Hamlin Captures First Truck Victory

Photo Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(October 29, 2011)

MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Making excellent use of a fresh set of tires, Denny Hamlin drove through the field after a pit stop on Lap 134 and won Saturday’s Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway in his only start this year.

Ron Hornaday Jr. ran second to make a small dent in the advantage on series points leader Austin Dillon, who finished third. Johnny Sauter ran fourth, followed by rookie Joey Coulter and Kevin Harvick.

The victory was Hamlin’s first in the series in 12 starts, adding the driver of the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to the list of drivers, now 23 in number, who have won at least one race in each of NASCAR’s top three series.
“It’s a big deal for me, more than what people probably think,” said Hamlin, who has run one truck race per year in 2009, 2010 and 2011. “When they think we go down to these different series—Nationwide and truck—and we’re just going down there to try to get wins, from my standpoint, it’s very, very tough.

“The truck series is more competitive now than what it’s ever been, and it means as lot to myself to win a truck series race, especially running just one a year, usually. … This was just one of those weekends where everything worked out great for us.”
Hamlin passed Hornaday and Dillon moments after a restart on Lap 187, as Dillon slid up the racetrack in Turn 1 but managed to maintain control.

“We gave it to him—I did,” said Dillon, who expanded his points lead to 11 over 10th-place finisher James Buescher. “Just couldn’t make the first turn and ran into Ron. If I could have made it through the first turn, it would have been me (or) Ron in victory lane, I’m pretty sure. We had faster trucks.”
Hornaday said he expected Dillon to slip in the corner and was prepared for it.

“The lap before the (next-to-last) restart, I cleaned my tires off pretty good, and I still shoved my nose pretty good,” said Hornaday, who gained one point on Dillon and now is tied for third in the standings with Sauter, 15 points back. “When I saw Austin not weaving his truck as much as I did on the (last) restart, I knew he was coming up into me.

“I had to make sure his right front tire was at my door, and I could lean on him back a little bit, so we didn’t get up in the marbles. It worked out for both of us, other than Denny Hamlin snuck through the middle of both of us and stole the win—but we’ll take it.”
Dillon passed Harvick for the lead on Lap 141 shortly after a restart that followed the sixth caution of the race, caused by contact between Germain Racing teammates Todd Bodine and Max Papis, who battled until Papis spun off Bodine’s front bumper.
After Papis spun again to bring out the seventh caution, Dillon led the field to the green flag for a restart on Lap 152 and held the top spot until Ryan Sieg’s spin on Lap 172 caused caution No. 8. Moments before the yellow flew, Hornaday passed Harvick for second, setting up a battle between a four-time champion (Hornaday) and a driver seeking his first title (Dillon).

When the field restarted on Lap 179, Dillon and Hornaday held the top two spots, chased by Hamlin and Sauter, both on fresher tires. One caution later, Hamlin powered beneath both Hornaday and Dillon on a Lap 187 restart and pulled away for the win.



2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Kroger 200
Martinsville Speedway
Race Results


3 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota / Traxxas Toyota
2 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Steak-Umm Steaks / Chastity Baker Chevrolet
10 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
4 13 Johnny Sauter SafeAuto / Curb Records Chevrolet
12 22 Joey Coulter darrellgwynnfoundation.com / RCR Graphics Chevrolet
6 2 Kevin Harvick Tide / Kroger Chevrolet
13 21 Cale Gale Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet
9 17 Timothy Peters GearWrench / Strutmasters.com Toyota
28 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel and Casino Toyota
5 31 James Buescher Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet
7 5 Todd Bodine NTB / Service Central Toyota
1 88 Matt Crafton Roto-Rooter / Menards Chevrolet
18 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. QualComm / AutoTrac Chevrolet
21 70 Jeff Agnew Clarence's Steak House Chevrolet
26 23 Jason White GunBroker.com Chevrolet
11 7 Miguel Paludo Stemco Duroline Toyota
8 6 Justin Lofton CollegeComplete.com Chevrolet
15 9 Max Papis GEICO Toyota
14 24 Elliott Sadler Virginia Lottery Chevrolet
29 36 Grant Enfinger England's Stove Works Dodge
16 29 Parker Kligerman Penske Truck Leasing Dodge
22 81 David Starr Zachry / BYF.org / ASI Limited Toyota
17 39 Ryan Sieg Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts Chevrolet
20 92 Clay Rogers Tri City Tire / Fleet HQ / BTS Tires & Wheels Chevrolet
24 66 Max Gresham World Crown 300 / Gresham & Associates Chevrolet
36 9 Bryan Silas Rockingham Speedway Ford
19 60 Cole Whitt Fuel Doctor / Red Bull Chevrolet
25 51 Josh Richards Joy Mining Machinery / U.S. Navy Seals Toyota
33 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet
31 65 Tyler Tanner EF-65 Ford
27 97 Matt Lofton Strutmasters.com Toyota
34 32 Blake Feese AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet
30 20 Johanna Long Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota
32 7 TJ Duke Merrill Lynch Toyota
23 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet
35 93 Mike Garvey S&W Services Chevrolet

Naughty and Nice for 2010 Racing: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series



Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Kicking off the XSL Speed Reporter annual race season review, teh 2010 Naughy and Nice list starts with the 25 races, 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  


Nice: Young blood Austin Dillon's rookie season

In only a rookie year, Austin Dillon made the most of his grandfather's resources. Participating in a reactivated #3 Richard Childress Racing team, Austin Dillon arrived at Daytona with the guarantee the 19 year old would receive the best equipment possible. As in the case with any driver, the pressure was on for Dillon to prove he was deserving of the dedication. Gaining a pole in the first race of the season at Daytona, the die was casted for an interesting rookie campaign by Dillon and the #3 Chevrolet. Dillon would go on to clinch 4 additional poles over the course of the 25-race 2010 Camping World Truck Series season proving he was indeed a fast driver. However, at the Iowa Speedway's truck race in July, Austin Dillon took home his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Winning that time on a short track, Dillon would take a speedway event as well in September. Both times, Austin Dillon's #3 Chevrolet wins came after qualifying efforts resulting from pole. Following the 2010 run, Dillon finished 5th in the final standing certifying this driver as a potential threat to the 2011 truck and maybe a NASCAR Sprint Cup series contender in the near future.

 Naughty and Nice: Daytona demolition

 The Nextera Energy Resources 250 compiled an anxious 36-truck field for the 2010 kick-off to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. A race promising great action, competitors were eager to take on the 2.5 mile superspeedway with Austin Dillon's #3 Chevrolet leading them through what would be a short race for many prime contenders. A lap 2 caution resulted with a range of twisted and bent sheet metal as 10 trucks were part of a early big wreck. Very shortly after the race restarted another 10-truck crash saw the field slowly getting stripped down as more than half the field sustained major damage over the 250 mile race distance.

The good parts about the 2010 season opening race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Daytona were many to count but is highlighted simply by the final lap. Timothy Peters aced a last-lap scramble for a slim 0.068 second lead over Todd Bodine. Peters, driving the #17 Red horse Racing Toyota, would go on to put together a successful year with the help of his team placing 6th overall in Camping World Truck Series points.

Nice: Todd Bodine and Germain Racing's Rise to the 2010 Championship

When earlier this season the prospect of seeing the #30 Germain Racing Toyota going the full season looked doubtful, Todd Bodine and team parlayed a 2nd place finish at Daytona into a solid 2010 campaign which would go on through the entire season. Taking the lead for the first time briefly after the Atlanta Motor Speedway race, Bodine assumed definite command of the Camping World Truck Series points lead following the Charlotte Motor Speedway's North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Thanks to a season which equated to 20 top-10 finishes and 4 wins, Bodine clinched his second NASCAR Truck Series title at Phoenix. Following the Ford 200 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Todd Bodine left with a 207-point lead over Aric Almirola.



Rusty Jarrett/ Getty Images for NASCAR

Naughty: Defending Truck Series Champion's title defense

As the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series closed, Ron Hornaday Jr and the #33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated were celebrated a championship after a 6 win season. 2010 proved to be a stark difference for the #33 Chevrolet team. While Ron Hornaday Jr's 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ended with wins at O'Reilly Raceway Park and Martinsville Speedway to add up his tour-leading total of 47 victories, 9 race finishes of 24th or worse resulted in a his worse average finishing result. Defining his season, Hornaday had two sensational big wrecks at Atlanta and Talladega races where he was lucky to escape both times without injury. Hornaday's season ended with a 7th place in the final points standings 627 points away from the lead.



Nice: Johnny Sauter and Ron Hornaday dueling for Kansas Speedway win

The 5th race of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series tour, the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway provided one of the more thrilling lead battles between Ron Hornaday's #33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated Chevrolet and the #13 Thorsport Racing Chevy truck of Johnny Sauter. Both drivers were fighting for their first victory in 2010 season which has proved a harsh start. As Sauter's truck led with 21 laps to go, Hornaday surged on the #13 Chevy sizing up the Thorsport Racing driver for the valuable lead. As Ron Hornaday was able to get alongside Johnny Sauter into turn 3, impact resulted between the two truck. As consequence, both truck went into a sideways drift through the turn 3-4 complex. Amazingly, both Chevrolet trucks of Sauter and Hornaday were able to regain traction. Initially coming out the winner on the near wreck, Ron Hornaday's #33 truck lead across the line for lap 147. However, fatigue on the #33 Chevy through the incident apparently set on as Johnny Sauter was able to blast by Hornaday through the very next lap. With an over 5 second lead over the 2nd place Ron Hornaday, Johnny went on the win the Kansas event.

Naughty: Poor, Broke Busch Story

As much I respect Kyle Busch and the fact he should be considered one of the top driver in overall auto racing (not just NASCAR), his first venture into team ownership in NASCAR has not gone without some excitement. While Kyle Busch himself went on to win a season-leading 8 races and the #18 team were crowned the 2010 team champions in the series (points scored by the #18 team's result with any driver in the truck), issues off the track regarded the team's race shop with a contractor placing a lien on the building and the discontinuation of second truck driver Tayler Malsam's effort when his sponsor pulled out of the team.

I'm sorry to say I can not completely sympathize with a multi-million NASCAR Sprint Cup star crying poverty in running a race team. However, the situation points out a phenomenon almost every professional team owner accomplishes by not spending their own money to go racing. After all, auto racing teams are businesses before pleasure

Nice: Aric Almirola delivers a solid runner-up driver's points performance

The past few year have been a roller-coaster for Aric Almirola who once presided in a NASCAR Sprint Cup ride. Finding a chance to regroup in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Almirola immediately performed as a potentially forgotten talent. Collecting the most top-10 finishes of any driver on the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Almirola's full schedule with the #15 Toyota of Billy Ballew Motorsports resulted in 2 wins and a runner-up position in the series points standing. Aric Almirola is moving up to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2011 with the JR Motorsports' #88 Chevrolets.





Photo Credit: Jason Smith/ Getty Images for NASCAR



Naughty: Toyota's near uncontested manufacturer crown

The one problem in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the absence of a firm manufacturer's championship battle. For the past several years, Toyota (who went on to win the series' manufacturer championship again in 2010) has optimize the possession of leading teams to win handsomely without any sizable opposition. In the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, for example, 12 of 36 trucks competing were Toyota Tundra race trucks. While economic troubles have led Chevrolet and Ford to scale back their support to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the American three auto makers have have largely neglected the tour for many years. Chevrolet had a reasonable contingent led by KHI and Thorsport, Ford only had a limited effort the Dodge/RAM truck stable involved mainly one team (the #23 truck driven by Jason White). However, even Dodge's presence with the #23 team was not exclusive as the team experimented with other truck brand bodies throughout the year.

Nice: Elliott Sadler winning inaugural Pocono truck race

Fighting to assert himself in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with as much bad luck as poor performances within the embattled Richard Petty Motorsports team, Kevin Harvick had been offered Elliott Sadler the chance to drive selected races in the 2010 Camping World Truck Series. Debuting at the Daytona with a strong run up until getting caught in a crash, Sadler and the #2 KHI team were able to piece together an outstanding performance at the first truck race held at the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway. Leading 31 of the race's 55 total laps, Sadler found himself in a NASCAR winner's circle for the first time since winning the 2004 Pop Secret 500 at California Speedway.

While Elliott Sadler lost his Sprint Cup Series ride, the restored confidence and apparent chemistry with KHI his earned a multi-year pairing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for 2011.

Photo Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR

Clint Bowyer Blasts to Truck Win at Phoenix; Bodine Locks Up Championship

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/ Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(November 12, 2010)


AVONDALE, Ariz.—Clint Bowyer didn't lose his touch during a three-year hiatus from NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.


Driving Kevin Harvick's No. 2 Chevrolet, Bowyer won Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway in his first start in the series since Oct. 20, 2007 at Martinsville.


Todd Bodine also had reason to celebrate. With a 12th-place finish at Phoenix, Bodine wrapped up his second truck series championship. He leads Aric Almirola by an insurmountable 202 points entering next Friday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.


Bowyer beat race runner-up Kyle Busch to the line by 1.039 seconds. Johnny Sauter finished third, followed by Matt Crafton and Almirola.


"Everybody back at the shop did such a great job building this thing," Bowyer said. "They were excited about it before we came down here, and any time these guys get excited about building a truck back at the shop, you know as a racecar driver that you're going to have a good hot rod, and we certainly did.

"I love this series, and I think this is some of the best racing we have in NASCAR. It's fun to be back in it."


Bowyer had the dominant truck in the early going. After taking the top spot from polesitter Austin Dillon following a restart on Lap 24, Bowyer opened a lead that reached 6.626 seconds before NASCAR called the second caution of the race on Lap 53 because of fluid on the track.


Busch led 25 laps in the middle of the race, but Bowyer reasserted his superiority after beating Busch out of the pits for a restart on Lap 67.


Bodine added the 2010 crown to his 2006 truck series title.


"Along the way, we had a lot of good luck," Bodine said. "Along with good performance, along with hard work, you've got to have good luck, and we had it this year. We did that. But the old adage is 'You make your own luck,' and this team has done a great job all year of doing that."


Note: Busch, who drives his own No. 18 Toyota, holds a 120 point lead over Bodine's No. 30 Toyota, fielded by Germain Racing, in the battle for the owners' championship.

Hornaday Gives Chevrolet First Truck Pole at Talladega

Photo Credit:  Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

For the second straight week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series joins stock car's headline Sprint Cup series for the Talladega Superspeedway race weekend. Friday qualifying for the Mountain Dew 250 set for 3 P.M. Eastern on Saturday afternoon saw Chevrolet performing a first-ever feat in the truck series at the 2.66 mile oval. Wearing the Bowtie logo, the #33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated truck piloted by Ron Hornaday Jr flew to pole at Talladega posting a top qualifying time of 52.839 seconds or the equivalent average speed of 181.230 miles per hour. Hornaday's Chevrolet Silverado outran the #23 Ford F-150 of Jason White through the time trial by more than just 1/10th of a second to give himself as well as his manufacturer a first time pole at the super fast Alabama race track.

Late into the Camping World Truck Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing rookie Austin Dillon drew a late qualifying run to potentially challenge Hornaday's mark with the #3 Chevrolet. Dillon came short but still produced a 3rd fastest time to start Saturday's Mountain Dew 250. With two of the top-three starting position occupied by Chevrolet Silverados, the Friday qualifying outing was quite a reason to celebrate through the top-10. The #2 KHI Chevy being driven by stock car veteran Ken Schrader secured a front-running 4th spot. 7th through 9th, Turner Motorsports trucks driven by Ricky Carmichael and James Buescher sandwich the another Chevy, the #13 Thorsport Racing truck of Johnny Sauter.

Bucking the usual trend for double-duty drivers during companion races at the same race track leading into the Sprint Cup race, there will only be as many as three drivers planning to run both the truck and cup race at Talladega. Among the most notable, driver and embattled first year truck team owner Kyle Busch will start 18th in his #18 Toyota Tundra. Driving the #9 Ford again for Richard Petty Motorsports after a more than respectable outing in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville, Aric Almirola runs his season-long campaign with Bill Ballew Motorsports' #51 Toyota. Almirola will start 5th for the Mountain Dew 250 Saturday behind Schrader and ahead of Chris Fontaine's enviable 6th fastest qualifying lap. 

Runaway points leader in the Camping World Truck Series Todd Bodine starts 10th with his #30 Germain Racing Toyota. Holding onto a 282-point lead above Aric Almirola, fortune at Talladega would go a long way to sealing the 2010 championship. After four truck races at Talladega, Bodine comes into the event with stellar history of two wins and a worst ever finish being 4th in 2006.

Though a big qualifying result for Ron Hornaday Jr, Kevin Harvick Incorporated and Chevrolet, qualifying positions will be of little importance once the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway commences. Guaranteed to be a rough and tumble outing as high-speeds, close quarters as well as drafting is certain to shuffle the field with likelihood of multiple vehicle wrecks looming for 36 competitors.


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Mountain Dew 250
Talladega Superspeedway
October 29th, 2010

Starting Lineup:

1. 1 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. E-Z-GO 2Five Chevrolet 52.839 SEC / 181.230
2. 23 Jason White GunBroker.com/Pursuit Channel Ford 52.932 SEC / 180.911
3. 3 Austin Dillon BassProShops/Rmngtn/TrckrBoats Chev 52.942 SEC / 180.877
4. 2 Ken Schrader Moore's Marinade Chevrolet 52.947 SEC / 180.860
5. 51 Aric Almirola Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota 53.104 SEC / 180.325
6. 84 Chris Fontaine Glenden Enterprises Toyota 53.153 SEC / 180.159
7. 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet 53.262 SEC / 179.790
8. 13 Johnny Sauter FarmPaint.com Chevrolet 53.348 SEC / 179.501
9. 31 James Buescher Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet 53.353 SEC / 179.484 
10. 30 Todd Bodine Valvoline Toyota 53.431 SEC / 179.222
11. 88 Matt Crafton Australian Gold/Menards Chevrolet 53.435 SEC / 179.208
12. 95 Grant Enfinger BeasleyAllen.com/Roush Yates Ford 53.475 SEC / 179.074
13. 81 David Starr Zachry Toyota 53.547 SEC / 178.834
14. 60 Narain Karthikeyan SafeAuto Insurance/Wyler.com Chevrolet 53.549 SEC / 178.827 
15. 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 53.562 SEC / 178.783
16. 5 Mike Skinner Exide Toyota 53.668 SEC / 178.430
17. 7 Justin Lofton visitpit.com Toyota 53.711 SEC / 178.288
18. 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Tundra/TRAXXAS Toyota 53.731 SEC / 178.221
19. 46 Craig Goess Jr. Greenville Toyota Toyota 53.960 SEC / 177.465
20. 9 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 54.030 SEC / 177.235
21. 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb DrivenMale.com Ford 54.048 SEC / 177.176
22. 12 Mario Gosselin Accell Cnstrctn/TireMnky/JamesCrtr Att Chev 54.050 SEC / 177.169
23. 47 Donnie Neuenberger Plan B Techologies Chevrolet 54.067 SEC / 177.114
24. 6 Jeffrey Earnhardt Firestop/FWI/FuelDoctor Dodge 54.117 SEC / 176.950 
25. 07 Tony Jackson Jr. ASI Limited/Akzo Nobel Chevrolet 54.124 SEC / 176.927
26. 39 Ryan Sieg S&W Towing Chevrolet 54.530 SEC / 175.610
27. 93 Mike Garvey S&W Towing Chevrolet 54.705 SEC / 175.048
28. 53 Justin Hobgood Alabama Cattlemen's Association Chevrolet 54.872 SEC / 174.515
29. 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 55.071 SEC / 173.885
30. 89 Mike Harmon Lafferty Performance/Blue Ox Ford 55.205 SEC / 173.463
31. 85 Brent Raymer Blast It All Ford/Ford Drive one Ford 55.327 SEC / 173.080
32. 28 Andy Lally FDNY Racing Chevrolet 55.474 SEC / 172.621
33. 72 John Jackson James Carter Att./SponsortheTruck.com Chev 55.515 SEC / 172.494
34. 48 Bryan Silas Pro Gold Chevrolet 55.930 SEC / 171.214
35. 00 Dominick Casola Koma Unwind Chevrolet 56.589 SEC / 169.220
36. 24 Jerick Johnson Lafferty Performance Chevrolet 57.978 SEC / 165.166

 

 

Finally! Veteran Hornaday Wins Martinsville Truck Race

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images

 

Before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway, the tour's most decorated driver Ron Hornaday Jr has never won at the historic short track. Despite winning on the almost every under one mile oval the Truck Series have visited (including a multitude of race tracks long since vanished from the modern NASCAR schedule), 16 starts for Hornaday had left the 46-time race winner and reigning series champion snake-bitten. After a green-white-checker finish where Hornaday fended off a determined Toyota driven by Kyle Busch, the driver of the #33 Chevrolet crossed the line first at Martinsville. Leading just 11 laps in the Kroger 200, those laps came at am important time for Hornaday's #33 Chevrolet.

As Hornaday did not present himself until the end of Martinsvile's Kroger 200, the race's lead was initially held by pole sitter Kyle Busch for the first 7 laps. As Sprint Cup regular Busch wanted to fill his trophy room with more Camping World Truck Series honours, his lead was maintained only until another Cup star surged past. The Kevin Harvick drove his #2 truck to what would be 35 laps.

Typical of Camping World Truck Series rounds on the 0.526 mile short oval, cautions came often during the 200 lap distance. A total of 11 yellow flags slowed the field for 59 laps. Two crashes occurring in the last 1/3rd of the Martinsville race proved to most extreme. Swarming into turn 3 on lap 165, the lead lap trucks of Timothy Peters and Matt Crafton made contact.

Getting punted on the restart, Timothy Peters skated up the race track getting bumped by the #23 of Jason White and the #3 of Austin Dillon. Losing momentum, Matt Crafton dived below Timothy Peters into turn 3 as two additional vehicles were matched side-by-side. Four-way into the turn, crowded real estate caused Crafton to touch the #17 Toyota one more time propelling Peter's truck hard into the outside barrier. The wrecked #17 car required almost 9 minutes of red flag time to clean up so the precious late laps of the Martinsville race would wrap up. Crafton continued on the finish 10th but the previous race winner Timothy Peters was forced into retirement due to heavy front-end damage to his #17 Toyota.

While Thorsport Racing's #88 Chevrolet of Matt Crafton fared well in the race's running, the #13 teammate vehicle of Johnny Sauter saw his fortunes turn from good to bad. Leading 49 laps before the halfway point of the Kroger 200, Sauter's day went south after an impact from James Buescher's #31 when the two were fighting for position into turn 1 on lap 159. As the #13 Chevy truck attempted to circulate for a finish, a rear tailgate cover began to lift off and hang loosely on the vehicle's rear causing a serious concern that Johnny Sauter would be black flagged. On lap 183, the Thorsport Racing crew instead to convinced the #7 Toyota of Justin Lofton to knock off the loose body panel under race condition. A trick exploited on several occasions through racing to avoid losing ground on pit road, it backfired this time in this case. As the #7 truck pushed against the rear sheet metal to rub off the tailgate cover of the #13 Chevy, the Toyota launched itself over top of the rear end crushing through Sauter's rear bodywork. 3rd in the 2010 Camping World Truck Series points, Johnny Sauter could do no better than 21st place. Justin Lofton would finish in 13th place but made few friends on the day. Also making contact with Kevin Harvick at the end, the #7 truck driver earned a conversation with 'Happy' Harvick.

Topping the laps led count on with 83 circuits, Todd Bodine convincingly paced the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway through the second half of the event. However, the #30 Toyota did not have the strength in the final short runs to hold off competitors. As first Kyle Busch's #18 Toyota maneuvered his way around Bodine, it was Ron Hornaday on lap 196 who took the lead and the race win.     

Todd Bodine finished 3rd in the final results and proceeds to lead the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by a giant 282 point gap on Aric Almirola. Next on the tour's schedule is the Talladega event promising to be a wild race on October 30th.


2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Kroger 200
Martinsville Speedway
Race Results

1. 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Armour Vienna Sausage / Kroger Chevrolet
2. 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Tundra / Z-Line Designs Toyota
3. 30 Todd Bodine Germain.com Toyota 
4.  23 Jason White GunBroker.com / Pursuit Channel Toyota 
5.  51 Aric Almirola Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota
6. 5 Mike Skinner International Trucks / Monaco RV Toyota
7. 81 David Starr Zachry Toyota
8. 60 Stacy Compton SafeAuto Insurance / Melling Engine Parts Chevrolet
9. 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet
10. 88 Matt Crafton Tide / Menards Chevrolet

Bodine Parties in Bluegrass State; Wins NASCAR Truck Race

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/ Getty Images for NASCAR

By Lee Montgomery


Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(September 3, 2010)
SPARTA, Ky.—Todd Bodine is rolling toward his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, but he didn’t drive like it Friday night in winning the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. And his team didn’t act like it, either.
Bodine spun while battling Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 81, but that trouble helped set up a fuel-mileage gamble for the No. 30 Germain Racing team.
“Our misfortune turned into our fortune because that’s what gave us a little extra fuel that we needed to get to the end,” Bodine said.
Johnny Sauter finished a distant second, with Aric Almirola third, Jason White fourth and Ricky Carmichael fifth. Timothy Peters, Busch, Ryan Sieg, polesitter Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton completed the top 10.
After a restart on Lap 80 of the 150-lap race, Busch and Bodine raced side by side for the lead in Turn 3 when Busch charged around on the outside lane. Bodine’s Toyota snapped sideways and spun in front of the field, though he didn’t hit anything.
A panel in the truck’s bed flew off, and Bodine made a couple of extra stops under that caution for his team to repair the damage. He restarted 25th.
The yellow flag waved again on Lap 91, and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. brought Bodine to pit road again to top off the fuel tank as nine drivers stayed on the track.
Busch was one of them, and he pulled away to a 3-second lead before pitting on Lap 127. After rookies Austin Dillon and Justin Lofton also pitted under green, Bodine assumed the lead.
Conserving fuel, Bodine raced the final 55 laps under green on one tank of fuel.
“I pedaled pretty hard with about 20 laps to go,” Bodine said of saving fuel. “About the last 10 laps, I went around here about half-throttle.”

After taking the checkered flag, Bodine chastised Busch for “dirty driving,” claiming Busch intentionally pushed Bodine low on the track to cause him to spin. Busch also came to victory lane to have words with Bodine.
“It was the weather, how good the track is,” Bodine said jokingly of their conversation. “It’s two drivers who didn’t care what the other said or the other did, and we had words about it. That’s good, hard racing. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Kyle. Slowly but surely I’m, losing it. That’s a shame.”

Bodine led twice for 18 laps, far short of Busch’s race-high 73 laps. Bodine, though, extended his points lead to 261 over Almirola.
“We were two laps short (on fuel),” Hillman said. “That proves that we’re not points racing. If we were points racing, being two laps short we would’ve come in and splashed a couple gallons of gas and finished seventh or eighth.”

Darlington Truck Race Tamed by Todd Bodine

Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images for NASCAR

Running a standalone event, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to Darlington Raceway after a 6-year absence. Assembling for the Too Tough to Tame 200, the visit to the so-called "Lady in Black" was the first time many of the younger truck series regulars to experience the 1.366 mile South Carolina race track. One of those drivers making the initial laps at Darlington was Timothy Peters piloting the #17 Red Horse Racing-owned Toyota Tundra. Fortunate for Peters, those early laps were fast enough to earn the #17 truck the pole position for the Saturday night event.  

Relishing the reputation for being the track too tough to tame, this race kept the track's slogan intact. In the first 10 laps of 147, the yellow flag flew on two occasions for spins involving the #92 of Dennis Setzer and Jason While in the #23 Dodge. White's truck would be the reason for caution again on lap 58 when the Mopar's engine suffered a terminal failure on-track. With 9 cautions 37 laps overall, a remarkably high number competitors within the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series had their will broken by the infamous oval. Topping the list of 16 vehicles that failed to finish the Too Tough to Tame 200 was Brian Ickler, Ricky Carmichael and Mike Skinner.

Timothy Peters led the first 47 laps, reigning Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday would be the next driver to lead at Darlington. Five leaders would pace the Too Tough to Tame 200 with four of them leading more than 23 laps signifying how important gaining the lead was through the course of the event. The Richard Childress Racing #3 truck handled by Austin Dillon proceeded to lead after Hornaday up until lap 101 once the flag was brought under caution for an incident involving Mario Gosselin and Ricky Carmichael. Through the orchestra of pit road activity, the #30 truck of Todd Bodine was rushed into the lead by his crew. A deciding move for the event, Bodine and his Germain Racing #30 Toyota led the final 46 laps to win the Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway. Starting without intent to run a full Camping World Truck Series schedule, the #30 Germain Racing team were only even originally planning to run the race. However, by their lead positioning in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver's standings the team arrived having to miss other previously-planned engagements including a wedding.

After taking pole, Timothy Peters kept his #17 Toyota at the front for the entire event to score a 2nd place for a 1-2 finish for Toyota. Leading a charge of Chevrolet Silverado race trucks, Ron Hornaday finished 3rd ahead of Johnny Sauter and Austin Dillon rounding out the top five.

Armirola Wins in Michigan; his 2nd NASCAR Truck Series Race

Photo Credit: Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 12, 2010)

BROOKLYN, Mich.—Aric Almirola passed Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch three-wide through the middle with seven laps left in Saturday’s VFW 200 and held on to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Bodine finished second and retained his series lead by 55 points over Almirola, who won for the second time this season in Billy Ballew’s No. 51 Toyota. Busch ran third, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. and polesitter Austin Dillon, who overcame a late pit-road penalty to post his second straight top five.

“I didn’t think it was the greatest place to be,” Almirola said of his middle position after a restart on Lap 93 of 100. “But I knew we were going to run wide open through the corner. We were either going to crash, or we were going to make it out the other side—because I knew how important clean air was.

“I knew that was my only shot to get out in the lead, and if I didn’t get out in the lead, there was no chance of us winning the race. So I went down in Turn 1, and I knew I was going to run a shorter distance than Todd (who was on the outside), so I just tried to hang tight on Kyle’s door and get him loose, which I did.

“By the time we got off Turn 2, I was almost clear of Todd, and then when we went through (Turns) 3 and 4, I cleared him. So I think that was the move of the race, as far as I’m concerned.”

In a race that featured a track-record 20 lead changes, Almirola didn’t go to the front until his pass on Lap 93. Bodine had held the lead for a restart on Lap 89 and had begun to pull away when Nelson Piquet Jr. spun through the frontstretch grass to bring out the fifth and final caution of the afternoon.

“Maybe it caught me a little off guard,” Bodine said of Almirola’s pass for the lead. “Aric’s a hell of a racer, and they had a good truck when it counted. On a short run like that—especially as many laps as we rode around under caution, with the tires cooling down—everybody’s handling pretty good for three or four laps, five laps.

“I really believe that, if this race was 10 laps longer, I probably would have beat him—but, guess what, there weren’t another 10 laps.”

Notes: The race was red-flagged for 40 minutes, 12 seconds because of a rain shower that caused the third caution on Lap 34. … Timothy Peters finished sixth and remained third in the standings, 165 points behind Almirola. … Matt Crafton retired after 83 laps with an engine failure and fell three spots to 10th in points.

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Todd Bodine Wins #6 race at Texas in Camping World Truck Series

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images


By John Sturbin

Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 4, 2010)

FORT WORTH, Texas—Todd Bodine added to his resume as the Camping World Truck Series' winningest driver at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night with an overtime victory in the WinStar World Casino 400k.

Bodine drove away from four-time and reigning series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. and Timothy Peters on a green-white-checkered flag restart to notch his sixth career victory on TMS' 1.5-mile oval, and third in the summer event here. Bodine snapped a 24-race winless streak dating to June 5, 2009.

Johnny Sauter finished second, followed by rookie polesitter Austin Dillon, former series champion Mike Skinner and super-sub Ken Schrader. Bodine's margin of victory after 169 laps was 1.007-seconds.

Bodine, 46, scored his 18th career series victory and 11th in 53 starts on a 1.5-mile layout. Bodine and Kyle Busch each have scored six wins at TMS, with Busch working on a five-race Nationwide Series streak. The Sprint Cup regular also has one truck series win.

"It's an honor anywhere to say you've won the most races at a track. It's pretty awesome," said Bodine, nicknamed "The Onion" for his bald pate. "We're proud of the fact we can come to Texas and run this well every time. It's someplace we enjoy and being the only six-time (truck series) winner … it was a goal when Kyle won five to come back and win another one. To get that done, I'm pretty proud of that."

Bodine led a race-high 106 laps en route to his first victory and seventh top-five finish in eight 2010 races.

"We've been struggling all year to make the trucks drive good, and this truck was driving fast and wide open. It was fun to drive," Bodine said. "We had a great Tundra. It was an awesome night all around."

Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. said his Germain Racing crew tries to treat all the series' 1.5-mile layouts the same.

"But it seems we get our stuff figured out this time of the year," Hillman said. "I'm really proud of our guys. We went to work this winter making our trucks lighter and better. I can't say enough about how hard everyone at Germain works. I'm the lucky guy who gets called the crew chief."

Dillon, the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, capped his first series pole with his first top-five finish.

"What a phenomenal job," said Dillon. "I started off really good and lost it in the middle but at the end I raced hard and got us a good finish. I just had a little trouble on the restarts."

Bodine, driver of the No. 30 Toyota, was leading Peters and a pack of only nine trucks on the lead lap when the night's fifth caution waved to remove the slowing truck of Jason White from the field. None of the leaders chose to pit, setting up a seven-lap shootout.

Bodine easily drove away from Peters, who faltered badly on the start from his spot on the outside lane. But Hornaday, who swept both races here in 2008, barged underneath Bodine from third in an attempt to take the lead. Bodine never lifted and had cleared Hornaday's No. 33 Chevrolet when Matt Crafton and David Starr tangled down the backstretch, bringing out the sixth caution on Lap 164 of the scheduled 167.

"That next-to-last restart, Ron got underneath me," Bodine said. "I've not always been the best at restarts, just OK. But when you got Hornaday on the outside you got to get it right. That last one, I didn't spin the tires until I got into third (gear). And they got racing hard and ended up giving us a good lead."

Bodine leaves Texas with a 65-point lead over Aric Almirola, who finished 12th.

Kyle Busch Takes Truck Race in Charlotte

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR


The following article is from an outside news source delivered under agreement of NASCAR.

CONCORD, N.C.—Polesitter Kyle Busch survived a scrape with the wall and held off Todd Bodine in a two-lap dash to the finish to win Friday night's North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch, who owns the No. 18 Toyota he drove to victory, crossed the finish line .228 seconds ahead of Bodine to give Toyota its first truck series victory at the 1.5-mile racetrack. Ron Hornaday Jr. was third, followed by James Buescher and Elliott Sadler.

The victory was Busch's second in five starts this season, his third at Charlotte and the 18th of his career. Busch has won three straight races in NASCAR's top three touring series, having triumphed in last weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup events at Dover.

On Lap 40 of 134, Busch's Toyota broke loose while leading and slammed the outside wall, damaging the front splitter. Initially, Busch slowed after the contact and lost three positions but began working his way back to the front.

As luck would have it, the brush with the wall helped correct a loose handling condition.

"I made it where I could drive it," Busch said. "I knocked some 'tight' into it. This team did a great job in preparing this truck to come here, and I tried to screw it up. I guess the driver owes the car owner a little something today."

On Lap 65, Bodine passed Brad Keselowski for the second spot and regained the lead when Sadler made a green-flag pit stop on Lap 67. Busch stayed out front until Lap 80, when Brent Raymer's truck blew an engine and went up in a ball of fire in the tri-oval to cause the third caution of the race.

After a lengthy pit stop to repair the right front fender on his Tundra, Busch restarted ninth on Lap 90. He gained two spots on the restart lap before Ryan Sieg blew his right front tire and slammed the Turn 3 wall to bring out the fourth yellow flag.

Eleven laps after a restart on Lap 95, Busch passed Bodine for the second position and held it until Dennis Setzer's hard contact with the Turn 2 wall slowed the field for the fifth time. With an excellent restart on Lap 118, Busch took the lead from Hornaday but ran only three green-flag laps before Donny Lia spun off Turn 2 and crashed nose-first into the inside wall on the backstretch.

Bodine leads the series standings by two points over Aric Almirola, who finished seventh.

Timothy Peters Wins Wild Truck Series Race at Daytona

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR


One day overdue because of Friday rain, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway started under the lights. While the rains passed, the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series opener that ran just a few hours prior indicated that storms are in full critical mass between competitors on the 2.5 mile superspeedway.

Led to green by the #23 Ford of Jason White and #2 Chevrolet of Elliott Sadler, it took little time for the truck race to establish itself as an expensive outing for many teams. In fact, it was lap 1 where an incident was sparked by the #3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon was trapped in a three-wide scenario on Daytona's backstretch. Driving in his first Daytona truck race, the rookie driver was squeezed in the middle until he was unable to keep control of his race truck brushing the low truck of Aric Almirola. Dillon then swam up the race track and collected the #13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet. Kyle Busch, Dennis Setzer, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and Sauter's Thorsport teammate Landon Cassill were some of the 9 drivers who fell victim to this early wreck.

Leading 25 laps overall, the #2 Kevin Harvick Incorporated Chevrolet truck driven by Elliott Sadler dominated the early stages of the 250 mile race with the polesitting #23 Ford of Jason White finding his way around to reclaim the top position briefly.

Unfortunately, Sadler's dream run turned into a nightmare; a nightmare which would hunt 9 other drivers. At 32 laps, a second massive wreck started with an ever so soft tap on the #33 Chevrolet of Ron Hornaday rear bumper by the #4 truck of Ricky Carmichael along the Daytona backstretch. A slightly uneven bumpdraft, the impact was enough to send Hornaday's truck out of control slamming into the outside wall grabbing Carmichael's truck as well as other great contenders including Aric Almirola, Rick Crawford, Ted Mugrave and Donny Lia.

With many of the frontrunners having been eliminated by two major accidents, the Toyotas Mike Skinner, Todd Bodine, and Matt Crafton remained as seasoned veterans capable to take victory. This hope for Skinner ended on lap 62 with another mishap in bumpdrafting down the backstretch. Within the top 5 trucks, Skinner's #5 Toyota was receiving an aggressive push from the #17 of Timothy Peters. Meaning only to help Skinner gain speed to the front, the overaggressive bumping sent Skinner into the wall in turn 3.

Despite an early race right rear tire failure, Todd Bodine #30 Toyota would storm back to the front of the field on lap 83 of the 100 lap race. Reaching the climax of the event, the #46 of Dennis Setzer, driving one of only two Dodge (Ram) trucks being campaigned at Daytona, the #88 Chevrolet of Matt Crafton, Jason White's #23 Ford and the Toyota of Peters fought to find a way by a strong Todd Bodine through the final 17 laps.

Unsuccessful through 16 laps, the 2nd place running Timothy Peters pulled off a brilliant fake to the outside of Bodine halfway through the backstretch. As Bodine moved up to block, Peters ducked down and used the 'slingshot' as well as a a little muscle to move by Todd Bodine. Caught by surprise, Bodine briefly lost the #30 truck and slid into the outside wall. Determined to not lose the prestigious Daytona 250 mile truck race, Bodine stayed in the throttle and made a hard-charging run on Peters through turn 3 and 4. Side-by-side out of turn 4, Bodine and Peters rub fenders as Dennis Setzer provided the boost Peter's Toyota needed to win the Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250. Finishing a close 2nd over Setzer, Bodine lost control and slid harmlessly into the front infield.

Taking his K&N Filters-sponsored #17 Toyota owned by Red Horse Racing to victory lane, a delighted Timothy Peters celebrated with his crew triumphing through the 2010 Daytona crash fest. With a smile on his face in spite of coming by short for victory, Todd Bodine in the garage area happily congratulated Peters.


2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series:
NextEra Energy Resources 250
Daytona International Speedway

Top 10:

1) 17 Timothy Peters     K&N Toyota

2) 30 Todd Bodine     GEICO Toyota

3) 46 Dennis Setzer     Plane Guts Dodge

4) 23 Jason White     GunBroker.com Ford

5) 88 Matt Crafton     Herculiner / Menards Chevrolet

6) 1 Nelson Piquet     Red Horse Racing Toyota

7) 60 Stacy Compton     SafeAuto Insurance / Wyler.com Toyota

8) 95 Johnny Benson     Plane Guts Ford

9) 6 Donnie Neuenberger  EZ-Slider Chevrolet

10) 01 J J Yeley     Koma Unwind Chillazation Drink Chevrolet


Other Notable:

12) 51 Aric Almirola   Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota

14) 00 Carlos Contreras  Potenica Blast Energy Shot / Alpina Water Chevrolet

20) 2 Elliott Sadler   Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet

21) 9 Max Papis   GEICO Toyota

22) 18 Kyle Busch   Heluva Good! Toyota

23) 12 Mario Gosselin   Tiremonkey.com Chevrolet

24) 5 Mike Skinner   International Trucks / Monaco RV Toyota

26) 3 Austin Dillon     Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

27) 33 Ron Hornaday Jr.  Longhorn Chevrolet

28) 14 Rick Crawford   Lilly Trucking of Virginia Ford