Friday, March 7 Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta, Georgia

Kyle Busch does a burnout for the fans to celebrate his Atlanta win...

Kyle Busch Wins For Third Time In Atlanta
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 7, 2008) -- Benefitting from an astute call from the pits, Kyle Busch held off Ron Hornaday Jr. on Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway to win the American Commercial Lines 200, the second straight victory for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader.

After a stoppage for rain lasting almost 10 minutes, Busch restarted in the lead with four laps remaining in the 130-lap event at the 1.54-mile speedway. Busch pulled away towin by 1.116 seconds over the defending series champion.

The win was Busch's eighth in the series, and it was his fifth straight truck series race with a finish of first or second.

Mike Skinner ran third, followed by Matt Crafton and Chad McCumbee. Jack Sprague, Ted Musgrave, Terry Cook, Todd Bodine and Jon Wood completed the top 10, as only the first nine trucks finished on the lead lap.

The call of the race came on lap 112, when crew chief Richie Wauters brought Busch into the pits for tires during the third caution of the race, after rain slowed the proceedings on lap 111. That forced Hornaday to come to the pits with the other leaders a lap later.

When the field restarted on lap 116, Busch was third but quickly dispatched Crafton and McCumbee through Turns 3 and 4.

"That baby was evil-loose -- it was all over the place," Busch said of the handling of the No. 51 Toyota early in the race. "But we got it handling really well on that last pit stop, and from that point on, it was a rocket ship."

Wauters said the call to pit wasn't that difficult.

"It wasn't that tough when you've got Kyle," Wauters said. "We knew we had a better truck on new tires. The only way to win the race was to come in for tires."

Hornaday's No. 33 Chevrolet was dominant on long runs, but in a four-lap dash to the finish, he had to settle for the runner-up finish.

"I'll tell you in one word, 'Second stinks,'" Hornaday said. "I don't know how he (Busch) can drive that thing that far out of control. I knew if we had a short run, he was going to get me. But we'll take second. It was a good points day, but it's a shame -- this thing was fast."

Busch continues as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship leader by 72 points over Todd Bodine.

Complete Race Results click here

Post-Race Driver Point Standings click here


It was Busch's third trip to Victory Lane in Atlanta - his second win in a row - and his fifth straight finish of second or better in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series...

Broadcast Times

• Final Practice: Friday, March 7 (SPEED at Noon/AT)
• Race: Friday, March 7 (SPEED at 9:30 p.m. AT)

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: American Commercial Lines 200
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race Distance: 200.2 miles/ 130 laps
TV: SPEED, 9:30 p.m./AT, 8:30 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 1.54-mile banked paved speedway
2007 Winner: Mike Skinner
2007 Pole: Mike Skinner
Schedule (local track time/ET): Friday: Practice, 9-10 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Qualifying, 4:45 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Track Map



Pre-Race Pit Stops

• Hot Racing In Hotlanta... Two races into the season, Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 mile “intermediate” track, could be pivotal for one’s championship run. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion has won at least one race on an intermediate track in six of the last eight seasons (including 2006-07). Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) is off to a strong start after winning the season opener at Daytona International Speedway and a runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway. “First place one week, second the next – that’s how you win championships,” he said. Bodine has visited Victory Lane at AMS, the same year he won the series championship in 2006. Reigning series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 30 Camping World/VFW Chevrolet) and former series champion Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) have both snagged the checkered flag at Atlanta. Skinner, with an average starting position of second in seven starts at Atlanta, is looking to end his current six-race winless streak and add another series title to his resume. Three-time series champion Jack Sprague (No. 2 American Commercial Lines/RVs.com Chevrolet) is chasing his first win at AMS, one of eight tracks on the series schedule where the driver has yet to take the checkered flag. NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Atlanta gave the team confidence going into this weekend. Sprague posted top-five speeds both days. “I think we are going back to Atlanta even better than we tested,” he said. The driver added, “We need to begin to get the ball rolling in the right direction this season and I think this weekend is the perfect place for us to do that.”
• All Eyes On Busch … Kyle Busch will pilot the No. 51 Toyota again for Atlanta businessman Billy Ballew. Busch is the only driver expected to compete in the trucks, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta. Busch, winner of the 2005 and 2007 fall races at the track, looks to extend his winning streak this weekend and stay atop the drivers’ point standings. Busch looks forward to running again with the series. “It is great racing and it is fun to be able to go out there and run with these guys in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,” he said. The driver added, “Anytime I can race with Billy Ballew, it is a lot of fun. We race to try to win, of course, every time we come out so to be able to go out there and have fun and race for points and for wins, it’s great. “
• Competitive Track … Atlanta Motor Speedway holds the record for the closest finish on a superspeedway. Ron Hornaday, Jr. edged Bobby Labonte back in March 2005 by .008 second to take the win. On the flip side, Hornaday finished second to Kyle Busch last October by a margin of .971 second – the widest margin in the track’s seven series races. The race’s final lead change has taken place with 12 or fewer laps to go in all seven races held in Atlanta. There were last lap passes for the win on two occasions: Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner (2004) and Kyle Busch and Jack Sprague (fall 2005).
• Speed On Track … F1 driver Scott Speed is slated to race for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports at Atlanta and Martinsville speedways. Speed made his ARCA stock car debut last October with a seventh-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. Speed will drive the No. 46 Red Bull Chevrolet in Atlanta. Scott is not the first Speed in NASCAR. Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Lake Speed (no relation) made his mark in the sport with 402 series starts (1980-1998) and one win at Darlington in 1988. Both are former karting champions.
• Double Duty … Bill Davis Racing drivers Skinner and Benson have stepped in to help pilot the No. 27 Toyota entry into the top 35 owners points of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Skinner ran the car last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he had a strong qualifying run, placing the car fifth. Benson, winner of AMS’ NASCAR Nationwide race in 1995, will take over this weekend.

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