Backstretch Motorsports

DOVER, Del. (May 30, 2008) Making the most of his sixth start in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series — and capitalizing on transmission troubles that temporarily sidelined Kyle Busch’s dominant Toyota — former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed ran away from the field after a late restart to win the AAA Insurance 200 on Friday at Dover International Speedway.

Speed, whose previous best finish was eighth at Kansas Speedway, is the third straight first-time winner in the series, following Matt Crafton (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) and Donny Lia (Mansfield, Ohio) to victory lane.

Jack Sprague held off Chevrolet teammate Ron Hornaday for second position, as Sprague crossed the finish line 3.379 seconds behind Speed. Travis Kvapil finished fourth and Crafton fifth. David Starr, Mike Skinner, Colin Braun, Rick Crawford and Johnny Benson completed the top 10.

“Today we had a good strategy and an awesome truck, and we got everything we could out of it,” Speed said of his No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. “The learning curve I’ve had has been amazing. Every time I go out on the track, I feel I come away with a lot of knowledge.

“I’m just having an awesome time trying to learn this sport.”

With a two-tire stop on Lap 133, Speed improved his track position dramatically, restarting third behind Todd Bodine and Shane Sieg on Lap 136. After picking off Sieg, Speed passed Bodine for the lead on Lap 150 and opened a lead of more than 3.5 seconds over Hornaday (who gained three positions to second).

Speed’s lead disappeared, however, when Bodine’s No. 30 Toyota blew a right front tire and slapped the Turn 3 wall on Lap 170.

But Speed said his truck was quicker on two tires, and after taking the green flag for a restart on Lap 179, he stretched his advantage to nearly four seconds over Sprague before backing off on the final circuit.

“It was time to get a little aggressive,” Speed said of the restart.

Busch led the first 96 laps of the race, until heavy smoke from his No. 51 Toyota forced him to the garage. Busch lost 19 laps as his crew changed a transmission, a turn of events that opened a window of opportunity for the truck series regulars. He finished 17 laps down in 27th place after making up two laps during the remainder of competition.

But veterans Hornaday and Sprague had nothing for the series rookie at the end of the race.

Sprague thought he had a chance to win, but the performance of his No. 2 Chevy fell off after the restart with 22 laps to go.

“I could barely outrun (Hornaday) with a sour motor,” Sprague said. “After the green (on Lap 179), I got tight again. Dammit! I want to win.”

Hornaday also felt he could catch Speed until his engine lost power late in the race.

“I don’t know if we broke a header, but we lost a little bit of power,” Hornaday said. “I had to pull down and let Jack go.”

A flashy dresser and a bit of an eccentric (he just had the tips of his toenails painted blue), Speed found a quick way to gain acceptance among the series veterans.

“He’s a winner in the Craftsman Truck Series now, so he’ll fit right in,” Hornaday said.

One victory, however, won’t be enough to satisfy Speed, who was informed in victory lane that there has never been a repeat winner in the truck series at Dover.

“I haven’t been back,” Speed said.

Note: Crawford took over the series points lead, with Crafton 20 points down in second.

NASCAR Race Number 8
Unofficial Race Results for the AAA Insurance 200 - Friday, May 30, 2008
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles - Purse: $675,476

Leader
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 4 22 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 200 190 5 $67,525 Running 1 51
2 6 2 Jack Sprague American Commercial Lines Chevrolet 200 170 $34,650 Running
3 5 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Camping World Chevrolet 200 170 5 $29,120 Running 1 36
4 20 09 Travis Kvapil Zaxby’s Ford 200 160 $20,285 Running
5 16 88 Matt Crafton Menards/Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet 200 155 $19,835 Running
6 15 11 David Starr Red Horse Racing Toyota 200 150 $16,985 Running
7 1 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 200 146 $16,485 Running
8 10 6 Colin Braun # Con-way Freight Ford 200 142 $16,585 Running
9 12 14 Rick Crawford Power Stroke Diesel by International 200 138 $15,885 Running
10 2 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Certified Used Vechicles 200 134 $16,810 Running
11 9 59 Ted Musgrave Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota 200 130 $15,135 Running
12 11 8 Chad McCumbee Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet 200 127 $14,860 Running
13 23 60 Terry Cook Wyler.com Toyota 200 129 5 $14,760 Running 1 2
14 19 15 Shane Sieg Miccosukee Resorts Toyota 200 121 $14,660 Running
15 26 21 Jon Wood Air Force Ford 200 118 $15,510 Running
16 7 9 Justin Marks # Germain Motor Company Toyota 200 115 $14,860 Running
17 8 71 Donny Lia # NationRides.com/TRG Motorsports 199 112 $14,360 Running
18 30 18 Dennis Setzer Tahoe Dodge 199 109 $14,260 Running
19 13 13 Shelby Howard Bobcat Chevrolet 199 106 $14,160 Running
20 27 10 Brendan Gaughan International MAXX FORCE Diesel 197 103 $13,510 Running
21 17 40 Chad Chaffin Key Motorsports Chevrolet 197 100 $12,710 Running
22 31 7 Andy Lally # TRG Motorsports/Adobe Road Winery 197 97 $11,610 Running
23 29 4 Stacy Compton LenStoler.com Dodge 197 94 $11,510 Running
24 24 46 Landon Cassill GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 197 91 $11,410 Running
25 18 99 Erik Darnell Northern Tool + Equipment Ford 195 88 $11,310 Running
26 28 20 Scott Lagasse Jr. Nicholson Group Ford 188 85 $11,210 Running
27 3 51 Kyle Busch Miccosukee Resorts/NOS Energy 183 92 10 $13,010 Running 1 96
28 22 07 Ryan Lawler Manheims Dealers Auto Auction 179 79 $11,010 Engine
29 21 30 Todd Bodine Lumber Liquidators Toyota 170 81 5 $10,885 Accident 1 15
30 25 08 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 129 73 $10,785 Engine
31 32 91 J.C. Stout Stars & Stripes Tool Company 121 70 $10,685 Accident
32 14 16 Brian Scott # Albertsons Chevrolet 47 67 $10,610 Accident
33 35 89 Ryan Seaman Lafferty Performance Chevrolet 13 64 $10,585 Accident
34 33 74 Larry Gunselman Dodge 7 0 $10,510 Handling
35 34 73 Nick Tucker Dodge 7 0 $10,485 Vibration
36 36 0 Butch Miller ASI Limited Chevrolet 6 55 $10,427 Axle
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 37,000, Scott Speed won the AAA Insurance 200, his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. Prior to green flag, the following drivers dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #7 Lally (back up truck).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 59 Mins, 40 Secs. Average Speed: 100.279 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.379 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 40 laps: Laps: 15-19 (#89 accident frontstretch); 52-57 (#16 accident frontstretch); 65-68 (#7 accident turn 2); 96-99 (Oil on track); 116-121 (#99 accident turn 2); 125-128 (#91 accident backstretch); 132-135 (Oil on track); 172-178 (#30 accident turn 3).
Lead Changes: 5 among 5 drivers: M. Skinner (Pole); K. Busch 1-96; R. Hornaday Jr. 97-132; T. Cook 133-134; T. Bodine 135-149; S. Speed # 150-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) R. Crawford 1,131;(2) M. Crafton 1,111;(3) R. Hornaday Jr. 1,107;(4) T. Bodine 1,082;(5) J. Benson 1,077;(6) J. Sprague 1,066;(7) M. Skinner 1,064;(8) D. Starr 1,063;(9) T. Cook 1,049;(10) C. Mccumbee 1,026.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33 (32 Places) Keystone Light Pole Award : Kyle Busch, #51 (155.407 mph)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Scott Speed, #22 Mobil1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Scott Speed, #22
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award : Scott Speed, #22 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Scott Speed, #22
Wix Filters Lap Leader Award : Scott Speed, #22 (51 Laps)
Next Race: Jun. 6, 2008 - Texas Motor Speedway