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

Houston trades helmet for headset

This is a story of one decade and two garages.

In 1998, a furious, final-laps battle between then rookies Greg Biffle and Andy Houston ended with a bump on the backstretch and Houston in New Hampshire Motor Speedway's Victory Lane.

Ted Musgrave won the first Truck Series race at Lowe's, in 2003.

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With the tapered spacer and gear rule, momentum is going to be more important than ever. You used to want to run the [white] line down through turns 3 and 4. Now I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of drivers right up next to the wall to get momentum for that long frontstretch.

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Both will be busy at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday -- in different garages with different duties.

Biffle went on to win Craftsman Truck and Nationwide titles and hass 12 Cup victories.

Houston, who had a brief Cup career, left the driver's seat for jobs on the other side of the pit wall. He now works for Kevin Harvick Inc. as Jack Sprague's spotter.

"When I'm up in the spotter's stand there are a lot of guys just like me up there -- David Green, Tim Fedewa and Rick Carelli, just to name a few," Houston said. "I think that by being former drivers, we know what is going through the guys' minds sitting in the seats. You also have the distinct advantage knowing when to speak and when to shut up."

Houston, son of Nationwide Series legend Tommy Houston, won three times in Craftsman Truck competition. He frequently competed alongside his brother Marty.

Houston is one of just six North Carolina-born competitors to win a series race.

"I am very proud to have grown up in the racing center of the world," he said. "Since my dad was involved in racing, I have never known anything different. I now feel privileged to be a part of such an elite group.

"The best years that I've had in my entire racing career were while I was involved with the series. I feel like I played a small part in where it is today."

In the Loop: Lowe's

Ron Hornaday put on a racing clinic during the Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway last season.

It was something to behold. Hornaday, starting seventh, needed only 19 laps to grab the lead. He led a race-high 98 of 136 laps and scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0.

Some of his other race highlights: He had an Average Running Position of 1.7 and 49 Fastest Laps Run. He was passed during a green-flag run only three times and spent all 136 laps running in the top 15.

Few challenged Hornaday. Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota) was among them. Skinner, who's had surprising difficulties at LMS, finished eighth last season. It was his only top-10 finish in four series races there.

A lot of Skinner's poor finishes were a result of bad luck. In 2005, he led 40 laps and scored a Driver Rating of 113.9, but finished 26th because of an accident. In 2006, he led 38 laps and had a Driver Rating of 106.8, but finished 31st thanks to engine problems.

Todd Bodine (No. 30 Toyota) has followed a similar LMS path -- strong runs but no wins. Bodine has consecutive third-place finishes at LMS, and in the past three years has a Driver Rating of 98.4 and an Average Running Position of 12.0.

Then, as always, Kyle Busch will be a story whenever he's running in the series. He'll be back this weekend, and carries two wins and series-high marks at LMS in Driver Rating (122.6) and Fastest Laps Run (81) into this race.

Speed: Not in Monte Carlo anymore

You'll never mistake Turn 1 at Martinsville for Monte Carlo's Casino Square.

Scott Speed (No. 22 Toyota), however, has proved himself in Formula One. And, in just his second Craftsman Truck Series race, he finished 10th at Martinsville Speedway.

Cars, trucks, fenders and no fenders; it really makes no difference to Speed, a Californian who adapted to life in Europe and has reappeared square in the heart of NASCAR racing.

"A lot has happened to me in the last nine months," Speed, 25, said. "I lived in Europe for five years and the culture is completely different over there.

"It's actually been an easy transition. It's nice to be closer to my family. It's been a cool homecoming but ... I definitely miss everything about Austria. I'd love to live there again someday."

Facing off with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner isn't all that dissimilar.

Both are among the toughest competitors in their respective environments.

"The drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are really tough racers and the level of competition is so high," said Speed, who'll get his first taste of competition at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday night.

Speed, like other road racers, is having to "unlearn."

"The biggest difficulty for me has been running around the outside of someone on the track and actually being faster," he said.

Unlike F1, where real-time data is fed to a battery of engineers, information flows from driver to crew chief and back again.

"I do feel that I'm adapting to that change pretty well," said Speed, winner of last month's ARCA Re/Max race in Kansas. "I learn something new every time I race. One of my goals this year is to just be a sponge and absorb everything I can."