Austin Dillon takes Truck title as Sauter claims finale

Rain ended both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and by default, the championship battle between Austin Dillon and his two season-long rivals. Despite Johnny Sauter's best efforts to wrest the title, as he took the Ford 200 race win, Dillon hung on to secure the championship.

Sauter surged to the lead in the waning stages, sliding up the track to hold off Denny Hamlin, and shortly thereafter he joyously screamed “It's raining!” on the radio. Moments later, as rain soaked the track with just 15 laps remaining in the 134-lap, 200-mile scheduled race, NASCAR officials made the decision to call the race. Hamlin, deputizing for Kyle Busch in the KBM No. 18 Toyota, finished second in the first race of his first-ever NASCAR triple-header weekend.

Kevin Harvick, whose No. 2 Chevrolet clinched the series' owner's championship two weeks ago at Texas, finished third. Dillon fought to 10th despite falling back from a top-five position on a lap 100 restart.

“It's the best day of my life! I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity I've had,” Dillon said. “It was scary at the end of the last restart, but we came back.”

At age 21, Dillon is the youngest NASCAR Truck Series champion, and will head to the Nationwide Series in 2012. His unofficial championship margin of victory is six points over Sauter. Sauter was penalized six points for not meeting height requirements at Pocono, but even if the two had tied, Dillon would still have clinched the title as he had more second-place finishes – four to three – than did Sauter.  Both drivers won twice in the 2011 season.

The third member of the title bout, James Buescher, entered 28 points in arrears and after two comings-together with Harvick, fell from contention. He finished the race in 12th after he Harvick moved him out of the way on a lap 26 restart, while he retaliated against Harvick by spinning him out when Harvick was seeking to make a green flag pit stop on lap 74.

Dillon's Richard Childress Racing teammate, Joey Coulter, clinched the Rookie of the Year title. Fellow rookies Cole Whitt (ninth) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (10th) also claimed end-of-year top 10 points finishes, with Penske Racing development driver Parker Kligerman just outside.

Winning the title aboard a black No. 3 Chevrolet for his grandfather and the eponymous owner of RCR was very much a monumental moment for Dillon. The team won the first ever NASCAR Truck title in 1995 with driver Mike Skinner, when Dillon was four years old.

“When I was young and we wanted to go racing, the No. 3 was the only number I knew,” Dillon said. “That's the family number. I used it in baseball, basketball. We went out there and had fun with it. I love seeing the fans smile.

“I'm so happy for my grandfather. He's happy again. He's got the heart of a 10-year-old. I don't think he slept all week.”