Ohio 250

Setzer Saves his Way to Ohio 250 Win
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

MANSFIELD, Ohio (May 26, 2007) -- Dennis Setzer drove the entire 250-lap distance without a pit stop Saturday to win the Ohio 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Mansfield Motorsports Park.

It was Setzer's first NCTS victory since Aug. 5, 2005 at O'Reilly Raceway Park (Clermont, Ind.) and the 17th of his career.

"It's been a long drought," Setzer said.

Setzer began saving fuel from the start in his Chevrolet and was aided by 103 caution laps. Many of those were for laps to help dry the track.

The race was stopped for rain three times for a total of five hours. Setzer also was helped by the fact that the track, officially listed as one-half mile, is actually .444 of a mile.

"Goodyear builds such a great tire, you can go 250 laps on them," Setzer explained. "We started thinking about it (not pitting) before the race. It was an option."

Rick Crawford had pitted his Ford early in the race and moved into the lead on Lap 121 when he passed Matt Crafton's Chevrolet. Crawford pulled away after the drop of the green flag.

Setzer moved up to second when he passed Crafton, also trying to make it without a pit stop, on Lap 163.

Crawford cut a tire and slowed dramatically in Turn 4, and Setzer went around him high on the outside to take the lead on Lap 239. Crawford's Ford was leaving a trail of sparks, which brought out the final caution.

The race restarted with six laps remaining. Aaron Fike was in second, but he also was trying the no-stop strategy and ran out gas. Jack Sprague moved into second, but was unable to challenge Setzer, who won by .522 seconds.

"There's no way he made it on fuel," Sprague said. "It's impossible. The Chevrolets don't get the mileage of the Toyotas and the 1 (Fike) pitted with me on (Lap) 35 and he didn't make it. If he (Setzer) made it and they're legal, my hat's off to them. It blows my mind, there's no way."

Ken Schrader was third in a Dodge, followed by the Toyotas of Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson.

"Setzer had a real good foot," Schrader said. "If anybody could do it, it's Dennis."

Complete race results and point standings in the Related News section below...

Television Schedule

• Race: Saturday, May 26 (FOX at 2 p.m. AT, 1 p.m. ET)

Related News

5/23: Entry List (PDF)

5/25: First Practice (PDF)

5/25: Rookie Practice (PDF)

5/25: Final Practice (PDF)

5/25: Qualifying Order (PDF)

5/25: Qualifying Results (PDF)

5/25: Starting Lineup (PDF)

5/26: Race Results (PDF)

5/26: Point Standings (PDF)

Fast Facts
The Race: Ohio 250
The Place: Mansfield Motorsports Park
The Date: May 26
The Time: 1 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX, 2 p.m./AT, 1 p.m./ET
Track Layout: .5-mile paved oval
Race Purse: $491,235
2006 Winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
2006 Pole: Qualifying not held due to inclement weather
Schedule (track time): Friday – Practice 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (rookies) and 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Qualifying 6:30 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Qualifying Notes

• Mike Skinner won the Bud Pole for the Ohio 250, his 37th pole in 136 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. He turned a fast lap of 109.877 mph at 16.382 seconds.
• This is Skinner’s fifth consecutive pole. He has five Bud Poles this season.
• Skinner’s average start in 2007 is now 2.3.
• This is Skinner’s best start at Mansfield. His previous best Mansfield start was 14th in 2005. Going into this race, Skinner’s average start at Mansfield was 21.6. It is now 16.5.
• The last time Skinner won the Bud Pole on a short track was at Martinsville on March 31, 2007. He won that race.
• Skinner has not started outside the top 10 this season. His lowest starting position was ninth at Daytona.
• Rick Crawford scored his best start of the season – second – with a qualifying effort of 109.336 mph at 16.463. His previous best was fourth at Martinsville. Crawford’s best start at Mansfield was fourth in 2005.
• Todd Bodine matched his best start of the year – third – with a qualifying effort of 108.840 mph at 16.538 seconds. His also started third at Daytona. Bodine won the pole at Mansfield last season.

This'N'That

• Ron Hornaday Jr.’s win at Charlotte last weekend was the first of the year for Chevrolet, moving the manufacturer into a tie for second in the standings with Ford. Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tool-Equipment Ford) earned the first victory for Ford at Kansas Speedway. Toyota continues to lead all manufacturers in points (48) and wins (four). Mike Skinner has three victories and Jack Sprague has one.
• The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series transporters will participate in a parade through the city of Mansfield before parking at Mansfield Motorsports Park. The parade will begin at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 24 at Sears at Richland Mall. The transporters will proceed to Park Avenue W in downtown Mansfield for the Mansfield Street Festival from 4-8 p.m. before heading to the track.
• Jimmy Smith, appropriately as it turned out, was cited as the only owner to have competed in every NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race prior to the green flag dropping on the June 21, 2003 O'Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park. When the series' 200th race ended nearly two hours later, it was Ultra Motorsports' Smith and his driver Ted Musgrave accepting the accolades in Victory Lane. Musgrave, who started his No. 1 Team Mopar Dodge on the inside of the third row, battled five other drivers in an extremely competitive race over the .75-mile oval. Musgrave ultimately led 102 of the 200 laps, taking the lead for good at lap 187 from Bud Pole winner Jon Wood, who earlier set at one-lap qualifying record of 86.097 mph. The final top three – Musgrave, Travis Kvapil and Dennis Setzer – will suit up for next week's 300th race at Dover International Speedway as will at least six other drivers who participated in race No. 200.
• Last weeks Charlotte win was a special one for Hornaday's crew chief Rick Ren, who tied a series record for wins with different drivers. Ron Hornaday Jr. was the fifth different driver Ren has led to victory, tying John Monsam for the most different drivers. Ren’s first win came with Rick Carelli at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1996. Carelli is now Hornaday’s spotter. Ironically, Hornaday and Carelli both won races with Monsam. The win was the 12th of Ren’s career, tying him with Fred Graves for fourth all-time. All 12 of Graves’ wins were with Hornaday. Ren has five wins with Johnny Benson (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota), three with Andy Houston, two with Travis Kvapil (No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford) and one with Carelli.
• Saturday’s Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park will be broadcast on FOX, the second series race the network will air this season. Before the season, FOX announced that two races would air on the network – the March 31 race at Martinsville Speedway and a second event to be determined. The Martinsville race earned a 1.6 national rating on FOX, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most watched series event in 10 years. The last time a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race had been broadcast on network television before this season was in 2000. The remainder of the 2007 races will be broadcast on SPEED.

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