Johnny Benson led a quartet of Toyota Tundra drivers to
top 10 finishes, but flat tires cost the top two running
Tundras a chance at victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series (NCTS) Toyota Tundra 200 today at Nashville
Superspeedway. Bobby Hamilton was the race winner.
Benson finished sixth after starting 22nd, followed by
Robert Huffman in eighth, David Reutimann in ninth and
Mike Skinner in 10th. Travis Kvapil 13th, Hank Parker,
Jr., 15th and Bill Lester, 31st, rounded out the Toyota
finishers.
"The truck was good, but we just started off a little
too slippery," Benson said. "It took 10 to 15 laps to
really get going. Then it felt like we were just as good
as anybody. But it just took me a little bit to get going.
We could have used this thing to go green the whole way.
It would have been great."
Reutimann, the second-fastest qualifier, chased early
leader Bobby Hamilton, Jr., for the first 37 laps before
puncturing a right front tire and hitting the first turn
wall. The Darrel Waltrip Motorsports crew kept Reutimann
on the lead lap while making repairs and he battled back
for a ninth place finish, despite a badly damaged right
front fender.
"We started off great," Reutimann said. "Then we ran
over something and cut a tire and hit the wall. I thought
we were done, but the guys in the pits just kept working
and working and making the truck better. Hats off to those
guys in the pits."
Lester ran as high as third and was with the lead pack
of trucks when a flat tire knocked him out of the race on
lap 118. Huffman was the top finishing rookie and recorded
his best-ever NCTS finish.
It was a big day for Toyota as about 9,000 associates,
family and friends attended the race, including about
8,000 from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, the Tundra
assembly plant in Princeton, IN. Others attended from
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Huntsville, Toyota
Motor Manufacturing North America located in Erlanger, KY
and Toyota's North American Parts Center in Heron, KY.
After 15 2004 NCTS races, three Toyota drivers sit
among the top-15 in the championship point standings.
Kvapil is now 7th in the standings with 2,038 points,
while Skinner is 9th (1,886 points) and Reutimann is 14th
(1,785 points). Reutimann also tops the Rookie-of-the-Year
standings.
The next race is the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor
Speedway. It takes place Wednesday, August 25 beginning at
9:00 PM (EST) and will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel.
Toyota Finishing Positions - Nashville
Superspeedway:
6th, Johnny Benson, Bill Davis Racing, No. 23
Toyota Tundra
8th, Robert Huffman, Innovative Motorsports, No. 12 Toyota
Tundra
9th, David Reutimann, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, No. 17
NTN Bearings Tundra
10th, Mike Skinner, Bang Racing, No. 42 Toyota Tundra
13th, Travis Kvapil, Bang Racing, No. 24 Line-X Tundra
15th, Hank Parker Jr., Innovative Motorsports, No. 21 Z
Max Tundra
31st, Bill Lester, Bill Davis Racing, No. 22 Toyota Tundra
Toyota Tundra Drivers in the NCTS Point
Standings (following Indianapolis race):
7th - Travis Kvapil - 2038 points
9th - Mike Skinner - 1886 points
14th - David Reutimann - 1785 points
18th - Hank Parker Jr. - 1665 points
23rd - Bill Lester - 1431 points
24th - Robert Huffman - 1367 points
