Dick Trickles Racing Career: Part 51
NASCAR Dirt to Daytona: Part 51
Craftsman Truck Series Season 1: Race 5

Intro music…... Hello and welcome to Left Turn Heaven exclusively on the Crass Racing Association Programming..... Im Murray Eastlake and today im going to be bringing you all the action from the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series: Round 5 of 14 here at Texas Motor Speedway……..

Since Dick has moved up to the truck series and things seem to be going so well…… I have changed some of the race settings……. Race distance has been increased from half race distance to full race distance and so the tyre wear and fuel usage was also changed from 2x to normal to accommodate the change in race length……. The AI difficulty has not been changed……


New Race Settings…….




Texas Motor Speedway…….


Texas Motor Speedway is 1.5 miles long with 24 degrees of banking in the turns..... This quad-oval with its very high banking has become one of the fastest tracks on the NSACAR Calendar....... You will need lots of horsepower as well as vehicle that handles very predictably....... Along with being stupidly brave through the turns and through the traffic to even have a chance of leaving the Lone Star State with the victory.....…

Dick Trickle had a unusually quiet week…… There was no Featherlite Modified Series racing this week so Dick has been able to spend the entire time working on the Sears Craftsman Die Hard Dick Machine for this weekend……

After taking his second win of the season the Craftsman Truck Series leader Travis Kvapil will be looking to extend his lead in the championship……. Matt Crafton will be looking for another strong performance and another win to stay in the championship hunt…… Dennis Setzer will also be looking to continue his strong form……. The Scumbag Rick Crawford is starting to need wins to stay in the championship hunt…….

While series rookie Dick Trickle will also be looking for another top five finish to continue his great form as well…….. He is still looking for his first series win and will also be wanting to keep his top five run streak alive……. And on top of that hes still well and truly in the championship hunt……..

Dont touch the sets...... Dont touch the dials...... You wont want to miss a single moment of the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series....… Practice and qualifying are coming up right now……



Dick Trickle at the track ready to race.…


Dick Trickle and Dick Seaman as per usual spent a lot of time in practice sorting out the truck…… Working on everything from gear ratios to grill tape…… They seemed happier than last week but still not overly joyed…… They are down on raw pace but the Sears Craftsman Die Hard Dick Machine does seem to be behaving itself much better this week……..

Qualifying was up next……. And it was Matt Craton who set the pace to claim pole position with a very fast 31.412……. More than 2 tenths up on second placed Dennis Setzer who set a time of 31.656…….

Third was the ever consistent Bobby Dotter with a time of 31.831…… Dotter was just ahead of Robert Pressley who grabbed fourth with a 31.993……

Rounding out the top five was the rookie Dick who set a respectable time of 32.125……. Current series leader Travis Kvapil was right behind Dick in sixth while last years champion Scumbag Rick Crawford was unfortunately right in the mix as well and will be starting in seventh………




Qualifying Results........



Dick Trickle lined up ready to start the race..….


Matt Crafton led the field to the green flag for the 167 lap race……. Matt Crafton has a terrible start and Dennis Setzer takes the lead into turn one……. while Bobby Dotter and Robert Pressley battle hard for third……

Dick just about holds station with Travis Kvapil right around the outside making sure Dick earns the position…… As the Scumbag Rick Crawford has nowhere to go and has to sit behind the two in front…..

Dennis Setzer extends his lead as he completes the first lap with Matt Crafton behind recovering from that bad start……. Bobby Dotter and Robert Pressley are still battling hard for third and so far Pressley has gotten the better of Dotter and has now taken third place…….

Travis Kvapil continues to be a thorn in the rear of Dick as they both battle for fifth place…… Scumbag Rick Crawford takes advantage of the two fighting in front and manages to pass them both down the back straight………

Matt Crafton has managed to recover from his bad start and has caught Dennis Setzer…… Setzer just has no answers for the hard charging Crafton who sweeps by around the outside to claim the lead of the race…….

Just a few laps later and it was disaster for the racer leader Matt Crafton who ran directly into the slow moving Bill Lester who was having engine problems…….. Crafton now has extensive damage to the truck and Lester is now well and truly out of the race after slamming into the outside wall after the contact with Crafton………

This brought out the first caution of the race……. Dick lit a cigarette as he sat in the line behind the pace car……. Matt Crafton pitted to try and fix the damage to the truck as best they could……. Dick Seaman was on the radio and the two Dicks agreed it was to early in the race to pit……. And most of the field was also in agreement as Crafton was the only lead lap truck to pit……. While a few of the lap down trucks pitted hoping to catch a lucky yellow later and get their lap back…..

As the green flag dropped to restart the race…… It was Dennis Setzer was in clean air going into turn one…… With Robert Pressley in hot pursuit and Bobby Dotter not far behind in third……

Dick had a great restart and managed to pass the Scumbag Rick Crawford going through turns one and two to claim fourth place…… Travis Kvapil was not happy seeing Dick have all the fun and he decided to pass the Scumbag Rick Crawford as well…….

Just a few laps later and Nick Vigiers engine let go….. He managed to get off the racing surface and down to the apron and limp his way back to the pits……. There was no caution as he made it safely back to the pits…… But his race was now over……. As all the pit crew could do was watch as the engine do its best BBQ impersonation in the pit lane…...

Matt Crafton was charging hard through the field….. The pitcrew must have done a great job fixing that truck because it was just as fast as it was before…… Crafton made short work of Dick as he went past him ease…… Crafton has a bad fast truck out there today thats for sure…...

Crafton managed to storm his way back up to the lead just as the first round of green flag pitstops was starting……. While Dick was slower than some of the other trucks he sure wasnt using as much fuel as he was able to go 5 laps further than Travis Kvapil and the Scumbag Rick Crawford…...

Dick came in the pits…… Changed all four tyres and filled the truck with fuel in quick order and was out in a flash……. Going long had worked wonders for Dick and the fast pit stop sure did help as well as Dick found himself out in second place……..

It was not long though until Dennis Setzer and Bobby Dotter had managed to pass Dick….. Just as they did the yellow wags were waved……. The leader Matt Crafton had just completed his pit stop he was trying to rejoin the track when he tangled with Brendan Gaughan…….. Both men managed to get going again……. But thats the second caution this race and the second time Crafton has been involved in it…….

Again not many people pitted…… As it was quite early into their fuel runs…….. Matt Craton was one of the few trucks to hit pit lane to fix the damage….. Again……. Also of course Brendan Gaughan was another to join in on the pit lane action……

As the green flag waved to restart the race again Dennis Setzer was again the clear leader…….. With Bobby Dotter in close company while Dick was hanging onto third…… But it would not last long as the series leader Travis Kvapil make great use of the gaggle of lapped trucks to slip up the inside of Dick…….

Matt Crafton was again charging hard through the traffic……. And he was soon again passed Dick and was catching Travis Kvapil at a rate of knots…… Who had no answers for the pace of Craton and had to let him buy without much of a fight……

Out front and it was Dennis Setzers turn to hit someone…… As he collided with the hapless Dick Blaha…….. Blaha managed to just keep it off the wall but Setzer was not so lucky and suffered major damage to the truck…….. The collision brought out the third caution period of the race……

The two Dicks and Jacques O’Ften were having a very tense conversation on the radio before finally decided to bring Dick down the pit lane for a service……. Most of the trucks were in agreement as they also came down pat lane……. Matt Crafton was the only lead lap truck to stay out and he took over the lead the race again…….

The green flag waved again to restart the race…… Dick was in fourth after Setzer had that wreck and is now multiple laps down…… Matt Crafton missed a gear of the start and trucks scattered all over the place to try and avoid him…… Dick jumped up to the high side and managed to avoid all the chaos and found himself in the lead of the race…….

Dick enjoyed the clean air for as long as could as Matt Crafton came charging back and just 4 laps later took the lead back from Dick……. Well it was good while it lasted…… At least theres five bonus points for Dick for leading the race for at least 1 lap……

Bobby Dotter was past Dick as well and then Robert Pressley followed not long after……. Travis Kvapil was trying to find a way past Dick…… But Dick was making that as hard as he possibly could…..

The race settled down for quite a while and there was a nice long green flag period that resulted in a round of green flag stops…… Dick was again one of the last to pit as he was making great fuel mileage…. And just like last time he gained positions doing so well….. Seeing himself now in third place…… The whole field was just outside their fuel window and will have to make just one more stop before the end of the race……..

It was not long after the green flag pit stops were completed that there was a huge crash involving trucks that were already 20+ laps down……. As Andy Schneider, Tod Skarecky and Ken Schrader had a coming together and all three trucks ended up hard into the outside wall…… All three trucks where done and their races were over……

This brought out the fourth caution of the race and was just inside everyones fuel window……. The whole field came down the pit lane….. Dicks crew added a few more bits of tape on the front of the truck…… Hoping to get a bit more speed out of the truck….. Lets hope the engine doesnt over heat…….

The crew was a bit slow getting that tape on and Dick lost a few positions…….. He was now in fifth place and was the last truck on the lead lap……

The green flag waved to restart the race with 50 laps to go and Matt Crafton was off like a rocket……. He has been bad fast all weekend……. Even after all the beating and banging its still the fastest truck out there……. Robert Pressley managed to anticipate the restart better than Bobby Dotter….. And that allowed Pressley to get past Dotter through turns one and two………

Dick was all over the rear of Travis Kvapil…….. But Kvapil was not going to give it up without a fight……. The two men fought hard lap after lap…… Kvapil was driving very defensively which was slowing both men down a lot…….

The fight between Travis Kvapil and Dick was slowing them down to much that Matt Crafton came past to put both men a lap down….. Robert Pressley and Bobby Dotter followed not to long after……. But Crafton had build up a 10 second gap to both of them…….

Dick continued to search for a way past Travis Kvapil…… But he just couldnt find a way past….. Dick was looking to the inside and the outside…… But everywhere Dick was looking Kvapil was there to block him……..

Towards the front and through the lapped traffic Bobby Dotter manages to find a way past Robert Pressley…… As Pressley gets blocked in by the slower trucks…… Bobby Dotter proves he has the faster truck and almost instantly puts a nice gap between himself and Pressley…….

Back to the battle for fourth and Dick still hasnt found a way past Travis Kvapil……. Matt Crafton looms up behind Dick again…… Ready to put them down another lap…… Crafton got past Dick…… Dick uses this as a great opportunity and jumps up right behind Craftons truck and uses the draft of Cratons truck to get past Kvapil on the back straight…….. Dick is now up to fourth place and theres now less than 10 laps to go………

As the laps wind down Matt Crafton has built a huge lead over Bobby Dotter who in turn has also built a very comfortable lead over Robert Pressley……..

Dick is still in fourth and is battling even harder with series leader Travis Kvapil……. You couldnt even get a piece of paper between the two trucks at times……… Dick is defending like his life depends on it……. And knowing Pussy Galore it probably is…….

As the chequered flag waves Matt Craton takes a very dominate win……. A long way back is Bobby Dotter who just had no answers for the pace of Craftons truck…… Robert Pressley takes a comfortable third……

MEANWHILE DICK TRICKLE AND TRAVIS KVAPIL ARE STILL GOING AT IT HAMMER AND TONGS……… DICK GETS LOOSE!!!…… DICK GETS LOOSE COMING OUT OF TURN FOUR FOR THE FINAL TIME AS HE JUST TOUCHES THE APRON……. THIS ALLOWS KVAPIL TO GET UP THE OUTSIDE AS THEY DRAG RACE TO THE LINE……. THEY ARE NECK AND NECK…….

THEY CROSS THE LINE AND FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW I HAVE NO IDEA WHO WAS AHEAD AT THE LINE……. WHAT GREAT RACING THIS IS IN THE CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES…… OH TAKE A BOW BOYS!!…….

ITS TRAVIS KVAPIL!!!…… TRAVIS KVAPIL TAKES FOURTH…….. BY THE SKIN OF HIS TEETH……. OH DICK HAS BEEN DONE IN TWO WEEKS IN A ROW BY THE PHOTO FINISH……..

Travis Kvapil had an average race speed just 0.002 of a mph faster than Dick Trickle……. Thats all there was in it…… Both men were two laps behind the race winner…… But you wouldnt have known it by watching them race…… They fought for it as though it was for the win…….. Sensational stuff…..





Race Results..…


After the race Dick rolls into the paddock area……. He is surrounded by his crew as he climbs out of the Sears Craftsman Die Hard Dick Machine…… Pussy Galore embraces Dick as his feet hit the ground……

I managed to pry myself between them to grab Dick for a few words…… “That was a hard slog out there…… 167 laps is a long way…….. But another top five finish is great and I will take it…….”

“We worked hard on the Sears Craftsman Die Hard Dick Machine all week long……. We got it dialled in much better here this week compared to last week…… Even through we had the same result as last week it was a much better drive I can tell you that much……..”

“I have no idea what Matt [Crafton] has in his truck but it was fast all weekend…… I just had nothing for him….. He went past me like I was standing still…… At least Travis [Kvapil] didnt lead a lap….. So I lost no ground to him in the championship points as we tied on points this race…… Thats one saving grace at least…….”

“I think thats all we can get out of this truck at the moment….. Unless I want to hire a new engine tuner and chassis maker…… We will run what we have for now and see how things pan out……. I might need to hire some more people if it gives be a shot at the championship later……..”

“I still have not heard anything from Goodyear about that tyre blowout….. Guess I will have to pay them a visit after my chat with you Murray……. Lets see if they are to scared to talk to Dick face to face…….”

“Roll on to Kansas next week….. Another 1.5 mile oval….. I hope Crafton is not as fast there as he was here….. Or it might be a long race for everyone else involved…….. Will see you there Murray…….”

Well there you have it folks…….. Another race has been entered into the great book of motorsport…...

Next week the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series heads to Kansas Speedway…..

Can Matt Crafton get another dominate victory next week???….. Will Travis Kvapil extend his championship lead???…… Can Bobby Dotter take the victory and assert himself in the championship fight???….. Maybe last years champion the Scumbag Rick Crawford have his first visit to victory lane in 2006???……. Or can Dick finally take his first career series victory and assert himself as the top Dick in the Craftsman Truck Series???…….

Tune in next week for the answers to all these questions and more….. Exclusively here on Left Turn Heaven…….. Same CRAP time…… Same CRAP network………..

This is Murray Eastlake reporting for Left Turn Heaven exclusively here on Crass Racing Association Programming..... And until next time its goodbye from me……

As for why I keep calling the Scumbag Rick Crawford a “Scumbag”…….. There is a very good reason for that…….. the Scumbag Rick Crawford was a real Craftsman Truck Series driver…….. Who is now sitting in jail…….. In 2018 The Scumbag Rick Crawford was arrested, charged and later convicted of "attempted enticement of a minor" when he was caught in a FBI sex crime sting operation……. He is currently serving a 10 year 10 month jail sentence…….. The Scumbag…….


Winnings.… The longer race has changed the winnings multiplayer so now Dick gets more money……..



NASCAR Heat Weekly….



2006 Truck Series Championship Standings after round 5 of 14.…







First lap Hard Dick Truckin’ action....