(Sports Network) - Ron Hornaday, Jr. rebounded from a week of off- track distractions by winning Saturday's Camping World RV Rental 200 Craftsman Truck Series race with a dominating performance at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hornaday led 149 of 200 laps and held off Johnny Benson in a five- lap shootout to the finish. "Darn, Johnny, he always finishes right behind us," Hornaday said. "He's going to be a tough competitor, and it's going to come down to the (season-ending race) at Homestead."

The victory was Hornaday's series-leading fifth of the season and the 38th of his career. He won last weekend at St. Louis after leading 113 of 160 laps.

Earlier this week, Hornaday admitted to using prescribed testosterone cream in 2004 and 2005 for a serious medical condition. NASCAR (web|news) officials met with him Friday at New Hampshire, and he was cleared of any wrong-doing.

"I have to thank all the race fans who have supported me over the past week," Hornaday said.

Benson started on the pole, but Hornaday quickly moved to the outside of Benson and grabbed the lead on the first lap. Benson, however, came storming back and reclaimed the top spot three laps later. He started to pull away just before Brendan Gaughan spun and made slight contact with the wall on the fifth lap, putting the race under caution for the first time.

On the restart, Benson skidded his tires allowing Hornaday to pull even with him. The two ran side-by-side before Hornaday beat him to the line to lead Lap 11, but Benson took command just before Mario Gosselin spun on the next lap as the caution flag waved for the second time.

Hornaday pulled even with Benson once again on the restart. The two battled for the lead before Hornaday pulled away on Lap 15. Kyle Busch then passed Benson for the second spot three laps later.

Hornaday maintained a one-second advantage over Busch before Mike Skinner and David Reutimann made contact and spun on Lap 49. The two were running in the top-10 at the time. The caution set up the first round of stops with Hornaday the fastest out of the pits, followed by Busch, Matt Crafton and Benson. Busch, however, was penalized for speeding as he exited pit road. After serving his drive-through penalty, he rejoined the field in 22nd and was never a factor from there.

Crafton ran second to Hornaday on the restart on Lap 60, but Crafton grabbed the lead the following lap and held it for eight circuits before Hornaday recaptured the top spot.

After starting 19th, Travis Kvapil made his way up to the second spot at Lap 100. Kvapil trailed Hornaday by less than two seconds, but Erik Darnell took second on Lap 105.

A round of green-flag pit stops began on Lap 125 when Benson came in. Hornaday made his stop one lap later, handing the lead over to Kvapil. Hornaday returned to the track in 18th. After the cycle of stops was completed on Lap 139, Kvapil inherited the lead as he held a two-second advantage over Hornaday.

Kvapil's lead extended to four seconds until Donny Lia got turned around on Lap 152. Shortly after the restart, Timothy Peters got loose and spun in front of the leaders. Kvapil had to check up in order to miss him, which allowed Hornaday to pass Kvapil and take the lead for good.

Gaughan got loose and spun, triggering a multi-truck accident on Lap 186. Crafton and Sprague were involved in the incident, but were able to drive away with no damage to their trucks. Gaughan and Colin Braun suffered only minor damage.

David Starr hit Todd Bodine from behind, sending Bodine into the wall. The ninth and final caution set up a five-lap shootout to the finish. Hornaday beat Benson to the finish line by 0.960 seconds.

Kvapil, Darnell and Rick Crawford completed the top-five.

At the conclusion of the race, Bodine ran into the back of Starr to display his frustration towards the series veteran. Starr also hit Bodine's teammate, Reutimann, earlier in the race.

The post-race incident led to a massive post-race brawl between the teams of Bodine and Starr. It took several minutes for NASCAR officials to clear the fight. Starr and Bodine's crew chief, Mike Hillman, Jr., were ordered to the NASCAR hauler for a discussion with officials. Penalties could be forthcoming later in the week.

"First of all, I want everyone to know that David is a good person," Bodine said. "Did he do it on purpose? No. The problem is he had a really good truck, and when he has a good truck, he has a tendency to drive just a little beyond the means of the truck. My crew was pretty upset obviously."

With the victory, Hornaday moved to within 74 points of Benson in the championship standings as seven races remain in the season.

The next race is scheduled for Saturday, September 20th, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.





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