From NASCAR Public Relations Office =B7



NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
NOTES AND QUOTES
WEEK OF APRIL 15, 1996

FROM OWEN KEARNS JR ( 4 0 8 ) 4 3 8 - 3 3 9 2

DAYTONA Beach,  Fla.--Mike Skinner was the dominant 
competitor at Phoenix International Raceway in 1995, winning both 
stops on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. As the only driver 
among an entry of more than 40 with two top five finishes, Skinner 
is the obvious favorite to win Sunday's (4 p.m KIT, live TNN and 
TBN Radio)  186-lap/mile Chevrolet Desert Star Classic 300 at PIR.
Skinner won last years series debut on Feb. 5, from the 16th 
starting position --  the deepest in the field any NCTS winner has 
started.  The Susanville, Calif. driver's GM Goodwrench Service 
Chevrolet suffered an electrical problem during time trials.

* Skinner is the top lap leader at PIR, pacing 119 of 204 
laps contested at the one-mile super speedway in 1995. Other 
previous lap leaders among likely Phoenix entrants include Ron 
Hornaday Jr. (26) and Jack Sprague (10). Hornaday and Sprague won 
Busch Poles at PIR last season, with the latter's one-lap record 
being 124.478 mph.

* Despite the defending series champion's strength at 
Phoenix, just 0.44 second comprised the total margin of victory 
for last season's two events there. Skinner's 0.09-second triumph 
over Terry Labonte stood as the closest series finish until mid-
July and remains fourth tightest in 21 races. His 0.35-second 
''cushion'' over Ernie Irvan merely is one of 14, one-second-or-
less decisional

* Sprague, who finished runner up to Dave Rezendes in the 
March 17 NCTS opener at Homestead,  Fla.,  recorded two sixth-
place efforts at PIR last season. Sprague drove for the now-
disbanded Bruce Griffin Chevrolet team in February, then returned 
in the Gordon-Hendrick Motorsports Quaker State/Slick 50 Chevrolet 
in the fall.
Four competitors boasted top-10 finishes in both Phoenix 
stops last year: Skinner,  Sprague, Joe Ruttman (8th  twice)  and 
Hornaday (9th/5th). Butch Miller (7th/February) and Bill Sedgwick 
(10th/October) complete 1995's top-10 finishers likely to make an 
appearance in Sunday's $261,875 event.
Of interest, the February race found 19 of 33 starters 
completing all 80 laps. That remains a NCTS high.

* Rezendes was a 14th place finisher in October's PIR 
edition. The Homestead winner was Geoff Bodine's crew chief during 
1995's Skoal Bandit Racing Copper World Classic. The QVC Ford team 
figures to be impressive at Phoenix: Bodine finished fifth and 
third in '95; the team's three finishes all were lead-lap efforts.
"I don't believe Homestead was a one-shot deal," says 
Rezendes.

* Ten NCTS competitors who have entered the Chevrolet Desert 
Star Classic 300 boast victories at PIR, led by four-time winners 
Mike Bliss, Rick Carelli and Ruttman. Bliss and Carelli already 
have visited victory circle there in 1996, winning USAC Silver 
Crown and NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour events, respectively, 
during February's Skoal Bandit Racing Copper World Classic. Other 
previous Phoenix International Raceway winners are Walker Evans, 
Skinner and Hornaday (two each), Doug George, Kenny Irwin Jr., 
Butch Miller and Lance Norick.
Carelli has the flashiest overall record in the Valley of the 
Sun, posting 11 top three finishes.  Ironically, his finishing 
average for two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at PIR is 
17.5. Evans' two wins came on dirt, in 1980 and 1981 High Desert 
Racing Association (HDRA) off-road events.

* Dodge, no doubt, holds high expectations in its first,  
full-scale assault on Phoenix International Raceway. Joe Bessey 
finished fourth last February, driving the Mopar Performance Ram 
1500 now guided by Jimmy Henley. That stood as the manufacturer's 
best effort until Dennis Setzer garnered a runner up finish for 
the Grier Lackey-owned team at the Milwaukee Mile.

* QUICK SHIFTS: The Chevrolet Desert Star Classic 300 is the 
first of three stops by the NCTS in Arizona during 1996, a single-
state high. The circuit returns to Tucson Raceway Park on May 25 
and revisits PIR on Oct. 26 ... George, a Cintas rookie contender 
in the Qrtho Lawn & Garden Racing Ford, led all 50 laps in winning 
the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour portion of PIR's 1993 Skoal 
Bandit Racing Copper World Classic  ...  Chandler, Ariz. resident 
T. J.  Clark will sit in the Rosenblum Racing Chevrolet at PIR
Clark's previously driven Ford has been transformed into an 
interactive video game and will be on display at Phoenix's 
Incredible Universe store and, on Sunday, at PIR ... Ronald 
Weiner, president of the National Institute for Automotive  
Service  Excellence  (ASE),  recently  explained  his  group's 
sponsorship of Bliss. ''After all, racing is to (vehicle service) 
technicians what rodeos are to cowboys,'' Weiner noted ... first-
time NCTS entrants for PIR include SCCA Shelby Pro racer Paul 
Dallenbach, younger brother of NASCAR Winston Cup Series veteran 
Wally Dallenbach: NASCAR Winston West Series veterans Rick McCray 
and Ernie Cope, the latter the cousin of former Daytona 500 winner 
Derrike Cope  and USAC'c Irwin ... five divisions of racing pack 
the Phoenix International Raceway weekend. SCCA TransAm and UPS. 
Formula Ford 2000 spotlight Saturday's activities, with Sunday's 
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event backeted by USAC Stoops 
Freightliner Sprint Cars and SCCA World Challenge race  PIR Will 
utilize both one mile super speedway and 1.51-road course... NCTS 
competitors celebrating birthdays prior to the PIR event include 
Ron Barfield Jr.  (April 20, 25), Mike Bliss (April 5, 31), Geoff 
Bodine (April 18, 47), Bob Brevak (March 28, 49), Mike Chase 
(April 17, 41), Joe Gaita (April 2, 38), Mike Hurlbert (April 3, 
37), Bob Strait (April 12, 47).
###


Jack Durbin                                   indy500@freenet.tlh.fl.us
Motorsport News International                      jackd@motorsport.com
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