Championship leaders start on front row for truck race

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/27/2007 - Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Hornaday Jr. edged points leader Mike Skinner for the pole in Saturday afternoon's EasyCare 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No.33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet circled the fast 1.54-mile track in 30.517 seconds (181.669 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Hornaday Jr.'s first of the season and 14th of his truck career. His last pole win was in 2006 at Milwaukee.

Starting with Hornaday Jr. on the front row will be his championship rival Skinner, who posted a time of 30.545 seconds.

With four races left in the season, Skinner and Hornaday Jr. are locked in a struggle of former champions. Skinner, the 1995 champion, had been the series leader for most of the season. After winning three of four races to start the season, the Bill Davis Racing Toyota driver has led the series for 16 of 21 weeks.

But Hornaday Jr. (1996 and 1998 champion) has also had a great season and last month caught Skinner. After finishing second at the Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 at the Gateway International Raceway, the Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet driver grabbed the lead from Skinner and has held it for three of the last five events. But despite finishing a solid third last Saturday, Hornaday Jr. lost the series lead as Skinner won for the fifth time this year and the 24th time in his truck career.

Skinner will bring an 11-point margin to AMS for this afternoon's race. Neither driver was particularly good in last year's event - Skinner finished eighth and Hornaday Jr. 13th. But in the March race, Skinner was a relatively easy winner while Hornaday Jr. again finished outside the top-10.

Nextel Cup regular Kyle Busch (30.550) and Todd Bodine (30.570) will make up row two.

The race is set to drop the green flag on Saturday at 1 p.m. (et).

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

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