By the Numbers: Truck

Top 10 and a little bit more for the series at Talladega

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
October 2, 2008
09:50 AM EDT

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• Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega: Entry List | Tickets | Travel

The Craftsman Truck Series marks just its third appearance at Talladega Superspeedway and thus far there have been some common themes.

The first two races have been won from the pole, Mark Martin in 2006 and Todd Bodine in 2007. In each race there were 12 lead changes but the lap-leader won. Bodine led 46 laps last year, the most any driver has led in any one race there.

Anothing interesting nugget involving Bodine concerns the number 20: He has won Race No. 20 in three of the past four seasons: Talladega (2007), Las Vegas (2005) and Fontana (2004). This Saturday's Mountain Dew 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, SPEED) is Race No. 20.

For more on Bodine and Talladega race similarities, and other things ...

1Laps led by Kyle Busch in his only start at Talladega last year. Busch started 29th and finished 14th. Busch has made 12 Truck starts this year with 10 top-10s and has led 492 laps, second-most in the series.

2Top-fives at Talladega for Todd Bodine, the only driver with a top-five finish in both races. Bodine started fourth and finished fourth in 2006.

3Drivers who have made both starts at Talladega without a lead-lap finish: Wayne Edwards, Chad McCumbee and Jack Sprague. They have combined for five DNFs, with McCumbee's 24th-place in 2007 representing the best finish of the three. An engine and crash have negated Sprague's 4.5 average start. Edwards has completed just seven laps, out of 188 total.

4Drivers who have led double-digit laps at Talladega: Todd Bodine (51), Mark Martin (37), Johnny Benson (31) and Jack Sprague (30). Bodine is the only driver to lead in both races. Martin is the only driver of the four who has made just one start at 'Dega.

5Place of finish at Talladega last year for Dennis Setzer, the only top-10 Dodge has posted in the two races. Toyota has half of the combined 20 top-10s including seven in 2006 and three of the top four spots in 2007. Chevrolet had the most top-10s in 2007 with four and has five total. Ford has four top-10s including a victory.

6Last year's finish at Talladega ranks sixth-closest in series history. Todd Bodine beat Rick Crawford by just .014 seconds. Johnny Benson was .028 seconds behind in the three-way finish. Even fourth-place Jason Leffler was less than one second off the pace.

7Cautions in each of the two races at Talladega, accounting for 23 laps in 2006 and 25 laps in 2007. Only three of the 10 DNFs in 2006 were for crashes; nine trucks, out of 11 DNFs, crashed out in 2007.

8Place of finish for Chad Chaffin in both races at Talladega. His average starting position is 28.5. Chaffin is one of four drivers with top-10s in both races: Todd Bodine (2.5 average finish), Johnny Benson (6.0) and Ron Hornaday (8.5).

9Drivers with a top-five finish at Talladega: A.J. Allmendinger, Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, Rick Crawford, Jason Leffler, Mark Martin, Ted Musgrave, Dennis Setzer and Mike Skinner.

10Drivers to finish on the lead lap in both races at Talladega: Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, Chad Chaffin, Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Brendan Gaughan, Ron Hornaday, Dennis Setzer, Mike Skinner and David Starr. Crafton, Gaughan and Starr are the only ones without a top-10 finish.

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Craftsman Truck Series

Official Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	--	Johnny Benson	2858	--
2.	--	Ron Hornaday	2857	-1
3.	--	Matt Crafton	2694	-164
4.	+2	Erik Darnell	2634	-224
5.	+2	Mike Skinner	2631	-227
6.	-2	Rick Crawford	2612	-246
7.	-2	Todd Bodine	2601	-257
8.	--	Jack Sprague	2456	-402
9.	--	Dennis Setzer	2395	-463
10.	--	Terry Cook	2366	-492