|| *Comments on the 2002 Florida Dodge Dealers 250:* View the most recent comment <#28> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Darrell posted: 02.18.2006 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robert Pressley got a well-deserved win in this race. Strong finishes as well for Rick Carelli, Carlos Contreras, Jason Small, and Lance Norick. 2. Darrell posted: 05.26.2006 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, the final race for Rick Hendrick's truck team. 3. mcmurrayfan posted: 06.14.2006 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also a nice run for Brian Rose in 3rd. This was Pressley's first truck race. Strange that Ron Hornaday is driving the truck that used to be his biggest rival with Jack Sprague at the wheel. 4. Steve posted: 07.21.2006 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe Jack Sprague was the only driver to start every Truck Series race. That is, until 2002, when he raced in BGN with Rick Hendrick. 5. most posted: 08.08.2007 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Rose threw away a promising career.... 6. The Real Thomas posted: 08.16.2007 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Brian Rose was thrown out for drug possession. Good riddance on the closure of the Hendrick truck team in this race. 7. RaceFanX posted: 11.26.2007 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good Top-5 for original series regular Rick Carelli, fitting as it was his last Truck Series race. Kinda nice he got to do it in a #6 Chevy, like his truck from 1995. This was the first Truck race Jack Sprague ever missed. He was the last driver to have run every race in series history. 8. SK posted: 12.01.2007 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Ruttman went from championship contender to field-filler and back, having been dropped by Roush prior to the '99 season and, as a result, resorted to starting and parking various trucks to begin that season until BHR picked him up. When Hamilton let him go prior to 2002, it seemed the pendulum had once again ended up in "field-filler" territory. Rideless, Ruttman and engine dealer Rodney Smith procured two trucks from Ultra Motorsports during Speedweeks and last-minute sponsorship from a Florida-based sandwich chain. Not the most promising circumstances heading into Daytona, but incredibly, the 57-year-old wheelman came home an astonishing 4th when all was said and done. It was the swan song of a man whose NASCAR career began with a 10th place finish at Riverside in 1963, to the likes of Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt and Fireball Roberts. 9. Douche Bagolow posted: 12.09.2007 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Bliss' only DNF of his championship season. 10. RaceFanX posted: 02.08.2008 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robert Pressley became just the second driver in Truck Series history to win his first race in the series. The only man to win in his debut before Pressley, Mike Skinner in the very first Truck race. 11. Taylor posted: 07.11.2008 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On lap 34 Setzer, Bonifield and Bliss all have engine failures. 12. Taylor posted: 07.11.2008 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome finish. Rick Carelli was leading when there was a huge crash on the backstretch with 5 to go and the red flag came out. Pressley passed Carelli to win. 13. RaceFanX posted: 09.20.2008 - 10:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Butch Miller returns to the series for the first time since 1999, his 17th place finish was his only start of the year 14. RaceFanX posted: 09.24.2008 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Hornaday's first Truck start since 1999. Despite the pairing of one of the Truck series greatest drivers and one of its greatest teams, the Hornaday and the #24 Chevy were a non-factor all race long 15. Matt_1986 posted: 08.16.2009 - 2:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Trucks 16. CFob posted: 11.28.2009 - 1:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Holt, Michigan's Tim Fedewa, a four time winner in the Busch Series makes his first Truck Series start with Roush Racing. 17. ii posted: 09.18.2010 - 7:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne also won in his debut, being the 4th and 3rd respectively to do so. 18. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 2:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 36: #02 Jim Inglebright, #15 Trent Owens, #56 Mike Swaim Jr. Out using fastest 36: #19 Ricky Sanders, #55 Tom Powers, #93 Randy Briggs 19. 83andJoe posted: 07.06.2013 - 3:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #16 crew chief: Dave Fuge (same through Texas) 20. 83andJoe posted: 07.07.2013 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Correction: that's Dave Fuge, Jr. 21. Taylor posted: 03.21.2015 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It should be mentioned that Mike Wallace started from the back of the field after missing the driver's meeting 22. Ed posted: 08.21.2016 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe it was Matt Crafton who got up on two wheels and very nearly flipped over in the big wreck with a few to go 23. Mr.Victory posted: 01.24.2018 - 11:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A big crash on the Backstretch took out 5 or so cars, including Matt Crafton, who nearly flipped from hitting the inside wall hard! 24. Bramblegrunt posted: 04.12.2018 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Correction to Post 15 -- KHI had 2 races run in 2001 with Kevin Harvick debuting with them and Carelli running a race as well for them. They were hoping to go the full season in 2002 with Rick Carelli but sponsors were not found to make that happen. This became Carelli's last career race, one of the original 1995 series full timers. Interestingly this race featured a few original 1995 truck series drivers. Carelli, Portenga, Hornaday, Miller, Ruttman, & Bliss (Dokken as well but he DNQ'd). Was certainly exceptionally strange to see Hornaday in the 24 after the rivalry he had with Sprague. Carelli was practically a sitting duck at the end though. They had a great truck but had gotten some damage from a pit road incident earlier and got the lead on older tires. He did a magnificent job holding off the leaders after the Jon Wood caution, but when it was a GWC after the big crash, Pressley who was the largely dominant truck was able to dispatch him quickly on that 2nd restart. That last crash featured incredibly hard crashes for Matt Crafton carrying the Menards sponsorship for the first time that he still carries to this day in 2018. He was fine, thankfully. Lance Hooper was also in the top 10 for Rick Ware when this accident happened, ending his terrific day. But as SK posted earlier, this opened up for Ruttman to have a fantastic finish with the barely sponsored 79 truck, showing Ruttman more than deserved a full time fully funded ride but it was not meant to be in 2002 25. 34McDowellFan posted: 03.07.2019 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race in Truck series history without Jack Sprague in the race 26. SweetRich posted: 02.17.2020 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Jerry Punch, Phil Parsons And Mike Skinner. The Pit Road Reporters Were Ray Dunlap And Amy East. 27. Danish_Pie posted: 06.06.2020 - 3:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Ruttman's 4th place stands as the best in series history for the #79 to date. 28. MSportRev posted: 11.02.2020 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crew chief for Rick Carelli: Ed Berrier ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: