This weekend, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads back to one of its favorite haunts, Tennessee's Memphis Motorsports Park for Saturday's O'Reilly 200, race No. 12 of 25 on the 2008 schedule.

The ¾-mile track is an oddity in NASCAR in that it's the biggest short track on the circuit, but with different front and backstretch layouts and tight turns, it's a tricky place to negotiate, and that tends to play into the hands of the more experienced racers.

Hello, Kevin Harvick Inc. teammates Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday, Jr.

Sprague, driver of the American Commercial Lines Chevrolet Silverado, has led 288 laps at Memphis, more than any other driver in the field for Saturday's race. And given that he won here in 2000 and 2006 and finished second last year, he has to be considered the favorite this time around. Sprague also has three poles here, though he admitted he doesn't enjoying putting down a single fast lap. "The funny thing is I really hate qualifying," said Sprague. "It is one of the most nerve-racking things we do as race car drivers."

If Sprague is the favorite, his pal Hornaday isn't far behind, either, having led a second best 183 laps here, winning the inaugural Memphis Truck race in 1998 and posting top-five runs in each of the last two seasons. His Camping World Chevrolet figures to be strong here again. "This will be a good opportunity for us to gain some points back that we've lost this year," said Hornaday, the defending Truck Series champion. "We just need to take one race at a time and keep doing what we've been doing."

Another driver to keep an eye out for here is Dennis Setzer, driver of the Journey-Melling Dodge Ram out of the Bobby Hamilton Racing VA stable. Setzer already has won on the short track at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this season, and he loves Memphis. In nine starts here, Setzer has one victory, seven top fives and eight top 10s. Ignore him at your own peril.

Also worthy of mention is the suddenly red-hot Erik Darnell, driver of the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150, whose finishes of first and fourth have boosted him from 12th to eighth in the championship in the last two races. Darnell was runner-up here in 2006 and earned a top 10 last year, so he figures to be tough again this time around. "This short track is a lot of fun to race on but can get pretty intense out there trying to get up front," Darnell said. "This team has really kicked it into another gear the last two weeks and I hope it continues."

One driver who might be ready to break on through with a victory at Memphis on Saturday is Matt Crafton, who put the No. 88 Menard's Chevrolet into victory lane for the first time at Lowe's Motor Speedway last month. In seven NCTS starts at Memphis, Crafton has finished outside the top 10 just once, a tribute to his consistency.

What about the powerhouse Bill Davis Racing Toyotas? NCTS points leader Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra, has never finished better than seventh here, while teammate Mike Skinner had his best outing at Memphis last season, when finished fourth in the No. 5 Toyota Tundra-sponsored Toyota. Teammate Michael Annett will be in the third BDR entry this week.

Benson needs a good run this weekend, because while he leads the NCTS points, there are 12 other drivers within 302 points of him. "Usually by this time in the season, there are two or three front runners but with the competition this year, there are still 10 or 12 teams with a legitimate shot at winning the championship," said Benson.

Todd Bodine, the 2006 series champion, is another driver who has struggled at Memphis, where he's not finished higher than eighth. Like Benson, he said the title race is wide open. "When we won the championship, we opened with three top-three finishes," said Bodine. "By race 10, we hadn't finished worse than 15th," said Bodine. "Nobody is above bad luck this season."

Unfortunately for some title hopefuls, Memphis might prove challenging. Rick Crawford, who has driven the Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150 to fifth in points, hasn't had a top-10 finish at Memphis since 2002. Seventh-place points man Terry Cook, driver of the Wyler.com Toyota, has finished 15th or worse in three of the four most recent races here.

Two dark-horse choices: Ted Musgrave, driver of the Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota, has two third-place finishes and one victory here, while rookie Donny Lia has already put his TRG Motorsports Chevy in victory lane at a short-track this season.

And, as always, expect a fight to the finish. "Every year, it seems to come down to the last 10 laps," said NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. "It should this year as well."

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com.  He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.