NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Headline News
TODD BODINE TAKES NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES TITLE AT MIAMI
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 17, 2006) -- Even though Todd Bodine finished 21st in
Friday evening's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Homestead-Miami
Speedway, the finish was enough to allow him to capture the Craftsman Truck Series
driver's title in the final race of the year.
In addition to it being Bodine's first-ever NASCAR driver's championship, it also marks
the inaugural NASCAR driver's title for Toyota. The driver's title for a Tundra racer
comes just three weeks after Toyota clinched its initial NASCAR manufacturer's
championship at Texas Motor Speedway.
"My family has been racing for a lot of years," said Bodine, following the race. "My brothers Geoff and Brett raced -- and I have cousins racing and nephews that race -- but this is the first time as a family that we've won something this important. This is so special -- you can't imagine what this means to me or my family. It's for everyone that ever helped me on my race cars -- it's paid off for you."
Although he battled handling problems with his No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra, Bodine still managed to do what he needed to capture the championship in his Germain Racing Tundra.
"We did what we had to do tonight," added Bodine. "It's really a shame that we had to race that way and be cautious. At the very end, my tires were vibrating so bad I couldn't go any faster. But, I saw that Johnny (Benson) had problems and I knew that we were going to be alright. I just had to ride around and finish. That's not our style, but that's what got it done tonight. We had to do what we did to get the job done, and that's what we did."
Johnny Benson, the only driver with a realistic chance of catching Bodine for the title, had trouble after contact with another truck, and finished 26th.
"I think we definitely had a shot at second-place," said Bodine, after the race. "The No. 4 (Chase Miller) truck spun and instead of staying down on the track -- he rolled up the track. I still don't understand that -- and I hit him when he came back. Our truck wasn't very good, but I think it was good enough to make second."
Veteran Mark Martin captured the checkered flag at Miami and three Tundra drivers recorded top-10 finishes. Jack Sprague crossed the finish line fifth and was followed to the finish by David Starr (seventh) and David Reutimann (eighth).
Other Tundra drivers in the field were Bill Lester (11th), Michael Waltrip (17th), Ted Musgrave (33rd), Mike Skinner (35th) and Chad Chaffin (36th).
Mike Skinner captured the pole position in Friday afternoon qualifying, his series-high eighth pole position of the year.
The Craftsman Truck Series will return to action in February 2007 with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
Toyota Drivers in the NCTS Point Standings - following Miami**
1st, TODD BODINE 3,666 points
2nd, JOHNNY BENSON 3,539 points
3rd, DAVID REUTIMANN 3,530 points
4th, DAVID STARR 3,355 points
5th, JACK SPRAGUE 3,328 points
6th, TED MUSGRAVE 3,314 points
10th, MIKE SKINNER 3,219 points
20th, BILL LESTER 2,252 points
** Unofficial Point Standings
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 17, 2006) -- Even though Todd Bodine finished 21st in
Friday evening's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Homestead-Miami
Speedway, the finish was enough to allow him to capture the Craftsman Truck Series
driver's title in the final race of the year.
In addition to it being Bodine's first-ever NASCAR driver's championship, it also marks
the inaugural NASCAR driver's title for Toyota. The driver's title for a Tundra racer
comes just three weeks after Toyota clinched its initial NASCAR manufacturer's
championship at Texas Motor Speedway.
"My family has been racing for a lot of years," said Bodine, following the race. "My brothers Geoff and Brett raced -- and I have cousins racing and nephews that race -- but this is the first time as a family that we've won something this important. This is so special -- you can't imagine what this means to me or my family. It's for everyone that ever helped me on my race cars -- it's paid off for you."
Although he battled handling problems with his No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra, Bodine still managed to do what he needed to capture the championship in his Germain Racing Tundra.
"We did what we had to do tonight," added Bodine. "It's really a shame that we had to race that way and be cautious. At the very end, my tires were vibrating so bad I couldn't go any faster. But, I saw that Johnny (Benson) had problems and I knew that we were going to be alright. I just had to ride around and finish. That's not our style, but that's what got it done tonight. We had to do what we did to get the job done, and that's what we did."
Johnny Benson, the only driver with a realistic chance of catching Bodine for the title, had trouble after contact with another truck, and finished 26th.
"I think we definitely had a shot at second-place," said Bodine, after the race. "The No. 4 (Chase Miller) truck spun and instead of staying down on the track -- he rolled up the track. I still don't understand that -- and I hit him when he came back. Our truck wasn't very good, but I think it was good enough to make second."
Veteran Mark Martin captured the checkered flag at Miami and three Tundra drivers recorded top-10 finishes. Jack Sprague crossed the finish line fifth and was followed to the finish by David Starr (seventh) and David Reutimann (eighth).
Other Tundra drivers in the field were Bill Lester (11th), Michael Waltrip (17th), Ted Musgrave (33rd), Mike Skinner (35th) and Chad Chaffin (36th).
Mike Skinner captured the pole position in Friday afternoon qualifying, his series-high eighth pole position of the year.
The Craftsman Truck Series will return to action in February 2007 with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
Toyota Drivers in the NCTS Point Standings - following Miami**
1st, TODD BODINE 3,666 points
2nd, JOHNNY BENSON 3,539 points
3rd, DAVID REUTIMANN 3,530 points
4th, DAVID STARR 3,355 points
5th, JACK SPRAGUE 3,328 points
6th, TED MUSGRAVE 3,314 points
10th, MIKE SKINNER 3,219 points
20th, BILL LESTER 2,252 points
** Unofficial Point Standings
© Copyright 2006 MotorsportToday.com
Photos courtesy of Toyota Motorsports