The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Saturday night's Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350, race No. 19 of 25 on the 2008 NCTS schedule.

Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday Jr. continue to wage a terrific battle at the top of the Truck standings. Benson and Hornaday have combined to win seven of the last eight NCTS races, with Hornaday riding a two-race winning streak in his No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado heading into Las Vegas.

During those two races, Hornaday has trimmed Benson's point lead from 119 to 74 with seven races to go. There's absolutely no reason to believe that this title fight won't go down to the wire in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, and that's a very good thing indeed.

Here are the top-10 storylines going into Sin City:

1. CAN HORNADAY THREE-PEAT? The three-time and defending NCTS champion has won both Truck races since NASCAR mandated the smaller tapered spacers for the Toyota engines. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. LVMS should be a good litmus test, as it's a very fast, 1.5-mile intermediate track, one of four left on the schedule this season. In seven Truck starts here, Hornaday has never won, but he has four top fives, so he's plenty stout in Vegas.

2. HOW DOES BENSON RESPOND? LVMS is a good track for Benson, who last year was runner-up in his Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Tundra. On top of that, he finished fourth here in both 2006 and '04. But the bespectacled Benson and his Bill Davis Racing team need to get cranked up and quit losing points if Benson wants to earn his first championship.

3. NOW OR NEVER FOR CRAFTON? Matt Crafton has had the best season of his career in the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet. But in the last five races, he's fallen from being just one point behind Benson to 242 markers back. And make no mistake about it, the clock is running. Crafton has to get back in the game this weekend if he wants to have any kind of title shot, but he's never finished better than ninth in Las Vegas.

4. WHICH SPRAGUE SHOWS UP? In his first five NCTS Las Vegas races, Jack Sprague won twice and finished second the other three times. But in his last four events here, the American Commercial Lines Chevy driver has averaged finishes of 21.25 — not encouraging, if you're a Sprague fan.

5. WILL BODINE REBOUND? Understandably, Todd Bodine was one unhappy camper last weekend when he became the third and final racer stuffed into the Turn 2 wall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway wall by David Starr. Don't count "The Onion" out this week, though, as he has a victory and a runner-up finish at Vegas and his Lumber Liquidators Toyota is almost always fast on 1.5-mile tracks.

6. CAN THE HOMETOWN BOY MAKE GOOD? Brendan Gaughan has not had the season he's hoped for in the International MaxxForce Diesel Ford F-150 and is ranked just 14th in NCTS points. But he's the hometown hero, a Las Vegas native, and he has one victory here. This would be a perfect weekend for him to rebound and get his season back on track.

7. A SPEEDY RETURN? Scott Speed will be back behind the wheel of the Bill Davis Racing No. 22 Toyota at Las Vegas. The former Formula 1 driver has been impressive this season in his few Truck appearances, posting one victory, three top-five and five top-10 finishes in just nine starts.

8. SHOOTING STARR? David Starr was embroiled in controversy at New Hampshire last weekend, as he was involved in three separate accidents that resulted in the other trucks getting wrecked but his Red Horse Racing Toyota emerged more or less unscathed each time. He's a past Vegas winner and could use some luck this weekend.

9. LAST TIME A CHARM? Saturday's Las Vegas Truck race will be the last series appearance for Justin Marks before he moves full-time to the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He'll be looking to make a good showing in the No. 9 Crocs Toyota in last ride in that entry.

10. WILL ANYONE ELSE SHOW? The preliminary entry list for Las Vegas is just 30 trucks for the 36-truck field. There could be some last-minute surprises in the lineup, but don't expect any Cup or Nationwide regulars, as they're all racing in Dover, Del., this weekend.

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 television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.  Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing.