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It had been an ugly two months for Todd Bodine.
Finishes of 18th, 21st, 25th and 18th had dropped him from second to sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings.
But Texas Motor Speedway has always been special for Bodine. Friday night, he made it historical. Dallas Morning News
Bodine, the 2006 Truck Series champion, stretched his fuel long enough to lead the final 43 laps and capture his record fifth victory at Texas. He became the first driver to win five truck races at the same track.
“We were just too loose the whole race, and (crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.) made some great calls at the end,” Bodine said. “They fixed it up and made it run.”
Bodine elected not to pit for gas during the last round of green-flag stops, which gave him the lead for good.
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“You always worry about (fuel) when you take a chance like that, but he’s doing a burnout, so we must be okay,” Hillman said.
Bodine’s 10 of 17 career victories in the series have come at 1.5-mile venues, making him the winningest drivers on intermediate tracks. Kansas City Star
In a race with only two cautions and no crashes, Bodine won with an average speed of 152.282 mph. He finished 1.32 seconds ahead of Matt Crafton, who took the season points lead from Ron Hornaday Jr. Colin Braun was a distant third, 10.3 seconds back.
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Johnny Benson was fourth, followed by Rick Crawford. Only nine trucks finished on the lead lap.
Hornaday, who swept both Texas races last year, had led 55 laps when he made a green-flag stop on the 99th lap. But a tire got loose from his crew in the pits and he had to serve a drive-through penalty and fell out of the top 10. He finished 19th, four laps back after coming off the track early because of an engine problem.
Polesitter Johnny Sauter led the first 42 laps, but lost the lead after some problems in the pit during the first caution, brought out when Brian Scott brushed the wall in the second turn. Sauter was ninth on the restart, and finished sixth. The Associated Press
