Musgrave to miss first NCTS race in seven years

For the first time in Craftsman Truck Series history, a driver will not race due to a suspension for an on-track activity when 2005 Truck Series champion Ted Musgrave misses the O'Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, ending a streak of 157 consecutive races.

"We hate that it had to happen, but in the interest of safety, we understand and support NASCAR in their decision to suspend Ted Musgrave from racing this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park," Germain said in a statement. "We regret that the incident happened. The crew has had some excellent races this season, and we know Ted Musgrave still has the fire it takes to win races for us. We look forward to having him back in the Team ASE Tundra in Kentucky [on July 14]."

Musgrave was suspended one week, fined $10,000 and docked 50 driver points for violation of Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing; hitting another competitor's truck during a caution period) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book. Truck owner Bob Germain was also hit with a 50-point penalty.

On Lap 74 of the Milwaukee 200, Musgrave and Kelly Bires got together in Turn 2 and both drivers collided with the outside wall. Musgrave immediately started his truck back up and crashed into the No. 21 of Bires, driving him further into the wall.

After the incident, Musgrave was black-flagged by NASCAR and he finished the race 34th. On Tuesday, NASCAR announced the suspension and point deduction penalty.

With the 50-point deduction, Musgrave dropped from sixth to seventh in points, 447 behind leader Mike Skinner. With a no-show this week in Memphis, it is possible he could fall out of the top 10.

Filling in for Musgrave will be Brad Keselowski. The 23-year-old came recommended to Germain by comments from his drivers Todd Bodine and Musgrave plus Cup veteran Mark Martin. Keselowski realizes this is an opportunity that doesn't come around very often.

"This is a great opportunity for me," Keselowski said. "I hate what happened to Ted, but certainly hope to make the most of this opportunity to drive the Team ASE Toyota Tundra, filling in for a series champion, and having the defending Craftsman Truck Series champion, Todd Bodine, as my teammate. I'm definitely looking forward to Memphis."

In two Truck Series races this season, Keselowski finished 19th in Atlanta and 20th in Martinsville. Keselowski has also run in 13 Busch Series races this season, but success has avoided him. He has 7 DNF's and his best finish was a 24th at Dover.

In six full seasons in the Truck Series, Musgrave has finished in the top three in points in five of them. Last season, his first with Germain, he finished sixth behind champion teammate Bodine.

Two drivers have been suspended in the Truck Series for non-competition related issues in the past. Shane Hmiel was suspended from NASCAR for life in 2005 after failing a third substance-abuse test. Earlier this season, Bill Davis Racing's Tyler Walker was suspended indefinitely for testing positive to an illegal substance following the race at Lowe's.

The last time a driver in any series was suspended for on-track activities was in 2003 when Jimmy Spencer punched Kurt Busch after a race in Michigan. Spencer was suspended for both the Busch and Cup races at Bristol the next week and fined $25,000, but was not docked any points.