Las Vegas: Jason Small race summary

Small scores season's second top-10 finish in Las Vegas 350.

LAS VEGAS, NV Jason Small scored his second top-10 run of the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with a strong tenth-place finish in the Las Vegas 350 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 13. Small, who started the event from the 15th position, finished 9th in the season opening race at Daytona in February.

"We had a great truck today," said Small. "It started out a little tight and we made some adjustments and it loosened up. We found a middle ground on the second stop and after that it was just a rocketship. We could run with anyone out there. It is a shame we got lapped on that long green flag run, because if we stayed on the lead lap, we definitely could have picked up a few more spots."

Small had a successful weekend, finishing fourth in the NASCAR Winston West Series race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

"This has been a great weekend," he continued. "It has been a long time since I was able to smile like this after a weekend. It's great. We had good pit stops, the truck ran well, and the West car ran well. It has been a frustrating season, but it is just great to get a little momentum heading into next season. We are taking this same truck to Fontana in a few weeks and we think it will be just as strong there."

Small narrowly missed picking up the Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award, finishing just behind fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Brendan Gaughan.

"That's okay, this is his hometown," he said of Las Vegas native Gaughan. "Just wait until we get back on my home turf at Mesa Marin next year. Chances are it will be a different story."

The next event in the 22-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule will be the American Racing Wheels 200 at the California Speedway in Fontana, CA, on November 2. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN and can be heard on NASCAR Radio on XM Satellite Radio as well as MRN Radio affiliates nationwide.

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