Saturday, June 30 Memphis Motorsports Park Memphis, TN

Kvapil Winner Of O'Reilly 200
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 30, 2007) -- Travis Kvapil nudged Brad Keselowski into a spin to take the lead with nine laps remaining and went on to win the O'Reilly 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Kvapil's Roush Fenway Racing Ford ran a couple of truck lengths behind Keselowski's Germain Racing Toyota in a 40-lap chase on the .75-mile track. In Turn 4 on the 191st lap, Kvapil's truck hit Keselowski's left rear and sent him into a 180-degree spin.

It ruined a storybook race for Keselowski, who was subbing for the suspended Ted Musgrave. Keselowski finished 16th.

Kvapil won by 2.320 seconds over runner-up Jack Sprague, who passed Ron Hornaday for second with three laps remaining. It was Kvapil's second victory of the season and the seventh in his trucks career.

Series points leader Mike Skinner was fourth and rookie Aaron Fike fifth, both driving Toyotas.

"I definitely didn't intend to spin him (Keselowski) around," Kvapil said. "His truck was having trouble getting through the corner. I had to go. I had to make something happen. It's part of racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It's definitely not the way I do business."

Keselowski started from pole and led the opening 19 laps. He was third for a restart on Lap 120 and passed Skinner for second five laps later.

Keselowski closed on Kvapil and took the lead on the inside in Turn 4 on Lap 148. Keselowski opened up a 1.1-second lead in four laps, but the Ford driver began gaining and was within a few truck lengths for the next 40 laps.

"It was a great race," Kvapil said.

Keselowski had to run his tires hard to get into the lead.

"I was trying to save something, but I wasn't catching up," Keselowski said. "I used everything up getting to him. I used up the rear tires and that led to getting run over. I don't think I'm angry. I'm not sure what I am, a little surprised, shocked. Angry, I don't think that's the right word. It's definitely the best I've run."

Keselowski's best finish in 42 NCTS starts is seventh at Daytona in 2005.

Sprague started his night from 13th on the grid.

"It started horrible," Sprague said. "It got better after the first stop and came to life after the second. I wish we'd have had 25 more laps. I'd have had something for Travis."

Skinner leads Hornaday by 103 points with 12 of 25 races completed.

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

Broadcast Times

• Qualifying: Saturday, June 30 (SPEED at 7 p.m./AT, 6 p.m./ET)
• Pre-Race: Saturday, June 30 (SPEED at 9:30 p.m./AT, 8:30 p.m./ET)
• Race: Saturday, June 30 (SPEED at 10 p.m. AT, 9 p.m. ET)

Event Stats

Entry List (PDF)

Friday First Practice (PDF)

Friday Rookie Practice (PDF)

Friday Final Practice (PDF)

Qualifying Order (PDF)

Qualifying Results (PDF)

Starting Lineup (PDF)

Race Results (PDF)

Point Standings (PDF)

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: O’Reilly 200
The Place: Memphis Motorsports Park
The Date: June 30
The Time: 10 p.m./AT, 9 p.m./ET
TV: SPEED, 9:30 p.m,/AT, 8:30 p.m./ET
Track Layout: .75-mile oval
Race Purse: $568,734
2006 Winner: Jack Sprague
2006 Pole: Jack Sprague
Schedule (local track time): Friday – Practice 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.; 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (rookies) and 7:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. Saturday - Qualifying 5 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Green Flag Notes

• Competitors, officials and fans will remember one of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ most popular champions at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday – an occasion Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has proclaimed “Bobby Hamilton Day.” Pre-race ceremonies will be carried live on SPEED. Hamilton, who succumbed earlier this year to cancer, won the 2004 O’Reilly 200. The Nashville area native was the Bud Pole winner in 2000. “We are very honored that people want to pay their respects to Bobby in such a way,” said Lori Hamilton, the late driver’s widow. “Going to the tracks for the first time without him is hard but paying tribute to Bobby helps us remember the good times we had as a team.” Longtime friend and fellow competitor Ken Schrader is driving Hamilton’s No. 18 Fastenal Dodge. He’ll be making his first appearance at Memphis Motorsports Park. Schrader has one goal in mind – win. “It would be a great tribute to him to win this year,” he said. “I’m going to do my best to make sure that happens.”
• Five former winners – Hornaday, Sprague, Setzer, Kvapil and Ted Musgrave (No. 9 Team ASE Toyota) – are among entered drivers for this week’s O’Reilly 200.
• No winning competitor at Memphis Motorsports Park has started worse than fifth in the nine previous runnings of the O’Reilly 200. The Bud Pole qualifier has won three times including the last two races. “There’s a premium placed on two qualifying laps because they directly affect the 200 laps of racing,” said Bodine, who started 19th and finished 15th in last year’s race.
• More on strategy: “This is a follow-the-leader race track,” said Rick Ren, Hornaday’s crew chief. “It can be very difficult to pass and pit stops are crucial. Even pit selection plays an important role at Memphis.”
• Kraig Kinser (No. 47 Ginn Resorts Chevrolet) finished 36th in last year’s O’Reilly 200, liked what he saw of the track and is anxious to improve upon his rookie performance. “It is so unique, and there is really no other place like it,” said the former sprint car star. “There are little bumps all over the track, and it makes for some fun, exciting racing for the drivers and the fans.”
• Skinner celebrates his 50th birthday on June 28 and obviously hopes to become the second 50-year-old to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race. He would join Joe Ruttman in that “senior” category. Also a year older this week is Benson, whose 44th birthday was observed on June 27.
• There has not been a repeat owner winner at Memphis Motorsports Park, however, two – Teresa Earnhardt and Bill Davis – also have won NASCAR Busch Series races at the track. Earnhardt’s two drivers – Hornaday and Martin Truex Jr. – went on to win championships in the same seasons, 1998 and 2005, respectively.
• Driver updates: Aric Almirola, whose first NASCAR Craftsman Truck start came at MMP in 2005, will be at the wheel of Billy Ballew’s No. 51 Chevrolet this week. Making his return to the series is Chad Chaffin, a two-time winner who will take the controls of the No. 40 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet. Chaffin finished fourth in his first Memphis appearance in 2001.
• Final word on Memphis’ degree of difficulty: 17 first-time drivers averaged a finish of 24.2 in 2006 – even with rookie Erik Darnell’s (No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford) ranking of second.

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