Mike Skinner heads into this weekend as the series points leader but with only 25 points separating him from Ron Hornaday Jr. who sits in second. If the 1995 series champion wants to hold on to that lead, he’ll need to turn his past performances at Lowe’s Motor Speedway around. Skinner has started in the top five in each of his five starts, including three times from the pole. However those top five starts have yet to produce a top five finish. His best was an eighth place finish in 2007.
Winless So Far But No Time To Panic For Ron Hornaday Jr. Three time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. hasn’t made a trip to Victory Lane yet this season. But the veteran driver has no need to worry just yet. In nine previous full seasons he’s only gone this long without a win twice. Most recently it took Hornaday up to race number six to grab a win in 2007. The win was at Lowe’s and he went on to claim his third series title.
Matt Crafton Holding His Own Among Champions. After five races in the 2009 season Matt Crafton is sitting fourth in the series standings, holding his own among former series champions. So far this season the California native has finished outside of the top 10 only once with an 11th place finish at Atlanta in March. Crafton grabbed his first career NASCAR win a year ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and will look to become only the second driver to land repeat wins at the track.
Fast Facts: North Carolina Education Lottery 200
The Place: Lowe’s Motor Speedway
The Date: Fri., May 15, 2009
The Time: 8 p.m. ET Race Distance: 201 miles / 134 laps
The TV Channel: SPEED, 6:00 p.m. PST
