Bobby Hamilton continued his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series domination of Darlington Raceway Friday as he passed defending winner Ted Musgrave on the 132nd of 147 laps to win the Craftsman 200. Hamilton, winner of the race in 2001 and a non-starter last year, used his third career victory to take a five-point championship lead over Travis Kvapil, who finished third. Hamilton, driving the No. 4 Square D Dodge, averaged a Darlington series record 133.645 mph in beating Musgrave's No. 1 Mopar Performance Dodge by a scant .139 second as the latter's Ram failed in a last-ditch challenge off the final turn. 2002 Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year Brendan Gaughan finished third, ahead of Kvapil and Hamilton teammate Chad Chaffin. Dodge's swept four of the first five finishing positions on the 1.366-mile speedway. There were 10 lead changes among seven drivers. Two brief cautions - the second on lap 125 when Andy Houston hit the wall between turns 3 and 4 - accounted for 10 laps running under the yellow. The finish follows.
1. (14) Bobby Hamilton, Dodge, 147, $39,075. 2. (3) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 147, $27,300. 3. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Dodge, 147, $18,450. 4. (1) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 147, $12,525. 5. (7) Chad Chaffin, Dodge, 147, $9,175. 6. (4) Jason Leffler, Dodge, 147, $10,075. 7. (2) Rick Crawford, Ford, 147, $10,175. 8. (8) Terry Cook, Ford, 147, $9,975. 9. (5) David Starr, Chevrolet, 146, $9,825. 10. (26) Robert Pressley, Dodge, 146, $10,175. 11. (13) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 146, $9,600. 12. (15) Bill Lester, Dodge, 144, $9,465. 13. (32) Randy Briggs #, Ford, 143, $9,665. 14. (33) Brian Rose, Dodge, 142, $7,115. 15. (23) Stan Boyd, Chevrolet, 142, $8,765. 16. (27) L.W. Miller, Chevrolet, 139, $7,015. 17. (28) Doug Keller #, Chevrolet, 137, $6,965. 18. (30) Tina Gordon #, Dodge, 135, $6,915. 19. (10) Jon Wood, Ford, 134, overheating, $9,115. 20. (19) Jerry Hill, Dodge, 132, $9,165. 21. (12) Andy Houston, Ford, 121, crash, $8,990. 22. (18) Randy MacDonald, Chevrolet, 117, $8,940. 23. (31) Carl Edwards #, Ford, 95, overheating, $6,590. 24. (24) Morgan Shepherd, Ford, 95, handling, $7,740. 25. (11) Jody Lavender #, Chevrolet, 82, handling, $8,640. 26. (25) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 79, valve spring, $6,290. 27. (29) Geoffrey Bodine, Ford, 55, engine failure, $6,190. 28. (6) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 21, engine failure, $8,340. 29. (20) Phil Bonifield, Chevrolet, 14, vibration, $6,990. 30. (21) Teri MacDonald #, Chevrolet, 9, handling, $6,890. 31. (16) Randy Renfrow, Dodge, 8, handling, $6,865. 32. (17) Bobby Dotter, Chevrolet, 7, steering, $6,840. 33. (34) Joe Varde, Chevrolet, 3, transmission, $5,815. 34. (22) Dana White, Chevrolet, 2, electrical, $6,790.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 133.645 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 30 minutes, 09 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.139 second.
Caution Flags: 2 for 10 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Kvapil 1-11; T. Musgrave 12-35; K. Harvick 36-50; T.
Musgrave 51-52; K. Harvick 53-63; T. Musgrave 64-89; B. Gaughan 90-91; C.
Chaffin 92; J. Leffler 93; T. Musgrave 94-131; B. Hamilton 1
