Trucks, Talladega Superspeedway A Perfect Match: They came, they saw and while it’s open to question whether any competitor would admit he or she conquered, all nonetheless gave high marks to Talladega Superspeedway and the Craftsman Truck Series’ inaugural John Deere 250. So did a crowd estimated at 80,000 which saw Mark Martin (#6 Scotts Ford) become the first competitor to win in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series at the mammoth, 2.66-mile speedway. The racing Oct. 7 frequently was four wide and 30 deep and among the cleanest but most competitive of the season. It took nearly 12 years but the obvious answer is that the Craftsman Truck Series and Talladega are perfect matches.
Kroger 200 Last Chance For 2006 Short-Track Victory: With the majority of competitors having short track roots, it’s always nice to revisit the past with a victory on one of NASCAR’s “bullrings.” Craftsman Truck teams will have the sixth and final chance to make that connection in the Oct. 21 Kroger 200 at .526-mile Martinsville Speedway. Winning a short track race isn’t easy – or repeatable. Only Setzer has two wins at Martinsville. The track’s roster of winners totals 14 but only two of them, Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), are Craftsman Truck Series champions. No champion has won at the southern Virginia track in his title season. So far in 2006, it’s been five races and five faces. David Starr (#11 Red Horse Racing Toyota) captured Martinsville’s Kroger 250. Other short track winners are Hornaday, Martin, Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota) and Rick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford). The series has had seven consecutive different short track winners dating to Richmond in September 2005. Skinner is the only back-to-back winner since 2003.
News & Notes Part II:
Northern Tool + Equipment Joins SeriesErik Darnell, this season’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader, will carry new sponsorship on his #99 Roush Racing Ford for the remainder of the season and in 2007. Northern’s president Chuck Albrecht (center below) joined Darnell and team owner Jack Roush in making the announcement during the Talladega weekend. Martin Eighth To Win Five Or MoreMartin is the eighth series driver to win at least five times in a season and fifth in the last six seasons. The record is nine by Greg Biffle in 1999. Bodine’s Lead Expands A fourth-place finish in the John Deere 250 boosted Todd Bodine’s (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) title lead to 113 points over Johnny Benson (#23 Exide Batteries Toyota). The margin is third largest with five races remaining.
This Week’s Truck Series Leaders; through 20 races of the 25-race season:
Points leader – Todd Bodine (3,076)
Winnings – Todd Bodine ($546,650)
Laps led – Mark Martin (522)
Miles led – Mike Skinner (758.168)
Victories – Mark Martin (5)
Budweiser Poles – Mike Skinner (6)
Top-five finishes – Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine (11)
Top-10 finishes – Johnny Benson, David Reutimann, Todd Bodine (15)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (41 over Chad McCumbee)
Races led – Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner (10)
Weeks in Top 10 – 3 drivers (20)
Etc:
The Drive for Diversity program will be holding its fourth annual Driver Testing and Evaluation Combine on Oct. 16-17 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. Twenty up-and-coming drivers from throughout the United States have been invited to the combine to showcase their skills for established team owners. The drivers will complete a series of on-track and off-track activities in hopes of being selected for one of the eight available positionsIn 2007, eight Drive for Diversity teams will compete in either the NASCAR Grand National Division – which includes the Busch East and AutoZone West Series – or the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series.(10-9-2006)
