While Mike Skinner has grabbed many of the headlines this season, Ron Hornaday Jr. has quietly matched his efficiency. Hornaday’s win Friday night cut Skinner’s point lead in half, leaving him 77 points out of first place.
“I’m sure Skinner is going to be running twice as hard now, ” Hornaday said. “Don’t count him out. He is still ‘the guy’ - he is still leading in points. ”
The win also tied the two drivers with 13 top-10 finishes each in 14 races.
Hornaday has been steadily climbing the standings since his seventh-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. He has been second since the seventh race of the season at Mansfield Motorsports Park.
Despite his success, Hornaday knows the only way to make up ground on Skinner is to beat him each week. That is not an easy task considering Skinner’s 11 top fives.
“We just need to keep winning races, ” Hornaday said. “If we can just keep gaining 10 points on Skinner each week, we’ll be right there and it will be a heck of a Homestead race. “
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