NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series News & Notes: Michigan Speedway
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Jun 10, 2008
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Marks Breaks Pole Drought
Justin Marks (No. 9 Construct Corps Toyota) won the Keystone Light Pole at Texas Motor Speedway with a fast lap of 176.951 mph to become the first Raybestos candidate to grab the No. 1 spot since Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford) at Nashville in 2006.
Marks wound up 14th in the Sam’s Town 400 to rank second to Colin Braun (No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford) after nine rounds of competition.
Marc Mitchell (No. 15 Hyprene Ergon Inc. Toyota) led all rookies in Texas with a 12th-place effort, the best of his short NASCAR Craftsman Truck career. He is scheduled to parachute with the U.S. Army “Golden Knight” team on Tuesday.
Brian Scott (No. 16 Albertsons Chevrolet) was 13th — his best performance since taking ninth in the season opener in Daytona Beach.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings after nine races of the 2008 season:
1. Colin Braun 92
2. Justin Marks 81
3. Donny Lia 80
4. Brian Scott 71
5. Andy Lally 62
6. Marc Mitchell 53
7. Scott Speed 42
8. Phillip McGilton 38
Up Next:
The series returns to another track that’s been on the schedule each year since 1995 — The Milwaukee Mile. There have been 13 races and two multiple winners.
Ted Musgrave won in 2001 and 2004. Johnny Benson goes for three wins in a row on Friday, June 20. Eight previous winners are expected to compete.
In The Loop:
Could one race relegate Rick Crawford to “afterthought” status?
Crawford, the points leader going into last Friday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, suffered a 21st-place finish at Texas and dropped like a stone in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings.
Now, Crawford’s mired in sixth, 71 points behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr.
But all is not lost.
Crawford’s strong at Michigan. He’s finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races – all sixth-place finishes – and overall has five top-10 finishes in eight career races at the two-mile track.
Over those last three top-10 finishes, Crawford has an average Driver Rating of 99.2, an Average Running Position of 10.4, nine Fastest Laps Run, 158 Green Flag Passes, and had a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 80.8 percent.
Also watch for hometown favorite Johnny Benson. Benson finds his name near the top of a number of statistical categories.
Thanks to a win in 2006 and a ninth-place finish last season, Benson earned an average Michigan Driver Rating of 93.2, an Average Running Position of 11.8, 10 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 70.5 percent.
And, as usual, Kyle Busch should be a factor. Busch, again pulling triple duty, finished second in both of his trips to Michigan (2005 and 2007).
He has a Driver Rating of 119.5, an Average Running Position of 6.0 and 22 Fastest Laps Run – all of which are best among those competing in this weekend’s race.
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders
(Through nine races of the 25-race season)
Points leader – Ron Hornaday Jr. (1,302)
Driver Rating – Kyle Busch (121.3)
Laps led – Ron Hornaday Jr. (414)
Victories – Kyle Busch, Ron Hornaday Jr. (2)
Keystone Light Poles – Ron Hornaday Jr. (2)
Top-five finishes – Ron Hornaday Jr. with three
Top-10 finishes – Mike Skinner with seven
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Colin Braun
Races led – Ron Hornaday Jr. (9)
Weeks in Top 10 – Three drivers with nine
Director’s Take: Wayne’s Words
“No one is going to mistake Brooklyn, Mich., for Daytona Beach, Fla. – after all, they’re about 900 miles apart – but in 2004, when we had a record 18 lead changes, a couple of crew chiefs came over after the race and said they looked up and could have sworn there must have been palm trees growing in the infield.
“Michigan International Speedway is Daytona North as far as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is concerned. It’s fast, wide and offers great drafting opportunities, just like the speedway in Florida.
“The 18-degree banking allows drivers to try different lines and not just hug the bottom groove. A fast exit from Turn 2 launches a truck down a more than 2,000-foot backstretch where the slingshot definitely comes into the picture.
“We’ve frequently seen three and even four-wide packs come out of Turn 4. The start-finish line camera is a definite must to be sure the right leader is called at the stripe.
“A rookie driver never has won at Michigan but the track is wide enough to give the first-time drivers the opportunity to get up to speed. A small mistake isn’t as critical here as it might be someplace else.”
Michigan Rewind: Gaughan Sets Record
Brendan Gaughan was red-hot in 2003, winning six times including the Cool City Customs 200 at a record average speed of 154.004 mph.
The battle that day was between Gaughan and veteran Robert Pressley, who’d won the race the previous year.
“I was on the high side; he was on the bottom,” said Gaughan. “The tough thing was to know if you were clear or unclear.
“I said I’d follow him and not block him into the wall. We charged our way through the field.”
After a final, green flag stop, Gaughan emerged with a 12-second lead and ultimately the victory.
Gaughan is winless in 85 starts and hopes this is the week it ends.
“We’ll get back to Victory Lane and we’ll cherish it all the more having gone through a lot of bad spots,” he said.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2008 Manufacturers’ Championship Point Standings following Race 8 of 25:
Chevrolet 63
Toyota 59
Ford 42
Dodge 34
This Week’s Milestones:
Three drivers reach series career milestones this week in Michigan:
Todd Bodine — 100th start
David Starr — 200th start
Terry Cook — 275th start
FAST FACTS
The Race: Cool City Customs 200
The Place: Michigan International Speedway
The Date: June 14, 2008
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 200 miles / 100 laps
Track Layout: 2-mile speedway
2007 Winner: Travis Kvapil
2007 Pole: Travis Kvapil
2008 Standings:
Rk Driver Points
1 R. Hornaday Jr. 1,302
2 M. Crafton 1,257
3 J. Benson 1,247
4 T. Bodine 1,237
5 J. Sprague 1,231
6 R. Crawford 1,231
7 M. Skinner 1,202
8 C. McCumbee 1,176
9 T. Cook 1,164
10 D. Starr 1,145
