Winston Cup Rivalry Extends to SuperTrucks

Dale Earnhardt and his car owner, Richard Childress, have dominated NASCAR’s Winston Cup stock car racing for the last decade. Now they are trying to do the same in the new Craftsman SuperTruck series--but not together.

Earnhardt and Childress have separate entries in tonight’s race at Saugus Speedway. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale will drive for Earnhardt--the Chevrolet pickup is actually owned by Dale’s wife, Teresa--and Mike Skinner, a transplanted Californian living in North Carolina, will drive for Childress.

Saugus is the third race in the SuperTruck series. The first was won by Skinner, the second by Hornaday, who nosed out P.J. Jones at the finish line in Tucson last Saturday. Jones also will drive tonight, for Scoop Vessels.

Another prominent owner is Winston Cup veteran Ernie Irvan, who has hired veteran Joe Ruttman of Upland as his driver. Geoff Bodine, a former Daytona 500 winner, will drive his own Ford truck tonight because the Winston Cup drivers have the weekend off.