Ron Hornaday, driver of the #2 Champion Chevrolet celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Smith's 350 on October 15, 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR)by Brian Hilderbrand (Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
Polesitter Ron Hornaday Jr. held off a late challenge by Matt Crafton on Saturday to earn his 51st Camping World Truck Series victory in the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hornaday, 53, led 107 of the 146 laps and notched his second victory in a row and his first in 11 starts in Las Vegas. Crafton was second, .629 seconds back, followed by Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter and Todd Bodine.
Rounding out the top 10 were Nelson Piquet Jr., David Mayhew, Cole Whitt, Brendan Gaughan and Parker Kligerman.
Hornaday never really had a chance to maintain a sizeable lead because of the 10 caution periods in the race. But it was clear he had the dominant truck since Friday’s first practice session.
“I know I stunk up the show for the fans, but I wanted this win really, really bad,” Hornaday said. “I finally won in Vegas.”
Hornaday was driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for the second race in a row for Kevin Harvick Inc. owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick. The truck is leading the series’ owner points, and the decision to move Hornaday from the No. 33 to the No. 2 was made to help bolster that championship effort. Hornaday won two weeks ago at Kentucky Speedway in his first start this season in the No. 2.
“This is just a dream come true,” Hornaday said. “You don’t get trucks like that very often, and I’ve got it two races in a row, so that’s pretty awesome. Kevin and DeLana, I owe them a lot. They give me a championship truck with the owner points and still believing in me. They put Bruce Cook (crew chief) with me, and we go out and win another one.”
In winning for the third time in five races and the fourth time this season, Hornaday also thrust himself back into the championship race. Austin Dillon and James Buescher, the top two in points going into the race, were involved in separate incidents early, tightening up the points. Dillon now leads Sauter by five points and Buescher by seven. Hornaday is fourth, 21 points back, and Peters is fifth, 25 points off the pace with four races remaining.
Dillon made contact with the outside wall in the fourth turn of the third lap and finished 17th, 15 laps off the pace. Buescher tangled with Max Gresham on Lap 48 and also spent time behind the wall for repairs. He finished 21st.
Notes: There were eight lead changes among five drivers. … The race was slowed by 10 cautions for 44 laps. The track record for cautions and caution laps is 12 and 46, set in 2008. … Although it was Hornaday’s first victory at Las Vegas, it was his eighth top 10.
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Number 21
Unofficial Race Results for the 15Th Annual Smith's 350 - Saturday, October 15, 2011
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 146 Laps - 219 Miles - Purse: $485,175
Leader
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 1 2 Ron Hornaday Champion Chevrolet 146 48 5 150.0 $38,375 Running 4 107
2 5 88 Matt Crafton Ideal Door / Menards Chevrolet 146 42 113.0 $25,350 Running
3 11 17 Timothy Peters GearWrench Toyota 146 42 1 121.3 $20,700 Running 1 4
4 4 13 Johnny Sauter SafeAuto / Curb Records Chevrolet 146 41 1 119.8 $18,500 Running 2 25
5 13 5 Todd Bodine International Trucks / Monaco RV's Toyota 146 40 1 103.5 $16,225 Running 1 4
6 7 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. # Qualcomm / Fleet Solutions Chevrolet 146 38 101.0 $13,250 Running
7 20 19 David Mayhew MMI Services Chevrolet 146 37 91.9 $9,500 Running
8 12 60 Cole Whitt # Fuel Doctor / Red Bull / Stratosphere Chevrolet 146 36 91.9 $11,825 Running
9 21 62 Brendan Gaughan Big O Tires / South Point Hotel and Casino Toyota 146 35 94.9 $11,475 Running
10 3 29 Parker Kligerman # Penske Truck Rentals Dodge 145 34 69.6 $12,750 Running
11 22 39 Ryan Sieg S&W Services Chevrolet 145 33 73.8 $13,475 Running
12 9 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet 144 32 66.0 $11,250 Running
13 19 32 Blake Feese AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 141 31 72.1 $11,200 Running
14 23 23 Jason White GunBroker.com Chevrolet 138 30 79.1 $11,150 Running
15 33 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 136 29 45.5 $12,850 Running
16 16 81 David Starr Zachry / Riviera Toyota 134 29 1 75.6 $11,400 Radiator 1 6
17 2 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 131 27 55.5 $10,800 Running
18 26 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb(i) Glen Lerner Enterprises Dodge 130 PE 45.4 $8,425 Running
19 14 6 Justin Lofton CollegeComplete.com Chevrolet 122 25 88.8 $10,575 Accident
20 17 33 Cale Gale Rheem Heating, Cooling, and Water Heater Chevrolet 120 24 49.7 $11,250 Accident
21 6 31 James Buescher Racersites / JamesBuescher.com Chevrolet 106 23 63.7 $9,125 Running
22 18 22 Joey Coulter # darrellgwynnfoundation.com / RCR Graphics Chevrolet 88 22 60.8 $9,025 Running
23 24 93 B J McLeod S&W Services Chevrolet 68 21 43.3 $7,925 Vibration
24 28 07 Butch Miller Stony Creek Appliance Repair / Riviera Toyota 51 20 41.6 $7,825 Drive Shaft
25 32 66 Max Gresham World Crown 300 / Gresham & Associates Chevrolet 40 19 51.9 $7,950 Accident
26 25 73 Brent Raymer Trans Pecos Trucking / County Building Centers 40 18 48.4 $7,775 Accident
27 10 7 Miguel Paludo # Stemco Duroline Toyota 29 17 57.6 $7,725 Accident
28 8 18 Brian Ickler Toyota Toyota 29 16 57.1 $8,050 Accident
29 15 9 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 26 15 49.9 $7,675 Accident
30 29 38 Mike Garvey S&W Services Chevrolet 8 14 38.7 $8,150 Electrical
31 31 0 Wayne Edwards DriverBoutique.com / Glen Lerner Enterprises Ford 8 PE 37.1 $7,625 Transmission
32 30 65 Lance Fenton Trans Pecos Trucking / FentonMotors.com Chevrolet 7 12 35.0 $7,600 Engine
33 27 27 Chris Jones S&W Services Chevrolet 6 11 33.3 $7,575 Brakes
34 34 75 John Borneman III Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 1 PE 31.4 $7,555 Handling
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 22,500 Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Smith's 350, his 51st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. To start the race, prior to the green flag the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #66 (engine change)
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 06 Mins, 16 Secs. Average Speed: 104.065 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.629 Seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 44 laps: Laps: 3-6 (#3 accident Turn 4 [None]); 13-15 (Debris on track [3]); 23-28 (#9,66 accident frontstretch [3]); 31-35 (#4,7,18,39 accident Turn 1 {red flag after L 31 10 M 17S} [66]); 42-45 (#66,73 accident frontrstretch [3]); 48-51 (#31,32 accident Turn 4 [10]); 61-63 (#22 accident Turn 2 [None]); 117-121 (Debris on track [19]); 124-130 (#6,33 accident backstretch [81]); 136-138 (#10,23 accident Turn 2 [8]).
Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers: R. Hornaday 1-22; D. Starr 23-28; R. Hornaday 29-41; J. Sauter 42-60; T. Peters 61-64; R. Hornaday 65-104; J. Sauter 105-110; T. Bodine 111-114; R. Hornaday 115-146.
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