NASCAR 2

RACING SERIES

Your company logo could be here call 317-443-2385 for details

PRESENTS

NATIONWIDE & CAMPING WORLD SERIES

RACING & TESTING

Harvick Wins His Third Straight Trucks Start

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. — Brand new truck. Same old result.

Driving a No. 2 Chevrolet that saw its first action this weekend at Atlanta, Kevin Harvick dominated Saturday's E-Z-Go 200 to win for the third time in his last three starts in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.

In a race that saw several championship contenders fall by the wayside, Harvick crossed the stripe 1.308 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch at the end of a 14-lap green-flag dash to the finish. Aric Almirola came home third, followed by Steve Wallace, the 25th driver to register a top-five in his first race in the series.

Todd Bodine survived a spin to finish fifth. Ricky Carmichael, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter, Rick Crawford and rookie Austin Dillon completed the top 10.

Harvick said his occasional appearances in the truck series are designed to "protect his turf" and keep Busch out of victory lane as often as possible. To that end, Kevin Harvick Inc. builds new trucks for its owner and teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. to drive. Used trucks are sold to other teams.

"We probably have a third of the field out on the racetrack," Harvick said. "That's how we make truck racing work. We have a lot of customers that we hang bodies for and give a lot of technical support for, and that's what keeps our team going.

"If they want this one (Saturday's winning truck), they can come have this one, too."

Busch recorded the best finish for his fledgling Kyle Busch Motorsports team, which was formed during the offseason.

"We weren't quite as fast as we would have liked to have been, but we're not sure if that came from our damage early in the race on Lap 1 or not," Busch said. "We still had a real decent effort, and I'm real proud of the way the KBM team ran today, with myself and the way (teammate) Tayler (Malsam) came up through there."

Malsam ran well in the second half of the race, but an off-sequence pit stop dropped him to 13th at the finish.

Four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who won the pole for Saturday's race, took another body blow against the defense of his 2009 title when a blown left rear tire shot his No. 33 Chevrolet backwards into the Turn 4 wall. Hornaday, who opened the season with a 27th-place finish at Daytona last month, was credited with a 34th place result at Atlanta.

Hornaday's troubles started, however, at the start of the race, when Matt Crafton took Hornaday and Busch three-wide moments after the green flag. The right front of Busch's Toyota rubbed the left rear of Hornaday's Chevy, damaging both vehicles.

Harvick inspected a tire rub on the No. 33 and told Hornaday he thought the tire would last. Harvick was wrong, and Hornaday slammed the wall when the tire blew, injuring his truck beyond repair.

"Hate to see it, but we had a good truck, and we'll come back," Hornaday said after leaving the infield care center. "Kyle and I spun our tires a little (at the start) and that's what got (Crafton) the run."

Crafton, who finished second to Hornaday in the series standings last year, had his own succession of problems. On Lap 60, Crafton slipped in Turn 2 and collected the Toyota of Bodine, who remained on the lead lap despite the accident.

A cut tire on Lap 69 sent Crafton hard into the Turn 2 wall for the second time and ended his race. He finished 27th and dropped from fifth to eighth in the series standings.

Notes: The win gave Harvick victories at Atlanta in all three of NASCAR's top touring series—trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup. He also has accomplished the feat at Phoenix, where he won the truck race last November to start his current streak of three wins in three straight starts. … Busch posted his sixth top 10 in six races at Atlanta. … Bodine took the series lead from Peters, who trails by four points through two races.

QUALIFICATIONS

Time Trial Results

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 06, 2010 @ 10:58 AM Eastern

Track Qualifying Record: Rick Crawford 03/18/05

Driver Date Time Speed

E-Z-GO 200

30.339 182.735

1 * 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Longhorn Chevrolet 31.195 177.721 0.000 0.000

2 * 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Tundra Toyota 31.268 177.306 0.073 0.073

3 88 Matt Crafton Australian Gold/Menards Chevrolet 31.317 177.028 0.122 0.049

4 2 Kevin Harvick E-Z-GO Chevrolet 31.348 176.853 0.153 0.031

5 3 Austin Dillon # Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 31.474 176.145 0.279 0.126

6 15 Steve Wallace Red Top Collector Car Auction Toyota 31.495 176.028 0.300 0.021

7 51 Aric Almirola Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota 31.532 175.821 0.337 0.037

8 * 95 Geoff Bodine Bo-Dyn Bobsled Dodge 31.557 175.682 0.362 0.025

9 13 Johnny Sauter etc./Curb Records Chevrolet 31.562 175.654 0.367 0.005

10 30 Todd Bodine The Night Train Toyota 31.578 175.565 0.383 0.016

11 56 Tayler Malsam Toyota Tundra/one eighty Toyota 31.585 175.526 0.390 0.007

12 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet 31.598 175.454 0.403 0.013

13 * 84 Chris Fontaine Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet 31.619 175.338 0.424 0.021

14 23 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 31.633 175.260 0.438 0.014

15 81 David Starr Zachry Toyota 31.656 175.133 0.461 0.023

16 07 Donny Lia Hilton Garden Inn Chevrolet 31.677 175.017 0.482 0.021

17 5 Mike Skinner International Trucks/Monaco RV Toyota 31.683 174.983 0.488 0.006

18 60 Stacy Compton SafeAuto Insurance/Wyler.com Toyota 31.700 174.890 0.505 0.017

19 * 46 Dennis Setzer Dixie Home Crafters Dodge 31.730 174.724 0.535 0.030

20 * 93 Shane Sieg S & W Services Chevrolet 31.813 174.268 0.618 0.083

21 * 90 Brad Sweet Great Clips Toyota 31.894 173.826 0.699 0.081

22 7 Justin Lofton # visitpit.com Toyota 31.937 173.592 0.742 0.043

23 * 85 Brent Raymer Ford Drive One Ford 31.946 173.543 0.751 0.009

24 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Ford 31.960 173.467 0.765 0.014

25 * 12 Mario Gosselin TireMonkey.com James Carter Attorney Chevrolet 31.997 173.266 0.802 0.037

26 * 49 Chad McCumbee 75000000.com Chevrolet 32.005 173.223 0.810 0.008

27 * 76 Ryan Hackett Kentucky Steel Buildings Ford 32.012 173.185 0.817 0.007

28 * 39 Ryan Sieg Waste Pro Chevrolet 32.069 172.877 0.874 0.057

29 * 89 Mike Harmon Marriott/Shula's 347 Ford 32.105 172.683 0.910 0.036

30 17 Timothy Peters K&N Toyota 32.114 172.635 0.919 0.009

31 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb # JJC Racing Ford 32.224 172.046 1.029 0.110

32 * 6 Donnie Neuenberger EZ-Slider Cylinder Liners Chevrolet 32.349 171.381 1.154 0.125

33 47 Brett Butler # Fuel Doctor Chevrolet 32.479 170.695 1.284 0.130

34 21 Butch Miller ASI Limited Dodge 32.584 170.145 1.389 0.105

35 * 01 Carl Long Koma Unwind Chillaxation Drink Chevrolet 32.748 169.293 1.553 0.164

36 * 87 Chris Jones D.W. Campbell Tire Inc. Chevrolet 32.749 169.288 1.554 0.001

37 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 33.116 167.412 1.921 0.367 OP

38 48 Tim Bainey Jr. DelGrosso Chevrolet 33.389 166.043 2.194 0.273 OP

Pos Trk Driver Team Time Speed -Fastest -Next

*Required

RACING REPORTS

NASCAR Race Number 2

Unofficial Race Results for the E-Z-Go 200 - Saturday, March 6, 2010

Atlanta Motor Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 130 Laps - 200.2 Miles - Purse: $505,804

Leader

1 4 2 Kevin Harvick E-Z-GO Chevrolet 130 195 10 149.8 $42,565 Running 2 100

2 2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Tundra Toyota 130 175 5 121.6 $32,055 Running 3 15

3 7 51 Aric Almirola Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota 130 165 107.6 $27,500 Running

4 6 15 Steve Wallace Red Top Collector Car Auction Toyota 130 165 5 111.6 $14,065 Running 1 3

5 10 30 Todd Bodine The Night Train Toyota 130 160 5 107.9 $14,590 Running 1 1

6 12 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet 130 150 93.9 $12,640 Running

7 30 17 Timothy Peters K&N Toyota 130 146 96.0 $13,120 Running

8 9 13 Johnny Sauter etc./Curb Records Chevrolet 130 142 95.4 $14,020 Running

9 24 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Ford 130 138 83.7 $11,890 Running

10 5 3 Austin Dillon # Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 130 134 78.9 $13,740 Running

11 14 23 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 130 130 84.5 $11,365 Running

12 21 90 Brad Sweet Great Clips Toyota 130 127 69.1 $8,915 Running

13 11 56 Tayler Malsam Toyota Tundra/one eighty Toyota 130 124 77.4 $11,065 Running

14 17 5 Mike Skinner International Trucks/Monaco RV Toyota 130 121 89.5 $10,965 Running

15 15 81 David Starr Zachry Toyota 130 118 71.9 $11,915 Running

16 16 07 Donny Lia Hilton Garden Inn Chevrolet 129 115 77.1 $10,765 Running

17 13 84 Chris Fontaine Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet 129 112 58.0 $8,460 Running

18 28 39 Ryan Sieg Waste Pro Chevrolet 129 109 53.9 $10,585 Running

19 18 60 Stacy Compton SafeAuto Insurance/Wyler.com Toyota 129 106 61.0 $10,535 Running

20 22 7 Justin Lofton # visitpit.com Toyota 128 103 65.5 $10,985 Running

21 31 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb # JJC Racing Ford 127 100 41.3 $10,435 Running

22 25 12 Mario Gosselin TireMonkey.com James Carter Attorney Chevrolet 127 97 46.2 $10,385 Running

23 32 47 Brett Butler # Fuel Doctor Chevrolet 126 94 40.6 $10,335 Running

24 36 6 Donnie Neuenberger EZ-Slider Cylinder Liners Chevrolet 122 91 34.7 $8,060 Running

25 34 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 113 88 31.0 $9,035 Clutch

26 8 95 Geoff Bodine Bo-Dyn Bobsled Dodge 106 85 62.9 $7,985 Rear Gear

27 3 88 Matt Crafton Australian Gold/Menards Chevrolet 95 87 5 82.5 $9,310 Running 1 10

28 20 93 Shane Sieg S & W Services Chevrolet 75 79 56.4 $7,935 Accident

29 19 46 Dennis Setzer Dixie Home Crafters Dodge 60 76 46.6 $7,910 Handling

30 27 76 Ryan Hackett Kentucky Steel Buildings Ford 42 73 40.6 $8,385 Clutch

31 35 48 Tim Bainey Jr. DelGrosso Chevrolet 36 70 28.0 $7,860 Power

32 33 21 Butch Miller ASI Limited Dodge 35 67 32.8 $7,835 Rear Gear

33 23 85 Brent Raymer Ford Drive One Ford 34 64 45.0 $7,810 Ignition

34 1 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Longhorn Chevrolet 22 66 5 84.9 $10,860 Accident 1 1

35 26 49 Chad McCumbee 75000000.com Chevrolet 13 58 37.3 $7,730 Power

36 29 89 Mike Harmon Marriott/Shula's 347 Ford 9 55 30.5 $7,694 Transmission

Before an estimated crowd of 25,000, Kevin Harvick won the E-Z-GO 200, his seventh NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. To start the race, the

following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 5, 46 (adjustments after impound).

Race Comments:

Failed to Qualify: (2) 01 Carl Long, 87 Chris Jones.

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 39 Mins, 20 Secs. Average Speed: Margin of Victory:

6 for 27 laps: Laps: 24-28 (#33 accident turn 4 [39]); 54-57 (Debris [90]); 62-64 (#30, 88 accident turn 2 [39]); 69-74 (#88 accident turn 2 [95]); 77-81 (#7, 93

accident backstretch [56]); 113-116 (Debris [90]).

Caution Flags:

9 among 6 drivers: R. Hornaday Jr. 0; M. Crafton 1-10; R. Hornaday Jr. 11; K. Busch 12-14; K. Harvick 15-58; T. Bodine 59; K. Busch 60-64; S. Wallace

65-67; K. Busch 68-74; K. Harvick 75-130.

Lead Changes:

(1) T. Bodine 340;(2) T. Peters 336;(3) J. White 295;(4) A. Almirola 292;(5) K. Busch 272;(6) S. Compton 257;(7) D. Setzer 246;(8) M. Crafton 242;(9) T.

Malsam 236;(10) D. Neuenberger 229.

Top 10 Driver Points:

120.926 MPH 1.308 Seconds

Next Race: Mar. 27, 2010 - Martinsville Speedway

Featherlite Most Improved Driver: Johnny Sauter, #13 27 Places Keystone Light Pole Award: Ron Hornaday Jr, #33 177.721 mph

Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Kevin Harvick, #2 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race: Aric Almirola, #51

O’Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award: Timothy Peters, #17 23 places Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Austin Dillon, #3

Sunoco Diamond Performance: Kevin Harvick, #2 WIX Filters Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick, #2 100 Laps

Driver

Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps

NEWS & NOTES

CAMPING WORLD NEWS & NOTES

Almirola, Wallace Keep Wheels Turning At Ballew Motorsports

Atlanta team owner Billy Ballew battled Kevin Harvick Inc. down to

the season’s final race in the battle for the 2009 NASCAR Camping World

Truck Series Truck Owners’ Championship — largely on the strength of

Kyle Busch’s (No. 18 Toyota Tundra Toyota) seven victories.

When Busch left to form his own team, many figured Ballew would

have a difficult time matching that performance.

So far that hasn’t happened.

Drivers Aric Almirola (No. 51 Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota)

and Steve Wallace (No. 15 Red Top Auto Auction Toyota) finished

three-four in Saturday’s E-Z-GO 200. Almirola jumped to fourth in series

points while Ballew stands fifth in the owners’ standings.

Almirola has finished second, third and third in his past six starts for the

team. Wallace became the 25th driver to log a top-five finish in his NASCAR

Camping World Truck Series debut.

“I feel like we’re one of the trucks that everyone knows they’re going to

have to race for the win,” said Almirola. “I wouldn’t say Atlanta was a confidence

booster as much as it justified the confidence I had going into the

season.”

“It was phenomenal what we accomplished in Atlanta,” said Ballew.

“Kyle Busch is a tremendous driver. He’s won everything you can at Atlanta

and we ran toe-to-toe with him all race long.

“I think that shows that we’re as strong or stronger than we’ve ever

been.”

2010 Standings

Fast Facts

Next Race: Kroger 250

The Place: Martinsville Speedway

(.526-mile oval)

The Date: Saturday, March 27

The Time: 2 p.m. ET

Race Distance: 131.5 miles/250 laps

TV: SPEED, 1:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SIRIUS XM.

2009 Polesitter: Rick Crawford

2009 Winner: Kevin Harvick

Schedule:

Friday—Practice, 10-11:20 a.m., 1:10-2

p.m. Qualifying, 4:40 p.m.

Track Contact:

Mike Smith, (276) 956-7232 or

mksmith@martinsvillespeedway.com

Driver Points

1 Todd Bodine 340

2 Timothy Peters 336

3 Jason White 295

4 Aric Almirola 292

5 Kyle Busch 272

6 Stacy Compton 257

7 Dennis Setzer 246

8 Matt Crafton 242

9 Tayler Malsam 236

10 Donnie Neuenberger 229

Todd Bodine (No. 30 Toyota) is off to his best start in a couple of years, finishing fifth in Saturday’s E-Z-GO

200 to become the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader.

“That’s the key to any series, any points race,” said Bodine, backing up a runner-up finish at Daytona.

Bodine, the 2006 champion, last topped the standings after last year’s season-opening race.

There’s joy in the Germain Racing camp but Bodine added that two other former champions — Ron Hornaday

Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) and Mike Skinner (No. 5 International Trucks/Monaco RV Toyota) — have

their backs to the wall after just two races.

Hornaday, involved in an early accident, finished 34th. Skinner also had problems but salvaged a 14th.

Skinner, the 1995 champion, heads to Martinsville Speedway later this month 17th in points. Hornaday, mired in

a huge hole as he bids for a fifth championship, is 28th.

“I’ve come out of Daytona 38th before and it’s a long, hard struggle to get back to the top,” said Bodine.

“Normally, you never get to the top. You get to the top five; that’s about it.”

Timothy Peters (No. 17 K&N Toyota) successfully backed up his Daytona victory. Peters finished seventh to

trail Bodine by just four points. Considering Peters was the winner of Martinsville’s fall race a year ago, his Red

Horse Racing team no longer is flying below the radar as far as the championship is concerned.

One Champion Up, Two Others Down

No Kyle Busch, But Billy Ballew Motorsports Doesn’t Miss A Beat

Bodine New Championship Leader; Skinner, Hornaday Struggling

Austin Dillon Gets First Top 10; Moves To Top Of Freshman Rankings

Aric Almirola’s third-place finish

in Atlanta was his third top five

in the last six races.

Loop: Newcomers Likely To Get Schooled In Martinsville Debut

NCWTS, Etc.

After races on the series’

two fastest tracks —

Daytona International

Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway — the

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns

to its roots for the March 27 Kroger 250 at .526-

mile Martinsville Speedway.

The race is the first of two hosted by the

popular southern Virginia track — one of just

three tracks to have been on the schedule each

year since the series began in 1995.

Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Chevrolet) is the defending

winner of the Kroger 250.

NASCARMedia.com is a virtual newsroom

for media and public relations professionals with

daily content and story ideas to help you cover

the sport at the track and in the office.

As part of the new redesign, we’ve added

n e w f e a t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g :

* Photo search: Check out every image on

the site by driver name, track or both. Example:

C a r l E d w a r d s , M a r t i n s v i l l e .

* Video: Downloadable news conference

clips now available in Quick Time and Flash in

addition to Windows Media files. Plus, get embed

code of race highlights and other video from

NASCAR.com.

* Quick Links: Get links to NASCAR’s social

media pages on Twitter and Facebook plus

media partners, NASCAR Citizen Journalists

Media Corps and track Web sites.

* First Day of Practice Schedule: Find out

when cars/trucks will be on the track for every

national series race this season so you can plan

your coverage.

For information

SCHEDULES

2010 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE
Date         Site
Feb. 12     Daytona International Speedway
March 6    Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 27  Martinsville Speedway
May 2       Kansas Speedway
May 14     Dover International Speedway
May 21     Lowe’s Motor Speedway
June 4      Texas Motor Speedway
June 12     Michigan International Speedway
June 18    Milwaukee Mile
June 26     Memphis Motorsports Park
July 11      Iowa Speedway
July 16      Gateway International Raceway
July 23      O’Reilly Raceway Park
July 31      Pocono Raceway
Aug. 7       Nashville Superspeedway
Aug. 18     Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 27     Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 3     Kentucky Speedway
Sept. 18    New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 25    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct. 23     Martinsville Speedway
Oct. 30     Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 5     Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 12    Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 19    Homestead-Miami Speedway

2010 NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES SCHEDULE
Date      Site
Feb. 13    Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 20    Auto Club Speedway
Feb. 27    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 20  Bristol Motor Speedway
April 3     Nashville Superspeedway
April 9      Phoenix International Raceway
April 17    Texas Motor Speedway
April 24    Talladega Superspeedway
April 30    Richmond International Raceway
May 7      Darlington Raceway
May 15    Dover International Speedway
May 29    Lowe’s Motor Speedway
June 5     Nashville Superspeedway
June 12    Kentucky Speedway
June 19    Milwaukee Mile
June 26    New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 2       Daytona International Speedway
July 9       Chicagoland Speedway
July 17     Gateway International Raceway
July 24     O’Reilly Raceway Park
July 31     Iowa Speedway
Aug. 7     Watkins Glen International
Aug. 14   Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 20   Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 29   Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Sept. 4    Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 10  Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 25  Dover International Speedway
Oct. 2     Kansas Speedway
Oct. 9     Auto Club Speedway
Oct. 15   Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Oct. 23   Memphis Motorsports Park
Nov. 6    Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13   Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20   Homestead-Miami Speedway