Ken Schrader knew Mansfield Motorsports Park was his type of race track the moment he laid eyes on it Friday morning. He consistently proved that during the rain drenched weekend. Schrader unloaded as the fastest truck in practice and qualified the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge in the 14th position. Once the race began he didn't stay there long. By lap 79 of the Ohio 250 lap the short track guru cracked the top 10 and never looked back. After two red flags for thunderstorms, 13 caution flags and 250 laps of bumper to bumper action Schrader drove the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge home in third place. It was the team's best finish of the season. The top-five finish moved the team up four spots into 13th place in the NCTS Owner Points.
"This is a team building day," said Schrader after the event. "We have been getting better and better each week. This week it really paid off for us. This was big for this team. They really needed a boost of confidence and I think today we did that. I love driving this truck and I am really looking forward to what is ahead for all of us."
Dennis Setzer won the The Ohio 250 before an estimated crowd of 15,000. Jack Sprague, Schrader, Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson rounded out the top five finishers. The next event for the NCTS will be at Dover International Speedway on June 1, 2007 with Schrader driving the Fastenal Dodge.
Bobby Hamilton Racing (BHR) and Dodge Motorsports are redirecting their focus in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from driver development in the No. 4 Open Joist Dodge. Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Khane will test the Open Joist Dodge later this week at Lowes Motor Speedway. BHR has a 56,000 sq. ft. facility based in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. and fields two entries, the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge and the No. 4 Open Joist Dodge, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In just nine years, the team has earned one series championship, 10 wins, 21 pole positions, 78 top five and 144 top-10 finishes.
When Bobby Hamilton Sr. began the search to fill his own seat of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge three months before his passing he called upon a select number of drivers he knew could get the job done. The announcement was made at the end of last season that Hamilton Sr. tagged Ken Schrader as his replacement. However, Schrader’s Nextel Cup schedule does not permit him to compete full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series leaving the BHR stable to find a co-driver. Referring to Hamilton Sr.’s list of drivers he had previously spoke with and the record books for all time winners in the NCTS, the management team at BHR, along with input from Fastenal and Dodge Motorsports, are proud to announce Joe Ruttman as the co-driver of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge.
Ruttman, who is tied for seventh on the all-time NCTS race winners list, is no stranger to BHR. The Tennessee native piloted the No. 18 Dodge for the late Hamilton Sr.’s organization in 2000 and 2001. Coincidently, he gave the company its first victory at Phoenix International Raceway in 2000, the same venue Hamilton won his first Nextel Cup win in 1996. Ruttman has a total of 13 NCTS victories, including five of which came with BHR, 17 poles, 68 top five’s and 111 top-10 finishes in 168 starts.
“I can’t wait to climb into the Fastenal Dodge,” Ruttman said. “Bobby Hamilton and I had a great friendship. I am not here to fill Bobby Sr.’s seat; I don’t think anyone can do that justice as he did. But to have this opportunity to come back home to work with his organization and Dodge again is a real dream come true. All of the core people who were here the first time I raced with them are still there. I believe in the organization, the structure and the future of BHR. They have proven themselves as champions and one of the most competitive teams in the series in the past and will continue to do so. I have been using Fastenal products for years and look forward to promoting them.”
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