Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images


Bodine Gets Fifth Win at Texas
By Tim Tuttle, Special for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Todd Bodine won his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 1.321 seconds in front of runner-up Matt Crafton in the WinStar World Casino 400.

Bodine became the first driver in the history of the series to have five victories at one track. They've all been accomplished in a Toyota for Germain Racing. It was Bodine's 17th career victory in trucks, also all with Germain.

"It's incredible to win five races at one track," Bodine said. "It's hard to win anywhere."

Bodine took the lead on the 125th of 167 laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway and was never threatened. He had a 2.5-second lead over Crafton's ThorSport Racing Chevrolet with 25 laps to go and 2.1 with five remaining. Making sure he had enough fuel to reach the checkered flag, Bodine backed off the throttle on the final lap.

Bodine had been running third behind Ron Hornaday Jr.'s Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet and Crafton when a sequence of green-flag pit stops began on lap 98.

Hornaday was penalized for a right-side tire violation and given a drive-through penalty, which put him a lap down. He never regained it. Hornaday had more trouble four laps from the end when he lost oil pressure and finished 19th.

With the series rule that limits trucks to taking only fuel or tires on a pit stop, Rick Crawford's Circle Bar Racing Ford took the lead by making one stop for fuel as most of the rest of the trucks made two stops. It allowed Crawford to lead for 17 laps before the race's second caution came out. Crawford pitted, along with all but two trucks: Bodine and Colin Braun's Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

Bodine had made his last stop for fuel on lap 103. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. believed he could go the distance.

"We needed clean air," Bodine said. "To get out front was key. Junior made a great call. I had to stretch the fuel at the end."

Second was Crafton's best finish of the season and moved him into the points lead for the first time in his nine seasons as a full-time driver in the series. He's 30 points in front of Hornaday.

Crafton stopped during the final caution with 45 laps to go for four tires because of concerns of wear from a previous run that showed cords. Crafton restarted sixth and moved up to second with 30 laps remaining.

"Without a doubt, that's the most disappointing second place I've ever had," Crafton said.

Braun finished a season-best third. Johnny Benson's Red Horse Racing Toyota was fourth and Crawford finished fifth.

Bodine averaged 152.282 mph in one of the fastest truck races in history. There were two cautions for 10 laps.

Unofficial Race Results click here

Unofficial Point Standings click here

Fast Facts
The Race: Winstar World Casino 400
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Fri., June 5, 2009
The Time: 9 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 400K / 250.5 miles / 167 laps
TV: SPEED, 9:30 p.m. AT
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS XM
Track Layout: 1.5-mile speedway
2008 Winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
2008 Polesitter: Justin Marks
Schedule: Thursday—Practice, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and 12:45-2 p.m.; Qualifying, 6 p.m.
Year-To-Date Results & Standings: click here

TV Broadcast Times - AT*

• Pre-Race Show: Friday June 5 at 9:30 p.m./SPEED
• Race: Friday June 5 at 10 p.m./SPEED

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET... Qualifying Notes & Starting Lineup

Johnny Sauter won the Keystone Light Pole Award for the Winstar World Casino 400 with a lap of 30.086 seconds, 179.485 mph.

• This is his first pole in 19 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
• This is his first pole and third top-10 start in 2009.
• This is his first pole in two races at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Scott Speed was the last rookie to win a series pole at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2008.
• Ron Hornaday Jr. (second) posted his eighth top-10 start of 2009 and his ninth in 13 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Matt Crafton (third) posted his third top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his fifth in eight races this season.
• Drivers that failed to qualify include: None.

Complete Starting Lineup click here

Track Map



Event Preview

• Repeat Winners Commonplace At Texas Motor Speedway...Like grapes, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winners come in bunches at Texas Motor Speedway. The track, which hosts Friday night’s Winstar World Casino 400, boasted eight consecutive different winners from its debut on the schedule in 1997 through the fall race of 2002. When Brendan Gaughan first stepped into Victory Lane in June 2003, that changed. Gaughan went on to record four consecutive wins through the fall of 2004. In the 10 races since Gaughan’s last victory, two drivers — current NASCAR Camping World Truck points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Copart.com Toyota) — have accounted for six wins. Bodine matched Gaughan’s total with victories in each season from 2004-07. Hornaday, not to be outdone, swept both spring and fall races at Texas Motor Speedway a year ago — that after the all-time series winner had gone 0-for-10 at the 1.5-mile facility. The 40-time series winner looks no further than his pit box to explain why. “We had been decent there in the past but for some reason, (crew chief) Rick Ren and the guys hit something the past couple of years,” said Hornaday. “I’m not sure if it’s aero or what but the trucks we bring there drive really good. “It is really hard to do that (sweep) with the competition in the series the way it is today. I’m really proud of that accomplishment. I hope we can go there this weekend and do it again.” Ren, who also has Texas wins with Andy Houston and Travis Kvapil, said, “We worked really hard on getting the trucks comfortable for Ron to drive at places like Texas and Charlotte. After he was comfortable behind the wheel, then we worked on making them fast. I think that is what has made the most difference at the 1.5-mile tracks.” Bodine, winless since the opening race at Daytona, is anxious to get back in Victory Lane and become the first to win five times at the same track. “What having four wins at Texas means for this Copart Tundra team is that we know we can win at Texas and know we can get around there,” said Bodine. “Racing at the mile-and-a-half is about going fast and being patient.”
• And Now, The Heart Of The 2009 Campaign Beckons...Now, as they say, things get interesting. After an early season that saw six races stretched over nearly three months, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams head to Texas Motor Speedway for the second race of a five-weekend swing that takes teams from Dover, Del., to Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee. The May-June schedule won’t decide the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck championship. But safe to say a championship can be lost as spring becomes summer and both heat and pressure intensify. A year ago, neither 2008 champion Johnny Benson (No. 1 Red Horse Racing Toyota) nor runner-up Hornaday missed a beat . Benson collected his third consecutive victory at the Milwaukee Mile, finished second at Michigan, was third in Texas and 10th at Dover. Hornaday won twice, in Texas and at Memphis Motorsports Park, was third at Dover and seventh in Milwaukee. Both outdistanced 2006 titleholder Todd Bodine, whose trio of top-five finishes couldn’t match his rivals’ pace. Bodine was the points leader entering Dover’s AAA Insurance 200 but emerged third, 54 points behind Hornaday, when the Memphis race had been run. Bodine ultimately finished 104 points behind Benson and 97 arrears of Hornaday. The post-Dover margin between first and third a year ago was a slim 24 points vs. 29 points in 2009. Veteran Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar/International Truck and Engine Ford) headed the standings. One bad finish — 21st at Texas — may not have doomed Crawford’s championship hopes but it stalled the Alabama driver’s momentum. Crawford had slipped to fifth after the Memphis race and was seventh at season’s end. It’s still early in the year but running both fast and mistake-free during the coming month figures to pay dividends when the season winds down in the fall.
• Texas Motor Speedway Is The Home Of Champions...Texas Motor Speedway has statistically become the home of champions when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hits town. Four past champions in particular pepper the top of the statistical leader board: Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine. Friday night’s showdown may well be reminiscent of 2007’s year-long Hornaday vs. Skinner battle. But this weekend, the match whittles down to one race. Skinner and Hornaday rank 1-2 in practically every key Loop Data category since 2005: Average Running Position: Skinner leads 4.3 to Hornaday’s 6.1. Driver Rating: Skinner leads 125.1 to Hornaday’s 119.9. Fastest Laps Run: Skinner leads 169 to Hornaday’s 161. Laps in the Top 15 percentage: Skinner leads 96.8% to Hornaday’s 91.2%. Laps Led: Skinner leads 400 to Hornaday’s 352. But Hornaday leads in one statistic – the most important one. He has two Texas wins, compared to Skinner’s zero. Skinner has won the pole in five of his 10 Texas starts, but never followed up with a victory. His best finish was second, three different times. Also watch for champions Benson and Bodine to be a factor this weekend. Benson has a Driver Rating of 102.4 and an Average Running Position of 9.7. Bodine, winner of four Texas races, has a Driver Rating of 100.5 and an Average Running Position of 12.6.
• Aric Almirola returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this week in Billy Ballew Motorsports’ No. 15 Samsung Instinct Toyota. Almirola’s last appearance came at TMS a year ago. He finished 17th.
• Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Carmichael returns to the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevrolet this week. The Kevin Harvick Inc. team has employed multiple drivers this year with J.R. Fitzpatrick finishing 11th at Dover International Speedway.

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