DOVER, Del. — Making the most of his sixth start in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series — and capitalizing on transmission troubles that temporarily sidelined Kyle Busch’s dominant Toyota — former Formula One driver Scott Speed ran away from the field to win the AAA Insurance 200 Friday at Dover Int’l Speedway.
Speed, whose previous best finish was eighth at Kansas Speedway, is the third-straight first-time winner in the series, following Matt Crafton (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) and Donny Lia (Mansfield, Ohio) to victory lane.
Jack Sprague held off Chevrolet teammate Ron Hornaday, Jr. for second, as Sprague crossed the finish line 3.379 seconds behind Speed. Travis Kvapil finished fourth and Crafton was fifth.
“Today we had a good strategy and an awesome truck, and we got everything we could out of it,” Speed said of his No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. “The learning curve I’ve had has been amazing. Every time I go out on the track, I feel I come away with a lot of knowledge.
“I’m just having an awesome time trying to learn this sport.”
With a two-tire stop on lap 133, Speed improved his track position dramatically, restarting third behind Todd Bodine and Shane Sieg on lap 136. After picking off Sieg, Speed passed Bodine for the lead on lap 150 and opened a lead of more than 3.5 seconds over Hornaday.
Speed’s lead disappeared, however, when Bodine’s No. 30 Toyota blew a right-front tire and slapped the turn-three wall on lap 170.
But Speed said his truck was quicker on two fresh tires, and after taking the green flag for a restart on lap 179, he stretched his advantage to nearly four seconds over Sprague before backing off on the final circuit.
“It was time to get a little aggressive,” Speed said.
Busch led the first 96 laps of the race, until heavy smoke from his No. 51 Toyota forced him to the garage. Busch lost 19 laps as his crew changed the transmission, a turn of events that opened a window of opportunity for the truck series regulars. He finished 17 laps down in 27th place after making up two laps.
Hornaday and Sprague had nothing for Speed at the end of the race.
Sprague thought he had a chance to win, but the performance of his No. 2 Chevy fell off after the restart with 22 laps to go.
“I could barely outrun (Hornaday) with a sour motor,” Sprague said. “After the green (on lap 179), I got tight again. Damn it! I want to win.”
Hornaday also felt he could catch Speed until his engine lost power late in the race.
“I don’t know if we broke a header, but we lost a little bit of power,” Hornaday said. “I had to pull down and let Jack go.”
A flashy dresser and a bit of an eccentric (he just had the tips of his toenails painted blue), Speed found a quick way to gain acceptance among the series veterans.
“He’s a winner in the Craftsman Truck Series now, so he’ll fit right in,” Hornaday said.
One victory, however, won’t be enough to satisfy Speed, who was informed in victory lane that there has never been a repeat winner in the truck series at Dover.
“I haven’t been back,” Speed said.
Rick Crawford took over the point lead, with Crafton 20 points down in second.