| | Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. -- Rick Carelli passed Kurt Busch for the lead with 21 laps to go and held off late challenges by Busch and Greg Biffle to win the Kroger 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Thursday night.
The victory was Carelli's fourth in the truck series, but first since he sustained serious head injuries in a crash last year in Memphis, Tenn.
"I always knew I could come back after what happened to us last
year," he said of the single-truck crash, caused by a cut tire
that sent his truck slamming into the wall. "It felt good to get
back in Victory Lane."
Carelli's victory might have come just in the nick of time, too. While celebrating with a few doughnuts in the front stretch, his Ford eventually died on the grass, forcing him to walk to the postrace celebration.
"I don't think I broke it, but I may have," he said.
Biffle, the series points leader and defending race champion,
finished second to pad his lead. Busch, Biffle's Roush Racing
teammate, was third.
"One more lap, I think I'd have gotten him," said Biffle, who closed in on the leaders as they battled each other closely for about 15 laps on the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.
Biffle began the day with a 200-point lead over Mike Wallace,
the largest ever in the series, and extended it to 253 with only
three events remaining. Busch, who is third, is another 79 points
behind.
Carelli led twice for 24 laps and won by a margin of just 0.526 seconds, about five truck lengths. His average speed was 98.684 mph.
"He was on a mission tonight and hats off to that team," said Busch, who led three times for 99 laps -- all in the first 106 laps of the race.
The race was largely uneventful with only five cautions that
slowed the pace for 28 laps and eight lead changes among six
drivers.
Biffle, even while admittedly trying to protect his points lead,
said he threw all caution out the window with a chance to win at
the end.
"They pay the money for the last lap, and when we've got four
guys out in front that are pretty good race car drivers, I felt
pretty comfortable racing door-to-door with those guys for the
win," he said.
Last year, Biffle became the first driver in the five-year history of the series to not win the title after leading with four races to go.
Joe Ruttman, who gambled on worn tires when all the other
leaders pitted after 105 laps, led for 60 laps and finished fourth,
followed by rookie Scott Riggs, who made a big move after starting
30th.
Elliott Sadler of Emporia, Va., attempting to make races in all three NASCAR divisions this weekend, finished 29th in his first start in the truck series.
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ALSO SEE
Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 results
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rick Carelli takes the checkered flag for his 4th career Truck Series victory.
avi: 1260 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 An excited Rick Carelli was thankful for everything his team has done.
wav: 250 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Settling for second, points leader Greg Biffle was pleased to see Rick Carelli win.
wav: 158 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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