Weekend That Was: 'Dega (cont'd)

Keep on truckin'
The Craftsman Truck Series continues to offer a brand of racing with its own fair number of thrills and spills.

The Mountain Dew 250 held at Talladega over the weekend wasn't settled until eventual winner and defending series champion Todd Bodine held off Rick Crawford and Johnny Benson, another former series champion, right at the finish line (watch video). Heading into the final turn, Crawford went high to try to get by Bodine and Benson went low. Bodine stayed in front and edged Crawford at the line by a mere 0.014 seconds, Benson by 0.028.

The points race for the season continues to hold race fans' attention, too. Mike Skinner entered Saturday's race with a three-point lead over Ron Hornaday and was leading the event when he had to pit under caution with four laps remaining to have his flapping hood tacked down. That ultimately forced Skinner to settle for 13th; Hornaday, who narrowly avoided several wrecks during his run, finished seventh and moved 14 points ahead of Skinner for the lead in the standings (complete standings).

Thumbs up
To the improved safety of the COT and the soft walls at Talladega, which permitted Kyle Petty to walk away virtually unscathed from a potentially serious wreck late in Sunday's Cup race.

Thumbs down
To ESPN's uneven television race coverage. Way too many commercials, for one thing. (Now I realize why so many fans have been e-mailing to complain).

Pit Stops
• Despite an early exit after a wreck in the Truck race, it was a surprisingly successful NASCAR debut weekend for former Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve (read more). He finished 21st in the Cup race and took the unique approach of offering to start at the back of the field because of his obvious inexperience, even though he had qualified a remarkable sixth.

• If Villeneuve can do what he did in his debut, why is former Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish Jr. having so much trouble getting into Cup races? Hornish failed to qualify again at Talladega and will have to try yet again this weekend at LMS in Charlotte.

• Despite his late wreck, Michael Waltrip stunned the racing world by winning the pole for Sunday's event and then by following it up with a strong run until the accident that forced him to settle for a 25th-place finish. Dave Blaney was even more impressive in his Toyota Camry for Bill Davis Racing (which also fielded Villeneuve's entry), starting second and finishing third. Villeneuve was the next-highest finisher in a Toyota.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.