Credit: AP

Setzer victorious; heartbreak for Cook

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) -- The front wasn't a prime place to be at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, as two leaders crashed, one with only four laps left.

Dennis Setzer was there to pick up the pieces. The series points leader didn't make it to the front until the final six laps, but held off Todd Bodine in a two-lap shootout after leader Terry Cook blew a tire.

Setzer recorded his third series win in four races, as his Chevrolet finished 0.249 seconds ahead of Bodine's Toyota in the green-white-checker finish in the Built Ford Tough 225 on the 1.5-mile oval.

BUILT FORD TOUGH 225 •   Results •   Standings

Cook, who was seeking his first series win since 2002, wasn't the only race leader to suffer misfortune. Earlier, Jack Sprague also crashed his Chevrolet into the wall, causing the first of the race's seven caution periods.

Setzer didn't lead until after Cook's accident on lap 146.

The ensuing caution period resulted in the race being extended by one lap, as series rules dictate that a race must finish with two green-flag laps. It was the second straight year the green flag restarted the race with only two laps to go.

Dennis Setzer celebrates his Built Ford Tough 225 win Todd Bodine on his second-place finish Dennis Setzer rolls to his third win of the year Several trucks wreck on lap 52 at Kentucky Speedway Jack Sprague cuts a tire and hits the wall Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"I didn't have to be nervous at all, because I wasn't there until the end,'' Setzer said. ``Those were important laps to be leading, though.

"I will take one by luck. We have lost some by luck so it is OK to win one by luck.''

Setzer said there was "no way'' he was going to catch Cook, who had extended his lead to more than two seconds before the accident.

"The truck was fast all night,'' said Cook, who finished 25th. "It got tight the last few laps but I couldn't slow up because (Setzer) was behind me. It is a shame because we were having such a great night.''

Bodine, who won the previous series race at Kansas Speedway, didn't seem too unhappy with his second-place finish.

"My Tundra was just a little too loose all night,'' Bodine said. "I couldn't get into the corner the way I needed to. But we'll take second. A first and a second right in a row isn't too bad.''

David Reutimann was third in a Toyota, followed by Mike Skinner, Ted Musgrave, Brandon Whitt, Matt Crafton, Steve Park, Johnny Benson and David Starr.

Setzer, who won consecutive races last month at Michigan International Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile, has an 83-point lead over Musgrave in the season standings. Third-place Bobby Hamilton, 31st Saturday night, is 153 points back.

Setzer, who started 18th, recorded his 15th overall series win. He averaged 109.294 mph.

Bill Lester, who won the pole for the second straight race, led the first lap but quickly fell out of contention and was lapped by lap 28. He finished 22nd.

By starting the race, Lester became the first black NASCAR driver to record more than $1 million in career earnings.

Rick Crawford had his series-record streak of 210 starts -- dating to January 1997 -- end after he crashed during qualifying. He was taken to a hospital and released, but wasn't medically cleared to race.

The 46-year-old Crawford spun his Ford coming out of the second turn and hit the wall along the backstretch. Boris Said, a commentator for the Speed Channel who took Crawford's place in a backup truck, said Crawford had a concussion.

Said, who last drove in a truck series race in April 2000, was knocked out of the race during a five-truck accident on lap 52 that caused the race to be stopped for nine minutes as debris was cleared from the track. He later resumed his TV duties.

Hamilton, who entered the race second in the series points standings, was involved in the accident but later returned to the track. Hamilton, who won last year's series race in Kentucky, completed 98 laps and finished 31st.