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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Race #1 |
GM FlexFuel 250
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona, Florida
Friday, February 17, 2006
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SPEED, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2006, will be live from Daytona Speedweeks for 10 days, beginning Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. ET with Speedweeks on SPEED. "NASCAR's Daytona Speedweeks has been a signature event for our network since 2002, when Fox launched the re-branded SPEED," said Hunter Nickell, SPEED Executive VP and General Manager.
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GM FlexFuel 250 - Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Event Schedule
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Obviously excited about the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season, David Starr returned from the resent testing session at Daytona International Speedway with renewed hope and expectation. "My new team and truck are definitely awesome," said the popular Texas native, who will be running the Number 38 Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing this season. "Going to Daytona, be it to watch a race, test or compete, has always been a thrill for me," continues Starr. (High Sierra Photo)
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For the 15th consecutive year, Performance Racing Network will kickoff its broadcast season with "Fast Talk Live from Daytona Beach" and the roster of scheduled guests includes defending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Tony Stewart, four-time series titlist Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.
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CLR Racing crew chief Joey “Jive” Cudmore, today announced that Brandon Whitt will be the driver of the #57 CLR Ford Taurus for the ARCA 200 at Daytona on February 11th. "Its great to have a wheel man like Brandon in our car. His success in the truck series proves that he can get the job done. We’ve got a great car and great power supplied to us by Joe Rhyne," said Cudmore.
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The No. 59 HT Motorsports Dodge, driven by Mike Wallace will team up with sponsor M Select performance engine parts by Melling for the Craftsman Truck Series Daytona 250 on February 17th, 2006. The title sponsor represents Melling's performance line of automotive and truck parts. The agreement also marks the 28th consecutive year that Melling has had a presence as an owner, associate sponsor or sponsor-dating back to 1979.
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Mark Martin will kick off his 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in the series' season opening Daytona 250 on Friday, Feb. 17. Martin, who plans to run a limited schedule in both the Craftsman Truck and Busch Series in 2006, will compete in four races over Daytona Speedweeks, including the Budweiser Shootout, the IROC season opener, the Craftsman Truck opener and the famed Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Sean Murphy, Kerry Earnhardt, Scott Lagasse Jr., Robert Richardson, Joey Miller, Kerry Earnhardt, Kyle Krisiloff, Marcos Ambrose, Bobby East, Boston Reid, Kraig Kinser, Robert Turner, J.R. Patton, Aric Almirola, Erin Crocker, and Erik Darnell plan to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year in 2006. Murphy was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 GM Flex Fuel 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, claiming a 24th-place finish.
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"I love going to Daytona. It is one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. The driver and crew have to be on their game the entire race in order to have a shot for the win. We ran really well there in 2005 but were taken out in a wreck that ended our night. I am hoping 2006 will be the year we have the finish that we deserve. The test in January proved to be really strong for the No. 22 team. We were fast in both single-truck runs as well as in the draft."
-Bill Lester
(Ronda Greer Photo)
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Update:
K Automotive Secures Unexpected Sponsor for Daytona
K Automotive Motorsports, one of the longest-running teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will not be making their 263rd start next weekend at the Daytona International Speedway due to lack of sponsorship funding. The K Automotive team has a fully-prepared Ford race truck ready for competition if any type of sponsorship funding was to come together prior to the event. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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Bobby Hamilton Jr. has joined forces with TECH-NET Professional Automotive Service and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. Hamilton will drive a uniquely designed TECH-NET Professional Auto Service/Law Enforcement Torch Run No. 08 Dodge created to help raise awareness and funding for the Special Olympics at the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17th.
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"I am really looking forward to running Daytona with Jim Harris' organization. We came down here and tested and the guys have built a great truck-wonderful in the draft. Daytona has always been a great place for me personally-it's always treated me very well. I hope I can continue with the good finishes this year for the sake of Melling and Harris Trucking and everyone else involved. I'm going to give it my best shot."
-Mike Wallace
(Team PR Photo)
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The No. 23 team tested chassis No. 23-11 in January at Daytona International Speedway. The team was happy with the truck's performance and is looking forward to Friday night's race. "I am looking forward to going to Daytona. The test was a lot better than 2005, so I think we will be good. Our Toyota is stable, really quick and drives well."
-Johnny Benson
(Ronda Greer Photo)
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Wyler Racing announced today that US Playing Cards (USPC) has signed on as Associate Sponsor for the 2006 season on the No. 60 Con-Way Toyota Tundra fielded by Wyler Racing and piloted by three time series champion Jack Sprague in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The United States Playing Card Company will utilize their sponsorship program to promote their Bicycle clay-filled Poker chips product.
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David Reutimann and his No. 17 Toyota will sport a new look when he takes the green flag during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Reutimann, who scored his first career win at Nashville Superspeedway last season, will pilot the No. 17 Team Tundra Racing Toyota as he begins his quest for his second victory and the 2006 championship.
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Mike Skinner will compete in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event Friday night and compete in the Gatorade Duel Thursday afternoon in an attempt to qualify the No. 23 Bad Boy Mowers Dodge for Sunday's Daytona 500. Skinner and wife Angie call Daytona Beach home. The couple has resided in Daytona Beach for more than five years and is active members of the local community.(High Sierra Photo)
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Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR Busch Series development driver Kevin Hamlin will make his second career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start and his first start at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 17th, in the Bobby Hamilton Racing No. 04 Dodge Hemi Ram. Scott Lagasse Jr, also a Ganassi development driver, is slated to drive the No. 04 Dodge Hemi truck for BHR throughout the 2006 season, but as a result of not being approved for Daytona's famed 2.5 Mile Tri-Oval, Hamlin will step in for one race. (Team PR Photo)
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The official entry list for the GM FlexFuel 250, the 1st race of the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
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Compassionate Gift Will Enable K Automotive to Make Trip to Daytona - Following the unfortunate news of this past week that K Automotive Motorsports would be forced to miss the upcoming season opener NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Daytona International Speedway, a compassionate gift was presented to the team that will enable them to compete in Friday’s GM Flex Fuel 250.
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The 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season shifts into high gear as it comes to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, Feb. 17. But before the exciting action hits the race track, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will sign autographs for the fans on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 16 from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m.
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2004 Series Champ Makes 100th Career NCTS Start
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Bobby Hamilton is hoping for a rare feat - a repeat of last year's win in the NCTS event at Daytona International Speedway. No NCTS driver has won back to back events at the storied 2.5 mile tri-oval, in fact no driver has won the event more than once since the initial series event at the venue in 2000. Hamilton is already slated to make history with his 100th career NCTS start and he knows that if he is to make it back to Victory Lane with his No. 18 Fastenal Dodge in the GM FlexFuel 250 on Friday night that strategy will play a larger than life role. "It is hard to tell what the right strategy is here at Daytona," Hamilton said. "If your truck is real good you want to run to the front, but if it looks like it is going to be a really wild race then I will probably run and hide somewhere."
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Tough. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has some of the toughest and most competitive action of any racing Series. Any one of the 36 drivers could win on any given day. That’s why the mantra: “Tough trucks, tougher drivers and the toughest tools” fits. Veterans vs. Young Guns. This year, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has a “Veterans vs. Young Guns” feel to it. Almost a dozen rookies in potentially front-running equipment will take on some of racing’s biggest names.
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After a successful 2005 campaign, Ron Hornaday will return to the track in the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for his 2006 season debut. The No. 33 team will be led by crew chief, Chris Rice. Last year's crew chief Wally Rogers, has moved over to the KHI No. 33 Busch car to serve as crew chief. KHI gave the No. 6 to veteran driver Mark Martin. (High Sierra Photo)
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Musgrave heads a solid list of veteran competitors who count nine titles won over the series’ first 11 seasons. That’s the greatest number of NASCAR Craftsman Truck champions to enter a season-opening event. Also in the field are Mike Bliss (No. 16 Xpress Motorsports Chevrolet), 2002; Bobby Hamilton (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge), 2004; Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 KHI Chevrolet), 1996, 1998; Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), 1995 and Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-Way Toyota), 1997, 1998 and 2001.
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Ted Musgrave (No. 9 ASE/Germain Toyota) has figured out how to top his first NASCAR championship. Win another one. "I don't know if it would be sweeter to repeat but it would come close," said Musgrave, who opens his quest for the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship with Friday's GM FlexFuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway. "The first championship really will always stick in your head like your first win. I think if I could repeat as champion with a whole, new team that would be a big statement on everything." As unlikely as it might seem, Musgrave has gone from a championship winning team to an even stronger organization. That, after the 50-year-old driver briefly was unemployed following the abrupt closure of Ultra Motorsports. Musgrave now rides with Germain Racing, a five-time winner a year ago with Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain Motors Toyota). (High Sierra Photo)
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Germain Racing and iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations today announced their partnership for the upcoming 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener, the GM Flex-Fuel 250, at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 17th. iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, a leader in PC-based auto racing simulations, will be the primary sponsor on the No. 30 Germain Racing Toyota Tundra driven by Todd Bodine. (Ronda Greer Photo)
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Bodine and the No. 30 iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations Toyota Tundra Team are looking to keep last years momentum going in 2006. Bodine will seek his fourth consecutive win, after winning the final three races of the 2005 season. The team's strong finish at the end of the season helped move Bodine up to a third place finish in the NCTS Driver Championship standings.
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Foundation today announced that Will Ferrell, star of Columbia Pictures’ upcoming NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, will serve as the official spokesman for NASCAR Day 2006.
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Musgrave has five NCTS starts at Daytona International Speedway. His first race at Daytona in the NCTS came in 2001, driving his famous No.1 Mopar Performance/Dodge. He starMusgrave in the fourth spot and finished 22nd after a water pump broke. Musgrave led 26-laps before his water pump broke. Musgrave returned the following year to get his first NCTS career Bud Pole at Daytona. He finished with a NCTS Daytona career best finish of second place in that same race.
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"Our Morgan-Dollar Motorsports team has run good here over the years and I would event go as far as saying that we have dominated this race at times recently. Last year we had one of the best trucks but due to a series of unfortunate events, weren't able to pull it off. We ran the same truck here in 2004 and 2005 and it was very competitive, but this year we are bringing a brand new truck."
-Dennis Setzer
(Ronda Greer Photo)
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Jon Wood, fulltime driver of the No. 47 NASCAR Busch Series Clorox Fusion is also entered in the field for this week's Craftsman Truck Series event. The Air Force announced today that it will be advertising on Jon's Ford F-150 for Friday night's race. Lt. Gen. Dennis R. Larsen, Vice Commander, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, said: "I think that it is an outstanding opportunity for the Air Force to be able to be on Jon's truck on Friday night.
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Seven drivers who piloted Tundras a year ago will be back in Toyotas for 2006. All three drivers at Bill Davis Racing -- Johnny Benson (No. 23), Bill Lester (No. 22) and Mike Skinner (No. 5) -- will return, as will David Reutiman (No. 17) and Joey Miller at Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. Jack Sprague (No. 60), who ran a limited schedule in a Tundra last season, will be back at Wyler Racing, and Todd Bodine (No. 30) returns to Germain Racing. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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On-track success at all levels for Roush Racing begins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS). In the series' 11 year history, owner Jack Roush has fielded 15 full-time teams, capturing seven top-five and 10 top-10 point finishes including Roush's first NASCAR championship in 2000 when Greg Biffle brought home the NCTS championship trophy. To date, no full-time Roush entry in the NCTS has finished outside the top 15 in points, a feat un-matched.
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Robert Richardson is ready to start his first full season of competition in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this week as the season kicks off at the Daytona International Speedway. Richardson will take to the track in his No. 1 WinYourMortgage.com Dodge beginning with the first practice session on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00pm. "We are really looking forward to getting the season started," said Richardson. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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"When I saw the hauler pulling through the tunnel with my name on it at the truck test in January, I definitely had a moment. It is every drivers dream to get to the level I am at and of course to the top ranks of the Nextel Cup Series. It is beyond what I have ever hoped for in my career. I am so excited to be racing at Daytona. It is obviously a very prestigious track on the NASCAR tour with all of the history that has been made here. "
-Erin Crocker
(Team PR Photo)
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2006 will be first season for Kraig Kinser, who will compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year award in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Kinser won prestigious 2005 Knoxville Nationals, the equivalent of the Daytona 500 in dirt winged sprint car competition.
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When Team Chevy Silverado unloads at Daytona International Speedway there will be new names, new paint schemes and new truck numbers, but the goals will remain unchanged. Chevrolet Silverado, the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history remains focused to pick up where they left off at the end of 2005. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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"What more is there to be said, three-time champion, Dennis Connor. He was twice runner-up. The guy's got numerous wins, championships and poles under his belt and to come in and be a leader of our Power Stroke Diesel race team is just an honor to just even have him and an honor for him to even accept the position."
-Terry Cook
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Moderator:
I'd like to introduce the panel for the 2006 NASCAR Competition Update. First I'd like to introduce vice president of competition, Robin Pemberton; our NASCAR Nextel Cup Series director, John Darby; NASCAR Busch Series director, Joe Balash; and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series director, the only guy besides me and Bill France who has been around that long, Wayne Auton... Can you explain the penalties that were imposed as a result of post-qualifying inspection?
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"Our FlexFuel Silverado is driving pretty good. We need a little more speed; we need to stay up in the draft a little better. The guys are working really hard to get a little more speed out of it and I think we will be ok. We were keyed up and ready to go for testing. We worked hard the entire time we were down here. We brought that back with us and are now working on finding more speed to be a little bit better in the draft. That is what we are looking for now. There are a lot of good trucks out there."
-Dennis Setzer
(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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Roush Racing announced today that Woolrich, The Original Outdoor Clothing Company has signed on to sponsor the No. 99 of Erik Darnell in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on February 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Darnell, the winner of Roush Racing: Driver X, will make his first start for the team on Friday night. After being chosen from a field of 1,776 applicants, Darnell went on to win the competition and was placed in the No. 99 truck for 2006. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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David Starr will be competing for the 8th time in his career in Daytona when taking the green flag for the GM FlexFuel 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday, February 17th in the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra. Starr will be making his first appearance in a race at the Daytona International Speedway in a Toyota. He has six previous starts in the Craftsman Truck Series and one in the NASCAR Busch Series.
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Brendan Gaughan will field the No. 77 in 2006. Sponsorship from the Orleans Hotel and Casino adorns Gaughan's Truck as the season opens and the team seeks primary sponsorship. After weeks of preparation Brendan Gaughan and the Orleans Racing team is ready to reap the rewards of their off-season work. T16, the Dodge Ram that'll contend in this week's event, has 100's of hours of preparation work done to it for the season opener. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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The Betty Jane France Pediatric Unit located at the Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida is named Speediatrics and provides world class health care for children. In what has become an annual event, veteran NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers Terry Cook, Jack Sprague, David Starr, Dennis Setzer and Brendan Gaughan visited the facility on Wednesday morning. The drivers spent time with 13 patients along with their families and signed autographs. (High Sierra Photo)
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"Found a little bit of what we were looking for. I am happy but not totally satisfied with it by any means. We can't get it to suck up in the draft like we want to but we will keep working on it. There were a few trucks that were so fast in a pack, they would go by like a rocket. I can't lead a pack, I can be in one but not out front. I will just have to run second all night and pull out on the last lap and hope someone goes with me to push me across for the win.
-Matt Crafton
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Todd Bodine and the No. 30 Germain Racing Toyota Tundra Team are ready to make their mark in 2006. They will be kicking off the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck season with a new look for the this Friday's season opener, the GM Flex-Fuel 250, at the famous 2.5 mile tri-oval of Daytona International Speedway. The No. 30 Germain Racing Toyota Tundra will be sporting the red, white, and blue colors of iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations. (High Sierra Photo)
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Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Ted Musgrave and the No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota Team are ready to kick off their season in Daytona. They are getting ready for this Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener, the GM Flex-Fuel 250, at the famous 2.5 mile tri-oval of Daytona International Speedway. You could say it has been quite a wild season already for Ted Musgrave and the green flag hasn't even been waived to start the season yet. (High Sierra Photo)
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This is Toyota's third season, and 51st race, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Toyota Tundras have won 18 NCTS pole positions in two seasons (2004-05). Mike Skinner had a series-high seven pole positions a year ago, and two poles in 2004. Other Tundra pole winners during the past two seasons include David Reutimann (4), Bill Lester (2), Brandon Whitt (2) and Travis Kvapil (1). (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Report)
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Mark Martin scored his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole
position in qualifying for the GM FlexFuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday evening. Martin, who has made just three previous starts in the Truck Series and just one - last year's season finale at Homestead - since 1996, ran a lap of 50.384 seconds with an average speed of 178.628 seconds to secure the pole in the Roush Racing No. 6 Scotts Ford. Martin's lap is 2.4 seconds slower than the track record here at Daytona, which translates to nearly ten miles an hour difference in average speed.
(High Sierra Photo)
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Mike Mittler knows a thing or two about talented drivers. Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stars Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards got their start with Mittler’s Foristell, Mo.-based NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) team, MB Motorsports.
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Without any owner's points to fall back on, you cleared the biggest hurdle in qualifying for the race. "All we did when we were here testing was qualifying runs because there are some Toyotas that aren't in on points, like us, and it's very crucial to have a good qualifying position, the very opposite of our Busch car."
-Jon Wood No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ford F-150 (Qualified 4th)
(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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"You can't do much here other than hold it wide open. I'm definitely excited. We're in the top-10 right now and hopefully we can get out of here with a top-10 qualifying run. It really shows how strong the equipment is and the team and how we all work together to accomplish this."-
Joey Miller, No. 12 Toyota, Top Raybestos Rookie Qualifier at Daytona
(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year contender Kraig Kinser posted the 11th fastest qualifying time for the GM FlexFuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Kinser's time made him the fastest Chevy Silverado in the field. Friday night's race will be the former sprint car racers first ever NCTS start. "A little bit of the stress is gone now that we made the race. We gave it everything we could on our two laps."
-Kraig Kinser
No. 47 Chevy (Qualified 11th)
(Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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The Circle Bar team will start the season from the 12th position searching to become the first 2 time winner of the Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona. The former Daytona Truck Series winner, Rick Crawford, offered the following on his qualifying run; "I'd like to be on the pole but this place is not about being fast by yourself but fast with others. The truck felt really good yesterday in the draft and there are some really good trucks around us and we'll hook up with those guys and go to the front." (Team PR Photo)
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Todd Bodine missed winning his fourth straight NCTS race with his second-place tonight. Bodine finished the 2005 season with three straight wins (Phoenix, Texas and Miami). Defending NCTS champion Ted Musgrave finished third in his first race driving a Tundra. "Second and third , can't complain, even though we wanted to win. It's great for me to have a teammate like Teddy (Musgrave) behind me. I knew I could count on him."
-Todd Bodine
(High Sierra Photo)
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Mark Martin kicked off his NASCAR Speedweek with a resounding victory in Friday night's GM FlexFuel 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Martin started from the pole and led six times including the final 14 laps on his way to his second career NCTS win. Martin kicked out to the lead, but it was not long lived as he was forced to share the top spot with eight other drivers. Several drivers, including Martin's Roush Racing teammate, rookie Erik Darnell, were able to poke the nose of their machine up front but we unable to cross the line in the lead to become an official leader of the race. For much of the evening, the racing was intense but clean and relatively calm. At times, the front of the field thinned out to just three trucks in a single file draft as they stretched their lead over the pack by upwards of three seconds. But as is inevitable here at Daytona, trouble strikes and often sweeps up several other trucks. (High Sierra Photo)
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In his first career Craftsman Truck Series start, Darnell scored his first top-five finish. He was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top-10. Darnell becomes the fourth Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish at Daytona. The others; Kurt Busch, second 2000, Kenny Martin, fifth 2000, Ricky Hendrick, second, 2001. (High Sierra Photo)
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"It was a little hairy out there. Our FlexFuel Silverado wound up fairly good, 13th I think. We aren't happy with it but we struggled a little bit all night, so we are happy to come out of here with a clean truck and some points. We are ready to go to California. We could move up a little bit at times. If we had a good draft in front and behind us, we could move. If we hung out the least little bit, it just didn't want to move."
-Dennis Setzer
(High Sierra Photo)
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Mike Skinner was the WIX Lap Leader of the Race at Daytona. Skinner led six times for 34 laps and took the award for the first time in 2006. Skinner finished fourth at Daytona, scoring his first top-five of the season, his best finish in three starts at the 2.5-mile speedway. His best previous effort was 14th in 2004. Skinner was the 2005 WIX Lap Leader of the Year in the Craftsman Truck Series, claiming the award six times and taking home the $10,000 cash award. (High Sierra Photo)
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"I just want to thank everybody, especially the Roush Racing guys, and Scotts for supporting this thing and coming on board. Those Ford drivers were awesome out there. Driver X Erik Darnell did a fabulous job and he got a chance to lead the race. We got a lot of help from the Ford drivers. I was really sweating there at the end because I was afraid they were going to gang up on us, the other brand. But, I had a little bit of help there at the end and everything just worked out."
-Mark Martin
(High Sierra Photo)
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THE MODERATOR: Today we have the third place finisher this evening of the GM FlexFuel 250, Ted Musgrave, the defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, first drive for Germain Motor Company in the ASE Germain Motor Company Toyota. Reflect on your race out there, Ted. "I'll tell you what, it was awesome. I wasn't really sure how the truck was going to start off the race. All of a sudden it seemed like it sniffed a draft, kind of got out near the front."
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Making his first start for Roush Racing, Erik Darnell brought the No. 99 Woolrich Ford F-150 home in the fifth position, rebounding from early trouble to become the highest finishing rookie in the race. "This is just incredible tonight for this whole team," said Darnell. "It was great to have Woolrich on board, I know their family was home watching on TV tonight. [Crew chief] John Quinn and everyone on this crew worked so hard, and all the help I got from Mark Martin out there, it was just incredible." (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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David Reutimann and his No. 17 Team Racing Tundra Toyota finished ninth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway Friday night. "We finished in the top-10 and brought the truck home in one piece," said Reutimann. "It's disappointing that we didn't finish better because we ran in the top-five all night." Reutimann qualified 13th for the 100-lap event. (Ronda Greer Photo)
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For all the ill fortune Mark Martin has experienced at Daytona International Speedway it figured that sooner or later the luck would fall the NASCAR legend's way. That's exactly what happened Friday night as Martin, at the wheel of Roush Racing's No. 6 Scotts Ford, drove under the waving checkered and yellow flags to capture the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series GM FlexFuel 250. A few minutes earlier - when the race restarted for what was to be a green-white-checker finish - the Bud Pole winner appeared to be in big trouble, about to be ganged up on by the Germain Motor Company Toyota duo of Todd Bodine and 2005 series champion Ted Musgrave. (High Sierra Photo)
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