NCTS Recap: Hornaday Wins Fourth Of Season At Gateway
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. By Tim Tuttle, Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(September 6, 2008)
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.
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