Ronda Greer Photo

Last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, nearly the whole field (32 of 36 starters) bettered Mike Skinner's two-year old track qualifying record (165.320 mph) on the 12-degree banking in 2004.

Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota, set a new record of 178.065 mph as he became the first driver to win three consecutive poles at two different tracks. The race itself ran at record speeds under green - over 173 mph in the early stages - before caution negated the effects of the new 20degree banking. Trucks battled side-by-side among the top 10 with six drivers exchanging the lead nine times.

"It's definitely a two-groove racetrack and you can pass here," said Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford), who finished 14th. "It's fast and it's fun to race."

Sixteenth-place finisher Terry Cook (No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) agrees.

"I think this facility will only get better as time progresses," said Cook. "It's kind of like a fine wine - as the racetrack ages it will be better and we'll be racing higher up on the racetrack."

An estimated crowd of 65,000 turned out to see what the changes were all about. That's the season's third-largest attendance after Daytona and Kansas and highest for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stand-alone event.