For complete results:
espn.com
motorsportsone.com
truckseries.com
nascar.com(official)(6-5-2006)

Sprague moves up with third solid run at Mansfield … Three-time series champion Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight Toyota) jumped three spots in the standings – ninth to sixth – with his third consecutive top-five finish at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway last Saturday. Sprague chased home Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevy), who fashioned his record-extending 28th series victory and became just the third driver to win a race in eight different seasons. Hornaday and Sprague together count 53 wins and five series titles. Hornaday’s last win came in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Germain teams finally falter but Bodine, Musgrave still lead … Despite finishes of 15th and 16th – their worst performances of the season – Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) and Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE Toyota) remain the standings leaders. Bodine gained three points on his teammate to lead by 20, but David Reutimann (#17 Team Tundra Toyota) is beginning to loom in their mirrors. Reutimann logged his sixth top-10 finish of the season to trail Bodine by 106 points entering this week’s Dover event. Last year, owner Darrell Waltrip gave an inspirational speech to his teams at Dover and put index card in the trucks that said ‘Don’t Beat Yourself’.’ Reutimann went on to finish fifth. Two in, two out in top 30 owner race … Bobby Hamilton Racing received good and bad news following owner point tabulations, which guarantee starting spots for each week’s race. The #4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge of Timothy Peters moved into the top 30 (24th) but the #04 Dodge Hemi Dodge of Scott Lagasse Jr. dropped to 31st. The #25 Woodard Racing Dodge of Boston Reid went from 31st to 25th displacing the #46 Centrix Auto Finance Chevy driven by Kraig Kinser, which fell to 32nd. Only 35 points separate teams from 23rd to 33rd place.

Truck Series News & Notes Part II
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders … Through seven races of the 25-race season:
Points leader – Todd Bodine (1,140)
Money won – Todd Bodine ($270,730)
Laps led – Todd Bodine (238)
Miles led – Mark Martin (380.46)
Victories – Todd Bodine, Mark Martin (2)
Budweiser Poles – 5 drivers (1)
Top-five finishes – Ted Musgrave (6)
Top-10 finishes -Ted Musgrave, David Reutimann (6)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (18 over Aric Almirola)
Races led – Todd Bodine (5)
Weeks in Top 10 – 4 drivers (7)

Etc.
Dover International Speedway is the first of three concrete tracks on which the series will compete in 2006. Teams will compete at Nashville Superspeedway on Aug. 12 and Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 23…Kyle Busch (# 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet) heads this week’s field that includes 2002 Dover winner Musgrave. Mark Martin (# 6 Scotts Ford) will make his first series start at the track on which he has won a combined five Nextel Cup and Busch Series events… Dodge has won four times at Dover and is the only one of four series manufacturers without a victory though the season’s first seven races…Dover’s inaugural race in September 2000 produced the track’s greatest number of lead changes – 10. That race also saw the closest finish as Kurt Busch edged Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle by .210 second…Each of Dover’s six winners is a current or former Nextel Cup competitor. Two, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart, are series champions….Point leader Bodine counts three NASCAR Busch Series wins the most recent 1993 – a season he swept both spring and fall races…Last year, 27 drivers finished on the lead lap to gain a share of the series record…Joey Miller’s (#12 Curb Records Toyota) fifth-place finish at Mansfield was a career best (10th, 2005, Atlanta) and marked the first time a Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender has finished among the top five this season. Miller’s finish also is the best by a driver in a Darrell Waltrip-owned truck. Mike Wallace guided the team to a sixth-place performance last September in Richmond…Mansfield’s rookie practice was a busy affair with 20 of 38 entrants eligible to participate….Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell (# 08 North Trail Travel Centers Chevrolet) finished 26th in the City of Mansfield 250. He was the final driver to complete all 250 laps…Inclement weather canceled qualifying at Mansfield for the second time in three trips to the Ohio track…Ryan Moore, who made his series debut at Mansfield, replaces Chad Chaffin in the #40 2FatGuys American Grill Chevy.

On the right track
Everything but a win for Crawford at Dover … Maybe this will be the week that Rick Crawford (# 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) gets his first win of the season. Dover would seem fertile ground. Crawford won the Budweiser Pole in 2002 and counts a trio of top-three finishes, including a second in 2004. He leads all drivers with three top-five finishes and shares the top-10 mark of four with David Starr (#11 Red Horse Racing Toyota) and Ken Schrader.

In the Loop
Six drivers – including the first four finishers – ran every one of 200 laps in the top 15 during last year’s AAA Insurance 200. By leading 134 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, Hornaday posted the best Driver Rating of 139.2, more than six points higher than the Driver Rating of winner Kyle Busch.

From the archives
Mile tracks have been a part of Truck Series history since the beginning. Mike Skinner won the inaugural race at Phoenix International Raceway, where he also won the season finale and wrapped up the 1995 title. At mid-season, he was victorious at The Milwaukee Mile. Hornaday and Sprague, however, are the series’ top winners on mile tracks with seven each. Hornaday has won on six different mile tracks; Sprague on four.

Fast Facts
What: AAA Insurance 200 (Race 8 of 25)
Where: Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del
When: 4:45 p.m. ET, June 2
Track layout: 1-mile banked concrete speedway
Race length: 200 miles/200 laps
Posted awards: $643,503
TV: SPEED Channel, 8 p.m. (ET), tape delay
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Kyle Busch
2005 polesitter: David Starr

Top 10 drivers: 1.Todd Bodine 1,140. 2. Ted Musgrave 1,120. 3. David Reutimann 1,034. 4. David Starr 948. 5. Johnny Benson 948. 6. Jack Sprague 935. 7. Dennis Setzer 922. 8. Matt Crafton 910. 9. Terry Cook 905. 10. Mike Bliss 888.

Pre-race schedule (all times local): Thursday -Practice 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Rookie Practice 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Final Practice 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Friday – Qualifying 10:15 a.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.

For complete standings:
truckseries.com
motorsportsone.com
nascar.com(official)(5-29-2006)

Race Awards:
Budweiser Pole Award: None due to inclement weather.
Checkers/Rally’s Double-Drive Thru Challenge Award: Joey Miller, #12
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award: Jack Sprague, #60 (32 places)
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Award: Ron Hornaday Jr., #33
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award: Joey Miller, #12
Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Ron Hornaday Jr., #33
WIX Filters Lap Leader Award: Ron Hornaday Jr., #33 (131 Laps)

For complete results:
espn.com
truckseries.com
motorsportsone.com
nascar.com(official)(5-29-2006)

Truck Series News & Notes
Mansfield Motorsports Speedway, host to Saturday’s City of Mansfield 250, might be termed a “throwback” half-mile track. And that would be a compliment. More than 11 years ago, when the Truck Series debuted, more than half the schedule – 14 of 20 races – was contested on tracks measuring .375-mile to .686-mile in length. Saturday’s 250-lap, 125-mile race likely will play to a packed house thanks to constant action on the half-mile track.
Two well-known figures will makeTruck Series debuts at Mansfield – one from racing and the other a former Major League Baseball all-star. Michel Jourdain Jr., a multiple Champ Car World Series winner and Busch Series competitor, climbs into Roush Racing’s #50 Ford while Mike Greenwell (#08 Yankee Candle Co. Chevy), the retired Boston Red Sox outfielder with a career batting average over .300, moves up from the Florida late model circuit. Greenwell, a 37-time late model winner in his native Florida, will drive the Chevy that Rich Bickle guided to a fifth-place finish in last year’s Mansfield 250. Jourdain has yet to visit Mansfield Motorsports Speedway; however, he is familiar with the area having competed at nearby Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a road course.
Defending winner absent but team returns … With Hamilton sidelined while undergoing therapy for head and neck cancer, the race will be without last year’s winner. Hamilton, however, is sending a formidable replacement in the #18 Fastenal Dodge – son Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Best finish in a year boosts Cook in standings … Terry Cook’s (#10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) second consecutive runne-rup finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – and to the same winner, Kyle Busch (# 51 National Land Liquidation Chevy) – isn’t a bad rut in which to find one’s self, especially when Cook’s last top-five finish had been recorded in June 2005 at Dover International Speedway. Cook moved up five spots in the championship standings from 10th to fifth. on.

News & Notes Part II
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders … Through six races of the 25-race season:
Points leader – Todd Bodine (1,017)
Money won – Todd Bodine ($260,265)
Laps led – Mark Martin (202)
Miles led – Mark Martin (380.46)
Victories – Todd Bodine, Mark Martin (2)
Budweiser Poles – 5 drivers (1)
Top-five finishes – Ted Musgrave (6)
Top-10 finishes -Ted Musgrave (6)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (11 over Aric Almirola)
Races led – Todd Bodine (4)
Weeks in Top 10 – 5 drivers (6)

Etc.
Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) added five points to his championship with a third-place finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week. He finished third one position ahead of Germain Racing teammate Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota), who trails by 17 points entering the City of Mansfield 250…Fewer than half of last year’s starters – 17 of 36 – have entered this year’s City of Mansfield 250…The series’ next short track event is nearly two months away on July 15 at Memphis Motorsports Park…Bill Lester (#22 SunTrust Toyota) saw his run of 102 consecutive starts end at Lowe’s Motor Speedway after a qualifying accident cost him a spot in the Quaker Steak & Lube 200 field. The streak was fifth-longest among current drivers…. Wayne Spears will match Jim Smith’s series leading starts by an owner – 272 races – when Aric Almirola (#75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet) starts the City of Mansfield 250. The Spears team has failed to start just two races – at Richmond and Martinsville in 1997.

On the right track
Sprague and Mansfield are good fit…With a win in 2004 and second-place finish a year ago, Jack Sprague (#60 Con-way Freight) obviously can’t wait for the green flag to drop on this year’s City of Mansfield 250. Sprague led 139 laps in winning the Mansfield inaugural. That’s 27.5 percent of all 506 laps contested at the track.

In the loop
With four of last year’s top-five finishers including winner Bobby Hamilton not competing this week, you’ll have to look further into the field to pick a favorite – at least based upon Driver Rating. Ron Hornaday Jr. (# 3 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevy) led current competitors at 123.2 followed by Rick Crawford (#14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) at 114.7 and Sprague at 102.5. Sprague finished second, Crawford sixth and Hornaday 11th. Each completed all 254 laps. Mansfield’s Loop Data proves that Mansfield Motorsports Speedway wasn’t kind to current championship hopefuls. Leader Bodine rated at 77.3, defending champion and present runner-up Musgrave at 84.4 and this year’s #3 David Reutimann at 73.5.

From the archives
Tracks measuring less than .6-mile were a staple in the early years of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The first two champions, Mike Skinner (# 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) and Ron Hornaday Jr., fattened their victory totals on these “bullrings” – each winning nine times. Dennis Setzer (#85 E85 FlexFuel Chevy) counts five wins with Jack Sprague, the 2004 Mansfield Motorsports Speedway winner, notching four.(NASCAR PR)(5-22-2006)

LI>Busch wins the Quaker Steak & Lube 200 at Lowes: Kyle Busch, making his first Truck Series start of the 2006 defended his Quaker Steak & Lube 200 victory with a win Friday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Busch, who came from a 20th-place start, passed Budweiser Pole winner Mike Skinner on lap 37. Skinner dropped out of the race with engine failure after 115 laps. Terry Cook posted his first top-five finish since last June. Bodine, who entered the sixth race of the year with a 12-point advantage over defending champion Musgrave, upped his lead to 17.(5-19-2006)

Truck Series News & Notes:
A veteran driver is likely to be standing in Victory Lane after the checkered flag concludes the sixth of 25 races comprising the 2006 Series schedule. All three LMS winners, who count a combined, 274 series appearances and 36 victories, are entered in the $524,098 race. Also, it has been nearly three years since a newcomer won a series race on a 1.5-mile superspeedway. Carl Edwards, the 2003 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, won at Kentucky Speedway in July of that season – the last 1.5-mile winner who wasn’t a Craftsman Truck, Busch Series veteran or current Nextel Cup Series competitor. A rookie driver has yet to lead a lap at LMS. Edwards’ 12th-place finish in 2003 stands as the high-water mark by a freshman competitor. Finally, a newly repaved track isn’t going to make things any easier for the non-veterans, according to defending series champion and 2003 Quaker Steak & Lube 200 winner Ted Musgrave (#9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota). The 50-year-old Musgrave, whose last series victory came over a year and 25 races ago, enters the race ranked second in Craftsman Truck point standings. He trails Germain Racing partner Todd Bodine (#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) by 12 points following the pair’s one-two finish at Gateway International Raceway. Bodine is the series’ leading performer on 1.5-mile tracks with six wins at five of the seven such venues on the current schedule. Bodine has won his last three starts on 1.5-mile tracks and finished first or second in the seven races dating to his July 2005 victory at Kansas Speedway. Dennis Setzer (#85 Shell RotellaT Chevy), the 2004 winner, agrees with Musgrave that experience – for both driver and crew – is essential to registering a solid performance on a 1.5-mile track. Mark Martin (#6 Scotts Ford) can make history this week by winning the Quaker Steak & Shake 200. The victory would give Martin a first ever sweep of major NASCAR events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.

News & Notes Part II:
Kyle Busch returns to defend Lowe’s victory … Kyle Busch (#51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevy) was a doubtful defender after team owner Billy Ballew hired Raybestos rookie contender Kyle Krisiloff (#15 Chevy) to drive last year’s winning truck. Crew chief Richie Wauters, however, will field a second truck for Busch, whose LMS victory made the Las Vegas native the series’ youngest winner at 20 years 18 days. Busch won three times and closed out the 2005 season with a victory among five top-10 finishes in his final six races.

Craftsman For a Cure one week away … Although the Craftsman For a Cure charity event is still a week away, race fans will have the opportunity to donate to the cause by purchasing racing related items through an EBay auction that kicked off May 15. The charity auction will end May 22, a day before the event takes place at the NASCAR SpeedPark at Concord Mills in Concord, N.C. Tickets for dinners, races and autographs remain. Former Nextel Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte is the latest to confirm his participation in the event hosted by Craftsman Motorsports and Bobby Hamilton Racing. Proceeds from the auction and event will benefit the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Victory Junction Camp.

This week’sTruck Series Leaders … Through five races of the 25-race season: points leader – Todd Bodine (852), money won – Todd Bodine ($236,215), Laps led – Mark Martin (343), miles led – Mark Martin (380.46), victories – Todd Bodine, Mark Martin (2), Budweiser Poles – 4 drivers (1), top-five finishes – Ted Musgrave (5), top-10 finishes –Ted Musgrave (5), Raybestos Rookie Leader – Erik Darnell (13 over Aric Almirola), races led – Todd Bodine (4).

Etc:
Ron Hornaday Jr.’s #33 Chevy will carry the logo of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation during this week’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. … Fifteen Raybestos rookie of the year contenders are among 41 drivers entered in the Quaker Steak & Lube 200, including current leader Erik Darnell (#99 Woolrich Ford). …Last year’s race featured the closest series finish at LMS with Busch edging Setzer by 0.149 second. … Friday’s race is the first of nine being run on consecutive weekends through the July 15 O’Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park.

On the right track:
No series driver with three appearances at Lowe’s Motor Speedway has qualified better than Bill Lester (#22 SunTrust Toyota). Lester won the Budweiser Pole in 2003 contributing to an average starting position of 4.7. He’s been a solid performer at race time with an average finish of 14.0 including last year’s sixth-place finish. David Starr (# 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota) is the next best three-time qualifier with an average start of 7.7. Starr’s best finish – third – came in 2004.

In the loop:
LMS among Bill Lester’s favorite tracks …Kyle Busch rang up an impressive driver rating of 146.5 (of 150.0) when he took the checkered flag at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2005. Runner-up Terry Cook was a distant second with a Driver Rating of 119.9 while third-place Ted Musgrave’s Driver Rating of 113.5 ranked fourth in the field.

From the archives:
Only nine drivers who took the green flag in the Truck Series’ inaugural event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2003 are expected to enter this week’s race. And just one of them – Matt Crafton (#88 Menards/Energizer Chevy) – has posted top 10 finishes in all three of his starts. Crafton has finished ninth three consecutive times.(NASCAR PR)(5-15-2006)

Fast Facts:
What: Quaker Steak & Lube 200 (Race 6 of 25)
Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
When: 8:45 p.m. ET Friday, May 19
Track Layout: 1.5 -mile banked, paved
Race Length: 200 miles/134 laps
Posted Awards: $524,098
TV: SPEED Channel, 8:45 pm/et
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite
2005 winner: Kyle Busch
005 polesitter: Mike Skinner
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – Practice 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Rookie Practice 10:20 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Final Practice 10:50 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Qualifying 4:15 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.(5-15-2006)

Etc:
ppc Racing and Global Performance Group are sponsoring Friday night’s Lakeshore Elementary School – Parent Teacher Organization’s Spring Festival in Mooresville, N.C. The goal is to raise enough money to develop programs for the children, many have parents employed by ppc Racing and other teams in the Mooresville, N.C. area. Terry Cook (#10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) is scheduled to attend and sign autographs from 6-7 p.m. … Aric Almirola (#75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet) made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Richmond International Raceway on May 5, finishing 32nd in the Circuit City 250 by Funai. … Roush Racing recently announced the addition of a third driver, Michel Jourdain Jr., to its Craftsman Truck stable. The NASCAR Busch Series veteran and open-wheel star will make his debut in the #50 Ford at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on May 27. Jourdain is scheduled for nine races in 2006. The coming weekend is the last “vacation” drivers and teams will enjoy until mid-July. The May 19 Quaker Steak & Lube 200 opens the season’s longest and most arduous stretch of nine races in nine weeks.

In the Loop:
Todd Bodine (# 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) ranks at or near the top in four key categories through the first five races of the 2006 season. Bodine, who took over the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points lead with his April 29 victory at Gateway International Raceway, ranks # 1 (tie) with a perfect percentage of laps run on the lead lap – all 753. He’s # 2 in Driver Rating at 120.9 (of 150.0), Miles Leader with 178.02 miles led, Fastest Early in Run with a 4.800 ranking and Consecutive Laps Without Being Passed at 16 (tie) during the California Speedway event. Bodine ranks # 3 in Average Running Position at 5.90. NASCAR PR)(5-8-2006)