NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - California Speedway – October 2, 2004
THIS RACE -- The American Racing Wheels 200 will mark the eighth race at California Speedway for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS). There will be eight Toyota Tundras in the field.
LAST RACE -- In the most recent race on the schedule at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sept. 25), three Tundra drivers finished among the top-six at the 1.5-mile oval. Todd Bodine, in just his third race driving the No. 30 Germain/Arnold Racing Toyota, finished second -- just one second behind race winner Shane Hmiel. Bill Davis Racing teammatesJohnny Benson (No. 23 Tundra) and Mike Skinner (No. 5 Tundra) crossed the finish line behind Bodine, with Benson finishing fourth and Skinner sixth.
POINTS RACE -- After 19 races, three Toyota drivers are among the top-15 in the NCTS championship standings.Travis Kvapil is sixth in the standings with 2,514 points, 264 points behind first-place Bobby Hamilton and just 139 points from third-place Carl Edwards. Other Tundra drivers among the top-15 in the standings are 8th-place Mike Skinner (2,418 points) and 14th-place David Reutimann (2,255 points).
ROOKIE RACE -- After 19 races, Toyota driver David Reutimann (No. 17 Tundra) remains atop the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings with 203 points, 42 more than second-place Tracy Hines. Toyota’s Robert Huffman (No. 12 Tundra) is fifth in the rookie race with 132 points.
BODINE’S BEST -- Todd Bodine recorded his best NCTS finish this season in the No. 30 Tundra when he was second at Las Vegas. It was also the best career NCTS finish for the Chemung, NY-native. In just three series starts with Germain/Arnold Racing, Bodine already has registered two top-fives. Along with his Las Vegas finish, he was fourth at Richmond (Sept. 9) in his Tundra debut. During his career, Bodine has made 10 NCTSstarts, including three this year in the No. 30 Tundra, two earlier in the season, and five in 1995.
TODD TALKS VEGAS -- “It was a really good run for us and my Tundra was just awesome all night,” said Bodine, following the race. “The Germain/Arnold team did a fantastic job and I can’t tell you how happy we all are tonight. It’s just our third race, but we ran up front all night and led a bunch of laps. Shane (Hmiel) got in the back of me at the end, but I expected it because that’s racing. His tires had fewer laps on them, and thatmade all the difference.”
BENSON’S BEST -- Johnny Benson equaled his best finish of the season when he was third at Las Vegas. One week earlier, at New Hampshire, Benson recorded his first third-place of the season. In seven starts driving the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, Benson has three top-fives and four top-10s. Along with his two thirds,Benson finished fourth at Michigan (July 31) and sixth at Nashville (Aug. 18). His best career NCTS finish came at Phoenix in 1996.
SKINNER STRONG -- Mike Skinner had a strong run at Las Vegas, finishing sixth in the No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra. Skinner earned the pole position in qualifying, the 16th of his NCTS career, and led the first 32 laps en route to his sixth-place finish. He ran among the leaders throughout the night in Las Vegas and registered his eighth top-10 of the season.
HEADING HOME -- Although Mike Skinner now calls Daytona Beach, FL home, he is a California native. He was born in Ontario and grew up in Susanville. He began his racing career at California’s Lassen County Fairgrounds and also won three track titles at Susanville Speedway.
LAST WIN WAS IN CALIFORNIA -- Mike Skinner’s last NCTS victory came at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, CA during the 1996 season, his last season as a full-time competitor in the series. Before earning the pole position at Las Vegas (Sept. 25), Skinner’s last pole was also in California, when he started first at Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) in October of 1996.
NO. 2 FOR NO. 5 – The race at California Speedway will be the second one in which Mike Skinner will be driving the No. 5 Toyota Tundra. After beginning the year with Bang Racing in the No. 42 Tundra, Skinner moved to Bill DavisRacing at Richmond (Sept. 9), using the same number. The team then switched to No. 5 at Las Vegas.
IN A NO. 5 BEFORE -- Mike Skinner has made one NCTS start at California Speedway -- driving a No. 5 truck in the race at the two-mile oval on July 18, 1998. In the race, Skinner started eighth, led four laps, and crossed the finish line fifth.
PARKER’S FIRST WIN WAS IN CALIFORNIA -- Hank Parker Jr. earned his first career NASCAR victory at California Speedway in 2001 when he captured the checkered flag in the Busch Series race at the track.
PARKER HAS FOUR – This season, Hank Parker Jr. has four top-10 finishes. He has finished third (Dover), fifth (St. Louis), sixth (Bristol) and ninth (New Hampshire).
TRACKING TODD IN CALIFORNIA – Even though Todd Bodine will be making his first NCTS start at California Speedway, he has competed at the track in both the NASCAR Cup Series and in the Busch Series. “I’m lookingforward to running at California,” says Bodine. I won the first Busch race at California and also won a Cup pole at the track. And even though I’ve also had a couple of bad crashes there, I still like the track and enjoy racing there.”
JOHNNY HAS COME TO CALIFORNIA -- Johnny Benson will be making his first NCTS start at California Speedway, however, the Grand Rapids, MI-native does have experience at the track. During his career, Benson has made seven NASCAR Cup starts at California.
TRAVIS TURNS IN TOP-10S IN CALIFORNIA -- Travis Kvapil has made three NCTS starts at California Speedway and has registered three top-10 finishes. In his first start at the track in 2001, the Janesville, Wis.-driver crossed the finish line seventh. In 2002, he finished fourth, and last year he crossed the finish line eighth.
EIGHT IN 10 FOR DAVID -- David Reutimann has eight top-10 finishes this season including third-place finishes at both Atlanta and Texas, as well as a fifth-place at New Hampshire.
TWICE BEFORE -- David Reutimann has never started a NCTS race at California Speedway, but he does have two Busch Series starts at the track. In 2003, he started fourth and finished 11th, and last year he finished 15th.
REUTIMANN WILL RETURN -- This November (11th - 13th), David Reutimann will return to California to attend the second annual ‘NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown’ at Irwindale Speedway. More than $500,000 in prize money and live national television coverage on SPEED Channel await the 70 drivers who will be invited to compete in theone-of-a-kind NASCAR event. The invitational event will once again feature the top 10 drivers from each of the four series that comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division -- which includes NASCAR's Midwest Series, Northwest Series, Southeast Series and Southwest Series -- competing together in a single race. Also on the racing card atIrwindale will be a combined field of NASCAR Grand National Division drivers, which includes the top 15 drivers from the Busch North Series and West Series. Reutimann competed in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Southeast Series in 1997, winning Rookie-of-the-Year honors. That year, the Zephyrhills, FL-native finished fifth inthe point standings, recorded a pair of second-place finishes, and had eight top-10s during the season.
FIRST FOR FIVE -- Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, Robert Huffman, Hank Parker Jr. and David Reutimann will all be making their first NCTS starts at California Speedway. Benson, Bodine and Parker Jr. have all competed at the track previously in the Cup or Busch series, but never in the Craftsman Truck Series
TOYOTA HAS TWO WINS -- Toyota earned its second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory when Travis Kvapil captured the checkered flag at New Hampshire International Speedway (Sept. 18) in his No. 24 Bang Racing Line-X Tundra. Kvapil qualified third, ran among the leaders throughout the race, and took the lead with 12 lapsremaining en route to the checkered flag. Toyota earned its first-ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory when Travis Kvapil captured the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway (July 31).
TOYOTA HAS TWO POLES -- Toyota earned its second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole position during its debut season in the series when Mike Skinner qualified first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sept. 25). It was his 16th career NCTS pole position and his first since his last full season in the series in 1996. In Atlanta (March 12), a Tundra captured the NCTS pole position for the first time. David Reutimann earned his first career NCTS pole position – and Toyota’s inaugural pole.
TV TIME – American Racing Wheels 200, California Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 2, 10:00 PM (Eastern), SPEED Channel
