2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season began on February 15, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250. The season will conclude on November 14 of that year at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 200. The season will also be the last under the Craftsman sponsorship banner. Sears Holdings Corporation, the owners of the Craftsman brand name of tools, is withdrawing sponsorship after this season.[1]
Scheduled Races
The following table shows the 2008 schedule published by NASCAR. Race names are subject to change.[2]
| Date | Race | Distance | Venue | T.V. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/19/2008 | Built Ford Tough 225 | 225 Miles | Kentucky Speedway | SPEED |
| 07/25/2008 | Power Stroke Diesel 200 | 200 Miles | O'Reilly Raceway Park | SPEED |
| 08/09/2008 | Toyota Tundra 200 | 200 Miles | Nashville Speedway | SPEED |
| 08/20/2008 | O'Reilly 200 | 200 Laps | Bristol Motor Speedway | SPEED |
| 09/06/2008 | Gateway 200 | 200 Miles | Gateway International Raceway | SPEED |
| 09/13/2008 | New Hampshire 200 | 200 Laps (200 Miles) | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | SPEED |
| 09/20/2008 | Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350 | 350 Miles | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | SPEED |
| 10/04/2008 | Mountain Dew 250 | 250 Miles | Talladega Superspeedway | SPEED |
| 10/18/2008 | Kroger 200 | 200 Miles | Martinsville Speedway | SPEED |
| 10/25/2008 | Georgia 200 | 200 Miles | Atlanta Motor Speedway | SPEED |
| 10/31/2008 | Chevy Silverado 350K | 350 Kilometers | Texas Motor Speedway | SPEED |
| 11/07/2008 | Casino Arizona 150 | 150 Miles | Phoenix International Raceway | SPEED |
| 11/14/2008 | Ford 200 | 200 Miles | Homestead-Miami Speedway | SPEED |
Teams
Subject to change as more information becomes available, currently based on Jayski's chart.[3]
(R) - Denotes a possible Rookie of the Year candidate.
Races
Chevy Silverado HD 250
The Chevy Silverado HD 250 was held February 15 at Daytona International Speedway. Erik Darnell won the pole. Anticipating another three wide finish such as the ones in 2003 and 2007, Darnell hoped to squash those hopes, and nearly did so by dominating the early portions of the race. During the early stages, multiple wrecks came about, including "The Big One" on lap 20, which was started when Brendan Gaughan made contact with an extremely tight Mike Skinner, forcing him up the racetrack and into the path of Matt Crafton, who also collected Ted Musgrave, Jon Wood, Chad Chaffin, and most notably P.J. Jones whose #63 truck caught fire trying to avoid the wreck, forcing a red flag. Only three laps later did the next wreck strike, with Joey Clanton getting loose and spinning, collecting outside polesitter Terry Cook, Mike Bliss, and ROTY contenders Colin Braun and Justin Marks. Darnell had the race in hand until green flag pitstops began at lap 84. Todd Bodine grabbed the lead from the dominant Darnell, who thought he had a loose wheel. While slowing to enter pit road, Marks was unaware that Darnell was pitting and the two made contact, ending Darnell's night. After the pit stop, Bodine would not look back, holding off a hard charging Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson for his first ever win at Daytona.
Failed to Qualify: #54-Brian Sockwell
Top Ten Results:
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 |  Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 2 | 51 |  Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 3 | 23 |  Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 11 |  David Starr
|
Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 5 | 14 |  Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 6 | 4 |  Stacy Compton
|
Dodge | Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia |
| 7 | 8 |  Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 8 | 9 |  Justin Marks (R)
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 9 | 16 |  Brian Scott (R)
|
Chevrolet | Xpress Motorsports |
| 10 | 18 | Dennis Setzer
|
Dodge | Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia |
San Bernardino County 200
The San Bernardino County 200 was held February 23 at the newly named Auto Club Speedway. As all of Friday's activities were cancelled due to rain, Truck qualifying and the race were both cancelled, with the race being pushed back to Saturday morning. Based on the 2007 owners points, defending champion Ron Hornaday was on pole. However, the race would mostly be dominated by Kyle Busch, coming out of a frustrating Speedweeks. Busch would dominate, leading the first 51 laps. However, Daytona winner Todd Bodine ran down Busch and passed him on the backstretch just after the halfway point. After the final round of green flag pit stops, Busch regained the lead by 3.5 seconds over Bodine and never looked back, cruising to his first Truck Series win of the season.
Top Ten Results:
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 2 | 30 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 3 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 60 |  Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
| 5 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 6 | 59 |  Ted Musgrave
|
Toyota | HT Motorsports |
| 7 | 09 |  Travis Kvapil
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 8 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 9 | 16 | Brian Scott (R)
|
Chevrolet | Xpress Motorsports |
| 10 | 22 | Phillip McGilton (R)
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
American Commercial Lines 200
The American Commercial Lines 200 was held on March 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Defending series champion Ron Hornaday won the pole. Hornaday would also dominate the race on long runs, leading for 81 laps. However, the critical moment of the race was on lap 112 when Kyle Busch's crew chief, Richie Wauters brought his driver into the pits after a ten minute rain delay on lap 111. The stop forced leader Hornaday to pit a lap later. Busch took the lead from Hornaday within 10 laps to go, and held of Hornaday over a four lap sprint to the finish to take his second consecutive victory.
Top Ten Results:
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 2 | 33 | Ron Hornaday Jr.
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 3 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 5 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 6 | 2 | Jack Sprague
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 7 | 59 | Ted Musgrave
|
Toyota | HT Motorsports |
| 8 | 5 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
| 9 | 30 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 10 | 21 | Jon Wood
|
Ford | Wood Brothers Racing |
Kroger 250
The Kroger 250 was held March 29 at Martinsville Speedway. Jack Sprague won the track record breaking pole. The race would instead be dominated by "Short Track Slayer" Dennis Setzer, whose team, Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia, had recently moved to the Martinsville area to be more competitive. This competitiveness showed when Setzer took the lead on lap 128 when debutant Brett Raymer spun in front of leader Kyle Busch. Setzer would lead the rest of the way thanks to nine more cautions. Although the race went on for an extra three laps, Setzer would hang on for his first win since he won Mansfield (also on fuel milage) with the defunct Spears Motorsports. However, behind Setzer it was complete chaos. While Setzer was rounding turn 4 to take the win, Busch, in a desperate attempt to take second, Busch attempted to drive underneath Johnny Benson. However, Busch's left side hit the apron, sending both Benson and Busch spinning to 25th and 26th place finishes. The win was emotional for the whole team as it was their first win since Bobby Hamilton won at Mansfield in 2005.
| Position | Truck # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Dennis Setzer
|
Dodge | Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 3 | 14 | Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 4 | 52 |  Ken Schrader
|
Toyota | Ken Schrader Racing |
| 5 | 99 | Erik Darnell
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 6 | 11 | David Starr
|
Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 7 | 09 | Travis Kvapil
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 8 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 9 | 71 | Donny Lia (R)
|
Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports |
| 10 | 46 | Scott Speed (R)
|
Chevrolet | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports |
O'Reilly Auto Parts 250
The O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 was held on April 26 at Kansas Speedway. Ron Hornaday started from pole. For the first time this season, points leader Kyle Busch was absent in this race, due to a conflict between the finish of the Aaron's 312 and the start of the Truck race. With a new truck and the guidance of crew chief Rick Ren, Hornaday dominated the race, leading 136 of 167 laps en route to his first win of the season. Making the win even sweeter was the fact that it was a KHI 1-2 finish with new teammate Jack Sprague close behind. Rookie Colin Braun rounded out the "podium" although controversially as he was involved in incidents with veterans Sprague and Matt Crafton.
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 2 | 2 | Jack Sprague
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 3 | 6 | Colin Braun
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 4 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 5 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 6 | 10 | Brendan Gaughan
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 7 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 8 | 22 | Scott Speed
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 9 | 14 | Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 10 | 59 | Ted Musgrave
|
Toyota | HT Motorsports |
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was held on May 16 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the pole. Busch would dominate for 86 laps at the site of his first ever truck series win. On lap 104, Busch collided with defending champion Ron Hornaday, sending both trucks into the turn 3 wall and out of contention to win. Late in the race with seven laps to go, Erik Darnell was leading the field to the green on a restart when his tires spun, taking him out of contention. As Johnny Benson moved by Darnell for the top spot, NASCAR penalized Benson for jumping the start. In the lead during the next restart would be Matt Crafton, followed by a resurgent Hornaday and Todd Bodine. On the subsequent restart, Bodine sent Hornaday spinning into turn one, handing second and third to Chad McCumbee and Brendan Gaughan, respectively. Despite a valiant run by McCumbee on the backsretch, Crafton would take home an upset victory, his first in 178 races and the first for ThorSport Racing in a decade (Terry Cook's first win at Flemington Speedway).
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 2 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 3 | 10 | Brendan Gaughan
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 4 | 99 | Erik Darnell
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 5 | 14 | Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 6 | 60 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
| 7 | 18 | Dennis Setzer
|
Dodge | Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia |
| 8 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 9 | 46 |  Landon Cassill
|
Chevrolet | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports |
| 10 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
Ohio 250
The Ohio 250 was held on May 24 at Mansfield Motorsports Park. Johnny Benson won the pole. As with most Masfield races, the action was expected to be tight and dramatic, with fuel mileage playing out in the latter half. With the downsizing in fuel cells to 18 gallons, it was deemed mathematically impossible for any driver in the field to repeat Dennis Setzer's no stop victory the previous year. With a record 15 cautions, the best of the afternoon was saved for the last part of the race. David Starr and his Red Horse Racing team had dominated the day, leading 170 laps in total. However, in the final laps, Starr's seemingly inevitable victory would be done in. Rookie Donny Lia, who had started 28th, had worked his way through the field and to the rear tailgate of Starr's truck. On the final lap, Lia daringly pulled the bump and run on Starr exiting turn 2. The two drivers along with Todd Bodine made it three wide on the backstretch. Lia would gain the advantage heading into turn three and the 2007 Whelen Modified Tour champion would hang on to take the first ever win for both him and his upstart team, legendary road racing team TRG Motorsports, as well as the second consecutive first time winner for the 2008 season.
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Donny Lia (R)
|
Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports |
| 2 | 11 | David Starr
|
Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 3 | 30 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 4 | 60 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
| 5 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 6 | 13 |  Shelby Howard (R)
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 7 | 2 | Jack Sprague
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 8 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 9 | 07 |  Sean Murphy
|
Chevrolet | SS-Green Light Racing |
| 10 | 4 | Stacy Compton
|
Dodge | Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia |
AAA Insurance 200
The AAA Insurance 200 was held on May 30 at Dover International Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole. Skinner would not lead for long as the dominant Kyle Busch would take the top spot and stay there for the first 96 laps. However, heavy smoke was billowing from Busch's #51 truck, forcing him to the garage with transmission troubles and knocking him out of contention. Taking over the top spot would be Todd Bodine, who would stay out on a lap 133 restart with Shane Sieg. Making only his sixth start in NASCAR competition and running on two tires, ex-Formula 1 driver Scott Speed lived up to his name and opened up a four second lead on Ron Hornaday. Although Speed's lead would be cut due to Bodine crashing on lap 170, he would hold of veterans Hornaday and Jack Sprague to become the third consecutive first time winner for the 2008 season. The other time this happened was in 1998, with Andy Houston (Loudon), Terry Cook (Flemington), and Jimmy Hensley (Music City)
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Scott Speed (R)
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 2 | 2 | Jack Sprague
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 3 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 4 | 09 | Travis Kvapil
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 5 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Ford | ThorSport Racing |
| 6 | 11 | David Starr
|
Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 7 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 8 | 6 | Colin Braun (R)
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 9 | 14 | Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 10 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
Sam's Town 400
The Sam's Town 400 was held June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Justin Marks won his first career pole. As the series was on a streak of three consecutive first time winners, many looked towards Chad McCumbee, who had nearly won the fall Texas race in '07, polesitter Marks, and Plano native Colin Braun. It was not just the young drivers seeking the win at Texas, but veterans as well, such as defending champion Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, who started on the front row at Texas for his eighth consecutive start had never won, and Brendan Gaughan, who literally turned the track into his personal playground in both '02 and '03. Although Marks led early he would fall back to 8th before the first round of pit stops. As usual, Cup series points leader Kyle Busch would also be a factor in the race. Although Busch started in the back (Shane Sieg qualified the #51 truck while Busch was in Pocono, PA and he also missed the drivers meeting.) he was able to work his way into the top 10 within 60 laps. However, Busch's fortunes would be undone as he had not had the proper seat time to adjust the truck. All the while, "Restart Master" Hornaday would lead a record 140 laps (breaking Greg Biffle's record of 119) and hold off Busch on a green-white-checkered to take his first win at Texas.
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 2 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 3 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 2 | Jack Sprague
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 5 | 30 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 6 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 7 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 8 | 09 | Bobby East
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 9 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 10 | 21 | Jon Wood
|
Ford | Wood Brothers Racing |
Cool City Customs 200
The Cool City Customs 200 was held on June 14 at the Michigan International Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole. Skinner would only lead the opening lap before falling back and eventually finishing 8th. From then on, the race would be dominated by Todd Bodine who would lead for 39 laps. However, the final pit stop, it would be Erik Darnell taking the top spot, holding it for the final 25 circuits. However, a late caution came out with three to go, setting up a fast finish. On the last lap, Johnny Benson took the lead from Darnell in turn 3 and the two were side by side on the frontstrech. In the final 50 yards it appeared as though Benson would win by a nose, but Darnell surged at the last minute with a side draft and beat Benson to the line by .005 seconds, the second closest finish in Truck Series history. During the final lap, points leader Ron Hornaday was running fourth after starting in the back due to an engine change. In turn 2, Hornaday was spun by Kyle Busch into the infield, but no caution came out, handing Hornaday a 23rd place finish and the loss of the points lead. After the race Hornaday and team owner Kevin Harvick confronted Busch on pit road.
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Erik Darnell
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 3 | 22 | Scott Speed
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 23 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 5 | 10 | Brendan Gaughan
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 6 | 6 | Colin Braun
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 8 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 9 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 10 | 60 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
Camping World RV Sales 200
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton
|
Chevrolet | ThorSport Racing |
| 3 | 46 | Landon Cassill
|
Chevrolet | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports |
| 4 | 99 | Erik Darnell
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 5 | 30 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 6 | 22 | Michael Annett
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 7 | 33 | Ron Hornaday
|
Chevrolet | Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
| 8 | 14 | Rick Crawford
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 9 | 60 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
| 10 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
=== O'Reilly 200 Presented by Valvoline === (TEMPLATE LAYED OUT BUT NEEDS UPDATED) The O'Reilly 200 Presented by Valvoline was held on August 20 at the Bristol International Speedway. Scott Speed won the pole and would fall back and eventually finished 3rd. (THE INFO BELOW IS NOT YET CORRECT)
| Pos | Truck # | Driver | Manu. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Kyle Busch
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2 | 23 | Johnny Benson
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 3 | 22 | Scott Speed
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 4 | 23 | Todd Bodine
|
Toyota | Germain Racing |
| 5 | 10 | Brendan Gaughan
|
Ford | Circle Bar Racing |
| 6 | 6 | Colin Braun
|
Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7 | 51 | Kyle Busch
|
Toyota | Billy Ballew Motorsports |
| 8 | 5 | Mike Skinner
|
Toyota | Bill Davis Racing |
| 9 | 8 | Chad McCumbee
|
Chevrolet | MRD Motorsports |
| 10 | 60 | Terry Cook
|
Toyota | Wyler Racing |
References
See also
- 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
- 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series
- List of current NASCAR races
- List of 2008 NASCAR races
- List of NASCAR all-time cup winners
- 2008 in sports