NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Cummins 200 Notes
29 July 1997
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Cummins 200
Pre-Race Notes of Interest
July 28, 1997
TURNING TO INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK
AND THE CUMMINS 200 BY INDIANA DODGE DEALERS (7/31/97)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Skinner's Indianapolis Raceway Park stats provide all you
need to know about the history of the Cummins 200 by Indiana Dodge Dealers;
two wins, two Busch Poles (and successive qualifying records) and 350 of a
possible 350 laps led.
- IRP is the only track on the NCTS schedule without an official lead change.
- Skinner is the only series driver with two top-five finishes at
Indianapolis Raceway Park.
- Add Bliss and Hornaday as drivers with a pair of top-10 finishes at IRP.
- Last year's Cummins 200 by Indiana Dodge Dealers finish was a microcosm of
this year's championship race. Bickle finished fifth, Sprague second, Hornaday
fourth, Mike Bliss third, and Sauter sixth.
- Sauter was the only Cintas Rookie-of-the-Year candidate among last year's
top-10 finishes.
- Chevrolet has dominated competition at Indianapolis Raceway Park,
collecting eight of 10 possible top-10 finishes. Ford (Bliss) and Dodge
(Bickle) have just one apiece.
- Both previous IRP events were won from the Busch Pole but it's been
wide-open in Skinner's wake. The average starting position for a top-10
finisher: 12.3. Conversely, the average finishing position for a top-10
qualified: 15.6. Patience would seem to go a long way on the 0.686-mile oval.
- Rick Carelli gained 19 positions to take third in 1995, the best
positions-gained performance by a top-five finisher at IRP. David Green holds
the opposite -- and dubious -- distinction, giving back 33 spots after
qualifying on the outside front row a year ago. That's also the most positions
lost in a series race. (Yes, a No. 1 starter has finished last: Bickle, 32nd,
at Erie, CO in June 1996).
- Irwin will do triple-duty during Kroger Speed Week activities at IRP --
he's entered in Wednesday's U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown show (along with Team
ASE Racing's Bliss) and Friday's NASCAR Busch Series Kroger 200. Bickle and
Skinner will shuttle back-and-forth between IRP and the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway as they seek berths in the Brickyard 400. Bickle will drive a second
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet at IMS, with sponsorship of KFC Team
Twister -- Skinner's Cummins 200 backer and Irwin's Kroger 200 sponsor.
- Kevin Cywinski, a former NASCAR Winston Racing Series star who currently
leads American Speed Association standings, will drive the DANA Corporation
Dodge at IRP.
- Indianapolis 500 veteran Eliseo Salazar of Chile will attempt to become the
first South American-born driver to compete in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
event. He'll team, at IRP, with Gary St. Amant in a pair of Cristel-Mobil
1-Copec-sponsored Chevrolets owned by Kevin Doran.
- The Indy stop will the first of three events in which Rob Rizzo's Ford will
be sponsored by Baldwin Filters.
- Several series competitors will be participating in a pair of
Indianapolis-area hospital visits with NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series
competitors on Wednesday evening. Hensley and Randy Tolsma (the latter joined
by the Dole Fresh Fruit Co.'s Bobby Banana) will be at the Child Life
Department at Riley Hospital for Children. Crawford, Raines, Rizzo, and
Ruttman are slated to be part of Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary's
children's party at Methodist Hospital.
- Other NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news: Mesa Marin Raceway in
Bakersfield, Calif. has received permission from the city to build up to
40,000 additional seats at the 1/2-mile asphalt oval, which hosts the series
for the fourth time on Oct. 12. Operator Marion Collins, who already has spent
$160,000 on track resurfacing and construction of a tower media center,
expects to have 13,800 permanent seats available for this year's race.
- NASCAR has levied a $2,500 fine against Jay Smith, crew chief of the No. 44
Irvan-Simo Racing Ford, following a post-qualifying inspection at the July 19
Colorado 250 by Snap-On Tools at Erie, CO. The penalties were for violation of
Section 12.4-A, conduct detrimental to racing; and 12.4-Q, use of equipment
that does not conform to NASCAR rules -- use of ice for cooling. Smith also
was placed on probation for the balance of the 1997 season.
STAT OF THE WEEK:
Bickle's DNF in the Lund Look 275K quickly resuscitated a quiet, mid-year
championship chase. He led Sprague by 102 points entering the Topeka round
and held a 201 marker bulge over fourth-place Hornaday. Now, Bickle's
advantage is 26 and 140, respectively.
By NASCAR Public Relations
