CLERMONT, Ind. — Timothy Peters hopes he didn’t make history.
He passed James Buescher on lap 194, then pulled away to win the AAA Insurance 200 NASCAR Truck Series race Friday night in what could be the last trucks race at Lucas Oil Raceway. NASCAR has said it will not hold a trucks race here next season after 30 years at the track.
“I hope that they bring the trucks back here, and I hope that I’m not the last winner here,” Peters said. “But if they do take it away, I can sit back home in my La-Z-Boy one day, retired, and say I won the last race there. That’s pretty cool.”
Peters started 16th and wasn’t a factor early. He spun because of a tire problem that forced a caution near the race’s midpoint.
“I went down in the corner and I had good grip, and all of a sudden, I lost it,” he said.
He recovered, pushed into second place during the final 20 laps, then slowly reeled in Buescher before passing him. Peters felt his truck had the speed, but he had to be smart to pull off the win.
“At that point, when the tires are worn down like that, you just want to hustle because you may have a good truck,” he said. “I was trying to be patient, trying to be patient with the throttle, and it paid off.”
Buescher finished second after leading 97 laps.
Force sets track record
SONOMA, Calif. — John Force set an Infineon Raceway track record to lead funny car qualifying at the FRAM/Autolite NHRA Nationals.
Force followed his victory in Morrison last weekend with a 4.06-second run at 311.99 mph in a Ford Mustang to take the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the second race in the NHRA’s Western Swing.
If the time holds through today’s two qualifying sessions, Force will become the all-time No. 1 qualifying leader with 139 in his career.
Tony Schumacher (top fuel), Allen Johnson (pro stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (pro stock motorcycle) were also qualifying leaders.
Edwards mum on contract
INDIANAPOLIS — Carl Edwards is still refusing to discuss his current contract negotiations, even as rival driver Jeff Gordon insists the indecision will become a distraction to Edwards’ championship chances.
Edwards is the Sprint Cup Series points leader heading into Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s in the final year of his contract with Roush Fenway Racing and has declined to publicly discuss his negotiations.
It’s believed that he’s being courted by Joe Gibbs Racing, and Gordon said if Edwards decides to leave Roush at the end of the year, it will ruin any chance he has at winning a championship this season.
