By the Numbers: H'stead

By Bill Kimm, NASCAR.COM
November 15, 2007
10:46 AM EST

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It all comes down to this -- 134 laps at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway -- to determine if Mike Skinner will win his second Truck Series championship or if Ron Hornaday can become the second, third-time winner.

In 2007, there have been three different drivers to hold the points lead. Jack Sprague was on top after his dramatic, three-wide win at Daytona. Skinner took the lead the next week at California and held it until Gateway, the 17th race of the season, when Hornaday led for the first time.

Since then, it's been Hornaday and Skinner swapping the top spot with Skinner holding a 29-point advantage heading into the Ford 200 on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, SPEED).

If Skinner finishes second or better, the title is his; if Skinner finishes third and doesn't lead a lap, Hornaday would have to win the race and lead the most laps to win the title.

Interesting Fact

2The Truck Series championship has gone down to the final race in 12 of the 13 seasons but only twice has the leader going into the final race not won the championship. In 1999, Greg Biffle had a 13-point edge and lost to Jack Sprague and in 2003, Brendan Gaughan was up 34 points on third-place Travis Kvapil, who won the title.

Fun Fact

12All 12 Truck Series races at Homestead have been sponsored by a car manufacturer. The first six races from 1996-2001 were sponsored by Florida Dodge dealers, the last six, including this year, were sponsored by Ford. Ironically, Ford won four of the six Dodge-sponsored races while Dodge won two of its three at Homestead when Ford was the sponsor.

All the Facts

0In 11 Truck Series races at Homestead, there has yet to be a repeat winner. This is good news for points leader Mike Skinner as he has yet to win at the track. Ron Hornaday was victorious in 2002.

0No driver has competed in all 11 Truck Series races at Homestead. Jack Sprague and Rick Crawford have raced in 10 events with Crawford having the only win between the two.

0No driver has won at Homestead and the championship in the same season.

1Despite holding the lead in four of five races at Homestead, Mike Skinner has just one top-five finish, a fourth back in 1997.

4Four races this season, Ron Hornaday has out-pointed Mike Skinner by at least 29 points (Lowe’s, Dover, O’Reilly and Gateway). At Homestead, the two have raced against each other four times with Hornaday out-pointing Skinner by at least 29 twice (1996 and 2006).

4Number of former winners at Homestead in the field hoping to become the first repeat winner: Rick Crawford, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday and Todd Bodine.

6Number of drivers entered in this week's race with an average finish at Homestead inside the top 10: Erik Darnell (3.0), Jason Leffler (3.0), Jack Sprague (5.6), Kyle Busch (6.0), Ron Hornaday (6.4) and David Starr (6.4).

6.63Average number of cautions in 11 Truck Series races at Homestead for an average of 26 laps.

7.0Average starting position of the winners in 11 Truck Series races at Homestead. The winner has started from the pole just once and has won six races with a starting position outside the top five.

14Points that separate four drivers for 10th in the points standings. Only the top-10 drivers are invited to the end-of-the-season awards banquet in Florida. Erik Darnell is 10th, nine points ahead of Dennis Setzer, 13 points ahead of David Starr and 14 points ahead of Brendan Gaughan.

35Position points leader Mike Skinner finished in this race last season after a crash on Lap 14 ended his day.

44Number of laps Todd Bodine had the fastest truck in the last two races at Homestead, tops among all drivers.

89Number of green flag passes for Ron Hornaday in the last two races at Miami, fourth among drivers. Mike Skinner ranks 17th with 54.

100The Toyota Tundra will make its 100th start in a Truck Series race this week at Homestead. In that time, Toyota has won 37 races, including 12 this season.

115.9Driver Rating for Jack Sprague at Homestead in the last two races, tops among drivers entered in this week's race.

257Number of laps Jack Sprague has led at Homestead, the most among drivers without a win at the track. In 10 races, Sprague has eight top-fives including three second-place finishes.

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Homestead-Miami Speedway

NCTS Winners

Year	Winner	Make	Speed

1996	Dave Rezendes	Ford	102.000
1997	Kenny Irwin	Ford	98.565
1998	Rick Crawford	Ford	114.475
1999	Mike Wallace	Ford	109.813
2000	Andy Houston	Chevrolet	129.755
2001	Ted Musgrave	Dodge	118.176
2002	Ron Hornaday	Chevrolet	133.260
2003	Bobby Hamilton	Dodge	120.439
2004	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	114.930
2005	Todd Bodine	Toyota	119.920
2006	Mark Martin	Ford	126.019

Official Standings

Craftsman Truck Series

Pos.	+/-	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	--	Mike Skinner	3865	Leader
2.	--	Ron Hornaday	3836	-29
3.	--	Travis Kvapil	3411	-454
4.	--	Todd Bodine	3404	-461
5.	+1	Johnny Benson	3367	-498
6.	-1	Rick Crawford	3358	-507
7.	--	Ted Musgrave	3074	-791
8.	--	Matt Crafton	2933	-932
9.	--	Jack Sprague	2886	-979
10.	--	Erik Darnell	2784	-1081