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It wasn’t the end, but the beginning of Friday night’s Craftsman Truck Series race that had the biggest impact on the championship battle.
While Kevin Harvick cruised to victory over Kyle Busch in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, series points leader Johnny Benson and his top challenger, Ron Hornaday, both were involved in a Lap 1 wreck that started when Hornaday got loose while racing Busch for the lead.
The damage to Hornaday’s truck was the most extensive and it looked as if Benson would earn a big advantage in the standings. But for Benson it was just the beginning. He would be involved in five more wrecks and eventually finished behind Hornaday. Hornaday was 25th and Benson 26th.
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
Benson said he’s not feeling any pressure.
“We decided at the beginning of the year that we’d be running for the championship,” he said. “We’re not worrying about anything, no pressure. We’re making it fun for the fans, that’s for sure. It was just a weird day.”
Harvick joked that he was happy both Benson and Hornaday, the defending champion, “pulled a bonehead” on the same night.
“Luckily tonight, they synchronized their bad nights,” he said.
“When the caution comes out, and you look up in the mirror and all you can see is somebody running into the side of that truck - I actually saw it hit the wall, and you are like, ‘Man, we just lost the championship,”’ Harvick said. “But then (Benson) had problems. That’s what is great about our sport. It’s never over until it’s over.”
“This is unbelievable, when you wreck a truck, to see the Roush boys, the Dodge boys, out there to help just to see a points race,” Hornaday. “I had tears in my eyes.”
When Hornaday finally returned to the track, he was 29 laps down.
It allowed Benson to stretch his lead to 51 points, but he too made several costly errors that prevented him from pulling away.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in Victory Lane,” Harvick said. “This is great, but it was a little frustrating on the first lap to see (Hornaday) turned around. But I guess it all worked out pretty good - we won the race and they gained a few points.”
