Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #8 Chance II Motorsports Chevy, has clinched the 2004 Busch Series Championship. Truex drove a patient, measured race at the Darlington Raceway in the BI-LO 200, staying out of trouble to finish 4th. He came into the event leading second place driver Kyle Busch by 161 points, and when the checkered flag signaled the completion of the race he was leading Busch by 257 points (gaining 96), which is more than enough to give him the championship win. The magic number is 190 points per race remaining needed to be able to clinch the title. With just one event remaining, it would be impossible for Busch to garner enough points to win.
The new champion has been the top driver in the series for the majority of the year, leading the series with 6 wins , 7 poles , 17 top five finishes, and 25 top ten finishes. The Mayetta, New Jersey native is pictured above courtesy of NASCAR.com with his Chance II Motorsports team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, widowed wife of seven-time Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Truex won the championship because he drove the race like a true champion, staying out of trouble, and bringing the car in unscathed with a respectable finish. I saw him race this season at Nazareth Speedway, and he drove the same way then. Actually, in that event, be bided his time in the top five until he got a break in the very last lap of the event when Bobby Hamilton Jr. slipped up and went a little too wide in turn three, allowing Truex to slip underneath him for the victory.
Kyle Busch, on the other hand, showed his rookie standing by getting too impatient and forcing an issue with rough and ready Ron Hornaday. He tried to force his nose on the inside of Hornaday's #2 AC Delco Chevy, which isn't a smart thing to do. Hornaday has a reputation as being a hell bent for leather type of driver, kind of like Jimmy Spencer is in Cup. You don't normally pass Hornaday by sticking a nose in; you have to work for it. Busch should have known that! Then, along comes Greg Biffle who gets involved in the fray. Hornaday claims that he missed the accelerator causing his car to slow dramatically, wrecking both Busch and Biffle. Biffle, on the other hand, was furious and called to NASCAR to park Hornaday for his offensive driving style. Biffle claimed that Hornaday brake checked him and Busch, wrecking them intentionally. As I stated above, Hornaday claims that it was done accidentally as he missed the gas pedal. Hornaday, missing the gas pedal? That's not a very likely scenario for the 46 year old seasoned veteran.
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