02-28-2005 | TruckSeries.com Report
ETC. … NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series defending champion and points leader Bobby Hamilton (No. 04 Bailey's Dodge) has led just one lap in finishing first and second to start the 2005 season. … Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet), the 1996 and '98 NASCAR Craftsman Truck champion, is the only fulltime series competitor entered in Sunday's inaugural NASCAR Busch Series Telcel MOTOROLA Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. … Mike Skinner's (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) Bud Pole at California Speedway is his 18th in series competition to join Mike Bliss as runnerup in career poles. Jack Sprague (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) remains the leader with 26. … A 14th-place finish in the American Racing Wheels 200 marked Rick Crawford's (No. 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) record, 200th consecutive series start. QUOTEBOOK 10 YEARS TOUGH Fast Facts Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday - Practice 9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. and 10:55 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. Qualifying 5:10 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying. Top 10 drivers: 1. Bobby Hamilton 355. 2. Ricky Craven 330. 3. Jimmy Spencer 321. 4. Ted Musgrave 310. 5. Matt Crafton 280. 6. Steve Park 279. 7. Johnny Benson 271. 8. David Reutimann 256. 9. Dennis Setzer 254. 10. Casey Atwood 251.
"This will be big for him (Park) personally. To clear a hurdle - and this should give him momentum - this is a personal victory. When he came to the series he knew what he wanted out of it and I don't think last year met his expectations because he didn't win. But I've got to tell you, when I looked at the series last year and I saw the drivers that didn't win, it really got my attention. There are no gimmes over here." - Ricky Craven (No. 99 Superchips Ford), on Park's victory and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in general.
Series alum Carlos Contreras of Mexico City, who'd like nothing better than to be the hometown winner of Sunday's NASCAR Busch Series event, is the first and only Mexican-born competitor to start a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Contreras' debut came Oct. 30, 1999 at California Speedway. The 34-year-old driver competed in 70 series races with a best finish of seventh at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001 and career winnings of $777,636.
What: World Financial Services 200 (Race 3 of 25).
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway.
When: 9:15 p.m. ET, Friday, March 18.
Track layout: 1.54-mile banked paved.
Race length: 200.2 miles/130 laps.
Posted awards: $495,082.
TV: SPEED Channel, 9:00 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2004 winner: Bobby Hamilton.
2004 polesitter: David Reutimann.