Ron Hornaday Jr. held off AJ Allmendinger in a green-white-checkered finish to win the Quaker Steak and Lube 200 Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The two-lap shootout resulted from a caution on lap 132 that pushed the race two laps beyond its posted distance of 134 laps. Strong on restarts throughout the race, Hornaday pulled away slightly on Lap 135 and crossed the finish line. 244 seconds ahead of Allmendinger.
Todd Bodine ran third, followed by Mark Martin and Ted Musgrave. Mike Bliss, Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner, T.J. Bell and Rick Crawford claimed positions six through 10.
Johnny Benson was running second when he cut down a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall on Lap 123. Benson’s accident brought out the sixth caution of the race and promoted Allmendinger to second in the running order.
Skinner, the Bud Pole starter and series points leader, dropped from second to ninth position because of lug nut problems during a pit stop under caution on lap 89, but that wasn’t the worst of Skinner’s problems. Believing he had a tire problem, Skinner returned to the pits twice under the fifth caution of the night—caused when Joey Clanton’s No. 09 Ford pinched the No. 99 Ford of Erik Darnell into the outside wall off Turn 2 on Lap 99—and fell to 19th position for a restart on Lap 104.
Hornaday’s first win since last July was his record-extending 30th victory. He won $57,550 and gave Chevrolet its initial win of the 2006 season. Hornaday’s winning average speed of 122.809 mph was reduced by seven cautions that consumed 27 laps. Skinner continues to hold the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship lead by 85 points over defending champion Bodine following the sixth of 25 scheduled events.
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