Benson, Hornady in tight race for trucks title

A year ago, Ron Hornaday Jr. was trailing Mike Skinner by 57 points in the championship when he showed up in Phoenix for the next to last NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season.

That's when Hornaday started the second-biggest comeback in series history to win his third truck title.

If he wants a fourth championship, he won't have such a mountain to climb. He's second again heading to Phoenix International Raceway, but this time just six points behind Johnny Benson Jr. That's the narrowest lead with two races remaining in the 14-year history of the series.

The previous closest at this stage of the season was 2004, when Bobby Hamilton led Dennis Setzer by seven points. Hamilton went on to win the title.

Both Hornaday and Benson have been racing well all season. Hornaday has won six times to Benson's five. Each has 14 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes.

"This is unbelievable, I just can't seem to shake him," Hornaday said looking forward to Friday's Lucas 150 at Phoenix. "This is fun. This is what racing is all about."

Neither of the contenders appears to have much of an advantage on the one-mile Phoenix oval, either.

Hornaday, who drives for Kevin Harvick Inc., has won twice, while Benson, driving for Bill Davis Racing, has one win. Benson has finished among the top-10 at the Arizona track in 85.6 percent of his seven truck starts there, while Hornaday has a top-10 percentage of 84.6 in 13 Phoenix appearances.

Benson, who led Hornaday by 65 points after winning at Martinsville two weeks ago, won the Nationwide - then Busch - title in 1995.

"We show up every week with a truck that is capable of running up front," Benson said. "They have shown they are a championship-caliber team. They have dealt with adversity and bounced back, which is the sign of a strong unit. I am really proud of all that we have accomplished."

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LATE-SEASON CHARGE: NHRA Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon has gone from sixth place, 115 points behind, to a 12-point lead with consecutive wins in the last two events.

Pedregon is seeking his second championship and first since 1992, when he broke up John Force's stretch of 12 titles in 13 years. If Pedregon does take the title, it will mean Force, with 14, or one of the Pedregons - Cruz or brother Tony, a two-time champ - will have won all but one Funny Car championship since 1990. Gary Scelzi won in 2005.