9/11/04… Ted Musgrave narrowly cruised to victory under the yellow caution flag as the Kroger 200 Craftsman Truck Series race came to a close after being extended to 209 laps. Musgrave had led the majority of the event in the #1 Mopar sponsored Dodge, but was not much of a match for his PPI teammate and pole starter Jamie McMurray in the #2 Team ASE sponsored Dodge. PPI Motorsports celebrated a one two victory as both of its entries cross the fish line simultaneously.

The win was the second of the season for former Cup veteran Musgrave and the 15th in the fourth year of his Craftsman Truck Series career. Following Musgrave and McMurray across the finish line in the top ten were Tony Stewart, Todd Bodine, Carl Edwards, rookie Robert Huffman, Shane Hmiel, Jack Sprague, Terry Cook, and Mike Skinner. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jamie McMurray -- #2 Dodge -- finished 2nd
2. Ted Musgrave -- #1 Dodge -- finished 1st
3. Todd Bodine -- #130 Toyota -- finished 4th
4. David Reutimann* -- #17 Toyota -- finished 30th
5. Jack Sprague -- #16 Chevy -- finished 8th
6. Jimmy Spencer -- #109 Dodge -- finished 28th
7. Chad Chaffin -- #18 Dodge -- finished 22nd
8. Jon Wood -- #50 Ford -- finished 14th
9. Carl Edwards -- #99 Ford -- finished 5th
10. Tony Stewart -- #47 Chevy -- finished 3rd

The top four positions in the driver's point's standings remain the same with Bobby Hamilton leading second place driver Dennis Setzer by 57 points. Carl Edwards is in third listed with -76 points followed by Matt Crafton listed with -160. Ted Musgrave's win moved him up two spots to round out the top five with a -185. Chad Chaffin remains in sixth listed with a -235 followed by Travis Kvapil who dropped down two spots to seventh listed with a -250. David Starr is still listed in eighth, now with a -375, followed by Mike Skinner who moved up one spot to ninth listed with a -376. Rick Crawford dropped down one spot to round out the top ten with a -394.

Next week the Truck Series moves to New Hampshire to join the Cup and Busch Series. The Sylvania 200 will be aired on the SPEED channel Saturday, September 18th at 1 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the September New Hampshire event was Jimmy Spencer. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by rookie Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton, Dennis Setzer, Brendan Gaughan, Chad Chaffin, Travis Kvapil, David Starr, Jon Wood, and Matt Crafton.

Jimmy Spencer won the Bud Pole Award in the #2 ASE Dodge with a speed of 127.346 miles per hour. There were seven caution periods for a total of 30 laps out of the 200 lap event on the 1.058 mile flat oval.

9/19/04… Travis Kvapil, the defending Craftsman Truck Series Champion, won his second race of the season and the fifth of his career. Kvapil outlasted Mother Nature and late race challenger Jack Sprague to become the ninth different Truck Series winner at the New Hampshire facility.

Kvapil used fuel mileage strategy by running the final 93 laps of the 200 lap event on one tank of fuel. The victory was only the second of the season for Toyota, a company that had hoped for a better result to its first season in Truck Series racing. What would Toyota do without Bang Racing and Travis Kvapil, and then they want to drop Bang Racing from company support?

Following Kvapil across the finish line in the top ten were: five time 2004 pole sitter Jack Sprague, Johnny Benson, Carl Edwards, rookie David Reutimann, Dennis Setzer, Ted Musgrave, David Starr, Hank Parker Jr., and Mike Skinner. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jack Sprague -- #16 Chevy -- finished 2nd
2. Steve Park -- #62 Dodge -- finished 14th
3. Travis Kvapil -- #24 Toyota -- finished 1st
4. David Starr -- #75 Chevy -- finished 8th
5. David Reutimann* -- #17 Toyota -- finished 5th
6. Jamie McMurray -- #2 Dodge -- finished 28th
7. Hank Parker Jr. -- #21 Toyota -- finished 9th
8. Shane Hmiel -- #15 Chevy -- finished 20th
9. Ricky Craven -- #47 Chevy -- finished 31st
10. Carl Edwards -- #99 Ford -- finished 4th

Bobby Hamilton is still the driver's point's leader, but finishing out of the top ten cost him some of his lead. He is now only 30 points ahead of second place driver Dennis Setzer. Carl Edwards is knocking on the door! Edwards is only 39 points down from the lead in third place, followed by Matt Crafton who is now listed with a -154. With just seven events remaining this season, it's doubtful if Crafton has much of a chance, although mathematically, he is still in the running. Ted Musgrave rounds out the to five in driver's points listed with a -162. Travis Kvapil's win moved him up one spot to sixth listed now with a -188. He's followed by Chad Chaffin who dropped down one spot to seventh listed with a -243. David Starr and Mike Skinner remain in eighth and ninth listed now with a -356 and a -360. Jack Sprague moved up one spot into the top ten listed now with a -361.

Next week the Truck Series moves out west to the Las Vegas Motor speedway for the Las Vegas 350. The event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Saturday, September 25th at 10 pm eastern. The MRN radio station will carry the event live beginning at 8:30 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Las Vegas 350 was home town driver Brendan Gaughan. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by David Starr, Dennis Setzer, Travis Kvapil, Jack Sprague, Andy Houston, Terry Cook, Ted Musgrave, Matt Crafton, and Bobby Hamilton.

Brendan Gaughan won the Bud Pole Award in the #62 Orleans sponsored Dodge with a speed of 162.152 miles per hour. There were five caution periods for a total of 20 laps out of the 146 lap event on the 1.5 mile oval.

9/26/04… The dog shook off the bad luck for Shane Hmiel Saturday night as he claimed his first NASCAR victory in the Las Vegas 350.

Hmiel was an up-and-coming star in the Busch Series until he got caught up late last summer in NASCAR's controlled substance testing initiative. His father, Steve Hmiel, was a technical director for Dale Earnhardt Inc., and it was speculated that Shane was a shoo-in to drive the Pennzoil sponsored #1 DEI Chevrolet. Oops! Hmiel tested positive and lost his Busch Series ride due to an indefinite suspension. He prodded his way through the mandatory rehabilitation process set up by NASCAR and got a break this season driving the #15 Chevy for Billy Ballew in the Truck Series. It's really good to see him work his way back up to the top and into the winners circle!

Following Hmiel across the finish line in the top ten were Todd Bodine, Steve Park, Johnny Benson, Bobby Hamilton, Mike Skinner, Dennis Setzer, Ted Musgrave, Terry Cook, and David Starr. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Mike Skinner -- #5 Toyota -- finished 6th
2. Dennis Setzer -- #46 Chevy -- finished 7th
3. David Reutimann* -- #17 Toyota -- finished 17th
4. Jack Sprague -- #16 Chevy -- finished 36th
5. Hank Parker Jr. -- #21 Toyota -- finished 21st
6. Bill Lester -- #22 Toyota -- finished 22nd
7. Brandon Miller -- #2 Dodge -- finished 20th
8. Bobby Hamilton -- #4 Dodge -- finished 5th
9. Todd Bodine -- #130 Toyota -- finished 2nd
10. Denny Hamlin -- #03 Chevy -- finished 23rd

Bobby Hamilton hangs on to the driver's point's lead by the skin of his teeth. He has a mere 39 point lead over second place driver Dennis Setzer. Third place driver Carl Edwards had bad luck at Las Vegas, and dropped back in points to a -125 deficit to leader Hamilton. There is still a slim chance that Edwards can work his way to the top, but those chances are 'really slim' with only six events left to try and beat out top drivers like Setzer and Hamilton. I don't see it happening; at this point, I see the championship being decided between the two top drivers.

Ted Musgrave, who lost the championship last year due to a faulty restart, moved up one spot to fourth listed with a -175, followed by Matt Crafton who dropped down one spot to round out the top five with a -207. Travis Kvapil and Chad Chaffin remain in sixth and seventh listed with a -264 and a -283. Mike Skinner moved up one spot to eighth listed now with a -360. David Starr dropped down one spot to ninth listed with a -377, followed by Steve Park who moved up one spot to round out the top ten with a -407. As a side note here, Shane Hmiel's win moved him up two spots to 11th in driver's points; he's knocking on the top ten door!

Next week the Truck Series moves on out west to the California Speedway. The American Racing wheels 200 event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Saturday, October 2nd at 10 pm eastern.

Last season's winner at the Fontana, California facility was Ted Musgrave. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer, Rick Crawford, David Starr, Andy Houston, rookie Carl Edwards, Travis Kvapil, Jon Wood, and Jason Small.