Crawford looking forward to another shot at 'Dega

Rick Crawford's not one to dwell on the past but if he could have a "mulligan" on last year's Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, the outcome might have been different.

Crawford

Crawford's last-lap challenge to Talladega winner Todd Bodine came up .014 seconds -- a fender length -- short (watch video).

But yesterday has come and gone and Crawford, who won a similarly close decision at Daytona in 2003, is looking forward.

"I'll do something different this year," he said. "I've re-run that last lap a thousand times. I [now] know what to do if that situation comes about again to win the race."

Crawford is a five-time Craftsman Truck Series winner -- but not since August 2006. So Talladega in his native state would be a fine place to end a 54-race winless streak.

"Let's talk about winning but you may not be able to fulfill that opportunity so let's not be dejected about it [if it doesn't happen]," Crawford said.

"Just being able to participate at a racetrack of [Talladega's] size and magnitude with that history means enough to me."

Crawford, ranked sixth, still has a shot at the championship but counting points isn't something he'll be doing on Saturday.

"The points will take care of themselves," he said. "I'm going to Talladega to win."

In the Loop

Bodine

On paper, Todd Bodine should win this race by about eight laps. Of course, no race is run on paper, and this is the Truck Series we're talking about -- where unpredictability is the norm.

Nonetheless, Bodine is strong at the two biggest tracks on which the series runs, winning at Daytona earlier this season and Talladega a year ago.

In the two Talladega races the series has run, Bodine has a win and a fourth-place finish. He has a combined Driver Rating of 125.2, an Average Running Position of 3.6, 183 Laps in the Top 15 (97.3 percent) and 51 laps led. All those numbers are best on the series.

His combined numbers at Daytona and Talladega (5.16 miles worth of terrain) are likewise impressive -- and trounce his competitors.

At the two tracks since 2005, Bodine has a combined Driver Rating of 121.5, an Average Running Position of 4.3 and has run 95.6 percent of the laps among the top 15. All those are also best in the series.

In other words, series-leaders Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday -- who have combined to win eight of the past 11 races -- will have their work cut out for them if they want to make it nine of 12.

Their stats are solid, though. Benson has a Driver Rating of 104.2 and an Average Running Position of 8.1. Hornaday has a Driver Rating of 99.7 and an Average Running Position of 10.6.

Benson on Talladega

No driver will win the 2008 Truck Series championship at Talladega Superspeedway.

But one or more contenders could see their title hopes disappear as the difference between first and 36th could be as many as 140 points.

Official Standings

Pos.	Driver	Behind
1.	Johnny Benson	--
2.	Ron Hornaday	-1
3.	Matt Crafton	-164
4.	Erik Darnell	-224
5.	Mike Skinner	-227
6.	Rick Crawford	-246
7.	Todd Bodine	-257
8.	Jack Sprague	-402
9.	Dennis Setzer	-463
10.	Terry Cook	-492

• Standings | Race | Series

Competitors agree winning the Mountain Dew 250 would be great. They would add that surviving with their trucks intact is the next best thing.

"Talladega is your typical superspeedway where anything can happen and happens fast," said Johnny Benson, whose championship lead is a precarious one point over Ron Hornaday.

"We just have keep out of the big wreck and be there at the end of the race."

Benson was third in last year's blanket finish and will be looking to hook up at the finish with Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner.

Hornaday, seventh in 2007, has his gaze firmly fixed on Craftsman Truck history. He's bidding to become its first four-time and back-to-back champion and NASCAR's oldest national series titleholder at age 50.

If Hornaday leads at least one lap in Saturday's race, he will have led at every track on the current schedule. Skinner is the only other driver to accomplish the feat.

"Last year going into Talladega, I would say we were more on the conservative side. We were only three points behind Skinner and we just needed to make it out of Talladega with a good, solid finish and not try too hard and let one little mistake cause us to lose points," Hornaday said. "We need to have the same mind-set this year."

Matt Crafton isn't wishing anyone bad luck but he needs help to further reduce a 164-point deficit.

"At tracks like Daytona and Talladega, so much of it is good fortune, pure and simple," said Crafton, third in points. "It's about getting the right break at the right time."

Age more than number on 'super' tracks

Consider this as more proof why Carl Edwards stands among the top echelon of Sprint Cup Series drivers and well could win this year's championship.

Edwards, 24 when he won the 2004 Truck Series opener at Daytona, is the only driver under the age of 40 to win a series race at Daytona or Talladega.

The next youngest winner is Mike Wallace, a 40-year-old in 2000 when the series made its debut at Daytona.

Mark Martin won Talladega's inaugural Mountain Dew 250 in 2006 at the age of 47 following up his February victory in Daytona.

Daytona's winners also include Joe Ruttman, 56 and the late Bobby Hamilton, 47.

Last year's Mountain Dew 250 winner, Todd Bodine, was relatively young by that standard at age 43. He opened 2008 with a Daytona victory.

Jack Sprague has competed in trucks and cars at Daytona and Talladega for nearly a decade. He finally won Daytona's race in 2007 as a 42-year-old.

"I think the key to winning at places like Talladega and Daytona is a combination of experience, discipline and good equipment," said Sprague. "The veteran drivers in this series have had that and I think as a result, they have been the ones in Victory Lane at the end of the day."

Director's take: Wayne's Words

"Talladega and Daytona are similar tracks in some ways but in others are quite different.

"Both feature high-speed competition with big packs of trucks and the likelihood of a photo finish with two, three or even four trucks side-by-side.

"Talladega is unlike Daytona in that it's very wide and much smoother. The start/finish stripe also is beyond the dogleg and makes the strategy for a last-lap draft very different. You may see a couple of lead changes between Turn 4 and the checkered flag.

"Horsepower is the key at Talladega; along with a very aerodynamic body. Crews will look for any advantage they can find since 1/16th of an inch in the right place can mean 2/10ths of a second on the clock. They definitely push the envelope.

"That's why the inspection process is so important to keep all the teams on a level playing field. NASCAR hands out the rear spring and shocks and also limits horsepower to a greater degree than at the other tracks on the schedule.

"The tapered spacer used at Talladega and Daytona is 1/16th of an inch less than approved elsewhere.

"Past experience has shown that the package works. Last year's Mountain Dew 250 ended with three trucks taking the checkered flag separated by less than a 10th of a second. It doesn't get much better than that!"
-- Wayne Auton, Truck Series director