Wood snares truck pole

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Jon Wood scored his first pole of the season as he will lead the Ford 200 Craftsman Truck Series field to the green flag tonight at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Series points leader Mike Skinner (Bill Davis Racing) will start fourth as he tries to protect a 29-point advantage on Kevin Harvick Inc's Ron Hornaday, who starts eighth.

Skinner was part of a BDR group that captured second through fifth in qualifying with Johnny Benson second, Jacques Villeneuve third, Skinner fourth and Dave Blaney fifth.

Benson turned a lap of 172.872 mph in his BDR Toyota, while Wood went 173.188 mph in his Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford.

Sixth through 10th in qualifying were Erik Darnell (Roush Fenway Racing), Kevin Harvick (KHI), Hornaday, Chad McCumbee (MRD Motorsports) and Travis Kvapil (Roush Fenway).

Failing to make the race were MB Motorsports' Scott Lynch, who crashed on his qualifying lap, as well as Team Racing's Kevin Lepage, Brevak Racing's Tim Schendel, Pennington Motorsports' Jason White and Fast Track Racing's Bryan Silas.

The drivers were warned during their pre-race drivers meeting by NASCAR President Mike Helton to let the championship play out between the competitors involved.

"We do have a close championship that will be determined tonight as well as other positions ... that will be finalized this evening," Helton said. "Be sure to let that unfold naturally and that way we don't screw up anybody's Thanksgiving."

The race is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EST.

• Mentioned Drivers:
• Chad McCumbee