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Truckin’ Thursdays: Memorable Series Moments Part II

Once again this weekend, the Camping World Truck Series sits idle while the Nationwide and Cup series head off to Daytona International Speedway for the 4th of July weekend. With little in the way of news other than Kyle Larson’s announcement that he’ll be running Eldora (who didn’t see that one coming?) and Kyle Busch’s slap on the wrist for his truck being too low following Kentucky Speedway last Thursday, it’s a great time to take a look at more memorable moments in series history.

Memorable Series Moments Part I

Norm Benning Races in Eldora Feature

As if there wasn’t enough excitement surrounding the inaugural Truck series visit to Eldora Speedway, Norm Benning, a driver who often pops up as an on-track obstacle had one more shot at making the feature event in the last chance qualifier. With quite a bit of dirt track beating and banging, Benning just narrowly got his No. 57 truck into the field, and what’s even better is that his fellow competitors cheered him the whole way before stepping in to help get his truck ready for the feature. He went on to finish 26th, four laps down, in the feature, but the feel-good story surrounding Benning’s self-funded effort fighting for that spot definitely captured headlines.

Kyle Busch Wrecks Ron Hornaday, Jr. at Texas Motor Speedway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34TP1xIzH3Y

Perhaps one of the most polarizing drivers in NASCAR today is Kyle Busch, and whether you love him or hate him, he’s a driver with a hell of a lot of talent. But with that said, there are times when I wonder what the younger Busch brother is thinking with some of his decisions on track. This incident with Ron Hornaday, Jr. at Texas Motor Speedway in 2011 is just one of those incidents. Apparently upset with a move Hornaday had made, Busch drove straight through Hornaday’s truck after the caution flag flew, wrecking both trucks. As a result of his poor judgment, NASCAR parked Busch for the remainder of the weekend.

Daytona Three-Wide Finish 2003

What NASCAR fan doesn’t want to see every race end in a three-wide battle at the start / finish line? While it’s unrealistic to think that kind of thing will happen in every event, Daytona is the kind of track that’s conducive to a three-wide finish. Rick Crawford came out on top after starting 19th in what would be his only win during the 2003 season. He went on to finish seventh in the series standings. Seven years later, Kyle Busch made a hard charge at Talladega Superspeedway and snagged the win by a slim 0.002 seconds in a three-wide battle with Aric Almirola and Johnny Sauter.

Geoffrey Bodine 2000 Crash in Daytona 250

Unfortunately, not all memorable moments can be positives when it comes to looking at the Truck Series. Take this terrifying wreck that Geoffrey Bodine rode in–and survived with surprisingly minimal injuries–about midway through the 2000 Daytona 250. According to the ESPN story from the incident, a total of 11 trucks were involved, and “the force of the crash tore about 50 feet of wire mesh away from steel support poles, several of which were also snapped off.”

Bodine never ran full time in NASCAR again after the accident, though he did make several starts across the Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series. In 2012, the oldest of three Bodine brothers officially announced his retirement from the sport, citing his desire to spend more time with his family. Away from the track, Geoffrey is co-owner of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Company that was created in 1992. Bodine has worked to create winning bobsleds for Team USA, and according to the company’s website, he found his goal realized in 2002 when the women’s team won the gold and the men won silver and bronze.

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JohnQ

Note: I didn’t read this column and judging by the comments section neither did anyone else. Ready to consider that the weekly Cup Parade and possibly one brand foreign field have finally driven fans away for keeps. Fans don’t trust you to honestly report it or NASCAR to fix it so they’ve left for good. Keep blaming those empty stands on the economy.