(Sports Network) - Justin Marks had never qualified better than seventh in a truck race, but on Thursday night he captured the pole for Friday's Sam's Town 400 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway. The No.9 Construct Corps Toyota circled the 1.5-mile, tri-oval in 30.517 seconds (176.951 m.p.h.). Starting on the front row with Marks will be Mike Skinner who posted a time of 30.647 seconds.

Defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. (30.650) and Jon Wood (30.696) will make up row two.

Following a ninth-place finish at Dover, Rick Crawford claimed the top spot in the Craftsman Truck Series standings. But the championship battle is so close that drivers one through 10 are separated by just 105 points.

It is the second time in Crawford's 280-race career that he has held the lead. The other was after he won the 2003 season opener in Daytona.

But in Texas, the Germain Racing team is "king." The team has won on the TMS 1.5-mile oval five times including four by 2006 series champion Todd Bodine.

"Texas is a little bit special, but you're never dominant in this sport. You have to be good to be lucky - to create your own luck," said Mike Hillman Sr., Germain's general manager. "Our mile-and-a-half program has always been real strong."

Bodine is fourth overall, just 49 points out of first place. But he won the pole and the race last year edging Skinner by a 0.188 seconds.

J.R Norris qualified Kyle Busch's truck to a 17th-place start on the grid, but the driver change will force Busch to start from the back of the field. Last week's winner, Scott Speed, will also start shotgun on the field.

Friday's event is set to drop the green flag at 9 p.m. (et).























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