Notes: Setzer only native of N.C. to win race at Lowe's

Friday's North Carolina Lottery Education 200 is a hometown race for all but one full-time Craftsman Truck Series team.

History, however, shows Dennis Setzer (No. 18 Dodge) as the only North Carolina-born driver to win the 201-mile race.

Fast facts

What	N.C. Education Lottery 200
When	Green, 8:19 p.m. ET Friday
TV	SPEED, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 8 p.m. ET

• Track Page | Tickets | Travel

Setzer, from Newton, N.C., won in 2004 and is the only Tar Heel winner in NASCAR national series points competition at Lowe's Motor Speedway since Dale Jarrett's UAW-GM Quality 500 victory in 1997.

That's a far cry from earlier eras when names like Petty, Baker, Parsons and Earnhardt dominated.

"In the beginning, NASCAR was a southern sport but due to corporate sponsors and bigger television packages, it has now grown into a world-wide sport," said Setzer, one of six North Carolina-born winners of series races. Setzer owns 18 of the 30 victories.

The birth of the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 aided the rush of non-southern and off-oval competitors into the sport. Only one champion -- the late Bobby Hamilton -- was born south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Series graduates include Kurt Busch (Nevada), Kevin Harvick (California) and Greg Biffle (Washington).

"As a driver, I don't have anything against it at all," Setzer said. "I think the growth of our sport is pretty impressive and something we should be proud of."

NCTS director Wayne Auton on LMS

"Chances are good that a veteran driver will be celebrating in Victory Lane at the end of the evening. Lowe's Motor Speedway seems to have way too much for a rookie driver to absorb in one night.

"Of course, that's not always the case. Kyle Busch became the series' youngest winner in 2005 at the age of 20.

"A driver has to finesse his way around this track and understand what it takes to both keep up but still be around at the end.

"It takes a very good crew chief to understand how the track changes and make the adjustments to keep his driver in the game.

"Bottom line: A veteran driver is best able to provide the feedback to help his crew chief make those critical adjustments."

Crawford: Give Busch his due

Kyle Busch (No. 51 Toyota) forfeited his points lead last month when conflicts prevented him from competing at Kansas Speedway.

This week the two-time 2008 winner is back. The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is the first leg of a busy 10 days at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Busch anticipates competing in every NASCAR event -- five races, 1,034 laps and 1,551 miles. "Hopefully, I can go to Charlotte [and] either win a Truck race or All-Star Race or both," said Busch, who comes into Friday's race as the track's only double series winner. "That would be awesome."

Rick Crawford (No. 14 Ford) has moved into the runner-up position -- No. 2 for the first time since June 2003. He trails leader Ron Hornaday (No. 33 Chevrolet) by 61 points.

Crawford agrees Busch, now sixth in the standings, will continue to impact the series although he's not likely to contend for the title.

"He's probably taken himself out of the points picture because there's a lot of good trucks out there," Crawford said.

Yet, having Busch in the series on a limited basis has caused everyone to elevate their game.

"Hand it to the man; it fits his style right now," Crawford added. "He's on top of his game. (Continued)