Bodine Tops Toyotas at Las
Vegas;
Leads 3 Toyotas In Top-6
Las Vegas Photos
Courtesy of Toyota Motorsports
(09-27-04)
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. |
