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TrackSideLive!
| NCTS Banquet
Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida | December 10, 2006
TrackSideLive! Presented by
Team ASE with TrackSide Editor Charles Krall...
Exclusive online coverage - from start to
finish - of the tough trucks and even tougher drivers of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
including Practice Times, Notes, Quotes, Photos, Audio interviews and more!
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TrackSideLive! from Daytona Preseason Thunder
01-08-2007 11:42 pm
Join TruckSeries.com as we officially kick off the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season with dominating coverage of the Preseason Thunder Test Sessions from Daytona International Speedway, including bonus coverage of the Fan Fest from Daytona on Saturday January 13th.
We'll jumpstart TrackSideLive! coverage of all the on-track action this Friday, January 12th through day three on Sunday the 14th including audio interviews, timing and scoring updates, news and notes from the garage, as well as massive collection TruckShots images in the photo gallery.
Dates for NASCAR's January testing at DIS are as follows:
Jan. 8-10: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, first session
Jan. 12-14: NASCAR Craftsman Truck (all trucks)
- Check out SPEED Coverage
Click Here for Schedule
Jan. 15-17: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, second session
Jan. 19-21: NASCAR Busch Series first session
Jan. 21-23: NASCAR Busch Series second session
NASCAR Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder Fan Fest Dates are as follows:
Jan. 9: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Fan Fest
Jan. 13: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fan Fest
Jan. 16: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Fan Fest
Jan. 20 and 21: NASCAR Busch Series Fan Fest
New Nickname?
12-11-2006 11:36 pm
It was suggested that now that "The Onion" has been crowned the champion, he might want to tweak his nickname. Maybe he could start going by "The ChampOnion"...
Champion: Todd Bodine
12-11-2006 11:21 pm
Todd Bodine picked up his first NASCAR championship of any kind with the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title. Bodine picked up $345,120 in NASCAR point fund awards, $10,000 for the Mobil 1 Command Performance Award, $11,000 for the Sunoco Diamond Award, $15,000 from Toyota for being the top Toyota driver, and $25,000 from Goodyear to push his season total to $1,046,680. That breaks Greg Biffle's season-ling earnings record of $1,002,510 set in 2000.
Bodine gave an impassioned speech that not only spoke to his dedication to the sport but also poked fun at some of his fellow competitors. For instance, he said NASCAR starter Dennis James requested a tinted shield for David Starr, because Starr's perpetual smile and bright white teeth were blinding him on the starter's stand. But even with the laughs, Bodine was grateful to be where he was.
"Not too long ago I was doing the start and park thing in the Cup series," he said. "I met with Mike Hillman Sr and the Germain family. I was out shopping that day and they gave me a hard time because I showed up in cut off shorts and flip flops. They were like, ' this is how you show up to a job interview?' I told them if I knew they had a problem with flip flops, I would have worn my sandals! But in all honesty, the Germains are like family. They always say the most important part of any business is people. They have given us all the tools we need to do this right."
Bodine also talked about his first ever laps in a racecar.
"It was at Chemung Speedrome. I was about 13. My dad, Eli Bodine Jr. had rented out the track for the day. I was there just messing around and the guy who rented the track pulled in and asked me if I wanted to make a few laps. I got in and off I went. My dad showed up a while later and he saw the guy that had rented the track standing there, and his racecar was out on the racetrack. He figured out pretty quick what was going on and ran out on to the track trying to get me to stop, jumping up and down, hands waving, the whole thing. I made five or six more laps then pulled it in. I stopped and he came up to the car and pulled the window net down. He said, ' what do you think you are doing?' I looked at him and I just knew I was in for it. I said 'I'm just having a little fun.' He looked at me and smiled, and he said 'get out of that thing'. But I knew right then I wanted to be a racecar driver."
He also honored his brothers, Geoffrey and Brett, on stage. "These two guys have both done what it takes to get a championship but never were able to pull it off. This is as much for them as it is for me."
Second Place: Johnny Benson
12-11-2006 11:14 pm
Former NASCAR Busch Series champion Johnny Benson was the runner up in the 2006 NCTS championship. Benson earned $163,931 in NASCAR point fund awards, and also picked up $10,000 for winning the Checkers/Rallys Double Drive-Thru Pit Crew Challenge. His overall earnings in 2006 were $770,157.
Benson talked about joining the elite club of drivers that have won in all three national NASCAR series.
"I came and ran a few races with Bill Davis in 2004 and found out it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be," he said. "There are a lot of great champions here and the competition is pretty tough. That first year with Bill and Gail was kind of neat. It was a week to week deal for a while. Finally, after doing that for six or eight races I finally told them to just call me when they didn't want me. I haven't had a call from you in a while Bill, so I guess we're still good!"
Third Place: David Reutimann
12-11-2006 10:51 pm
David Reutimann finished third in the NCTS point standings, earning $146,675 in NASCAR point fund awards. All told, he earned $525,531 thoughout the season.
Reutimann, who will drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Cup and Busch Series in 2007, talked about coming from a prominent racing family.
"It's nice to have family there with you because they are less likely to bash you on a bad day!" Reutimann said. He also talked about not being called in to talk to NCTS director Wayne Auton for the second straight season. "The first year he just had a stool in there with my name on it I was in there so much. This year is the second year in a row I didn't get called in. It's a real relief, because that first year whenever I went in and left with a lot less butt than I came in with."
Fourth Place: David Starr
12-11-2006 10:07 pm
David Starr finished fourth in the 2006 NCTS point standings. Starr earned $129,420 in NASCAR point fund awards, totalling $515,985 for the season.
Starr also talked about an emotional win for he and his team at Martinsville in the spring.
"I never thought I would have won a race at Martinsville," Starr said. "My sister was in labor that day and right before the race I got a call that said I had a little nephew. It was the coolest thing ever, and the race hadn't even started! The to go out and win it, it was just an emotional ending to a great day. There were some tears for sure. But heck, I am excited about it now and it happened eight months ago!"
Fifth Place: Jack Sprague
12-11-2006 9:48 pm
Three-time series champion Jack Sprague finished fifth in the final NCTS point standings, earning $112,164 in NASCAR point fund awards. Additionally, he earned $10,000 as the winner of the season long Featherlite Most Improved Driver award. All told, Sprague earned $586,879 in 2006.
Sprague talked about his surprisingly emotional victory at Martinsville in October. The win wasn't what was surprising, although he had never won there before. The surpring aspect was the emotion the usually stoic Sprague displayed.
"My daughter was there and she wasn't there in Memphis when we won," Sprague said. "When I stopped the truck in Martinsville she was the first person I saw. She gets to me a little bit."
He also talked about the monkey-knapping that took place after the Texas race.
"That's (Tony) Furr's monkey," he said. "The Morgan-Dollar team decided to kidnap it. We got it back, but somebody decided to have some fun with our monkey."
Sixth Place: Ted Musgrave
12-11-2006 9:12 pm
Defending series champion Ted Musgrave finished sixth in the final 2006 NCTS standings. Musgrave earned $94,908 in NCTS point fund awards to push his season total to $560,083.
"It's tough to repeat," Musgrave said. "I had a shot at it, and it's really hard. Maybe Todd can rewrite the history book next year. We've worked really well with Todd this year, and it's great to see him get the championship. It's almost as good as winning it myself. Yes, I did say almost as good! It's good but not quite like it."
Musgrave commented on his gamble at Martinsville in the fall to go the entire 200 lap distance without stopping.
"We'll find out in about nine months if we can do it, stay tuned!"
Seventh Place: Ron Hornaday
12-11-2006 9:06 pm
Two-time series champion Ron Hornaday finished seventh in the final NCTS point standings, earning $77,652 in NASCAR point fund awards. Team owner Kevin Harvick picked up the $15,000 award for being the top Chevrolet team, pushing their season long earnings to $544,667.
Hornaday joked about owner Harvick's winnings from his 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship.
"Kevin expects a lot. We have a new sponsor on board and we want to perform for them too. The bonus we got for Kevin winning all those races in the Busch Series and the championship is a fast race truck over here. He gave us all the tools we need to go and get it done. We started slow this year but we worked with Wally Rogers, Stacy Johnson, and even team manager Rick Carelli as crew chief this year. The guys are working hard and we can't wait to see our truck out on the track in 2007."
Eighth Place: Terry Cook
12-11-2006 9:01 pm
Terry Cook finished eighth in the final NCTS point standings, earning $64,710 in NASCAR point fund awards. Additionally, Cook picked up $15,000 for being the top finishing Ford driver in the point standings to push his season total to $483,630.
Cook returned to victory lane for the first time since 2002 with a win at Kansas. "Ray Dunlap reminded me of that every week," Cook said. "I think if we could have run those Goodyear Run Flat tires I think we would have been there last year."
Cook spent the 2006 season running the rookie meetings. "The amazing this is when you try to explain things to them, you see them out on the track trying to put that advice to work. We had a great rookie class and congratulations to Erik Darnell on winning rookie of the year."
Cook also spoke on how his young son Cody affects his weekends at the track.
"It doesn't change your approach, but it sure does make a day like Todd had at Homestead when he finished 21st a lot better. He doesn't care what happened out on the racetrack, he's just happy to see you when you walk in the door."
Ninth Place: Rick Crawford
12-11-2006 8:57 pm
Rick Crawford was the next driver across the stage, finishing ninth in the final NCTS points. For his efforts, he earned $56,082 in NASCAR point fund awards, pushing his season total to $508,602.
"I'm back folks," Crawford said when walking on stage. "Last year I was back at table 34 with Skinner and people forgot about me! It was neat this year running around the top five. We had a shot to win races and we were in contention for the championship. Power exerts itself one time; strength will come back time after time. We had some problems, but this is a strong team. Cowboy Starland and this team, we were able to come back after some bad luck and finish in the top ten."
Tenth Place: Mike Skinner
12-11-2006 8:50 pm
Mike Skinner was the first driver on stage to accept tenth place in the final NCTS standings. Skinner earned $50,905 in NASCAR point fund awards and $20,000 for winning the season long Bud Pole Award, pushing his season total to $568,535.
"If we knew what we had to do from winning poles to winning races, we'd be sitting where Todd is sitting," Skinner said.
Skinner compared his average starting position to his golf handicap. "My average starting position is much better," Skinner said coyly, not wanting to give up any strokes on the golf course. Skinner has been known to take several hundred dollar bills from competitors on the links.
Banquet Special Awards
12-11-2006 5:45 pm
Prior to the drivers walking across the stage, several special awards were presented.
Chevrolet rep Jeff Chew presented its award to the highest ranked Chevrolet team to owner Kevin Harvick. Robert Brooks, the Ford Racing program manager for the NCTS, presented the top Ford award to Terry Cook. Jim Aust from Toyota presented Steve Germain with the award for the top ranked Toyota team. Aust returned to the stage moments later when NASCAR president Mike Helton awarded the Manufacturer's Championship to Toyota. Finally, Erik Darnell accepted his Raybestos Rookie of the Year award before the ceremony paused while the guests ate dinner.
Reception for Toyota Drivers
12-10-2006 3:17 pm
Toyota hosted a reception for its NCTS drivers and crew chiefs this afternoon. Todd Bodine and Mike Hillman, Jr. were in attendance earlier this afternoon, as were BDR chiefs Rick Ren and Jeff Hensley. Jack Sprague was there with Tony Furr, and David Starr was there with his head wrench Jamie Jones. Vice president for Motorsports for Toyota Motor Sales Jim Aust was also in attendance.
Hello from Disney!
12-10-2006 3:12 pm
Good afternoon from Walt Disney World, site of tonight's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Awards Banquet at the Grand Floridian Resort. It has been a very exciting and fun weekend so far, and tonight we will pass out all of the end of season awards and officially crown Todd Bodine the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion.
We will have updates throughout the afternoon and evening, as well as audio interviews and image galleries so stay with us!
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