By the Numbers: Truck
Top 10 from Atlanta earlier this year, and extra tidbits
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Thanks to Kyle Busch, Georgia businessman Billy Ballew is all business at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch drove the independent team's 51 truck to Victory Lane in March and they are the defending winner of the October race.
Fast facts
| What | E-Z-GO 200 |
| When | 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday |
| TV | SPEED, 1 p.m. ET |
| Radio | MRN (Sirius Ch. 128), 1:30 ET |
But one glance at the top 10 from the 2008 American Commercial Lines 200, just the third race of the Craftsman Truck Series season, and the driver conspicuous by his absence is points leader Johnny Benson. His 30th-place finish is Benson's second-worse of the season but not atypical of his recent outings at Atlanta.
Benson has finishes of 29th, 28th and 30 in the past four races at AMS, but in October 2007 finished third for the third time in his now seven-race career there. Another notable driver who failed to crack the top 10 is Dennis Setzer, who finished 13th.
Setzer is one of three drivers who have completed the most laps at Atlanta (1,052 out of 1,053 possible), but his one lap led in March was his first at the track. In eight starts, Setzer has never finished worse than 14th and owns a 10.8 average finish.
Three drivers who finished in the top 10 in March are no longer in the trucks they raced that night. Jack Sprague is out of the 2 and back in the 60; Terry Cook is out of the 60 and back in the 59; and Ted Musgrave is out of the 59, the biggest loser in this game of musical trucks.
1Kyle Busch won his third race at Atlanta in as many starts including the past two. His first victory came in October 2005 in Billy Ballew's No. 15 truck. The past two wins have been in Ballew's 51 truck. He has led 149 laps, third-most of any driver. Busch is entered in the 51 this week.
2Ron Hornaday has finished runner-up to Kyle Busch the past two races, despite starting on the pole both times. Hornaday led 81 laps earlier this year and 151 total in seven races. Hornaday won his first start at Atlanta in March 2005, but didn't post another top-10 until last October. His average finish, however, is 10.0.
3Mike Skinner is the series lap-leader at Atlanta with 197. Only once in eight starts has he failed to lead a lap, when he crashed out after 60 laps in March 2006. He led only one lap earlier this year in posting his fourth top-five (more than any driver) and fifth top-10. His one win came from the pole -- one of a series-high three -- in March 2007.
4Matt Crafton posted his third top-five in eight Atlanta starts and his third consecutive top-10 (fifth overall). Despite having never led a lap -- Crafton is one of three drivers with the most laps completed (1,052 of 1,053 possible) -- his 9.5 average finish is best among all series regulars.
5Chad McCumbee recorded his first top-five at Atlanta and second top-10 in five starts. He qualified second, and started on the outside of the front row for just the third time in his career before doing so again two races later at Kansas.
6Jack Sprague scored his first top-10 at Atlanta since October 2006 and just his fourth overall in eight starts. In five starts at AMS in the No. 60 Toyota of Wyler Racing, which he returned to last week, Sprague has his only top-five but also finishes of 23rd and 25th in 2007, the latter his worst result.
7Ted Musgrave posted his third consecutive top-10 at Atlanta and six overall in eight starts, most of any driver. Like Matt Crafton, Musgrave has completed 1,052 of 1,053 possible laps but never led. In fact, he has but one top-five. His average finish is 10.0.
8Terry Cook finished two spots behind Jack Sprague, the driver who replaced him in the 60 truck, and one position lower than Ted Musgrave, the driver he has replaced in the No. 59 Toyota of Harris Trucking. Cook has one top-five and four top-10s in eight starts at Atlanta including a 10th-place finish in this race last year in the 59 truck.
9Todd Bodine posted his fourth top-10 at Atlanta in seven starts. He has one win -- in March 2006 from the pole -- and two runner-up finishes, but his past two October races have produced results of 25th in 2006 and 24th last year. His average finish is 10.7.
10Jon Wood recorded his second top-10 in three starts at Atlanta, his first race there since March 2006. Despite the top-10, Wood finished one lap off the lead pace. He was the only driver in a Ford to finish in the top 10.
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Atlanta Motor Speedway
2008 American Commercial Lines 200
| Pos. | Start | Driver | Make | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 | Ky. Busch | Toyota | 39 |
| 2. | 1 | R. Hornaday | Chevrolet | 81 |
| 3. | 12 | M. Skinner | Toyota | 1 |
| 4. | 15 | M. Crafton | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5. | 2 | C. McCumbee | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 6. | 5 | J. Sprague | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 7. | 4 | T. Musgrave | Toyota | 0 |
| 8. | 6 | T. Cook | Toyota | 0 |
| 9. | 7 | T. Bodine | Toyota | 0 |
| 10. | 16 | J. Wood | Ford | 0 |
Craftsman Truck Series
Official Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +1 | Johnny Benson | 3178 | Leader |
| 2. | -1 | Ron Hornaday | 3113 | -65 |
| 3. | -- | Matt Crafton | 2951 | -227 |
| 4. | -- | Todd Bodine | 2946 | -232 |
| 5. | +1 | Mike Skinner | 2896 | -282 |
| 6. | -1 | Erik Darnell | 2877 | -301 |
| 7. | -- | Rick Crawford | 2856 | -322 |
| 8. | +1 | Dennis Setzer | 2694 | -484 |
| 9. | -1 | Jack Sprague | 2668 | -510 |
| 10. | -- | Terry Cook | 2575 | -603 |
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