For David Starr, whose #11 Red Horse Racing Toyota team comes to Memphis Motorsports Park as the defending winner of Saturday’s O’Reilly 200, there is no special pressure to perform. According to Starr, this week is no different than any other. Last year’s win – the first for the team and then-driver Brandon Whitt – wasn’t exactly an upset, although it seemed that way when Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet) spun from the lead in the final turn and handed Whitt the victory. Whitt started from the Budweiser Pole and led twice before positioning himself to take advantage of Hornaday’s misfortune, triggered by a smoke from a spinning truck. That said, Starr and his team figure to have an advantage this week despite the driver change and a different truck and tire compound. He’ll be gunning for series win #5 and to improve on a season in which he’s ranked seventh in the standings with six of 12 finishes among the top 10. He’s hoping the Memphis event will jump-start a season in which the team has been better than most – but not as good as some.
News & Notes, Part II:
Most Seasons With Multiple Victories; driver, multiple season wins:
Ron Hornaday Jr., 6; Jack Sprague, 6
Ted Musgrave , 4; Joe Ruttman, 4; Dennis Setzer, 4
Hornaday’s victory in last week’s Built Ford Tough 225 was his second of the season. Hornaday won earlier at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. The victory enabled Hornaday to match longtime rival Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota) for most Truck seasons with multiple wins. Both drivers have won multiple times in six different seasons. Sprague’s last multiple victory season was 2001 when four wins contributed to his third Truck championship. Hornaday’s most recent multiple win year was 1999 – his final year driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Three drivers – Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE Toyota), Joe Ruttman and Dennis Setzer (#85 FlexFuel E85 Chevy) – have multiple wins in four different seasons.
Kentucky Speedway’s race represented the mid-point of the 2006 season. Twelve races remain, including the series’ inaugural visit to Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 7.
Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) completed his ninth-consecutive race as the standings leader. He holds a 112-point lead over Johnny Benson (#23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota). The latter driver, who finished fourth in Kentucky, bypassed previous runner-up David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota). Bodine’s largest lead so far was 178 points (over Reutimann) following Race #10 at Michigan International Speedway. While Bodine’s lead appears comfortable, history suggests that mid-year domination doesn’t always last. In fact, the mid-year leader has won the title just three times in 11 seasons. The last mid-year leader/champion was Greg Biffle in 2000. Hornaday (1996) and Sprague (1999) are the other mid-year leaders to win titles. Seven different drivers have won races so far this season, with Bodine and Mark Martin (#6 Scotts Ford) the leaders with three victories each. Benson is the only first-time winner so far.
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leadersthrough 13 races of the 25-race season:
Points leader – Todd Bodine (2,043)
Money won – Todd Bodine ($428,570)
Laps led – Mark Martin (321)
Miles led – Mark Martin (532.46)
Victories – Todd Bodine, Mark Martin (3)
Budweiser Poles -Mike Skinner (4)
Top-five finishes – Todd Bodine (8)
Top-10 finishes – 3 drivers
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (16 over Chad McCumbee)
Races led – Todd Bodine (8)
Weeks in Top 10 – 4 drivers (13)
Etc:
Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell (#07 Green Light Racing Chevy) will make his second appearance of the season this week in Memphis. Greenwell finished 26th at MansfieldMarcos Ambrose (#20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford) became the first foreign-born driver to win a Budweiser Pole since Canadian Ron Fellows when he posted a fast lap of 176.922 mph at Kentucky Speedway. Fellows’ last pole came in 1999 at Watkins Glen International. History was made on lap 13 when Ambrose and Mexico’s Michel Jourdain Jr. (#50 Roush Racing Ford) became the first non-Americans to run one-two in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series raceTerry Cook (#10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) matched the series record for consecutive starts at Kentucky with his 210th straight race.At Kentucky, Reutimann became the series’ 32nd $1 million career winner. His total is $1,011,232Kevin Grubb, who has replaced Kyle Krisiloff in Billy Ballew Motorsports’ #15 Chevy, finished 21st in Kentucky. Grubb hadn’t competed in the series since mid-1997.
On the right track:
Setzer pretty much perfect at Memphis Motorsports ParkSetzer has competed in seven of eight series races held at the .75-mile track. He won in 2001 and hasn’t finished worse than fifth, boasting a finishing average of 3.6. Setzer has completed all 1,402 laps of those seven races and led three consecutive races between 2001 and 2003. Four Memphis winners in O’Reilly 200 fieldSetzer is joined in the lineup this week by Memphis winners Hornaday (1998), Sprague (2000) and Musgrave (2003). Musgrave is the lap leader among active drivers with 160 laps led six times up front. Musgrave was working three consecutive top-five finishes until being derailed by last year’s 26th-place finish.
In the loop:
Ron Hornaday Jr. didn’t win last year’s race – he finished 21st – but Loop Data demonstrates how dominant the two-time champion had been. Hornaday recorded four of the night’s five fastest laps, recorded the third highest speed in traffic (111.683), led the field in Quality Passes (26) and posted the second highest Average Running Position (3.842). If you’re looking for additional favorites, consider that Rick Crawford ran the fastest lap speed late in a run (112.606) and runner-up David Reutimann boasts the highest Driver Rating of a returning driver (130.9). As for Passing Zones, winner Brandon Whitt executed 85 percent of his passes – 18 of 21 – either on the track’s front or back stretches.
Fast Facts:
What: O’Reilly 200 (Race 14 of 25)
Where: Memphis Motorsports Park, Millington, Tenn
When: 9:15 p.m. ET, July 15
Track layout: .75-mile paved oval
Race length: 200 laps /150 miles
Posted awards: $547,652
TV: SPEED Channel, 9 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Brandon Whitt
2005 polesitter: Brandon Whitt
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday-Practice 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Rookie Practice 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Final Practice 7:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. Saturday – Qualifying 5 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(NASCAR PR)(7-14-2006)
