Hornaday, Skinner make championship noise For the first time since the final race of 1996, former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champions Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and Ron Hornaday Jr. (#6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet) hold top-five rankings together in the title chase. Skinner, 11th in points as recently as Aug. 5, moved to fourth after his Sept. 8 victory at Richmond International Raceway. Hornadays 10th-place performance boosted the 1996 and 1998 champion from fourth to third.
Dont look back, here comes Ted Talk about making up ground: Ted Musgrave (#1 Mopar Dodge) was a distant, 227 points behind championship leader Dennis Setzer (#46 Chevrolet Z71 Silverado Chevrolet) just three races ago. The margin is now 49 following Richmonds event in which Musgrave finished fourth and Setzer 34th. Musgrave has finishes of second, sixth and fourth in his past three starts while Setzer has failed to finish higher than 14th. A finish of first or second at New Hampshire will make Setzer the series second $4 million career winner. Setzer has won $3,972,249.
Chevrolet still leads manufacturer standings but Toyotas fifth win of the season at Richmond marked the first time the second-year series manufacturer has won three consecutive races. The streak began at Nashville Superspeedway on Aug. 13. Tundra trucks won four times in 2004. Chevrolet, with nine victories, remains the manufacturer championship leader with 122 points to Dodges 99. Toyota has scored 98 and Ford 77.
Mexico City driver Ramirez eyes series debut Jose Luis Ramirez (#08 Chevrolet) has entered Saturdays New Hampshire event. Ramirez finished 31st in the NASCAR Busch Series Telcel Motorola Mexico 200 presented by Banamex in March. The 26-year-old Ramirez competed fulltime on the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series in 2004. Carlos Contreras was the first native of Mexico to start a series race. Contreras appeared in 70 events. His best New Hampshire finish was 15th in 2002.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck graduates cut to The Chase Three competitors who honed their driving skills in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, which begins Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. One Greg Biffle is the 2000 series champion. All three Biffle, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards are former series Raybestos rookies of the year. Biffle, the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series champion, bids to become the first to win a championship in all three of NASCARs national touring series.
ETC. At Richmond, Mike Wallace became the seasons 35th different driver to lead a lap matching the series season record established in 2004. Jack Sprague (#16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) has finished first or second in four of his seven starts at NHIS. Sprague also has won the Bud Pole three times most recently last year. The Sylvania 200 by Lowes has been won twice from the pole. Winners have started no worse than fifth in each of the past five races. Last years race saw 19 drivers complete all 200 laps, a series record at NHIS. The New Hampshire winner has gone on to capture the NASCAR Craftsman Truck title twice Hornaday in 1996 and Sprague in 2001.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Five bid to become NHIS first repeat winner Five of New Hampshires nine series winners are expected to compete in Saturdays Sylvania 200 by Lowes. They are Hornaday (1996), Setzer (1999), Sprague (2001), Terry Cook (#10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel Ford, 2002) and Jimmy Spencer (#2 Team ASE Dodge, 2003). Two former NHIS NASCAR Busch winners also are entered: Ricky Craven (#99 Superchips Ford, 1991) and Robert Pressley (#59 Harris Trucking Co. Dodge, 1993).
10 YEARS TOUGH
The 1996 season saw the greatest number of new tracks six added to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule. New Hampshire International Speedway joined the series along with Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nashville Speedway USA, Nazareth Speedway and Watkins Glen International.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
New Hampshire International Speedway will be looking for its 10th consecutive different race winner on Saturday. It is the third track to bid for #10. Neither Texas Motor Speedway nor The Milwaukee Mile reached that number thanks to repeat wins, respectively, by Brendan Gaughan (#77 Jasper Engines & Transmissions Dodge) in 2002 and Musgrave in 2004. Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season-ending Ford 200 on Nov. 18, also has hosted nine series races without a repeat winner.
FAST FACTS
Next Event: Sylvania 200 presented by Lowes. (Race #19 of 25).
Where: New Hampshire International Speedway, (Loudon, N.H.)
When: 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 17.
Track layout: 1.058-Mile paved oval.
Race length: 211.6 miles/200 laps.
Posted awards: $515,630.
TV: SPEED Channel, 3 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2004 winner: Travis Kvapil.
2004 polesitter: Jack Sprague.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday Practice 10:45 a.m. 11:55 a.m. and 2:45 3:45 p.m. Saturday Qualifying 10:05 a.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(NASCAR PR)(9-14-2005)
