Harvick scores truck win, owners' title in Texas

It was a split decision for Kevin Harvick and Kevin Harvick Inc. in Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Harvick scored his fourth win of the season, but his teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. was eliminated from championship contention following a controversial collision with Harvick's nemesis Kyle Busch.

On lap 13, Hornaday tried to pass Busch for second through Turns 1 and 2 while they both lapped a slower truck. Hornaday got loose and both trucks drifted up the track, Hornaday into Busch as they each hit the wall but without much damage. Under the proceeding caution, Busch dumped them both as he hit Hornaday from behind – and was parked by NASCAR immediately thereafter. They both offered their reactions.

“We just touched a little bit, off the quarter panel,” Hornaday said. “He knows I'm going for a points deal. This is just stupid.”

“If you consider Ron was going for a championship, maybe Ron could have played it a little smarter on lap 15,” Busch said. “Obviously, if you make it a three-wide situation, I'm not going to get into the dirt. You can't put the blame on just one person; there were two people going into it and two people that ended it.”

Harvick took the top spot from polesitter James Buescher later in the race, and Buescher's title hopes took a major dent under the final caution flag. He ran out of fuel and lost a lap trying to get restarted from his pit, ending an unrepresentative 19th, now 28 points behind Austin Dillon for the title.

Harvick's win clinched the owners' championship for the KHI No. 2 entry, a bittersweet victory in the team's penultimate truck race.

“We have had a lot of momentum in the 2 truck for the owner's championship,” Harvick said. “We wanted to be in it for that, considering we're getting out. It was looser than I wanted to drive,”

As for Harvick's reaction to the Hornaday-Busch dust-up? 

“It was just, they were going around a lapped truck,” he said. “Kyle showed his immaturity and why he can't stand to lose … he's a poor loser. It's so bad for Ron. At some point he'll feel the pain.”

Dillon finished second ahead of younger brother Ty, who posted a career-best third place finish in only his second start.

“I had my brother helping out!” Austin said. “I got a little loose. I had a run on Kevin but couldn't get him. James raced me so hard, you don't wish bad luck and he didn't deserve to finish there.”

Austin Dillon's lead in the standings is 20 points over Johnny Sauter – who finished seventh – heading into the final round of the championship in two weeks time at Homestead-Miami Speedway. A 16th-place finish will net Dillon the title regardless of his competitors finish.