November 6, 2007
By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series battle for the championship is quietly outshining the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Chase for the Cup. Over the last several events, Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday have been less than 50 points apart. The battle for the championship has been side by side racing between the two, sound familiar? If you are a long time follower of NASCAR racing, then the championship battle in the Truck Series will probably remind you of the points battles of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Remember 1990? Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin fought tooth and nail for the championship and were racing each other side by side waging a battle on the track between themselves for the Cup almost oblivious to the rest of the competition.

Remember 1992? The Cup Series came into Atlanta for the final race of the season and Davey Allison was leading the Cup Series points standings. Allison was carefully pacing his race as the team calculated where he was running versus where he needed to finish to capture the title – fifth place. Allison was careful not to take any unnecessary risks, but unfortunately, he was eliminated from competition when he was collected in Ernie Irvan’s crash. The points battle then fell into the hands of Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki. Elliott won the race, but Kulwicki managed to garner more points in the event by carefully strategizing his pits stop and leading lap 310 gaining 5 points. Kulwicki finished second in the race to Elliott but won the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship by 10 points.

When have we seen anything that exciting in the Chase for the Cup? Currently Jimmie Johnson leads with 6382 points and Jeff Gordon trails with 6352 – a thirty point deficit. Yes, there is a bit of drama that Johnson could win the Cup but what about third place contender Clint Bowyer 181 points back? It would take a miracle for him to do it now.

The difference in the points battle in the Cup Series and the Truck Series is obvious to those watching both series. The competition for the title in the Truck Series is intense. Friday night at Texas, the points leaders crashed together fighting for position. Good money says you will not see that level of competition between Johnson and Gordon. Not because the two do not want the title as badly, but because the politics and pressures of competing in the Cup Series are so vastly different. Toss in the pressure of the two racing for the same team and there surely are orders from Rick Hendrick not to wreck each other.

Many have questioned the dwindling numbers buying tickets to Cup Series events and a resounding cry from those no longer attending is the loss of tooth and nail racing. The competition level in the Truck Series is brutal and everyone is fair game. Ron Hornaday’s interview after the race at Texas illustrates the point well. He said he could see how the competition is going to play the game, and he could follow suit. When asked about how he felt about leading the points going into the event and leaving trailing 54 points with two events to go. His response, “Is that all? We’ve still got two races left.”

The Cup Series has slowly become a gentleman’s club for stock car racing where ruffians such as Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick receive disdain for their intense driving styles. But keep an eye on the Truck Series as the season draws to a close. Watch the competition and driving styles because the intensity level is 150 degrees hotter than what is taking place in this year’s Cup Series.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.