1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race #16 - Cummins 200

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made their 16th stop of 1997 at the Indianapolis Raceway Park, in Brownsburg, Indiana, for the Cummins 200.

Ron Hornaday Jr. led the field to the green flag and would lead for the first 18 laps as a cool night made the track slippery that would lead to 13 cautions as Hornaday Jr. would dominate for the second time out of the last three races, leading for 123 of the event's 200 laps but a slow pit stop allowed for Mike McLaughlin, a visitor from the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Series, to catch up to Hornaday Jr. and then take the lead with only 68 laps to go and would hold off the field for the remaining laps and would avoid the rest of the wrecks and would score a surprising win.

Other Noticeables:
Mike McLaughlin won his 1st race of the year,
McLaughlin led 1 time for 68 laps, including the final 68 laps,
McLaughlin scored his 1st career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in his 2nd career start,
Andy Houston(12th) and Kevin Cywinski(18th) made their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts,
Rich Bickle, who finished 2nd, kept his points lead, leading Jack Sprague by 86 points

1.53-Mike McLaughlin (68 laps led)
2.17-Rich Bickle
3.61-Randy Tolsma (1 lap led)
4.16-Ron Hornaday Jr. (123 laps led)
5.99-Chuck Bown (8 laps led)
6.43-Jimmy Hensley-1 lap
7.24-Jack Sprague-1 lap
8.14-Rick Crawford-1 lap
9.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.-1 lap
10.6-Rick Carelli-1 lap
11.37-Mark Green-1 lap
12.65-Andy Houston-1 lap
13.44-Boris Said-1 lap
14.35-Dave Rezendes-2 laps
15.88-Terry Cook-2 laps
16.66-Bryan Reffner-3 laps
17.19-Tony Raines-3 laps
18.18-Kevin Cywinski-4 laps
19.57-Brian Cunningham-4 laps
20.75-Kevin Harvick-5 laps
21.12-Andy Genzman-5 laps
22.93-Mike Skinner-6 laps
23.80-Joe Ruttman-17 laps (Accident)
24.29-Bob Keselowski-18 laps (Accident)
25.27-Rob Rizzo-18 laps
26.87-Robert Huffman-26 laps (Accident)
27.20-Butch Miller-33 laps (Accident)
28.4-Bill Sedgwick-41 laps (Accident)
29.31-Tony Roper-49 laps (Accident)
30.2-Mike Bliss-86 laps (Piston)
31.86-Stacy Compton-103 laps (Header)
32.52-Mike Wallace-140 laps (Accident)
33.7-Tammy Jo Kirk-158 laps (Piston)
34.3-Jay Sauter-176 laps (Camshaft)

Ron Hornaday Jr.-1-18
Randy Tolsma-19
Ron Hornaday Jr.-20-22
Chuck Bown-23-30
Ron Hornaday Jr.-31-132
Mike McLaughlin-133-200

5 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 13 for 65 laps
Lap 7 (Truck #65 Spin Frontstretch after contact from 6),
Lap 23 (Trucks #3, 31, 7, 20 and 53 Accident Frontstretch),
Lap 33 (Trucks #29 and 19 Accident Turn 1),
Lap 40 (Truck #14 Spin Backstretch after contact from 75),
Lap 52 (Trucks #14 and 75 Spin Turn 1),
Lap 59 (Trucks #86, 19, 14 and 52 Accident Turn 3),
Lap 116 (Truck #2 Spin Frontstretch after contact from 6),
Lap 125 (Trucks #66, 29 and 31 Spin Backstretch),
Lap 143 (Trucks #43 and 44 Spin Turn 4),
Lap 151 (Trucks #87, 37, 29, 80, 75, 57 and 19 Accident Turn 2),
Lap 158 (Trucks #43, 6, 31, 20, 88, 99 and 4 Accident Frontstretch),
Lap 168 (Trucks #80, 20 and 29 Accident Frontstretch),
Lap 184 (Trucks #66, 27, 29, 80 and 87 Accident Backstretch)

Margin of Victory: 1.761 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 18 Minutes and 22 Seconds

Race #17 - Stevens Beil / Genuine Parts 200

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made their 17th stop of 1997 at the Flemington Speedway, in Flemington, New Jersey, for the Stevens Beil / Genuine Parts 200.

Ron Hornaday Jr. led the field to the green flag for the second race in a row but it was Joe Ruttman who would quickly take over and showed off the power in his Roush Racing owned Ford. Ruttman would command the field for the first quarter of the race before points leader Rich Bickle would take over the race lead something Jack Sprague, Bickle's championship rival, didn't need to see as Sprague would suffer a mechanical issue just before halfway and lost some more ground on the championship leader. Bickle would completely dominate the day, leading 137 of the events 200 laps but a string of late cautions would change the course of the race.

With the field trying to make the race on one stops, drivers stretched their fuel and pitted with around fifty laps to go, Bickle would surrender the lead to Joe Ruttman and Mike Wallace for a brief period but he would regain it and with ten laps to go a late caution, due to Rick Crawford's stalled truck, resulted in a one lap shootout. As the field took the green the unthinkable happened, Rich Bickle ran out of gas, along with Stacy Compton and Michael Dokken, allowing Ron Hornaday Jr. to drive into the lead as he would lead one lap, the final lap, and scored a shocking win.

Other Noticeables:
Ron Hornaday Jr. won his 3rd race of the year,
Hornaday Jr. led 1 time for 1 lap, including the final lap,
Hornaday Jr. scored his 6th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win and his first since Colorado 3 races ago,
Pete Brittain(28th) made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut,
Rich Bickle, who finished 9th, kept his points lead, leading Jack Sprague by 148 points

1.16-Ron Hornaday Jr. (1 lap led)
2.20-Butch Miller
3.80-Joe Ruttman (61 laps led)
4.2-Mike Bliss
5.31-Tony Roper
6.19-Tony Raines
7.52-Mike Wallace (1 lap led)
8.43-Jimmy Hensley
9.17-Rich Bickle (137 laps led)
10.29-Bob Keselowski-1 lap
11.99-Chuck Bown-1 lap
12.88-Terry Cook-1 lap
13.86-Stacy Compton-2 laps (Out of Gas)
14.66-Bryan Reffner-2 laps
15.44-Boris Said-2 laps
16.35-Dave Rezendes-2 laps
17.57-Brian Cunningham-2 laps
18.65-Mark Gibson-2 laps
19.68-Bobby Dotter-2 laps
20.18-Michael Dokken-2 laps (Out of Gas)
21.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.-3 laps
22.05-John Blewett III-3 laps
23.25-Doug George-4 laps
24.14-Rick Crawford-9 laps (Header)
25.75-Kevin Harvick-45 laps (Accident)
26.3-Jay Sauter-46 laps (Accident)
27.7-Tammy Jo Kirk-47 laps (Accident)
28.38-Pete Brittain-53 laps (Accident)
29.24-Jack Sprague-111 laps (Camshaft)
30.6-Rick Carelli-155 laps (Piston)

Ron Hornaday Jr.-Pole
Joe Ruttman-1-59
Rich Bickle-60-138
Joe Ruttman-139-140
Mike Wallace-141
Rich Bickle-142-199
Ron Hornaday Jr.-200

5 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 5 for 26 laps
Lap 143 (Truck #80 Spin Turn 1),
Lap 149 (Trucks #38, 3, 75, 88 and 2 Accident Turn 4),
Lap 155 (Trucks #3, 7, 68, 29, 75, 44 and 57 Accident Turn 4),
Lap 187 (Trucks #18 and 66 Spin Turn 1),
Lap 193 (Truck #14 Stalled Frontstretch)

Margin of Victory: 1.589 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hour, 47 Minutes and 18 Seconds

Race #18 - Federated Auto Parts 250

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made their 18th stop of 1997 at the Nashville Speedway, in Nashville, Tennessee, for the Federated Auto Parts 250.

Butch Miller led the field to the green flag as he quickly began to pull away from the field looking to score his first win since Martinsville last year as he begin to lap drivers by Lap 50. After a dominating performance at Flemington only to run out of gas on the last lap, Rich Bickle was looking to get back on a roll and expand his championship lead, however Bickle struggled for the second straight week losing 53 points as Jack Sprague would pass Butch Miller and would easily dominate the remaining laps and scored his fourth win of 1997.

Other Noticeables:
Jack Sprague won his 4th race of the year,
Sprague led 1 time for 141 laps, including the final 141 laps,
Sprague scored his 4th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win and his first since Nazareth 8 races ago,
Joe Buford(5th) and Wayne Anderson(24th) made their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts,
Rich Bickle, who finished 12th, kept his points lead, leading Jack Sprague by 95 points

1.24-Jack Sprague (141 laps led)
2.20-Butch Miller (109 laps led)
3.14-Rick Crawford
4.60-Tobey Butler
5.70-Joe Buford
6.19-Tony Raines
7.6-Rick Carelli
8.43-Jimmy Hensley-1 lap
9.2-Mike Bliss-1 lap
10.3-Jay Sauter-1 lap
11.16-Ron Hornaday Jr.-1 lap
12.17-Rich Bickle-1 lap
13.31-Tony Roper-2 laps
14.99-Chuck Bown-2 laps
15.12-Eric Norris-2 laps
16.66-Bryan Reffner-2 laps
17.86-Stacy Compton-2 laps
18.7-Barry Bodine-2 laps
19.35-Dave Rezendes-2 laps
20.29-Bob Keselowski-3 laps
21.04-Brad Teague-3 laps
22.27-Rob Rizzo-3 laps
23.65-Andy Houston-4 laps
24.97-Wayne Anderson-4 laps
25.18-Tom Hubert-5 laps
26.80-Joe Ruttman-5 laps
27.52-Mike Wallace-5 laps
28.37-Scot Walters-6 laps
29.75-Kevin Harvick-34 laps (Accident)
30.88-Terry Cook-34 laps (Accident)
31.07-Tammy Jo Kirk-34 laps (Accident)
32.44-Boris Said-35 laps (Accident)
33.61-Randy Tolsma-36 laps (Accident)
34.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.-105 laps (Header)

Butch Miller-1-109
Jack Sprague-110-250

1 Lead Changes among 2 drivers

Caution Flags: 7 for 33 laps
Lap 5 (Trucks #07 and 75 Spin Turn 2),
Lap 43 (Truck #86 Stalled Backstretch),
Lap 111 (Truck #37 Spin Turn 2 after contact from 17),
Lap 184 (Trucks #3 and 04 Spin Turn 2),
Lap 191 (Truck #37 Spin Turn 4 after contact from 6),
Lap 216 (Truck #18 Spin Frontstretch after contact from 24),
Lap 247 (Truck #37 Spin Turn 4 after contact from 20)

Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Time of Race: 2 Hour, 4 Minutes and 40 Seconds

Race #19 - Parts America 150

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made their 19th stop of 1997 at the Watkins Glen International, in Watkins Glen, New York, for the Parts America 150.

Mike Bliss led the field to the green flag as he would lead for the first five laps before being passed by Blaise Alexander as for the second year in a row the Truck Series ran at the tricky road course as drivers found the course to be very hard to handle as the Inner Loop caused drivers to slide off the track while mechanical issues would knock Alexander out of the race as well as three other drivers. Once Alexander was out of the race that allowed Bliss to retake the lead and he would lead for awhile but his truck began to fade late in the event allowing Ron Fellows to take over the lead as he would lead the last half of the race and score his first win in his NASCAR career.

Other Noticeables:
Ron Fellows won his 1st race of the year,
Fellows led 1 time for 31 laps, including the final 31 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in his 3rd start,
Mike Ewanitsko(8th), Ted Christopher(10th) and Eliseo Salazar(17th) made their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts,
Rich Bickle, who finished 18th, kept his points lead, leading Jack Sprague by 39 points

1.48-Ron Fellows (31 laps led)
2.80-Joe Ruttman
3.24-Jack Sprague
4.16-Ron Hornaday Jr.
5.43-Jimmy Hensley
6.2-Mike Bliss (16 laps led)
7.6-Rick Carelli
8.42-Mike Ewanitsko
9.71-Rob Morgan
10.18-Ted Christopher
11.3-Jay Sauter
12.63-Rick Johnson
13.27-Rob Rizzo
14.52-Mike Wallace
15.98-Kenny Irwin Jr.
16.29-Bob Keselowski (2 laps led)
17.77-Eliseo Salazar
18.17-Rich Bickle
19.14-Rick Crawford
20.66-Bryan Reffner
21.31-Tony Roper
22.75-Kevin Harvick
23.65-Jeff Spraker-1 lap
24.99-Chuck Bown-1 lap
25.35-Dave Rezendes-1 lap
26.19-Tony Raines-1 lap
27.20-Butch Miller-2 laps
28.57-Brian Cunningham-2 laps
29.02-Eric Norris-14 laps (Header)
30.61-Randy Tolsma-22 laps (Valve)
31.44-Boris Said-33 laps (Clutch)
32.62-Blaise Alexander-34 laps (Transmission) (13 laps led)
33.55-Dorsey Schroeder-56 laps (Accident)
34.86-Stacy Compton-57 laps (Accident)

Mike Bliss-1-5
Blaise Alexander-6-18
Mike Bliss-19-28
Bob Keselowski-29-30
Mike Bliss-31
Ron Fellows-32-62

5 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 9 for 18 laps
Lap 2 (Truck #27 and 55 Spin Inner Loop),
Lap 6 (Trucks #2, 80, 42, 16, 44, 61, 6, 17, 02, 71, 86, 55 and 31 Accident Inner Loop),
Lap 10 (Truck #61 Spin Inner Loop after contact from 16),
Lap 16 (Truck #77 Spin Inner Loop),
Lap 23 (Trucks #71 and 02 Spin Inner Loop),
Lap 27 (Truck #98 Spin Inner Loop),
Lap 35 (Truck #66 Spin Inner Loop),
Lap 49 (Truck #02 Stalled Turn 10),
Lap 52 (Trucks #2, 63 and 18 Spin Inner Loop)

Margin of Victory: 3.755 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 29 Minutes and 53 Seconds