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Johnny Benson has the longest current top-10 streak at Phoenix with five in a row.

By the Numbers: Truck

Top 10 and additional tidbits for Phoenix Int'l Raceway

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
November 6, 2008
12:07 PM EST

type size: + -

The Craftsman Truck Series has raced at Phoenix International Raceway 17 times including twice a year from 1995-98, and the one driver who stands out the most is Jack Sprague.

Fast facts

What	Lucas Oil 150
When	8:19 p.m. ET Friday
TV	SPEED, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 128), 8 ET

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Sprague leads all series drivers in just about every category at Phoenix: starts (15), wins (three), top-fives (nine), top-10s (13), poles (five), laps (2,307), laps led (739) and earnings ($315.787). His average starting position is 5.9 and average finish is 4.9, better than any driver with more than two starts.

But the biggest number of them all as it pertains to the Truck Series and this week's race at Phoenix is six -- the points margin in the championship battle between leader Johnny Benson and second-place Ron Hornaday. Both drivers have found success at PIR.

Hornaday has made 13 starts and is a two-time winner (in a three-race span from 1998 to 1999). He has eight top-fives, 11 top-10s and his average finish is 5.7, three places better than his 8.7 average starting position. He has finished second in two of the past three races including last year.

Benson has a streak of five consecutive top-10s at Phoenix that includes his win in 2006 and his four top-fives. Overall, in seven starts, he has six top-10s. His average starting position is 6.9 and his average finish is 6.4. Both drivers have a pole and they rank seventh (Hornaday with 152) and eighth (Benson with 134) in laps led.

1Top-fives at Phoenix for Terry Cook, whose 14 starts at the track are second-most in the series. Cook has only two top-10s, coming in consecutive races, the last of which was a fifth-place finish in 2002.

2Victories at Phoenix for Kevin Harvick, who will drive his No. 2 truck this week. Harvick won consecutive races in 2002-03 in his then-No. 6 truck. He finished fifth last year in the 2, his only other top-10 in eight starts.

3Place of finish in last year's race for Mike Bliss, his third top-five at Phoenix including a win in Oct. 1998. Bliss, then driving Bobby Hamilton Racing's No. 4 truck, led 54 laps to bring his series total to 219, second-most in the series. Overall, he has seven top-10s in 13 starts. He's entered in Key Motorsports' No. 40 truck this week.

4Top-fives at Phoenix for Rick Crawford, whose last top-10 there to date was a fourth-place finish in 2005. Overall, he has six top-10s in 13 starts. His average starting position and average finish is the same at 11.4.

5Races at Phoenix won from the pole: Jack Sprague (Oct. 1996 and April 1997), Mike Bliss (Oct. 1998), Joe Ruttman (2000) and Johnny Benson (2006). All but five of the races at PIR have been won from a top-five starting position and only two have been won from outside the top 10.

6Combined manufacturer wins at Phoenix for Ford (three), Toyota (two) and Dodge (one). Joe Ruttman scored Dodge's lone win and one for Ford. No current Ford or Dodge driver has won at Phoenix. Toyota has won two of the past three races. Four former winners in Chevrolets -- Kyle Busch, Mike Skinner, Jack Sprague and David Star -- now drive Toyotas.

7Average place of finish in three starts at Phoenix for Kyle Busch, the defending race winner. Busch finished 11th in 2005 -- leading 25 laps -- and ninth in 2006 in Billy Ballew Motorsports' No. 15 truck. He led 42 laps last year in the No. 51 truck.

8Career starts at Phoenix for Mike Skinner, who won the first two races with a seasons sweep in 1995. Skinner has five top-fives and seven top-10s and has led 206 laps, third-most in the series. He finished eighth last year after starting on the pole. His average finish is 5.6.

9Place of finish in last year's race for Dennis Setzer, his eighth top-10 in 11 starts at Phoenix. Setzer is one of four drivers -- Terry Cook (14), Rick Carelli (11) and Jimmy Hensley (10) -- who has double-digits starts at PIR but hasn't led a lap, but the only one with more than one top-five (three). His average finish is 11.5.

10Average place of finish in four starts at Phoenix for Todd Bodine, who won this race in 2005. Bodine finished fourth in 2006 and sixth last year. His average starting position is 6.0, second-best among all drivers with more than two starts.

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Craftsman Truck Series

Phoenix International Raceway

Year	Winner	Make	Start	Led	Pole

1995	M. Skinner	Chevy	16	30	R. Hornaday
	M. Skinner	Chevy	3	89	J. Sprague
1996	J. Sprague	Chevy	2	151	M. Skinner
	J. Sprague	Chevy	1	144	J. Sprague
1997	J. Sprague	Chevy	1	108	J. Sprague
	J. Ruttman	Ford	7	56	M. Bliss
1998	R. Hornaday	Chevy	4	20	S. Compton
	M. Bliss	Ford	1	74	M. Bliss
1999	R. Hornaday	Chevy	5	72	J. Sprague
2000	J. Ruttman	Dodge	1	101	J. Ruttman
2001	G. Biffle	Ford	11	79	S. Compton
2002	K. Harvick	Chevy	3	77	R. Crawford
2003	K. Harvick	Chevy	2	80	T. Musgrave
2004	D. Starr	Chevy	5	28	J. Sprague
2005	T. Bodine	Toyota	6	57	B. Whitt
2006	J. Benson	Toyota	1	31	J. Benson
2007	Ky. Busch	Chevy	8	42	M. Skinner

Official Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	--	Johnny Benson	3489	--
2.	--	Ron Hornaday	3483	-6
3.	--	Todd Bodine	3266	-223
4.	--	Erik Darnell	3136	-353
5.	--	Matt Crafton	3133	-356
6.	+1	Mike Skinner	3123	-366
7.	-1	Rick Crawford	3113	-376
8.	--	Dennis Setzer	2924	-565
9.	--	Jack Sprague	2910	-579
10.	+1	Terry Cook	2804	-685