06-23-2004 | TruckSeries.com Report
Milwaukee Mile bids for record winning streak … The Milwaukee Mile and Texas Motor Speedway have produced record runs of nine consecutive different winners. The difference is that the latter track’s streak ended in 2002 and Milwaukee could see a 10th different winner this week, thus breaking the deadlock. Milwaukee is one of just five tracks to have hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race in all 10 seasons. Truck makers well-represented in title chase … Each of the series’ four manufacturers – Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge and Toyota – has at least one driver among the current top six in the championship standings. Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet) enters race No. 9 with a 55-point lead over Carl Edwards (No. 99 Superchips Ford). Memphis winner Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge) is third with Toyota’s Skinner sixth. Etc. … Hamilton, the season’s second double winner, is the first Tennessee native to score a victory in the Volunteer State. Joe Ruttman was a Nashville-area resident when he won the 1995 event at Bristol Motor Speedway. … Bang Racing has swapped teams this week. The Eric Phillips-led crew moves to Skinner’s No. 42 side of the shop while Rick Ron’s group will handle Travis Kvapil’s No. 24 Line-X Tundra. Ren was Kvapil’s crew chief at Addington Racing in 2001-02. … The first leg of this year’s Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition is complete with David Reutimann (No. 17 NTN Bearings Toyota) holding a 102 – 76 lead over Tracy Hines (No. 88 Menards Chevrolet). … Last year’s Black Cat Fireworks 200, won by Brendan Gaughan, was the fastest series race run at The Milwaukee Mile. Gaughan’s Dodge averaged 109.689 mph as one caution consumed just five laps of the 200-mile event. … Four of nine races at Milwaukee have been won from the Bud Pole. Cook was the last to accomplish the feat in 2002. Craftsman’s win from the pole bonus stands at $18,000 this week. ON THE RIGHT TRACK Musgrave near perfection as well … Illinois native Musgrave, who raced out of Franklin, Wis. before moving south to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, has finished first, fourth and fifth in three NASCAR Craftsman Truck starts in Milwaukee. QUOTEBOOK “I think everyone is going to be playing a guessing game about how the track will change. Pit strategy will be an important part of this race because making the right adjustments is going to be a big deal." – Carl Edwards, on the challenge of running under the lights at The Milwaukee Mile. “I’m pretty proud of that fact that people say BHR is a force to be reckoned with. From an owner standpoint, I’ve seen how far we’ve come. If you look at it this way, our teams have won four out of the last nine races if you count Homestead last year.” – Bobby Hamilton, who along with Chad Chaffin (No. 18 Dickies Dodge), are the first drivers this season to post wins as a two-truck team. Chaffin won at Dover International Speedway and is working a three-race string of top-10 finishes. FROM THE ARCHIVES Fast Facts Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – Practice, Noon – 12:55 and 2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Qualifying, 5:00 p.m. Trucks impounded following time trials. Top 10 in Points:
Sprague is Milwaukee master … Competing in the first seven series races at The Milwaukee Mile, Sprague never finished off the lead lap or worse than ninth – the latter finish coming in 1995, the only time he didn’t compete in a Hendrick Motorsports entry. Sprague, a three-time Bud Pole winner, boasts an average start of 4.29 and finish of 4.14.
“I like how you practice for the race instead of for qualifying. After qualifying the truck is impounded for the race. There isn’t time to change the setup. So we will spend our practice time working on the race setup.” – Steve Park (No. 62 Orleans Dodge), on Milwaukee’s one-day race format.
The 1995 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule of 20 events listed three races at two one-mile oval tracks - The Milwaukee Mile and Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Skinner captured all three events en route to the 1995 series championship. Of this year’s 25 events, 18 are held at tracks of a mile or more in length.
What: Black Cat Fireworks 200 (Race No. 9 of 25).
Where: The Milwaukee Mile, Milwaukee, Wis.
When: 9 p.m. ET, Friday, June 25.
Track layout: One-mile paved speedway.
Race length: 200 laps/200 miles.
Posted awards: $485,784.
TV: SPEED Channel, 9 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2003 winner: Brendan Gaughan.
2003 polesitter: Terry Cook.
1. Dennis Setzer 1,269.
2. Carl Edwards 1,214.
3. Bobby Hamilton 1,131.
4. Rick Crawford 1,092.
5. Jack Sprague 1,078.
6. Mike Skinner 1,067.
7. Matt Crafton 1,047.
8. Jon Wood 1,042.
9. Ted Musgrave 1,031.
10. David Reutimann 1,020.