Dillon Controls Championship Destiny In South Florida Finale

Dillon Controls Championship Destiny In South Florida Finale

 

Twenty-four races down and three competitors are still standing – the largest championship contingent entering a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale since 2003.

The title is 21-year-old Austin Dillon’s to control. He holds a 20-point advantage over Johnny Sauter and leads James Buescher by 28. Ron Hornaday Jr. is 48 points behind and will be eliminated when Dillon takes the green flag in South Florida.

Dillon guarantees himself his first championship by finishing 16th or better; or 17th or better with at least one lap led; or 18th or better with the most laps led in Friday night’s Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Dillon – or Buescher, also 21 – would become the youngest champion in the series’ 17 seasons. Travis Kvapil, winner of the 2003 championship in a four-way, final-race battle with Brendan Gaughan, Ted Musgrave and Dennis Setzer, was 27 years old.

The grandson of Richard Childress, Dillon would be the second champion to sit in RCR’s black No. 3 Chevrolet. Skinner became the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ first titleholder in 1995, edging Joe Ruttman by 127 points.

Here’s what the contenders are saying:

•           Dillon, who would become the first to win a championship and rookie of the year in consecutive seasons: “The pressure isn’t too bad, actually. I know we have a great truck and I have a very capable team. We know we are capable of doing what we need to do there.”

•           Sauter, 10 times the points leader: “All you can ask for is a shot and I’m privileged right now. That’s the coolest thing about racing. You never know how it’s going to turn out.”

•           Buescher, who has battled back from his failure to qualify for the season’s second race: “We’re going with one goal, which is to win the race. We know we have to get the most points we can in order to have a chance to win the championship.”

•           Hornaday, who will make his final start for Kevin Harvick, Inc., where he won championships in 2007 and 2009: “It would be really great for us to … give Kevin and DeLana one last trip to Victory Lane.” Hornaday won in Miami in 2002.

 

No Single Path Leads To This Year’s Sunoco Rookie Crown

 

Creation of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series provided a place to race for drivers from a variety of motorsports disciplines. The three finalists for this year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award may be the most varied contingent yet.

•           Miami-area resident Joey Coulter, 21, won two World Karting Association titles before graduating to stock-type car racing. He is the rookie leader, by five points, entering the finale.

•           Nelson Piquet Jr., 26, made 28 starts in the Formula One world championship.

•           Cole Whitt, 20, is the 2008 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion. He trails Coulter by 10 points in a competition based upon each rookie’s best 14 finishes.

Coulter and RCR teammate Dillon can achieve a sweep of rookie and championship awards done just once by the same organization. Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch won championship and rookie of the year, respectively, in 2000.

 

Race A Building Block For Those Who Came Up Short

 

This season’s a closed book for most, but it’s never too soon to begin building momentum for 2012. The Ford 200 offers that potential for several likely to be title contenders next season.

•           Timothy Peters has ranked among the top five in the championship since race No. 11, winning once.

•           Two-time Miami winner Todd Bodine has one final chance to preserve a streak of at least one win in every season since 2004.

•           Matt Crafton won in Iowa and led the points standings three times.

•           Parker Kligerman had back-to-back second-place finishes at midseason.

 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.

 

Hornaday and Setzer are set to become the third and fourth drivers to compete in 300 series races. ... The season ends at Homestead for the 10th consecutive season. This year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champions Awards Banquet will be held Monday, Nov. 21, at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.