Houston grabs pole

Louis Brewster

Sunday, Oct. 31, 1999 | 11:16 a.m.

FONTANA, Calif. - That Andy Houston will start out front in today's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NAPA 200 at California Speedway is no surprise. After all, Houston turned the trick last year.

On Friday, with a steady Santa Ana wind whipping around the two-mile speedway, Houston pushed his Chevrolet Silverado to a record lap of 173.561 mph (41.484 seconds), better than Mike Bliss' old mark of 173.198 set in 1997.

The first three trucks all had the red bow tie, Chevrolet's trademark nameplate. Jay Sauter was second to Houston at 173.456 and Jack Sprague third at 172.881.

And it was not surprising that Joe Ruttman, fastest Thursday, led the Dodge contingent. Ruttman, the former Upland resident driving for Bobby Hamilton, was fourth with a lap of 172.790.

The stunner was the top Ford driver. No, it wasn't Greg Biffle, the series' points leader with nine wins this year. As a matter of fact, Biffle finished 24th in the field.

Rather, it was Carlos Contreras. With a lap of 171.895, Contreras became the first Mexican national to qualify for a major NASCAR race.

"This is good for Mexicans and Spanish-speaking people," said Contreras, a 10-year racing veteran in Mexico. "I want to do good and make everybody proud of me."

Said Houston: "I'm impressed. He obviously must have talent to be able to get his truck going that fast so quickly."

Contreras, a two-time stock car champion in his native country, has already turned heads. His first day in a truck was Wednesday during the test session and Thursday he turned in a solid performance before his run Friday.

"On my first trips, I was very nervous," said Contreras, who has competed in five different Mexican series. "I was not at full power because I felt the speed. "After maybe about six laps, I was full power. I like the speed and I like the entry into the curves (turns)."

The trucks have roughly 400 more horsepower than Contreras has in his stock car. Drafting was also a new experience, especially with the high speeds the trucks generate.

"It was my first time in traffic," said Contreras, who is running the truck owned by David Hudson on Impact Motorsports and sponsored by the Latin American division of Hot Wheels. "I learned what happened, but I need more laps to get confidence with guys. But I am a fast learner."

Contreras is among the various story lines in today's 100-lap race. The main focus is the series championship with Biffle trying to hold off Sprague and Dennis Setzer, who will start alongside Contreras.

"I've never in my life driven in conditions like that," Setzer said. "We had a good truck going into qualifying but the wind really messed things up. I was blown away at how the truck moved up the track in turns 3 and 4. I was actually off the gas and still got blown up the track."

Sprague, who was unhappy at how his truck handled after the morning session, indicated the wind took away the aerodynamic edge enjoyed by the Ford and Dodge trucks.

"I hope it's windier tomorrow," said Sprague. "I can drive the truck about anywhere. Our guys got the setup after the morning practice, they just kept working hard. It was a hair-raising lap."

For Houston, who will start 14 spots ahead of brother Marty in the field, winning the pole will ease some of the pain of not having won in the previous 24 races.

"I'll be the first to say we're disappointed with the way the season has gone," said Houston, whose lone CTS win was last year in New Hampshire. "If we can't win the race, then this will help us get through the offseason.