Craftsman Truck teams are hoping #13 is their personal lucky number as Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder continues this week at Daytona International Speedway. Three days of tests – beginning Friday and ending Sunday – will give crews a barometer for the 2007 season that begins with the Feb. 16 Chevrolet Silverado HD 250 at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. The coming campaign will be the 13th for the series – and the eighth to begin on the Daytona high.
As many as six former champions owning a combined nine titles will compete for the crown in 2007 including defending champion Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota). The Germain Racing stable also includes 2005 champion Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota). The Bodine-Musgrave combination marks the first time two series champions have started a season as teammates. Three former champions who finished among the top 10 in 2006 – Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota), Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 AES HR Solutions Chevy) and Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) – also are contenders this season. The 2003 champion Travis Kvapil, a Nextel Cup Series competitor in 2005-06, rejoins the series as the driver of Jack Roush’s #6 Ford – a truck in which Mark Martin won six times including the Daytona season opener.
More than 40 drivers are expected to participate in the weekend’s activities including a number of series newcomers. Among that group is Tim Sauter (#07 Lester Building Systems Chevrolet), a NASCAR Busch Series veteran. He’ll partner sophomore Chad McCumbee (#08 GPS Store/Garmin Chevrolet) at Green Light Racing. McCumbee finished second in last year’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition behind Erik Darnell (#99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford). Darnell is paired with Kvapil at Roush Racing.(NASCAR PR)(1-11-2007)
