By the Numbers: Truck

Top 10 for Benson, Hornaday at Homestead

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
November 13, 2008
11:27 AM EST

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The number is three.

That's the points differential in the Craftman Truck Series standings between leader Johnny Benson and second place Ron Hornaday going into the season's final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It's the smallest in the history of the series, now in its 14th year.

Fast facts

What	Ford 200
When	8:18 p.m. ET Friday
TV	SPEED, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 128), 8 ET

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The number is three.

Of the five closest championship battles in the Truck Series, Hornaday has been involved in three of them. So far he's 2-0, and for the second year in a row he'll have to win coming from behind.

• In 1998, Hornaday led Jack Sprague by 13 points, which until now had been the tightest battle with one race remaining. Sprague won the finale, then at Las Vegas, with Hornaday finishing second. But it was enough for Hornaday to win the title by three points.

• In 2007, Hornaday trailed Mike Skinner by 29 points. But Skinner lost a wheel and finished next-to-last, 11 laps off the lead. Hornaday, the last driver on the lead lap, won the title by 54 points. The winner of that race? Skinner's Bill Davis Racing teammate, Benson.

The number is three.

Hornaday has three Truck championships, having also won in 1996 (his first of two for Dale Earnhardt Inc.). Not only would another one in 2008 make him the first four-time champ in the series -- he currently shares the all-time mark with Sprague -- but he would become its first back-to-back champion.

The number is three.

NASCAR's Loop Data for Homestead covers the past three races and Benson has the best Driver Rating (113.4) and Fastest Laps Run (57) of any series driver. Hornaday's Driver Rating is 98.5 and he has only four Fastest Laps Run.

Hornaday is tops in the series in Laps in the Top 15 with 348 (85.7 percent). But Benson is right there with 347 (85.5 percent). Another close category is Average Running Position: Benson's is 8.1; Hornaday is at 9.0.

As for traditional statistics, this week's Top 10 focuses solely on Benson and Hornaday at Homestead:

1Wins each for Hornaday and Benson. Hornaday won in 2002, the first year Homestead served as the season finale; it was one of only two starts Hornaday made that year. Benson is the race's defending winner after passing Kyle Busch on the final lap.

2Top-fives for Benson, who has made just four starts. He finished third in 2005. His average finish is 10.2.

3Laps off the lead pace for Benson in 2006 when he finished 26th, by far his worst result. They are the only laps at Homestead, out of 540 possible, he has not completed.

4Races, out of eight Hornaday has made, in which he has led, for a total of 73. However, he has not led in any of the past three races. Benson has led in three races for a total of 40 including 34 laps last year.

5Lead changes in the 2002 race won by Hornaday, fewest in series history at Homestead. Only three times have there been fewer than 10 lead changes. Hornaday, who started fifth, led 21 laps. Ted Musgrave led 96 laps, the most of any non-winner there.

6Difference in finishing positions in last year's race between Benson (first) and Hornaday (seventh). The drivers also started six places apart with Benson rolling off second and Hornaday eighth.

7Top-10s for Hornaday, tied with Rick Crawford for second-most (Sprague has nine). He finished 14th in 2006, his lone non-top-10, but still improved 13 positions after starting 27th.

8Lead-lap finishes for Hornaday. He has completed 1,213 laps, fourth-most of all time. He has finished better than he has started in every race including four times improving by double digits. His average starting position is 13.9; average finish is 6.5.

9Place of finish for Hornaday in 2005, his first full year in the series since 1999. It was his first race at Homestead for Kevin Harvick Inc. (then driving the No. 6 truck). Benson has made all of his series starts there for Bill Davis Racing.

10Average place of finish in the past three races for both Benson and Hornaday, the only times both drivers have competed in the same race at Homestead. Both drivers suffered their worst results in 2006.

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Homestead-Miami Speedway

Johnny Benson

Year	Truck	Make	Start	Finish	Led

2004	23	Toyota	14	11	5
2005	23	Toyota	7	3	1
2006	23	Toyota	18	26	0
2007	23	Toyota	2	1	34

Ron Hornaday

Year	Truck	Make	Start	Finish	Led

1996	16	Chevrolet	4	3	27
1997	16	Chevrolet	19	6	0
1998	16	Chevrolet	21	8	1
1999	16	Chevrolet	14	4	24
2002	11	Chevrolet	5	1	21
2005	6	Chevrolet	13	9	0
2006	33	Chevrolet	27	14	0
2007	33	Chevrolet	8	7	0

Winners

Year	Winner	Make	Start	Led

1996	Dave Rezendes	Ford	10	42
1997	Kenny Irwin Jr.	Ford	5	13
1998	Rick Crawford	Ford	12	31
1999	Mike Wallace	Ford	10	43
2000	Andy Houston	Chevrolet	3	49
2001	Ted Musgrave	Dodge	3	86
2002	Ron Hornaday	Chevrolet	5	21
2003	Bobby Hamilton	Dodge	1	67
2004	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	13	54
2005	Todd Bodine	Toyota	9	74
2006	Mark Martin	Ford	6	57
2007	Johnny Benson	Toyota	2	34

Craftsman Truck Series

Official Standings

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	--	Johnny Benson	3489	Leader
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