NASCAR Truck Race and Championship Winners in Phoenix

Last night's (Nov. 13) NASCAR - Camping World, truck race in Phoenix, determined not only a race winner, but the Series Championship. I really enjoyed the show on the Speed Channel. With one race left in the series, the Champion is already determined to be Ron Hornaday. He has won it before, in '96, '98 and '07. That means he joins a group of drivers who have won a NASCAR Championship four times or more - Richard Petty, Dale Earnhart and Jeff Gordon. That is pretty elite company for any driver to belong to. Jimmie Johnson may join that group in the next two weeks, but the cup championship is by no means settled yet.

Harvick beat out Kyle Busch to take home the race trophy, so it was an all around great night for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. He owns Hornaday's truck. Although Kevin brought out the first caution on lap 7 when he got into some oil on the track, his truck had no damage. Hornaday's crew chief, Rick Ren is usually chewing Tums like candy, but last night he said that he didn't even have one. He must have been really confident.

NASCAR's Truck Race lived up to truck racing hype in that it was a mixture of "wiley old veterans and fresh faced youngsters." It is fun to watch the beating and banging that is more common in the truck races while often inflicting almost no damage.

One of the neatest things about the race last night was watching Hornaday and Harvick doing twin burn outs almost in sequence together on the track. But 33 year old, Harvick's didn't have as much smoke as 51 year old, Hornaday's. The announcers seem to think that Kevin needs to take some lessons. Hornaday certainly has lots of experience.

The only remaining thing to be determined in the series is the owner's championship. Kyle Busch for Billie Ballew is giving Harvick a challenge. Last night during the race Kyle, who has five straight wins in the trucks, tried hard to overtake Harvick,as did the other Ballew driver, Aric Almirolo. Norm Benning finished 25th, 9 laps down. There are always one or two drivers that I like to keep track of. The truck series seems to be a crossroads for those young drivers on the rise and those older drivers who no longer have a cup ride. It gives the kids the benefit of racing with drivers with lots of experience.

If you have never watched or attended a NASCAR race, it really is more than trucks just going around in circles. Listen to the announcers and you will gain a greater understanding. They get pretty excited sometimes. Also if you miss something important, they will show it over and over again. Next weeks truck race is Friday night at 7:30 on the speed channel. I sure plan to be watching.