Post by Blaise Zebrataur on Sept 21, 2014 0:55:52 GMT -5
Race #23 of 24 was the GM Goodwrench / AC Delco 300 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
With two races to go, drivers have to make the most of them to either keep their dreams of a championship alive or to hope to get a ride for the 1997 season. Doug George led the field to the green flag for the first time in his career, and for the second week in a row he dominated the first half of the race, lapping the first twenty trucks before the first caution would come out. While on pitroad, George would have a long stop and would lose a lap while Jack Sprague would take the lead before being passed by Ted Musgrave.
Ted Musgrave led for almost forty laps straight before the unthinkable happened as he would break a Header and ended his day early, Johnny Benson Jr. would take over the lead and he would pull away from the rest of the field until a late race caution as Mike Skinner would work his way up through the field and would take the lead and after a small battle, Skinner would take over and pull away to score the important win.
Heading into the final race only three have a chance of winning the championship:
1.3-Mike Skinner: 3,136 points
2.24-Jack Sprague-36 points
3.43-Rich Bickle-108 points
Other Noticeables:
Mike Skinner won his 5th race of the year,
Skinner scored his 8th career Craftsman Truck Series win and his first since IRP 10 races ago,
Skinner led 2 times for 36 laps, including the final 6 laps,
Bobby Dotter(16th), Randy Tolsma(24th), Bobby Labonte(26th) made their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts,
Skinner, who finished 9th, kept his points lead, leading by 36 points over Jack Sprague
1.3-Mike Skinner (36 laps led)
2.18-Johnny Benson Jr. (56 laps led)
3.6-Rick Carelli
4.24-Jack Sprague (6 laps led)
5.52-Tobey Butler-1 lap (3 laps led)
6.87-Joe Nemechek-1 lap
7.21-Doug George-1 lap (46 laps led)
8.43-Rich Bickle-2 laps
9.33-Harry Gant-3 laps
10.22-Kenny Wallace-3 laps
11.15-Rick Johnson-4 laps
12.42-Robbie Reiser-5 laps
13.88-Terry Cook-5 laps
14.17-Bill Sedgwick-5 laps
15.64-Michael Dokken-6 laps
16.68-Bobby Dotter-6 laps
17.75-Nathan Buttke-6 laps
18.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.-7 laps
19.7-Dave Rezendes-7 laps
20.16-Ron Hornaday Jr.-7 laps
21.40-Carlos Serrano-7 laps
22.30-Jimmy Hensley-7 laps
23.2-Mike Bliss-8 laps
24.61-Randy Tolsma-8 laps
25.31-Bob Brevak-8 laps
26.77-Bobby Labonte-11 laps
27.94-Ron Barfield Jr.-11 laps
28.51-A.J. Foyt-11 laps
29.90-Lance Norick-13 laps
30.80-Joe Ruttman-26 laps (Accident)
31.44-Bryan Reffner-26 laps (Ignition)
32.8-John Nemechek-27 laps (Accident)
33.20-Walker Evans-76 laps (Piston)
34.99-Ted Musgrave-82 laps (Header) (39 laps led)
35.19-Butch Miller-94 laps (Clutch)
36.32-Kenny Hendrick-129 laps (Camshaft)
Doug George-1-41
Tobey Butler-48-49
Jack Sprague-50-55
Ted Musgrave-56-57
Johnny Benson Jr.-58-67
Ted Musgrave-68-70
Johnny Benson Jr.-71
Ted Musgrave-72-105
Johnny Benson Jr.-106-149
Mike Skinner-150-179
Johnny Benson Jr.-180
Mike Skinner-181-186
11 Lead Changes among 6 drivers
Caution Flags: 6 for 23 laps
Lap 45 (Trucks #43, 68 and 7 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 63 (Truck #32 Stalled Frontstretch),
Lap 78 (Truck #19 Spin Turn 1 after contact from 44),
Lap 106 (Truck #99 Stalled Backstretch),
Lap 140 (Truck #2 Stalled Frontstretch),
Lap 164 (Truck #33 Spin Backstretch after contact from 3)
Margin of Victory: 1.088 Seconds
Time of Race: 2 Hours, 18 Minutes and 11 Seconds
With two races to go, drivers have to make the most of them to either keep their dreams of a championship alive or to hope to get a ride for the 1997 season. Doug George led the field to the green flag for the first time in his career, and for the second week in a row he dominated the first half of the race, lapping the first twenty trucks before the first caution would come out. While on pitroad, George would have a long stop and would lose a lap while Jack Sprague would take the lead before being passed by Ted Musgrave.
Ted Musgrave led for almost forty laps straight before the unthinkable happened as he would break a Header and ended his day early, Johnny Benson Jr. would take over the lead and he would pull away from the rest of the field until a late race caution as Mike Skinner would work his way up through the field and would take the lead and after a small battle, Skinner would take over and pull away to score the important win.
Heading into the final race only three have a chance of winning the championship:
1.3-Mike Skinner: 3,136 points
2.24-Jack Sprague-36 points
3.43-Rich Bickle-108 points
Other Noticeables:
Mike Skinner won his 5th race of the year,
Skinner scored his 8th career Craftsman Truck Series win and his first since IRP 10 races ago,
Skinner led 2 times for 36 laps, including the final 6 laps,
Bobby Dotter(16th), Randy Tolsma(24th), Bobby Labonte(26th) made their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts,
Skinner, who finished 9th, kept his points lead, leading by 36 points over Jack Sprague
1.3-Mike Skinner (36 laps led)
2.18-Johnny Benson Jr. (56 laps led)
3.6-Rick Carelli
4.24-Jack Sprague (6 laps led)
5.52-Tobey Butler-1 lap (3 laps led)
6.87-Joe Nemechek-1 lap
7.21-Doug George-1 lap (46 laps led)
8.43-Rich Bickle-2 laps
9.33-Harry Gant-3 laps
10.22-Kenny Wallace-3 laps
11.15-Rick Johnson-4 laps
12.42-Robbie Reiser-5 laps
13.88-Terry Cook-5 laps
14.17-Bill Sedgwick-5 laps
15.64-Michael Dokken-6 laps
16.68-Bobby Dotter-6 laps
17.75-Nathan Buttke-6 laps
18.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.-7 laps
19.7-Dave Rezendes-7 laps
20.16-Ron Hornaday Jr.-7 laps
21.40-Carlos Serrano-7 laps
22.30-Jimmy Hensley-7 laps
23.2-Mike Bliss-8 laps
24.61-Randy Tolsma-8 laps
25.31-Bob Brevak-8 laps
26.77-Bobby Labonte-11 laps
27.94-Ron Barfield Jr.-11 laps
28.51-A.J. Foyt-11 laps
29.90-Lance Norick-13 laps
30.80-Joe Ruttman-26 laps (Accident)
31.44-Bryan Reffner-26 laps (Ignition)
32.8-John Nemechek-27 laps (Accident)
33.20-Walker Evans-76 laps (Piston)
34.99-Ted Musgrave-82 laps (Header) (39 laps led)
35.19-Butch Miller-94 laps (Clutch)
36.32-Kenny Hendrick-129 laps (Camshaft)
Doug George-1-41
Tobey Butler-48-49
Jack Sprague-50-55
Ted Musgrave-56-57
Johnny Benson Jr.-58-67
Ted Musgrave-68-70
Johnny Benson Jr.-71
Ted Musgrave-72-105
Johnny Benson Jr.-106-149
Mike Skinner-150-179
Johnny Benson Jr.-180
Mike Skinner-181-186
11 Lead Changes among 6 drivers
Caution Flags: 6 for 23 laps
Lap 45 (Trucks #43, 68 and 7 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 63 (Truck #32 Stalled Frontstretch),
Lap 78 (Truck #19 Spin Turn 1 after contact from 44),
Lap 106 (Truck #99 Stalled Backstretch),
Lap 140 (Truck #2 Stalled Frontstretch),
Lap 164 (Truck #33 Spin Backstretch after contact from 3)
Margin of Victory: 1.088 Seconds
Time of Race: 2 Hours, 18 Minutes and 11 Seconds