Musgrave wins MBNA America 200

DOVER, Del. -- Ted Musgrave withstood a barrage of late cautions and used lapped traffic to facilitate his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season Friday in the MBNA America 200 at Dover International Speedway.

	Ted Musgrave Credit: Autostock

Musgrave, who won seven times a year ago, used a stout No. 1 Mopar Dodge to lead 135 of 200 laps and score a .530-second margin of victory over fellow former Winston Cup driver Robert Pressley's No. 18 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge.

"We knew we missed the pole by a little bit from working on a race set and it worked out for us," Musgrave said, "but doggone -- where did Robert Pressley come from? I had to run hard but everybody up front ran me clean -- it was awesome."

Musgrave battled a loose truck in the race's second half -- when three cautions flew between laps 141 and 163 -- and said Dover's concrete surface actually made his task of dealing with lapped trucks easier. He led the final 78 laps after taking the lead from Bud Pole winner Rick Crawford.

"Dover is plenty wide so for anyone to say lapped trucks got in the way -- there's a bunch of lanes to get around them," Musgrave said. "I looked back (at Pressley) and it was like old times again. I think it was not the experience at the race track but a veteran will know not to push the right front tire, get it hot and make it (handling) worse.

Robert Pressley Credit: HSP

Still, Musgrave acknowledged that Pressley had him worried. The win was Musgrave's ninth victory in little more than a season of truck racing and was achieved at a record average speed of 104.545 mph.

"If he had been pushing me any harder," Musgrave said, "I would have burned the right front tire up."

Pressley broke a horrid three-race skein that knocked him from the lead to 12th in the standings.

"If we had a battery I think we'd been all right," Pressley said. "I got up on top of that wheel and I was waiting for him to make one mistake -- but he hit the lapped traffic right and I hit it wrong.

Credit: Autostock

"It (engine) was missing the last half. If we'd had all the cylinders working right I think I could have maybe had something for Ted. With the aero push I picked up when I caught him I was trying to diamond the corner (but) Ted did what he was supposed to do."

Crawford's No. 14 Circle Bar Ford, NCTS point leader David Starr's No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet and Mike Bliss' No. 16 IWX/Knights Inn Chevrolet rounded out the top-five.

"We cut a right front tire -- the truck started to get loose and I didn't know the tire was cut," Crawford said. "My crew chief adjusted the air pressure for the feedback I had given him, not knowing the tire was cut. We are looking at the big picture now and we're pleased."

Credit: Autostock

Five of the six cautions were for accidents and the last was for debris. The wrecks eliminated the contending trucks of Ken Schrader, Matt Crafton and Travis Kvapil while top-10 point runners Brian Rose and Lance Norick crashed on the second lap.

Crafton crashed his truck in Turn 4, bringing out a caution at lap 98. At about lap 150, while the race was under the fourth caution, Crafton was transported by ambulance to Kent General Hospital in Dover for CT scans after complaining of dizziness.