FanHouse ToddBodine

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Todd Bodine became the first driver to win multiple NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Daytona International Speedway Friday night, but a 20-year-old Canadian driver nearly stole the show.

J.R. Fitzpatrick -- a contender for 2009 Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series -- led 17 laps late in the event before finishing fourth in his first ever NASCAR restrictor plate race after making just three starts in 2008.

He might have even led the most important one had the race been scheduled for a few more miles.

One of these days we'll have a story about something growing or getting better in the NASCAR world, but that's not happening today.

Earlier in the week, Mansfield Motorsports Park in middle Ohio canceled its Camping World Truck Series race scheduled for May at short track, and in its place, NASCAR shifted the schedule of the third-tier series to include a race at the nearly-brand-spankin'-new Iowa Speedway in September.

(I suppose if you're an Iowan, your NASCAR life just improved two-fold with the deal thanks to the track landing a Nationwide Series race date over the summer when the 2009 schedules were announced, so that's something positive, I guess?)

Unfortunately for Mansfield, the news got worse on Friday as track owner Mike Dzurilla announced he was closing the speedway for the 2009 season. The half-mile track was the shortest distance on the truck schedule and had become somewhat of a Memorial Day tradition for the truck series to race on Sunday afternoon ahead of the Sprint Cup's Coca-Cola 600.

It wasn't the most well-known track on the schedule nor the largest, but as with any good short tracks, it produced its share of controversy among the always-rowdy truck series drivers. (Want proof? stay tuned for the video.)

I didn't get a chance to watch last weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but I certainly heard about the melee that took place after the race on pit road.

If you missed it, the tiff was a result of David Starr making contact with both Germain Racing Toyotas -- Todd Bodine and David Reutimann -- during the race. Tempers flared when Starr pulled to pit road after the event and both Germain pit crews surrounded his truck.

Bodine's crew chief Mike Hillman Sr. was apparently the ring leader of the whole brouhaha, and pulled Starr from his own truck which, naturally, got Starr -- a Texan -- pretty riled up. Starr started swinging (he appeared to connect on at least three shots) and everyone started scuffling. (Watch the video further down this post!)

In other words, it was an ending to a race that the Truck Series -- that's been somewhat struggling in 2008 due to a variety of reasons -- needed to gain some more exposure.

Unfortunately for the teams involved, it meant NASCAR penalties on Wednesday.

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage.
On Sunday, stop by for the live blog of the 50th Daytona 500 at 3:00pm/ET.

In a race that saw at least 12 of the 36 trucks entered in Friday night's Chevy Silverado 250 wrecked in the first 25 laps, Todd Bodine managed to dodge everything and win his first career race at Daytona International Speedway.

Bodine, driving the No. 30 Germain Racing Toyota, held off Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson for the win.

Busch nearly didn't finish after a big wreck on lap 19 took out several pre-race favorites, including Mike Skinner and Ted Musgrave. Watch below as P.J. Jones, the first driver to ever win a Craftsman Truck Series race in 1996, erupts in a fireball amid the carnage on the backstretch.



Jones was treated and released from the infield care center.

A majority of drivers interviewed blamed Kyle Busch for driving erratically too early in the race and causing the wreck.

What say you?
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With all three of NASCAR's national series running at AMS this weekend, schedules will be busy for drivers across the board. Despite the track time, appearances and other commitments, several drivers will have one eye turned towards the NCAA Tournament – especially Brendan Gaughan.

Gaughan is a former college basketball player himself, spending four years as a backup to Allen Iverson at Georgetown University. During his time at Georgetown, the Hoyas made two Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance.

"I don't know if there is a way to really get people to understand what its like to be there and be part of the phenomenon," Gaughan said. "You're 18, 19 years old. You're a child, and you walk into an arena and there are 30,000 people. You walk in there, you know the national media is there, all of the main announcers are there, the entire sports world is there. And you take the court – its amazing."

Gaughan's former team will take the court Thursday night, one day before he takes the track for the American Commercial Lines 200.

Several NASCAR competitors weighed in on the NCAA Tournament, here are their picks:

Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Resort Chevrolet), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Final Four Picks: Georgetown, Kansas, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Champion: Georgetown
"I was there – I got to play it, I got to live it – so for me, for the rest of my life it will be a big part of every March. Whether I'm racing or not, I'll be watching the games – yelling for the Hoyas and loving the Cinderella stories. And when I'm at home in Las Vegas, you'll find me sitting in front of 10 TVs at a Sports Book at the South Point watching every game."

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four Picks: Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA
"I always let my heart weigh in more than logic and rarely is that a smart move. For my final four, I'll have to go with UCLA, Kansas, Arizona...the Wildcats will have to have miraculous tournament play, but I just have to hang with them since they did get a bid (Kurt attended Arizona for a year prior to deciding to go racing fulltime)... and of course I have to throw the North Carolina Tar Heels in there, too."

Robby Gordon (No. 7 Jim Beam Ford), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four Picks: Florida, Nevada, Texas, UCLA
Champion: UCLA
"For the national championship I'm going to stick to my California roots and take UCLA. The Bruins, like my sponsor Jim Beam, know that the stuff inside matters most and that will take them to the title."

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four: Florida, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Washington State
Champion: Ohio State
"I can't overlook our teams from the Northwest. Washington State will make the Final Four. Florida is the defending NCAA champion; the Gators know tournament pressure. Virginia Tech has been a giant killer at times this year. There's just one giant they can't handle...Ohio State. The Buckeyes win the championship this time, just not against Florida."