11/03/02……… Ted Musgrave had a season high seven wins last season in the Craftsman Truck Series, but he failed to win the championship. He vowed that 2002 was going to be his year to win the crown. With the present season winding down, Musgrave is one of three drivers on the circuit that has at least three wins, and the magic number being three here, puts Musgrave in third place in championship points.

Mike Bliss is still the point’s leader after the American Racing Wheels 200 at the Fontana, California facility. Bliss is leading second place driver Rick Crawford by 68 points and third place driver Ted Musgrave by 107 points. With just two races remaining at Phoenix and Homestead, Musgrave is going to have a tough row to hoe if he plans on beating out Bliss and Crawford at this point in time. It doesn’t seem logical that both of the front runners are going to have trouble in both races, which is what would have to happen to put Musgrave in the lead. There is only a 39 point spread between Musgrave and Crawford, and it may be an even bet that Musgrave will assume second place, and there is an outside chance left at this time for Musgrave to move into the lead.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. David Starr -- No. 75 Chevy – finished 11th
2. Coy Gibbs -- No. 20 Chevy – finished 6th
3. *Bill Lester -- No. 8 Dodge – finished 14th
4. Mike Bliss -- No. 14 Chevy -- finished 9th
5. Robert Pressley -- No. 18 Dodge – finished 7th
6. Rick Bogart -- No. 4 Dodge – finished 36th
7. Travis Kvapil -- No. 60 Chevy – finished 4th
8. Jason Leffler -- No. 2 Dodge – finished 2nd
9. *Brendan Gaughan -- No. 62 Dodge – finished 3rd
10. Rick Crawford -- No. 14 Ford – finished 5th

Musgrave started from the back of the field at the 36th position due to an engine failure during practice. He lauded the wide track as being the key to his being able to advance to the front of the pack within the first 26 laps of the race.

Honorable mention has to go out to former Winston Cup driver Jason Leffler, who once again served as bridesmaid and came in second. This was the sixth time that Leffler finished second in the 20 starts he has made this season. Leffler has 10 top five and 14 top ten finishes. He has no wins yet, but he has won seven pole starting positions so far this season. At this time, Leffler is fifth in driver’s points with a -189 deficit down from the leader.

Next Weekend the Craftsman Truck Series will accompany the Winston Cup and Busch Series on the Phoenix International Raceway at Phoenix, Arizona. The Chevy Silverado 150 is scheduled for Friday, November 8th at 3 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live by the ESPN network.

Last season’s winner of the Phoenix truck race was Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line by Jack Sprague, Rick Crawford, Stacy Compton, Bryan Reffner, Ted Musgrave, Terry Cook, Scott Riggs, rookie Travis Kvapil, and Ken Schrader.

11/9/02……… Kevin Harvick managed to win his first Craftsman Truck Series race, beating out a hard charging Ted Musgrave at the ending of the Chevy Silverado 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Harvick occasionally races his own truck, the No. 6 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet, when the venues are together with the trucks and Cup races at the same track.

With his recent truck series win, Harvick joins three other drivers who have won a race in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions; Ken Schrader, Mark Martin, and Terry Labonte.

The win was actually a lucky break for Harvick. There was a three truck wreck with just two laps remaining in the race. Craftsman Truck Series rules prohibit a race from ending under caution, so a two lap shootout transpired with the green flag putting Ted Musgrave right on Harvick’s rear bumper with the faster No. 1 Mopar Performance Dodge. Musgrave got into Harvick a few times giving him some solid taps, wrinkling his rear panels, but Harvick wouldn’t budge, hanging on to take the much cherished checkered flag.

The top ten starters, and how they finished:

1. Rick Crawford -- No. 14 Ford -- finished 3rd
2. *Bill Lester -- No. 8 Dodge – finished 15th
3. Kevin Harvick -- No. 6 Chevrolet – finished 1st
4. Terry Cook -- No. 29 Ford -- finished 5th
5. Mike Bliss -- No. 16 Chevrolet – finished 10th
6. Stacy Compton -- No. 217 Dodge – finished 32nd
7. Jason Leffler -- No. 2 Dodge – finished 16th
8. David Starr -- No. 75 Chevrolet – finished 18th
9. Matt Crafton -- No. 88 Chevrolet -- finished 9th
10. Robert Pressley -- No. 18 Dodge -- finished 14th

The championship race for the truck series is going right down to the wire at the last race next week at Miami/Homestead. Mike Bliss is the championship leader with 3199 points. The top 17 point’s positions remain the same after the Phoenix race, so Rick Crawford is still in second place, currently with a -32 point deficit down from Bliss. Ted Musgrave, striving to win his first championship, is still in third with a -71. David Star is in fourth with a -202, out of the championship picture.

Anyone of the top three championship contenders can leave Miami/Homestead with the crown, although leader Mike Bliss can take it with a top five finish regardless of what Crawford of Musgrave do. If Bliss happens to have bad luck and blows an engine at the beginning of the race, then he will blow the championship as well, it’s just that close! He dropped a cylinder at Phoenix but held on for a 10th place finish, and a repeat of that kind of luck will do him in at the upcoming finale.

Race No. 22, the final truck series hurrah at Miami/Homestead, will be held on Friday, November 15th at 4 P.M. Eastern. The Ford 200 event is scheduled to be televised live by ESPN2.

Last season the truck series raced at Miami/Homestead for their second race of the season on March 4th. The sanctioning body changed the schedule this season so all three of their top series could end their seasons at the same venue on the same weekend. Last season’s winner of the Florida Dodge Dealers 400k was Ted Musgrave. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Travis Kvapil, Jack Sprague, Scott Riggs, rookie Ricky Hendrick, Randy Tolsma, Carlos Contreras, Rick Crawford, Joe Ruttman, and Terry Cook.

11/16/02……… Ron Hornaday won the Ford 200 at Miami/Homestead. The win was the former truck series champion’s 26th in that series, and the first and only win of the 2002 season. Hornaday holds the win record for the Craftsman Truck Series which began in 1995. Former Champion Jack Sprague is second with 23 wins, followed by a tie between Greg Biffle and Mike Skinner, also both former champions of the series. Joe Ruttman rounds out the top five winners in that series with 13 wins.

The top ten starters at the Ford 200 and how they finished:

1. Mike Bliss -- No. 16 Chevrolet – finished 5th
2. Ted Musgrave -- No. 1 Dodge – finished 2nd
3. Jason Leffler-- No. 2 Dodge – finished 3rd
4. Rick Crawford -- No. 14 Ford -- finished 7th
5. Ron Hornaday -- No. 211 Chevrolet – finished 1st
6. Travis Kvapil -- No. 60 Chevrolet – finished 15th
7. Terry Cook -- No. 29 Ford – finished 10th
8. Ryan Hemphill -- No. 4 Dodge – finished 28th
9. *Bill Lester -- No. 8 Dodge – finished 18th
10. Matt Crafton -- No. 88 Chevrolet – finished 9th

The 2002 Craftsman Truck series season is now finished and in the books. All that remains is the championship banquet where former Winston Cup driver Mike Bliss will be the official recipient of the 2002 Craftsman Truck Series Championship trophy. Former Champions:

• Mike Skinner – 1995
• Ron Hornaday – 1996
• Jack Sprague – 1997
• Ron Hornaday – 1998
• Jack Sprague – 1999
• Greg Biffle – 2000
• Jack Sprague – 2001

Bliss entered the Ford 200 32 points ahead of second place driver Rick Crawford. When the race was over he had beat Crawford in the championship standings by 46 points with a total of 3359. Crawford got caught in the pits when a caution period was called and was relegated to one lap down. Ted Musgrave, who started out the season still stinging from his series high 7 wins in 2001 without winning the championship, ended up third with 3308 points or a -51. Musgrave scored three wins in 2002 along with three second place finishes.