Chevy Silverado 250: Bodine Wins At Daytona

Bodine crosses the line ahead by a truck length

Jamie Squire/Getty Images for NASCAR

Todd Bodine held off Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson during a nine-lap run to the finish to win the Chevy Silverado 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

The 2006 series champion picked up his 13th career win in the 2008 season opener. Busch edged Benson for second place, while David Starr and Rick Crawford completed the top five.

The trucks were running for the first time with 17.75-gallon fuel cells instead of the 22-gallon cells in use last year, but that didn't become an issue until late in the race, when the leaders had to come to the pits for fuel on Lap 85. A caution two laps later involving two of the race's strongest trucks set up Bodine's winning run.

"I tell you, this is my 20th year coming to this speedway — three as a crew member and 17 as a driver," said Bodine, who claimed his first victory at the 2.5-mile speedway. "Seventeen years, and we finally got
there."

Bodine celebrates

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

His winnings of $96,850 were a single-race record in the series eclipsing Jack Sprague's Daytona winnings of $93,375 a year ago.

On Lap 19, contact between the trucks of Kyle Busch and last year's series runner-up, Mike Skinner, ignited an 11-truck pile-up near the exit to Turn 2 that eliminated Skinner and left the Ford of P.J. Jones sliding along the backstretch, engulfed in flames.

Jones escaped unharmed from his burning truck, with his fire suit singed, but the accident left a string of crippled race machines in its wake — those of Skinner, Jones, Brendan Gaughan, Jon Wood, Matt Crafton and Ted Musgrave. Busch escaped major harm and returned to contention as the race developed.

"It was way too early in the race for people to be jumping all over the track like that," Skinner said, referring to the wild racing that preceded the contact.

The race resumed after a stoppage of 17 minutes, 23 seconds to clear the track of debris, but before the field could complete one lap under green, a melee through Turns 3 and 4 damaged the trucks of Roush Fenway Racing teammates Joey Clanton and Colin Braun, as well as those of veterans Mike Bliss and Terry Cook.

Mechanical problems took the measure of defending truck series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who brought his no. 33 Chevrolet to the garage on Lap 44 after losing a rear-end gear.

After holding onto the lead with a two-tire stop on Lap 85, polesitter Erik Darnell felt a vibration in his No. 99 Ford and slowed in Turn 4 on Lap 87, only to be collected by Justin Marks, who was running third. That handed the lead to Bodine for a restart with nine laps remaining.

Note: In the Nationwide Series, the times of five cars were disallowed Friday after post-qualifying inspection revealed a litany of violations designed to improve aerodynamics.

Cars affected are the No. 77 Chevrolet of Cale Gale, the No. 14 Ford of David Gilliland, the No. 64 Chevrolet of David Stremme (who did not complete his qualifying run, the No. 1 Chevrolet of Johnny Sauter and the No. 0 Chevrolet of Kertus Davis.

All of the cars, except that of Davis, will start the race by virtue of being in the top 30 in owner points from last year but must go to the rear for the green flag. The No. 01 Chevy driven by Dwayne Leik will supplant Davis in the field. Before qualifying, the No. 99 Toyota, owned by Michael Waltrip and driven by David Reutimann, failed inspection because of a carburetor violation.

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