With the NASCAR Truck Series on the shelf until October 24, now would be a good time to recap what has been going on.
Ron Hornaday, on the heels of a tough race at Las Vegas on September 26 where he finished sixth, remains first in the season point standings with 3210 points. Hot on his tail is Matt Crafton, who, despite having zero wins in the 2009 season and just one win in 217 career starts, is best positioned to topple Hornaday after finishing second at Vegas behind rookie ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter. It just goes to show that consistency will keep any driver in the running, as the California native has finished in the top-5 nine times and the top-10 sixteen times this season. Of the 16 drivers who have started all 20 Truck Series races, only Hornaday (12 top-fives and 16 top-tens) matches Crafton’s progress.
Let’s continue our focus on Crafton. Three races back at Gateway, the ThorSport Racing driver was black-flagged for aggressive driving as he came on the inside of Todd Bodine, then Ron Hornaday, wrecking both drivers out at the tail end of the race. While there is no official rule on blocking, NASCAR.com columnist Dave Rodman expresses his distaste on the penalizing of Crafton in a race series where the unwritten code on blocking is, essentially, block if you dare. Crashing and wrecking are the risks of any motorsport and, according to Rodman, penalizing Crafton does NASCAR no justice, especially since the penalty came near race end. Rodman highlights similar events in the past where no penalties were incurred, calling for fairness and consistency in calls from the top for the remaining races. Can’t say I disagree with him.
Since Gateway, Crafton finished fourth at Loudon and second at Vegas. Sitting behind Crafton is veteran Mike Skinner, with Brian Scott and Johnny Sauter rounding out the top five. The remaining races on the schedule are Martinsville (October 24), Talladega (October 31), Texas (November 6), Phoenix (November 13), and Homestead (November 20).
For those who recognize the name Nelson Piquet, his son Nelson Jr. is attempting to earn a ride in the Truck Series next year. Piquet Jr. was in North Carolina for a seat fitting with Red Horse Racing on October 5, and will test Red Horse’s Toyota Tundra race truck on October 12. Looking for a fresh start in the NASCAR ranks following F1’s “Crashgate” scandal, the former Renault driver is looking to ultimately make his way to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup level. Red Horse Racing is also fielding a test truck for IndyCar Series veteran Vitor Meira on the same day.
"We look forward to helping Vitor Meira and Nelson Piquet make the transition into NASCAR," said Red Horse Racing owner Tom DeLoach. "It's not an easy thing to do -- to go from an open-wheel background to racing stock cars -- but they are both immensely talented and have the ability to be successful in any series they choose to race in."
1) Ron Hornaday – 3210 points (Chevrolet)
2) Matt Crafton – 3013 points (Chevrolet)
3) Mike Skinner – 2955 points (Toyota)
4) Brian Scott – 2714 points (Toyota)
5) Johnny Sauter – 2647 points (Chevrolet)
6) Todd Bodine – 2645 points (Toyota)
7) Colin Braun – 2632 points (Ford)
8) Rick Crawford – 2576 points (Ford)
9) Timothy Peters – 2573 points (Toyota)
10) David Starr – 2552 points (Toyota)
NASCAR photos courtesy of Getty Images.