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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) NASCAR Craftsman Tools Truck Series driver Todd Bodine is doused by crew members after winning the Mountain Dew 250 truck race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., Saturday Oct. 4, 2008   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, October 4, 2008 Bodine wins NASCAR truck race at Talladega Complete results below By Dan Gelston Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — Todd Bodine figured on the last lap he'd simply push Kyle Busch to the finish line, one Toyota driver helping another. That little nudge, though, was enough to turn Busch sideways and leave Bodine celebrating again at Talladega. Bodine took the lead on the final turn off the last lap and nipped Ron Hornaday Jr. and Busch on Saturday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. "I knocked him sideways and went on to pass," Bodine said. "I didn't mean to do it. Good thing he's a good driver and saved it." Bodine raced to his second victory of the season and won for the second straight year in the 250-mile race on NASCAR's largest track. Bodine also won the season-opener at Daytona, NASCAR's other restrictor-plate track. The trucks raced as many as three- and four-wide over the thrilling final laps, and Busch appeared as if he might hang on for his 20th overall victory this season in the Nationwide, Trucks and Sprint Cup races Hornaday finished second and Busch was third in the third trucks series race held at Talladega. "Nothing really I could have done differently," Busch said. "Bodine's truck was just real, real strong. He was the best Toyota we had out there today and he just unfortunately got into us coming off the corner and we got a little loose. I got it back down to the bottom but it shot up and around." Colin Braun, who was running up front most of the race, blew a tire with 10 laps left to bring out the last caution. Braun got a quick fix on pit road and was quickly back racing with the leaders. He even briefly held the lead after starting 21st on the restart. "It was fun to drive back up to the front again," said Braun, a rookie. Braun finished fourth and Mike Wallace was fifth. Bodine was tight with Busch over the final thrilling laps, then finally got the No. 51 out of the way to take the lead. Bodine almost conceded the victory, but knew if he could get the No. 30 in position at the right spot at the end, they'd have a great shot the win. "I was just going to push Kyle and help him get a win and try to have a good points day," Bodine said. Hornaday — attempting to become the series' first four-time champion — took the points lead away from Johnny Benson with five races left. Hornaday entered the race one point back in the standings, but had a strong finish after falling back earlier on a pit road speeding penalty. Hornaday leads the standings by 39 points. "I've never been a big points racer," Hornaday said. "Heck, maybe the way it is I can go to Homestead and relax down there." Benson finished 11th. Hornaday and Bodine are close friends and the two shared a hug after the race. Hornaday even joked he was raising money to get the bald Bodine a hair transplant. This was first race for Bodine with his full crew after three members, including crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., were suspended for a pit road fight in New Hampshire. "We fight through adversity," Hillman said. Joey Logano finished 26th and his truck was pulled off the track because he off problems with his passenge-side window net. He also got caught up in a last-lap wreck that did not bring out the caution. NASCAR-Craftsman Truck-Mountain Dew 250 Results Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, Ala. 2.66 mile tri-oval (starting position in parenthesis) 1. (5) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 94 laps, 120.4 rating, 190 points, $78,700. 2. (7) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 94, 96.5, 170, $51,475. 3. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 94, 108, 170, $36,170. 4. (3) Colin Braun, Ford, 94, 115.9, 165, $28,010. 5. (10) Mike Wallace, Toyota, 94, 91.8, 155, $17,710. 6. (25) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 94, 81.6, 150, $16,110. 7. (23) Brian Scott, Toyota, 94, 90.8, 151, $17,810. 8. (24) T.J. Bell Jr., Chevrolet, 94, 51.4, 142, $17,310. 9. (9) Mike Skinner, Toyota, 94, 83.4, 138, $17,210. 10. (21) Chad McCumbee, Chevrolet, 94, 83.8, 134, $19,160. 11. (17) Johnny Benson, Toyota, 94, 89.6, 130, $17,010. 12. (1) Erik Darnell, Ford, 94, 113.1, 137, $19,035. 13. (8) Dennis Setzer, Dodge, 94, 81.7, 129, $18,635. 14. (18) John Andretti, Toyota, 94, 78, 126, $16,635. 15. (16) Scott Speed, Toyota, 94, 81.2, 118, $17,685. 16. (12) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 94, 68.9, 115, $16,435. 17. (14) Shelby Howard, Chevrolet, 94, 65, 112, $16,335. 18. (2) John Wes Townley, Ford, 94, 80.3, 109, $16,435. 19. (26) David Starr, Toyota, 94, 48.9, 106, $16,110. 20. (20) Brendan Gaughan, Ford, 94, 69.5, 108, $16,710. 21. (28) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 94, 50.2, 100, $15,910. 22. (4) Jon Wood, Ford, 94, 43.3, 97, $14,560. 23. (15) Terry Cook, Toyota, 93, 56.7, 94, $14,460. 24. (30) Wayne Edwards, Chevrolet, 93, 38.1, 91, $13,360. 25. (31) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 90, 32.2, 88, $13,260. 26. (6) Joey Logano, Toyota, 89, 61.6, 85, $13,160. 27. (19) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet, accident, 65, 42.1, 82, $13,060. 28. (11) Rick Crawford, Ford, radiator, 52, 76.2, 79, $12,960. 29. (27) Jason White, Dodge, clutch, 50, 50.4, 76, $12,860. 30. (22) Sean Murphy, Chevrolet, rear end, 48, 46.4, 73, $12,760. 31. (33) Richard Johns, Chevrolet, engine, 7, 30.9, 70, $12,635. 32. (29) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, overheating, 5, 31.5, 67, $12,535. 33. (32) Justin Hobgood, Chevrolet, engine, 1, 32.3, 64, $12,435. Race statistics Average Speed of Race Winner: 145.513 mph. Time of Race: 1 hour, 43 minutes, 6 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.74 seconds. Caution Flags: Four for 17 laps. Lead Changes: 16 among eight drivers. Lap Leaders: E.Darnell 1-32; T.Bodine 33; E.Darnell 34-49; B.Gaughan 50-51; K.Busch 52; D.Setzer 53; J.Andretti 54-56; D.Setzer 57-58; T.Bodine 59-66; C.Braun 67; D.Setzer 68-76; C.Braun 77-78; K.Busch 79; B.Scott 80; K.Busch 81-92; C.Braun 93; T.Bodine 94. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): E.Darnell, 2 times for 48 laps; K.Busch, 3 times for 14 laps; D.Setzer, 3 times for 12 laps; T.Bodine, 3 times for 10 laps; C.Braun, 3 times for 4 laps; J.Andretti, 1 time for 3 laps; B.Gaughan, 1 time for 2 laps; B.Scott, 1 time for 1 lap. Top 10 in Points 1. R.Hornaday Jr., 3,027. 2. J.Benson, 2,988. 3. M.Crafton, 2,809. 4. T.Bodine, 2,791. 5. E.Darnell, 2,771. 6. M.Skinner, 2,769; 7. R.Crawford, 2,691. 8. J.Sprague, 2,538. 9. D.Setzer, 2,524. 10. T.Cook, 2,460. NASCAR driver rating formula A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race. The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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