NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Bodine had an early tire problem in his No. 30 Germain Racing Tundra and finished 25th. Benson, driver of the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, had a drive train problem and crossed the finish line 29th. With three races remaining on the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Bodine leads Benson by just 89 points in the championship point standings.

"My right front went flat early on," said Bodine, following the race. "These tires are real bad about 'chunking' the outside edge and coming apart -- and that's exactly what happened to us. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it. We weren't very good, but we probably would have been a top-10 truck. We got some work to do on figuring out this tire because we have to go to Texas with the same stuff next week."

"I saw Johnny (Benson) at the bottom of the track, so I knew something happened," added Bodine. "At least we both had problems on the same day -- so it was pretty much a wash. David (Reutimann) had a great day -- and he's probably not that far behind us now. Teddy (Musgrave) was also going to have a good day and he got a flat at the end."

Benson, who had his Tundra among the leaders early in the race - and even led several laps -- missed a chance to close the gap in the championship points battle.

"We've had a couple of drive train issues this year and tonight the drive shaft came apart," said Benson, after the race. "We've had a great year, but Todd's also having a great year. We're both having good years and when we have problems, we both seem to have them on the same day. I don't know what that's about -- it's just one of those deals. We'll just go to the next three and do the best we can do -- and that's all we can do."

Does Benson still think he has a chance at the title? "It's mathematically possible," said Benson. "Realistically, I don't think so. It's going to take Todd having problems, and us running up front. I thought we were going to gain some (points) today and we had problems. That's what it's going to take. We have to gain 22 points a race. You just don't gain those -- that's hard to do."

David Reutimann was the top-finishing Tundra with a fifth-place finish. Mike Skinner (eighth) and Jack Sprague (10th) also registered a top-10 results at Atlanta, in a race won by Mike Bliss.

"We were just trying to win the race -- and the guys did a fabulous job on pit road," said Reutimann, after the race. "I thought we had a shot at it -- but I got to racing Bobby (Hamiltion, Jr,) for the lead and we went into the corner together and I got loose. I lost my momentum and then everybody drove by me, but we still battled back and got a good finish. The way we ran tonight is the way we started the season -- we struggled through the mid-point -- but now I think we're getting back to the way things were at the beginning of the year."

Other Tundra drivers in the field were David Starr (11th), Bill Lester (22nd), Ted Musgrave (24th), Chad Chaffin (32nd) and A.J. Allmendinger (34th).

Mike Skinner captured the pole position in his No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Tundra, his series-high seventh pole of the 2006 season. It was Toyota's 12th pole position of the year and the manufacturer's 30th pole since the beginning of the 2004 NCTS season.

The next race on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is at Texas Motor Speedway, November 3.

Toyota Finishing Positions @ Atlanta Motor Speedway
5th, DAVID REUTIMANN
8th, MIKE SKINNER
10th, JACK SPRAGUE
11th, DAVID STARR
22nd, BILL LESTER
24th, TED MUSGRAVE
25th, TODD BODINE
29th, JOHNNY BENSON
32nd, CHAD CHAFFIN
34th, A.J. ALLMENDINGER

Toyota Drivers in the NCTS Point Standings -- following Atlanta Motor Speedway**
1st, TODD BODINE 3,285 points
2nd, JOHNNY BENSON 3,199 points
3rd, DAVID REUTIMANN 3,095 points
4th, TED MUSGRAVE 3,014 points
6th, DAVID STARR 2,944 points
8th, JACK SPRAGUE 2,867 points
11th, MIKE SKINNER 2,816 points
21st, BILL LESTER 1,919 points
** Unofficial Point Standings