News & Notes Part II:
Setting the Field: After Martinsville, Top 30 in 2006 Owner Points Locked In … After Saturday’s race, the teams ranked in the top 30 of the current 2006 truck owner standings will be guaranteed starting positions each week. Heading into Martinsville, the # 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet owned by Duke Thorson and driven by Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Kerry Earnhardt is ranked 30th in truck owner point standings. Darrell Waltrip’s # 12 Curb Records Toyota, driven by freshman Joey Miller, is 31st. Other teams vying to come out of Martinsville with their top 30 rankings intact include James Smith’s # 98 Cheerios Betty Crocker Dodge driven by Erin Crocker (29th in owner points) and the # 1 winyourmortgage.com Dodge of James Smith and driver Robert Richardson (28th). The battle to remain in – or advance into – the top 30 will be extremely competitive. The 28th through 33rd ranked teams are separated by just 21 points in the truck owner standings.
2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Truck Owner Point Standings Snapshot:
27. Ed Sutton, # 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet (Driver Kelly Sutton), 255
28. James Smith, # 1 winyourmortgage.com Dodge (Driver Robert Richardson*), 249
29. James Smith, # 98 Cheerios Betty Crocker Dodge (Driver Erin Crocker*), 249
30. Duke Thorson, # 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet (Driver Kerry Earnhardt*), 246
———————-
31. Darrell Waltrip, # 12 Curb Records Toyota (Driver Joey Miller*), 243
32. Gene Christensen, # 07 Green Light Racing Chevrolet (Driver Clint Bowyer), 228
33. James Harris, # 59 Harris Trucking Dodge/Ford (Driver Steve Park), 228
34. Curtis Key, # 40 Russell E. Garwood Chevrolet (Driver Chad Chaffin), 215
* denotes Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender

He’s not the only one with busted ‘brackets’ … Brendan Gaughan (# 77 The Orleans Dodge) was disappointed on two counts as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament winds up this weekend. Gaughan, a former Georgetown University player, saw his Hoya team lose its Sweet 16 game last week to Florida 57-53. And none of his Final Four picks will make it to Indianapolis either. Always the optimist, Gaughan sees one silver lining in the otherwise dark cloud. “If the Hoyas made it to the championship games, the Martinsville race may have had to wait,” Gaughan said. Martinsville’s Kroger 250 is record-matching race … Saturday’s Kroger 250 marks the 15th time the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has competed at the historic, .526-mile paved oval, which equals the record for the most events at a single track (Texas and Phoenix). Martinsville, whose first race was held Sept. 25, 1995, is one of four tracks to schedule a series race in all 12 seasons. The other facilities are Indianapolis Raceway Park, The Milwaukee Mile and Phoenix International Raceway. Martinsville has seen only one repeat winner in 12 races. Dennis Setzer (# 85 GM FlexFuel E85 Silverado Chevrolet) won the Kroger 250 back-to-back in 2002-03. Mike Skinner (# 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and Rick Crawford (# 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) are the only other Martinsville winners expected to compete in this year’s race. ETC. Bill and Cheryl Lester (# 23 Checkers/Rally’s Toyota) anticipate the arrival this week of the couple’s second son Austin Richard. … The recent John Deere 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway garnered a 1.0 rating – with 920,000 viewers – placing the race among SPEED’s top five, highest-rated, non-Daytona broadcasts. SPEED’s rating for the event increased 11 percent over 2005 according to Nielsen Media Research. … Mark Martin (# 6 Scotts Ford) goes for win # 3 of 2006 at Martinsville this week. No driver has started the season with three victories in his first four starts. … Two competitors hope to make their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts this week. Marcos Ambrose (# 20 Wood Bros./JTG Ford) would be the first native Australian to compete in the series. Justin Martz (# 63 Dave Porter Truck Sales Ford) is the son of former Montana governor Judy Martz and is a graduate of NASCAR’s Dodge Weekly Series and AutoZone Elite Division.
This week’s race is the first of six scheduled on tracks measuring less than one mile in length. Setzer (Indianapolis) and Skinner (Bristol Motor Speedway) are last year’s only short track winners entered at Martinsville. … Thirteen Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders are entered in the Kroger 250. None has completed a lap on the track in NASCAR Craftsman Truck competition. There have been no rookie winners with Travis Kvapil (2001) and Carl Edwards (2003) logging runnerup finishes. … Martinsville races have been won from the front row five times but only once from the Bud Pole – by Rich Bickle in 1997. … Lance Hooper has rejoined ThorSport Racing as crew chief for Earnhardt’s Chevrolet. Hooper was previously crew chief at ThorSport in 2004, and most recently held the position with Key Motorsports’ Chevrolet driven by Chaffin. … Bobby Hamilton Jr. (# 18 Fastenal Dodge) is among four drivers who will participate in a Goodyear tire test Wednesday at the repaved Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which the series visits May 19.

On the right track:
Bodine solid performer in his own backyard … Martinsville Speedway isn’t far – about 45 minutes – from Rocky Mount, Va. where Todd Bodine (# 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) went to high school so it’s fitting the 42-year-old New York native is among the most consistent performers at the track. Bodine counts four top-10 finishes in four appearances with a high of fourth in last year’s Kroger 250. Bodine won a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole at Martinsville in 2001.

In the loop:
Dennis Setzer posted two of the three fastest laps the series recorded at Martinsville in 2005. His 94.686 mph was quickest of all. … Bodine led last year’s Driver Rating at Martinsville Speedway with a 121.6 out of a possible 150 among entered competitors. … Bodine and Setzer were tops in Consecutive Laps Run Without Being Passed, with 18. … Last year’s Kroger 250 winner Bobby Labonte executed 42.9 percent of his passes – six of 14 – in Turn 2. … Ron Hornaday Jr. (# 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet) was Martinsville Speedway’s leader in Quality Passes (a top-15 truck under green flag conditions) with 49 – 12 more than the category’s runnerup Ted Musgrave (# 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota)

From the archives:
Four teams – Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Roush Racing and Ultra Motorsports – have won Martinsville Speedway events with multiple drivers. David Dollar’s Morgan-Dollar Motorsports is the outright owner leader at the Southern Virginia track with three victories-two by Dennis Setzer and one by Bobby Labonte.(3-27-2006)

Fast Facts;
What: Kroger 250 (Race 4 of 25)
Where: Martinsville Speedway
When: 3:15 p.m. Saturday, April 1
Track layout: .526-mile paved oval
Race length: 250 laps/131.5 miles
Posted awards: $485,445
TV: SPEED Channel, 3:15 pm/et
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Bobby Labonte
2005 polesitter: Bobby Hamilton

Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – practice 1:45-2:45 p.m. rookie practice 3 – 3:30 p.m. final practice 5:15 p.m., time approximate following NNCS qualifying. Saturday – Qualifying 12:05 p.m. trucks impounded after qualifying.(3-27-2006)

News & Notes Part II:
Hamilton bows out to treat illness … 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Bobby Hamilton (# 18 Fastenal Dodge) announced Friday that his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr. (# 08 Corky’s Ribs & BBQ Dodge), will take over his ride for the remainder of the season as the 47-year-old Nashville native begins therapy to treat neck cancer diagnosed earlier this year. Hamilton hopes to return to competition in the Nov. 17 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He finished 14th in the John Deere 200. “I’m still the owner so I plan on being there to see it all happen,” said Hamilton.

Etc:
Lumber Liquidators has signed to sponsor Bodine’s team for the remainder of the 2006 season. Headquartered in Toano, Va., the company is the largest direct retailer in the United States and specializes in hardwood flooring. The company has one of the largest inventories of pre-finished and unfinished hardwood flooring in the industry. … Chad Chaffin, who failed to qualify his # 40 Russell E. Garwood Chevrolet, finished 21st in the # 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet after regular driver Kelly Sutton withdrew due to a leg injury suffered in practice. … Former University of Michigan and Green Bay Packers football player Julius Curry will partner with Montgomery Racing to field the # 8 Dodge in 10 races for driver Chase Montgomery. … Three of 12 Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders logged top-20 finishes in Atlanta. Kyle Krisiloff’s (# 15 ditech.com/National Land Liquidators/Krud Kutter Chevrolet) 16th place was the freshman’s best career finish. Bobby East qualified his # 20 State Fair Corn Dogs Ford fifth – the first Raybestos candidate to log a top-five start in 2006. … Atlanta’s green-white-checker finish marked the 59th time in 270 races that a NASCAR Craftsman Truck event has gone into overtime. It marks the second time three consecutive races have gone beyond their scheduled distance joining last year’s trio of events at Kansas and Kentucky speedways and Memphis Motorsports Park. … Bodine won his first series Bud Pole in Atlanta with a non-record lap of 181.360.

In the Loop:
A four-wide pass in heavy traffic gave Bodine his first victory of 2006 and effectively ended Martin’s bid for three consecutive victories. Loop data showed Bodine to be the fastest driver of the night in traffic with a lap speed of 176.284 mph. Martin, conversely, ranked fourth at 175.697. … Forty-five percent of Bodine’s passes came in turns two or three. … Joey Miller (# 12 Curb Records Toyota) and Mike Skinner (# 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) bowed out in the same accident finishing 36th and 35th. The irony is the pair ranked one-two in fastest laps recorded at 182.183 and 182.009. … Mike Bliss (# 16 Xpress Motorsports Chevrolet) finished seventh for the second consecutive race and led the field in quality passes with 37.(3-20-2006)

1st Chevy, #16-Mike Bliss (7th)
1st Dodge, #77-Brendan Gaughan (13th)
1st Rookie, #99-Erik Darnell (8th)

Race Awards:
Bud Pole Award; #30-Todd Bodine (181.360)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race; #99-Erik Darnell
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award; #88-Matt Crafton
Mobil 1 Oil Command Performance Driver of the Race; #30-Todd Bodine
Wix Filters Lap leader Award; #30-Todd Bodine
Sunoco Diamond Performance Award; #30-Todd Bodine
Checkers/Ralley’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge; #17-David Reutimann

For complete results see:
(Truckseries.com)
(motorsportsone.com)
(NASCAR.com)(official)(3-20-2006)

See full standings at:
(Truckseries.com
(motorsportsone.com)
(nascar.com)

Veteran Kelly Sutton (# 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet) and Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Erin Crocker (# 98 Cheerios Betty Crocker Dodge) will push the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to a very special century mark this week. Friday’s John Deere 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in which both will participate, marks the 100th time, and 55th consecutive race, in which one or more female drivers have competed. Only one other series has had greater female participation. The NASCAR Busch Series has logged 237 races with a female driver in its 24-plus seasons of 737 races. Sutton, who’ll start her 42nd event, is in her third full season with the series. Her October 2003 start at Phoenix International Raceway marked the beginning of the series’ current, 54-race female driver streak. The 34-year-old Crownsville, Md. driver has the most starts by a female driver and most money won ($350,831). The high point of her NASCAR Craftsman Truck career came in 2005 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where she finished 15th. “I’ve never viewed myself as a pioneer for women’s racing because so many talented women have already fulfilled that role,” said Sutton. “What I can do is build off their collective legacy to prove that women can be talented drivers and a crucial component for the future of NASCAR.” Sutton admittedly has struggled with a team owned by her father Ed Sutton. “We have a great team but we realize our jobs are made much more difficult due to the limited resources we have in comparison to those of larger teams,” she said. The team has made significant progress in 2006 with the addition of veteran crew chief Gary Showalter. Sutton reached 12th place in the lead draft in the late stages of the season opener at Daytona International Speedway before being sidelined by engine failure. “Describing the ups and downs of my career is a simple task,” said Sutton. “The most important positive came this past off-season when we hired Gary and most the most notable negative is that we didn’t hire him sooner.”

Crocker, the first female driver to win a World of Outlaws sprint car race, is the first female to drive in the series for a Nextel Cup Series-affiliated team. The Wilbraham, Mass. native, who’ll celebrate her 25th birthday on March 23, was tapped as a development driver by Ray Evernham. She comes to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with a solid resume in the ARCA RE/MAX Series where she finished in the top five four times and top 10 five times in six appearances for Evernham. Her quick success in a stock car was both positive and negative.”I think being a female definitely adds more pressure,” said Crocker, who finished 27th at Daytona and California. “You are kind of under a microscope. You know if you start wrecking, people definitely take notice right away. The opposite works if you start doing really well. It gets noticed right away. There are definitely a lot of opportunities for women right now.” Crocker recognizes the difficulty of finding Victory Lane in NASCAR but she is undaunted. “It certainly is steep,” she said. “Back when I ran the World of Outlaws, it was steep (too) and I was able to accomplish it in my first year. I know there is a lot for me to learn and as a team we have a lot to improve and grow on but it is possible. “If I didn’t think it was possible I wouldn’t be trying.”
Sutton and Crocker are pursuing a pair of records held by Tammy Jo Kirk, whose finish of 11th at Heartland Park Topeka and start of third at Portland Speedway, both in 1997, are tops for a female driver in the Truck Series.

News & Notes Part II: Cook reaches milestone in Atlanta … Friday’s race marks the 200th consecutive start for Terry Cook (# 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford). He’s the second competitor to reach that milestone and is on track to break Rick Crawford’s (# 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) 209-race record on July 8 at Kentucky Speedway. Ironically, last year’s Kentucky race ended Crawford’s streak due to injuries he incurred in a qualifying accident. Martin looking for win # 3 … Only four drivers in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history – Mike Skinner (# 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), Ron Hornaday Jr. (# 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet), Todd Bodine (# 30 Germain Motor Company Toyota) and Greg Biffle – have won three consecutive races. A victory in Friday’s John Deere 200 will add Mark Martin (# 6 Scotts Ford) to membership in the exclusive club.
Count on last-lap theatrics in Atlanta … The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ three Atlanta races twice have seen official lead changes on the final lap and once on the next-to-last trip around the 1.54-mile superspeedway. Hornaday’s .008-second John Deere 200 win over Bobby Labonte last March remains the series’ third-closest finish and closest on a track of one mile or longer.
ETC. … Morgan-Dollar Motorsports has signed Shell Rotella T motor oil for seven events with the sponsor appearing for the first time on Dennis Setzer’s # 85 Chevrolet this week. … R3 Motorsports, which fields the # 1 winyourmortgage.com Dodges driven by Raybestos rookie contender Robert Richardson, has named Wayne Setterington crew chief. Setterington, who formerly worked for Evernham Motorsports, replaces Carl Barnes. … Steve May has been named interim crew chief for Kerry Earnhardt’s # 13 ThorSport Chevrolet succeeding Shane Tesch. … H-T Motorsports for the first time this week will field a Ford F-150 and will alternate between Ford and Dodge as the season progresses depending upon track length and configuration. Steve Park will be behind the wheel of the # 59 Harris Trucking entry at Atlanta. … Roush Racing has entered a third truck in the John Deere 200 for David Ragan (# 50 Roush Racing Ford), who’s due to take over Martin’s seat April 1 at Martinsville Speedway. “Fielding a third truck in Atlanta will enable David to run in front of his hometown crowd, friends and family,” said team owner Jack Roush of the Unadilla, Ga. driver. “It will also gain him some additional seat time in preparation for his stint driving the # 6 Scotts Ford F-150. We’re looking forward to getting David a jump-start on his 2006 schedule.” … Bobby East (# 21 State Fair Corn Dogs Ford), begins his Raybestos rookie quest this week in the Wood Brothers-JTG Racing truck driven at Daytona and California by Stacy Compton. East is the 2004 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion and Cook’s brother-in-law. … Friday’s qualifying session will be broadcast live by SPEED beginning at 5:10 p.m. ET. Crawford is the defending Bud Pole winner turning in a record lap of 182.735 mph a year ago.

On the right track: Atlanta track absolutely suits Hamilton … With an average finish of 3.7 based upon runs of first, third and seventh, Bobby Hamilton (# 18 Fastenal Dodge) is the best performing driver to have competed in all three series events at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Skinner has led but hasn’t won … Skinner is the only driver to have led all three Atlanta races and is the track’s lap leader by an almost two to one margin over Hamilton. Skinner has paced 119 laps (180.18 miles) to Hamilton’s 62 (94.28). He finished runner-up to Hamilton in March 2004 but was unable to finish higher than 12th a year ago. He was October’s Bud Pole winner. Hometown winner Billy Ballew taps Atlanta third driver … October race winner Kyle Busch won’t be aboard Billy Ballew’s # 15 ditech.com/National Land Liquidators/Krud Kutter Chevrolet this week but don’t count out the chances of Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Krisiloff. The Atlanta-owned team has entered two different drivers – Busch and Shane Hmiel – in three previous Atlanta events with finishes of first and sixth off a pair of top-five qualifying performances.

In the loop: Toyota drivers Bodine and Johnny Benson (# 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota) headed a number of categories based on NASCAR scoring Loop Data from last year’s pair of races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. … Bodine was the leading competitor among closers with eight passes followed by Benson’s six. … Bodine logged 80 quality passes while Benson, with a driver rating of 110.3, headed all entered drivers who competed in both races. … Hamilton posted the most consecutive laps without being passed – 21. … Bill Lester (# 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) topped speed charts of drivers expected to participate in the John Deere 200 with a fast lap of 182.667 mph on Oct. 29, 2005.

From the archives: Raybestos rookies David Reutimann (# 17 Team Tundra Toyota) and Robert Huffman made history in March 2004 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reutimann won the Bud Pole and Huffman grabbed the second starting spot, securing the first all-Raybestos rookie front row in the history of the Craftsman Truck Series.(NASCAR PR)(3-13-2006)

Fast Facts:
What: Atlanta 200 (Race 3 of 25).
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
When: 9:15 p.m. ET, Friday, March 17
Track layout: 1.54-mile banked paved speedway
Race length: 200 miles/130 laps
Posted awards: $514,269
TV: SPEED Channel, 9:15 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr
2005 polesitter: Rick Crawford
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – Practice 8:45 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Rookie practice 10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Final practice 11:00 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Qualifying 5:10 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(3-6-2006)