* This is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series' 13th season. The Ram Tough
200 is the series' 309th race, 10th at Gateway International Raceway
and 12th in the state of Illinois. Races were held in 2001-02 at the
defunct Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero near Chicago.
* A little Gateway history: Gateway International Raceway, located in
Madison, Ill. across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, became a part
of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in September 1998. Four
series champions have won six of the nine races held on the 1.25-mile,
egg-shaped track. The past two winners, Todd Bodine (2006) and Ted
Musgrave (2005) went on to win the season championship. Jack Sprague, the
2000 winner, also will compete.
* St. Louis native Kenny Wallace will make his first NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series appearance at Gateway International Raceway driving Billy
Ballew's No. 51 Flanders Provisions Co. Chevrolet. Wallace has nine
starts in the series but none since Oct. 26, 1996 at Phoenix International
Raceway. His best finishes are a pair of fourths - most recently at the
old North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway in 1996.
* Kenny Wallace will be the second member of the Wallace clan to
compete in a series race at Gateway. Older brother Mike Wallace, a four-time
winner, had three top 10 finishes - including a fifth in 1999 - in four
Gateway races. Rusty Wallace has a single series start at the old
Nazareth Speedway in 1996. The Wallaces are one of four families from which
three brothers have competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The
others? The Bodines - Brett, Geoffrey and Todd; the Greens - David,
Jeff and Mark; and the Sauters - Jay, Johnny and Tim.
* Interestingly, each of the four families will have a representative
in the Ram Tough 200: Todd Bodine, David Green, Tim Sauter and Kenny
Wallace.
* Mittler Bros. Motorsports, the only St. Louis-area-based NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series team, will compete in its 10th Gateway event with
Idaho driver and NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series past champion
Scott Lynch. Two current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stars - Carl Edwards
and Jamie McMurray - got their NASCAR national series starts in an MB
Motorsports Ford. Only five teams entered in this year's Ram Tough 200
have competed in all nine previous races: MBM, Circle Bar Racing, Roush
Racing, Spears Motorsports and ThorSport Racing.
* In all, six drivers winning seven of Gateway's nine races are
expected to compete in the Ram Tough 200. That's the most of any track on the
2007 schedule. Winners of six previous races were in the field at The
Milwaukee Mile in June.
* Entered Gateway winners are Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, David Starr
(2004), Brendan Gaughan (2003), Terry Cook (2002) and Jack Sprague.
Musgrave is the track's only multiple winner. He captured the 2001 race
during his first full season in the series.
* Gateway International Raceway never has produced a first-time winner.
* Last year's finish was the first one-two sweep by Germain Racing.
Ultra Motorsports swept the top two places in the 2001 Ram Tough 200 with
Ted Musgrave and Scott Riggs. There have been 18 instances in which
teammates finished one-two with Roush Fenway Racing the leader with 11.
The last sweep occurred at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2006
with Bill Davis Racing drivers Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner.
* Seven former champions - Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack
Sprague, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Ted Musgrave and Todd Bodine - are
expected to compete at Gateway International Raceway.
* Mike Skinner is the current championship leader by 92 points over Ron
Hornaday Jr. The margin is the closest in four seasons after 16 races.
There have been eight different winners in the season's first 16
races. Skinner has won four times and Hornaday and Travis Kvapil three times
and Johnny Benson twice. The other winners are Todd Bodine, Erik
Darnell, Dennis Setzer and Jack Sprague.
* Former series champions have won 12 of 16 races in 2007 and rank
first through fourth in the championship standings. Six former champions
appear among the current top eight.
* Here is a snapshot of the top five championship contenders and how
they have fared at Gateway International Raceway: Mike Skinner (4th,
2005); Ron Hornaday Jr. (2nd, 1998); Travis Kvapil (3rd, 2003); Todd Bodine
(1st, 2006); and Rick Crawford (4th, 2 times).
* In The Loop: This might be the week for Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday
Jr. to look in the rearview mirrors. Neither lit up Gateway
International Raceway in 2005-06. Ted Musgrave and Todd Bodine own the top Driver
Ratings of 149.8 and 146.4 (of 150) respectively. Skinner's DR is an
anemic 80.1 with Hornaday even lower with 74.4. Musgrave is No. 1 in
Fastest Laps with 54; Germain Racing partner Bodine is No. 3 with 66.
Skinner has posted just two fastest laps in the past two races; Hornaday
none. Finally, Musgrave's Average Finish is 1.5; Bodine's 4.0. Skinner
comes in at 19.5 and Hornaday at 22.5.
* The Ram Tough 200 has been won from the Bud Pole on two occasions -
both by Ted Musgrave. Only one winner, David Starr from 14th in 2004,
has started outside the top eight.
* Mike Skinner, who leads the series with 40 Bud Poles (and eight in
2007), never has been the fast qualifier at Gateway International
Raceway. It is one of only six currently scheduled tracks where Skinner has
not won a pole.
* Ted Musgrave is the only two-time Gateway Bud Pole winner expected to
compete in this year's race. He has gone 60 races without a victory
since winning at Gateway in April 2005.
* The record for most starts between victories is 120 by Rick Crawford
(April 4, 1997-Feb. 15, 2003). Ken Schrader's streak is longest among
active drivers in terms of races and calendar. His only win was recorded
April 15, 1995 at the old Saugus Speedway near Los Angeles. The race
was the third in series history.
* Here are some other notable non-winning streaks (since last victory,
active drivers): Brendan Gaughan (67), Stacy Compton (54), David Starr
(37), Jon Wood (33) and Terry Cook (29).
* Matt Crafton hopes to end a continuing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
record for most career starts -163 - without a victory. Should he win
the Ram Tough 200 in his 163rd start, Crafton would erase Brian
Reffner's record of 121 appearances before he was able to win at Texas Motor
Speedway in the fall of 2000.
* Youth vs. Experience: Among fulltime drivers, Erik Darnell, 24,
became the series' youngest winner (Kansas Speedway, April 28) since Brandon
Whitt (21) at Memphis Motorsports Park on July 23, 2005. Since then,
there have been only five winners under the age of 40: Darnell, Kyle
Busch (21), Clint Bowyer (27), Terry Cook (38), Travis Kvapil (31) and
David Starr (38).
* Mike Skinner, at age 50 years 0 months when he won July 14 at
Kentucky Speedway, joined Joe Ruttman as the only drivers past 50 to win in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ruttman was age 56 years six months
when he scored his last victory at the old Pikes Peak International
Raceway on May 20, 2001. All of his 13 victories came after Ruttman
celebrated his 50th birthday on Oct. 28, 1994. Skinner is just the sixth driver
age 50 and over to win a NASCAR national series race. Dick Trickle is
the oldest - 56 years eight months when he won the Sept. 5, 1998 NASCAR
Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway.
* Gateway International Raceway's oldest and youngest series winners
are Ted Musgrave, 49 years four months (2005) and Brendan Gaughan, 27
years 8 months (2003).
* A Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate never has won at Gateway
International Raceway. The program's highest finisher is Carl Edwards,
fourth in 2003. Greg Biffle was the first Raybestos candidate to lead a
lap at Gateway in 1998. The last freshman lap leader was David Reutimann
in 2004. Each shares a common distinction: Raybestos Rookie of the Year
in their respective seasons.
* Tim Sauter is the current Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader by six
points over Willie Allen.
* Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates who have not attempted to
compete in eight of the season's first 17 races will lose program
eligibility following this week's event.
* OF NOTE: Tale of two races: Ted Musgrave led 158 of 160 laps in
winning the 2005 Ram Tough 200. The previous year, David Starr led only the
final lap - No. 174 - in NASCAR's last use of multiple
green-white-checker finishes. The race was restarted four times before the checkered
flag finally signaled a conclusion. ... The 2004 race remains the series'
longest in terms of laps extended past the scheduled distance. ...
Three drivers - Terry Cook, Rick Crawford and Dennis Setzer - have
competed in all nine races at Gateway International Raceway. ... The past four
Ram Tough 200s have been decided by 0.94 second or less. Only one of
the first five events recorded a margin of victory of less than 2.034
seconds. ... The 2006 Ram Tough 200 produced a Gateway record 13 cautions
consuming 50 laps. The track's previous highs were nine for 36 in
2004. ... The average speed of last year's race was a track low 84.966 mph.
200 is the series' 309th race, 10th at Gateway International Raceway
and 12th in the state of Illinois. Races were held in 2001-02 at the
defunct Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero near Chicago.
* A little Gateway history: Gateway International Raceway, located in
Madison, Ill. across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, became a part
of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in September 1998. Four
series champions have won six of the nine races held on the 1.25-mile,
egg-shaped track. The past two winners, Todd Bodine (2006) and Ted
Musgrave (2005) went on to win the season championship. Jack Sprague, the
2000 winner, also will compete.
* St. Louis native Kenny Wallace will make his first NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series appearance at Gateway International Raceway driving Billy
Ballew's No. 51 Flanders Provisions Co. Chevrolet. Wallace has nine
starts in the series but none since Oct. 26, 1996 at Phoenix International
Raceway. His best finishes are a pair of fourths - most recently at the
old North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway in 1996.
* Kenny Wallace will be the second member of the Wallace clan to
compete in a series race at Gateway. Older brother Mike Wallace, a four-time
winner, had three top 10 finishes - including a fifth in 1999 - in four
Gateway races. Rusty Wallace has a single series start at the old
Nazareth Speedway in 1996. The Wallaces are one of four families from which
three brothers have competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The
others? The Bodines - Brett, Geoffrey and Todd; the Greens - David,
Jeff and Mark; and the Sauters - Jay, Johnny and Tim.
* Interestingly, each of the four families will have a representative
in the Ram Tough 200: Todd Bodine, David Green, Tim Sauter and Kenny
Wallace.
* Mittler Bros. Motorsports, the only St. Louis-area-based NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series team, will compete in its 10th Gateway event with
Idaho driver and NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series past champion
Scott Lynch. Two current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stars - Carl Edwards
and Jamie McMurray - got their NASCAR national series starts in an MB
Motorsports Ford. Only five teams entered in this year's Ram Tough 200
have competed in all nine previous races: MBM, Circle Bar Racing, Roush
Racing, Spears Motorsports and ThorSport Racing.
* In all, six drivers winning seven of Gateway's nine races are
expected to compete in the Ram Tough 200. That's the most of any track on the
2007 schedule. Winners of six previous races were in the field at The
Milwaukee Mile in June.
* Entered Gateway winners are Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, David Starr
(2004), Brendan Gaughan (2003), Terry Cook (2002) and Jack Sprague.
Musgrave is the track's only multiple winner. He captured the 2001 race
during his first full season in the series.
* Gateway International Raceway never has produced a first-time winner.
* Last year's finish was the first one-two sweep by Germain Racing.
Ultra Motorsports swept the top two places in the 2001 Ram Tough 200 with
Ted Musgrave and Scott Riggs. There have been 18 instances in which
teammates finished one-two with Roush Fenway Racing the leader with 11.
The last sweep occurred at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2006
with Bill Davis Racing drivers Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner.
* Seven former champions - Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack
Sprague, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Ted Musgrave and Todd Bodine - are
expected to compete at Gateway International Raceway.
* Mike Skinner is the current championship leader by 92 points over Ron
Hornaday Jr. The margin is the closest in four seasons after 16 races.
There have been eight different winners in the season's first 16
races. Skinner has won four times and Hornaday and Travis Kvapil three times
and Johnny Benson twice. The other winners are Todd Bodine, Erik
Darnell, Dennis Setzer and Jack Sprague.
* Former series champions have won 12 of 16 races in 2007 and rank
first through fourth in the championship standings. Six former champions
appear among the current top eight.
* Here is a snapshot of the top five championship contenders and how
they have fared at Gateway International Raceway: Mike Skinner (4th,
2005); Ron Hornaday Jr. (2nd, 1998); Travis Kvapil (3rd, 2003); Todd Bodine
(1st, 2006); and Rick Crawford (4th, 2 times).
* In The Loop: This might be the week for Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday
Jr. to look in the rearview mirrors. Neither lit up Gateway
International Raceway in 2005-06. Ted Musgrave and Todd Bodine own the top Driver
Ratings of 149.8 and 146.4 (of 150) respectively. Skinner's DR is an
anemic 80.1 with Hornaday even lower with 74.4. Musgrave is No. 1 in
Fastest Laps with 54; Germain Racing partner Bodine is No. 3 with 66.
Skinner has posted just two fastest laps in the past two races; Hornaday
none. Finally, Musgrave's Average Finish is 1.5; Bodine's 4.0. Skinner
comes in at 19.5 and Hornaday at 22.5.
* The Ram Tough 200 has been won from the Bud Pole on two occasions -
both by Ted Musgrave. Only one winner, David Starr from 14th in 2004,
has started outside the top eight.
* Mike Skinner, who leads the series with 40 Bud Poles (and eight in
2007), never has been the fast qualifier at Gateway International
Raceway. It is one of only six currently scheduled tracks where Skinner has
not won a pole.
* Ted Musgrave is the only two-time Gateway Bud Pole winner expected to
compete in this year's race. He has gone 60 races without a victory
since winning at Gateway in April 2005.
* The record for most starts between victories is 120 by Rick Crawford
(April 4, 1997-Feb. 15, 2003). Ken Schrader's streak is longest among
active drivers in terms of races and calendar. His only win was recorded
April 15, 1995 at the old Saugus Speedway near Los Angeles. The race
was the third in series history.
* Here are some other notable non-winning streaks (since last victory,
active drivers): Brendan Gaughan (67), Stacy Compton (54), David Starr
(37), Jon Wood (33) and Terry Cook (29).
* Matt Crafton hopes to end a continuing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
record for most career starts -163 - without a victory. Should he win
the Ram Tough 200 in his 163rd start, Crafton would erase Brian
Reffner's record of 121 appearances before he was able to win at Texas Motor
Speedway in the fall of 2000.
* Youth vs. Experience: Among fulltime drivers, Erik Darnell, 24,
became the series' youngest winner (Kansas Speedway, April 28) since Brandon
Whitt (21) at Memphis Motorsports Park on July 23, 2005. Since then,
there have been only five winners under the age of 40: Darnell, Kyle
Busch (21), Clint Bowyer (27), Terry Cook (38), Travis Kvapil (31) and
David Starr (38).
* Mike Skinner, at age 50 years 0 months when he won July 14 at
Kentucky Speedway, joined Joe Ruttman as the only drivers past 50 to win in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ruttman was age 56 years six months
when he scored his last victory at the old Pikes Peak International
Raceway on May 20, 2001. All of his 13 victories came after Ruttman
celebrated his 50th birthday on Oct. 28, 1994. Skinner is just the sixth driver
age 50 and over to win a NASCAR national series race. Dick Trickle is
the oldest - 56 years eight months when he won the Sept. 5, 1998 NASCAR
Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway.
* Gateway International Raceway's oldest and youngest series winners
are Ted Musgrave, 49 years four months (2005) and Brendan Gaughan, 27
years 8 months (2003).
* A Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate never has won at Gateway
International Raceway. The program's highest finisher is Carl Edwards,
fourth in 2003. Greg Biffle was the first Raybestos candidate to lead a
lap at Gateway in 1998. The last freshman lap leader was David Reutimann
in 2004. Each shares a common distinction: Raybestos Rookie of the Year
in their respective seasons.
* Tim Sauter is the current Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader by six
points over Willie Allen.
* Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates who have not attempted to
compete in eight of the season's first 17 races will lose program
eligibility following this week's event.
* OF NOTE: Tale of two races: Ted Musgrave led 158 of 160 laps in
winning the 2005 Ram Tough 200. The previous year, David Starr led only the
final lap - No. 174 - in NASCAR's last use of multiple
green-white-checker finishes. The race was restarted four times before the checkered
flag finally signaled a conclusion. ... The 2004 race remains the series'
longest in terms of laps extended past the scheduled distance. ...
Three drivers - Terry Cook, Rick Crawford and Dennis Setzer - have
competed in all nine races at Gateway International Raceway. ... The past four
Ram Tough 200s have been decided by 0.94 second or less. Only one of
the first five events recorded a margin of victory of less than 2.034
seconds. ... The 2006 Ram Tough 200 produced a Gateway record 13 cautions
consuming 50 laps. The track's previous highs were nine for 36 in
2004. ... The average speed of last year's race was a track low 84.966 mph.
