1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series *In Progress*

WALTERS ACHIEVES UPSET, WINS AT TEXAS
Fort Worth, TX(AP)- With the new aero package and weather conditions perfect, Texas looked like Daytona for the trucks, racing door to door several rows deep. But through a generally clean race, Scot Walters brought the #37 Red Man Silverado to victory lane, barely edging out Doug George in the #26 F-150. Mike Stefanik impressed everyone with his 4th place run in the #66 Phelon F-150 in his first start of the 1998 Season.

Contingency Awards

Bud Pole Award: Ron Hornaday Jr. (30.281 sec/178.330 mph)
Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Joe Ruttman (25 of 167, 2nd straight race leading the most laps)
Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Boris Said (+26, Finished 3rd, Started 29th)
Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Stacy Compton (28.810)
Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Scot Walters (Winner)

Race Note #1: Walters started 25th, the deepest winner in the Truck Series Seasons so far.
Race Note #2: Walters is the 2nd rookie to win a race this season, the first being Greg Biffle in the season opener at Disney.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race 10: Diehard 200 @ The Milwaukee Mile; West Allis, Wisconsin; July 4th, 1998.

SPRAGUE GETS LONG-AWAITED 2nd WIN OF '98
WEST ALLIS, WI(AP)- It's been a long 2 months and 5 races, but Jack Sprague finally made it back to victory lane Saturday afternoon as the 4th of July Weekend festivities began as everyone anticipates tonight's Winston Cup Pepsi 400 from Daytona. With this win, Sprague inherits a 6 point lead over Joe Ruttman, who finished 6th in today's race. Ron Hornaday, Jr. was the runner-up and 10 points back from Sprague. But the big story today was the heartbreaking defeat for Mike Wallace who while running 4th with 10 laps to go dropped a valve, resulting in a 32nd place finish. Pole Sitter Stacy Compton also fell back to 19th place, the first truck one lap down.

Lap Leaders:
Jack Sprague-110
Ron Hornaday, Jr.-83
Stacy Compton-7

Contingency Awards


Bud Pole Award: Stacy Compton (29.336 seconds/122.716 mph)

Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Jack Sprague (110 of 200 Laps)

Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Greg Biffle (+14, Started 21st, Finished 7th)

Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Bryan Reffner (29.588 seconds/121.671 mph)

Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Greg Biffle (7th)


Race Results.htm (15.51 KB)
Point Standings.htm (29.29 KB)

Race #11; NAPA Autocare 200 @ Nazareth Speedway; Nazareth, PA; July 11th, 1998

BARFIELD WINS WRECK-FILLED RACE

NAZARETH, PA (AP)- From the drop of the green flag this afternoon, trucks were banging fenders like the state fair's demolition derby. Dark clouds overhead had crews on their toes in the event of rain, yet no rain fell today. He who kept his fenders clean had the most success, that being Ron Barfield, Jr., who through hellfire and brimstone won today's race by nearly 4 seconds over second place Tony Roper. This is Barfield's first win of 1998, and the second runner-up finish for Roper, who previously finished 2nd to Ron Hornaday at Bristol in his first race for the #55 team. The championship battle took a big turn today, with Ron Hornaday finishing 5th, Jack Sprague finishing 24th, and Joe Ruttman finishing 26th, Hornaday leaves with an 8-point lead over Sprague, and 17 points back to Ruttman in third. Greg Biffle finished 34th after being involved with a lap 24 wreck, losing the lead in the Rookie of the Year battle to Andy Houston, who finished 11th. Polesitter Boris Said finished 31st after crashing with Rick Carelli on lap 69, Said didn't lead a single lap.

Lap Leaders
Ron Barfield, Jr.-57
Bryan Reffner-43
Jack Sprague-25

Contingency Awards

Bud Pole Award: Boris Said (31.621 sec/107.701 mph)
Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Ron Barfield, Jr. (57 of 125 laps)
Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Tony Roper (+31, Started 33rd, Finished 2nd)
Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Jack Sprague (30.446 sec/111.857 mph)
Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Andy Houston (Finished 11th)


Race Results.htm (15.92 KB)
Points Standings.htm (29.3 KB)

Race #12; The No Fear Challenge @ California Speedway; Fontana, CA; July 18th, 1998

RAINES REIGNS SUPREME

FONTANA, CA (AP)- Tony Raines timed his last lap pass just right on Scot Walters going into turn three with help from the lapped truck of Ernie Irvan to become the seventh different winner in this 1998 season and puts himself in championship contention now just 38 points back of point leader Ron Hornaday, Jr. who leaves Fontana with a 19-point advantage over Joe Ruttman and 23 points over defending champion Jack Sprague. But with triumph comes tragedy as when the white flag flew, Tammy Jo Kirk was running in fourth position when she cut a tire in turn one and held up the next pack of trucks running fifth through ninth, winding up 16th, the first truck off the lead lap.

"She shouldn't have taken up the whole damn track when she would've been better off staying high out of our way." Said Kevin Harvick who went from fifth to seventh when Jo Kirk's truck slowed in turn two.
"I'm surprised she didn't turn us into the wall, scraped up our right side good enough to do so." Said Boris Said as his truck was hit while Jo Kirk tried making it to the bottom of the track. Said finished sixth after leading 14 laps.

Jack Sprague's hopes of a repeat championship took a hit today as the 1997 champion was involved in a multi-truck accident on lap 32 when Greg Biffle's Ford slid up into Sprague's left front, carrying both trucks into the outside wall at the same time Mike Wallace and Andy Houston crashed just in front of them. Sprague was rear-ended by Randy Nelson, sending him sliding outside of turn four and backing into the outside wall before spinning and getting hit by Randy Tolsma, sending the Silverado spinning like a top until it came to rest in the middle of the track. Sprague would end up 26th, his first DNF of the season and leaving him 23 points back.

Points leader Ron Hornaday, Jr. didn't leave Fontana in one piece either, being involved in an accident on lap 42 when Butch Miller overcorrected his loose truck in turn three against TJK's Ford and brought him into Hornaday's left front fender and rocketing Miller's truck into the outside wall head-on at 165 mph while Hornaday suffered damage at both ends of his NAPA Silverado. Miller was unharmed and walked away from the accident under his own power, a little sore, but as he put it, "Tough trucks makes for tough racing." Hornaday spent the middle half of the race riding around in 21st position before the long green flag run that finished the race came to his truck, allowing him to finish 11th with now second place points driver Joe Ruttman finishing 12th.

Lap Leaders
Tony Raines-26
Scot Walters-14
Boris Said-14
Mike Bliss-10
Andy Houston-9
Tony Roper-8
Tammy Jo Kirk-7
Jimmy Hensley-4
Dennis Setzer-3
Mike Wallace-2
Jack Sprague-1
Ron Hornaday, Jr.-1
Wayne Anderson-1

Contingency Awards

Bud Pole Award: Mike Bliss (39.792 sec/180.941 mph)
Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Tony Raines (26 of 100 laps)
Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Wayne Anderson (+31, Started 36rd, Finished 5th)
Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Boris Said (39.349 sec/182.978 mph)
Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Scot Walters (Finished 3rd)

Race Results.htm (16.31 KB)
Points Standings.htm (29.9 KB)