SETZER SIZZLES TO MESA MARIN WIN

Source: Racing Community
Date: 03/23/2003

Setzer, whose Chevrolet started 12th in the 36-truck field, led 105 of 255 laps around the .5-mile paved oval to win for the sixth season in succession. That matched Jack Sprague's mark established in 2001.

The winning pass came on the 228th lap, when Setzer used the lapped truck of Travis Kvapil to block the progress of leader Brendan Gaughan's Dodge. Gaughan had led from the 196th lap, when a rain shower briefly put the race under caution for the 12th time.

Gaughan eventually fell to third-place behind Jon Wood's Ford, which trailed the winner by 1.216 seconds - about 10 truck lengths - in the second widest margin of victory in nine series races at the track. A 13th caution on lap 250 extended the scheduled distance by five laps. Setzer, however, was able to pull away on the final restart.

"It was fortunate we had the dominant truck today," said the Newton, N.C. native, who won for the eighth time. "We made 50 more laps in practice than any of the other guys. We knew how far we could go (between pit stops) and knew what our tire limits were."

Setzer averaged 58.854 mph and won $35,950 from awards of $360,276. He was one of nine leaders who traded the advantage 15 times.

Bobby Hamilton, who finished fourth, maintained the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship lead by a 24-point margin over Daytona winner Rick Crawford.

Fifth-place went to pole starter Ted Musgrave, whose Dodge was forced to pit with handling problems early in the race and never regained track position.

Crawford, Jason Leffler, Brandon Miller, David Star and Terry Cook completed the top-10 finishers. Fifteen drivers completed all 255 laps.

There were 13 cautions consuming 84 laps.

           
        1. (12) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 255, $35,950.
        2. (5) Jon Wood, Ford, 255, $20,475.
        3. (7) Brendan Gaughan, Dodge, 255, $15,275.
        4. (2) Bobby Hamilton, Dodge, 255, $9,650.
        5. (1) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 255, $11,550.
        6. (13) Rick Crawford, Ford, 255, $9,025.
        7. (30) Jason Leffler, Dodge, 255, $10,325.
        8. (6) Brandon Miller, Chevrolet, 255, $7,675.
        9. (8) David Starr, Chevrolet, 255, $8,525.
        10. (9) Terry Cook, Ford, 255, $9,875.
        11. (4) Robert Pressley, Dodge, 255, $7,375.
        12. (17) Andy Houston, Ford, 255, $8,240.
        13. (23) Bill Lester, Dodge, 255, $8,190.
        14. (20) Andy Petree, Chevrolet, 255, $5,890.
        15. (3) Carl Edwards #, Ford, 255, $6,040.
        16. (11) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 254, $8,290.
        17. (28) Tina Gordon #, Dodge, 254, $5,740.
        18. (18) T.J. Bell #, Chevrolet, 254, $7,940.
        19. (15) Brandon Whitt, Chevrolet, 253, $5,615.
        20. (27) Chad Chaffin, Dodge, 253, $5,665.
        21. (21) Jason Small, Chevrolet, 253, $7,765.
        22. (36) Nathan Wulff, Ford, 253, $5,480.
        23. (14) Randy MacDonald, Chevrolet, 250, $7,690.
        24. (34) Jerry Hill, Dodge, 250, $7,640.
        25. (16) Bobby Dotter, Chevrolet, 248, crash, $7,565.
        26. (29) Ken Weaver, Chevrolet, 248, $5,265.
        27. (19) Jody Lavender #, Chevrolet, 248, $6,195.
        28. (31) Doug Keller #, Chevrolet, 246, $5,090.
        29. (10) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 236, engine failure, $5,990.
        30. (33) Stephen Rhodes #, Dodge, 230, $5,890.
        31. (24) Tim Woods III #, Ford, 211, crash, $4,790.
        32. (26) Gary Higgs, Ford, 199, $4,690.
        33. (35) Dana White, Chevrolet, 136, engine failure, $5,565.
        34. (22) Randy Briggs #, Dodge, 126, handling, $4,540.
        35. (32) Dennis Hannel, Chevrolet, 79, crash, $4,515.
       36. (25) Trevor Boys, Chevrolet, 76, overheating, $4,494.

See Also .:

• Dennis Setzer Driver Card
• Mesa Marin Raceway Track Page

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