Last year, Hornaday was engaged in a tight points battle with Johnny Benson heading into Phoenix. Benson held just a slim six-point lead over Hornaday with two races to go.
Last year, Hornaday was engaged in a tight points battle with Johnny Benson heading into Phoenix. Benson held just a slim six-point lead over Hornaday with two races to go.
Hornaday was involved in an opening lap crash, but rebounded for a 25th-place finish and moved to within three points of Benson before the season-ending race at Homestead. Benson also crashed early at Phoenix and settled for a 26th-place run.
Benson barely won his first Truck Series title after finishing seventh at Homestead. Hornaday finished eighth and ended the 2008 season just seven points behind the champion.
Hornaday will clinch if he has a 22nd-place average finish in the next two races. While he sits in a comfortable spot in the drivers' standings, the battle for the owners' championship continues to be a good one. Kyle Busch picked up his seventh victory of the season last Friday at Texas, as Billy Ballew Motorsports cut Kevin Harvick Inc.'s lead in the owners' points to just 75.
"To me right now we are just focused on two more races," Hornaday said. "I don't look at the championship until Homestead. The No.33 team is not only racing for the driver's championship, but we want to make sure Kevin and DeLana [Harvick] win the owner's championship as well. I don't go into it looking at how many points we are ahead. I know that we just need to win the last two races. That's what I want to go do and then the points will take care of themselves."
Busch has won the last five races he's entered with Ballew's No.51 Toyota. He won at Phoenix in 2007.
Hornaday is a two-time race winner at Phoenix.
"I have been pretty successful at Phoenix International Raceway over the years," he said. " I have had a lot of great races there and have two wins there in 1998 and 1999."
He also has finished second there twice (2005 and '07).
Kevin Harvick has won at Phoenix three times, including last year's race there. Harvick is competing in this weekend's race.
Thirty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Lucas Oil 150.
Mike Bliss will replace Terry Cook in the No.25 Toyota at Phoenix. HT Motorsports and Cook parted ways after Texas.
