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NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series
TRUCKS: Ten Things to Watch at Gateway
Here are 10 things you'll want to keep an eye on this weekend at Gateway International Raceway...
Kevin Krefting  |  Posted September 04, 2008   Harrisburg, N.C.
Johnny Benson already has four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victories this season and is the defending race champion at Gateway. (Photo Courtesy of Toyota Motorsports)
Randy Moss Motorsports has obtained the No. 5 for driver Mike Skinner. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Article written by veteran motorsports Author and Journalist Tom Jensen - Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., for the Camping World 200 presented by Honda Power Equipment. The race, which will be broadcast live on SPEED Saturday at 2 p.m. EASTERN, is the 17th of 25 events on the 2008 NCTS schedule.

Here are 10 things you'll want to keep an eye on this weekend at Gateway:

1. CAN BENSON REPEAT? Michigan native Johnny Benson has had a dream season in the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles No. 23 Tundra. Benson already has four NCTS victories on the season and is defending champion of the Gateway race. With a 119-point lead over Ron Hornaday Jr. atop the Truck points standings, Benson is working on his first NCTS championship and a strong run here would go a long way towards that.

2. CAN HORNADAY CUT THE GAP? Ron Hornaday and second-place seem to go hand-in-hand at Gateway. He’s finished twice here in Trucks and twice here in NASCAR Nationwide races. Last year, he was second to Benson in this race. If he wants to win a fourth NCTS title, Hornaday’s No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado needs to finish ahead of Benson this time.

3. WILL THE ONION DO IT? Todd Bodine, the 2006 NCTS champion, loves GIR, where he’s finished fourth, first and seventh in his last three races. He’ll be looking to put the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota back in victory lane this time. He should absolutely be a threat on Saturday.

4. CAN MATT CRAFTON STEP UP? The good news for Matt Crafton, pilot of the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet, is that he’s still third in NCTS points. The bad news is that he hasn’t had a top-10 finish in either of his last two starts, and in the last three races, he’s fallen from a single point behind Benson to 156 back. He’s never finished higher than sixth at GIR and can ill-afford to lose any more ground in the championship race.

5. HAS NASCAR SLOWED THE TOYOTAS? On Tuesday, NASCAR mandated that Toyotas run a smaller tapered spacer designed to reduce horsepower by 15-20. Will it make a difference? It hasn’t so far in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where Toyotas continue to dominate.


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