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Friday, August 3 Ruttman denies Sprague's sixth pole ESPN.com news services CLERMONT, Ind. -- Defending champion Joe Ruttman claimed the pole Friday afternoon for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Driving a Dodge, Ruttman covered the .686-mile oval in 22.648 seconds at an average speed of 109.043 miles per hour, well off the record of 111.843 mph he set here last year. With the promise of a contract extension from team owner Bobby Hamilton, Ruttman led 152 of 200 laps in last year's race, which was marred by a track-record 10 caution flags. Ruttman has won twice this year, taking the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 from the pole in February and the Jelly Belly 200 in May. Ruttman's time denied Jack Sprague his series-leading sixth pole of the season. Sprague clocked 108.425 mph in his Chevrolet and is coming off two straight wins that have allowed him to climb to third in the overall points standings. Scott Riggs is the leader with 2,143 points. Riggs, who has won three races this season, qualified 14th in a Dodge. Ruttman is eight points behind Riggs and three ahead of Sprague. Hamilton is third in Dodge and is joined on the second row by rookie Jon Wood in a Ford. The Ford of Terry Cook rounds out the top five. Ted Musgrave, who leads the series with four wins and is sixth in the standings with 2,031 points, will start 10th in a Dodge. This event debuted in 1995 and Mike Skinner won the first two races. Since then, there have been four different winners. Last year marked the third time that the pole-sitter took the checkered flag. The 15th of 24 races on the circuit, the Power Stroke Diesel 200 is just 137.2 miles. It has posted awards of $436,720 and will be televised live on ESPN at 8 p.m. EDT.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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