Ron Hornaday and the Kevin Harvick Inc. organization have become the dominant team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and unlike many athletes, passing the half-century mark in age doesn’t seem to have slowed the California native at all. Much like his close friend Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup series, if someone plans to dethrone either driver, they are going to have to up the ante.

Had Hornaday not missed clinching the 2008 championship by one position (seven points), we would be calling him a five-time title winner, three of those consecutive. The No. 33 truck won five straight races during the middle of last summer and Big Ron’s career win total stands at an astonishing 45.

However, in my opinion, the 2009 season and Ron Hornaday’s record-setting run at the championship was a bit of an anomaly. The unique landscape of the season better enabled Hornaday and the No. 33 KHI Chevy to dominate in an easier fashion than might have been possible in years past. So many odd factors were at work, such as former Truck Series champion Mike Skinner driving for a new team and new manufacturer, Johnny Benson sidelined due to injury and Ted Musgrave and Jack Sprague’s absence from the driver seat, not to mention the national economic downturn.

Despite the recent string of highly competitive, down-to-the-wire championships in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, I expect the 2010 season to upstage those that preceded it. If things go as planned, look for the upcoming season to be about 40-percent more competitive than 2009.

Following the championship awards banquet, Rick Ren resigned as Hornaday’s crew chief to serve as the director of competition for Kyle Busch Motorsports, a new two-truck operation, leaving a void that theoreticallycould level the playing field against Hornaday. Although a new team, you’d be foolish to count out Busch’s trucks. Furthermore, Skinner has established himself with Randy Moss Motorsports and has a secret weapon in veteran crew chief Gene Nead, newly named to guide the No. 5 team.

I’ve always lauded Ren as an integral part of Hornaday’s success – he didn’t get to be the winningest crew chief in series history by accident. However, Busch’s team has an incredibly daunting task ahead to quickly build and prepare equipment, not to mention their team and its chemistry. Additionally, they’d like to put a third team together for Johnny Benson if sponsorship surfaces, and if they do, that third team would pose an even larger undertaking for the start-up organization. While I consider Ren to be the best in our business, this challenge will test even his resolve, but when the kinks are worked out, look for Kyle Busch Motorsports to give KHI and Hornaday a weekly run for their money.

I look for Skinner to be back in the contender’s saddle every week rubbing fenders with Hornaday. Skinner is a smart, experienced and aggressive driver who won’t give an extra inch on the race track. With Nead calling the shots for Skinner, I anticipate the old school racer to legitimately battle the Longhorn Chevy for the title this season. Nead is all about winning races and letting the points fall where they may, a lethal combination with Skinner’s driving characteristics. Plus, Skinner has a year under his belt at RMM and has developed solid relationships with the crew. Their last-minute swap to Toyota before the 2009 season got underway set them back a bit, but their inventory is established and they now can concentrate on fine-tuning and massaging it.

Nead isn’t the only eye-catching crew chief’s name back in the mix this season. Dan Stillman, who served as Carl Edwards’ Nationwide Series crew chief, and Trip Bruce, Benson’s championship-winning head wrench, have resurfaced atop Truck Series pit boxes for 2010 and promise to be forces to be reckoned with. Red Horse Racing’s acquisition of Jeff Hensley will also be a combination to keep an eye on.

As far as drivers, crew chiefs and owners go, the 2010 season features the most pre-season changes we’ve seen in series history. I think this will only amp up the intensity level on the race track. Adding to this will be NASCAR’s ruling to revert back to the more traditional pit road rules, which permit teams to take both fuel and tires simultaneously during a pit stop. I was fairly vocal last season in my displeasure with the rule that required teams to gamble on taking one or the other,forcing crew chiefs to make moves they otherwise might not have made. I think the reversal of this policy will put us back in the more classic mode of racing and allow teams to do what they do best.

Each season features such unique stories and personalities. The Truck Series’ championship battles have been so stellar nearly every year that it’s almost impossible to compare one edition to another, but I expect we’ll have three or four drivers in serious title contention as we close in on the season finale in Homestead. Only a fool would fail to pick Ron Hornaday as an early favorite to win championship number five. But don’t be surprised to see the dominance he enjoyed in 2009 harder to come by in 2010.

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