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A win on Friday at Phoenix would guarantee Ron Hornaday the Truck Series championship.Title or trifecta possible at sunny Phoenix short track
Hornaday could clinch as Busch, Harvick chase a sweep
By Chris Stanfield, NASCAR.COM
November 12, 2009
10:46 AM EST
November 12, 2009
10:46 AM EST
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Despite running out of gas at Texas on Sunday, Kyle Busch has been running wide open since September, winning every Truck Series event he has raced in. With last week's truck victory in the WinStar World Casino 350, Busch was able to break the six-win tie he shared with series points leader, Ron Hornaday.
Phoenix International Raceway has been good to Hornaday and he knows the track well. In 14 starts throughout his career, Hornaday has two wins, three top-five and six top-10 finishes. Another win on Friday evening at the Lucas Oil 150 (7:30 p.m. ET, SPEED) would guarantee him the series championship and even if he doesn't earn the checkered flag, leaving Phoenix with a 195-point lead over second place would clinch the title.
Ron Hornaday
Career snapshot of points leader at Phoenix
| Race | St | Fin | Laps | Money | Status | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-S | 1 | 9 | 80/80 | 2,750 | running | 26 |
| 1995-F | 22 | 5 | 124/124 | 5,500 | running | 0 |
| 1996-S | 9 | 5 | 186/186 | 7,100 | running | 0 |
| 1996-F | 4 | 7 | 186/186 | 6,600 | running | 0 |
| 1997-S | 8 | 4 | 150/150 | 10,686 | running | 0 |
| 1997-F | 3 | 9 | 186/186 | 7,850 | running | 0 |
| 1998-S | 4 | 1 | 150/150 | 35,875 | running | 20 |
| 1998-F | 5 | 3 | 186/186 | 13,550 | running | 15 |
| 1999 | 5 | 1 | 150/150 | 39,275 | running | 72 |
| 2004 | 6 | 13 | 150/150 | 7,915 | running | 0 |
| 2005 | 15 | 2 | 150/150 | 31,175 | running | 0 |
| 2006 | 22 | 13 | 150/150 | 12,715 | running | 0 |
| 2007 | 9 | 2 | 150/150 | 36,150 | running | 19 |
| 2008 | 1 | 25 | 116/150 | 12,185 | running | 0 |
Kyle Busch's attempt at a weekend trifecta at Texas offered fans plenty to cheer about. This week at Phoenix, Busch will be attempting the never seen before feat once again; but he will be joined by Kevin Harvick -- the defending champion of this race -- and a strong truck competitor, having run all 150 laps in the top 15 during last season's victory. In his past four Truck Series visits, Harvick has won three times.
On the shoulder of Busch's Texas victory, Billy Ballew Motorsports is now only 75 points behind Delana Harvick and Hornaday's No. 33 team as the two teams continue to chase the owner's title.
1Matt Crafton is still searching for his first victory of the season despite leading all drivers in top 10s with 19. Crafton's best finish in the Truck Series at Phoenix was third in 2004.
2Career wins at Phoenix for Ron Hornaday. In 1998, he captured the spring race on his way to the series title and won again the next season. A win on Friday would place him among his owner, Kevin Harvick, and Jack Sprague as a three-time Phoenix winner.
3Amount of times defending champion Kevin Harvick was passed while under green at Phoenix last season. In that race, he registered a Driver Rating of 139.9, an Average Running Position of 2.5 and ran all 150 laps in the top 15.
3Drivers are making their Truck Series debut this weekend -- Brad Sweet and Robbie Brand from California and Kevin Conway from North Carolina.
4Drivers entered into Friday's Lucas Oil 150 competed in the first Truck Series race at Phoenix in 1995. Ron Hornaday, David Starr, Mike Skinner and Butch Miller all competed in that first race 15 years ago. Mike Skinner pulled off the win by less than a tenth-of-a-second over Terry Labonte. Skinner went on to win the series' first championship.
13Number of Truck starts this season for Kyle Busch. In addition to seven wins, he owns two poles, 10 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 3.8.
18Number of times Phoenix has hosted the Truck Series. The pole sitter has won a record five times. The furthest back a winner has started was 16th in 1995 (Mike Skinner).
243Career laps led by Kevin Harvick, the most of anyone in Friday's field. Through nine races, Harvick has an average starting position of 12.2 and an average finish position of 14.6
2,358Number of miles driven by Terry Cook at Phoenix, the most of any driver and 244 miles further than Ron Hornaday, who holds down second place. Of those miles, Cook has never led a lap. Hornaday has led 152.
$229,326Career earnings of Ron Hornaday at Phoenix. With each of the 2,114 career miles around the track, Hornaday has earned $108.47 per mile.
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