Twist of fate;Todd Bodine spins early but wins Lucas Oil 200
It wasn’t exactly Danny Sullivan and the spin and win, but Todd Bodine will accept it just the same. He was named the winner of today’s Truck Series Lucas Oil 200, when the race was called after 147 laps at Dover International Speedway.
The win is Bodine’s first in a Truck since 2010 and first-ever at Dover.
It was a reversal of fortune for Bodine, who brought out the first caution with a spin on lap 69. Bodine kept fighting, and when the first rain delay ended on lap 121, Bodine was amongst those who stayed on the track while Kevin Harvick and the rest of the leaders came down pit road.
Bodine passed Miguel Paludo for the lead on lap 127 and held on to the top spot through three restarts before the race was called with 53 laps remaining.
Today’s race, when green, was a good one. Kevin Harvick had the dominant truck, leading 75 of the first 100 laps but was cycled out of the lead when the rain first moved in. Harvick didn’t have the same truck in traffic and parity took over with Bodine, Nelson Piquet Jr., Justin Lofton and James Buescher all fighting for the lead.
The three restarts with Bodine holding off Parker Kligerman for the lead was some of the best racing of the season. Bodine chose the inside, and arguably slower line on the restart, in an attempt to ward off Harvick who was restarting third. But Bodine dismissed Kligerman each time and was in the lead when the final thunderstorm came on lap 145.
"You don't like to win them this way, but I've lost them this way and we're going to take this one to the house," said Bodine, who has three Nationwide Series wins at Dover. "We didn't have the best truck, Kevin had the best truck, but racing isn't always about having the best truck. It turned out to be about strategy."
Sorry for the late recap. I wasn’t near a TV for the live broadcast of today’s race. The race started at 5 p.m. EST, prompting Speed to do a near-immediate replay. I was able to catch the second broadcast and got a post up as soon as the replay ended.
I’m curious to know how many of you saw the race live as opposed to getting home late and catching the replay. Credit has to go to Speed who decided not to run a bottom line news bar beneath the telecast or airing a Speed Center studio report during the race.
Many fans, including myself, were able to stay on SPEED, and watched the duration of the race without spoilers. If you caught the race late, were you able to remain unspoiled?
You can find the complete running order below. See you tomorrow in the Nationwide Series race thread!
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Number 6
Unofficial Race Results for the 13Th Annual Lucas Oil 200 - Friday, June 1, 2012
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 147 Laps - 147 Miles - Purse: $582,917
Unofficial Race Results for the 13Th Annual Lucas Oil 200 - Friday, June 1, 2012
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 147 Laps - 147 Miles - Purse: $582,917
| Fin | Str | Trk | Driver | Team | Laps | Pts | Bns | Driver Rating | Winnings | Status | Tms | Laps |
| 1 | 13 | 11 | Todd Bodine | Red Horse Racing Toyota | 147 | 47 | 4 | 100.4 | $41,000 | Running | 2 | 20 |
| 2 | 11 | 29 | Parker Kligerman | Cooper Standard RAM | 147 | 43 | 1 | 90.6 | $28,190 | Running | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | Kevin Harvick(i) | Tide Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | 143.7 | $23,835 | Running | 2 | 96 | |
| 4 | 18 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Qualcomm Chevrolet | 147 | 40 | 90.6 | $20,825 | Running | |||
| 5 | 5 | 33 | Cale Gale # | Rheem Chevrolet | 147 | 39 | 80.0 | $18,850 | Running | |||
| 6 | 6 | 3 | Ty Dillon # | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate Chevrolet | 147 | 38 | 101.7 | $15,825 | Running | |||
| 7 | 15 | 31 | James Buescher | Koike Chevrolet | 147 | 37 | 111.2 | $15,325 | Running | |||
| 8 | 10 | 88 | Matt Crafton | IdealDoor / Menards Toyota | 147 | 36 | 85.5 | $14,825 | Running | |||
| 9 | 8 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing Toyota | 147 | 35 | 104.5 | $14,425 | Running | |||
| 10 | 16 | 6 | Justin Lofton | CollegeComplete.com Chevrolet | 147 | 35 | 1 | 119.1 | $15,475 | Running | 1 | 22 |
| 11 | 2 | 22 | Joey Coulter | RCR / darrellgwynnfoundation.org Chevrolet | 147 | 33 | 95.9 | $13,975 | Running | |||
| 12 | 9 | 32 | Miguel Paludo | Duroline Brakes Chevrolet | 147 | 33 | 1 | 93.8 | $13,700 | Running | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | 17 | 18 | Brian Scott(i) | Shore Lodge Toyota | 147 | 0 | 77.4 | $11,350 | Running | |||
| 14 | 24 | 81 | David Starr | Advocare / Zachry Toyota | 147 | 31 | 1 | 69.9 | $13,500 | Running | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | 12 | 08 | Ross Chastain # | FL Watermelon Assoc/Watermelon.org Toyota | 147 | 29 | 76.3 | $14,475 | Running | |||
| 16 | 21 | 09 | John Wes Townley # | Barberitos Toyota | 147 | 28 | 58.0 | $13,300 | Running | |||
| 17 | 25 | 5 | Paulie Harraka # | Wauters Motorsports Ford | 147 | 27 | 57.9 | $13,200 | Running | |||
| 18 | 30 | 75 | Caleb Holman # | Food Country USA Chevrolet | 147 | 26 | 50.5 | $10,850 | Running | |||
| 19 | 7 | 27 | Jeb Burton # | State Water Heaters Chevrolet | 146 | 25 | 63.0 | $13,000 | Running | |||
| 20 | 19 | 98 | Dakoda Armstrong # | EverFi.com Toyota | 145 | 24 | 59.8 | $13,525 | Running | |||
| 21 | 27 | 70 | Jeff Agnew | Team 7 Motorsports Chevrolet | 145 | 23 | 52.0 | $10,550 | Running | |||
| 22 | 23 | 99 | Bryan Silas # | Rockingham Speedway Ford | 145 | 22 | 43.1 | $12,700 | Running | |||
| 23 | 29 | 84 | Chris Fontaine | Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet | 144 | 21 | 43.0 | $10,350 | Running | |||
| 24 | 4 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Hot Honeys / Curb Records Toyota | 143 | 20 | 88.5 | $12,250 | Running | |||
| 25 | 35 | 57 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet | 142 | 19 | 35.6 | $10,300 | Running | |||
| 26 | 33 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Driven2Honor.org RAM | 137 | 18 | 37.1 | $10,050 | Running | |||
| 27 | 3 | 9 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Anderson's Maple Syrup Chevrolet | 136 | 17 | 84.9 | $10,950 | Accident | |||
| 28 | 31 | 61 | Wes Burton | Sam Pearce Racing / PHHUSA.org Ford | 108 | 16 | 44.0 | $9,850 | Accident | |||
| 29 | 22 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 95 | 15 | 60.9 | $9,725 | Accident | |||
| 30 | 14 | 24 | Max Gresham # | Made in USA Brand Chevrolet | 88 | 14 | 48.9 | $9,625 | Accident | |||
| 31 | 28 | 07 | Chris Jones | Wear Your Gear / BOBBER.info Toyota | 17 | 13 | 32.5 | $10,025 | Overheating | |||
| 32 | 32 | 93 | Johnny Chapman | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 14 | 12 | 30.1 | $9,425 | Ignition | |||
| 33 | 20 | 23 | Jason White | GunBroker.com Ford | 11 | 11 | 36.6 | $9,400 | Engine | |||
| 34 | 34 | 74 | Mike Harmon(i) | Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink Chevrolet | 3 | 0 | 31.1 | $9,325 | Ignition | |||
| 35 | 26 | 38 | Dennis Setzer | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 2 | PE | 29.3 | $9,300 | Vibration |
Race Comments: Before an estimated attendance of 28,000, Todd Bodine won the Lucas Oil 200, his 22nd NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Prior to the green flag, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers: K. Harvick(i) 1-29; D. Starr 30-32; J. Lofton 33-54; K. Harvick(i) 55-121; M. Paludo 122-126; T. Bodine 127-139; P. Kligerman 140; T. Bodine 141-147.
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, #2 Mobil 1 Oil Driver of the Race : Todd Bodine, #11
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Jun. 8, 2012 - Texas Motor Speedway
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