Skinner, Setzer's crew chief argue after race

Late crash keeps both drivers from top-five finishes at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- It was only Wednesday night, but Bristol Motor Speedway wasted no time in adding to its reputation for fueling tempers.

Mike Skinner

Obscenities rained down on pit road after the O'Reilly 200 between Mike Skinner and Danny Gill, Dennis Setzer's crew chief, after Skinner and Setzer tangled with five laps to go.

Setzer and Skinner were chasing leader Carl Edwards when they got together in Turn 2, sending both spinning down across the track.

Skinner had been trying to hold off Setzer on older tires. Setzer, who was armed with fresh Goodyears, hit Skinner's rear, bringing out the final caution of the night.

Instead of top-five finishes, Skinner wound up 23rd. Setzer was 16th. Skinner was originally scored 13th, but he was penalized two laps for illegally blending into the field before the final restart.

The accident enraged the teams of Skinner and Setzer, who each wasted little time finding each other after the 200-lap event. Skinner and Gill argued for several moments on pit road before Setzer joined the pair.

As heated as the argument was, it didn't take long before each driver cooled off.

"It's Bristol," said Skinner, who led 127 of 206 laps. "Dennis is a good guy and a good driver. We was holding Dennis up.

O'REILLY 200 Winning time Carl Edwards takes the checkered flag at the O'Reilly 200 •   Results •   Standings

"Dennis, I thought, would have passed me clean. Instead, he knocked me out of the way."

Skinner, a two-time Craftsman Truck Series champion, is winless this season for Toyota.

"We had a lot newer tires. They were kind of in the way," said Setzer, who finished out of the top 10 for the third straight race. "He was on 60-lap older tires. He was doing the best he could to stay in front of everybody."

Setzer was the big loser in the Craftsman Truck Series standings. Inarguably one of the best on short tracks, Setzer was poised to take advantage of a lackluster night by points leader Bobby Hamilton, who was 12th.

Instead, Hamilton extended his lead on Setzer by 12 more points, giving him a 96-point lead heading into the Sept. 9 race at Richmond.