Hornaday with amazing season, just short of title

Ron Hornaday is used to close Truck Series championship battles.

In 1996, Hornaday won his first Truck title by just 53 points over Jack Sprague. In '98, those two battled again, with Hornaday winning title No. 2 by a mere three points. Last year, it was Hornaday and Mike Skinner battling to the end with Hornaday edging Skinner in the final race at Homestead for his third Truck Series championship.

Ron Hornaday swept Texas among his six victories.

Coming into the '08 season, Hornaday was prepared for two things -- a target on his back from the other drivers and possibly another close championship battle.

If there was a target on Hornaday's back, he didn't let it bug him. Hornaday had his No. 33 Chevrolet in the lead for at least a lap in the first 10 races, collecting 50 important bonus points toward the title. Add to that wins at Kansas and Texas and top-five finishes at Fontana, Atlanta and Dover and to the surprise of few, Hornaday was leading the Truck Series again.

Things tightened up considerably right after that. Johnny Benson went on a tear winning four of the next six races, taking the points lead along the way. After a disappointing 24th-place finish at Bristol that saw Hornaday fall 119 points behind Benson, Hornaday responded with back-to-back wins at Gateway and New Hampshire to close the gap to 74.

The next week at Vegas, Hornaday finished fifth as Benson struggled, narrowing the deficit to a single point. Hornaday took the points lead at Talladega but lost it the following week at Martinsville, when he gambled on fuel and lost. He would never reclaim the top spot.

A second at Atlanta closed the gap and a win at Texas seemed to give Hornaday the momentum heading into Phoenix. But a crash on the first lap squelched any boost Hornaday had and although he stayed in the title hunt thanks to some problems for Benson, all Benson had to do in the finale at Homestead was finish ahead of Hornaday, which he did, making Hornaday a bridesmaid for the first time in his career.

Sam's Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway -- Choosing just one race as Hornaday's best was a difficult task for the 2008 season. The races at Kansas, Memphis, Gateway and New Hampshire all were dominated by Hornaday from start to finish, but it was his run in the Lone Star State that stands out the most. Hornaday started third and found his way to the front quickly, leading 140 of the 172 laps run. But what was more impressive was the way he kept the hottest driver in NASCAR, Kyle Busch, in his rearview mirror for most of the race.

Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway -- In the second to last race of the season, just six points separated Hornaday and Benson in the championship battle. Hornaday started on the pole, but in Turn 3 on the first lap Hornaday over-drove the corner, bumped Busch and slammed into the wall causing significant damage. Hornaday finished 34 laps off the pace in 25th-place in what should have been a title killer. Luckily for Hornaday, Benson had a plethora of problems at PIR and the points battle remained tight.

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