Truck: Hornaday wins at Lowe's

Ron Hornaday used new tires late in the Lowe's race and held off Kyle Busch to win a crash-marred Camping World Truck Series race. It was his 40th Truck victory.

Our View: Notable others included Ryan Newman, which we predicted before the start of the race, and Matt Crafton in third.

Truck: Point-leader Skinner takes hard hit

The Camping World Truck Series points' leader Mike Skinner took a vicious hit after he tried to make a questionable pass on Johnny Sauter on lap 35 of the Lowe's race and spun in front of T.J. Bell. Skinner ended up on his lid.

Our View: He'll take a huge hit in the standings, but Skinner keyed the mike and told the crew he was o.k. before exiting the truck.

All-Star Race Lineup

No one is particularly surprised that Jimmie Johnson won the pole for Saturday night's All-Star race. Even with a curveball of a pit stop and three-lap qualification format, the cream rises to the top.

Kurt Busch in second and Matt Kenseth in third were the only drivers to break up the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut at the top of the grid, however, since Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon settled into positions fourth through sixth. All of these drivers had flawless qualification sessions.

The same could not be said about Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton who were penalized for a variety of reasons. Tony Stewart forgot the team was changing four tires and had to back up to complete service and Denny Hamlin broke a transmission, which contributed to their poor starting spots.

All-Star Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Start	Avg. Fin	Attempts
1	Jimmie Johnson	10.71	5.00	7
2	Kurt Busch	7.57	13.43	7
3	Matt Kenseth	8.25	7.00	8
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	13.44	7.56	9
5	Mark Martin	8.38	13.24	21
6	Jeff Gordon	8.71	10.88	17
7	Bobby Labonte	8.81	13.25	16
8	Kasey Kahne	12.00	13.00	6
9	Kevin Harvick	7.75	11.25	8
10	Brad Keselowski
11	Greg Biffle	8.80	15.17	6
12	Ryan Newman	9.00	7.57	7
13	Kyle Busch	4.75	21.50	4
14	Carl Edwards	10.00	12.75	4
15	Tony Stewart	11.40	8.20	10
16	Jeff Burton	12.00	17.29	17
17	Clint Bowyer	16.33	24.67	3
18	Denny Hamlin	10.00	20.67	3

All-Star qualification penalties

The following drivers earned penalties in All-Star qualification: Greg Biffle (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Kyle Busch (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Carl Edwards (15 seconds for three loose lugnuts) and Jeff Burton (20 second for speeding on pit road).

Our View: To win the pole in All-Star qualification, a driver has to have a perfect stop as well as a fast car.

Johnson wins All-Star pole

Jimmie Johnson set the fastest time in All-Star qualification, with a time of 121.42 seconds.

Our View: Johnson continues to own this track. He's the closest thing to a must have for your fantasy All-Star lineup.

Truck: Lowe's lineup

FoxSports.com has posted the starting lineup for the Lowe's Camping World Truck Series race.

Our View: There are some fast Trucks up front, but Ryan Newman and David Gilliland on row 10 cannot be completely ignored.

Showdown qualification canceled

Qualification for the Sprint Showdown has been canceled and the field will be set based on how the drivers drew for time trials.

Our View: This sprint race can be dramatic and now that fast cars will be sprinkled throughout the field, it's going to get even more exciting.

Truck qualification rained out

Craftsman Truck Series qualification has been rained out, so Friday night's event will be set by points.

Our View: That puts Kyle Busch on the pole, and if you didn't think he was a favorite already, his odds just improved. He won this race back-to-back in 2005/2006. Click here for the average finish during the last five years.

Johnson wins All-Star practice

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap in practice for the All-Star race, with a lap of 183.393 mph.

Our View: Is this surprising to anyone out there? Johnson has owned Lowe's Motor Speedway in recent years and the exhibition race has not been an exception.

All-Star Showdown practice speeds

Jayski.com has posted the practice speeds from the All-Star practice, along with average speeds when possible.

Our View: Since NASCAR's TrackPass Leaderboard does not archive, this is a great source for the information.

Allmendinger fastest in Showdown practice

A.J. Allmendinger posted the fastest single lap in All-Star practice with a speed of 182.223 mph.

Our View: In normal conditions, we are also concerned with how quick a car is during longer runs—but this is a sprint to the checkers and the Dinger's fast speed makes him a favorite to advance in the All-Star race on Saturday night.

Shelmerdine wrecks in All-Star practice

Kirk Shelmerdine became the first casualty of All-Star practice when he slapped the wall in the closing minutes.

Our View: A total of 35 cars will try to qualify for the Showdown, so he should be able to make the race and earn at least last place money. That should pay to have the right side of the car repaired.

Reddin resigns from RPM

Tom Reddin has resigned from his post as CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), according to ESPN.com.

Our View: Reddin has taken much of the heat leveled at RPM. A former CEO of Lending Tree, he may have found out how difficult this sport can be to industry outsiders. It is unlikely that Foster Gillet will help this team perform much better in the short term and the organization needs to look for someone who knows racing.

Truck: Lowe's, 5-yr avg. finish

Lowe's is made up of some interesting finishes from part time drivers, which is why A.J. Allmendinger and Carl Edwards sit atop the five-year average finish chart for the Craftsman Truck Series. Why is this important? Because Ryan Newman looks to add his name to this list.

Among drivers entered this weekend, Kyle Busch has the best average finish of 5.25 during the last two years and that is highlighted by back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006.

Matt Crafton might be your best value this week, however. He's never finished outside the top-10 in all six races run on this track.

Five-year Avg. Finish

Driver	Avg Finish	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
A J Allmendinger	2.00		2
Carl Edwards	2.00					2
Michael Waltrip	5.00					5
Kyle Busch	5.25	8	11	1	1
Shane Hmiel	6.00					6
Matt Crafton	6.80	1	7	8	9	9
Terry Cook	8.00	6	16	2	2	14
Mark Martin	8.50		4	13
Dennis Setzer	8.80	7	22	7	7	1
Landon Cassill	9.00	9
T J Bell	9.00		9
Aric Almirola	9.00			9
Ron Hornaday Jr	10.00	23	1	5	11
Ricky Craven	10.00				10
Rick Crawford	11.60	5	10	11	25	7
Chad McCumbee	11.67	2	18	15
Jimmy Spencer Sr	12.00				12
Travis Kvapil	13.00	18	13			8
Ted Musgrave Sr	13.00	22	5	4	3	31
Frank Kimmel	13.00					13
Johnny Benson Jr	13.50	11	27	12	4
Todd Bodine	13.80	12	3	3	31	20
Aaron Fike	14.00		14
Erik Darnell	14.67	4	30	10
Brendan Gaughan	15.00	3	35	14	8
Colin Braun	15.00	15
Tyler Walker	15.00		15
Steve Park	15.00			28	5	12
Andy Lally	16.00	16
Kevin Harvick	16.00		28			4
Boston Reid	16.00			16
Butch Miller	16.00				16
Tim Sauter	17.00		17
Kyle Krisiloff	17.00			17
David Starr	17.60	17	23	26	19	3
Mike Skinner	18.00	10	8	31	26	15
Ken Schrader	18.00	13	12		36	11
Jon Wood	18.00	19				17
Tracy Hines	18.00				18
Erin Crocker	18.00			18
Chase Montgomery	18.50				13	24
Robert Huffman	18.50				21	16
Bobby Hamilton Sr	19.00				28	10
Andy Houston	19.00					19
Mike Bliss	19.50		6	33
David Reutimann	19.67			6	17	36
Blake Bjorkland	20.00		20
Todd Kluever	20.00				20
Kerry Earnhardt	20.00			20
Brandon Whitt	20.50				23	18
Willie Allen	21.00		21
Bobby Hamilton Jr	21.00			21
Bill Lester	21.75		19	41	6	21
Robert Pressley	22.00				22
Joey Miller	22.00			22
Hank Parker Jr	22.00					22
Ken Weaver	23.00					23
Clay Rogers	23.50		33		14
Marc Mitchell	24.00	24
Shane Huffman	24.00		24
Kraig Kinser	24.00		29	19
Brad Keselowski	24.00				24
Bobby East	24.00			24
Kevin Hamlin	25.00		25
Tina Gordon	25.00					25
Kelly Sutton	26.33			27	15	37
Timothy Peters	26.67	25		23	32
Jack Sprague	27.00	14	34	34	27	26
Shelby Howard	27.00	20				34
Geoff Bodine	27.00					27
Stacy Compton	28.00	28
J C Stout	28.00	30	26
Mark McFarland	28.00					28
Brian Sockwell	29.00	29
Charlie Bradberry	29.00					29
Johnny Chapman	29.00			29
Scott Lagasse Jr	29.50	27		32
Sean Murphy	29.50			30	29
Chad Chaffin	29.75	21		38	30	30
John Mickel	31.00	31
Joey Clanton	31.00		31
Jason White	31.50	26	37
Justin Marks	32.00	32
Bryan Silas	32.00		32
Shane Sieg	32.00					32
David Ragan	32.50			25	40
Scott Speed	33.00	33
Tony Stewart	33.00				33
Donny Lia	34.00	34
Shigeaki Hattori	34.00				34
Brian Scott	35.00	35
Regan Smith	35.00				35
Dana White	35.00					35
Carl Long	35.00			35
Justin Hobgood	36.00		36
Marcos Ambrose	36.00			36
Derrike Cope	37.00	36				38
Jimmy Kite	37.00				37
Robert Richardson	37.00			37
Deborah Renshaw	38.00				38
Nick Tucker	38.67	37		40	39
Nicholas Tucker	38.67	37		40	39
J R Patton	39.00			39
Wayne Edwards	39.50	38			41
Mike Harmon	42.00				42

Truck: Hornaday tops Lowe's practice

Ron Hornaday Jr. topped both practice sessions for tonight's Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's. Practice one (in which Hornaday went 178.412 mph) and Practice two (177.696 mph) speeds can be found at RacingOne.com.

Our View: Among Cup regulars, David Gilliland was best with the fourth best time in Practice two. Ryan Newman was seventh best in that same session.

TRG commits to full schedule

The Racer's Group has committed to running the full NASCAR schedule, according to NASCAR.com. David Gilliland will continue to drive the entry.

Our View: Fans will be happy to see someone who wants to be in the show badly enough to finance the effort out of their pocket. Fantasy owners, however, will want to wait until this organization gets a little more funding before committing their resources.

IRL: Now or never for next 11

It's now or never for 11 more drivers who still have to qualify for the Indy 500, according to OpenWheelWorld.net.

Our View: There are still some pretty big names on the outside looking in, including Alex Tagliani, John Andretti and Milka Duno, but fantasy owners should have serious concerns about their ability to find enough speed to earn a roster spot.

F1: Hamilton hopes to turn season around

Lewis Hamilton believes his team can reverse their fortunes, according to an interview at Formula1.com.

Our View: After such a big high last year, he's been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments in 2009, but if you jumped off his bandwagon fast enough, he could be a great value in the second half of the season.

IRL: Servia, Bell best non qualifiers

Oriol Servia and Townsend Bell have been fastest in practice this week among drivers who still need to qualify for the Indy 500 this weekend, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: In the unique Indy 500 qualification procedures, there is plenty of time to practice for both time trials and the race. If they cannot get the car dialed in with so many sessions, there is simply not any speed to be found in the car.