Crew chiefs get International recognition … A new award, sponsored by International Truck and Engine Co., was unveiled at Martinsville Speedway. International will pay $1,600 to the eligible winning crew chief and a $10,000 end-of-season bonus to the crew chief with the most race awards. Circle Bar Racing’s Gene Nead was the award’s first winner.

Love, McFarland join Raybestos Rookie program … A pair of NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series champions have tossed their helmets into the ring in pursuit of the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. Mark McFarland, the 2004 national champion, has signed on with the No. 59 Harris Trucking Dodge. Three-time Concord (N.C.) Motorsports Park late model champion Kevin Love takes over the seat in the No. 67 Forced Ignition/Fiddle Back Racing Ford. McFarland finished 21st in the Kroger 250 with Love taking 27th. Reutimann continues as the standings leader by 20 points over Brandon Whitt (No. 38 Cure Autism Now/McMillin Homes Ford).

Huffman leads how-to for Cleveland Soap Box hopefuls … The Soap Box Derby and Toyota will be holding a Soap Box Derby clinic in conjunction with the local Cleveland Soap Box Derby chapter on Saturday. Toyota will donate 10 Soap Box Derby racer kits (which each cost nearly $400) to youths from inner city recreation centers and Robert Huffman (No. 12 Toyota Tundra Toyota) will help them construct the Derby cars with the assistance of volunteers from the local Soap Box Derby race.

Etc. … Carl Edwards (No. 99 Superchips Ford) regained the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points lead over Travis Kvapil (No. 24 Line-X Toyota) with a seventh-place finish in the Kroger 250. Edwards, the winner at Daytona, is up by 22 points. … Each make of truck – Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota – led Martinsville’s Kroger 250. Ford, the 1999-2000 champion, heads current series manufacturer standings by five points over Toyota.… Just .836 second is the total margin of victory for the three 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races to date. There have been three different winners and three different second-place finishers.

“We’ve won two of the last four. I’ll take that winning percentage the rest of the season and be happy.” – Bobby Hamilton, after a cut tire derailed his chances of winning the Kroger 250 and dropped the Nashville driver from third to ninth in the early-season points standings.