Beth Lunkenheimer Mike Skinner won his fourth race of the season Saturday night in the Built Ford Tough 225 at the Kentucky Speedway. Skinner beat runner-up Travis Kvapil by 5.570 seconds. Ted Musgrave, who returned to the No. 9 after a one-week suspension, finished third. Ryan Mathews and David Green rounded out the top five.
The drivers of the Craftsman Truck Series got a break this past weekend, and while some drivers spent that time resting and relaxing, others spent it capturing headlines. Aaron Fike was arrested Saturday night with lady friend Cassandra Davidson at Kings Island after the park reported Fike’s SUV as suspicious. Fike tried to drive away when the Mason City Police Department approached the vehicle, but another officer pulled in front, forcing him to stop. After a thorough search of the car, the two offenders were taken into custody and arrested after officers found heroin, syringes, and spoons with residue stashed inside. According to police, Fike admitted taking the drug; if that’s true, those words will cause another promising Truck Series career path to be flushed down the tubes.
Editor’s Note: Each week, we’ll go through all the media reports, interviews, PR, and our own stuff to find the best quotes from the Nextel Cup race to capture the story of how the weekend unfolded. It’s the most original commentary you’ll ever find; the truth, coming straight out of the mouths of the drivers, crew members, and the car owners themselves. This week, here’s a sneak peek at what some select few were thinking after the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
After eight weeks straight, the Craftsman Truck Series drivers get a break in their 25-race schedule. Since off weeks tend to be slow on news, I got to thinking about the series and the shape it’s in. Week in and week out, television coverage shows massive amounts of empty seating at every track, but is the lowest tier of NASCAR’s “big three” in trouble?
Each week, we’ll go through all the media reports, interviews, PR, and our own stuff to find the best quotes from the Nextel Cup race that capture the story of how the weekend unfolded. It’s the most original commentary you’ll ever find; the truth, coming straight out of the mouths of the drivers, crew members, and car owners themselves. This week, here’s a sneak peek at what some select few were thinking after the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Travis Kvapil returned to victory lane at Memphis Motorsports Park Saturday night. He held off Ron Hornaday on a restart and ran away from Jack Sprague with just five laps remaining to win the O’Reilly 200. Hornaday, Mike Skinner and rookie Aaron Fike rounded out the top five.
With the Craftsman Truck Series taking three weeks off after only two races, what is there for a truck racing columnist to do? I started thinking about how the Truck Series originated, and I learned one thing; I didn’t have a clue. When I got into watching truck races, the series was well underway, so I turned back to the Truck Series’ roots to see just what started it all.
Each week, we’ll go through all the media reports, interviews, PR, and our own stuff to find the best quotes from Sunday’s race that best captures the story of how the weekend unfolded, straight from the drivers themselves. This week, Beth Lunkenheimer gives us a sneak peek at what drivers were thinking after the Auto Club 500.
Mike Skinner celebrated his 20th career Craftsman Truck Series win Friday night in the San Bernardino County 200 by 0.554 seconds over second-place finisher Ron Hornaday. Skinner took the lead for the final time with just a few laps remaining when Mark Martin spun after contact with Hornaday. Last week’s winner, Jack Sprague, finished third, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards and Ted Musgrave.
“I was cheering for Greg Biffle or Mark Martin to win, obviously. Mark is my mentor and got me where I’m at. Obviously, I wanted him to win and if he couldn’t win, I wanted to Greg to win because he’s a teammate, but it didn’t work out that way. If there are cars on both sides, there’s only so much you can do. I was on the outside and Mark was on the inside, so I really couldn’t do anything.” – Matt Kenseth
In true Daytona fashion for the Truck Series, it was another fantastic finish in the season opener. Jack Sprague took the lead from Travis Kvapil just a few hundred feet from the finish line, taking Johnny Benson with him as both attempted to sneak by the No. 6 Truck. Both passed him easily, with Benson diving low to try to take the win himself, but Sprague held on to win the Chevrolet Silverado HD 250 at Daytona by a mere 0.031 seconds, almost breaking the record for the smallest margin of victory.
The Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona this year is called the Chevrolet Silverado 250, yet Chevrolet has never visited Daytona’s victory lane in a Truck Series race. Ironically, Daytona is one of just two tracks on the schedule where Chevrolet has yet to earn a victory (Talladega, where Mark Martin’s Ford won the inaugural truck race in 2006, is the other).