Kansas Speedway is a welcoming track for Truck Series drivers regardless of age, experience or competitive status. When the late Ricky Hendrick won the inaugural running of Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250, the 21-year-old became the then youngest to win a series race. Two more competitors in their 20s – Jon Wood and Carl Edwards – also won at the 1.5-mile paved speedway in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Truck Series champion Mike Bliss (#16 IWX Motor Freight Chevy) used his 2002 victory as springboard to the title. And for last year’s winner Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota), the victory was the beginning of a second-half rampage in which his Germain Motorsports team won eight times and racked up 10 top-five finishes. Kansas victories have come in all circumstances. To say Hendick’s win was surprising would be an understatement. Edwards recovered from a first-lap accident to climb from 36th place to Victory Lane. Bliss triumphed when leader Rick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) suffered mechanical failure four laps short of the checkered flag – after Crawford had led 127 of 167 laps. Bliss, 41, thinks weather has something to do with the track’s unpredictable nature. Bliss, whose last win came 20 starts and nearly four years ago at South Boston Speedway in fall 2002, has been the season’s surprise. The lightly-backed Xpress Motorsports team was a question mark among title contenders, but the consistent Bliss climbed to sixth place standings at The Milwaukee Mile with his eighth top-10 finish of the year.
Erik Darnell (#99 Woolrich Ford), the current Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader, who has thumbed through the media guide, likes what the Kansas Speedway pages suggest. Jon Wood and Carl Edwards ran well here years ago as relatively new drivers,” said Darnell, who opened the season with a top-10 finish at Daytona International Speedway. “Roush Racing ran really well here last year with Todd Kluever, so I think we’ll be able to draw off that and that will obviously help our effort.”
News & Notes Part II:
Johnny Benson’s (#23Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Toyota) assault on Victory Lane began when he won June 17 at Michigan International Speedway. Victory #2 came just one start and six days later, giving him two consecutive victories after 60 winless career starts. Benson, who celebrates his 43rd birthday on June 27, took the lead from Budweiser Pole starter Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevy) with 21 laps remaining in Friday’s Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 and went on to become the 11th different winner at The Milwaukee Mile.
Benson’s performance marks the fifth time a competitor his won his first two NASCAR Craftsman Truck races in back-to-back starts. The first was Rich Bickle, who won short track events at Portland (Ore.) Speedway and Monroe (Wash.) Speedway in May 1997. Kyle Busch (# 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevy) was the most recent double winner in 2005 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway. No driver has won his first three races in back-to-back outings – something Benson can accomplish at Kansas Speedway. Benson also would become the fifth series competitor to win in three consecutive starts. The last was Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) in the final three races of 2005 at Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Truck Series First Two Wins Back-to-Back:
1) Rich Bickle, Portland, Monroe,1997
2) Kurt Busch, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, 2000
3. Kasey Kahne, Darlington, Homestead, 2004
4. Kyle Busch, Lowe’s, Dover, 2005
5, Johnny Benson, Michigan, Milwaukee, 2006
Terry Cook (#10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) looks forward to starting his 209th consecutive Truck Series race on Saturday. In doing so, Cook will match the series record held by Rick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) that runs from Jan. 19, 1997 through last year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250. Ironically, Crawford’s streak ended a week later at Kentucky Speedway after a pre-race accident kept him out of the lineup. Cook, 38, has started every race since Jan. 19, 1998 at Walt Disney World Speedway driving for three different owners: Duke Thorson, Bob and Kay Keselowski and Greg Pollex. During the eight-plus seasons, Cook has won five times among 24 top-five and 83 top-10 finishes. He’s one of seven series drivers to win more than $3 million.
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders: (Through 11 races of the 25-race season)
Points leader – Todd Bodine (1,758)
Money won – Todd Bodine ($398,545)
Laps led – Mark Martin (321)
Miles led – Mark Martin (532.46)
Victories – Todd Bodine, Mark Martin (3)
Budweiser Poles -Mike Skinner (3)
Top-five finishes – Todd Bodine (8)
Top-10 finishes – David Reutimann (9)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (15 over Aric Almirola)
Races led – Todd Bodine (7)
Weeks in Top 10 – 4 drivers (11)
Etc:
Bodine’s 20th-place finish at The Milwaukee Mile was his worst since last Sept. 22 at New Hampshire International Speedway. It ended a 20-race run of lead lap finishes and cut Bodine’s standings lead to 126 points over David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota), who logged a series-leading ninth top-10 performance. Reutimann, meanwhile, was 10th in Saturday’s AT&T 250 to post his third consecutive Busch Series top-10 finishBenson moved up a spot in the standings to third place, four points behind Reutimann. That’s the highest he’s ever rankedJack Sprague’s (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota) fourth-place Milwaukee finish was his 120th top-five finish, which extends the series recordAlthough Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE Toyota) failed to finish among the top five for the first time in six Milwaukee appearances, the 24th-place effort was enough to push his career winnings to $4,006,059. He becomes the third driver to win $4 million or more behind Sprague and Dennis Setzer (#85 FlexFuel E85 Chevrolet)Last year’s finish in which Bodine edged Kluever by .387 second was the closest series margin at Kansas SpeedwayThe 2002 O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 saw the fewest lead changes – 10. The most changes are 14, most recently in 2004This year’s race will produce the series’ 100th different starter at Kansas Speedway. Ninety-three drivers have competed for more than $2.3 million.
On the right track:
Cook, Crawford head Kansas statistical tableFive competitors – Cook, Crawford, Musgrave, Setzer and Matt Crafton (#88 Menards/Energizer Chevrolet) – have competed in all five series races at Kansas Speedway. The quintet has accounted for 13 top-10 finishes. Cook has completed the most laps/miles with 821/1,231.5 of a possible 838/1,257. Crawford is the track’s lap leader with 128/192. Setzer is the leading money winner with $100,545.
In the loop:
Johnny Benson’s climb to third in the standings is mirrored in season-to-date Loop Data. That’s where Benson ranks with a Driver Rating of 104.8 (of 150.0) behind Todd Bodine (113.3) and Reutimann (107.3). Benson is #1 in Time Trailing at the Finish. His deficit of 30.012 seconds is more than nine seconds less than Reutimann’s 49.331.
Terry Cook’s dash from 20th at the start to a final finish of seventh can be seen in the number of Quality Passes the veteran competitor posted in last year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250. Cook had 38 passes of a top-15 truck during green flag conditions – two more than the 36 of Brandon Whitt.
No surprise: winner Bodine had the best Driver Rating of 145.6. Bill Davis Racing teammates Mike Skinner (fourth) and Bill Lester (fifth) were third in the category with identical ratings of 115.0.
From the archives:
This week’s race marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of a phenomenal, eight-victory run by Todd Bodine and his Germain Motorsports team headed by general manager Mike Hillman and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. Bodine left the team at the conclusion of the 2004 season, in which he won twice. His Kansas win came in the reunified team’s second race. Bodine won four more times in 2005 and counts three victories this season.
Fast Facts:
What: O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Race 12 of 25)
Where: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS
When: 3:15 pm/et
Track layout: 1.5-mile paved speedway
Race length: 250.5 miles/167 laps
Posted awards: $602,231
TV: SPEED Channel, 3 pm/et
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Todd Bodine
2005 polesitter: Bill Lester
Top 10 drivers: 1.Todd Bodine 1,758. 2. David Reutimann 1,632. 3. Johnny Benson 1,628. 4. Ted Musgrave 1,560. 5. Jack Sprague 1,502. 6. Mike Bliss 1,483. 7. Dennis Setzer 1,463. 8. Rick Crawford 1,461. 9. David Starr 1,458. 10. Ron Hornaday Jr. 1,433.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday-Practice 9:40 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. Rookie Practice 12 noon – 12:30 p.m. Final Practice 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Qualifying 5:00 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(NASCAR PR)(6-26-2006)
