Some might argue that racing for wins and accumulating points is like mixing lit matches with gasoline.  Not Mike Hillman Jr., who shared Todd Bodine's 21st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory on Sept. 3 at Kentucky Speedway. Hillman is the series' top active crew chief winner and third on its all-time victory list.

"You points race when you realize you don't have the truck that is capable of winning the race," said Hillman.  "Germain shows up to win races and will continue to do that."

With 18 of 25 scheduled races in the books, it's hard to disagree with Hillman.

Bodine's most recent victory — his third in the past five races — increased his lead over Aric Almirola to 261 points. The margin from first to second is the largest in series history with seven races remaining.

Both driver and crew chief are on pace to repeat their 2006 titles. Only two drivers — Ron Hornaday Jr. and Jack Sprague — have won multiple championships. Hillman bids to join Dennis Connor and Rick Ren as crew chiefs with more than one series title.

"This season has been a return to form for the No. 30 team more than it's been about a championship," said Hillman, whose team finished fourth in 2009. Bodine already has doubled last year's pole and win totals and has one more top five — 13 — than he posted last season.

"The points lead is just the by-product of us being allowed to build the kind of trucks we want to build and race the way we want to race," he said. "Every weekend our driver lays it on the line out there and our guys on pit road just keep putting in the performances it takes to keep our team in a position to win."