Rowdy Busch Back In Victory Lane
Kyle Busch hadn’t been in the No. 51 Miccosukee/NOS Energy Drink Toyota since O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis back in July but that didn’t seem to matter Aug. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch started strong rolling off third behind first- time Keystone Light polesitter Scott Speed (No. 22 Red Bull Toyota) and Johnny Benson (No. 23 EXIDE Batteries Toyota). He went on to lead 145 laps, capping the night off with a trip to Victory Lane.
The win marks the driver’s third in the series for the season as well as his first short-track win. No one driver has dominated the five short tracks on the circuit this year. Busch is the fifth different driver to win joining Dennis Setzer (No. 18 TAHOE Dodge), Donny Lia (No. 71 Nationrides.com Chevrolet), Ron Hornaday, Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) and Benson.
Busch also becomes the third driver with a Bristol win in all three national series (Mark Martin and Carl Edwards are the other two).
“Its fun to be able to win at any race track in anything,” Busch said. “But to be able to do the sweep here at Bristol, it’s pretty awesome.”
To say the least, Busch scored an immaculate performance. He was the second driver to post a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 this season. Hornaday has accomplished the feat twice, in his wins at Kansas and Texas.
Return To The Windy City
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be making a stop in the Windy City next season. The 2009 schedule released recently revealed that the series would be hitting Chicagoland Speedway for a night race Friday, Aug. 28. The addition was part of the schedule realignment, replacing the fall race in Atlanta with a night race at Chicagoland.
The series isn’t completely new to the area. The now defunct Chicago Motor Speedway hosted the trucks in 2000 and 2001. Joe Ruttman captured the checkered flag the first year and the following season Scott Riggs made the trip to Victory Lane.
In an area where the number of NASCAR fans continues to grow each season, it’s an addition to the schedule everyone positively welcomes.
“Getting back to Chicago is a great plus for the series,” said series director Wayne Auton. “It’s just one more avenue for fans to become NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series fans.”
“The layout of the mile-and-a-half track is like no other that we currently race at,” Auton said. “And under the lights, it will all make for an exciting race.”
Matt Alexander, president of Chicagoland Speedway, agrees adding the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the lineup, which includes the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and the IRL, is a win-win situation for everyone, particularly the fans.
“We’re excited about the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coming to Chicagoland Speedway,” he said. “To meet the growing excitement of the motorsports fan base in the Chicago market … It bodes very well with our efforts to really continue to try to provide the best possible experience when our fans and guests come to Chicagoland Speedway.”
In The Loop: Still A Contender, Bodine’s Closer Than You Think
Todd Bodine’s 239-point deficit may look daunting, but there’s no need to fret just yet.
Bodine has two truths on his side: success at the upcoming tracks and momentum.
With nine races – and nine tracks – left on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Bodine sits fourth in the points standings. Of the remaining nine tracks, Bodine has wins at seven of them.
Plus, Bodine has put together a couple of strong finishes in a row. At Nashville, Bodine finished third, posting a Driver Rating of 139.1 – his best Driver Rating of the season. Then last week, Bodine finished second and had a Driver Rating of 119.7.
Overall this season, Bodine has a Driver Rating of 100.7 (third-best), an Average Running Position of 8.7 (second), 124 Fastest Laps Run (tied for fourth), a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 78.2 (fourth) and 358 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), which is second only to Matt Crafton’s 383.
Only three drivers have a rating over 100: Bodine, Hornaday and Benson. Not surprisingly, Benson and Hornaday are one-two in the series points standings.
Hornaday leads the series in Driver Rating with a 113.3, while Benson is second with a 110.3.
Manufacturers’ Battle
Toyota’s still on top, slightly extending its lead over Chevrolet to 12 points. Dodge is the top manufacturer for Gateway International Raceway.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2008 Manufacturers’ Championship Point Standings Following Race 16 of 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Toyota 114
Chevrolet 102
Ford 79
Dodge 57
NASCAR Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings After 16 Races of the 2008 Season
1. Colin Braun 157
2. Donny Lia 144
3. Justin Marks 129
4. Brian Scott 120
5. Marc Mitchell 100
6. Scott Speed 80
7. Andy Lally 62
8. Phillip McGilton 38
This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders
(Through 16 races of the 25-race season)
Points leader – Johnny Benson (2,426)
Driver Rating – Ron Hornaday Jr. (113.3)
Laps led – Ron Hornaday Jr. (717)
Victories – Johnny Benson (4)
Keystone Light Poles – Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner (3)
Top-five finishes – Johnny Benson (10)
Top-10 finishes – Mike Skinner (13)
Raybestos Rookie Leader – Colin Braun
Races led – Ron Hornaday Jr. (13)
Weeks in Top 10 – Three drivers with 16
Up Next:
After a Labor Day weekend break the racing action will resume at Gateway International Raceway with the Camping World 200 presented by Honda Power Equipment on September 6.
Defending race winner and current points leader Johnny Benson will look to visit Victory Lane for the fifth time this season.
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