DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday’s North Carolina Lottery Education 200 is a hometown race for all but one fulltime NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team.
History, however, shows Dennis Setzer (No 18 Dodge) as the only North Carolina-born driver to win the 201-mile race.
Setzer, from Newton, N.C., won in 2004 and is the only Tar Heel winner in NASCAR national series points competition at Lowe’s Motor Speedway since Dale Jarrett’s UAW-GM Quality 500 victory in 1997.
That’s a far cry from earlier eras when names like Petty, Baker, Parsons and Earnhardt dominated.
“In the beginning, NASCAR was a southern sport but due to corporate sponsors and bigger television packages, it has now grown into a world-wide sport,” said Setzer, one of six North Carolina-born winners of series races. Setzer owns 18 of the 30 victories.
The birth of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 aided the rush of non-southern and off-oval competitors into the sport. Only one champion — the late Bobby Hamilton — was born south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Series graduates include Kurt Busch (Nevada), Kevin Harvick (California) and Greg Biffle (Washington).
“As a driver, I don’t have anything against it at all,” said Setzer. “I think the growth of our sport is pretty impressive and something we should be proud of.”
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