Repeat Winners Commonplace At Texas Motor Speedway
Like grapes, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winners come in bunches at Texas Motor Speedway.
The track, which hosts Friday night’s Winstar World Casino 400, boasted eight consecutive different winners from its debut on the schedule in 1997 through the fall race of 2002.
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When Brendan Gaughan first stepped into Victory Lane in June 2003, that changed.
Gaughan went on to record four consecutive wins through the fall of 2004.
In the 10 races since Gaughan’s last victory, two drivers — current NASCAR Camping World Truck points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Copart.com Toyota) — have accounted for six wins.
Bodine matched Gaughan’s total with victories in each season from 2004-07.
Hornaday, not to be outdone, swept both spring and fall races at Texas Motor Speedway a year ago — that after the all-time series winner had gone 0-for-10 at the 1.5-mile facility.
The 40-time series winner looks no further than his pit box to explain why.
“We had been decent there in the past but for some reason, (crew chief) Rick Ren and the guys hit something the past couple of years,” said Hornaday. “I’m not sure if it’s aero or what but the trucks we bring there drive really good.
“It is really hard to do that (sweep) with the competition in the series the way it is today. I’m really proud of that accomplishment. I hope we can go there this weekend and do it again.”
Ren, who also has Texas wins with Andy Houston and Travis Kvapil, said, “We worked really hard on getting the trucks comfortable for Ron to drive at places like Texas and Charlotte. After he was comfortable behind the wheel, then we worked on making them fast. I think that is what has made the most difference at the 1.5-mile tracks.”
Bodine, winless since the opening race at Daytona, is anxious to get back in Victory Lane and become the first to win five times at the same track.
“What having four wins at Texas means for this Copart Tundra team is that we know we can win at Texas and know we can get around there,” said Bodine. “Racing at the mile-and-a-half is about going fast and being patient.”
And Now, The Heart Of The 2009 Campaign Beckons
Now, as they say, things get interesting.
After an early season that saw six races stretched over nearly three months, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams head to Texas Motor Speedway for the second race of a five-weekend swing that takes teams from Dover, Del., to Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee.
The May-June schedule won’t decide the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck championship. But safe to say a championship can be lost as spring becomes summer and both heat and pressure intensify.
A year ago, neither 2008 champion Johnny Benson (No. 1 Red Horse Racing Toyota) nor runner-up Hornaday missed a beat .
Benson collected his third consecutive victory at the Milwaukee Mile, finished second at Michigan, was third in Texas and 10th at Dover.
Hornaday won twice, in Texas and at Memphis Motorsports Park, was third at Dover and seventh in Milwaukee.
Both outdistanced 2006 titleholder Todd Bodine, whose trio of top-five finishes couldn’t match his rivals’ pace. Bodine was the points leader entering Dover’s AAA Insurance 200 but emerged third, 54 points behind Hornaday, when the Memphis race had been run.
Bodine ultimately finished 104 points behind Benson and 97 arrears of Hornaday.
The post-Dover margin between first and third a year ago was a slim 24 points vs. 29 points in 2009. Veteran Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar/International Truck and Engine Ford) headed the standings.
One bad finish — 21st at Texas — may not have doomed Crawford’s championship hopes but it stalled the Alabama driver’s momentum. Crawford had slipped to fifth after the Memphis race and was seventh at season’s end.
It’s still early in the year but running both fast and mistake-free during the coming month figures to pay dividends when the season winds down in the fall.
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Great Scott! Another First Time Winner As Dover’s Streak Reaches 10
Another Dover; another Scott.
Brian Scott’s (No. 16 Albertsons Toyota) victory in the May 30 AAA Insurance 200 gave Dover International Speedway back-to-back first-time winners.
Scott Speed was the surprise occupant of Victory Lane one year ago.
In fact, Dover has crowned four first-time winners in its 10 races — Scott, Speed, Chad Chaffin and Jason Leffler.
Ten Dover races; 10 different winners.
“I don’t think I breathed the last ten laps,” said Scott. “I think (crew chief) Jeff Hensley said it the best right when I got done doing the burnout and he said, ‘Somebody pinch me.’ So, I reached over to pinch myself to make sure to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, too. It’s just an awesome feeling.”
Scott is the sixth different winner in the season’s first seven races matching a record set in 1997. The six-for-seven number had been matched in five other seasons, most recently in 2008.
Scott, 21, enjoyed a huge bounce in NASCAR Camping World Truck points standings. He entered the race ranked 10th and jumped all the way to fifth, 107 points behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr.
He is the series’ youngest first-time winner since Kyle Busch (No. 51 Miccosukee Gaming and Resorts Toyota) won in 2005, 18 days past his 20th birthday.
Sauter’s Top Five Tightens Raybestos Rookie Race
Raybestos Rookie Of The Year Standings
Rk Driver Points 1. Tayler Malsam 71 2. Johnny Sauter 71 3. James Buescher 65 4. J.R. Fitzpatrick 52 5. Ricky Carmichael 45 6. Brent Raymer 30 7. Chris Jones 19 8. Chase Austin 16 9. Brian Ickler 8
Johnny Sauter (No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Adkins/Curb Records Chevrolet) has run well this season but hadn’t been able to finish one off — until last weekend at Dover International Speedway.
Sauter raced to a fifth-place finish notching just his second top five in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He finished second in August 2004 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
Both Sauter and Tayler Malsam (No. One Eighty Toyota) have scored 71 points through the season’s first seven races.
“All in all a good day for us and hopefully we take this truck to Texas and keep going,” said Sauter. He finished one position ahead of Thorsport teammate Matt Crafton.
Eyes Of Texas Upon Several
Three drivers, an owner and a crew chief would like nothing better than to win in their native Lone Star state.
David Starr (No. 24 Zachary Toyota), Houston, has 21 starts at TMS, finishing third on three occasions.
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Colin Braun (No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford), Ovalo, finished fifth and 22nd at TMS in 2008.
Joey Sonntag, a Dallas area native who formerly owned a NCWTS team, returns as crew chief for J.J. Yeley (No. 73 County Building Centers/Circle M Toyota).
And James Buescher of Plano will be driving the No. 10 International MAXX Force Diesel Ford owned by Ozona, Tex.’s Tom Mitchell. His Circle Bar Racing teammate, Rick Crawford, has competed in all 22 TMS races.
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