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TrackSideLive!
| Toyota Tundra 200
Nashville Superspeedway | Friday-Saturday August 11 & 12, 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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Good Morning from the Music City
08-11-2006 9:52 am
Well, we're close to the Music City anyhow...good morning from the Nashville Superspeedway! We are in Lebanon, Tennessee, getting ready for tomorrow's Toyota Tundra 200, round 16 of the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. The weather for this morning and afternoon is iffy, with some rain moving through the Nashville metro area but even if we deal with some rain today, the weather is forecast to be better tomorrow. Scattered storms are forecast, with the possibility of some locally heavy downpours and lightning. Today's high is expected to be around 80-85, so it won't be oppressively hot if we can stay dry. Stick around, we'll have all the action from the Nashville Superspeedway as we close in on the start of practice for tomorrow's Toyota Tundra 200 right here on TrackSideLive!, exclusively at TruckSeries.com!
Today's Schedule
08-11-2006 10:01 am
8:00am NCTS Haulers Enter
9:00am NCTS Garage Opens
1:15pm NCTS Rookie & Spotter Meetings & Drawing for Qualifying Order
2:15pm 3:15pm NCTS Practice
3:45pm 4:15pm NCTS Rookie Practice
4:15pm 5:15pm NCTS Final Practice
6:00pm NCTS Registration Closes
7:00pm NCTS Garage Closes
Nashville Superspeedway Track Facts
08-11-2006 10:08 am
Here is the scoop on the Nashville Superspeedway...
NSS is a 1.33-mile concrete tri-oval. The 150-lap race distance translates to 200 miles.
The turns are banked at 14 degrees. The frontstretch tri-oval is 2,494 feet long and is banked at 9 degrees. The 2,203-foot backstretch is banked at 6 degrees.
Mike Skinner holds the track qualifying record, 29.725 seconds/161.440 miles per hour, set on August 13, 2005.
Scott Riggs set the 200-mile race record in the track's inaugural race. He won in 1 hour, 30 minutes, 34 seconds at an average speed of 132.466 miles per hour.
There has yet to be a repeat race winner or Bud Pole winner at Nashville Superspeedway in five previous races.
Ted Musgrave leads all drivers with five top-10 finishes, all of which have been top-5 finishes.
The most lead changes at NSS was 13 in August 2002.
The most lead drivers at NSS was 7, three times, most recently in August 2003.
The fewest number of lead drivers was 5 in August 2005.
The most cautions in an NCTS race was 7 in August 2005.
The fewest cautions in an NCTS race was 2 in August 2002.
The most caution laps was 35 in August 2005.
The fewest caution laps was 10 in August 2002.
The highest number of lead lap finishers was 27 in August 2003.
The fewest number of lead lap finishers was 3 in August 2002.
The most drivers running at the finish was 30 in August 2004.
The fewest number of drivers running at the finish was 23 in August 2003.
The most laps led by a winner was 131 by Scott Riggs in 2001.
The fewest laps led by a winner was 17 by Bobby Hamilton in 2004.
Dodge is the only manufacturer with more than one win with 2.
The closest margin of victory was 0.305 seconds in 2002.
The widest margin of victory was 1.209 seconds in 2003.
Headed to the Garage for Pics
08-11-2006 10:27 am
TrackSideLive! will resume with text updates from the track shortly. I am headed off to the garage to start digging for some scoop, and to get our first round of TruckShots! for the weekend. Don't foget to check our discussion forums for the Nashville race thread. Ask away, and I'll get responses back to you throughout the weekend! I'll be back to the media center shortly, stick with us...
Storms Batter NSS
08-11-2006 11:44 am
Yesterday was an active day weatherwise in the Nashville area. At the track, high winds did some damage. Trash cans were knocked over all over the propery, and some hospitality tents were blown down and damaged as well. Some light poles were also adversely affected, with light bulbs blown out and damaged as well. The track is quickly working on making repairs.
Rain Halting ARCA Action
08-11-2006 11:53 am
Rain has delayed the start of practice for the ARCA REMAX Series at Nashville Superspeedway. The drizzle that was falling earlier in the morning has turned into an all-out rain and the track is wet. Undoubtedly practice for the NCTS will be affected as well. We will have an update on scheduling as soon as we hear from NASCAR.
Entry List Updates
08-11-2006 12:20 pm
Here are the updates to our normal weekly entry list:
Sammy Sanders is entered in the No. 04 Dodge carrying the colors of Camp Courageous...David Ragan is in the No. 6 Scott's Ford...Travis Kittleson is in the Green Light Racing No. 07 Bob Steele Chevrolet...Kraig Kinser is in the No. 46 Chevrolet carrying the Centrix colors...Peter Shepherd is making his second attempt in the No. 50 Roush Racing Ford...J.C. Stout returns this week in the No. 91 Hunter's Hope Foundation Chevrolet.
Some new looks this week...Ryan Moore's No. 40 Chevrolet is black this week instead of the usual white we've seen throughout the season...Kerry Earnhardt's No. 13 Chevrolet is painted identically to teammate Matt Crafton's No. 88 Chevrolet...David Starr's No. 11 Toyota is carrying orange colors on the back of the Red Horse Racing Toyota symbolizing associate sponsor Toyota Forklift...
Toyota Hosting Many Guests this Weekend
08-11-2006 12:31 pm
As one of the biggest events of their 2006 season, Toyota is again hosting thousands of guests here at Nashville Superspeedway. While down from the 10,000 guests they hosted a couple of years ago there will still be upwards of 8,000 Toyota employees, associates, and guests here this weekend.
Weather Update
08-11-2006 12:35 pm
It is still raining at Nashville Superspeedway. The heavy rain has stopped, but there is still a light but steady sprinkle falling all across the area. Radar shows a small band of showers that appears to be moving out of the area. Hopefully we will get some on-track action yet this afternoon.
Image courtest Weather.com.
Click here for current weather conditions in Lebanon, Tennessee
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Track Drying Underway
08-11-2006 1:39 pm
NASCAR and Nashville Superspeedway officials are working hard on getting the track in condition for high speed driving as the rain has stopped and we have a window in the weather. There may be a front that comes in that could bring some additional rain and wind, but as of now the skies are brighter and the jet dryers are out on the track trying to get us at least some limited practice time today. We'll update the weather some more as the afternoon continues.
ARCA Practice Underway
08-11-2006 2:18 pm
Track drying is complete and ARCA practice is underway. We will get an updated track schedule shortly.
Revised Schedule
08-11-2006 2:26 pm
ARCA will practice through 3:05 pm ET. Once their practice is complete, we will pick up today's original schedule from 3:15 pm ET and run as originally scheduled, barring any further weather interruptions.
TruckShots!
08-11-2006 2:49 pm
Look to the right side of the TrackSideLive! page for the link to our TruckShots! photo gallery. We've already posted the first batch with many more to come throughout the weekend. Check back often for updated images from the garage here in Nashville and check the archives for pictures from other races from the 2006 season.
Audio on the way
08-11-2006 2:50 pm
We met up with a few drivers waiting out the rain delay earlier this afternoon. David Reutimann is the defending race winner and he talks about what winning in Nashville meant for him and his team owner Darrell Waltrip, and what the racetrack will be like here this weekend. Travis Kittleson is making his series debut with Green Light Racing this weekend, and he talks about how he feels going into his first series start. Marcos Ambrose talks about waiting out the rain and how a taste of success as a rookie has raised his expectations. Finally, we met up with Kraig Kinser and talked about a career-best finish last week at IRP and a busy weekend this weekend between defending his championship at the Knoxville Nationals and racing the Truck here in Nashville. Click on each drivers name in the Sights and Sounds Box to listen to their exclusive interview.
Trucks Up Next!
08-11-2006 2:56 pm
The ARCA REMAX Series has just completed their abbreviated practice session, and we are just moments away from the start of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice. Stick around, we will have all the action including updates of any action out on the racetrack, and full timing and scoring reports throughout. Keep it locked on to TrackSideLive!
Practice 1 Rundown 1
08-11-2006 3:17 pm
1. Sprague 159.673 mph
2. Peters 158.649
3. Starr 158.638
4. Reutimann 157.389
5. Crafton 156.649
6. East 156.512
7. Ragan 156.486
8. Skinner 156.450
9. Grubb 156.389
10. Setzer 156.303
11. Ambrose 156.135
12. Hornaday 155.917
13. Hamilton 155.917
14. Lester 155.669
15. Crawford 155.502
16. Benson 155.351
17. Chaffin 155.221
18. Kinser 154.502
19. Darnell 154.372
20. Sutton 154.362
21. McCumbee 154.178
22. Sanders 154.159
23. Earnhardt 153.704
24. Reid 153.018
25. Bliss 152.930
26. Musgrave 152.799
27. Shepherd 151.520
28. Gaughan 151.382
29. Crocker 151.048
30. Moore 150.939
31. Bodine 149.444
32. Richardson 146.725
Aric Almirola was served with a 15-minute penalty once he was strapped in and ready to go for missing the rookie meeting.
Practice 1 Rundown 2
08-11-2006 3:36 pm
1. Sprague 159.673
2. Starr 159.238
3. Ragan 158.838
4. Hamilton 158.711
5. Peters 158.649
6. Grubb 158.512
7. Benson 158.486
8. Lester 158.397
9. Skinner 158.100
10. Bliss 157.829
11. Crafton 157,762
12. Reutimann 157.467
13. Hornaday 157.157
14. Cook 157.147
15. Kinser 157.075
16. Crawford 156.947
17. Ambrose 156.921
18. Sanders 156.880
19. Chaffin 156.870
20. Earnhardt 156.865
21. Setzer 156.547
22. East 156.512
23. Darnell 156.267
24. McCumbee156.119
25. Sutton 155.815
26. Reid 155.724
27. Shepherd 155.366
28. Gaughan 155.331
29. Bodine 154.178
30. Almirola 153.936
31. Musgrave 153.675
32. Moore 153.458
33. Crocker 153.336
34. Kittleson 153.062
35. Richardson 151.808
Practice 1 Rundown 3
08-11-2006 3:48 pm
1. Sprague 159.673
2. Peters 159.582
3. Starr 159.238
4. Skinner 159.027
5. Hamilton 159.006
6. Ragan 158.838
7. Lester 158.649
8. Grubb 158.572
9. Benson 158.486
10. Hornaday 158.287
11. Reutimann 157.949
12. Bliss 157.829
13. Crafton 157.762
14. Reid 157.731
15. McCumbee 157.312
16. Kinser 157.286
17. Earnhardt 157.219
18. Cook 157.147
19. Crawford 156.947
20. Ambrose 156.921
21. Sanders 156.880
22. Chaffin 156.870
23. Setzer 156.670
24. East 156.512
25. Darnell 156.267
26. Crocker 156.170
27. Sutton 155.815
28. Shepherd 155.366
29. Gaughan 155.331
30. Bodine 154.576
31. Almirola 154.526
32. Richardson 153.685
33. Musgrave 153.675
34. Moore 153.458
35. Kittleson 153.062
36. Stout 150.910
Red Out; Kinser Crashes in Turn Three
08-11-2006 3:57 pm
Kraig Kinser has crashed in turn three to bring out the first red flag of the day. More to follow shortly...
UPDATE
Kinser apparently blew a right front tire entering turn three and went up and made hard contact with the right side. He was seen and released from the infield care center. The Morgan-Dollar Motorsports team has unloaded the backup and is already preparing it for the second practice.
Rookies on Track
08-11-2006 4:35 pm
The NCTS rookies have rolled onto the track for their 30-minute solo session. We'll have a timing update shortly, and of course will have any track updates as warranted.
Rookie Rundown 1
08-11-2006 4:57 pm
1. McCumbee 157.482
2. Crocker 157.482
3. Earnhardt 157.049
4. Darnell 156.952
5. Shepherd 156.808
6. Almirola 155.246
7. Moore 154.845
8. East 153.744
9. Reid 153.699
10. Stout 151.832
11. Richardson 151.654
12. Kittleson No Speed
Rookies Go Incident Free
08-11-2006 5:12 pm
The rookies went 30 minutes incident free, and we are now underway with the final practice for tomorrow's Toyota Tundra 200. Stick with us for timing and scoring updates and any track action updates as warranted.
Hamilton Crashes in Three
08-11-2006 5:31 pm
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. had a hard crash in turn three to bring out the red flag. The right rear tire went down on the No. 18 Dodge entering the corner sending him into a 180-degree spin and hard into the wall with the driver's side. Hamilton has been seen and released from the care center and the BHR team is already preparing the backup truck.
Bottom Drops Out; Track Soaked
08-11-2006 5:36 pm
Rain has hovered throughout the area and it finally returned to the Lebanon area. The bottom just dropped out of the clouds, and the track has quickly become waterlogged. NASCAR has officially canceled the remainder of final practice. A full rundown will be posted to the Event Bot on the main page shortly.
Headed to the Garage
08-11-2006 5:51 pm
We're going to head to the garage and try to track down some drivers as they dodge the rain drops. We shall return shortly...
Rain Ends Day Early
08-11-2006 6:32 pm
The rain has brought the day to an early end here in Nashville. We were able to catch up with Bobby Hamilton, Jr. to see how he was feeling after that big impact that destroyed his primary No. 18 Fastenal Dodge and got the skinny on what caused it. We also met up with his BHR teammate Timothy Peters and spoke about the sudden rejeuvenation of the BHR program.
That's going to do it for Friday at Nashville Superspeedway, we'll rejoin you tomorrow morning to count us down to Live! Bud Pole qualifying. See you then, good night everybody!
Good Morning! Lots on Tap Today in Nashville
08-12-2006 10:42 am
Good morning from the Nashville Superspeedway! The weather has improved somewhat over yesterday, with clouds remaining but the rain that plagued on track action yesterday long gone. We should have a weather-free day allowing us to get all of our on-track action in. And there is a lot of that to come!
We kick off the day with ARCA REMAX Series qualifying, then move straight into NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying. The ARCA REMAX 200 rolls off at 3 pm ET, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Toyota Tundra 200 will follow.
It's going to be a very busy day for everyone here at the track, and we will try to keep you ahead of it all right here at TrackSideLive!, right here on TruckSeries.com.
Best NCTS Finish at NSS
08-12-2006 10:46 am
Here is each driver in the field and their best previous finish at Nashville Superspeedway:
Mike Bliss 1st
David Reutimann 1st
Rick Crawford 2nd
Ted Musgrave 2nd
David Starr 2nd
Todd Bodine 3rd
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 4th
Mike Skinner 4th
Brendan Gaughan 5th
Dennis Setzer 5th
Johnny Benson 6th
Chad Chaffin 6th
Terry Cook 6th
Matt Crafton 7th
Bill Lester 7th
Ron Hornaday 12th
Jack Sprague 14th
Kelly Sutton 28th
J.C. Stout 31st
David Ragan 32nd
Timothy Peters 33rd
Here are the drivers making their first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at the Nashville Superspeedway: Aric Almirola, Marcos Ambrose, Erin Crocker, Erik Darnell, Kerry Earnhardt, Bobby East, Kevin Grubb, Kraig Kinser, Travis Kittleson, Chad McCumbee, Ryan Moore, Boston Reid, Robert Richardson, Sammy Sanders, and Peter Shepherd.
Nashville Top-5 Finishers
08-12-2006 10:54 am
Here are the drivers that have scored a top-five finish in the past at Nashville Superspeedway:
Ted Musgrave 5
Rick Crawford 3
David Starr 2
Bobby Hamilton Jr. 2
Dennis Setzer
Travis Kvapil
Bobby Hamilton
Brendan Gaughan
David Reutimann
Mike Skinner
Carl Edwards
Steve Park
Joe Ruttman
Scott Riggs
Mike Bliss
Todd Bodine
Todd Kluever
NSS Lap Leaders
08-12-2006 10:56 am
Scott Riggs 131
Mike Skinner 98
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 92
Ted Musgrave 85
Carl Edwards 76
Rick Crawford 50
David Reutimann 41
David Starr 40
Mike Bliss 29
Bill Lester 22
Jon Wood 20
Chad Chaffin 18
Bobby Hamilton 17
Jason Leffler 7
Coy Gibbs 5
Ricky Hendrick 5
Lyndon Amick 4
Todd Bodine 3
Travis Kvapil 2
Greg Biffle 2
Dennis Setzer 1
Terry Cook 1
Shane Seig 1
Brad Keselowski 1
Headed to the Garage
08-12-2006 10:59 am
We are headed off to the garage to try to get some pre-qualifying pictures and some pre-qualifying audio with some drivers. We'll return with TrackSideLive! updates shortly...
Back from Garage, Audio on the Way
08-12-2006 12:08 am
Just back from the garage area where we spoke with several drivers and one crew chief leading up to today's Live! Bud Pole Qualifying.
Aric Almirola talks about struggling yesterday in practice, and how the rain shortened the Spears Motorsports team's chances to make their truck better...Chad McCumbee talks about working with his new crew chief Kevin Cram, and how he no longer has a viable excuse to ever be lost on the highway...Bobby East's crew chief John Monsam talks about yesterday's tire troubles and explains what could have been the cause...David Ragan says he has a good truck, and even though weather shortened practice and cost him a chance to make a mock qualifying attempt, he thinks he has a truck that will qualify well and race well...Peter Shepherd talks about getting his back luck out of the way prior to the Truck race today...David Starr talks about the differences in a concrete and asphalt track and how Nashville fits his driving style...and finally J.C. Stout talks about the Hunter's Hope Foundation and why his family-owned team is working hard to make it in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Shepherd has Problems in ARCA Qualifying
08-12-2006 12:42 pm
Peter Shepherd was attempting to do double duty here this weekend, but he had some problems in qualifying in the ARCA car. Shepherd backed it into the fence, damaging it beyond immediate repair and without a backup he was forced to withdraw from the first half of the doubleheader.
Erin Crocker is also doing double duty this weekend. She qualified third for the ARCA race.
Click Over to Live! Bud Pole Qualifying
08-12-2006 12:53 am
Log on to our Live! Bud Pole qualifying coverage!
Click here to go to our qualifying page
.
We'll rejoin TrackSideLive! following qualifying.
NSS Bud Pole Fast Facts
08-12-2006 3:01 pm
This is Erik Darnell's first Bud Pole; his previous best qualifying effort was third at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March...Darnell is the second Raybestos Rookie to win a Bud Pole in 2006 and the 10th driver overall to claim the top spot in qualifying...Darnell is the third driver out of the Roush Racing stables to earn a Bud Pole in 2006; Mark Martin won the pole at Daytona and David Ragan won the pole last week at Indianapolis...all four manufacturers had a truck among the top-four qualifiers, and all four eclipsed the previous track record...this marks the second time in series history that two rookie drivers start from the front row; the previous time was at Atlanta in 2004 with David Reutimann and Robert Huffman...Reutimann is the defending event winner and will start 15th; current series championship leader Todd Bodine will start 21st.
NCTS Race History at NSS
08-12-2006 3:23 pm
Here is the breakdown of the previous five races at Nashville Superspeedway:
2001: Pole, Scott Riggs, 155.477 mph; Race, Scott Riggs, 132.466 mph
2002: Pole, Mike Bliss, 157.322 mph; Race, Mike Bliss, 129.422 mph
2003: Pole, Chad Chaffin, 156.844 mph; Race, Carl Edwards, 129.557 mph
2004: Pole, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., 160.990 mph; Race, Bobby Hamilton, 124.068 mph
2005: Pole, Mike Skinner, 161.440 mph; Race, David Reutimann, 109.246 mph
NCTS Races Summary
08-12-2006 3:11 pm
Avg lead lap finishers: 14 High:27, 2004 Low:3, 2001
Avg lead changes: 10 High: 13, 2002 Low: 9, three times
Avg lead drivers: 6.2 High: 7, three times Low: 5, twice
Avg caution flags: 4.4 High: 9, 2005 Low: 2, 2001
Avg caution laps: 19 High: 35, 2005 Low: 10, 2001
Cumulative avg speed: 124.955
2006 Laps Led
08-12-2006 3:19 pm
Mark Martin 321
Mike Skinner 300
Ron Hornaday 280
Todd Bodine 260
Kyle Busch 181
Jack Sprague 157
Rick Crawford 154
David Starr 126
David Reutimann 124
Johnny Benson 86
Clint Bowyer 84
Dennis Setzer 81
David Ragan 77
Terry Cook 62
Marcos Ambrose 50
Mike Bliss 49
Ted Musgrave 36
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 28
Kyle Krisiloff 16
Erik Darnell 11
Bobby Labonte 10
Jon Wood 6
Kerry Earnhardt 5
Bill Lester 3
Boston Reid 3
Brad Keselowski 2
Brendan Gaughan 2
Matt Crafton 2
Kevin Hamlin 1
Chad Chaffin 1
Kelly Sutton 1
2006 Key Race Stats
08-12-2006 3:24 pm
Avg start position of winner: 8.2 High: 22, Kentucky Low: 1, Daytona, Atlanta, Memphis
Avg lead changes: 9.9 High: 21, Daytona Low: 3, Martinsville
Avg lead drivers: 5.6 High: 9, Daytona Low: 2, Atlanta and Charlotte
Avg caution flags: 8.8 High: 18, Mansfield Low: 4, Atlanta and Dover
Avg caution laps: 38.5 High: 85, Mansfield Low: 17, Daytona
Avg running at finish: 32.1 High: 35, Dover, Kansas, Memphis Low: 27, Daytona and Gateway
Avg lead lap finishers: 21.3 High: 30, Michigan Low: 13, Texas
YTD Stats Summary
08-12-2006 3:40 pm
Avg start of winner: 2005, 11.3 2006, 8.2
Cumulative lead changes: 2005, 140 2006, 148
Avg lead changes per race: 2005, 9.33 2006, 9.87
Avg lead drivers per race: 2005, 6.73 2006, 5.6
Total caution laps: 2005, 543 2006, 577
Avg caution flags per race: 7.73 2006, 8.8
MFR Year to Date Performance
08-12-2006 3:43 pm
Chevrolet: 3 wins, 1 pole, 16 top-5, 40 top-10, 707 laps led
Dodge: 0 wins, 1 pole, 3 top-5, 9 top-10, 44 laps led
Ford: 5 wins, 3 poles, 16 top-5, 39 top-10, 683 laps led
Toyota: 7 wins, 8 poles, 40 top-5, 62 top-10, 1092 laps led
Top-10 Avg. Start
08-12-2006 3:48 pm
1. Skinner, 6.7
2. Reutimann, 8.8
3. Crawford, 10.3
4. Benson, 11.6
5. Sprague, 11.9
6. Bodine, 12.7
7.Darnell, 12.7
8. Cook, 13.7
9. Hornaday, 13.9
10. Setzer, 14.5
Top-10 Avg. Finish
08-12-2006 3:50 pm
1. Bodine 6.9
2. Reutimann 9.5
3. Crawford 9.5
4. Benson 9.7
5. Starr 10.7
6. Musgrave 10.7
7. Hornaday 10.8
8. Setzer 10.9
9. Cook 11.1
10. Bliss 11.8
Hamilton Audio Up
08-12-2006 4:14 pm
Look to the right side of the TrackSideLive! page for the Sights and Sounds box, where you can click on our TruckShots! photo gallery link and listen to audio interviews with drivers, crew chiefs, and other NCTS personalities. We listened in on a press conference with Bobby Hamilton and his oncologist Dr. Barbara Murphy, and you can click on his name to hear their responses to the media.
Toyota Tundra 200 Race Updates 1-10
08-12-2006 5:14 pm
10. Lap 21 - Bodine and Reutimann exchange pleasantries down the backstretch. Sprague dusts off Crawford to put him a second lap down. Setzer and Hamilton join the Reutimann and Bodine scrum just as the caution comes out for debris on the backstretch. Cook receives the free pass to rejoin the lead lap.
9. Lap 16 - Richardson's engine sounds down a cylinder. Crawford's crew reports his problem was not a flat tire but a loose wheel.
8. Lap 12 - Crawford drops off the pace. He is coming to pit road reporting a flat right side tire.
7. Lap 8 - Cook slots in third separating Sprague and Skinner from McCumbee, who passes Cook off turn two. Cook, Starr, and Peters go three wide down the backstetch. Sprague and Skinner are over 2 seconds ahead of McCumbee.
6. Lap 6 - Sprague leads Skinner, Starr, McCumbee, Peters, Hornaday, Bliss, Crawford, Darnell, Lester, Ambrose, Ragan, Musgrave, Gaughan, Reutimann, Chaffin, Setzer, Benson, Bodine, Crafton, Reid, Hamilton, Almirola, Grubb, Kinser, Crocker, Shepherd, Kittleson, Sanders, Earnhardt, Sutton, Stout, Richardson, Moore and Cook. Cook lost a lap on pit road while his team changed a shock.
5. Lap 3 - Cook is pushed out of the groove in turn two and drifts back through the pack. Darnell is trapped outside and has fallen back to eighth. East is trapped in the outside groove and loses it in turn three, smacking the wall with the read of his truck.
4. Sprague jumps the front row three-wide on the start and takes the lead. Darnell runs second with McCumbee third. McCumbee now challenges and takes second wih Skinner following to third.
3. All trucks have left the grid. We have two pace laps to go before we go green.
2. Engines have started. Pit speed is 45 mph, pace truck is 55 mph. We have 150 laps/200 miles to go. We will have one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish if we do have a caution after the advertised distance. The teams had four sets of tires for the weekend.
1. The drivers are buckled in and we are just moments away from the command to start engines. No one is reported to be dropping to the back due to NASCAR penalty.
Toyota Tundra 200 Race Updates 11-20
08-12-2006 5:40 pm
20. Lap 63 - Bliss is up out of the groove and off the pace, coming to the pits. Leader Hornaday slows at the same time and comes to the pits with a flat right front.
19. Lap 51 - The gap between first and second has stablized at just under a second. Setzer now has Bodine hunting him down from fourth. Reid just lost fifth to Skinner.
18. Lap 44 - Ambrose is closing on Hornaday by a tenth a lap. Setzer runs by himself in third while Reid and Chaffin race for fourth.
17. Lap 40 - Restart. Hornaday took off like a rocket and is nearly a second ahead of Ambrose in second.
16. Lap 37 - Pit stops for most of the lead lap. Hornaday pitted earlier and stayed out to lead with Ambrose second. Setzer, Reid, Chaffin, Sanders, Moore, Crocker, Earnhardt, Almirola, Kittleson and Stout stay out. Bodine rejoins in 13th, followed by Reutimann, Lester, Hamilton, Sprague, Bliss, Peters, Skinner, Starr, Benson, Musgrave, Kinser, Shepherd, McCumbee, Grubb, Darnell, Cook, Sutton Gaughan, and Crafton.
15. Lap 33 - Musgrave moves to fifth, bring Lester and Starr with him. McCumbee has slid back to eighth. Crafton drops off the pace with a flat left rear, which brings out the fourth caution. Crawford receives the free pass and rejoins the lead lap. Contact with Setzer cut down Crafton's tire entering turn three.
14. Lap 30 - Restart. Peters stays with Sprague and Skinner. Bliss challenges McCumbee for fourth.
13. Lap 29 - Darnell comes to the pits for the team to check the grille. Crawford picks up the free pass and now sits one lap down.
12. Lap 26 - Trouble on the restart. Darnell got turned to start the incident, which colected Ragan, Stout, and Almirola. Ragan has damage to the nose and has gone to the garage. Bodine pits after contact with Ragan while trying to avoid.
11. Lap 24 - Sprague and many lead lap trucks stay out. Almirola, Grubbm Chaffin, Ambrose, Lester, Reutimann, Hornaday, Stout, Setzer, Crafton, Crocker, Hamilton, Earnhardt, Kittleson, Gaughan, and Reid all pit. Almirola rejoins in 16th. Sprague leads Skinner, McCumbee, Peters, Bliss, Starr, Musgrave, Benson, Darnell, Ragan, Bodine, Kinser, Shepherd, Sanders, and Sutton.
Toyota Tundra 200 Race Updates 21-30
08-12-2006 6:09 pm
30. Lap 98 - Restart. Bodine jumps out to three lengths over Skinner, Sprague, Ambrose, and Peters.
29. Lap 95 - Sutton spins off four then comes to a stop nearing the start finish line as Skinner and Sprague battled for the lead bearing down on her. Skinner comes within feet of Sutton as he blows past her at full speed. The caution is out for the seventh time.
28. Lap 90 - Skinner dives beneath Ambrose into one to take second. McCumbee and Reid race hard for 12th. Sprague now pressures Ambrose for third. Peters looks inside Starr for fifth. Starr goes up and nearly hits the turn two wall giving Gaughan sixth. Crawford is up to seventh.
27. Lap 88 - Setzer is behind the wall. Bodine leads Ambrose to the restart.
26. Lap 85 - Restart. Setzer pops the fence in turn one and the caution comes right back out. Looks like continuing tire problems plaguing Setzer. Hornaday picks up the free pass and rejoins the lead lap.
25. Lap 77 - Setzer is riding around with a flat right front. Bodine wins the race off pit road. A fire erupts in the Skinner pit after the gas can is dropped. Bodine leads Ambrtose, Skinner, Sprague, Gaughan, Peters, Starr, Benson, Crawford, Earnhardt, Musgrave, Hamilton, Shepherd, Almirola, Reid, Chaffin, Cook, McCumbee, Moore, Grubb, Crafton, Setzer, Reutimann, and Kittleson. Hornaday, Darnell, Sutton and Lester are one lap down. Kinser is two down, with Stout and Sanders three down. Crocker is four down, Bliss is none down. Ragan is running 45 laps off the pace after his incident. No injuries reported in the Skinner pit following the fire.
24. Lap 76 - Caution out for the sixth time. Debris has been spotted in turn one. Kittleson will receive the free pass.
23. Lap 73 - Bliss returns after an extended stay on pit road. Ambrose leads by 4.7 seconds.
22. Lap 69 - Bliss has been to pit road three times. He is now five laps off the pace. Ambrose leads Skinner, Bodine, Setzer, Peters, Sprague, Starr, Chaffin, Earnhardt and Reid.
21. Lap 66 - Bliss misses his pit stall and has to come back to pit road a second time.
Toyota Tundra 200 Race Updates 31-40
08-12-2006 6:40 pm
40. Lap 151 - Bodine moves Skinner in turn one on the restart and repays the favor, allowing Benson to squirt through and win! Sprague second, Ambrose third, Musgrave fourth andf Gaughan fifth. Skinner crashes in three and will drop to 17th.
39. Lap 144 - Crawford pops the fence hard in turn three, knocking the right front suspension off his ride. Caution is out for the ninth time which ties the track record for caution flags.
38. Lap 140 - Ten to go. Skinner leads. Cook and Earnhardt are hammering on each other for 16th and 17th, the best race for position on the track. Starr drops off the pace with a tire issue.
37. Lap 130 - Skinner leads Bodine, Starr, Sprague, Crawford, Benson, Ambrose, Gaughan, Reutimann, Musgrave, McCumbee, Hamilton, Crafton, Reid, Chaffin, Cook, Earnhardt, Darnell, Kittleson, Moore, and Lester.
36. Lap 122 - Starr takes third from Sprague and starts to hunt down Skinner and Bodine. McCumbee cracks into the top ten and Hamilton moves up to twelfth.
35. Lap 116 - Restart. Shepherd is off the pace with smoke trailing. Crawford now races Ambrose for fifth. Peters has a big moment in one and loses several positions, dropping off the pace with a tire problem.
34. Lap 112 - Hornaday slams the wall in turn one to bring out the caution yet again. Lester will receive the free pass. Skinner leads Bodine, Sprague, Starr, Ambrose, Peters, Crawford, Benson, Grubb, Chaffin, and McCumbee. Reutimann, Gaughan, Reid, Earnhardt, Shepherd, Kittleson, Darnell, Crafton, Grubb, Hamilton, Musgrave, Moore, Cook, and Lester all pit and are on the lead lap.
33. Lap 107 - To add insult to injury, Almirola is tagged for speeding on pit road as he attempted to recover from his spin and is assessed a pass through penalty.
32. Lap 104 - McCumbee, Musgrave, and Hornaday battle for ninth. Almirola goes for a spin through the grass off turn four but does not draw the caution.
31. Lap 100 - Skinner takes the lead going into three. Bodine is second woith Sprague, Ambrose, Starr, Peters, Crawford, Benson, Musgrave, and McCumbee the rest of the top ten.
Toyota Tundra 200 Unofficial Results
08-12-2006 7:18 pm
1. Benson
2. Sprague
3. Ambrose
4. Musgrave
5. Gaughan
6. Reutimann
7. McCumbee
8. Bodine
9. Crafton
10. Cook
11. Earnhardt
12. Darnell
13. Reid
14. Chaffin
15. Kittleson
16. Hamilton
17. Skinner
18. Moore
19. Peters
20. Starr
21. Lester
22. Almirola
23. Kinser
24. Grubb
25. Sanders
26. Suttin
27. Richardson
28. Crawford
29. Crocker
30. Bliss
31. Shepherd
32. Stout
33. Hornaday
34. Ragan
35. Setzer
36. East
Discuss the Race Online!
08-12-2006 7:49 pm
Send a note to Chuck!
TruckSeries.com TrackSide Editor Charles Krall keeps you updated with all the latest news as it happens from the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, the 16th race of the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. [
Click Here for Chuck's Message Board Discussion Thread from Nashville Superspeedway
]
Hot Topics on the Discussion Boards!
Points Shakeup
08-12-2006 9:05 pm
The finish here at Nashville has shaken up the points somewhat.
Bodine 2454
Benson 2310
Reutimann 2260 +1
Musgrave 2215 +2
Crawford 2199 -2
Sprague 2152 +5
Cook 2148 +1
Starr 2140 -1
Hornaday 2139 -4
Setzer 2063 -1
Bliss 2059 -1
Crafton 2036
Gaughan 1898 +1
Darnell 1894 -1
Skinner 1842
Hamilton, Jr. 1666
McCumbee 1623 +2
Almirola 1615 -1
Peters 1608 -1
Reid 1512
Fourteen of the top twenty positions in the point standings changed.
Owners: Who's In and Who's Out
08-12-2006 9:10 pm
Here are the teams on the bubble heading into Bristol for the final positions in the top-30, ensuring them of a guaranteed starting position:
In:
26. Green Light 07 1428
27. Bill Davis 22 1386
28. Evernham 98 1384
29. ThorSport 13 1377
30. Sutton 02 1362
Out:
31. Morgan-Dollar 46 1329
33. Key 40 1170
34. Richardson 1 1105
No other teams have attempted every race of the 2006 season and therefore are ineligble for a guaranteed starting position.
Toyota Tundra 200 Fast Facts
08-12-2006 9:13 pm
Johnny Benson scored his third win of the season; his last win was at Milwaukee - also named the Toyota Tundra 200...Toyota drivers have now won five consecutive races in Tennessee, a streak that dates back to Memphis in July 2005...Benson led only one lap, the final one; the last driver to do that was Todd Bodine at Texas in June...Benson's win marks his third top-ten finish in three NCTS races at Nashville Superspeedway...runner-up Jack Sprague's previous best finish at NSS was 14th in 2004...Marcos Ambrose was the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender in third; his finish matches a career best set at Kansas in July...Ted Musgrave's fourth-place finish is the sixth consecutive top five run for the defending series champion at Nashville Superspeedway; he has run every lap of every race he's run here...the 37 laps run under caution beat the previous record of 35 set last year, and the nine cautions tied the mark set in the 2005 race...
Good Day for ThorSport and Green Light
08-12-2006 9:21 pm
ThorSport Racing and Green Light Racing have both had one truck run fairly competitively in 2006, but both have struggled with their second trucks throughout the season. Matt Crafton has been a challenger all season long for ThorSport, but Kerry Earnhardt has fought all season long to get things rolling for the No. 13 team. Once Chad McCumbee hopped in the seat for Green Light Racing, he has been a constant threat to run among the top-15 week in and week out, but the second Green Light truck has also struggled. Crafton was a solid ninth and Earnhardt had a solid day all day long, finish 11th and almost gave ThorSport two top-ten finishes for just the second time in team history. McCumbee was perhaps the story of the day, qualifying second and finishing an impressive seventh. Travis Kittleson stayed out of trouble all day long and gave Green Light Racing another top-20 finish with a trouble-free run to 16th.
Cook Recovers from Shock Change to 10th
08-12-2006 9:29 pm
Terry Cook came down pit road early in the race and lost a lap on pit road as the ppc Racing team changed a shock on the No. 10 Ford. Cook picked up the free pass to rejoin the lead lap, and steadily cut through the field to score a tenth place run. Cook moved up one spot in the standings as a result.
Benson Scores Gibson Guitar in Nashville
08-12-2006 9:35 pm
Benson Snatches Gibson Guitar in Nashville
Winning in Nashville in NASCAR competition brings along with it a very special trophy: a limited-edition Gibson Guitar painted by notable motorsports artist Sam Bass. That unique trophy at the end of the day drives competitors to push extra hard to win, and sometimes that leaves smoke, bent sheet metal, and frustration as a result. For Johnny Benson, that hard driving by two other drivers meant a trip to victory lane in Saturday's Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Benson, driving the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota, was the beneficiary of contact on two consecutive laps - the final two laps of the race - between Todd Bodine and Mike Skinner. Bodine got the jump on Skinner on the final restart of the day with two laps remaining and nudged the inaugural series champion out of the groove to take the lead. Bodine led across the stripe to lead at the white flag, but not to be outdone, Skinner repaid the favor going into turn one. Bodine and Skinner slid up the track and brushed the turn two wall, leaving the bottom open for Benson who powered past and into the clear to score his third victory of the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
"We have seen so many races here given away on the last lap," Benson said. "I've even been a part of it. We were running third in a Busch race here a couple years back and the front two wrecked and caught us all out and Mikey (Waltrip) went on to win from seventh. We have seen it happen here a lot. It is a real interesting way to do it, but it is all about that guitar. Those guys want it so bad that they will do whatever it takes."
Benson didn't believe he had a truck to win the race without some intervention.
"We had a fourth-place truck," he continued. "We weren't bad but we weren't going to go up and race those guys to win. I thought if I could get past Jack (Sprague) on that restart that we might have a shot at it if those guys got to beating on each other. I could see it on that last lap, there was no way they were going to make that corner. They were five widths too low to get through there without wrecking. Once they did that, even if they didn't get up and hit the wall I thought I could have raced them."
Bodine expressed disappointment following the race. The contact resulted in a disappointing eighth-place finish for the current series championship leader.
"Mike said his throttle stuck, but I think his brain jumped out of gear," Bodine said. "I know what it was. He was (mad). It I was trying to wreck him I would have spun him out rather than let him gather it back up. I don't know what he was thinking. The good news is we are back. The Lumber Liquidators Toyota ran great. We'll pick up from here and go on and get us some more wins."
Skinner also vented his frustrations following the race. Not only did he find himself involved in the scrape in turn two, he ended up in a second incident in turn three that left his No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota heavily damaged. Skinner crossed the line in 17th position, the final driver on the lead lap.
"I never thought in a million years Todd would do that to me to win a race," Skinner said. He did and I hate it. I hate it for him and I hate it for us. We're pretty good friends off the race track and we have been for a pretty long time. He just got greedy. He can't win every time. He stepped over the line. You don't wreck your friends to win a race when you've won three or four races already, and you're running for the championship. I'm not running for a championship and Todd lost a lot of points today."
The exciting finish was set up by a caution caused by Rick Crawford's crash in turn three that set up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish. Crawford dropped two laps off the pace early in the day due to an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel. He was able to fight back to regain the lost laps and charge through the pack, running as high as third when the right front tire gave way heading into turn three with just a handful of laps remaining. Crawford vented his frustrations after a day that saw many drivers experience tire problems.
"It is a bad thing that a company as big as Goodyear can't make a tire that will last an entire fuel load," Crawford said. "There are several guys out there right now nursing some sore ribs because they had tires go down and they hit the wall. Thankfully I am okay, and I hope they all are too. But if NASCAR is as serious as they say they are about safety, they need to look at what is between us and the ground, and that is the tires."
Tire problems plagued numerous drivers, with Ron Hornaday, Dennis Setzer, and David Starr among the front runners to experience difficulties. Hornaday and Setzer both popped the fence, ending their day early. Starr dropped out of a top-five position within sight of the checkered flag and resulting in a 21st-place finish.
With all of the excitement, Jack Sprague jumped to second in the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota, with Australian rookie Marcos Ambrose finishing a strong third in the No. 20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford. For Ambrose, it is his second podium finish of the season, matching a career-best finish earlier this summer at Kansas. Defending series champion Ted Musgrave was fourth in the Team ASE Toyota, and Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top five in the No. 77 South Coast Hotel Dodge.
Defending race winner David Reutimann was sixth in the No. 17 Team Tundra Toyota, first-time front row starter Chad McCumbee was seventh in the No. 08 TheGPSStore.com/Garmin Chevrolet, Bodine was eighth, Matt Crafton recovered from an early race flat to finish ninth in the No. 88 Menards/Energizer Chevrolet, and Terry Cook finished tenth in the No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford.
Bodine continues to lead the championship standings, but his lead has shrunk to 144 points over Benson. Reutimann is third another 50 points back, and Musgrave jumps back up to fourth in the standings now 239 points out of the lead. Crawford is fifth, Sprague sixth, COok seventh, Starr eighth, Hornaday ninth, and Setzer rounds out the top ten.
There were a record tying 9 cautin flags for 37 laps. Bobby East crashed out of the event on lap 4, while Setzer and Hornaday were each responsible for two cautions each. Erik Darnell, David Ragan, Aric Almirola, and J.C. Stout all tangled off turn two, sending Ragan behind the wall for repairs and out of contention, and Crawford also had a bout with the wall. Skinner's accident in turn three on the final lap also brought out the caution flag after winner Benson crossed the line. All of the carnage resulted in an average speed of just 108.704 miles per hour. No injuries were reported as a result of any of the incidents.
Next up for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the O'Reilly 200 from Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday August 23. TruckSeries.com will have complete event coverage online, including practice and qualifying updates, images, and audio interviews throughout the event.
Post-race Audio Up
08-12-2006 9:36 pm
They want us out of here, but before we go, we want to remind you to check the Sights and Sounds box to the right side of the TrackSideLive! page for all kinds of post-race audio. Johnny Benson talks about his third win of the season, the role of good luck, and how that Gibson Guitar makes racecar drivers do crazy things. Jack Sprague talks about a good day that resulted in a second-place finish, and Marcos Ambrose celebrates his second third-place run of the season with us, and talks about the sacrifices he and some of his Australian friends made to get him here. Ted Musgrave talks about his sixth straight top five finish at Nashville and what he saw on the track over the course of the hectic final laps. Brendan Gaughan found himself in the middle of the storm late in the going, and said even some coaching from his spotter wasn't going to influence where he was going in that mad dash to the checkered. Chad McCumbee was the star of the day, running in the top five and recovering from a scrape on track to finish seventh. Todd Bodine gives us his side of the story on the two-lap dash to the end, and Matt Crafton talks about the excitement he saw on the final lap. Kerry Earnhardt had a season-best run and talks to us about it, and Boston Reid talks about a good run and what could have been if not for some nose damage while avoiding a wreck. Winning crew chief Rick Ren also talks about what it means when someone says 'it's better to be lucky than good.' Click on each name to listen!
That's All! See you in Bristol
08-12-2006 9:45 pm
That's going to do it for TrackSideLive! coverage of the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Congratulations go out to Bill Davis Racing, Johnny Benson, and the entire team on their third win of the 2006 season. Thanks to everyone here at Nashville Superspeedway for their hospitality and assistance, and we look forward to returning next season.
Up next is the O'Reilly 200 from Bristol Motor Speedway on August 23rd. It's a one day show and we'll cover every second of it! We'll have practice updates, Live! Bud Pole Qualifying, and complete pre- and post-race coverage, so be sure to come back for all the excitement. Between now and then, TruckSeries.com will continue to have all the news and notes from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. So long for now, see you from Bristol!
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