TODD BODINE CAPTURES TUNDRA'S 30TH TRUCK SERIES WIN AT TEXASBodine - the defending series champion - started from the pole and battled current points leader Skinner in the early going. Problems with the No. 30 truck in the race's midpoint shuffled Bodine back in the order, but perfect fuel strategy and a timely caution allowed Bodine to score his 11th-career NCTS win in a Tundra.
"The motto of this team is to 'never give up' and we don't," said Bodine after the race. "Even when we were having problems, I was running as hard as I could, running wide open with all I had. The Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra was just incredible and I just can't say enough about this team. They work hard every week, every day and every hour. This is what the payoff is."
The decisive moment of the race came with six laps to go, when race leader Travis Kvapil tried to block Bodine's attempt to pass him on fresher tires, resulting in contact that sent Kvapil spinning and Bodine in the lead for what turned out to be a "green-white-checkered" finish.
"I had a run because he was on old tires and I was on new tires," said Bodine. "I had a run going and I was going to give him the bottom. I started on the outside and he came up and blocked, so I went to the bottom and he blocked again. I don't want to win that way and I don't want to get the lead that way, but we had the best truck all weekend and here we are (in Victory Lane)."
Bodine led 27 of the 169 laps at the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
Skinner finished second in the No. 5 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing, his seventh top-five finish of the season. Skinner led a total of six laps and with the finish retains his lead in the NCTS point standings, now 82 points over Ron Hornaday after nine of 25 races.
Ted Musgrave (ninth), Aaron Fike (11th), Terry Cook (12th) and Josh Wise (13th) also scored top-15 finishes for Toyota.
Other Tundra drivers in the field were: Ryan Mathews (21st), Jack Sprague (26th) and Johnny Benson (29th).
Bodine started from the pole for just the second time in his Craftsman Truck Series career, and snapped Skinner's streak of six-straight races on the pole.
Toyota has now won five of nine NCTS races this season. Sprague won from the pole in the season-opening race at Daytona and Skinner followed with three-straight wins, at California, Atlanta and Martinsville.
The next race on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is June 16 at Michigan International Speedway.
Toyota Finishing Positions @ Texas Motor Speedway
1st, TODD BODINE
2nd, MIKE SKINNER
9th, TED MUSGRAVE
11th, AARON FIKE
12th, TERRY COOK
13th, JOSH WISE
21st, RYAN MATHEWS
26th, JACK SPRAGUE
29th, JOHNNY BENSON
Toyota Drivers in NCTS Point Standings - following Texas Motor Speedway**
1st, MIKE SKINNER 1,543 points
3rd, TODD BODINE 1,362 points
5th, TED MUSGRAVE 1,265 points
7th, JACK SPRAGUE 1,129 points
8th, JOHNNY BENSON 1,126 points
10th, AARON FIKE 1,120 points
12th, TERRY COOK 1,039 points
25th, AJ ALLMENDINGER 688 points
28th, TYLER WALKER 585 points
35th, RYAN MATHEWS 327 points
38th, JOSH WISE 236 points
**unofficial point standings
Sam's Town 400 - Texas Motor Speedway
June 8, 2007
* Todd Bodine won the Sam's Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in the No. 30 Tundra for Germain Racing, his 11th-career victory in Tundra and his 11th-career NCTS win.
* The win by Bodine marks Toyota's 30th victory in NCTS competition.
* This is Bodine's first victory since winning at Texas last June.
* Mike Skinner (second) and Ted Musgrave (ninth) also scored top-10 finishes for Toyota.
* Tundra drivers Bodine (27), Skinner (six) and Terry Cook (two) all led laps Friday night.
* Tundras have won five of nine NCTS races this season. Jack Sprague won from the pole in the season-opener at Daytona, while Skinner followed with three-straight wins (California, Atlanta, and Martinsville) before Bodine's win at Texas.
TODD BODINE, No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra, Germain Racing
Finished: 1st
Can you talk about your win tonight?
"It's pretty incredible. The motto of this team is to 'never give up" and we don't. Even when we were having problems, I was running as hard as I could, running wide open with all I had. I came in and the team looked at it , but never figured out what was wrong. We went back out on the track and it was better. The Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra was just incredible and I just can't say enough about this team. They work hard every week, every day and every hour. This is what the payoff is."
What was your take on the incident with six laps to go?
"I had a run. Obviously, he was on old tires and I was on new tires. I had a run going and I was going to give him the bottom. All he had to do was stay down there. I started on the outside and he came up and blocked, so I went to the bottom and he blocked again. You can't do that. You have to pick one lane or the other and he picked both. I don't want to win that way and I don't want to get the lead that way. We had the best truck all weekend and here we are."
MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
Finished: 2nd
Can you talk about your run tonight?
"(Crew chief) Jeff (Hensley) tried some pit strategy but the cautions kept flying tonight. Our pit strategy ended up back-firing on us a little bit. We had one more set of stickers left when the race was over, but weren't able to use them. If we could have had one more lap, we would have had a shot. I'm not too disappointed with a second-place run. We brought a pretty good truck here to Texas, but just came up short for the win again. All in all, it was a good points day for us."
AARON FIKE, No. 1 RFMS Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finished: 11th
Is it disappointing to finish 11th after having such a strong truck?
"It's a little disappointing, but 11th isn't a bad finish. We unloaded pretty fast on Thursday and had a good truck tonight. Unfortunately, Jack (Sprague) got into the back of us when someone was spinning, but that's part of racing sometimes. Overall, we were able to finish just outside the top-10, so we'll regroup and head to Michigan."
TED MUSGRAVE, No. 9 Team ASE Tundra, Germain Racing
Finished: 9th
TERRY COOK, No. 59 Harris Trucking Tundra, HT Motorsports
Finished: 12th
JOSH WISE, No. 00 Aaron's Lucky Dog Tundra, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports
Finished: 13th
RYAN MATTHEWS, No. 36 Toyota Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
Finished: 21st
JACK SPRAGUE, No. 60 Con-way Freight Tundra, Wyler Racing
Finished: 26th
JOHNNY BENSON, No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra, Bill Davis Racing
Finished: 29th
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