By Colleen Kane
Enquirer staff writer

SPARTA, Ky. - Qualifying for Kentucky Speedway's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the Built Ford Tough 225, was canceled Friday night because of rain. Starting positions for tonight's race, which remains scheduled for 8 p.m., were determined by the series points standings.

Dennis Setzer, the points leader, will start on the pole for the fifth time in his career and the second week in a row. Rain also washed out Kansas Speedway's qualifying July 2, but the first position didn't help Setzer. He finished 25th, dropping out on lap 136 of 167. Setzer finished third at Kentucky Speedway last year.

"This has been a great track for us," Setzer said. "Our program has really come a long way with the RCR motors. We won at Texas and Charlotte, and it has really brought our big-track program around. I'm excited about that, coming to a track like this, where you need a lot of horsepower. We've got good pieces under the hood."

Defending champion Carl Edwards, who also won last week's race at Kansas, will start in the second position tonight, and Bobby Hamilton will start in third. Jon Wood, last year's polesitter, will start in seventh.

"Without qualifying, we are saving equipment and tires," Hamilton said. "So I'm good for not qualifying every week. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if we started them (without practice), just go right at race time and drop the flag. I don't know how many times you practice and practice and you don't like the way it feels."

This is the third truck race that has started based on points standings. Qualifying for the fourth race of the year in Mansfield, Ohio, also was canceled because of weather.

The Craftsman Truck drivers didn't even get in their scheduled 2 p.m. practice run Friday. Rain delayed the practice for an hour before it was canceled. The drivers will get practices this morning from 10-10:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.-12:25 p.m.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series Kentucky 150, also was postponed Friday. It will be run instead at 1 p.m. today. Drivers in that series also will start based on points. Frank Kimmel has the pole, and Boston Reid will start second.

Pole night tickets will be honored today for the 1 p.m. ARCA/REMAX race. The grandstands then will be cleared, and the gates will reopen at 3 p.m. for the truck race as scheduled. In the event of rain today, the race will be Sunday.

Today's schedule

Noon: Gates open

1 p.m.: ARCA RE/MAX Kentucky 150 race

3 p.m.: Gates re-open for Craftsman Truck race

8 p.m.: Built Ford Tough 225 race

---

E-mail ckane@enquirer.com