By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

LOUDON, N.H. – It’s nice when good things happen to good people when they’re down.

Rick Crawford, of Mobile, Ala., had family and friends directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Crawford took the lead from point-leader Dennis Setzer on lap 176 and hung on to win the Sylvania 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Setzer padded his point lead slightly with a solid runner-up finish, while Ted Musgrave, his closest rival, claimed third.

Rookie sensation Clay Rogers had an impressive performance, driving from 21st on the 36-car grid, to finish fourth. Former series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. came from 17th, led a total of 56 laps and wound up fifth. Rogers, who’s truck sustained minor damage during the race, was reportedly feeling light-headed after the event and was being treated in the infield care center.

Nine cautions slowed the event for a total of 31 laps, while 22 trucks finished on the lead lap.

Newburg native Ricky Craven finished 11th in the Roush Racing/Superchips Ford.

Crawford becomes the 10th different winner in the truck series at NHIS.

With 17 lead changes among eight different leaders, the Sylvania 200 set a new series record at the famed “Magic Mile.”

Crawford shared his emotion after what was easily one of the most exciting races of the 2005 season.

“That was about as hard-fought as it gets,” said the four-time truck series winner. “Dennis (Setzer) and Ted ran me hard, but clean, and I appreciate that. I just held my line there at the end and hoped we could hold on. We were able to win it, and I’m just thrilled.”

Setzer was pleased with his run but felt a little robbed at the finish.

“We were just a little bit loose today,” he explained. “The three of us (he, Crawford and Musgrave) were pretty evenly matched today. We fought pretty hard to stay up front, and were careful not to get caught up in all the carnage and hurt our points status.”

Musgrave admits he had the points race in mind as the laps wound down.

“We fought hard to stay up front today but tried not to get ourselves into any scary situations. I knew Rick and Dennis were fast, but I also thought we had a top-five truck. I’m just pleased we came out of here with a solid finish and the truck in one piece.”

Mike Skinner controlled the first 50 laps in his Toyota Tundra, taking the lead for the first time from polesitter Matt Crafton at lap 19. Most of the front-runners made their first visit to pit road on lap 57 under the second caution of the day for Jimmy Spencer’s brush with the wall after cutting a tire going into Turn 3. Mike Wallace chose to stay out and inherited the lead, while Skinner restarted in the fourth position.

By lap 68, Skinner was back out front and would stay there until Hornaday drove by on the 76th circuit. Hornaday, known as the master of the restart, was a tough man to beat for much of the mid-stages of the race. He kept his GM Goodwrench/Harvick Motorsports Chevrolet up front for several laps, until it was time for a pit stop under caution at lap 107. Brad Keselowski led briefly after staying out for track position but gave way to a hard-charging Hornaday at lap 112.

The crowd rose to its feet shortly after as Hornaday and Setzer battled up front for lap-after-lap. At this juncture of the race a new face appeared on the radar, that on young Kyle Busch. The 19-year old Las Vegas native and youngest-ever winner on the Nextel Cup Series took over the lead from Setzer on lap 125 and held it until pitting for fuel only under yellow on lap 130. Hornaday asserted himself again following a lap 139 restart and controlled the pace. His chances for victory went out the window at lap 173 when he scraped the outside wall in Turn 4.

It all came down to a four-lap shootout at the end following the ninth caution period following Brandon Whitt’s crash in Turn 4. Crawford showed he had something left and went on to record the hard-earned victory.