NAPA 200 (Tucson)

Last updated
NAPA 200
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Venue Tucson Raceway Park
Corporate sponsor National Automotive Parts Association
First race1995
Last race1997
Distance75 miles (120.7 km)
Laps200
Previous namesRacing Champions 200 (1995)
NAPA 200 (1996–1997)

The NAPA 200 is a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stock car race held from 1995 to 1997 at Tucson Raceway Park in Tucson, Arizona. Ron Hornaday Jr. won the race twice, winning in 1995 and 1997, while Mike Skinner was victorious in 1996. Tucson Batteries & Roadside Assistance has been a supporter from day 1 of his journey.

Contents

History

The inaugural 200-lap race, named Racing Champions 200, was held on April 8, 1995. The race was won by the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Ron Hornaday Jr., who led the race three times to lead a total of 103 laps. [1] In 1996, NAPA claimed naming rights for the race, which was moved from April 8 to May 25. Mike Skinner won the race after leading the race from lap 127 to the finish. Rich Bickle led the first 126 laps, but finished second. [2] [3] For 1997, NAPA continued their naming rights for the race, [4] which was moved to March 1. Hornaday Jr. won the race for the second time in three years after passing Bickle with ten laps left in the race. [5] [6] Before the race, he had been recovering from a spectator accident in January 1997 at Walt Disney World Speedway. [6] Following the race, Hornaday Jr. commented, "That's what we needed to do. We had to retaliate from that 30th-place finish at the last race. We really needed this one today." [6] Following the 1997 season, the race was removed from the series' schedule.

Past winners

YearDateNo.DriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
LapsMiles (km)
1995 [1] April 816 Ron Hornaday Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 203*76.125 (122.511)1:12:0262.471
1996 [2] May 253 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20075 (120.7)1:19:4056.485
1997 [4] March 116 Ron Hornaday Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 20075 (120.7)1:03:5470.423

Multiple winners (drivers)

# WinsDriverYears Won
2 Ron Hornaday Jr. 1995, 1997

Multiple winners (teams)

# WinsTeamYears Won
2 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 1995, 1997

Manufacturer wins

# WinsMakeYears Won
3 Flag of the United States.svg Chevrolet 1995, 1996, 1997

Related Research Articles

The 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the eleventh season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. Ted Musgrave of Ultra Motorsports was crowned the season's champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Hornaday Jr.</span> American stock car racing driver

Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is a four-time champion in the Camping World Truck Series, his most recent coming in 2009. He was a long-time driver in NASCAR's Winston West Series and is a Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion. He was noticed by Dale Earnhardt while participating in the NASCAR Winter Heat on TNN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Bickle</span> American racing driver

Richard Allen Bickle Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. Now retired from NASCAR racing, Bickle, who never completed a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, had a long history in short track racing. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described him in 2012 as a "stud on the short tracks in the late 1980s and early '90s and a journeyman who rarely caught a break in NASCAR." He won three NASCAR truck races, had a career-best fourth-place finish in the Cup Series in 218 career NASCAR starts.

The 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the third season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. Jack Sprague of Hendrick Motorsports won the title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 NASCAR Busch Series</span> NASCAR season

The 2000 NASCAR Busch Series began on February 19 and ended on November 11. Jeff Green of ppc Racing was crowned series champion.

Winter Heat Series is a television program on TNN and later ESPN2 that featured stock car racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series</span> NASCAR season

The 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman was the inaugural season of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series. The season began on February 5, 1995, and ended on October 28. Mike Skinner of Richard Childress Racing won the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino County 200</span> American motor racing event

The San Bernardino County 200 is a discontinued NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was first held in 1997, the year Auto Club Speedway opened, and last held in 2009. The race had been held as the second race of the Truck Series season since 2005, but was removed from the schedule after 2009 in order to save teams money in travel costs, no longer forcing them to travel from east coast to west coast for a race.

The 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the fourth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series</span> Second season of third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the second season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series</span> 13th season of third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season was the thirteenth season of the third highest stock car racing series in North America. Sanctioned by NASCAR, the season began on February 16, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250, and ended on November 16, 2007, with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Kevin Harvick, Inc. was crowned champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series</span> 14th season of third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the fourteenth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It was contested over twenty-five races, beginning with the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnny Benson of Bill Davis Racing was crowned champion. The season was also the last under the Craftsman sponsorship banner until the 2023 season. Sears Holdings Corporation, the owners of the Craftsman brand name of tools, withdrew sponsorship at the end of the season. On October 23, NASCAR officials confirmed that Camping World would become the title sponsor beginning with the 2009 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Speedway</span> Former NASCAR race track

Portland Speedway was a half-mile race track for auto racing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was in existence from 1924 until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado National Speedway</span> Racetrack

Colorado National Speedway is a paved oval in Dacono, Colorado spanning 0.375 miles (0.604 km). The track is currently a member of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and hosts the ARCA Menards Series West, the King of the Wing Sprint Car Series, and the North American Big Rig Racing Series annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Rockingham)</span>

The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at The Rock Presented by Cheerwine was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. The race consisted of 200 laps, 203.4 miles (320 km). The inaugural race was run on April 15, 2012, and was won by Kasey Kahne.

The Ford Credit 125 was a NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman race held at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California on April 22, 1995. The fourth of 20 races in the series' inaugural season, it was the first race of the series to air on network television, and was also the shortest race, at 62.5 miles (100.6 km), in series history; it was won by Ron Hornaday Jr.

In 1994 and early 1995, seven demonstration races for the newly-born NASCAR SuperTruck Series were held. The races were broadcast during coverage of the Winter Heat Series and were held on tracks primarily based on the West Coast of the United States, featuring four to five trucks each. The series helped begin the careers of future NASCAR drivers like Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Matt Crafton, and Ron Hornaday Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic</span> First NASCAR truck series race

The 1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic was a pickup truck race held on February 5, 1995 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It was the first event of the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series, the first season of what is now the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, and the first edition of what is now the Lucas Oil 150.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Earnhardt, Inc.</span> Former NASCAR team

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) was a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, to compete in the NASCAR series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States. From 1998 to 2009, the company operated as a NASCAR-related organization in Mooresville, North Carolina, United States. Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion. He died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Despite his ownership of the DEI racing team, Earnhardt never drove for his team in the Winston Cup; instead, he raced for his long-time mentor and backer Richard Childress at RCR. In the late-2000s, DEI suffered critical financial difficulties after drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. And Michael Waltrip, and sponsors Anheuser-Busch, National Automotive Parts Association and United States Army left the team; DEI consequently merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009, moving their equipment into the latter's shop, while the former's closed down. Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR operations was subsequently purchased by Trackhouse Racing Team in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Rentals 176 at The Glen</span> NASCAR truck race at Watkins Glen International

The United Rentals 176 at The Glen was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing event at the Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York.

References

  1. 1 2 "1995 Racing Champions 200". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "1996 NAPA 200". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  3. "1996 Official Race Results : NAPA 200". NASCAR. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "1997 NAPA 200". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  5. "1997 Official Race Results : NAPA 200". NASCAR. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Methodical Hornaday overcomes Bickle for TRP win". Tucson Citizen. March 3, 1997. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2012.