WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) -- Brendan Gaughan overcame a mistake on
the next-to-last lap and became the ninth different winner in nine
NASCAR truck series races at The Milwaukee Mile.
Gaughan, whose four-length lead over Jason Leffler hardly could
have been considered comfortable, overdrove the third turn and
nearly lost control of his Dodge.
"This is the toughest track we race on, and you can easily mess
yourself up," Gaughan said.
Leffler, also in a Dodge, cut the margin to a length, but
couldn't close any further as Gaughan recovered to win the GNC Live
Well 200. It was his second victory of the season.
"With one lap to go I got on the bottom," Gaughan explained.
"He couldn't get to us."
Leffler, passed by Gaughan for the lead on the 147th of 200
laps, drove conservatively, believing that he might have a better-handling truck at the end.
"I banked on his truck going away, but it stayed under him
pretty good," Leffler said.
The margin of victory was about 10 lengths. Gaughan, who won
$48,560, averaged a track-record 109.671 mph in a race slowed only
once by caution.
Gaughan, the 2002 Rookie of the Year, also took the lead in the
Craftsman series by a point over Bobby Hamilton and third-place
finisher Rick Crawford. Hamilton, who led by 84 points entering the
season's ninth event, retired with engine failure after 124 laps
and finished 29th.
The victory was the fourth for Gaughan in the series, but first
away from Texas Motor Speedway.
Crawford, driving a Ford, also was among the six drivers who
traded the lead eight times. He was in the lead when the trucks
pitted for the final time on lap 134, but came out third.
Ted Musgrave was fourth in another Dodge, followed by the
Chevrolet of Dennis Setzer.
Travis Kvapil was next, followed by polesitter and defending
race champion Terry Cook.
Hank Parker Jr., Matt Crafton and Jon Wood completed the top 10.
GNC Live Well 200 Results
North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham, N.C.
Pos.
Start
Driver
Make
Laps
Winnings
1.
2
Brendan Gaughan
Dodge
200
$48,560
2.
11
Jason Leffler
Dodge
200
$29,625
3.
6
Rick Crawford
Ford
200
$22,865
4.
8
Ted Musgrave
Dodge
200
$14,125
5.
4
Dennis Setzer
Chevrolet
200
$14,100
6.
12
Travis Kvapil
Chevrolet
200
$11,675
7.
1
Terry Cook
Ford
200
$12,925
8.
9
Hank Parker Jr.
Chevrolet
200
$11,075
9.
13
Matt Crafton
Chevrolet
200
$11,100
10.
5
Jon Wood
Ford
200
$12,250
11.
17
Paul Menard
Chevrolet
198
$9,400
12.
23
Bill Lester
Dodge
198
$10,215
13.
7
Chad Chaffin
Dodge
196
$10,115
14.
24
Randy MacDonald
Chevrolet
196
$10,015
15.
3
Carl Edwards
Ford
196
$11,115
16.
27
Shane Wallace
Ford
196
$7,815
17.
19
Eric Jones
Chevrolet
195
$8,765
18.
30
David Stover
Ford
194
$10,165
19.
25
John Stout
Chevrolet
194
$7,365
20.
31
Randy Briggs
Ford
194
$9,665
21.
10
Ken Schrader
Chevrolet
193
$7,265
22.
36
Steadman Marlin
Ford
192
$7,215
23.
34
Jerry Hill
Dodge
192
$8,165
24.
18
Jody Lavender
Chevrolet
188
$8,140
25.
33
Tina Gordon
Dodge
188
$8,115
26.
22
Trevor Boys
Dodge
176
$8,090
27.
14
Rich Bickle
Dodge
175
$8,065
28.
21
T.J. Bell
Chevrolet
169
$7,040
29.
15
Bobby Hamilton
Dodge
124
$7,015
30.
20
Bobby Dotter
Chevrolet
52
$6,990
31.
29
Roland Isaacs
Chevrolet
24
$6,965
32.
32
Phil Bonifield
Chevrolet
16
$6,940
33.
26
Morgan Shepherd
Ford
13
$6,915
34.
35
Ken Weaver
Chevrolet
11
$6,890
35.
16
Kevin Harvick
Chevrolet
5
$6,865
36.
28
Stan Boyd
Dodge
5
$6,840
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 109.671 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour 49 minutes 25 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.809.
Caution Flags: 1 for 5 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Cook 1-41; D. Setzer 42-70; T. Musgrave 71-83;
J. Leffler 84; B. Gaughan 85-86; J. Leffler 87-111; R. Crawford
112-134; J. Leffler 135-146; B. Gaughan 147-200.
Top 10 in Points: B. Gaughan - 1380; B. Hamilton - 1379; R.
Crawford - 1379; T. Kvapil - 1369; T. Musgrave - 1350; D. Setzer
- 1307; J. Wood - 1246; T. Cook - 1208; J. Leffler - 1206; C.
Edwards - 1112.
