In just his third race driving the No. 30 Germain/Arnold Racing Toyota Tundra, Todd Bodine crossed the finish line second in tonight's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, recording his best career NCTS finish.

Bodine ran among the race leaders all evening and charged into the lead on lap 117 in the 146-lap race. He led the field for 28 laps around the Las Vegas circuit, before being passed by Shane Hmiel just two laps from the finish. Hmiel, who was on 'fresher' tires at the end of the race, nudged Bodine aside en route to the win.

"It was a really good run tonight and my Toyota Tundra was just awesome," said Bodine, following the race. "The Germain/Arnold team did a fantastic job. I can't tell you how happy we are tonight. This is as good as a win. It's only our third race, but we ran up front all night and led a bunch of laps. I'm just tickled to be a part of the Toyota family."

"Shane (Hmiel) got in the back of me, but I expected it because that's just racing," added Bodine. "His tires had 20 fewer laps on them, and that makes a big difference. In the last 10 laps before he caught me, my truck started pushing pretty good. It took everything I had to keep it running the way we were running. I'm not going to complain because Shane got in the back of me. That's racing and it was fun racing tonight."

Bill Davis Racing teammates, Johnny Benson (No. 23) and Mike Skinner (No. 5), battled for position over the last 10 laps, with Benson coming out on top with a fourth-place finish. Skinner, who started from the pole, finished two spots behind Benson in sixth. It was Benson's third top-five finish in seven races driving a Tundra this season, and Skinner recorded his fifth top-six finish of the year.

"I was slipping and sliding towards the end of the night, but Mike (Skinner) and I still managed to have a really good battle for position at the end," said Benson, after the race. "In the last 10 laps, we passed each other four or five times. In the end, I came out ahead. Although we had a little problem with a set of tires and also had to spend a little extra time in the pits, we still managed another good finish for Toyota and Bill Davis Racing."

Skinner, who led the first 32 laps, battled some handling problems near the end of the race. "We had a great truck tonight, but with 20 laps to go, it felt like we blew a right front tire or maybe had a shock problem," said Skinner. "The truck was shaking and pushing to the center at the end of the race, and I just had to let up a little to make sure it would go to the end. I think we were just one adjustment 'off.'

After 19 2004 races, four Toyota drivers sit among the top-17 in the NCTS championship point standings. Kvapil is sixth in the point standings with 2,514 points, just 264 points behinds first-place Bobby Hamilton, and 139 points from third-place. Skinner is 8th (2,418 points) in the standings, Reutimann is 14th (2,255 points) and Parker Jr. is 17th (2,156 points). Reutimann also tops the Rookie-of-the-Year standings.

The next NCTS race is the American racing Wheels 200 on Saturday, October 2, at California Speedway, beginning at 10:00 PM (EST). The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel.