(Christina Ramzel/High Sierra Photo)

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is on its way to record attendance in 2006 thanks to the decision to replace Richmond International Raceway's Thursday night race with a Saturday inaugural date at Talladega Superspeedway.

An estimated 80,000 fans, and the estimate may have been low, crowded into the mammoth stadium to see trucks tackle 2.66 miles of freshly laid asphalt.

Richmond's final of 11 races drew exactly half that number as the past season saw record attendance of 1.1 million. With the series averaging an estimated 45,000-plus for its first 20 races, it is probable last year's mark will be eclipsed when the green flag falls on the Nov. 17 Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Predictably, the John Deere 250 was not an occasion for freshman drivers to shine - although open-wheel visitor A.J. Allmendinger finished fifth in a textbook performance. Skinner, Allmendinger and Benson gifted team owner Bill Davis with three top-10 finishers for the first time in 2006.

The highest finishing Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, Robert Richardson, was 16th. It marked the Texan's first best-placed rookie driver and improved by one position Richardson's best finish.

Richardson, who has struggled for much of the year, rebounded from a late spin in Turn 4 during which he deftly kept the nose of his winyourmortgage.com Chevrolet off the inside wall.

Erin Crocker wound up 20th, her best finish since her 16th at Kansas Speedway in July, but could have ranked higher without being spun out in a tangle with Ron Hornaday Jr. on pit road at lap 58.

Erik Darnell, who finished 19th and led a lap, has all but wrapped up Roush Racing's fifth rookie title. Darnell holds a 41 point lead over Chad McCumbee.

Martin's heroics are keeping Toyota honest in the fight for the 2006 manufacturer championship. Without the 47-year-old veteran's five wins, and two more by Terry Cook and Rick Crawford, the Tundra would already have clinched this year's title.

Toyota, however, holds a lead of 141 to 129 and can wrap up the crown with one win and no finish of worse than second among the four truck makers in the five remaining races.

Roush Racing announced Northern Tool + Equipment would sponsor Darnell's No. 99 F-150 for the remainder of this season and in 2007.

Martin, who'll join MB2 Motorsports for a 22-race NASCAR NEXTEL Cup slate, won't figure in Roush's 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck plans after all. The team expects to field two fulltime trucks next year with Darnell and a driver to be named at a future date.

Englishman John Mickel, who made his series debut a year ago with a 29th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, will enter Martinsville's Kroger 200. Mickel and his Torquespeed crew comprised of his fellow countrymen have been stateside for several months working out of Gene Christensen's Green Light Racing shop.

Mickel will drive Green Light Racing's No. 07 Chevrolet in the season's remaining races but will chase Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors next year in trucks purchased from Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.

Wood Brothers/JTG Racing made it official early in the week naming Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Marcos Ambrose to the seat in the team's No. 59 NASCAR Busch Series Ford. Ambrose replaces Stacy Compton, who'll move to the team's No. 20 F-150 in 2007.

Compton won twice in NASCAR Craftsman Truck competition most recently at Heartland Park Topeka in 1998.

Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Charlie Bradberry, 24, was killed in a highway accident Saturday morning in his hometown of Chelsea, Ala. Bradberry competed in 11 series events between 2003 and 2004 with a best finish of 16th at Memphis Motorsports Park.

He was NASCAR's AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series champion in 2003. Bradberry's widow, Brandi, is expecting the couple's first child in early 2007.