CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

• Darnell wins Craftsman pole at Daytona

  
  

  Daytona Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Erik Darnell won the pole for Friday night's Chevy Silverado 250 race at Daytona International Speedway. The No.99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford circled the fast 2.5-mile oval in 50.983 seconds (176.529 m.p.h.).

  The pole victory was the second of Darnell's truck career. His other pole was in 2006 at Nashville.

  Starting alongside Darnell will be Terry Cook, who posted a time of 51.179 seconds.

  Mike Skinner (51.309) and Stacy Compton (51.313) will make up row two.

  Defending series champion, Ron Hornaday Jr., will start fifth.

  Last year's Craftsman Truck Series championship came down to the last race with Hornaday Jr. and his No.33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet edging out Skinner's No.5 Toyota team for the title.

  "As racers, that was probably the most fun I've had in racing in quite a while," said Hornaday Jr.

  They will both return for the truck series' 14th season of racing.

  Three-time series champion Hornaday Jr. (1996, 1998, 2007) and Skinner (1995) will have a lot of competition this year, even from their own teammates. Joining Hornaday Jr. at KHI is three-time series champion Jack Sprague (1997, 1999, 2001). Veteran Johnny Benson will drive alongside Skinner. Benson finished third in 2007 and second in 2006.

  Other former champions in the field will include: Todd Bodine (2006), Mike Bliss (2002) and Ted Musgrave (2005) making this year's collection of drivers as competitive as ever.

  Last year, it was Sprague who opened the season on top, winning the Chevy Silverado 250 a couple of feet ahead of Benson. But that might not be a good thing if you want to be series champion. No driver has ever won the opener at Daytona and gone to win the title.

  And interestingly, the opener is usually won by a "grizzled" veteran. Carl Edwards, in 2004 at the age of 26, is the only driver under the age of 40 to win the event. Joe Ruttman was the oldest winner at age 56.

  The race is set to drop the green flag on Friday at 8 p.m. (et).

  02/14 21:09:49 ET