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The final day of the three-day Preseason Thunder test sessions for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has come to a conclusion, and the teams now head for home with the opening race of the 2006 season now just weeks away. With as many as 13 rookies on the grounds, NASCAR officials wisely allowed the teams to work in the draft on each of the three days allowing the newcomers to get as much experience as possible before they come back for real for the start of official practice for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 on February 15.
There were two different approaches evident during the three-day session, one of which saw teams locked into the field by NASCAR's qualifying procedure concentrate on race setups in the draft. The other saw the dozen teams at the track trying to make the field for the race based on their qualifying speed work intensely on single-truck runs trying to find as much speed as possible in qualifying trim.
Matt Crafton led Friday's drafting session in the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet, while Sean Murphy gave the No. 07 Green Light Racing Chevrolet a good run timing in second quick on the opening day. Chase Montgomery, Kelly Sutton and Stacy Compton rounded out the top five in Friday's drafting session.
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Compton's teammate Jon Wood led the field in the draft on Saturday in the No. 20 Wood Bros./JTG Racing Ford, with the Germain Racing dynamic duo Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave right behind. Dennis Setzer was fourth on Saturday while rookie Boston Reid rounded out the top five.
David Starr led the field during Sunday's final drafting session, with Wood in second followed by Bobby Hamilton, Jr. in a Dodge fielded by Green Light Racing in conjunction with BHR. Mike Wallace took over the HT Motorsports Dodge and was fourth quickest, with rookie contender Kyle Krisiloff rounding out the top five.
Several teams had engine problems over the weekend, most notably Bobby Hamilton, Jr.'s No. 08 Dodge team. Hamilton, Jr.'s engine expired coming out of turn two late in the afternoon on Sunday leaving a streak of oil in the groove. Before she had a chance to get slowed down, Erin Crocker ran through the oil and went for a wild spin down the backstretch. Crocker didn't make any contact and drove her No. 98 Cheerios Dodge back to the garage.
The only other on-track incident involved David Ragan, who lost a tire on a solo run on Saturday morning and went for a slide in turn four. Ragan didn't make any contact, but he did grind off the nose of the No. 6 Roush Racing Ford sliding along the apron.
With the new spacer plate NASCAR has mandated, times are nearly a full second slower than last year. The plate is tapered, wide at the top with the holes narrowing up at the bottom, and in conjunction with the right side window should help ensure no one gets airborne should they slide sideways. Last year, both Rick Crawford and Chad Chaffin went up and over after contact in the draft.
TruckSeries.com will provide comprehensive coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during Daytona Speedweeks, starting on Wednesday February 15th. We will have Live! Bud Pole Qualifying on Thursday February 16th at 6:30 P.M Eastern and complete pre- and post-race coverage on February 17th.