Backstretch Motorsports

Ron Hornaday, Jr. drove his No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet straight to Victory Lane at Gateway International Raceway. The win was the reigning champion's fourth of the season. (CIA Stock photo)

MADISON, Ill. — Ron Hornaday Jr. was the class of the field Saturday in the Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway, winning his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season and 37th of his career.

Hornaday led 113 of 160 laps on the 1.25-mile track and finished .646 seconds ahead of runner-up Dennis Setzer. Johnny Benson was third and had his lead in the points standings over Hornaday cut to 94. Todd Bodine was fourth and Jack Sprague fifth.

It was Hornaday’s first win at Gateway in six starts. He started second and immediately showed his strength, leading the opening 21 laps.

“Finally, here,” Hornaday said. “It’s cool. I drove my guts out. It’s not what we wanted on Johnny; we needed a little more. I had a lot of fun, and this is what the championship is all about.”

Hornaday was the leader when a caution came out before the final pit stops for the lead-lap trucks on Lap 104. Crew chief Rick Ren decided to take four tires, and Hornaday restarted sixth. The trucks in front of Hornaday either took two or no tires.

Benson restarted with the lead, followed by Setzer. Both drivers took right-side tires.

Hornaday made it look easy driving back to the front, leading the final 30 laps. He pulled away from Setzer on the final restart with 11 to go and was never threatened.

“It was a great call by Rick putting on four tires,” Hornaday said.

The two-tire strategy worked for Setzer and Benson.

Setzer had started on the pole, his first in the series in seven years, but had dropped to eighth before his final pit stop.

“Two tires was the only way for us to get out in front,” Setzer said. “Our truck was pretty good on two tires, but we were a little tight between Turns 1 and 2, and Ron got around us.”

Benson started 14th and was up to ninth in the opening 10 laps. But progress from there was difficult, and he didn’t crack the top five until his two-tire stop put him in the lead.

“The pit strategy got us up there,” Benson said. “We had to do something, and two tires got us in the lead.”

Benson wasn’t pleased with the new engine specifications handed down by NASCAR this week that affected only the Toyota engines, dropping them 10 to 15 horsepower.

“It hurt us a bunch,” said Benson, who drives a Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. “Toyota has been penalized for doing a good job.”

Marc Davis, 18, driving a Chevrolet for Randy Moss Motorsports, was 16th in his first NCTS race.

NASCAR Race Number 17
Unofficial Race Results for the Camping World “200″ - Saturday, September 6, 2008
Gateway International Raceway - Madison, IL - 1.25 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 160 Laps - 200 Miles - Purse: $626,908

Leader
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 2 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Camping World/RV’s.com Chevrolet 160 195 10 $64,650 Running 4 113
2 1 18 Dennis Setzer Royal Gate Dodge Chrysler Jeep Dodge 160 175 5 $44,775 Running 1 20
3 14 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota 160 170 5 $33,245 Running 1 6
4 5 30 Todd Bodine Lumber Liquidators Toyota 160 160 $23,985 Running
5 10 2 Jack Sprague American Commercial Lines Chevrolet 160 160 5 $20,235 Running 1 3
6 18 99 Erik Darnell Northern Tool & Equipment Ford 160 150 $17,485 Running
7 8 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 160 151 5 $15,210 Running 1 18
8 7 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Truck Corral/Powerstroke Diesel by 160 142 $14,810 Running
9 4 6 Colin Braun # Con-Way Freight Ford 160 138 $14,810 Running
10 19 59 Ted Musgrave Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota 160 134 $14,810 Running
11 20 8 Chad McCumbee Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet 160 130 $12,760 Running
12 25 88 Matt Crafton Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet 160 127 $12,585 Running
13 11 51 Shane Sieg Miccosukee Resorts/NOS Energy Drink Toyota 160 124 $12,510 Running
14 3 16 Brian Scott # Albertsons Chevrolet 160 121 $12,460 Running
15 16 21 Keven Wood Air Force Ford 160 118 $13,360 Running
16 12 81 Marc Davis Howard University-WHUR Radio Chevrolet 160 115 $12,510 Running
17 23 60 Terry Cook Wyler.com Toyota 160 112 $12,060 Running
18 27 40 Jeff Green Westerman Companies Chevrolet 160 109 $11,885 Running
19 29 03 Chrissy Wallace Germain Toyota Toyota 160 106 $9,535 Running
20 24 71 Andy Lally # BryanMark Financial Group Chevrolet 160 103 $11,010 Running
21 30 10 Brendan Gaughan International MAXXFORCE Diesel Ford 160 100 $10,685 Running
22 32 63 Jack Smith Dave Porter Truck Sales Ford 159 97 $9,460 Running
23 17 13 Shelby Howard FarmPaint.com Chevrolet 158 94 $9,435 Running
24 9 22 Michael Annett Pilot Travel Centers Toyota 157 91 $9,410 Running
25 6 09 Bobby East Zaxby’s Ford 157 88 $9,385 Running
26 15 15 Marc Mitchell # Hyprene-Ergon Toyota 146 85 $9,360 Brakes
27 22 9 Justin Marks # Construct Corps/crocs Toyota 144 82 $9,335 Accident
28 21 11 David Starr Red Horse Racing Toyota 132 79 $9,310 Accident
29 13 7 T J Bell Jr. Iams Home4theHoliday.org Chevrolet 122 76 $9,285 Transmission
30 31 08 Jason White GunBroker.com Dodge 119 73 $9,265 Accident
31 34 54 Bradley Riethmeyer Calico Coatings Chevrolet 111 70 $9,255 Radiator
32 26 19 Robb Brent Brad Keselowski Racing Chevrolet 110 67 $9,245 Accident
33 35 36 J C Stout Mittler Brothers Machine & Tool Ford 15 64 $9,210 Vibration
34 28 07 Chris Jones Days Inn Chevrolet 13 61 $9,185 Brakes
35 33 0 Butch Miller ASI Limited Chevrolet 3 58 $9,170 Ignition
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 22,000 - Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Camping World 200, his 37th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory and first at Gateway International Raceway. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear: #54 Riethmeyer (engine).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 07 Mins, 51 Secs. Average Speed: 93.860 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.646 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 38 laps: Laps: 7-9 (#09 accident turn 2); 22-25 (#15 spun turn 3); 61-64 (debris); 104-108 (debris); 112-120 (#19 accident turn 3); 122-126 (#6, 08, 16, 60, 63 accident turn 3); 134-137 (#11 accident turn 2); 146-149 (#9 accident turn 1).
Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers: D. Setzer (Pole); R. Hornaday Jr. 1-21; M. Skinner 22-39; R. Hornaday Jr. 40-61; J. Sprague 62-64; R. Hornaday Jr. 65-104; J. Benson 105-110; D. Setzer 111-130; R. Hornaday Jr. 131-160.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) J. Benson 2,596;(2) R. Hornaday Jr. 2,502;(3) M. Crafton 2,397;(4) T. Bodine 2,347;(5) M. Skinner 2,323;(6) R. Crawford 2,307;(7) E. Darnell 2,289;(8) J. Sprague 2,233;(9) D. Setzer 2,165;(10) T. Cook 2,158.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33 (23 Places) Keystone Light Pole Award : Dennis Setzer, #18 (132.638 mph)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33 Mobil1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Dennis Setzer, #18
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award : Colin Braun, #6 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33
Wix Filters Lap Leader Award : Ron Hornaday, Jr., #33 (113 Laps)
Next Race: Sep. 13, 2008 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway