Tundras String Together Strong Start In Season-Opener at Daytona

02/17/2006 Daytona Beach, FL
February 17, 2006 - Daytona Beach, FL - Tundra drivers swept four of the top-five finishing positions in the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race of the 2006 season at Daytona International Speedway. Toyota drivers Todd Bodine (second), Ted Musgrave (third), Mike Skinner (fourth) and Jack Sprague (fifth) crossed the finish line behind race-winner Mark Martin.

All four Toyota drivers were set to challenge Martin for the win, but a late race caution flag (laps 98-100) forced the race to be extended two laps. Then, an accident on the final lap yielded a finish under caution -- which left all the Toyota drivers unable to challenge Martin.

Bodine, driver of the No. 30 iRacing.com Tundra, was seeking his fourth straight NCTS win – after closing last year with three consecutive victories at Phoenix, Texas and Miami. His Germain Racing teammate Ted Musgrave, who was making his debut in the No. 9 Team ASE Tundra, ended up one spot behind Bodine in the final results.

"To finish second and third -- we can't really complain about that, even though we wanted to win," said Bodine, after the race. "It was great for me to have my teammate Teddy (Musgrave) behind me because I knew I could count on him during a charge at the end. Unfortunately, we didn't get that chance. But, this is a great way to start the year and I think we're on our way to continuing what we did last season."

"I thought Mark (Martin) was overheating at the end of the race, but it was just the sweat coming out from his helmet because he saw two Toyotas teaming up behind him," said Musgrave, following the race. "We had a plan already made before that last caution. Both Germain Racing Tundras were really strong and I thought we were going to get it. I'll tell you what - this is the first time out for this truck, and my Tundra was just awesome."

Along with picking up four of the top-five finishing positions, Tundra drivers also finished ninth (David Reutimann), 14th (David Starr), 15th (Johnny Benson), 33rd (Joey Miller) and 35th (Bill Lester).

In qualifying at Daytona, Toyota Tundras grabbed seven of the top-10 positions on the starting grid. Bill Lester started on the outside of row one and was joined by Mike Skinner (fifth), David Starr (sixth), Jack Sprague (seventh), Todd Bodine (eighth), Joey Miller (ninth) and Johnny Benson (10th) among the top-10.

 

 

Can't wait until Bubba shows upat the dealership, with a sixpack and his Ford F-150 wanting to trade it in for a Tundra ..