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NASCAR NCTS (DAYTONA) - SERIES NOTES


PHOTO

Skinner, Hornaday Jr. Resume Battle At Phoenix
Sprague Announces 2008 Move To KHI
Musgrave’s Win Ends Long Drought
Battle For 10th Place, Top Rookie Heats Up

The scene is familiar – the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season winding down at Phoenix International Raceway; Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) holding a slim lead in the point standings; and Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) fighting to catch Skinner.

The first time it happened, Skinner won the final race of the season at Phoenix to lock up the series’ inaugural championship. Thirteen years later, he is looking for similar results.

Skinner enters Friday’s Casino Arizona 150 57 points ahead of Hornaday. A late race accident at Texas dropped Hornaday from a sure top-five finish to 18th place. Skinner, who entered the race four points behind Hornaday, finished third. It was the sixth time in the last seven races that the points lead has changed hands.

The 57 point differential is the fifth-closest in series history with two races remaining, and the closest since 2004 when Bobby Hamilton led Dennis Setzer (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge) by seven points.

Skinner and Hornaday are the only two drivers with a mathematical chance to win the title. Skinner has an outside chance of clinching the title at Phoenix. Skinner will emerge from Phoenix the champion if he wins the race and leads the most laps and Hornaday finishes 36th with zero laps led.

Three-Time Champion Sprague To Join Kevin Harvick Inc. In 2008

Kevin Harvick Inc. will have at least five championship years of experience next season between its two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams.

Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota), a three-time series champion, will drive the No. 2 Chevrolet next season, joining two-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr.

“Jack Sprague brings years of racing experience to KHI and will be a great asset to Ron and the entire truck program,” said team owner Kevin Harvick. “Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague are what truck racing is all about. They are both hard-core racers. I know that they will both give everything they have until the checkered flag falls, and those are the kind of guys I want driving for me.”

Sprague is second on the all-time wins (28) and poles (32) lists and holds the series records for most career top-five and top-10 finishes. Hornaday holds the series record with 33 wins.

“Kevin is a racer and he knows the importance of having good people around,” Sprague said. “The whole organization at KHI is very impressive and I look forward to having the opportunity of winning more championships.”

Musgrave Ends 66-Race Winless Streak

Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE Toyota) was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he crossed the start/finish line to win the Silverado 350K at Texas Motor Speedway.

The victory ended a 66-race winless drought for Musgrave, who had last won at Gateway International Raceway in April 2005. The streak was third longest among active competitors. Musgrave went on to win the series championship that season, holding off Dennis Setzer and Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota). The championship was the first for team owner Jim Smith, an original owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Musgrave joined Smith’s Ultra Motorsports in 2001 after 10 seasons in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He won seven races in his first season, finishing second in the standings to Jack Sprague.

Musgrave won 16 races in five seasons for Ultra Motorsports before Smith retired his team. Musgrave joined Germain Racing in 2006 but went winless for the first time in his series career. Bodine, his new teammate, won three races and the series championship.

Musgrave, who has announced he will not return to Germain in 2008, felt that he still had something to prove to the team.

“It’s like unfinished business,” Musgrave said. “If you’re with a team and don’t win a race for them, it leaves you with a feeling that you didn’t do your job.”

Longest Current Winless Streaks (Among drivers with at least one 2007 start)

Driver Races Last Win Track K. Schrader 83 4/15/95 Saugus B. Gaughan 74 10/11/03 Texas S. Compton 56 8/23/98 Heartland C. Chaffin 53 8/6/04 ORP D. Starr 43 4/1/06 Martinsville

NCTS Etc: Busch Has Busy Week Ahead

* Kyle Busch Plans For Quadruple-Duty ... Kyle Busch (No. 51 Flanders Beef Patties Chevrolet) has raced in a Craftsman Truck in five of the last six series races and will add another this Friday at Phoenix. Busch has put together an impressive record in his 34 series races. He has five career victories, including one this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway and 20 top-10 finishes. Busch plans to take the ‘triple-duty’ moniker to a new level this week. In addition to racing in all three NASCAR national series events at Phoenix this weekend, Busch will compete in a late model race in his native Las Vegas. “For me, its fun,” Busch said. “I enjoy it. I love racing.” * Mike Skinner led five laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway to extend his record of races led in a season to 21 out of a possible 22 races. The only race Skinner failed to lead a lap was at Bristol Motor Speedway. The previous record was 19 races shared by Greg Biffle in 1999 and Jack Sprague in 2001. Skinner still has a ways to go, however, to catch the season records for miles and laps led. He currently has led 1,041 laps and 1,130.81 miles. He set the laps led in a season mark with 1,533 in 1996. Sprague has the most miles led with 1,443.02 in 2001. * Phoenix International Raceway lays claim to the most multiple winners – five – at a single track. Four of those winners – Jack Sprague (1996-97), Mike Skinner (1995), Ron Hornaday Jr. (1998-99) and Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet) (2002-03) – are among eight competitors with Phoenix victories (a combined 13) on their resumes who have entered the Casino Arizona 150.

Raybestos Rookie Award Going Down To The Wire

The closest three-way battle in the series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year award moves to Phoenix with Willie Allen (No. 13 ThorSport Chevrolet) holding a six-point lead over Joey Clanton (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford) and Tim Sauter (No. 07 Lester Buildings Chevrolet). Sauter collected his first top-10 finish – 10th – in Texas where Allen ran 11th and Clanton 32nd.

2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Points 1. Willie Allen 155 2. Joey Clanton 149 3. Tim Sauter 149 4. Jason White 122 5. Blake Bjorklund 110

Several Drivers Still In Running For Top-10 Finish, Trip To Banquet

Just as intriguing as the back-and-forth battle for the championship is the constant shuffling of the 10th position in the point standings. Six drivers are currently fighting for the eighth through 10th positions in the standings and the prestige that comes with a top-10 season finish.

The top 10 drivers will be honored at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series awards banquet at The Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 19 and finishing in the top 10 is a goal for many drivers. Currently, Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford) holds the coveted 10th position. Darnell finished 14th at Texas to pass David Starr (No. 10 International MAXX FORCE Diesel Ford) by 10 points.

Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Resort Chevrolet) posted his second runner-up finish of the season to move up one spot to 12th. He is currently 80 points behind Darnell. Gaughan passed Dennis Setzer in the standings after Setzer’s 15th-place Texas finish.

Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menards Chevrolet) and Jack Sprague currently hold the eighth and ninth positions, respectively. Neither driver’s position is safe by any regards. Crafton sits just 86 points ahead of Darnell and is only 96 points in front of Starr. Sprague finds himself in a more precarious situation. He is only 36 points from dropping out of the top 10. Both Crafton and Sprague have been in the top 10 in the standings each week this season.

In The Loop:

Mike Skinner’s on-again-off-again affair with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points lead is back on – and in a big way.

Skinner is back in front, leading Ron Hornaday Jr. by 57 points. It’s the largest lead first place has had over second since after the Bristol race eight races ago.

But Skinner cannot grow complacent, especially this weekend. Both have two wins at the track, and according to the pre-race Phoenix Loop Data statistics, Skinner and Hornaday have near identical stats over the past two races there.

Here is the tale of the tape: Driver Rating: Skinner edges Hornaday, 107.9 to 106.6 Average Running Position: Hornaday nips Skinner, 7.6 to 8.1 Fastest Laps Run: Skinner leads Hornaday, 13 to 6 Laps in the Top 15: Hornaday leads Skinner, 296 to 281 (out of 300)

In other words, the see-saw battle should continue to Homestead.

Johnny Benson, the defending champion of this race, is another driver to watch this weekend. He has a Driver Rating of 127.9, an Average Running Position of 5.4 and has spent 263 of the 300 laps over the past two years in the top 15. He also leads all drivers in Fastest Laps Run with 51.

But the most consistent Phoenix driver over the past two years has been Todd Bodine, who won there in 2005 and finished fourth last year. Of those drivers who have raced in each of the past two Phoenix races, Bodine leads in Driver Rating (128.8) and Average Running Position (2.9), and is the only driver to spend all 300 laps in the top 15. Additionally, Bodine has 46 Fastest Laps Run, which is second-most on the series.

More Phoenix Notes

Phoenix International Raceway is one of just four tracks to host series races in all 13 seasons of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Three drivers – Mike Skinner (1995), Jack Sprague (1997) and Ron Hornaday Jr. (1998) won at Phoenix in their championship seasons. Three other series champions – Mike Bliss (1998), Greg Biffle (2001) and Todd Bodine (2005) also have wins at the track.

Since 2001, every champion has posted a top-10 finish in Phoenix. But only once – Sprague in 2001 – has the champion finished higher than the final standings’ No. 2 driver.

Joe Ruttman is Phoenix International Raceway’s oldest winner at age 53 years 0 months on Nov. 2, 1997. Sprague is the track’s youngest at age 31 years eight months on April 21, 1996.

Mike Skinner is the first driver to reach $700,000 in season winnings before the addition of post-season awards.

Manufacturers’ Preview – Phoenix

Toyota hopes to add a 13th victory in the season’s final two races, breaking its personal best of 12 wins in 2006 that was matched in Texas. Toyota has won 16 Bud Poles this season – one fewer than the record 17 by Chevrolet in 1995.

Manufacturers' Championship 2007 Point Standings Toyota 166 Chevrolet 138 Ford 129 Dodge 73

This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders (Through 23 races of the 25-race season)

* Points leader – Mike Skinner (3,718) * Driver Rating – Mike Skinner (117.9) * Winnings – Mike Skinner ($714,550) * Laps led – Mike Skinner (1,081) * Victories – Mike Skinner (5) * Bud Poles – Mike Skinner (9) * Top-five finishes – Mike Skinner (17) * Top-10 finishes – Ron Hornaday Jr. (20) * Raybestos Rookie Leader – Willie Allen (6 points over Joey Clanton, Tim Sauter) * Races led – Mike Skinner (22) * Weeks in Top 10 – Nine drivers tied with 22

On Deck: Homestead-Miami Speedway

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wraps up its 13th season at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 200 on Nov. 16.

Mark Martin won last year’s race as Todd Bodine clinched his championship. There have been 11 different winners in the 11 races at the track.

Mike Skinner has one top five and two top 10s in five Homestead races and Ron Hornaday Jr. has one win, three top fives and six top 10s in seven Homestead races.

FAST FACTS

Next Race: Casino Arizona 150 The Place: Phoenix International Raceway The Date: November 91 The Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET) TV: SPEED 7:30 p.m. (ET) Track Layout: 1.0- oval Race Purse: $519,413 2006 Winner: Johnny Benson 2006 Pole: Johnny Benson

2007 Standings: No. Driver Points 1 Skinner 3,718 2 Hornaday 3,661 3 Kvapil 3,317 4 Bodine 3,254 5 Crawford 3,231 6 Benson 3,221 7 Musgrave 2,944 8 Crafton 2,812 9 Sprague 2,752 10 Darnell 2,726

Schedule: Thursday: Practice 4:45-5:45 p.m., 5:45–6:15 p.m. (rookies) and 6:30–7:30 p.m. Friday: Qualifying 2:45 p.m.