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Todd Bodine will try to become just the second driver to win the season's first two races.By the Numbers: Fontana
California has a history with Trucks beyond Auto Club
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It will be lucky 13 for Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, as in the 13th Truck Series race the track has hosted. But the series has more Golden State history than that.
In that inaugural 1995 season, the series went west to California four times in that year alone. There was a trip to Saugus Speedway, the .333-mile oval where Ken Schrader won the only Truck race there. There was a late-season stop at the road course in Sonoma, which hosted four Truck races before falling off the schedule after 1998. And there were two stops that season at Mesa Marin, which was on the schedule until 2003.
But in 1997, Auto Club Speedway landed an October race and West Coast driver Mike Bliss notched the first Truck Series victory at the track. It's been a stop on the circuit ever since.
Speeds have risen since Bliss' boxy Ford rumbled around at an average of 137.195 mph. No manufacturer has gained an advantage, as all four in the series have landed at least two victories. Jack Sprague and Ted Musgrave aren't racing, but they're the only multiple-time winners at Fontana -- which makes one ponder the difficulty of returning to Victory Lane.
No driver has won from the pole at Fontana since 2000. And just because a driver wins doesn't guarantee long-term success: Sprague is the only Fontana winner to go on and secure the championship in the same season, having done so back in 1999.
Add to that, the drivers who have competed in every Fontana race have never won at the track. And only once has a driver won the season-opening race and followed it up with a victory in Race No. 2. Mark Martin won at Daytona and again in Fontana in 2006 to begin the season.
"You would like to think you can go to a race track and get a top-five every time but not every driver out there can. There are so many factors beyond your control and sometimes the cards just don't play out right."
-- Terry Cook, with a best finish of fourth last year at Fontana
1Time the Fontana race has failed to go its scheduled 200 miles. Mark Martin's victory in 2006 went 212 miles (106 laps) due to a green-white-checkered finish.
2Drivers who have started all 12 races at Fontana: Rick Crawford (11.7 average finish) and Terry Cook (15.8 average finish).
2.67Average running position for Kyle Busch at Fontana. He is the defending race winner, having led 51 of 100 laps in last year's race, his only start at the track.
2.8Average starting position for Mike Skinner at Fontana. His worst starting spot is eighth (1998). He has started on the front row every race since 2004, including a pole position in 2005. His average finish is 13.7, having won the race in 2007.
4Former Fontana winners who are on the entry list this weekend: Mike Bliss (1997), Todd Bodine (2004), Mike Skinner (2007) and Kyle Busch (2008).
6Drivers with an average finish of 10th or better at Fontana: Kyle Busch (1.0), Johnny Benson (6.8), Colin Braun (9.0), Mike Bliss (9.3), Ron Hornaday (9.3) and Todd Bodine (9.6).
9.3Average starting position for Fontana winners. Two drivers have won from the pole (Mike Bliss, 1997; Kurt Busch, 2000), and two drivers have won from a starting position worse than 12th (Steve Park, 25th in 2005; Kyle Busch, 20th in 2008).
12Worst finish for Johnny Benson in his five starts at Fontana. The rest of his races have resulted in top-10 finishes, although he has not scored a victory at the 2-mile track. He has scored more points (607) at Fontana than any driver in the last four races.
26Motocross victories in the state of California for Ricky Carmichael. Saturday's race will be just his second career start in the Truck Series. He finished 24th in the 36-truck field at Daytona.
120Laps led by Ron Hornaday at Fontana, three more than any other driver. In seven starts there, he has never won but has posted six top-10 finishes with an average finish of 9.3.
Auto Club Speedway
Driver Rating (last four races)
| Pos. | Driver | Avg. Finish | High Rating | Avg. Driver Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kyle Busch | 1.0 | 148.6 | 148.6 |
| 2. | Mike Skinner | 11.0 | 145.7 | 103.7 |
| 3. | Johnny Benson | 6.8 | 107.6 | 101.1 |
| 4. | Ron Hornaday Jr. | 11.8 | 117.0 | 100.5 |
| 5. | Todd Bodine | 11.8 | 130.9 | 98.3 |
| 6. | Matt Crafton | 13.0 | 106.4 | 88.1 |
| 7. | Colin Braun | 9.0 | 86.8 | 86.8 |
| 8. | David Starr | 20.0 | 124.4 | 84.9 |
| 9. | Rick Crawford | 11.3 | 91.5 | 83.4 |
| 10. | Mike Bliss | 13.7 | 106.8 | 80.7 |
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Camping World Truck Series
Official Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Todd Bodine | 195 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Kyle Busch | 175 | -20 |
| 3. | -- | Terry Cook | 165 | -30 |
| 4. | -- | J.R. Fitzpatrick | 165 | -30 |
| 5. | -- | Ron Hornaday | 160 | -35 |
| 6. | -- | Mike Skinner | 151 | -44 |
| 7. | -- | Timothy Peters | 150 | -45 |
| 8. | -- | Matt Crafton | 147 | -48 |
| 9. | -- | Colin Braun | 143 | -52 |
| 10. | -- | Tayler Malsam | 134 | -61 |
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