It's shaping up to be an exciting season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After three races so far in 2001, there is a three-way tie for third in the points race, with those three drivers each only 23 points behind leader Scott Riggs. In that three-way battle are a young Ricky Hendrick, two-time series champion Jack Sprague, and Ted Musgrave, relatively new to the series but a seasoned veteran in other NASCAR divisions. Joe Ruttman is in second, between Riggs and the third-place pack.
After the first couple of races this season, it looked as if perhaps youngsters may lead the series through 2001 with Scott Riggs and Ricky Hendrick leading the way in the championship race, despite the fact that those first to races were claimed by the much older Ruttman and Musgrave. Ruttman won the season opener in Daytona, and Musgrave answered two weeks later in the second installment of the 2001 season. Musgrave followed that up the next weekend with another win at Mesa Marin for two straight.
Those two wins are the first two wins in the truck series for Musgrave. Pretty impressive considering that 2001 is the first season that Musgrave is slated to compete in more than two events and only had three starts total in a truck prior to this season. Who could complain about wins in his fifth and sixth starts?
Ultra Motorsports hopes it has given Musgrave his best opportunity to win races and a be a contender for a NASCAR championship by putting him in its No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge. So far that seems to be the case for a driver who competed full-time in the Winston Cup Series for nine seasons, with his best championship finish being seventh while with Roush Racing in 1995 before being fired by the organization in 1998.
Musgrave seemed to wander around from ride to ride post-Roush. His path included 18 Winston Cup starts in 2000, primarily as a replacement for the late Kenny Irwin at Team SABCO.
Not many other drivers can say they've won a third of the races they've competed in on any level. At least for now, Musgrave can boast that feat.
Like Musgrave, Dodge seems to be getting the job done. Three of the top-five teams right now are driving a Dodge to the top. Leader Riggs and second-place Ruttman are both Dodge men, along with Musgrave.
On the other hand, Mesa Marin seemed to belong to Chevy this past Friday, with the exception of Musgrave, of course. Six of the top 10 finishers navigated the track in a Chevy, including second through fourth-place drivers Jacks Sprague, Brendan Gaughan, and Rick Carelli. The other three Chevrolets in the top-10 finished eighth through 10th and were driven by Hendrick, Billy Bigley, and Randy Tolsma.
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