1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic Explained

Type:CUST
Description:Race 1 of 20 in the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series season
Race Name:Skoal Bandit Copper Classic
Year:1995
Race No:1
Season No:20
Official Name:18th Annual Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic
Location:Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona
Course Mi:1
Course Km:1.6
Distance Laps:80
Distance Mi:80
Distance Km:128.74
Avg:87.565mph
Pole Driver:Ron Hornaday Jr.
Pole Team:Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Most Driver:Mike Skinner
Most Team:Richard Childress Racing
Most Laps:30
Car:3
First Driver:Mike Skinner
First Team:Richard Childress Racing
Network:TNN
Announcers:Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Ernie Irvan

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 Craftsman Truck Series, and the first edition of what is now the Craftsman 150.

Ron Hornaday Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the pole position, while Mike Skinner of Richard Childress Racing won the race after leading a race-high 30 laps.

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, which opened in 1964, began hosting NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in 1988.[1] The track is 1miles long; the banking in turns 1–2 and the backstretch is 10–11 degrees, while the dogleg and turns 3–4 are 8–9° and the frontstretch is 3°.[2]

The Truck Series was planned in 1991 and officially created in 1994.[3] During the year, seven exhibition races[4] were held and broadcast by TNN under the Winter Heat Series banner.[5] TNN returned to cover the Copper World Classic.[6] Regarding Phoenix being the site of the series' inaugural race, Ron Hornaday stated, "Phoenix fits right into a lot of these drivers' hands because they all came from short tracks."[7]

The race was one of five held for the 18th Annual Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic. Various drivers were attracted to the event, including Cup Series drivers Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine and Terry Labonte,[8] the latter having won the Cup race at Phoenix in 1994. Other drivers included off-road racing champion Roger Mears and former National Football League head coach Jerry Glanville.[9] [10] In the field of 33 drivers that competed in the race,[11] Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Joe Ruttman, Butch Miller, Jack Sprague, Rick Carelli, Bill Sedgwick, Scott Lagasse, Tobey Butler and Sammy Swindell would eventually compete in all twenty races in the 1995 season.[12]

Qualifying

Ron Hornaday won the pole with a lap speed of 123.665mph. Ken Schrader (122.695mph), Terry Labonte (122.324mph), Johnny Benson Jr. (122.266mph) and Joe Bessey (122.22mph) rounded out the top five.[13]

Race

A crowd of 38,000 attended the race.

Ron Hornaday led the first 23 laps of the race. During that timespan, two caution flags were flown: on lap 4, Troy Beebe spun out in turn 2, and on lap 17, Gary Collins spun in turn 4. On lap 24, Terry Labonte look the lead, and after a lap, the third caution occurred when seven trucks (Tobey Butler, John Borneman, Bob Keselowski, Steve McEachern, Bill Sedgwick, Jerry Glanville and T. J. Clark) crashed in turn 4. Labonte led until lap 29, and Hornaday led for three laps. On lap 33, Mike Skinner claimed first, leading for 29 laps; Skinner lost the lead on lap 61, when a yellow flag for debris was flown. Labonte reclaimed the lead during the period. On lap 72, Sedgwick, Keselowski and Bob Strait spun in the dogleg, bringing out another caution. Five laps later, the final yellow of the race was flown when Glanville, Kerry Teague, Scott Lagasse and P. J. Jones crashed in turn 4. When the green flag waved with two laps to go, Skinner retook the lead from Labonte,[9] and held off Labonte's attempted charge to win by .09 seconds.[14] Ken Schrader finished third, followed by Joe Bessey, Geoff Bodine, Jack Sprague, Butch Miller, Joe Ruttman, Hornaday and Johnny Benson. Six drivers did not finish the race: Rick Carelli (engine), Walker Evans (valve), Troy Beebe (suspension), Butch Gilliland (engine), Clark and Borneman (crashes).

Results

Race results

PosGridDriverTeamManufacturerPoints
116 3 80 30 180
23 5 Chevrolet 80 24 170
32 52 Chevrolet 80 0 165
45 30 80 0 160
59 7 80 0 155
615 31 Chevrolet 80 0 150
717 98 Ford 80 0 146
87 84 Ford 80 0 142
91 16 Chevrolet 80 26 138
104 18 Chevrolet 80 0 134
1110 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 80 0 130
1213 75 Chevrolet 80 0 127
1332 89 Chevrolet 80 0 124
1411 08 Ford 80 0 121
1520 37 Ford 80 0 118
1614 1 Chevrolet 80 0 115
1712 38 Ford 80 0 112
1821 03 Ford 80 0 109
1922 51 Chevrolet 80 0 106
2018 74 Chevrolet 79 0 103
216 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 79 0 100
2223 29 Dodge 79 0 97
2327 88 Ford 79 0 94
248 6 Chevrolet 78 0 91
2519 21 Ford 78 0 88
2630 11 Mike Hurlbert Ford 76 0 85
2725 81 Ford 76 0 82
2826 54 Chevrolet 74 0 79
2928 20 Dodge 51 0 76
3024 10 Chevrolet 31 0 73
3131 06 Ultra Motorsports Ford 30 0 70
3229 23 Ford 22 0 67
3333 8 Chevrolet 22 0 64

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints
1Mike Skinner180
2Terry Labonte170 (−10)
3Ken Schrader165 (−15)
4Joe Bessey160 (−20)
5Geoff Bodine155 (−25)
6Jack Sprague150 (−30)
7Butch Miller146 (−34)
8Joe Ruttman142 (−38)
9Ron Hornaday Jr.138 (−42)
10Johnny Benson Jr.134 (−46)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History and Timeline. Phoenix International Raceway. October 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151022173320/http://www.phoenixraceway.com/Visiting-PIR/About-PIR/History-and-Timeline.aspx. 2015-10-22. dead.
  2. Web site: About PIR. Phoenix International Raceway. October 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150112012233/http://www.phoenixraceway.com/Visiting-PIR/About-PIR.aspx. 2015-01-12. dead.
  3. News: Rockne. Dick. Trucks Pick Up Fans, Sponsors. The Seattle Times. May 8, 1995. February 19, 2015.
  4. Web site: Huntting . Lynn . Press Snoop: NASCAR Truck Series facts. . . February 18, 2015 . February 25, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081011063234/http://www.roadandtrack.com/?section_id=21&crashnet_id=23027 . October 11, 2008.
  5. News: Stephens. Tim. Strait, NASCAR join truckers. The Times of Northwest Indiana. October 9, 1994. February 19, 2015.
  6. News: The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois · Page 59. The Pantagraph. February 4, 1995. October 28, 2015.
  7. Web site: McFadin. Daniel. Real Rivals: Ron Hornaday, Jack Sprague and the Truck series of old. NBC Sports. September 26, 2015. October 28, 2015.
  8. Web site: Norman. Brad.
    1. TBT: First-ever Truck Series Race
    . NASCAR. March 12, 2015. October 26, 2015. September 29, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150929080010/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2015/3/12/throwback-thursday-truck-series-race-1995-phoenix.html. dead.
  9. Web site: 1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic. Racing-Reference. October 26, 2015.
  10. News: Zeller. Bob. NASCAR Gets Truckin'. The Roanoke Times. February 5, 1995. November 29, 2015.
  11. Web site: Remember When: Mike Skinner and the Truck Series Arrives. Popular Speed. July 30, 2014. October 27, 2015.
  12. Web site: NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman standings for 1995. Racing-Reference. October 27, 2015.
  13. News: Hornaday claims top Truck spot. TimesDaily. February 4, 1995. October 27, 2015.
  14. Web site: Pennell. Jay. History lesson: Camping World Truck Series to hit milestone. Foxsports.com. September 25, 2015. October 26, 2015.

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