Backstretch Motorsports

Todd Bodine celebrates his third consecutive restrictor-plate race, taking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 fueled by Winn-Dixie at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 4, 2008) — With a brilliant last-lap move through the tri-oval at Talladega Superspeedway, Todd Bodine won Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race with a much-needed assist from new points leader Ron Hornaday Jr.

Bodine was pushing Kyle Busch through the final corner, but contact from Bodine’s No. 30 Toyota loosened Busch’s No. 51 Tundra enough for Bodine to dodge to the outside and pick up a push from Hornaday, who crossed the finish line second, .075 seconds behind the race winner.

Busch came home third, followed by rookie Colin Braun and Mike Wallace. Landon Cassill, Brian Scott, T.J. Bell, Mike Skinner and Chad McCumbee completed the top 10.

“I knew if we could get ourselves position at the right spot at the end of the race, we’d have a chance,” said Bodine, who picked up his second victory of the season, the 14th of his career and his third straight on a restrictor-plate speedway, dating to the Talladega event last October.

“I went with Kyle (on the last lap), and at that point, I’d conceded the win, and I was going to push him. . . But I knocked him sideways and went on to the win. That’s not what I was trying to do. It’s a good thing he’s a great driver, because he was able to save it.”

Hornaday recovered from a pit road speeding penalty he incurred after a stop on Lap 20. The runner-up finish propelled the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet to a 39-point lead over 11th-place finisher Johnny Benson in the championship standings.

Hornaday had a ringside seat for Bodine’s last-lap heroics.

“It looked like Todd had him (Busch) picked up a bit coming off of (Turn) 4,” Hornaday said. “I was just trying to get out of the wreck, because it looked like they were going to wreck. Then Todd got straightened out and got in front of me somehow—I don’t how he did it.”

Notes: In his truck series debut, Joey Logano lost four laps while his crew replaced the passenger-side window (a requirement at restrictor-plate tracks) on his No. 59 Toyota. Logano finished 26th, five laps down. . . Polesitter Erik Darnell led 48 of the first 49 laps but had little drafting help in the closing stages of the race and came home 12th.

NASCAR Race Number 20
Unofficial Race Results for the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled By Winn-Dixie
- Saturday, October 4, 2008
Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL - 2.66 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 94 Laps - 250.04 Miles - Purse: $788,505
Leader
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 5 30 Todd Bodine Lumber Liquidators Toyota 94 190 5 $78,700 Running 3 10
2 7 33 Ron Hornaday, Jr. Camping World Chevrolet 94 170 $51,475 Running
3 13 51 Kyle Busch Miccosukee Resorts/NOS Energy Drink Toyota 94 170 5 $36,170 Running 3 14
4 3 6 Colin Braun # Con-way Freight Ford 94 165 5 $28,010 Running 3 4
5 10 9 Mike Wallace GEICO/Germain Toyota Toyota 94 155 $17,710 Running
6 25 81 Landon Cassill National Guard Chevrolet 94 150 $16,110 Running
7 23 16 Brian Scott # Albertsons Toyota 94 151 5 $17,810 Running 1 1
8 24 7 T.J. Bell, Jr. Home 4 the Holidays/Heathcliff’s Chevrolet 94 142 $17,310 Running
9 9 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 94 138 $17,210 Running
10 21 8 Chad McCumbee Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet 94 134 $19,160 Running
11 17 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota 94 130 $17,010 Running
12 1 99 Erik Darnell Northern Tool + Equipment Ford 94 137 10 $19,035 Running 2 48
13 8 18 Dennis Setzer Bessemer City Dodge Dodge 94 129 5 $18,635 Running 3 12
14 18 15 John Andretti Hyprene Ergon Toyota 94 126 5 $16,635 Running 1 3
15 16 22 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 94 118 $17,685 Running
16 12 88 Matt Crafton Menards/Super Clean Chevrolet 94 115 $16,435 Running
17 14 13 Shelby Howard FarmPaint.com Chevrolet 94 112 $16,335 Running
18 2 09 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Ford 94 109 $16,435 Running
19 26 11 David Starr Zachry Toyota 94 106 $16,110 Running
20 20 10 Brendan Gaughan International MAXXFORCE Diesel Ford 94 108 5 $16,710 Running 1 2
21 28 40 Jeff Green Key Motorsports Chevrolet 94 100 $15,910 Running
22 4 21 Jon Wood Air Force Ford 94 97 $14,560 Running
23 15 60 Terry Cook Wyler.com Toyota 93 94 $14,460 Running
24 30 28 Wayne Edwards Eagle Valley Construction Chevrolet 93 91 $13,360 Running
25 31 48 Bryan Silas D.R. Horton-America’s Builder Chevrolet 90 88 $13,260 Running
26 6 59 Joey Logano Team ASE/Raybestos/HT Toyota 89 85 $13,160 Running
27 19 2 Jack Sprague American Commercial Lines Chevrolet 65 82 $13,060 Accident
28 11 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Truck Corral/Powerstroke Diesel Ford 52 79 $12,960 Radiator
29 27 08 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 50 76 $12,860 Clutch
30 22 07 Sean Murphy ASI Limited Chevrolet 48 73 $12,760 Rear End
31 33 89 Richard Johns Lafferty Performance Chevrolet 7 70 $12,635 Engine
32 29 0 Norm Benning ASI Limited Chevrolet 5 67 $12,535 Overheating
33 32 53 Justin Hobgood Georgia Beef Board Chevrolet 1 64 $12,435 Engine
Race Comments: In front of an estimated crowd of 70,000 - Todd Bodine won the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie - his 14th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver droppped to the rear for the reason indicated: #21 Wood, #40 Green, # 89 Johns (unapproved impound adjustment); # 28 Edwards, #48 Silas, # 53 Hobgood (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 43 Mins, 06 Secs. Average Speed: 145.513 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.074 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 17 laps: Laps: 2-3 (Debris); 20-22 (Debris); 68-76 (#2 accident turn 4); 85-87 (6,15,60 accident turn 4).
Lead Changes: 16 among 8 drivers: 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;
Top 10 Driver 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.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award : Todd Bodine, #30 (8 Places) Keystone Light Pole Award : Erik Darnell, #99 (181.753 mph)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Todd Bodine, #30 Mobil1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Todd Bodine, #30
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award : Colin Braun, #6 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Todd Bodine, #30
Wix Filters Lap Leader Award : Dennis Setzer, #18 (12 Laps)
Next Race: Oct. 18, 2008 - Martinsville Speedway