Built Ford Tough 225

Saturday, July 14 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, KY

Skinner Dominates in Kentucky

SPARTA, KY (July 14, 2007) - With the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series half complete, former champion Mike Skinner appears unstoppable.

Skinner and his Toyota truck completely dominated Saturday night’s Built Ford Tough 225 leading 135 of 150 laps around the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway as Skinner scored his series-leading fourth victory of the season before an announced crowd of 49,161.

In the process, Skinner became just the second driver 50 years or older to win a series race and set a record by leading his 13th consecutive race – every one – of the year.

Skinner, whose championship lead grew to 164 points over 10th-finishing Ron Hornaday Jr., took the lead for the final time on the 105th lap when he passed defending series champion Todd Bodine. He held a 5.57 second margin of victory – half a straightaway – over Travis Kvapil’s Ford. Kvapil in turn edged Ted Musgrave as the pair battled for the runnerup spot over the race’s final 10 laps.

“It picks an old man up a lot,” said Skinner, who celebrated his 50th birthday two weeks ago.

Skinner averaged 127.175 mph for the 225 miles race in the series’ second fastest race. He won $86,425 in recording his 23rd victory in a 142-race career.

Six different drivers exchanged the lead 10 times.

Skinner has completed every one of the season’s 2,193 laps and has finished out of the top 10 just once.

Pole winner Ryan Mathews, one of the winner’s two teammates at Bill Davis Racing, finished fourth ahead of 1994 NASCAR Busch Series champion David Green, who was making his first appearance in the series since 1997.

Jon Wood, top rookie finisher Joey Clanton, Bill Lester, Mike Bliss and Hornaday completed the top 10.

The first 14 finishers completed all 150 laps with 27 of the 35 starters taking the checkered flag.

Accidents claimed three drivers including Roush Fenway Ford teammates Erik Darnell and Peter Shepherd. Neither was injured nor was veteran Terry Cook, whose Toyota also was wrecked in the Turn 2, lap 59 incident with Shepherd.

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section below...

Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Mike Skinner won the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by The Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers, his 23rd victory in 142 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races.
• This is Skinner's fourth victory and 13th top-10 finish in 13 races in 2007.
• This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in five races at Kentucky Speedway. His previous best finish here was fourth in 2005.
• Skinner set a new track record at Kentucky Speedway leading 135 Laps, the previous record was held by Bobby Hamilton for a 133 Laps.
• Skinner at the age of 50 is the second oldest driver to win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series behind Joe Ruttman at the age of 56.
• This is the 29th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win for truck owners Gail and Bill Davis.
• This is the first victory for Toyota at Kentucky Speedway.
• Mike Skinner retained the lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship points, leading Ron Hornaday Jr. by 164 points.

Broadcast Times

• Pre-Race Show: Saturday, July 14 (SPEED at 8:30 p.m./AT, 7:30 p.m./ET)
• Race: Saturday, July 14 (SPEED at 9 p.m. AT, 8 p.m. ET)

Event Stats

Entry List (PDF)

Friday First Practice

Friday Rookie Practice

Friday Final Practice

Qualifying Order

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: July 14
The Time: 10 p.m./AT, 9 p.m./ET
TV: SPEED, 8:30 p.m./AT, 7:30 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 1.5 mile oval
Race Purse: $767,050
2006 Winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
2006 Pole: Marcos Ambrose
Schedule (local track time): Friday – Practice 2:30 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.; 3:50 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. (rookies) and 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Saturday – Qualifying 4:00 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Green Flag Notes

• Toyota, the 2006 manufacturers’ champion and current point leader, is 0-for-3 in races at Kentucky Speedway. Chevrolet is the track’s leader among truck makers with three victories including the past two. Dodge and Ford have won twice. Chevrolet and Mike Bliss hold the track’s race record at 143.515 mph set in 2002.
• The B post of Brendan Gaughan’s No. 77 South Point Resort Chevrolet will carry the logo of the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in honor of his father, Michael Gaughan’s induction into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo. Unfortunately for both Gaughans, the induction will take place Saturday while Brendan is competing in the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. He will, however, be with his father in spirit. “Over the years, I have had to miss quite a few special occasions with football, basketball and racing and that’s just part of trying to live your own life,” said driver Gaughan. “But this is one event that I would really like to be at. He was at my induction into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame a few years back. For this induction, he’s going to have all his buddies around. It’s going to be hard not to be there to see him. I think the best thing we can do, though, is to go out and try to win a race for him on this day, which would be kind of fun.” The elder Gaughan is a longtime PRCA member, stock contractor and supporter of the association’s championship finals in Las Vegas.
• Former NASCAR Busch Series champion David Green (No. 1 RFMS/Red Horse Racing Toyota) returns to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this week at Kentucky Speedway. Green has made four previous appearances, the most recent in 1997, with a best finish of eighth at the old Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.
• Bill Lester (No. 15 Christian Debt Consolidation Chevrolet) set Kentucky Speedway’s one-lap record of 178.141 mph in 2005 – a week after also winning the Bud Pole at Kansas Speedway. “Our finish didn’t warrant the start. Some mechanical issues foiled a top-10 finish and I’d really like to go back there this weekend and bring one home for this Billy Ballew Motorsports team,” said Lester, who logged his fourth top-15 finish of the season at Memphis.
• Seven champions will compete in Saturday’s Built Ford Tough 225 with the addition of 2002 winner Mike Bliss as driver of Bobby Hamilton Racing’s No. 4 Open Joist Dodge. Teammate Ken Schrader (No. 18 Fastenal Dodge) will be making his first appearance at Kentucky Speedway.
• Mike Skinner has led all 12 of the season’s races and goes for a record-breaking 13th in a row in Saturday’s race. Skinner has led three previous Kentucky Speedway races for a total of 78 laps. He now has led at least one lap in 16 consecutive starts beginning Oct. 28, 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That is a continuing series record.
• With nine races on 1.5-mile tracks – more than a third of the 2007 schedule – doing well on the intermediate layouts is key to winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Beginning in 2000, just two champions – Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Filters Ford) in 2003 and Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota) in 2005 – have failed to win at least once on the intermediates. How have this year’s top three title contenders fared on the 1.5-mile tracks? Pretty well, thank you. Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota), Hornaday and Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) have captured a combined five wins in the most recent 10 intermediate track races. Each has a 2007 win: Skinner in Atlanta, Hornaday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Bodine in Texas.

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