Brendan Gaughans decision to move to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2004 and voluntarily end his record four-victory streak at Texas Motor Speedway, has produced a sigh of relief from at least one of his former rivals. Its like having a new track on the series, said NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet), another former winner of Fridays OReilly 400K. Hes given us the opportunity for a new winner. Setzer may be correct in that assessment. But the new winner could be driving the same No. 62 Orleans Dodge that Gaughan has herded to Victory Lane each spring and fall since June 2002. I believe Steve Park will pick up right where Brendan left off, said Travis Kvapil (No. 24 Line-X Toyota), the last driver before Gaughan to win at the 1.5-mile superspeedway. And Park, whos suffered through a frustrating early season in which hes yet to record a top-10 finish, would be happy to oblige. We want to win everywhere we race but Texas holds a special place in (owner Michael) Gaughans heart and Brendans and mine, he said. To go there and keep the streak alive would mean a lot. Although Park never has competed in a truck at Texas Motor Speedway, the New York native has plenty of experience at the track with a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup car. Moreover, he counts the venue among his favorites. I thought Texas was a great place to race in the cars and I probably would have rated it a seven or eight on a scale of 10, Park said. Getting a chance to test the truck there gave me a whole new outlook on Texas. It moved up on my scale to a nine and a half. Rick Crawford (No. 14 Sears Ford), wholl be competing in his 13th Texas event, called Gaughans success a perfect match of driver, engine and team. Park, however, wont have that since 2004 rules significantly changed the trucks of all series manufacturers. The bodies, engine location and tires are all different this season, said Park, who led 17 laps of last weeks MBNA America 200 at Dover International Speedway. Unfortunately, we cant go back with the same, exact setup that Brendan had so much success with the last few years. This will be Parks first trip to Texas to race under the lights and he certainly wont be able to escape the glare of Gaughans success. Park doesnt mind that extra pressure but this weeks event may have given him a better appreciation of his former NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was almost nice to just do our own thing and race, Park said of his years at Dale Earnhardt Inc. All of the hype surrounded him. The tables have turned a bit as we go to Texas. Winning, of course, will make it all worthwhile.
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
Streaks begin and end at Dover Chad Chaffin (No. 18 Dickies Dodge) became the sixth consecutive different winner of 2004 a record to begin a season as he edged Crawford by two truck lengths at Dover. Chaffin is the fourth different driver to win for Bobby Hamilton Racing. His crew chief, Kip McCord, is the sixth to oversee a BHR victory. Setzer, on the other hand, saw his streak of 25 consecutive lead lap finishes end at The Monster Mile. Trapped by an untimely caution flag after making a green flag stop, Setzer wound up 13th. He shares the NASCAR Craftsman Truck record with Kvapil, whose own streak ended in mid-May.
Championship chase remains close … Twenty points separate championship leaders Setzer and Carl Edwards (No. 99 Superchips Ford) after six of 25 scheduled events. Consider this: The fifth-ranked driver, Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge), is just 76 points ahead of teammate Chaffin, who moved into 13th place with his Dover victory.
Three Texas winners in OReilly 400K field Two competitors who have won the OReilly 400K Setzer and Jack Sprague (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) will compete in this weeks event along with 2001 Silverado 350K winner Kvapil, the most recent Raybestos Rookie candidate with a victory at TMS.
Etc. The OReilly 400K will be the 13th series race at Texas Motor Speedway, matching Phoenix International Raceway for the most events held in the series nine-plus seasons. Pole (and front row) starters have not won at TMS since October 2000. The winners average starting position over the past six races is sixth. Scott Riggs Bud Pole lap of 181.953 mph has stood since October 2001. Texas Motor Speedway is the second-fastest venue (to Daytona International Speedway) on the schedule. Setzer has finished among the top 10 in eight of his 11 Texas appearances, a series high. Seven of 12 races at TMS have been decided by less than one second.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Crawford can reach distance milestone this week Crawford, one of two competitors to have competed in all 12 Texas events the other is Terry Cook (No. 10 Power Stroke Diesel Ford) – can become the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver to complete 3,000 miles on the same track. With 2,802 miles in the book, Crawford needs 132 laps to reach the milestone. His current lap/miles total is 1,868/2,802 vs. 1,911/2,866.5 that the series has run at Texas Motor Speedway. Crawford also has led six of 12 races held at the track, the most by any driver. Crawfords best result was a second-place finish in the fall 2001 event. Texas is championship track for IWX Racing While IWX Racing, the 2002-03 series championship team, has yet to score a victory at Texas, its drivers Kvapil and Mike Bliss turned in solid runs at the facility. The teams finishing average over the two seasons is 6.5. Kvapil finished second and fourth in 2003.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Greg Biffle clinched the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Texas Motor Speedway with a 25th-place finish. Thats the only time in nine seasons the title has been decided prior to the seasons final race.
Fast Facts
What: OReilly 400K (Race No. 7 of 25).
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Ft. Worth, Texas.
When: 9 p.m. ET, Friday, June 11.
Track layout: 1.5-Mile Paved Speedway.
Race length: 400 Kilometers/250.5 Miles /167 Laps.
Posted awards: $627,054.
TV: SPEED Channel, 9 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2003 winner: Brendan Gaughan.
2003 polesitter: Bobby Hamilton.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Thursday Practice 12:30 p.m. 2:45 p.m. Qualifying 4:15 p.m. Final practice 7:25 p.m. 8:25 p.m., time permitting.(6-10-2004)
