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Mike Skinner finished second in the inaugural Truck Series race last year at Talladega.By the Numbers: Talladega
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As the Truck Series enters the homestretch in the closest points battle in history, one tends to look for trends to try and predict who will be the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series champion.
Heading into a predictably wild weekend at Talladega for Saturday's running of the Mountain Dew 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, SPEED), and only three points separating leader Mike Skinner from Ron Hornaday, anything can -- and probably will -- happen.
But past history shows that the superspeeedways in Daytona and Talladega can help clarify the championship picture. In four of the last five races held at those two tracks, the eventual series champion finished better than the runner-up.
In 2006, champion Todd Bodine was second at Daytona and fourth at Talladega compared to Johnny Benson who finished 15th and ninth, respectively. In 2005, Ted Musgrave won his first championship with help from a fifth in the season opener at Daytona; Dennis Setzer, the points runner-up finished 16th.
Travis Kvapil finished second in the 2003 Daytona race and went on to win his first Truck Series title while runner-up Setzer finished seventh.
The only exception was in 2004, when Setzer finished sixth compared to Bobby Hamilton's 11th at Daytona, but Hamilton went on to win the points title.
In this year's Daytona race, Skinner finished fourth and Hornaday crossed the line in seventh. If Skinner beats Hornaday at Talladega this weekend, it could be one more step in his quest for another Truck Series championship.
Interesting Fact
7In 19 races, the Bud Pole winner has gone on to win the race seven times. That's a winning percentage of 37 percent. Compare that to the Cup and Busch Series where it's only happened four times this season in 29 races on the Cup level (14 percent) and four times in the 30 races in the Busch Series (13 percent).
Fun Fact
1,063.95Number of miles this season Mike Skinner has been the leader. To put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of a drive from Bill Davis Racing in High Point, N.C., to Talladega, Ala., then up to Martinsville, Va., for next week's race and return to Bill Davis Racing with roughly 85 miles to spare.
All the Facts
2Number of victories Toyota needs to clinch the manufacturer's championship in the Truck Series.
3Only three drivers will pull double-duty and run in the Truck and Cup race at Talladega: Kyle Busch, Jacques Villeneuve and Mike Wallace. Villeneuve will have to qualify for the Cup race.
4In the past six races, four drivers have finished in the top 10 in five of them: Ron Hornaday, Johnny Benson, Rick Crawford and Erik Darnell. Hornaday and Benson have each won two of the last six races.
4.9Average running position of Johnny Benson in last year's race at Talladega, the highest among the drivers. He finished the race ninth.
5Number of laps Ted Musgrave has led all season, the fewest among the drivers currently in the top 10 in points. In comparison, points leader Mike Skinner has led 961 laps.
7Number of cautions in last year's race at Talladega for a total of 23 laps.
8Number of laps Matt Crafton had the fastest truck in last year's race, the most among all drivers. He finished 18th.
9Number of positions Mike Skinner gained in the final 10 percent of the race last year en route to his second-place finish. Only Robert Richardson gained more positions in the final part of the race with 12.
9Number of drivers who led at least one lap in last year's race. Of those nine, six are entered in this year's race: Johnny Benson (32), Todd Bodine (5), Ted Musgrave (5), Erik Darnell (5), Mike Wallace (4) and Chad McCumbee (1). Race winner Mark Martin, A.J. Allmendinger and Sean Murphy are not entered in this year's race.
12There were 12 lead changes among the nine leaders in last year's Talladega race.
91Number of laps Johnny Benson was in the top 15 in last year's race at Talladega. He was the only driver to spend at least 90 laps in the top 15.
170Number of quality passes for Ron Hornaday in last year's race, the most among all drivers. He finished 10th.
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Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday
2007 Truck stats
| Mike Skinner | Ron Hornaday | |
|---|---|---|
| Races | 19 | 19 |
| Wins | 4 | 4 |
| Top-fives | 14 | 10 |
| Top-10s | 16 | 17 |
| Poles | 9 | 0 |
| Laps Led | 961 | 722 |
| Avg.Start | 2.3 | 10.2 |
| Avg Finish | 6.2 | 5.4 |
| Lead Lap Finishes | 18 | 18 |
Official Standings
Craftsman Truck Series
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +1 | Mike Skinner | 3064 | Leader |
| 2. | -1 | Ron Hornaday | 3061 | -3 |
| 3. | -- | Travis Kvapil | 2883 | -181 |
| 4. | -- | Todd Bodine | 2750 | -314 |
| 5. | -- | Johnny Benson | 2666 | -398 |
| 6. | -- | Rick Crawford | 2619 | -445 |
| 7. | -- | Ted Musgrave | 2386 | -678 |
| 8. | +1 | Erik Darnell | 2351 | -713 |
| 9. | -1 | Matt Crafton | 2302 | -762 |
| 10. | -- | Jack Sprague | 2252 | -812 |
• Complete Standings click here
Truck Series News
- Townley removed from No. 09 truck
- Skinner to drive at Daytona for Eddie Sharp Racing
- Dillon happy to be called 'Austin's little brother'
- SS Green Light tabs crew chief Berry for Chastain
- Crew chief-turned-owner Wauters tabs Harraka
- Chastain joins SS Green Light Racing for 2012
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