Friday night title bout in Truck Series a hidden gem

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Once again, during a Ford Championship weekend when NASCAR keeps trying to sell a Chase for the Sprint Cup that is all but over, the best battle for a title came on a steamy Friday night.

The Cup guys won't run the Ford 400 until Sunday, but the show put on Friday by the Craftsman Truck Series -- with Johnny Benson securing the championship from Ron Hornaday via some surprising pit strategy -- was nothing short of spectacular.

This was the real points race. After 24 races and with no Chase to get in the way, Benson led Hornaday by the slim margin of three points heading into the Ford 200.

Throughout practice and qualifying leading up to the actual race, Benson knew Hornaday's truck probably was faster. It qualified better and consistently posted quicker lap times during practice. But Benson's crew chief, Trip Bruce, foretold of the outcome prior to the race when he pulled his driver aside.

"He told me, 'We may not be the fastest. But hopefully we'll be the smartest,'" Benson said.

Hornaday appeared to have Benson's No. 23 Toyota covered as the laps wound down -- but that all changed with 10 laps to go when Mike Skinner, Benson's teammate at Bill Davis Racing, blew out a right-front tire and brought out the caution.

The caution, and the strategies the two championship-contending teams opted for during it, changed everything.

Sound strategy
Thirty-two laps earlier Bruce made the risky call to slap on right-side tires only -- which resulted in Benson vaulting to the lead for a while. As the grip on the tires went away, Benson started fading back and Hornaday surged ahead of him, building a 12-point cushion in his own quest for the championship.

Conventional logic, then, was that Benson absolutely had to come and get tires with 10 to go and hope for the best. Hornaday, on the other hand, had options. He could have stayed out and kept his track position and figured on hanging on.

Instead, with Hornaday's radio malfunctioning, confusion between him and his pit crew ensued and he came to pit road to take on four tires. Benson stayed out along with several others.

When the dust cleared after the caution, Benson sat in sixth -- albeit on very old tires -- but Hornaday came out in 13th. It was a 27-point swing, taking Hornaday from 12 ahead to 15 behind.

Team owner and fellow driver Kevin Harvick said he thought Hornaday "had 'em covered" and couldn't understand why Hornaday's No. 33 Chevrolet would pit. Hornaday later blamed it on the radio problem, saying he likely would have stayed out otherwise. But he refused to use it as an excuse.

"If we had come back and won the race, it would have been the call of the century," Hornaday said. (Continued)