|
|
05-15-2005
Hamilton Wins Short Track Duel at Mansfield
Bobby Hamilton used patience, stayed out of trouble, and took advantage of
Ron Hornaday's misfortune to take the win in the UAW/GM Ohio 250 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series race at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. Hornaday had the
dominant truck throughout the afternoon, but a black flag for jumping the
restart in the late stages sent Hornaday to the penalty box and elevated
Hamilton to the a lead he would never relinquish.
Hamilton played a one-stop strategy and took care of his tires throughout the
race to have enough to hold off a furious charge by Jack Sprague late in the
race. Sprague muscled his way past Brandon Whitt and Todd Kluever in the late
stages to put himself in position to win on a final two-lap sprint to the
finish. Whitt, who spent several laps running in the top-5, had tire problems
within sight of the checkered flag and made contact with the turn three wall,
ending a career run.
Shane Hmiel raced to third, while Todd Kluever was the top finishing rookie in
fourth. The finish matches his best career finish, set earlier this season at
California Speedway. Rich Bickle had a strong afternoon all day long in the
Green Light Racing Chevrolet to finish an impressive fifth.
Rick Crawford was consistent all day long to finish sixth, while Dennis Setzer
drove hard from the 29th starting position to finish seventh. Ricky Craven,
David Starr, and Butch Miller rounded out the top-10.
Hornaday persevered to an eleventh place finish, with Ted Musgrave in twelfth,
Brad Keselowski in thirteenth, Jimmy Spencer fourteenth and Brendan Gaughan
fifteenth.
There were 13 cautions for 86 laps. There were several incidents for minor
accidents, but no major crashes on the day.
The series moves to Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday for the Quaker Steak and
Lube 200.
More Racing News...
|
|
|
|