Dennis Setzer will make his 200th career start this weekend. Credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images

Setzer to start 200th career race at Dover

When Dennis Setzer showed up at the Milwaukee Mile in 1995 to run the No. 30 Dodge for Grier Lackey, he never expected to hang around for 200 Craftsman Truck Series starts.

	Dennis Setzer has 16 career victories in the Truck Series. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Dennis Setzer's NCTS stats Starts 199 Wins 16 Top-5s 70 Top-10s 127 Poles 3 Avg. Start 11.8 Avg. Finish 10.3 Laps Led 1,173 Earnings $4,367,155 • 2006 stats, click here

On Friday, Setzer will become the fourth driver to reach that milestone -- joining Rick Crawford, Jack Sprague and Terry Cook -- as he'll drive the No. 85 Chevrolet in the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover International Speedway.

"Staying here in the Truck Series wasn't the plan at all," Setzer said. "I had run several Craftsman Truck races over the years and really liked it, but I was mainly competing in Busch and running a few Cup races.

"Then I got an opportunity to drive the No 1 Mopar Dodge with K Automotive in 1998 and we got that win and put the deal together to run the whole season the next two years. But I never came to the Truck Series with the thought that I would race this many years, be involved with so many great teams, or have this much success."

Success for Setzer translates into 16 victories, 70 top-five finishes and 127 top-10s over his previous 199 starts. Four of those wins came in 2005, when Setzer increased his streak of winning at least once a season to eight years in a row.

"I've been fortunate in my career to reach many different milestones," Setzer said. "We've been able to win a lot of races over the years, and be competitive. That is what is important to me, just to be competitive at this level of racing."

Setzer is one of a handful of drivers to make six starts at the Monster Mile. He's been around at the finish all six times, but has just a pair of ninth-place finishes to show for it.

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"When I first came to the series, I was really attracted to it because it was a short to intermediate track series," Setzer said. "But now I think you'd have to say other than a few short tracks we still go to, that this is now a mostly intermediate to superspeedway series much like the Busch and Cup series are.

"I think that says a lot for how much the series has grown and the attention we are now receiving. I can't say that I have been real excited about trading short tracks for big tracks, being a short track guy, but I still really enjoy competing here."

The Newton, N.C., native, who celebrated his 46th birthday in February, plans on handing the torch to the next generation of Craftsman Truck Series drivers in the near future, but not right away.

"I don't see myself making 200 more starts," Setzer said. "I still love this series and plan on racing for a few more years to come."

Defending race winner Kyle Busch will return in the same truck with which he won at Lowe's two weeks ago. Last week's winner, Ron Hornaday, was fourth in 2005, his only visit to Dover in a truck.

In any case, the Monster Mile has been a tough track on the trucks. Nearly a quarter of the laps run in last year's event were under caution.