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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Race
#17 | Missouri/Illinois
Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200
Gateway International Raceway
St. Louis, Missouri
Saturday, September 1, 2007
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Eight, and four. Those are the numbers to remember this week as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series embarks on its 2007 stretch run. Eight races remain; only four points separate standings leader Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet), from second-place Mike Skinner (No. 5 XM/Toyota Tundra Toyota). And if that weren't drama enough, Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota) - currently fifth in the series standings - is aiming for his third consecutive victory. (VPS Motorimages Photo)
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Never one to embrace the status quo, Roush Fenway Racing owner Jack Roush has made changes he hopes will improve the performance of two if his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams. John Quinn, previously the crew chief for Erik Darnell and the No. 99 Ford, will move over to the team's No. 50 Ford. Meanwhile, Matt Puccia, who has worked with Carl Edwards, T.J. Bell, Peter Shepherd, and Danny O'Quinn, will move from the No. 50 to the No. 99. The teams' crewmembers will also make the move. (VPS Motorimages Photo)
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The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship battle, which has gone to the final race for a decision in 11 of the 12 seasons, has a way of tightening - no matter how large the margin. In 2005, Dennis Setzer (No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Co. Chevrolet) enjoyed a virtually unheard of 225-point cushion after race No. 15. And Setzer didn't win the title. The 2007 "shuffle" has begun with Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) losing all of a 92-point lead and then some due to Saturday's early-race cut tire and accident at Gateway International Raceway. (VPS Motorimages Photo)
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The results show that the second time is as good as the first. Gateway winner Johnny Benson has scored back-to-back victories with Toyota engines that had been run in an earlier race. Toyota began phasing in the "used engine" program at mid-season. Said Laerte Zatta, Toyota's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manager, "We were using used engines at a lot of the tests but wanted to be confident that they would hold up for a second race before we gave them to the team. We're comfortable with the engines to last about 800 miles and so far we've been pleased with the results." (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)
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Johnny Benson bounced back from a blown pit stop to win the Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 Saturday at Gateway International Raceway. It was Benson's second straight and third of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. "I really did believe the day was done," Benson said, "but the truck was really good and I was able to pass. I wasn't patient. I had a lot of work to do." (Ronda Greer Photo)
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Johnny Benson rallied from a mistake on a mid-race pit stop to score his second consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Benson, who had been at or near the front leading all race prior to his first stop of the day, was forced to drop back to twentieth after a lug nut came loose as his crew changed left side tires. From there, Benson quickly knifed his way through the field and eventually slipped past leader Ron Hornaday on lap 147 en route to his third win of the 2007 season. (Ronda Greer Photo)
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Johnny Benson rallied from a mistake on a mid-race pit stop to score his second consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Benson, who had been at or near the front leading all race prior to his first stop of the day, was forced to drop back to twentieth after a lug nut came loose as his crew changed left side tires. From there, Benson quickly knifed his way through the field and eventually slipped past leader Ron Hornaday on lap 147 en route to his third win of the 2007 season. (Ronda Greer Photo)
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Mike Skinner earned ten poles in the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season back in 1995, which is still the all-time series record. After Skinner qualified the No. 5 XM Radio Toyota on the pole for today's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200, Skinner is now just one away from tying that record. Skinner went out early in the session at the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway and turned a lap at 33.909 seconds/132.708 miles per hour. Skinner was surprised that his lap on the sun-warmed, slick surface was good enough for the top spot. (Ronda Greer Photo)
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With Bristol in the rear-view mirror, the drivers and teams that made it through in one piece are breathing a collective sigh of relief while the drivers and teams that had to load their trucks up in a bucket are busy regrouping and wondering what went wrong. The next track on the schedule may not be as demanding as the half-mile high-banks in northeastern Tennessee but it is a unique challenge unto itself. The Gateway International Raceway is 1.25 miles, so it qualifies as a superspeedway but with the tight radius corners in turns one and two and the flat sweeping corners in turns three and four it might also qualify as both a short track and a road course. (David M. Vaughn Photo)
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To borrow a quote in part by the late, great writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens aka Mark Twain, "Rumors of the demise of Morgan-Dollar Motorsports have been greatly exaggerated!" David Dollar, team owner of the No. 47 Chevrolet driven by development drivers out of the merged Ginn Racing/DEI shops, confirmed on Wednesday that although his team has been going through a transformation in 2007 it will be at Gateway International Raceway this weekend and it is his intention to continue to run throughout the remainder of the season. "I am sure there are owners out there, some of our competition, that would be happy to see this team brought to its knees," Dollar said...
PHOTO: Team Owner David Dollar pictured here during the 2004 NCTS Season
(Ronda Greer Photo)
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St. Louis native Kenny Wallace in the No. 51 Flanders Provisions Company Chevy will return to the series after an absence of nearly nine years. Wallace last competed at Phoenix International Raceway in 1995. The Wallace family - Kenny, Mike and Rusty - is one of four to have three brothers race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. "I have some unfinished business with Mike," said Wallace. "He may have more starts there in a truck, but I've had some good runs in Busch and I look forward to this opportunity to get a good top-five run in our hometown." (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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David Starr, driver of the No. 10 International MaxxForce Diesel Ford F-150, has one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at Gateway International Raceway (2004). As the series makes its annual visit to the 1.25-mile facility, Starr finds himself in 11th place in the series standings and only 12 points out of the top 10.
What are some of the challenges Gateway presents for drivers?
"It's a unique race track. One and two are like no other race track we race at while three and four are kind of similar to New Hampshire or Phoenix."
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Speak of dry spells and Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota) would prefer not to. But it remains that Musgrave's last win came 60 races ago at Gateway International Raceway which the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series visits Saturday for the Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers 200. Musgrave, a 16-time winner, might have ended the string at the 1.25-mile St. Louis-area facility last year except for one thing. He finished second to Germain Racing teammate and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota). Musgrave's 28-month dry spell, however, is only third-longest among active series winners. (High Sierra Photo)
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The official entry list for the Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway, the 17th race of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season.
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Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 - Gateway International Raceway
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Event Schedule
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