A solid finish coupled with the championship leader’s bad luck has put Johnny Benson (#23 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota) closer to Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) than any challenger since June 1. Just 79 points separate the pair heading into Saturday’s EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. For Benson, a four-time winner in 2006, that’s the good news. The former Busch Series champion, however, is going to have to overhaul Bodine on tracks on which the latter has excelled. Bodine no doubt welcomes the championship being decided on 1.5-mile speedways. Three of the four final races – Atlanta, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway – are 1.5-mile configurations. Bodine counts seven 1.5-mile victories including two in 2006. He won in Atlanta in March, edging Mark Martin (#6 Scotts Ford), and heads to Texas on Nov. 3 pursuing a third consecutive victory. Bodine is the defending winner at both Phoenix and Homestead – tracks that completed a three-win streak that closed out the 2005 season and elevated Bodine’s team to third in the championship.
Express Route To NASCAR’s Premier Division Isn’t UnprecedentedTwo current Craftsman Truck Series competitors – David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota), the series’ 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year and David Ragan (#50 Roush Racing Ford) – will go directly to the Nextel Cup Series in 2007. The move is a big one but not unprecedented. Kurt Busch, the 2004 Nextel Cup champion, spent a single season in trucks winning four times. Needless to say, owner Jack Roush gave him a battlefield promotion. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), the series’ 1995 champion, received his promotion in 1997. He won the Budweiser Pole for the Daytona 500 in his first appearance for the Richard Childress Racing. Skinner says there’s no need to wait – if the opportunity is right. “The trucks continue to be a great starting place,” said Skinner. “If you can surround yourself with good people and are able to get into good equipment, moving up to Cup is an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up.”
News & Notes – Part II:
Sprague wins in ‘lucky 13th’…Add another champion to the list of winners at Martinsville Speedway. Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota), led 95 laps in winning the Oct. 21 Kroger 200 after 12 unsuccessful attempts to crack the .526-mile track’s Victory Lane. Sprague is one of only three champions to win on the Virginia short track – a series staple since 1995. He’s also the first driver in series history to lead 6,000 laps. Sprague’s total stands at 6,085. Air goes out of Bodine’s day…While challenger Benson was racing to a solid, fifth-place finish, championship leader Bodine was forced to pit to change a cut tire at mid-race. The latter gave up a probable top-five and wound up 14th. Nextel Cup drivers in the house at AMS … Martin has unfinished business after losing March’s race by a split second. Other campaigners from NASCAR’s premier division also will compete in the EasyCare Vehicle Service 200. Jeremy Mayfield will be at the helm of the #15 Quest Global Chevy that carried Kyle Busch to victory a year ago. Derrike Cope (#40 Key Motorsports Chevy) and Joe Nemechek (#46 Silverado Chevy) will reprise their Talladega drives. EasyCare 200 has international flavor… three foreign-born drivers are due to belt up for this week’s race headed by Australia’s Marcos Ambrose (#20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford), who is locked in a tight battle for the #2 position among Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates. Michel Jourdain Jr. returns to Roush Racing’s #50 Ford. Completing the international trio is John Mickel (#07 Dudman Group/DSI Group Chevy), a native of Cambridge, England in the United Kingdom.
This Week’s Truck Series Leaders: (through 21 races of the 25-race season)
Points leader – Todd Bodine (3,197)
Winnings – Todd Bodine ($555,740)
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 (12)
Top-10 finishes – Johnny Benson (16)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (52 over Chad McCumbee)
Races led – Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner (10)
Etc:
Bodine has occupied the #1 position in series standings for a record-extending 17 consecutive weeks. The number matches Sprague (1998) for #2 among times having led the championship in a season. If Bodine continues as the leader following this week’s race, he’ll tie Ron Hornaday Jr’s (#33 AES HR Solutions Chevy) record set in 1996…Sprague was the fourth driver in five races to win from the Budweiser Pole. He’s only the second to win from the pole in a series race at Martinsville. Rich Bickle was the first in 1997. The pole was Sprague’s 29th, one fewer than category record holder Skinner…The total margin of victory in four series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway is .920 second…A victory in Atlanta will clinch the 2006 manufacturer championship for Toyota.
On The Right Track:
Three have completed every Atlanta lap…Three competitors have run all 533 possible laps/799.5 miles in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events held at Atlanta Motor Speedway. They are Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE Toyota) and Dennis Setzer (#85 E85 FlexFuel Chevy). Skinner is the all-time laps/miles leader at AMS with 117 laps/180.18miles. Skinner and Bodine are the only drivers to lead three different races – Bodine the most recent three.
In the Loop:
Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson are co-joined at Atlanta Motor Speedway in several key Scoring Loop categories. Bodine’s average finish is 5.0 vs. Benson’s 5.7. Bodine is fractionally better in average running position – 6.118 vs. 6.208. Bodine and Benson boast the best Driver Rating among competitors running the most recent three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bodine comes in with a rating of 115.8 vs. Benson’s 112.3. Mark Martin claimed the highest Driver Rating in March’s John Deere 200 – 144.5 – despite finishing second to Bodine. In March, Martin’s Ford was fastest in turns 1, 2 and 3 with a fastest speed among all drivers of 185.311 mph in Turn 3.
Manufacturers’ Championship; 2006 Point Standings Following Round 21 at Martinsville Speedway:
Toyota, 150
Ford, 135
Chevy, 102
Dodge, 73
Chevy won both Atlanta races in 2005. A Dodge was the inaugural race winner. Toyota won in March.
From The Archives:
Atlanta Motor Speedway has a history of close finishes, the first coming in the 2004 EasyCare Vehicle Service 200 when winner Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner exchanged the lead twice on the final lap. Those tight endings have sent Atlanta’s races into “overtime” on three of four occasions, most recently in March when Todd Bodine denied Mark Martin a record-matching third consecutive victory.
Fast Facts:
The Race: EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Oct. 28, 2006
The Time: 5:05 pm/et
Race Distance: 200 miles (130 laps)
TV: SPEED, 4:45 pm/et
Track Layout: 1.54-mile banked paved oval
Race Purse: $528,620
2005 Winner: Kyle Busch 2005
Pole: Mike Skinner
Schedule: Friday – Practice, 12:15 p.m. – 1:25 p.m., 1:40 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. and 2:25 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.; Saturday – Qualifying, 1:15 p.m. (NASCAR PR)(10-23-2006)
