31-James Buescher, #2-Elliott Sader, #8-Neson Piquet Jr., #23-Jason White. DNQ - #45-Chad McCumbee, #84-Chris Fontaine, #89-Chris Lafferty. Complete starting lineup is posted on the Darlington Lineup Page.(3-12-2011)
- Post-Qualifying Fast Facts
Darlington Raceway
6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 12, 2011 @ 04:16 PM Eastern
Pole Winner: Cole Whitt
Age: 19
Team: No. 60 - Red Bull Chevrolet
Owner: Vickie Compton
Crew Chief Marcus Richmond, II
*Cole Whitt won the Pole Award for the 6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200 with a lap of 28.273 seconds, 173.933 mph a new track
record.
*The previous track record was held by Timothy Peters at 170.845 mph (8/14/10).
*This is his first pole in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
*This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2011.
*This is his first pole in one races at Darlington Raceway.
*Kasey Kahne(i) (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2011 and his second in two races at Darlington Raceway.
*Johnny Sauter (third) posted his first top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in three races this season.
* Cole Whitt (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-12-2011)
Buescher quickest in final practice at Darlington: James Buescher, driving the Turner Motorsports #31-Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet led the final practice session for the "Too Tough To Tame 200" at Darlington Raceway with a top speed of 174.290 mph. Turn One Racing's #60 Red Bull Chevrolet with driver Cole Whitt was second quickest. Rounding out the top ten were; #13-Johnny Sauter, #30-Todd Bodine, #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., #18-Kasey Kahne, #29-Parker Kligerman, #88-Matt Crafton, #2-Elliott Sadler, #7-Miquel Paludo. It was reported that #1-Jeffrey Earnhardt would be going to a back-up truck after making contact with the wall during both practice sessions. There were 38 trucks on track for the final session. Final practice speeds are posted on the Darlington Practice Speeds Page.(3-12-2011)
Kahne leads opening practice at Darlington: Kasey Kahne, driving the #18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, posted the fastest lap with a top speed of 172.541 mph to lead the first practice session for the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway. #31-James Buescher was second quickest. Rounding out the top ten were; #60-Cole Whitt, #33-Ron Hornaday Jr., #2-Elliott Sadler, #88-Matt Crafton, #13-Johnny Sauter, #30-Todd Bodine, #81-David Starr, #5-Travis Kvapil. There were 38 trucks on track for the first session. Complete practice speeds are posted on the Darlington Practice Speeds Page.(3-12-2011)
Official Entry List: There are 39 trucks on the final entry list for the "Too Tough To Tame 200" at Darlington Raceway. Note: #45-Chad McCumbee in as driver replacing Mike Skinner. Complete entry list is posted on the Darlington Entry List Page.(3-12-2011)
Preliminary Entry List: There are 39 trucks listed on the Preliminary Entry List for the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway. Complete entry list is posted on the Darlington Entry List Page.(3-7-2011)
Some Notes:
#2-Elliott Sadler returns as driver for KHI's Armour Vienna Sausage Chevrolet
#07-Jamie Dick, driver, SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet, sponsor TBA
#18-Kasey Kahne, driver, Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota
#73-Driver TBA, Tagsby Racing Chevrolet
#84-Chris Fontaine, returns as driver for CFR's Glenden Enterprises chevrolet(3-7-2011)
UPDATE: Late Entry; #89-Chris Lafferty, Lafferty Motorsports SC Education Lottery Chevrolet(3-10-2011)
UPDATE 2: #73-Driver TBA, Tagsby Racing Chevrolet - withdrawn(3-11-2011)
UPDATE 3: #45-Chad McCumbee replaces Mike Skinner as driver(3-12-2011)
NASCAR's News & Notes
Truck Series News & Notes - Darlington Raceway
Bodine Hoping Experience Pays Off At Darlington Raceway
Make no mistake, Darlington Raceway is a driver's track -- and a place where experience pays dividends and champions thrive.
Saturday's Too Tough To Tame 200 may produce a few surprises but don't expect an influx of newcomers atop the finishing order when the checkered flies.
Four of the five Darlington race-winners were past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. Bobby Hamilton won twice, Ted Musgrave once and Todd Bodine is the defending race winner.
"It's a driver's track that's a lot of fun," said Bodine, who also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at the 1.366-mile layout -- NASCAR's oldest superspeedway. "I've always run well at Darlington in everything I've driven there, ever."
Saturday's race is only the third stop on a 2011 calendar of 25 races but it's becoming pivotal to Bodine's bid to become the series' first back-to-back champion.
- From Aug. 2005, Bodine ranked among the top 10 in points for 135 consecutive races -- a streak that ended with a 23rd-place finish in Daytona.
- Bodine also was an accident victim in Phoenix and despite recovering to finish eighth, the 2006 and 2010 champion still has yet to crack the top 10. He's 12th, 20 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
- To win that elusive consecutive title, Bodine will have to duplicate Mike Bliss' run to the 2002 championship. Bliss rebounded from a 131-point deficit after two races to take a lead he wouldn't relinquish, in just three more starts.
- Bodine may be in rebound mode, but Timothy Peters is close to becoming the championship leader. Peters, who finished second in last year's Too Tough To Tame 200, is just five points behind Crafton after a 12th-place finish at Phoenix.
- Austin Dillon was fifth at Darlington in 2010 -- the only rookie finisher among a top 10 featuring veterans Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Ken Schrader. Cole Whitt, who was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference, will look to match Dillon's run.
Trio Of Teams Chasing Wins In Pair Of NASCAR National Series
Call it a race within a race.
Three non-NASCAR Sprint Cup-running teams are competing head-to-head in the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The question is which -- Kevin Harvick Inc., Rick Ware Racing or Turner Motorsports -- will be the first to tally a victory in each series. Only KHI had wins in both divisions in 2010, four in Nationwide and seven in trucks.
- KHI got an early jump as Tony Stewart raced to victory in the 2011 Nationwide opener at Daytona International Speedway.
- Mark Martin evened the score last weekend in Las Vegas, driving a Turner Motorsports entry to his 49th Nationwide victory.
- RWR remains winless but showed promise in trucks as Jeffrey Earnhardt posted a seventh-place finish in Daytona. Bodine, Carl Long and Timmy Hill have competed in RWR-prepared cars in NASCAR Nationwide competition.
- KHI has a pair of series winners in the lineup for Saturday -- Ron Hornaday Jr. and Elliott Sadler. Turner counters with a trio of entries Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher and Brad Sweet. Earnhardt carries the RWR banner.
- Sweet's crew chief Trent Owens bids to become the first of 2011 to back winners in both divisions. He was atop Martin's pit box in Las Vegas.
NCWTS Etc.
Kasey Kahne, who scored his first of two consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories at Darlington in 2004, will drive Kyle Busch Motorsports' No. 18 Toyota this week. KBM leads the series owner championship standings over KHI by one point...KHI will make its 300th series start at Darlington, a week after hitting the same milestone in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Las Vegas...Martin, who'll return to NASCAR Camping World Trucks later this season, can become the first driver over the age of 50 to win in all three national series...Series points leader Crafton will make his 250th truck start at Darlington. Crafton is the only entered driver to compete in all five previous Darlington races. He has three top-10 finishes including a sixth a year ago...James Buescher will make his 50th series start...Travis Kvapil started from the pole in 2003 as the series points leader when qualifying was washed out. He finished fourth...Four of the five previous Darlington races had margins of victory of 0.531 seconds or less.(NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(3-8-2011)
Truck Series News & Notes - Open Week, March 1, 2011
Crafton, Sauter, ThorSport Early Contenders For 2011 Championship
This could be the year Matt Crafton and owner Duke Thorson finally get their due.
Crafton, who will make his 250th consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway on March 12, holds the No. 1 spot in series points standings for the first time since June 2009.
The Tulare, Calif. veteran, who competed in his first series race at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 28, 2000, holds the slimmest of leads ... a single point ... over post-Daytona leader Clay Rogers. ThorSport teammate Johnny Sauter holds down the fourth position giving ThorSport a pair of contenders ... and rivals - for the 2011 championship.
- Crafton finished seventh in last week's Lucas Oil 150 in Phoenix to rank among the top 10 in points for the 74th consecutive race ... a streak that stands fourth in series history. He can match 2004 champion Bobby Hamilton's 75-race mark at Darlington.
- Crafton has the second most starts by an active driver who hasn't won a title. His best points finish, second, came in 2009.
- The 34-year-old driver has one victory, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008, and looks to break a 71-race winless streak at Darlington.
- Thorson, meanwhile, is the series' longest tenured active owner. ThorSport's first of 342 races entered came at the Milwaukee Mile on July 6, 1996. The Sandusky, Ohio-based team, which has run full season schedules annually beginning in 1998, is on track to break Roush Fenway Racing's record of 353 later in 2011.
- ThorSport also has won with Terry Cook and twice with Sauter, finishing among the top 10 in points seven times including with both trucks in 2009-10.
"It's great to be first in driver points but we're on race two of 25," said Crafton, who recorded his 18th consecutive top-10 finish. "We're looking to keep that consistency over the season."
Competition Revs Up Several Notches In 2011
Two races into 2011 one thing is certain: Perform or go home.
It doesn't matter whether you are relative newcomer, seasoned veteran or former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
With Daytona and Phoenix complete, and more than 40 trucks in the garage at both stops, qualifying has produced more than its share of surprises.
- Mike Skinner (No. 45 PaytasHomes.com Toyota), the series' inaugural champion, missed making the field at Daytona.
- Former Daytona winner Rick Crawford (No. 73 Trans Pecos Trucking/Superseal Chevrolet) also failed to qualify for the 36-truck field and was shut out for a second time at Phoenix
- James Buescher (No. 31 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet), who led 55 laps in Daytona before coming home ninth, wasn't fast enough to make the Lucas Oil 150 the following week.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates ... there now are 12 of them ... are among those coming fast out of the chute. Two cracked the top 10 in Daytona; three at Phoenix. Cole Whitt (No. 60 Red Bull Chevrolet), Jeffrey Earnhardt (No. 1 Fuel Doctor Chevrolet) and Miguel Paludo (No. 7 K&N Toyota) rank among the top 10 in current points standings.
NCWTS Etc.
Las Vegas native Justin Johnson made an impressive debut, finishing eighth with a solid Driver Rating of 95.0. His teammate Dusty Davis, also from Las Vegas, ran among the top 10 before being collected in a late-race accident....Ron Hornaday Jr. finished third in Phoenix, bouncing back from a 28th at Daytona. Hornaday gained 13 points positions from 23rd to 10th as he bids for a fifth championship.... Austin Dillon, Brad Sweet and Jason White likewise regained ground. Dillon went from 16th to sixth; Sweet 17th to 11th and White 25th to 15.... Phoenix winner Kyle Busch  became the quickest NASCAR national series driver to reach 25 victories. Busch did it in 87 starts ... 13 fewer than Hornaday. Busch has won four of his past six series starts.... Hornaday recorded his 192nd top-10 finish to match Jack Sprague's career record. (NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(3-1-2011)
