2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 12th season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season set off on February 16, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250, and ended on November 16, 2007 with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ron Hornaday of Kevin Harvick Incorporated was crowned champion.

Top storylines

*Two series drivers, Tyler Walker and Aaron Fike, were suspended by NASCAR indefinitely for violations of the organization's substance abuse program. Fike's suspension came after he and his girlfriend were arrested on possession charges at the parking lot of the Kings Island theme park near Cincinnati, Ohio. Neither driver had been reinstated as of June 9.
*Ted Musgrave, the 2005 champion, was suspended for one race due to an altercation with Kelly Bires during a caution period at the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 at the Milwaukee Mile. In the race Musgrave sat out, Brad Keselowski almost drove the #9 truck to victory until a late-race crash with Travis Kvapil took him out. Keselowski's performance is credited with his discovery by JR Motorsports and eventually signing with that Busch Series team.
*Mike Skinner won three straight races (California, Atlanta and the first at Martinsville) and led in poles as well. Skinner led the standings all season until the race at Gateway International Raceway, when he was overtaken by Ron Hornaday.
*Trip Bruce, crew chief for the #23 team and driver Johnny Benson, was suspended for two races for allowing a driver not licensed by NASCAR to test the truck at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The team and Benson also lost 25 points in the respective standings and Bruce was fined.
*SPEED Channel began a new eight-year contract to continue NCTS telecasts, but two races were moved to FOX. The second of those, the Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park, aired on that network for only 19 laps before rain came and the rest of the event aired on SPEED Channel while Major League Baseball on FOX aired on the main network. However, most of the race was moved to tape delay due to more rain and a conflict with the Busch Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway running simultaneously (NASCAR prohibits more than one national series from being televised at the same time). The other FOX telecast was the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

chedule

Preliminary schedule based on current information available

All races are held in the USA.

Failed to qualify: Wayne Edwards (#95)

an Bernardino County 200

This race was held February 23 at California Speedway. Carl Edwards won the pole in the unsponsored Roush Fenway Racing #50 truck. On one of the 2nd from the final restart #33 Ron Hornaday spun out #21 Mark Martin due to a slow restart, the caution flag was soon waved but not until after #5 Mike Skinner made the pass for the lead. NASCAR didn't issue any penalties to the #33 team and Mark Martin after the spin ended up finishing 23rd On the final restart #5 Mike skinner held off #33 Ron Hornaday to get his first truck series win since last year at Las Vegas.

Top ten results:

Failed to qualify: Bradley Riethmeyer (#49), Brian Sockwell (#54), Shane Sieg (#28), Chris Jones (#87), Tim Cowen (#42)

O'Reilly Auto Parts 250

The O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 was held on April 28 at Kansas Speedway. This race was moved from its traditional July weekend to late April in hopes of cooler temperatures. It was also held in conjunction with the IndyCar Series' event, the Kansas Indy 300. The race was dominated by 2006 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Erik Darnell, who would lead 91 of 166 laps en route to his first career NCTS victory. Darnell's win ended the win streak of Mike Skinner, who started from the pole but had trouble in the pits.

Top ten results:

Failed to qualify: Kelly Sutton (#51)

AAA Insurance 200

The AAA Insurance 200 was held June 1 at the Dover International Speedway. Mike Skinner won his sixth consecutive pole. This race was a historic milestone for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as it was the series’ 300th race. The race featured early attrition, including a six-truck pileup on the first lap involving Cup drivers Clint Bowyer and Ken Schrader, along with truck drivers Brendan Gaughan, Bill Lester, Erik Darnell, and Jack Sprague. From the outset, it appeared as though Kyle Busch would walk away with another victory at Dover. However, Ron Hornaday began to catch up to Busch, who was having handling problems. Hornaday would eventually win by 7 seconds over Stacy Compton.

Top ten results:

Failed to Qualify: #71-Bryan Silas

Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200

The Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 took place June 22 at The Milwaukee Mile. Mike Skinner won the pole. Like most races of the 2007 NCTS season, Mike Skinner dominated the first half of the race, leading 103 laps. However, defending winner Johnny Benson was looking to jumpstart his season. Benson would eventually pass Skinner just past the halfway mark and would not look back, leading 96 laps en route to his first victory of the season.

Top ten results:

Failed to Qualify: none

Power Stroke Diesel 200

The Power Stroke Diesel 200 took place July 27 at the O'Reilly Raceway Park. Mike Skinner won the pole as qualifying was rained out and set by owners points.

Top ten results:

Did not Qualify: #54-Brian Sockwell

Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

The Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 was held September 1 at the Gateway International Raceway. Mike Skinner won the pole. Although Skinner would lead the first 19 laps, his chances of victory would end with a cut right front tire, sending him hard into the wall. Skinner, with his crew, would repair the truck and later return to the race. With Skinner in the garage, the race lead would turn to his championship rival, Ron Hornaday, who dominated the race. However, fellow contender Johnny Benson took advantage of Hornaday's loose truck, passing him with 13 laps to go and holding of the "Restart Master" for his second consecutive win, albeit under caution, as Ryan Matthews crashed on the final lap.

Top ten results:

Mountain Dew 250

The Mountain Dew 250 was held on October 6 at Talladega Superspeedway. Todd Bodine won the pole. Of note, Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve made another strong statement in qualifying 10th for the race. Tight packs of 2, 3, and even 4 wide racing was anticipated, based on the excitement of the inaugural race in 2006. The championship race between Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, Travis Kvapil, and defending champion Todd Bodine continued to tighten. The pivotal point in the race came on lap 73 as Jack Sprague, who is in the midst of a difficult year, cut a tire down while leading. Johnny Benson, who ironically pushed Sprague to the win at Daytona, got into the back of his slowing car, triggering "The Big One". The crash collected contenders Hornaday and Kvapil, although the former was able to rally to a top 10 finish. After the crash, points leader Skinner had problems in the form of a loosened hood pin. The pin eventually broke off and his hood began to flap wildly, prompting NASCAR to black flag him. However, as soon as Skinner was about to pit under green, the truck of Mike Wallace spun, allowing Skinner to remain on the lead lap. With only two laps to go, the racing became tighter than ever, as Rick Crawford and Benson would use the draft to go three wide with Bodine in the tri-oval, but Crawford would come up short by only .014 seconds.

Top ten results:

ilverado 350K

The Silverado 350K was held November 2 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole. Although the early part of the race would be dominated by Ted Musgrave, the overall race would primarily be dominated by championship contenders Skinner and Ron Hornaday, with Skinner leading the most laps at 40. This race also saw the championship hopes of Travis Kvapil and Todd Bodine end. As with most Friday night truck races under the lights, the final few laps created a fast and crazy finish. On a restart with 8 to go, Skinner would challenge the Hornaday for the lead on the outside heading onto the backstretch. However, Chad McCumbee made a bold move on both championship contenders, making it three wide heading into turn 3. As McCumbee took the lead, Hornaday sailed up the racetrack and into Skinner, causing a pileup involving Musgrave, Matt Crafton, and Erik Darnell. After the red flag was lifted, McCumbee spun his tires on the green-white-checkered restart. With two-time Texas winner Jack Sprague right behind him, McCumbee attempted to block Sprague, who subsequently hooked his quarter panel, sending them both into the wall. McCumbee would take 13th place while Sprague got 6th. Avoiding the carnage, Musgrave would take the checkered flag for the first time in 66 races. After the first wreck, polesitter Skinner would amazingly rally to finish third and extend his points lead.

Top Ten Results:

Failed to Qualify: #63-Scott Lynch, #86-Kevin Lepage, #31-Tim Schendel, #7-Jason White, #71-Bryan Silas

Rookies

As noted above, the two main contenders for ROTY, Aaron Fike and Tyler Walker, were both suspended by NASCAR for violating its drug abuse policy. The two main contenders for the title would then be ex-Busch Series driver Tim Sauter and sprint car driver Willie Allen. The fight would come down to the final race, where Allen would prevail by nine points over Sauter. Although Joey Clanton was in contention for the rookie title, he was running only a partial season in the #09. Other contenders, such as Jason White, Ryan Mathews, and Blake Bjorklund also ran partial seasons.

ee also

*2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
*2007 NASCAR Busch Series