Backstretch Motorsports

AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 7, 2008) — Kevin Harvick held off hard-charging Kyle Busch to win Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, as title contenders Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson struggled to wreck-plagued finishes that left them three points apart with one race left.

Benson takes a three-point lead to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the smallest margin with one race left in series history. The previous low margin was Hornaday’s 13-point advantage over Jack Sprague in 1998; when Hornaday went on to win the title.

Harvick, who owns the No. 33 Chevrolet that Hornaday drives, finished .941 seconds ahead of Busch, who had stopped for tires on Lap 130 and charged through the field to the second position. Todd Bodine was third, followed by rookie Brian Scott and Mike Skinner.

A succession of troubles dropped Hornaday to 25th and Benson to 26th at the finish and allowed Hornaday to trim three points from Benson’s lead entering the race.

From Hornaday’s perspective, the championship battle took a turn for the worse on the first lap. Starting from the pole, Hornaday raced side-by-side with Busch into Turn 3, and as the trucks rolled through the corner, the rear of Hornaday’s Chevrolet slid out, starting a spin that would see the defending series champion slam nose-first into the outside wall.

Hornaday’s truck slid down across the track, only to be broadsided by J.R. Fitzpatrick’s Chevy. Benson’s Toyota sustained damage on the right side as it clipped Hornaday’s crippled truck on the way past.

“I was a little bit frustrated on that first lap, seeing that 33 turned around, but it worked out for us,” said Harvick, who picked up the third truck series win of his career and his first since 2003. “In one sense, you think you’ve lost the championship, but it’s never over till it’s over.”

After hasty repairs in the garage, Hornaday returned to the track 29 laps down and worked his way back to 29th before an accident involving Benson and T.J. Bell sent the points leader to the garage on Lap 87 for extensive repairs.

By the time Benson returned to the track, Hornaday had passed him for the 25th position, and neither could improve the rest of the way.

“I don’t know what to really think,” Benson said.” It seemed like everyone was gunning for me and Ron. It was a bad night for both of us.”

NASCAR Race Number 24
Unofficial Race Results for the Lucas Oil 150 - Friday, November 7, 2008
Phoenix International Raceway - Phoenix, AZ - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 150 Laps - 150 Miles - Purse: $535,184

Leader
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 10 2 Kevin Harvick Camping World Chevrolet 150 190 5 $48,475 Running 2 60
2 2 51 Kyle Busch Miccosukee Resorts/NOS Energy Drink Toyota 150 180 10 $34,525 Running 2 90
3 11 30 Todd Bodine Lumber Liquidators Toyota 150 165 $24,695 Running
4 5 16 Brian Scott # Albertsons Toyota 150 160 $17,135 Running
5 8 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 150 155 $13,685 Running
6 7 19 Brad Keselowski Brad Keselowski Racing Chevrolet 150 150 $10,460 Running
7 3 99 Erik Darnell Northern Tool + Equipment Ford 150 146 $14,260 Running
8 13 88 Matt Crafton Menards/NIBCO Chevrolet 150 142 $11,810 Running
9 20 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Truck Corral/PowerStrokeDiesel by Int’l Ford 150 138 $12,060 Running
10 9 10 Brendan Gaughan International MAXXFORCE Diesel Ford 150 134 $13,135 Running
11 12 59 Terry Cook Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota 150 130 $11,510 Running
12 22 8 Chad McCumbee Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet 150 127 $11,385 Running
13 24 11 David Starr Zachry Toyota 150 124 $11,335 Running
14 4 22 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 150 121 $11,285 Running
15 16 18 Dennis Setzer Power Chrysler Jeep Dodge Dodge 150 118 $12,385 Running
16 15 81 Donny Lia # Nationrides.com Chevrolet 150 115 $11,160 Running
17 21 60 Jack Sprague Wyler.com Toyota 150 112 $11,110 Running
18 25 9 Michael Annett Construct Corps/Crocs Toyota 150 109 $11,060 Running
19 19 13 Shelby Howard FarmPaint.com Chevrolet 150 106 $11,010 Running
20 30 08 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 150 103 $11,860 Running
21 28 61 Brett Thompson Windmill Inns/Rich Thompson Trucking Dodge 150 100 $8,635 Running
22 23 15 Kenny Wallace Ergon Hyprene Toyota 150 97 $8,585 Running
23 31 21 Jon Wood Air Force Ford 149 94 $10,735 Running
24 27 09 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Ford 136 91 $9,385 Accident
25 1 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. VFW Chevrolet 116 88 $12,185 Running
26 14 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota 98 85 $8,185 Accident
27 26 7 T.J. Bell Jr. SpongeTech/Home4theHolidays.org Chevrolet 86 82 $8,060 Accident
28 18 6 Colin Braun # Con-way Freight Ford 77 79 $7,960 Accident
29 35 50 Craig Wood Buchanan Pharmacies Ford 57 76 $7,860 Accident
30 6 71 J.R. Fitzpatrick Mammoet.com Chevrolet 46 73 $7,760 Accident
31 17 40 Mike Bliss Key Motorsports Chevrolet 25 70 $7,710 Accident
32 33 89 Russ Dugger Lafferty Performance Chevrolet 22 67 $7,685 Vibration
33 32 07 Johnny Chapman ASI Limited Chevrolet 19 64 $7,660 Ignition
34 34 57 Norm Benning Benning Racing Chevrolet 18 61 $7,635 Overheating
35 29 0 Butch Miller ASI Limited Chevrolet 5 58 $7,610 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 28,500 - Kevin Harvick won the Lucas Oil 150, his third career NASCAR Truck Series victory, all at Phoenix International Raceway. Prior to the green flag the following drivers droppped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #08 White (backup car); #15 Wallace (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 42 Mins, 04 Secs. Average Speed: 88.178 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.940 Seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 41 laps: Laps: 2-11 (#0,23,33,40,51,60,71 accident turn 3); 30-33 (#89 spin turn 2); 64-68 (#50 accident turn 2); 79-85 (#6 accident frontstretch); 88-94 (#23 accident turn 1); 130-133 (#23 accident turn 2); 138-141 (#09,15 accident turn 1).
Lead Changes: 4 among 2 drivers: R. Hornaday Jr. (Pole); K. Busch 1-55; K. Harvick 56-64; K. Busch 65-99; K. Harvick 100-150.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) J. Benson 3,574;(2) R. Hornaday Jr. 3,571;(3) T. Bodine 3,431;(4) E. Darnell 3,282;(5) M. Skinner 3,278;(6) M. Crafton 3,275;(7) R. Crawford 3,251;(8) D. Setzer 3,042;(9) J. Sprague 3,022;(10) T. Cook 2,934.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award : Erik Darnell, #99 (11 Places) Keystone Light Pole Award : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33 (131.776 mph)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Kyle Busch, #51 Mobil1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Todd Bodine, #30
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award : Brian Scott, #16 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kevin Harvick, #2
Next Race: Nov. 14, 2008 - Homestead-Miami Speedway