Kyle Busch's stellar performance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has made afterthoughts of last year's two front-runners, Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday Jr.

The two champions dueled the entire season, and were the only drivers still mathematically eligible for the title going into the season-ending race at Homestead. Hornaday eventually took the crown.

But this year, the buzz surrounds Busch. Still, Skinner and Hornaday are within eyeshot of Busch and because the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular will race only a part-time schedule this season, will likely focus their energy on second-place Todd Bodine.

Statistically, both Skinner and Hornaday have fared well despite not being at the very top of the standings (although Hornaday is close, in third).

Hornaday has a season Driver Rating of 112.9 (third-best), an Average Running Position of 7.5 (third), 25 Fastest Laps Run (second) and 272 Laps in the Top 15 (fourth). He trails Bodine in all those categories, and by 50 points in the series standings. Hornaday is 122 points behind Busch.

Skinner has slowly crept up the standings after a 29th-place finish at Daytona. A third-place finish at Atlanta has Skinner in seventh place in the standings, 162 points behind Busch and 90 points behind Bodine.

In the three races this season, Skinner has a Driver Rating of 94.5 (fifth-best) and an Average Running Position of 14.1 (10th). 

This Week's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Leaders
(Through three races of the 25-race season)

Points leader - Kyle Busch (555)
Driver Rating - Kyle Busch (126.7)
Winnings - Kyle Busch ($175,800)
Laps led - Ron Hornaday Jr. (97)
Victories - Kyle Busch (2)
Keystone Light Poles - Erik Darnell and Ron Hornaday Jr. (1)
Top-five finishes - Kyle Busch (3)
Top-10 finishes - Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine (3)
Raybestos Rookie Leader - Justin Marks (1 point over 2 drivers)
Races led - Erik Darnell and Ron Hornaday Jr. (3)
Weeks in Top 10 - Seven drivers with three
Rookies Make Most of Test

Raybestos Rookies who have held their own on the track so far this season made the most out of the two-day test at Martinsville. 

Colin Braun kept his Ford near the top, finishing the test with a best speed 95.041 mph, the third fastest on the track.

Braun feels the test was well worth it. "Our truck was fast both days and we had a lot of time to try different set-ups to see what worked best," the rookie said.

"The guys worked really hard to get a lot accomplished that will help us tremendously when we go back for the race in two weeks," he added.

Donny Lia (No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet) ran right behind Braun. Lia consistently stayed on top of the speed charts for both days of the test.

Up Next:  The Kroger 250 is next on the schedule at Martinsville Speedway March 28-29. This will be the series' first race of the season on a short track.

Mike Skinner, the series' defending Kroger 250 winner in addition to winner of last October's race, is gunning for an unprecedented "three-peat."

Toyota Strong - Toyota remains on top three races into the 2008 season. With six wins, Chevrolet, however, holds the record for most wins by a manufacturer at Martinsville Speedway. 

2008 Manufacturers' Championship Point Standings
Toyota      27
Chevrolet  15
Ford         14
Dodge      10

FAST FACTS

The Race: Kroger 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: March 29, 2008
The Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 131.5 miles / 250 laps
TV: FOX, 3:00 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .526-Mile Oval
2007 Winner: Mike Skinner
2007Pole: Mike Skinner

2008 Standings:
Rank Driver               Points
1       Ky. Busch         555
2       T. Bodine          483
3       R. Hornaday Jr. 433
4       C. McCumbee   415
5       J. Benson         413
6       R. Crawford       411
7       M. Skinner        393
8       D. Starr            384
9       D. Setzer          383

Schedule:
Friday: Practice, 11-11:50 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Saturday: Qualifying, 10:10 a.m.