With the Camping World Truck Series off this weekend, there’s not a whole lot of news going on at this point. In fact, most off weeks often make the series seem like a ghost town until they return. In the past, I’ve given you reasons to watch the Truck Series and this time, I’m playing a little game of what if. If I were in charge of the Truck Series what would I change?
The Schedule
The schedule obviously has to be the number one thing to change. From the moment NASCAR announced the 2012 season had been cut by three races to just 22, I objected to it.
Part of the problem came with the closure of Nashville Superspeedway and the removal of Lucas Oil Raceway Park from the docket, however it looks more like the sanctioning body was focused on solidifying the Nationwide and Sprint Cup schedules, while keeping the Truck Series on the back burner.
The Truck Series didn’t always end in November at Homestead. Instead, it ended at the end of October and didn’t feature the ridiculous amount of off weeks it does now.
While I’ve always felt like the excitement surrounding opening weekend at Daytona International and championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway had a special energy with all three of the touring series present to start and end their respective seasons, the idea has been thrown around multiple times in our Mirror Driving segments to shorten the length of the season rather than adding more events.
Ideally, I wouldn’t mind seeing the series continue with its start and end dates while adding other events to fill in the glaring gaping holes in the first four months of the year. However, that move would require NASCAR to pay out larger purses for each race while balancing the payout a little more between teams.
Consider this for a moment: as I wrote Tracking the Trucks following last Thursday’s race at Kentucky Speedway, I noticed that Scott Riggs, who ran just three laps behind the wheel of the No. 86 Clay Greenfield Motorsports Chevrolet before retiring due to “overheating” problems, brought home $7,070 while 10th-place finisher Kyle Larson took home $10,620 following 150 laps of competition.
There’s something wrong with that picture if a driver who ran 147 laps more brings home only an additional $3,000.
Considering the cost of tires, personnel at the track, equipment and even the wear and tear on that equipment, it’s no wonder so many teams choose to start and park.
With all of that said, given the choice, I’d like to see more short-track races added to the schedule along with at least one visit to a road course, something I wrote on earlier this season, though it would likely take two events on the schedule to make road-course racing feasible.
Build the Series to Feature Regulars, Both Young and Old
Though the Truck Series is typically used as a stepping stone for young drivers looking to make their way to the Sprint Cup Series, drivers like Ron Hornaday Jr. and Todd Bodine have made the series their home. Because of that, I feel like NASCAR is dropping the ball by not working to help give the series more of its own identity with the consistent regulars who have been the backbone of the series for over five years.
I’d assume part of the reason stems from the thought process that the Truck Series is where a guy who can’t compete at a higher level goes, but with the quality of competition that results every time the drivers hit the track speaks volumes to the contrary.
I’m not talking about having the entire 36-truck field feature regulars every week, but rather a handful of drivers – maybe 6-10 of them – committing themselves to growing the series and the promotion surrounding it. Can you imagine if guys like Ty Dillon, James Buescher and Timothy Peters hung around in the series rather than moving on with their plans to end up in the Cup Series?
With drivers that would easily become the face of the series, you’d likely find even more fan involvement and the dedication that comes with it.
Obviously there are plenty of roadblocks to growing the amount of regulars the series features each week, not the least of which are the plans for moving up a level of competition, but I’m convinced that it would be a huge benefit that would ultimately result in more sponsor involvement both on the driver side as well as the track side – leading to the larger purses that I mentioned above.
What if you were in charge of the Truck Series? What would you change? Let me know in the comments below or contact my using the info at the end of the column. If I get enough responses, I’ll put together a follow-up piece with your suggestions.
Miguel’s Corner
Update: “Our long road trip continues! My wife, Oliver, my mother and I started this motorhome trip with a very eventful journey to Road America where we had air conditioning and power issues, but the people at Camping World got everything working properly for us. From Wisconsin, we headed straight to Kentucky for last Thursday’s Truck race and we stuck around for Friday’s Nationwide race as well.
“With it being the holiday and an off-week for us, we decided to extend our vacation a little bit longer, after a brief stop in Charlotte, with a trip to Disney World in Orlando. It has been hot and exhausting at Disney, but Oliver is having so much fun (and so are we!) In total, we’re going to ultimately be gone for about 20 days and we’ll have driven nearly 3,000 miles.
“As my wife jokes, we now live like hippies traveling everywhere by bus, but we’re having a lot of fun.”
Congratulations! Tyler Jones, one of Miguel’s crew members, and his wife Holly had a baby on Monday, July 2. Their second daughter, Lyla Michelle Jones weighed in at eight pounds, 13 ounces.
Basic Portuguese
Olá: Hello
Tchau: Goodbye
Sim: Yes
Não: No
Por favor: Please
Obrigado (male) / Obrigada (female): Thank you
Tweet of the Week
@miguelpaludo: We are having a blast @Disney but it’s freaking hot and I’m getting freaking tired. #ButOliverisenjoying
@PatiSouzaPaludo: Since we are leaving like hippies, in the motor home, travel all around, having my nails done is like a dream come true! Lol
The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.