The 2005 season has not been kind to Bobby Hamilton Jr. (#18 Fastenal Dodge) or Bobby Hamilton Racing. This was supposed to be a season of redemption for the 28-year-old, second generation driver whose disappointing foray into Cup competition ended last November. Hamilton began the year with a seventh-place finish at Daytona and three top 10s in the team’s first five races. Shortly after the season began, his father, 2004 Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. The younger Hamilton was tapped to finish the season his father’s ride, but so far, the results haven’t been what anyone might have anticipated. Hamilton hasn’t finished higher than 15th in his 10 most recent starts. Since late April, BHR, which has fielded up to three trucks in each event, has recorded just one top-five finish – Bobby Labonte’s third-place performance in a substitute role at Michigan International Speedway. Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200, a hometown race for the Mt. Juliet-based team at nearby Nashville Superspeedway, is a welcome turn of the schedule. The elder Hamilton won the race in 2004 – after his son grabbed the Budweiser Pole. The pair fought for the victory throughout, trading the lead a number of times. Race week also allows Nashville fans to visit the Bobby Hamilton Racing shops, a celebration that’s grown exponentially from a low-key autograph signing a few years ago. This is the first time anyone other than the track’s season ticket holders has been invited. There is a $5 cover charge with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
News & Notes Part II:
Bodine extends lead, but rest of top 10 fluctuatesA seventh-place finish in last week’s Power Stroke Diesel 200 allowed Todd Bodine (# 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) to boost his standings lead to 182 points over Johnny Benson (# 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota). That margin might appear comfortable until one recalls that last year’s post-Indianapolis leader Dennis Setzer (# 85 FlexFuel E 85 Chevrolet) was up by 227 points and finished second in the title race. Bodine’s pursuers remain tightly bunched with only 120 points between second and ninth places. Memphis winner Jack Sprague (# 60 Con-way Freight Toyota) dropped from seventh to 11th following a finish of 28th.
Active Drivers with Victories in Consecutive Seasons:
1. Dennis Setzer 8, 1998-2005
2. Ron Hornaday Jr. 6, 1995-1999, 2001*
& Jack Sprague 6, 1996-2001
4. Mike Bliss 5, 1995-1999
& Ted Musgrave 5, 2001-2005
6. Rick Crawford 4, 2003-2006
* Did not compete in 2000
Crawford adds to consecutive win totalRick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) became the 10th different winner at O’Reilly Raceway Park on Aug. 4 and moved to sixth among active drivers with victories in four consecutive seasons. The irony is that four winless seasons followed Crawford’s initial triumph in 1998 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dennis Setzer (# 85 FlexFuel E85 Chevrolet) is the career leader in the category. Setzer has won in every year since 1998 – an eight-season streak he hopes to extend during this year’s final 10 races.
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leadersthrough 15 races of the 25-race season:
Points leader – Todd Bodine (2,307)
Money won – Todd Bodine ($452,160)
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 – Todd Bodine, David Reutimann (11)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (32 over Chad McCumbee)
Races led – Todd Bodine (8)
Weeks in Top 10 – 3 drivers (15)
Toyota on a roll in TennesseeIn addition to leading NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series manufacturer standings – 102 to 97 over Ford – Toyota is four-for-four in Tennessee wins since Brandon Whitt’s July 2005 victory at Memphis Motorsports Park. David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota) will defend this week at Nashville Superspeedway. Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) won last year’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway with Sprague the winner last month in Memphis. That’s four different drivers and four teams.
Etc:
Benson is poised to become the series’ 33rd different $1 million career winner when he takes the green flag in Nashville. Benson will be the ninth competitor to win $1 million in each of NASCAR’s three national series. Sprague can become the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck driver to win $6 million in a career by finishing third or higher in this week’s race. Sprague’s series-leading money totals $5,982,645Nashville Superspeedway is the second of three concrete-surfaced tracks on this year’s schedule. Mark Martin (#6 Scotts Ford), who isn’t entered in Nashvillewon at Dover International Speedway in early June. The schedule’s next event – at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 23 – also is run on concrete. Drivers who have won on concrete and one expected to compete are Reutimann, Skinner, Sprague, Mike Bliss (#16 Xpress Motorsports Chevrolet), Chad Chaffin (#59 Eaton Corporation Ford), Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet) and Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE Toyota). Hornaday is the only double winner with both victories scored at BristolThe Toyota Tundra 200 twice has been won from the pole – Scott Riggs in 2001 and Bliss the following year. Bobby Hamilton started 16th in 2004, deepest in the field by a race winnerSammy Sanders, a Bobby Hamilton Racing employee, will make his first start of the season in the # 04 Dodge with sponsorship from Camp Courageous, a medical camping facility under construction in Scottsville, Ky. When open in 2008, Camp Courageous will provide free, year-round camping sessions for children battling life threatening illnesses from Kentucky, Tennessee and surrounding area.
On the right track:
Musgrave solid at Nashville Musgrave has five finishes of second or third at Nashville Superspeedway including last year’s runner-up performance. Ironically, the 2005 race marked the first time the defending series champion has failed to lead a lap. “I’m not sure if it’s because of the concrete surface or if it’s something else,” Musgrave said.
In the loop:
Mike Skinner finished fourth in last year’s Toyota Tundra 200 but wound up with the highest Driver Rating – 140.3 – of the race. He out-rated winner David Reutimann, whose performance rated at 138.2. Seven drivers posted Driver Ratings of 100 or higher on a scale of 150.Reutimann and Skinner led a combined seven times and here’s why. The pair combined for the 14 fastest laps of the race – Skinner with eight and Reutimann with six. Looking at speed in traffic, Toyota drivers posted four of the five fastest laps with Skinner topping the charts at 153.639 mph. Brendan Gaughan’s Dodge, at 152.970, was fourth and the only non Toyota among the five. Half of Reutimann’s Quality Passes – seven of 14 – came on the backstretch. Bodine was the #1 driver when it came to holding position. He went 24 consecutive laps without being passed.
From the archives:
There have been 10 races run in Music City since the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ debut at the then-Nashville Speedway USA in 1996. There have been no repeat winners. Four Nashville winners are expected to compete this week: Jack Sprague (USA, 1997), Dennis Setzer (USA, 1999), Mike Bliss (Speedway, 2002) and defending Toyota Tundra 200 winner David Reutimann.
Fast Facts:
What: Toyota Tundra 200 (Race 16 of 25)
Where: Nashville Superspeedway
When: 5:15 p.m. ET, Aug. 12
Track layout: .1.333-mile banked concrete oval
Race length: 200 miles/150 laps
Posted awards: $458,186
TV: SPEED Channel, 4:30 pm/et
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: David Reutimann
2005 polesitter: Mike Skinner
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday-Practice 2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Rookie Practice 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. Final Practice 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. Saturday – Qualifying 12 noon. Trucks impounded after qualifying(8-7-2006).
