Perhaps it was appropriate that Ron Hornaday Jr. became New Hampshire International Speedway's first repeat winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Hornaday won the track's inaugural race in 1996, benefiting from a Turn 3, last-lap tangle between Joe Ruttman and Jack Sprague.

That was the only lap Hornaday led - the first time in series history that a winner hadn't led until the final serial.

This time Hornaday left no doubt in anyone's mind which driver was going to find his way to Victory Lane. He led 174 of 200 laps, just nine fewer than the NHIS record set by Sprague in 2001.

Hornaday also posted career victory No. 33 matching the number of the side of his Kevin Harvick Inc.-owned Camping World Chevrolet.

"It's just awesome to get this thing to do what it did today because this is the same truck we finished second with three times and now we finally won with it," he said. "It's kind of been our lucky truck and we did it again.  Man, 33 wins.  That is really unbelievable and that is cool."

For the second time in 2007, qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. No objection from Hornaday, whose last victory came in late July at O'Reilly Raceway Park where the lineup also was set by the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rule Book.

Hornaday's KHI partner Clint Bowyer was knocked out by accident on lap 57. The last time Bowyer sat in the truck, at Dover International Raceway, the Kansan didn't even finish the race's first lap.

And Hornaday also won.

Bowyer, however, had better luck the following afternoon as he captured his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory and became the 18th competitor to win in all three NASCAR national series.

Change is good - especially if you're Erik Darnell. Darnell swapped crew chiefs - Matt Puccia for John Quinn - earlier in the week and on Saturday, his No. 99 Northern Tool+Equipment Ford was closing on Hornaday at the end before settling for second place.

The finish was Darnell's first in the top five since a fifth-place performance in mid-May at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Darnell and Quinn won at Kansas Speedway in April.

Owner Jack Roush isn't afraid to make mid-season changes. In 2005, Raybestos Rookie of the Year Todd Kluever was struggling and Roush swapped crews prior to the event at Kansas Speedway. Kluever finished second with new chief Mike Beam.

Ironically, Quinn, who moved into Ricky Craven's corner, claimed the team's only victory later that season at Martinsville Speedway.

Shane Sieg drove Billy Ballew's No. 15 Swift Transportation Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish, a moral victory of sorts for a team that's fielded four different drivers with one previous top 10 in 2007. Bill Lester, whose best finish was eighth at Kentucky Speedway, left the team following the Nashville Superspeedway stop.

Two-time IRL champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier gets the call for Saturday's Smith's Las Vegas 350. Lazier's debut is concurrent with that of Jacques Villeneuve marking the first time that two Indianapolis 500 champions have started the same race.

Lazier, an IROC runnerup, tested for Ballew two years ago. "Racing with the best in the NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series as well as other race drivers was a blast," said Lazier.  "It was probably the most fun racing experience for me in my 20 years of professional motorsports. I've been trying to find the right opportunity since then."

Hornaday's margin of victory Saturday was 4.211 seconds marking the first time in 10 races that the separation between first and second had been greater than one second. The track's total margin of victory (the 2004 race finished under caution) had been 4.633 seconds.

Skinner now trails Hornaday by 29 points. The difference is fourth closest with seven races remaining. The closest margin, nine points, came in 2003 - a precursor to a wild finale that saw four different drivers have shots at the championship.

All four manufacturers put a truck in the top five. The most recent time that occurred was July 27 at O'Reilly Raceway Park. Hornaday is the only member of the Indianapolis top five to appear at NHIS.