KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Terry Cook used pit strategy to his advantage to take the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

Cook took the lead with 40 laps to go in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, staying out while most of the leaders chose to take fuel and tires. He stretched his lead to as much as 4 seconds over Rick Crawford, who finished second. It was Cook's first win in 94 races since he last won at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis in August 2002.

"We've got a lot of things to be happy about. This is big," said Cook, who went a lap down after he pitted on Lap 18 to change right-side tires.

Cook got the lap back later in the race and was able to power to the front of the field. Australian rookie Marcos Ambrose made a dash at the end to finish third, his best performance of the season.

Ambrose led the first lap of the race, passing pole-sitter Mike Skinner on the front stretch of the 1.5-mile tri-oval. Skinner finished fifth.   More