NASCAR NCTS (DAYTONA) - News and Notes - Ford 200

Finale Settles Championship For 12th Time
Skinner Clings To 29-Point Lead Entering Finale
Homestead Primed To Crown 12th Different Winner
Ford 200 Will See 2007 Raybestos Rookie Crowned

2007 Last Call: Ford 200 Will Determine The Champion – Again

Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) hopes history repeats itself for the 10th time.

Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) hopes he’ll be the third to score a come-from-behind victory.

Skinner, following an eighth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, enters the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale leading rival Hornaday by 29 points.

The margin is the fourth-closest in series history and marks the 12th time in 13 seasons the championship has gone down to the final race.

Just twice – Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota) in 1999 and Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Filters Ford) in 2003 – has the leader entering the final race failed to win the title.

Sprague came from 13 points down to bypass Greg Biffle. Kvapil, 23 points behind in third place, overtook Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Chevrolet).

Skinner can clinch his second championship by finishing second or third with a lap led. Hornaday can clinch by winning, leading the most laps and having Skinner finish third with zero laps led.

“We've run awfully well this year – we've won five races,” said Skinner. “If they would have told me I'd win five races this year and run eighth in the points, I would have said 'okay, I'll take that.' Anything after that is a bonus.”

“All we can do is keep doing what we are doing and racing hard,” said Hornaday.

Tale Of The Tape: The Heavyweights Square Off At Homestead

Mike Skinner (+29) Homestead Races: 5 Driver Rating: 86.3 Bud Poles: 1 Wins: 0 Top 5: 1 Top 10: 2 Races Led: 4 Laps Led: 119 Average Start 6.4 Average Finish: 15.4 2006 Finish: 35

Ron Hornaday Jr. (-29) Homestead Races: 7 Driver Rating: 95.2 Bud Poles: 0 Wins: 1 Top 5: 3 Top 10: 6 Races Led: 4 Laps Led: 73 Average Start: 14.7 Average Finish 6.4 2006 Finish: 14

No Repeat Winners At Homestead-Miami Speedway

When Ron Hornaday Jr. won September’s New Hampshire 200, it left Homestead-Miami Speedway as the last track standing, so to speak.

Both speedways joined the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1996 and each boasted a log of 11 consecutive different winners – a streak Hornaday ended at NHIS.

Now, the South Florida facility will take its turn at collecting an even dozen winners.

Who among those entered hasn’t won at Homestead?

For starters, standings leader Mike Skinner, whose best finish of fourth came in Homestead’s 1996 inaugural race.

Interestingly, no driver has won at Homestead in his championship season although the winners’ roster includes Hornaday (2002), Ted Musgrave (2001), Bobby Hamilton (2003) and Todd Bodine (2005).

Rick Crawford (1998) is the only other Homestead winner expected to compete in the Ford 200.

That leaves six who have won in 2007 in line to visit Homestead’s Victory Lane.

They are Travis Kvapil, Johnny Benson, Jack Sprague, Erik Darnell, Dennis Setzer and Kyle Busch. Busch would seem to be the hottest of the sextet coming off his victory in Phoenix – the 22-year-old Las Vegas driver’s second in his past three starts.

Two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regulars have won at Homestead: Kasey Kahne in 2004 and Mark Martin a year ago.

Raybestos Award Goes Down To The Wire

It’s too close to call.

The 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year battle – like the overall series championship – appears to be headed for a final-lap, last-turn conclusion.

Nashville’s Willie Allen (No. 13 ThorSport Chevrolet) has a seven-point lead over Tim Sauter (No. 07 Lester Buildings Chevrolet) on the eve of the Ford 200 but there’s plenty of competition left on and off the track.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year Committee will meet at Homestead and award up to 30 bonus points to each freshman competitor.

There’s also an overall finish bonus of 10 points with a drop of one-point increments. Allen is 15th in series points but Sauter is just 78 back in 16th.

Allen admits to looking in his mirror and listening to his spotter for positioning of his rivals. “It’s in the back of your mind where they’re running,” he said. “I definitely want to stay ahead of them.”

“All in all, the season’s gone pretty well but we’ve had some good runs get away from us,” said Sauter. “We’ve just got to keep the pressure on and do the best we can.”

The “wild card” in the mix is Joey Clanton (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford). Nine points behind Allen, Clanton has competed in only 15 of 24 races and has the worst finish of the three contenders – five points – to discard.

“We have to make the best of it at Homestead and go get a top 10 and let the cards fall where they may,” he said.

2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Points 1. Willie Allen 158 2. Tim Sauter 151 3. Joey Clanton 149 4. Jason White 123 5. Blake Bjorklund 110

Top 10 Up For Grabs

As they say, “Do the math.”

Every spot in the current top 10 could change with the results of Friday night’s Ford 200.

The tightest battles are for positions third and 10th. Four drivers have a shot at the No. 3 position that Travis Kvapil has held since his victory in Nashville.

Tenth – the final spot on-stage at the awards banquet – is tighter yet. Erik Darnell faces three challengers within 13 points.

Every Point Counts Pos. Driver Points Behind 3. Travis Kvapil 3,411 - 4. Todd Bodine 3,404 -7 5. Johnny Benson 3,367 -37 6. Rick Crawford 3,358 -9 - 10. Erik Darnell 2,784 - 11. Dennis Setzer 2,775 -9 12. David Starr 2,771 -4 13. B. Gaughan 2,770 -1

In The Loop:

Mike Skinner may have to use every bit of his 29-point cushion over Ron Hornaday Jr.

Because Skinner struggles at Homestead-Miami Speedway, while Hornaday thrives.

In five Homestead races, Skinner has an average finish of 15.4, but has failed to crack the top-10 in any of the last two events there. Last year, an accident ended his day after 14 laps.

Over the last two Homestead races, Skinner has a Driver Rating of 86.3, an Average Running Position of 21.7 and has run 43.7 percent of the total laps run in the top 15.

Hornaday, on the other hand, excels at the 1.5-mile track. Last year’s 14th-place finish was the first time in seven races Hornaday failed to notch a top 10. He won there in 2002.

Over the last two races, Hornaday leads Skinner in every key Loop Data category. He has a Driver Rating of 95.2, an Average Running Position of 10.3 and has run 82.5 percent of the Laps in the Top 15. Additionally, Hornaday has 61 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 while under green), which is third-most over the last two years. Over that span, Skinner has 39 Quality Passes.

As for potential spoilers, Jack Sprague could steal the show. In 10 Homestead races, Sprague has failed to crack the top 10 only once, and has finished in the top five in all but two races. With finishes of second and fifth over the last two years, Sprague has racked up some of the most impressive stats in the series. He has a Driver Rating of 115.9, an Average Running Position of 6.4, 35 Fastest Laps Run, 94.8 percent of the laps in the top 15 and 60 Quality Passes.

QUOTABLE:

“I think it’s unique in its own right because it’s got high banks and is really fast. You can run pretty much all the way through the race around the top side. You're going to see guys running up against the wall the whole time, but you can go down to the bottom and try to make a pass and it's wide enough you can race all around that place.” – Kyle Busch on what fans will see at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“You run on the ragged edge. It’s not just at Homestead, but pretty much anywhere. When you’re on the ragged edge, the best driver in the world can find trouble. It’s so competitive right now.” – Todd Bodine, winner of the 2005 Ford 200.

Toyota Hits 100

This week’s race marks the 100th time a Toyota Tundra truck has taken the green flag in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Since 2004, the manufacturer has won 37 times including 12 this season.

Toyota already clinched its second consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship and is hoping to clinch a second consecutive driver title.

Manufacturers' Championship 2007 Point Standings Toyota 170 Chevrolet 147 Ford 132 Dodge 79

This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders (Through 24 races of the 25-race season)

* Points leader – Mike Skinner (3,865) * Driver Rating – Mike Skinner (117.4) * Winnings – Mike Skinner ($727,950) * Laps led – Mike Skinner (1,099) * Victories – Mike Skinner (5) * Bud Poles – Mike Skinner (11) * Top-five finishes – Mike Skinner (17) * Top-10 finishes – Ron Hornaday Jr. (21) * Raybestos Rookie Leader – Willie Allen (7 points over Tim Sauter) * Races led – Mike Skinner (23) * Weeks in Top 10 – Nine drivers tied with 24

On Deck: Champion’s Celebration

The 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion will barely have time to change from fire suit to tuxedo as the annual Champion’s Awards Banquet will be held Monday, Nov. 19 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in nearby Hollywood, Fla.

The ceremonies will be the seventh held in Florida as the banquet returns to the Miami area following last’s year’s gala affair in Orlando.

Fast Facts

Next Race: Ford 200 The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway The Date: November 161 The Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET) TV: SPEED 7:30 p.m. (ET) Track Layout: 1.5- paved oval Race Purse: $655,346 2006 Winner: Mark Martin 2006 Pole: Mike Skinner 2007 Standings: No. Driver Points 1 Skinner 3,865 2 Hornaday 3,836 3 Kvapil 3,411 4 Bodine 3,404 5 Benson 3,367 6 Crawford 3,367 7 Musgrave 3,074 8 Crafton 2,933 9 Sprague 2,886 10 Darnell 2,886

Schedule: Friday: Practice 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m.–10:15 a.m. (rookies) and 10:25 a.m.–11:25 a.m. Qualifying 5:00 p.m.