Clint Bowyer entered a NASCAR Trucks race for the first time in over three years and charged to a win.
Todd Bodine earned a much bigger prize by hanging back: his second career season title.
Bodine finished 12th behind Bowyer at Phoenix International Speedway Friday night, wrapping up the title with one race left to become the third Trucks driver to win multiple championships. MiamiHerald.com
He leads Aric Almirola by an insurmountable 202 points entering next Friday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Bowyer beat race runner-up Kyle Busch to the line by 1.039 seconds. Johnny Sauter finished third, followed by Matt Crafton and Almirola.
“Everybody back at the shop did such a great job building this thing,” Bowyer said. “They were excited about it before we came down here, and any time these guys get excited about building a truck back at the shop, you know as a racecar driver that you’re going to have a good hot rod, and we certainly did.
“I love this series, and I think this is some of the best racing we have in NASCAR. It’s fun to be back in it.” NASCAR.com
Bodine, the 46-year-old Chemung, N.Y., native finished 12th in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at PIR, which made his second title a formality, although in truth the title’s been a foregone conclusion for quite a while.
All season long, Bodine has never been lower than third in points, and he’s led the way since May, when he finished second at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For the record, Bodine now has amassed two poles, four race victories, 16 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 24 Truck Series starts.
“The Germains made the commitment before the season started that we are going to run the 30 truck for the whole season,” said Bodine. “Obviously we thought that we could pick up more sponsorship along the way and ease that burden off of them. We were fortunate to have Valvoline on for some races. I’m very proud to represent them and what they’ve done for our sport.”
Still, the economics of fielding a championship-caliber team proved daunting.
“We felt like we could get more sponsorship,” Bodine said. “The way the economy is, it just didn’t happen. The Germain brothers made that commitment at the start of the year and they honored it and kept funding this out of their pocket. I’m really proud that we were able to get this championship — knock on wood. We’re going to get this championship for them, they deserve it for what they’ve done for our team.” FOX News
Busch still has a chance to win the series’ owner’s championship in his No. 18 Toyota. He holds a 120-point lead over Bodine’s No. 30 team with one race remaining.
“There’s two winners here tonight with Clint and Todd,” said Busch, in his first season as a team owner. “Hopefully, next week will be our night.” Charlotte Observer
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NASCAR Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix - Race Results
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