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Kyle Busch has won two of the last three Atlanta Truck races.By the Numbers: Atlanta
Close finishes nothing new at fast 1.5-mile speedway
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It was 2004 when a lone March date was added as the Truck Series' second race of the season. The Saturday addition made a nice matinee to Sunday's Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. All-around, it was to be a solid weekend.
But as Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner came rumbling out of Turn 4 on the final lap nose-to-nose -- Hamilton chasing, Skinner leading -- it exceeded all expectation. Skinner had dominated the race (68 laps led). Hamilton had his share in the spotlight (55 laps led). So door-to-door they came to the line. The trucks touched, and around went Skinner, sliding across the line in second as Hamilton celebrated the victory.
Not a bad debut.
Hamilton went on to greater successes that season, while Skinner eventually had his time. A year later, however, Ron Hornaday got a headlight ahead of Bobby Labonte to win by 0.008 seconds. Since then, all but one of the races have been won by a margin of less than a second.
Not a bad history.
"I think about our first start at Walt Disney World. We were there on a wing and a prayer. One truck, one motor and our All Pro Late Model team was my crew. It's hard to believe we've been here ever since."
-- Rick Crawford, who will make his series-high 300th start
0Starts Rick Crawford has made in the Truck Series for an owner other than Tom Mitchell.
2Times the March winner at Atlanta has gone on to win the championship. Bobby Hamilton did it in 2004, and Todd Bodine copied him in 2006.
3Victories for Kyle Busch in his four Atlanta starts, all driving for Georgia native Billy Ballew. Two of the victories came in the last three races there, while the other was scored in October 2005. He is the only multiple-time winner at the track.
3Drivers who have an average running position inside the top 10 in the eight races Loop Data has been available: Kyle Busch (3.373), Todd Bodine (8.001) and Ron Hornaday (9.611).
5Races at Atlanta that have had four caution periods: March 2004, March 2005, March 2006, March 2008 and October 2008.
6Drivers who have started all nine Atlanta races (and their average finish): Matt Crafton (11.7), Dennis Setzer (11.7), Terry Cook (13.3), Mike Skinner (14.0), Rick Crawford (16.6) and David Starr (16.7). All are entered for Saturday's race.
7.67Average starting position for Atlanta winners in the nine races at the track. Ron Hornaday's March 2005 victory was from the 18th position, the deepest in the field. Two races have been won from the pole (Todd Bodine, March 2006; Mike Skinner, March 2007).
33.8Percent of laps led at Atlanta by just three drivers. Ron Hornaday (261), Mike Skinner (197) and Kyle Busch (158) have combined to lead 616 of the possible 1,821 laps.
87.5Percent of laps Todd Bodine has run inside the top 15 in his eight Atlanta starts (919 of 1,050 laps), the best among all drivers.
1,193Points scored by Mike Skinner in nine races at Atlanta, more than any other driver. Matt Crafton is second with 1,185. Skinner won the March 2007 race. Crafton's best finish is third, in the same race.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Driver Rating (last eight races)
| Pos. | Driver | Avg. Finish | High Rating | Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kyle Busch | 2.8 | 146.1 | 131.2 |
| 2. | Todd Bodine | 9.9 | 133.5 | 107.1 |
| 3. | Ron Hornaday Jr. | 9.0 | 144.3 | 104.8 |
| 4. | Mike Skinner | 15.5 | 145.0 | 100.1 |
| 5. | Johnny Benson | 14.3 | 118.2 | 95.4 |
| 6. | Rick Crawford | 14.4 | 108.7 | 89.9 |
| 7. | Matt Crafton | 12.5 | 106.4 | 87.9 |
| 8. | Mike Bliss | 17.3 | 139.8 | 86.4 |
| 9. | Terry Cook | 12.8 | 116.3 | 83.3 |
| 10. | Dennis Setzer | 11.8 | 101.1 | 81.3 |
Also
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Camping World Truck Series
Driver Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +1 | Kyle Busch | 370 | Leader |
| 2. | -1 | Todd Bodine | 365 | -5 |
| 3. | +4 | Matt Crafton | 293 | -77 |
| 4. | +2 | Timothy Peters | 288 | -82 |
| 5. | +4 | Ron Hornaday | 285 | -85 |
| 6. | +6 | T.J. Bell | 285 | -85 |
| 7. | -2 | Mike Skinner | 281 | -89 |
| 8. | +11 | Chad McCumbee | 276 | -94 |
| 9. | +8 | David Starr | 272 | -98 |
| 10. | -- | J.R. Fitzpatrick | 262 | -108 |
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