Skinner Benefits from Martin Spin, to Win in California


Mike Skinner's pit crew worked hard to help their driver win the San Bernandino County 200.

FONTANA, CA (February 23, 2007) -For the second week in a row, NASCAR veteran Mark Martin left a racetrack wishing that the race had ended just a few laps before the checkered flag actually fell.

The Daytona 500 runner-up, who lost to Kevin Harvick by two one-hundredths last week in NASCAR’s biggest race, was spun around on a restart by Ron Hornaday with five laps remaining in the San Bernardino County 200 and was again detoured from making a trip to victory lane.

The beneficiary of the mayhem between Martin and Hornaday was NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Mike Skinner, who took home the trophy on a cold, crisp night in southern California.

Skinner, who was ahead of Hornaday as the caution flag fell when Martin spun, held off Hornaday’s No. 33 AES HR Solutions Chevrolet for a green-white-checkered shootout over the final two laps. The win was the 20th of Skinner’s career and he is the first California native to win at the Los Angeles area track.

"You know, the thing just kinda lifted up, started spinning its wheels and I got behind on the steering," said Martin. "I just got behind on the steering."

Martin was relegated to a 23rd place finish.

For awhile it looked like the race would come down to a chess match between teams who would try to stretch it to the finish on fuel and those who came in to the pits to put on fresh tires and get plenty of gas to make it to end.

This battle of wills was set up with a spin by David Starr with 30 laps remaining. Ten cars decided to stay out, keep track position and try to make it the rest of the way on fuel. This turned out to be the smart decision as caution flags over the final 12 laps allowed all of the competitors to race to the checkered flag. The top finish by a driver who elected to pit was Carl Edwards’ in fourth.

Daytona NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner Jack Sprague came home third and Ted Musgrave rounded out the top five. Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, Kevin Harvick, Rick Crawford and Mike Bliss completed the top 10.

The points battle has Skinner and Sprague tied for the lead, followed by Benson, Hornaday and Bodine to compete the top five.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a break for a few weeks and will resume its schedule with the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 16.

Fast Facts
The Race: San Bernardino County 200
The Place: California Speedway
The Date: Feb. 23
The Time: 10 p.m. (AT), 9 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 2-mile oval
Race Purse: $667,561
2006 Winner: Mark Martin
2006 Pole: David Reutimann
Pre-Race Point Standings: click here (PDF)
Schedule (Local Time): Thursday—Practice, 2-3 p.m. & 4-5 p.m. Rookie Practice, 3:15-3:45 p.m. Friday: Qualifying, 1:10 p.m. (live on SPEED)

Television

• Qualifying: Friday, February 23 (SPEED at 5 p.m. AT, 4 p.m. ET)
• Pre-Race: Friday, February 23 (SPEED at 9:30 p.m. AT, 8:30 p.m. ET)
• Race: Friday, February 23 (SPEED at 10 p.m. AT, 9 p.m. ET)

Event News

2/23: First Practice Results (PDF)

2/23: Rookie Practice Results (PDF)

2/23: Final Practice Results (PDF)

2/23: Qualifying Order (PDF)

2/23: Qualifying Results (PDF)

2/23: Starting Lineup (PDF)

2/23: Race Results (PDF)

2/23: Post-Race Point Standings (PDF)

NCTS Storylines: California Here We Come

This is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ 13th season. The Feb. 23 San Bernardino County 200 at California Speedway is its 294th race. The race is the 25th (at four different tracks) for the series in the Golden State.

A record-matching seven former series champions boasting 10 titles and 120 victories will compete in this week’s race. They are Mike Skinner (1995), Ron Hornaday Jr. (1996, 98), Jack Sprague (1997, 99, 01), Mike Bliss (2002), Travis Kvapil (2003), Ted Musgrave (2005) and Todd Bodine (2006).

Six of those champions finished among the top 10 in last week’s 2007 opener at Daytona with Travis Kvapil, Mike Skinner, Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Ted Musgrave following race winner Jack Sprague to the checkered flag.

Germain Racing, the defending series championship team, becomes the first to field a fulltime effort for two champions – Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave.

Last season’s final top 10 saw series champions finish first, fifth, sixth, seventh and 10th.

Jack Sprague is the early season point leader by a margin of 190 to 175 over Johnny Benson and Travis Kvapil. The last time Sprague led the standings was at the conclusion of 2001 when the Michigan native won his third series title.

Jack Sprague is a two-time winner at California Speedway in 1998-99.

Ted Musgrave won three consecutive California Speedway starts from 2001-03 holding the single track consecutive victory record until Brendan Gaughan won four straight events at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002-03.

Five former California Speedway winners are expected to take the green flag in this week’s race: Jack Sprague, Ted Musgrave, Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine and last year’s winner Mark Martin.

The California race twice has been won from the Budweiser Pole but not since 2000. Steve Park, winner in 2005, started deepest in the field (25th). Since 2001, no winner has qualified among the top 10.

Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin, who finished one-two in Sunday’s Daytona 500, are among NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regulars expected to compete in the San Bernardino County 200. Also in the field are Carl Edwards and Ken Schrader.

Several teams and drivers will extend records in the season’s second event. The race will be the 292nd for Spears Motorsports (Dennis Setzer) and 276th consecutive start for Roush Fenway Racing (Erik Darnell, Carl Edwards and Travis Kvapil). Rick Crawford and Jack Sprague will make their 249th starts while Terry Cook will compete in his 224th consecutive race in a streak that began Jan. 19, 1998 at Walt Disney World Speedway near Orlando, Fla.

Roush Fenway Racing and Spears Motorsports are the only two teams to participate in a 13th consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck season. Roush is the series leader in total starters with 528. The team’s all-time, driver roster of 22 competitors, is the series’ longest. Todd Bodine drove his Ford to a finish of fourth in the team’s July 29, 1995 debut at Heartland Park Topeka, a 1.8-mile road course. Spears is one of just two active teams to participate in the series inaugural race Feb. 5, 1995 at Phoenix International Raceway in which Bill Sedgwick finished eighth. It is the only team to pursue a full schedule in each of the series’ 12 previous seasons. Owners Wayne and Connie Spears reside in Agua Dulce, Calif. northeast of Los Angeles.

Ten drivers have registered to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in 2007. Georgian Joey Clanton is the first-race leader after finishing sixth at Daytona. Los Angeles native and open wheel star Tyler Walker was the highest qualifying rookie candidate for last week’s event. Walker qualified sixth. Kurt Busch (2000) is the only rookie to win the San Bernardino County 200.

OF NOTE: Three of the series’ 10 fastest races have been run at California Speedway including the fourth quickest at 145.926 mph in 2003. … Ted Musgrave is the series’ leading money winner at the southern California track with $244,020 collected over a six-race span. … Terry Cook and Rick Crawford are the only drivers to have participated in all 10 series races at California Speedway. … Last year’s race saw a series track record high 26 finishers on the lead lap. … Mike Bliss led 93 of 100 laps in winning the series’ inaugural race in 1997. Winners Jack Sprague (1999) and Steve Park (2005) led only six laps. … SPEED will broadcast qualifying live at 4 p.m. ET followed by the San Bernardino County 200 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.