Bodine, Gaughan seeking record-setting win at Texas

Texas holds a special place for the Craftsman Truck Series. The 1.5-mile speedway has been on the Truck Series schedule every year since 1997 and holds the honor of hosting the most races in Truck Series history at one venue.

Friday's running of the Silverado 350K will be the 20th race run at Texas Motor Speedway, more than the Cup Series, which will be making its 14th start. Ironically, the Cup Series has had just one repeat winner in 13 races but just the opposite is true for the trucks, in fact, Texas holds another record in the Truck Series, one that is special to Brendan Gaughan and Todd Bodine.

By the Numbers

As Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan go for historic win number five at Texas, Kyle Busch made history last week.

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Gaughan and Bodine are the only drivers in Truck Series history to win four times at one track, and both did it in the Lone Star State. Gaughan rolled off four consecutive wins taking both the spring and fall races in both 2002 and 2003. Bodine is the more recent one to accomplish the feat, winning the fall races in 2004 and 2005 and the spring events in 2006 and earlier this year.

It's an impressive stat, but one that Gaughan is ready to put in the rear-view mirror.

"I'm tired of talking about my history at Texas," Gaughan said. "We had a great run there, but we haven't had a run worth a darn there in years. I am ready to get back on the right side of the deal and get a top-10 or a top-five or even a win. This team is ready to get back on the right side of the board -- and now is the time for us to do it."

Since that fourth win in 2003, it's been all downhill for Gaughan since. In the five races at TMS since, Gaughan has yet to finish on the lead lap, has an average finish of 25.2 and has a best finish of 17th, coming this spring.

But Gaughan has been running well here of late, with a 16th at Talladega, an 11th at Martinsville and an eighth last week at Atlanta and he's hoping his recent success will lead to breaking the skid at Texas.

"Atlanta and Texas are my style of tracks," Gaughan said. "They are big, fast and I can run up next to the wall, which is what I like. After finishing eighth in Atlanta, this team is really enthused because we know the truck we had there was no where near as good as the one we are taking to Texas this weekend."

If Gaughan hopes to end his bad-luck streak, he will have to do so coming up from mid-pack. In qualifying on Thursday night, Gaughan posted a lap of 182.488 mph in his No. 77 Chevy, good enough for 14th on the grid, but almost two-miles-an-hour slower than polesitter Mike Skinner (184.137).

Bodine will start 13th, right next to Gaughan with a qualifying lap of 182.519 and like Gaughan, doesn't think past history equates to anything this weekend.

"We go to every track with the same goal -- to win. If one more win at Texas sets a record, great. But, I have said it before -- that I am not one to really look at past success as a guarantee for future success at any racetrack," Bodine said. "The competition is so tough in the Craftsman Truck Series; we have to constantly keep improving to get the next win, even the next top-five.

"I'm happy to have a lot of victories at Texas and I really like racing at Texas. But, when we get to the track, nothing matters except we want to win."

Four wins in six races is a pretty good average though, and there has to be a secret to Bodine's dominance of late, right? Not so fast says the driver of the No. 30 Toyota currently fifth in the points standings.

"Texas is our kind of racetrack and we've been very fortunate to have good trucks there. I like the track. I don't know -- there's definitely no secret, and we never feel like we have any sort of advantage heading there," Bodine said. "We like intermediate tracks, and, for some reason, we seem to have good trucks when we unload at Texas. I don't know what else to say."

Both Gaughan and Bodine are out of the championship picture, watching Skinner and Ron Hornaday battle lap after lap in these final three races. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything left for either driver to accomplish.

For Bodine, the defending series champion, there is the opportunity to finish in the top five in points for the third consecutive year. Plus a Texas victory would give him three on the season, tying him with Johnny Benson and putting him third on the season in total wins.

Gaughan would love to end his streak of 73 races without a victory. And then of course there is the honor of making the awards banquet at the end of the season and joining Bodine and the series champion on stage in Florida.

The top 10 get to go, and Gaughan is currently 13th, 134 points behind 10th-place Jack Sprague.

"We need to put a 'W' on the board," Gaughan said. "We still have two goals -- to get a win this season and to finish top-10 in points, and I absolutely believe that we can do both of those things."