Hornaday, Stewart get Saturday wins

The photos are from CIA Stock Photos - Thanks Earnie.

Yeah, I know. I slacked of a little last week. But I did get a chance to watch both the Nationwide Series race and the Craftsman Truck Series race today. Tony Stewart dominated the field in the Nationwide race at New Hampshire and Ron Hornaday took the checkers at Mephis.

Here's the lowdown on the Craftsman Truck Series event from the folks at Chevrolet.

Memphis, TN – June 28, 2008 – Ron Hornaday had a great record at Memphis Motorsports Park (MMP) heading in to tonight’s O’Reilly 200, but he was determined to make it better and 

take home the coveted Elvis trophy the race winner receives in victory lane. After leading 139 of 204 laps in his No. 33 Camping World Silverado fielded by Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) to claim his third win of the 2008 season, the three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) champion is a two-time winner at the Tennessee track. 

The victory is the 36^th of Hornaday’s career, extending his lead as the all-time NCTS race winner. He retook the top-spot in the championship standings by 27 points over fellow Team Chevy Silverado driver Matt Crafton.  In addition to his three victories, Hornaday has scored six top-five and eight top-10 finishes thus far in the season. 

His victory was the fifth for Chevrolet this season and vaulted the Bowtie brand back to the top of the NCTS Manufacturers’ point standings with 12 of 25 races now in the record books. 

Hornaday qualified third and took the lead for the first time on lap 44. He retook the point on lap 76 and never looked back as the race scheduled for 200 laps, finished under a green-white-checkered scenario, the fourth time this season for the NASCAR pickup truck drivers. 
Crafton, No. 88 Menards Silverado, kept his quest for his first NCTS championship in high gear with a third place finish at Memphis.  It is the second consecutive race Crafton has finished in the top three to extend his season’s record to one win, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Crafton started 16^th in the 35-truck field. 

Jack Sprague, No. 2 American Commercial Lines Silverado, finished sixth to give Team Chevy Silverado three drivers in the top-10.  Sprague is eighth in the standings.  Chevrolet driver Chad McCumbee, No. 8 Malcolmson Construction Silverado remains 10^th in points after finishing 15^th at MMP. 

Round 13 for Team Chevy Silverado in NCTS competition is July 19, 2008 at Kentucky 

Speedway. 

And here is the race report from Reid Spencer:

Stewart bags fifth Nationwide win at Loudon

 

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

LOUDON, N.H. (June 28, 2008) -- Aside from Tony Stewart becoming the 22nd different winner in 22 Nationwide Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the outcome of Saturday's Camping World RV Sales 200 was more of the same for NASCAR's Triple-A division.

 

Stewart's victory was the eighth of the season for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which has carried four different drivers to victory lane this year -- Stewart on five occasions and Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and rookie phenom Joey Logano once each.

 

Hamlin and Busch, in fact, chased Stewart for the final 64 laps, after Stewart took the lead for good on Lap 136. Hamlin, driving Braun Racing's No. 32 Toyota, was within a half-second of the leader when Greg Biffle crashed on Lap 200, the final circuit. The race ended under caution with Stewart, Hamlin and Busch in the top three spots, followed by Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

 

Stewart credited crew chief Dave Rogers, a native of the neighboring state of Vermont, with the consistently excellent performance of the No. 20 Camry.

 

"There've been four drivers (to) win in this car, so it's not the drivers -- that's for sure," Stewart said. "We're the fortunate ones to be able to drive this thing."

 

A two-tire call on Stewart's final pit stop in Lap 129 got the No. 20 Toyota out in third place for a restart on Lap 133. Three laps later, Stewart took the lead from Edwards, who had taken fuel only on the pit stop, with a smooth pass entering Turn 1.

 

On Lap 138, Hamlin passed Edwards for second, and Busch followed into third position three laps after that, but neither could overtake the leader.

 

"We didn't know it would come down to a track position race," said Busch, who took four tires on his final pit stop, restarted eighth and had to work his way through traffic. "We got out-strategized there at the end."

 

Notes: Todd Braun's No. 32 and No. 38 Toyotas were painted black, with no sponsor decals on the car. The cars were a symbol of mourning for the team owner's mother, Linda Braun, who died Wednesday. . . The race marked the first 1-2-3 Nationwide Series finish for Toyota. . . Stewart led 75 laps and Busch 63, as the Gibbs cars dominated. . . Series points leader Clint Bowyer finished ninth. . . Polesitter Landon Cassill had to start from the rear of the field because of an engine change. He gained 28 positions before a tap from Bobby Hamilton Jr. sent his No. 5 Chevy into the wall and out of the race on Lap 47. He finished 34th.