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Truck series title race already looks close

By Rea White - Associate Editor

Friday, February 15, 2008

Article Rating: 4.0
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Chris Trotman / Getty Images

Ron Hornaday (left) and Mike Skinner are two of the five drivers shaping up to be title contenders in the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague used to be rivals of sorts, two guys gunning for wins and championships in a heated Craftsman Truck Series battle. Aggressive drivers unwilling to give up ground, they’ve endured a few on-track skirmishes over the course of their lengthy and successful careers.

They probably will again, but this time they’ll do so as teammates at Kevin Harvick Inc. Owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick celebrated their first championship last season when Hornaday captured his third title and then upped the ante by adding another three-time champion, Sprague, to their Chevrolet arsenal for 2008.

But they shouldn’t be alone at the top. While Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson don’t have six championship titles between them, they’ve both hoisted a title trophy (Benson in the Busch Series), and the Bill Davis Racing outfit they'll drive Toyotas for has been the team to watch in the truck series for years.

Entering tonight’s season-opening Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway, those four appear to be the contenders to watch in the championship race, along Todd Bodine and his Germain Racing team.

And while the KHI duo is gaining attention, it was the Bill Davis Racing pair that quietly dominated the 2007 season. Skinner had five wins with 17 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. Benson earned four wins with 12 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes.

Hornaday, meanwhile, had four wins with 13 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes and won the championship by 54 points over Skinner.
Both the BDR drivers expect the pair of teams to be in a tight race throughout the season.

“I think you’re going to see that for sure,” Benson said. “I hope it just ends up being just a two-way battle between me and Mike. That would be better for our scenario … Are they going to be tough? Absolutely. They’ve shown this year that Ron was pretty tough, and Mike was pretty tough, and I think our team was.

“There’s no doubt that they’re going to be a group of guys that are going to be a threat for the deal, and I’m sure they feel the same way about our organization, too. It’s going to be exciting.”

Skinner said that in order for anyone to win the championship, they’re going to have to work together and show a level of patience
throughout the season.

“Race drivers are greedy, and I think we get paid to be greedy. We’re supposed to win, we’re supposed to perform, and it’s going to come down to us all being smart and … being patient,” he said. “I’ve raced with those other guys for a long time, and I feel really good about having Johnny Benson as a teammate if we come down the stretch and either one of us are fortunate enough to be in the running for it. … It’s just up to us to be smart about how we go about things all year, and if we start right here at Daytona, I think we’ll be in the middle of it.”

At KHI, Hornaday and Sprague both say that the rivalry between them was friendly and Sprague has referred to Hornaday as one of his best “racing friends” in the sport.

Partnering with the budding KHI empire, the pair could be difficult to contend with this season. KHI was strong last season with one team, now they have beefed up their organization, something Hornaday sees as a plus as he prepares to begin his title defense with tonight’s race. KHI also fields the No. 33 full-time Nationwide Series team and the No. 77 on a part-time basis in that series.

“Kevin and DeLana, they are definitely racers,” Hornaday says. “They are focusing on everything that they can put in to the teams. They rearranged the shop so we are a combined team. We are not just a NCTS team or Nationwide team; we are just one big team. It shows that it is working better. Each time I go up there, which is once or twice a week because it is a drive from my house, they definitely have some resources, and we are hiring some great people, a lot of people who have driven before.”

Both Hornaday and Sprague have laughed about their relationship throughout the offseason. When he headed to testing at Daytona earlier this year, Hornaday scoffed at the notion of what he sees as a media-hyped rivalry.

“We both race hard, no matter what we dom and when we are all done, we can sit and have a soda pop or a barley pop or whatever,” Hornaday says. “Jack did hold not grudges, but he has always gotten mad. But then he would come back the following week, and we have always talked. That is one thing about our relationship. We are going to see each other week in and week out. We are just a big family. ... You just go out there and race hard.”

Still, he admits that when they were racing in the 1990s, things sometimes got a little heated.

“Every time I got a chance to do it, I just ran into the side of him,” he said. “Finally [Hornaday team owner] Dale Earnhardt  Sr. and Mr.
Hendrick [Rick Hendrick , Sprague's truck owner] said enough is enough, guys. We have to work on these trucks.”

Still, Hornaday tweaks his teammate from time to time.

"When Harvick hired me, he hired two new fabricators,” he says. “When he hired Jack, he hired four more.”

All joking aside, Hornaday said a perceived rivalry between himself and Sprague was something they allowed to continue because “it made good TV, and it made good media.”

Skinner can engage in the commentary as well, but his team is the one with the most to prove this year. A stunning series of setbacks marred his final races last season and cost him a second championship in the series. Hornaday and Skinner engaged in a tight battle in the closing weeks of the season, but it was Skinner who found mechanical problems, and Hornaday who landed the trophy.

Don’t expect any dip in performance for Skinner or his teammate this season. Consistent and confident, the pair should be in the mix from the start of the season.

At this point, no one is counting out anyone, especially not Hornaday, who knows that his defending champion status makes him a target for others.

“It is going to be tough to repeat,” he says. “These guys are not going to lay down.

Average Rating: 4.0

Comments

6 responses to "Truck series title race already looks close"
  1. 1
    Will W said:
    Feb 15, 2008 at 11:36 AM

    Nice article. However, in regard to the part about both BDR drivers having hoisted the championship trophy before- Johnny Benson has never won a CTS title. He was the Busch Series champion in 95 but has never won a CTS title. He's my pick to win it this year though.

    Report as Abuse
  2. 2
    Thomas Mikulski said:
    Feb 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM

    Great story! KHI or BDR should win this year because of thier $ and sponsors. I am pulling for Benson since I am a fan of his, but don't forget about Bodine. In a way, I don't care who wins because the truck races are the BEST races in all of NASCAR. Cup should junk the NEW(COT) car or just have a 50 lap race because that's all I'm going to watch.

    Report as Abuse
  3. 3
    Thomas Mikulski said:
    Feb 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM

    Great story! KHI or BDR should win this year because of thier $ and sponsors. I am pulling for Benson since I am a fan of his, but don't forget about Bodine. In a way, I don't care who wins because the truck races are the BEST races in all of NASCAR. Cup should junk the NEW(COT) car or just have a 50 lap race because that's all I'm going to watch.

    Report as Abuse
  4. 4
    Will W said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 4:59 PM

    Nice article. However, in regard to the part about both BDR drivers having hoisted the championship trophy before- Johnny Benson has never won a CTS title. He was the Busch Series champion in 95 but has never won a CTS title. He's my pick to win it this year though.

    Report as Abuse
  5. 5
    Thomas Mikulski said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 4:59 PM

    Great story! KHI or BDR should win this year because of thier $ and sponsors. I am pulling for Benson since I am a fan of his, but don't forget about Bodine. In a way, I don't care who wins because the truck races are the BEST races in all of NASCAR. Cup should junk the NEW(COT) car or just have a 50 lap race because that's all I'm going to watch.

    Report as Abuse
  6. 6
    Thomas Mikulski said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 4:59 PM

    Great story! KHI or BDR should win this year because of thier $ and sponsors. I am pulling for Benson since I am a fan of his, but don't forget about Bodine. In a way, I don't care who wins because the truck races are the BEST races in all of NASCAR. Cup should junk the NEW(COT) car or just have a 50 lap race because that's all I'm going to watch.

    Report as Abuse

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