Ron Hornaday Jr. and Chevrolet ended lengthy droughts as the 1996 and 1998 champion took the championship lead. Hornaday hadn't held the No. 1 point position since May 16, 1999 following the season's seventh race at the now defunct Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Chevrolet, a six-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck manufacturer champion, last saw one of its drivers - Dennis Setzer - atop the standings on Sept. 24, 2005 in Las Vegas.

Hornaday's four-point lead is the second closest in series history with 17 races in the books. The only race closer was in 2001 when Joe Ruttman held a one-point edge over Scott Riggs.

By improving 24 positions over his finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, Musgrave became the first driver to win the Featherlite "Most Improved Driver Award" in 2007.

Mike Skinner closed to within one of his 1995 Bud Pole record winning the No. 1 starting spot for the Ram Tough 200. With his Gateway qualifying effort, Skinner cut to five the number of currently scheduled tracks on which he's failed capture at least one pole.

The pole was Skinner's 41st in the series and 26th since joining Bill Davis Racing in 2004.

Brendan Gaughan scratched and clawed his way to a finish of 10th marking the first time in 2007 that the South Point Racing Chevrolet team has claimed back-to-back top-10 placings.
 
The Las Vegas resident's last consecutive top 10s came last season at Kansas and Kentucky speedways where Gaughan finished fourth and third.

Tim Sauter and Willie Allen are separated by two points in both Raybestos Rookie of the Year and overall series standings. Sauter, who failed to finish Saturday's race, is 16th to Allen's 17th. The latter driver scored his best finish of the season - 12th - at Gateway.

Saturday's race finished under caution due to Mathews' incident between the track's first and second turns. The last race to finish with checkered and yellows flags was Talladega Superspeedway's John Deere 200 on Oct. 7, 2006.