Shane Hmiel chased down Todd Bodine with two laps remaining to score his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in Saturday night's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hmiel, driving Billy Ballew's Whitaker Farms Chevrolet, was more than three seconds behind Bodine's Toyota when he took second place from Steve Park with 12 laps remaining in the 146-lap, 219-mile race on the 1.5 mile speedway. With fresher tires, however, Hmiel rapidly closed the gap and bumped his way past veteran Bodine in the track's fourth turn to take the victory.
Hmiel, 24, became the 10th and youngest winner on the series in 2004. He won $50,525 at an average speed of 123.865 mph. There were six lead changes among six drivers with Park leading a race-high 60 laps.
Park finished third in a Dodge with Johnny Benson fourth in a Toyota. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader Bobby Hamilton was fifth in another Dodge. Hamilton's unofficial points lead over Dennis Setzer is 39 with six races remaining. Setzer finished seventh.
The results:
1. (21) Shane Hmiel, Chevrolet, 146, $50,525.
2. (9) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 146, $23,650.
3. (18) Steve Park, Dodge, 146, $21,725.
4. (16) Johnny Benson, Toyota, 146, $12,875.
5. (8) Bobby Hamilton, Dodge, 146, $13,775.
6. (1) Mike Skinner, Toyota, 146, $13,125.
7. (2) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 146, $11,825.
8. (26) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 146, $11,100.
9. (27) Terry Cook, Ford, 146, $12,350.
10. (13) David Starr, Chevrolet, 146, $11,900.
11. (20) Rick Crawford, Ford, 146, $10,750.
12. (24) Jon Wood, Ford, 146, $10,615.
13. (12) Brandon Whitt #, Ford, 146, $11,565.
14. (30) Andy Houston, Dodge, 146, $10,515.
15. (28) J.R. Patton, Ford, 146, $8,665.
16. (19) Chad Chaffin, Dodge, 146, $10,315.
17. (3) David Reutimann #, Toyota, 145, $10,215.
18. (25) Tracy Hines #, Chevrolet, 145, $10,115.
19. (29) Scott Lynch, Dodge, 145, $7,765.
20. (7) Brandon Miller, Chevrolet, 145, $10,065.
21. (5) Hank Parker Jr., Toyota, 145, $9,815.
22. (11) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 145, $9,715.
23. (10) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 144, $7,365.
24. (6) Bill Lester, Toyota, 144, $8,265.
25. (31) Eric Jones, Chevrolet, 144, $7,240.
26. (32) Shane Sieg #, Chevrolet, 144, $8,215.
27. (22) Chase Montgomery #, Dodge, 143, $7,190.
28. (17) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 143, $8,165.
29. (35) Ken Weaver #, Chevrolet, 142, $7,140.
30. (36) Rick Bogart, Dodge, 133, $7,115.
31. (23) Robert Huffman #, Toyota, 122, $7,090.
32. (34) Deborah Renshaw, Ford, 120, $7,265.
33. (15) Carl Edwards, Ford, 101, engine failure, $7,040.
34. (33) David Ragan, Ford, 59, engine failure, $7,015.
35. (14) Kelly Sutton #, Chevrolet, 20, accident, $6,990.
36. (4) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet, 5, engine failure, $6,965.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 123.865 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 46 minutes, 5 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.009 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 22 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M. Skinner 1-32; S. Park 33-39; C. Edwards 40-55; M. Crafton 56-63; S. Park 64-116; T. Bodine 117-144; S. Hmiel 145-146.
Top 10 in Points: B. Hamilton - 2,778; D. Setzer - 2,739; C. Edwards -
2,653; T. Musgrave - 2,603; M. Crafton - 2,571; T. Kvapil - 2,514; C.
Chaffin - 2,495; M. Skinner - 2,418; D. Starr - 2,401; S. Park - 2,371.
