Truex Jr. Does a Schumacher Impression at Gateway
Martin Truex Jr. may not be on Schumacher’s 100% winning pace, but his 3rd win in 6 starts labels him as the Busch Series equivalent. The win also propelled Truex into the series points lead over NEXTEL Cup regular Michael Waltrip. He led 123 of 200 laps in finishing 6 seconds in front of Ron Hornaday and Jason Keller, who placed third.
The Boston Herald reported last week Truex Jr. may make his NEXTEL Cup debut in September at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Crew chief Kevin Manion:
?We?ll test up there for sure in a Cup car because it?s a total different series,? said Manion, whose driver is currently third in the Busch Series driver standings and has won two races so far this season.Manion, a product of now defunct Riverside Speedway in Agawam, worked as a mechanic with Tommy Baldwin Jr., on several Cup and Busch teams in the 1990s before landing a job at DEI.
?To work here at DEI means the world to me,? said Manion, who worked in the NASCAR Modified Series with Baldwin before the two made the move down south in the early 1990s. Baldwin is now crew chief for Kasey Kahne in the Nextel Cup Series with Evernham Motorsports.
?Tommy actually worked for me when we first came down here. If you can believe that,? laughed Manion. ?I knew back then that Tommy was more intelligent than I was in terms of his experience as a crew chief and the next season I was working for him. He?s a great guy and we?re the best of friends. He was the best man in my wedding and we talk all the time.?
Charter 250 Results
1 1 #8 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Taco Bell 190/10 200 Running
2 6 #2 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet ACDelco 175/5 200 Running
3 5 #22 Jason Keller Ford Miller High Life 165/0 200 Running
4 9 #25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford U.S. Marine Corps 160/0 200 Running
5 4 #5 Kyle Busch* Chevrolet Lowe’s/Gladiator 160/5 200 Running
6 7 #00 Jason Leffler Chevrolet NetZero HiSpeed 150/0 200 Running
7 3 #60 Greg Biffle Ford Charter Communications 151/5 200 Running
8 15 #332 David Stremme Dodge TrimSpa 142/0 200 Running
9 10 #12 Tim Fedewa Chevrolet Supercuts 138/0 200 Running
10 22 #55 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Fruit of the Loom 134/0 199 Running
11 2 #37 David Green Pontiac Timber Wolf 135/5 199 Running
12 12 #21 Clint Bowyer* Chevrolet Reese’s 127/0 199 Running
13 14 #38 Kasey Kahne Dodge Great Clips 124/0 199 Running
14 20 #99 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Aaron’s 121/0 199 Running
15 25 #46 Ashton Lewis Chevrolet Lewis Motorsports 118/0 199 Running
16 36 #18 J.J. Yeley* Chevrolet Vigoro/The Home Depot 115/0 199 Running
17 11 #20 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Rockwell Automation 112/0 199 Running
18 26 #27 Johnny Sauter Pontiac Kleenex/Dierbergs 109/0 199 Running
19 32 #56 Regan Smith Chevrolet Holiday Inn Express 106/0 199 Running
20 17 #59 Stacy Compton Ford Kingsford/Schnucks/Bubba Burger 103/0 198 Running
21 19 #02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet SCORE Motorsports 100/0 198 Running
22 29 #33 Paul Menard* Chevrolet Menards/Energizer 97/0 197 Running
23 8 #14 Casey Atwood Chevrolet Navy “Accelerate Your Life” 94/0 197 Running
24 43 #50 David Starr Chevrolet Enzyte 91/0 196 Running
25 34 #10 Gus Wasson Chevrolet Race Girl 88/0 193 Running
26 40 #72 Jerry Hill Chevrolet MacDonald Motorsports 85/0 191 Running
27 39 #49 Josh Richeson Chevrolet Advil Liqui-Gels 82/0 190 Running
28 18 #24 Shane Hmiel Chevrolet Quality Plus Services 79/0 160 Out of Race
29 37 #1 Johnny Benson Dodge Yellow Transportation 76/0 132 Out of Race
30 16 #87 David Reutimann Chevrolet Natural Gear 73/0 95 Out of Race
31 38 #77 Shane Hall Ford BG Products 70/0 95 Out of Race
32 35 #51 Stan Boyd* Chevrolet Bicknell Racing Products 67/0 91 Out of Race
33 13 #23 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Stacker 2 69/5 87 Out of Race
34 41 #39 Andy Ponstein Ford Yahoo! 61/0 86 Out of Race
35 33 #128 Mark Green Ford Yahoo! 58/0 70 Out of Race
36 27 #47 Robert Pressley Ford Clorox/Wisk 55/0 60 Out of Race
37 24 #88 Jeff Fuller Chevrolet NEMCO Motorsports 52/0 48 Out of Race
38 42 #16 Justin Ashburn Chevrolet Spectra Metals/31-W Insulation 49/0 48 Out of Race
39 31 #135 Kenny Hendrick Chevrolet Compton Roofing/Boemler 46/0 41 Out of Race
40 30 #136 Travis Geisler* Chevrolet National City Bank 43/0 22 Out of Race
41 21 #4 Mike Wallace Ford SportClips/GEICO 40/0 17 Out of Race
42 23 #91 Stanton Barrett Pontiac AmericInn Lodging Systems 37/0 10 Out of Race
43 28 #66 Billy Parker* Dodge Duraflame 34/0 1 Out of Race
