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Ron Hornaday and his owners will be keeping a watchful eye on Kyle Busch and team as they close in on owner's points. (Getty Images)

Hornaday looking over shoulder, past Crafton

Points leader more concerned with Kyle Busch

By Chris Stanfield, NASCAR.COM
November 5, 2009
10:59 AM EST
type size: + -

After a mediocre finish (17th) last week at Talladega Superspeedway, Ron Hornaday comes to Texas with more than a comfortable lead over Matt Crafton and will be looking for another win at Friday's WinStar World Casino 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, SPEED).

You'd think Hornaday wouldn't be looking over his shoulder much past Crafton in second place. So why is he concerned about someone 1400 points behind him in the standings? "Matt Crafton isn't our worry," said Hornaday. "We are worried about the No. 51 (Kyle Busch). He is fighting for owners points, and he's the guy we're racing, too."

Kyle Busch's victory last week cut the gap in owners' points to 100, and that has Hornaday's team owners, Kevin and DeLana Harvick, looking over their shoulders as well. Texas Motor Speedway has been good to Hornaday and crew, however. Hornaday is the defending champion and won the track's spring race in 2008. Who finished second behind Hornaday in both of last year's TMS races? None other than the red-hot Kyle Busch, who ended Hornaday's five-race victory streak at Bristol back in August.

2Number of tracks holding the distinction of hosting two Truck Series races: Martinsville and Texas Motor Speedway. Nashville Superspeedway joins the ranks next year.
3Todd Bodine attempts to become the third driver to score a season sweep at Texas Motor Speedway. Bodine's June victory made him the first Truck Series competitor to win five times at the same track.
3Amount of first five races at Texas Motor Speedway won by Fords, the last coming in 2000. Dodge's last win (of five) came in 2003. Chevrolet has won nine times; Toyota six.
4Amount of consecutive manufacturer Truck Series titles won by Toyota, matching Chevrolet's record, established from 1995-1998. Toyota trucks have won 13 of the 2009 season's first 22 races.
6.1Average Running Position held by Ron Hornaday at Texas since 2005. Matt Crafton, second in points, has an average of 12.4.
13Top-10 finishes held by Rick Crawford in 23 races at Texas and the most of anyone in the field. In addition, Crawford has eight, top-five finishes but no wins.
140Career laps led by Kyle Busch at Texas. With six starts, Busch has recorded 755 of 909 laps completed (83.1%). His average start is 7.0 and average finish is 10.5
810Amount of driver's points earned by Todd Bodine over the past five races at Texas. Ron Hornaday has earned 785, followed by Mike Skinner with 764.
5,334Miles driven by Rick Crawford over his career at Texas. Brandon Knupp has the least with just 18 miles under his belt.
418,760 Todd Bodine's earnings at Texas Motor Speedway, the most of anyone in Friday’s entry list. With 1529 laps completed over 10 races, Bodine averages $273.88 with each completed lap.

The End

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