Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner continue their strong battle for second in points,
and Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) and Colin Braun (No. 6
Con-way Freight Ford) are separated by only 17 points for the fifth position.
However, there may not be any stronger battle for the seventh position, with
five drivers separated by only 21 points. Even more interesting, all five are
looking for their first victory of the season.
Leading the five-driver pack is David Starr (No. 24 Zachry/Harris Trucking
Toyota), who is seventh in the standings with 2,310 points. Starr's
consistency—nine top 10s and only one race retirement—has him only three points
ahead of Timothy Peters (No. 17 Strutmasters.com/Red Horse Racing Toyota), who
has 2,307 points. Peters has similar statistics—10 top 10s but two DNFs. He
moved up one position from last week's standings. Starr is 62 points behind
Braun for sixth.
Dropping to ninth was Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar/International Truck
Engine Ford), the 2005 race winner at New Hampshire and only eight points behind
Starr and five behind Peters. While winless since 2006, Crawford has managed to
finish in the top 10 in points the last three seasons.
Holding onto the final top-10 position is the series' top rookie, Johnny Sauter
(No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins Chevrolet), who moved up two positions with his
career-best finish of second Saturday at Gateway. Sauter, whose brother Jay won
at NHMS in 1997, is only 13 points behind Starr.
Another rookie, Tayler Malsam (No. 81 One-Eighty Toyota), remains 11th in the
points following a solid fifth-place result at Gateway. He is 21 points behind
Starr with seven races remaining.
Terry Cook (No. 25 Cajun Industries/Harris Trucking Toyota) lost the most of any
driver Saturday. A 21st-place finish dropped Cook from 10th to 13th in points,
54 points behind Sauter.
