Terry Cook set to match NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series consecutive start record

FAST FACTS

What: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Race 12 of 25).

Where: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.

When: 3:15 p.m. ET, July 1.

Track layout: 1.5-mile paved speedway.
Race length: 250.5 miles/167 laps.

Posted awards: $602,231

TV: SPEED Channel, 3 p.m. (ET).
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.

2005 winner: Todd Bodine
2005 polesitter: Bill Lester

Top 10 drivers: 1.Todd Bodine 1,758. 2. David Reutimann 1,632. 3. Johnny
Benson 1,628. 4. Ted Musgrave 1,560. 5. Jack Sprague 1,502. 6. Mike Bliss
1,483. 7. Dennis Setzer 1,463. 8. Rick Crawford 1,461. 9. David Starr 1,458.
10. Ron Hornaday Jr. 1,433.

Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday--Practice 9:40 a.m. -- 10:40 a.m.
Rookie Practice 12 noon -- 12:30 p.m. Final Practice 12:30 p.m. -- 1:30 p.m.
Qualifying 5:00 p.m. Trucks impounded after qualifying.

NEWS AND NOTES

Johnny Benson's (No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Toyota) assault on
Victory Lane began when he won June 17 at Michigan International Speedway.

Victory No. 2 came just one start and six days later, giving him two
consecutive victories after 60 winless career starts.

Benson, who celebrates his 43rd birthday on June 27, took the lead from
Budweiser Pole starter Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet)
with 21 laps remaining in Friday's Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 and went on to
become the 11th different winner at The Milwaukee Mile.

"I can't believe it," Benson said. "The first one was pretty hard and
everyone said that the second one would come a little easier. But I didn't
think it would come today."

Benson's performance marks the fifth time a competitor his won his first two
NASCAR Craftsman Truck races in back-to-back starts. The first was Rich
Bickle, who won short track events at Portland (Ore.) Speedway and Monroe
(Wash.) Speedway in May 1997. Kyle Busch (No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports
Chevrolet) was the most recent double winner in 2005 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
and Dover International Speedway.

No driver has won his first three races in back-to-back outings -- something
Benson can accomplish at Kansas Speedway.

Benson also would become the fifth series competitor to win in three
consecutive starts. The last was Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators
Toyota) in the final three races of 2005 at Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix
International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"Kansas is (just) another race on the schedule," said Benson.
"We are going
to approach it just like we have every race this year," said Benson, who
finished 28th in last year's race -- his only series start at Kansas
Speedway. "We are looking forward to Kansas but we are not going to do
anything different there than we've done all year."

***

Terry Cook (No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford) looks
forward to starting his 209th consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race
on Saturday. In doing so, Cook will match the series record held by Rick
Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) that runs from Jan. 19, 1997
through last year's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250.

Ironically, Crawford's streak ended a week later at Kentucky Speedway after a
pre-race accident kept him out of the lineup.

Cook, 38, has started every race since Jan. 19, 1998 at Walt Disney World
Speedway driving for three different owners: Duke Thorson, Bob and Kay
Keselowski and Greg Pollex. During the eight-plus seasons, Cook has won five
times among 24 top-five and 83 top-10 finishes. He's one of seven series
drivers to win more than $3 million.

"I'm getting more and more people calling me 'The Iron Man' of the series but
I remind them that Rick Crawford still holds the record," Cook said.
"There's
no need to jinx me."

ETC. ... Bodine's 20th-place finish at The Milwaukee Mile was his worst since
last Sept. 22 at New Hampshire International Speedway. It ended a 20-race run
of lead lap finishes and cut Bodine's standings lead to 126 points over David
Reutimann (No. 17 Team Tundra Toyota), who logged a series-leading ninth
top-10 performance. Reutimann, meanwhile, was 10th in Saturday's AT&T 250 to
post his third consecutive NASCAR Busch Series top-10 finish. ... Benson
moved up a spot in the standings to third place, four points behind
Reutimann. That's the highest he's ever ranked. ... Jack Sprague's (No. 60
Con-way Freight Toyota) fourth-place Milwaukee finish was his 120th top-five
finish, which extends the series record. ... Although Ted Musgrave (No. 9
Team ASE Toyota) failed to finish among the top five for the first time in
six Milwaukee appearances, the 24th-place effort was enough to push his
career winnings to $4,006,059. He becomes the third driver to win $4 million
or more behind Sprague and Dennis Setzer (No. 85 FlexFuel E85 Chevrolet). ...
Last year's finish in which Bodine edged Kluever by .387 second was the
closest series margin at Kansas Speedway. ...The 2002 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250
saw the fewest lead changes -- 10. The most changes are 14, most recently in
2004. ... This year's race will produce the series' 100th different starter
at Kansas Speedway. Ninety-three drivers have competed for more than $2.3
million.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Cook, Crawford head Kansas statistical table ... Five competitors -- Cook,
Crawford, Musgrave, Setzer and Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menards/Energizer
Chevrolet) -- have competed in all five series races at Kansas Speedway. The
quintet has accounted for 13 top-10 finishes. Cook has completed the most
laps/miles with 821/1,231.5 of a possible 838/1,257. Crawford is the track's
lap leader with 128/192. Setzer is the leading money winner with $100,545.

QUOTEBOOK

"I've always run well at Kansas even though my finishes don't show it. We've
been up in the top 10 in every race at the track but something has always
happened to take us out of contention for the win." -- Jack Sprague, whose
engine failed while leading the 2001 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 with 40 laps
remaining.

"I've never been to Kansas. I've never even seen the track. We've got some
good notes to go off of from last year so I think that will play into our
favor." -- David Ragan, No. 6 Scotts Ford, whose crew chief Mike Beam called
Kluever's second place run a year ago.,

"We were just happy to come out of (Milwaukee) unscathed and stay on the lead
lap. The lesson we learned is you're not going to have a great truck every
week but what defines a team is how they respond." -- Bobby East, No. 21
State Fair Corn Dogs/Edy's Dibs Ford, one of 18 competitors chasing Raybestos
Rookie of the Year honors in 2006.

IN THE LOOP
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