Rick Crawford starts on the outside pole at Kansas earlier this season. Crawford finshed 2nd. (High Sierra Photo)

Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford) struggled through a miserable season in 2005 finishing a disappointing 16th after challenging for the series title as recently as 2002; he finished second to Mike Bliss (No. 16 Xpress Motorsports Chevrolet).

Like Hornaday, Crawford credits symmetry between driver, crew and his manufacturer's engineers.

"We needed to fix what was wrong with ourselves," said Crawford, who with Sprague shares the series' career start record of 236. "(Owner) Tom Mitchell has given us the green light to do what it takes. So it doesn't surprise me that we're doing so well."

Crawford also believes Bodine and others ahead of him in the standings can be overhauled.

"I really do and we're going to give it our best performance," he said. "I look forward to it. It's fun racing again. Last year's gone."

Most Positions Gained Over Last Nine Races

	Driver	Current	Past	Gained
1.	Ron Hornaday Jr.	6	18	12
2.	Rick Crawford	4	14	10
3.	Chad McCumbee	19	28	9
4.	Timothy Peters	18	25	8
5.	Johnny Benson	3	8	5

Johnny Beson in the No. 23 Toyota Tundra enroute to winning at Memphis. (High Sierra Photo)

Finally, don't count out Johnny Benson (No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota). Eighth after the season's fifth race, Benson now sits five positions higher. He and Hornaday were the only double winners during the past nine races.

"We said at the beginning of the season our goal was to finish in the top five week in and week out and we're doing that," Benson said. "We need to lead laps and beat the guys leading points on a regular basis. We cannot make mistakes.

"If we do our homework, we'll get a chance to battle for the championship."