After a six-week break, the Camping World Truck Series is back.
NASCAR released the entry list for the May 8 NCWTS Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway earlier today. The preliminary entry list contains only 28 entrants, meaning every team will make the race.
The first thing fans will noticed about the entry list is a lack of Cup drivers. There are zero Cup veterans scheduled to run in Friday’s race. Instead, a healthy mix of series regulars and upcoming prospects are set to battle it out on the 1.5-mile track.
Joe Nemechek returns to the wheel of the No. 8 SWM International Chevrolet. He runs at tracks his son, John Hunter, is too young to race. Nemechek last competed at Atlanta, where he finished 10th.
A couple ARCA Racing stars are set to return to the Truck Series too. Brandon Jones, who shares a ride with Frank Kimmel in ARCA, returns to action in the No. 33 Chevrolet for GMS Racing. Matt Tifft, a veteran of Ken Schrader Racing and prospect for Kyle Busch Motorsports, will run in the No. 25 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports.
Austin Theriault will return to the wheel of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Toyota for Brad Keselowski Racing. Theriault, 21, ran previously for the team at Daytona, where he led nine laps en-route to a fourth-place finish.
Two entrants are curiously missing from the preliminary entry list. Bryan Silas’s No. 99 entry is missing from the list for the first time since 2013. Travis Kvapil was also expected to be on the list after last week’s announced move to the No. 50 for MAKE Motorsports, but is curiously absent. The team, however, made a Facebook post saying there will also be a No. 1 truck, with an announcement to follow later.
https://www.facebook.com/MAKEMotorsports/photos/a.106435702712638.11050.105700202786188/921294941226706/?type=1
The Camping World Truck Series will roar to life at Kansas Speedway on Thursday afternoon, taking to the track for two practice sessions from 3 – 4 p.m ET and 4:30 – 6 p.m. ET. The series will return on Friday for Keystone Light Pole Qualifying at 4:45 p.m ET, followed by the running of the 15th Annual Toyota Tundra 250 on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
2015 TOYOTA TUNDRA 250 ENTRY LIST
| Car# | Driver | Sponsor | Manu | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Tyler Young | Randco Industries / Young's Building Systems | 14 Chevy | Randy Young |
| 4 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 15 Toyota | Kyle Busch |
| 5 | John Wes Townley | Zaxby's | 15 Toyota | Tony Townley |
| 6 | Norm Benning | TBA | 15 Chevy | Norm Benning |
| 7 | Ray Black Jr | ScubaLife.com | 15 Chevy | Bobby Dotter |
| 8 | JoeNemechek | SWM International | 15 Chevy | Sidney Mauldin |
| 8 | Korbin Forrister | Tilted Kilt | 15 Chevy | Ken Smith |
| 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Mark One Electric | 14 Chevy | Jennifer Jo Cobb |
| 11 | Ben Kennedy | SpongeBob SquarePants | 15 Toyota | Tom Deloach |
| 13 | Cameron Hayley | Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. | 15 Toyota | Duke Thorson |
| 14 | Daniel Hemric | California Clean Power | 15 Chevy | Bob Newberry |
| 15 | Mason Mingus | 811 Call Before You Dig | 15 Chevy | Billy Boat |
| 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | 15 Toyota | Tom Deloach |
| 19 | Tyler Reddick | BBR Music Group | 15 Ford | Brad Keselowski |
| 23 | Spencer Gallagher | Allegiant Travel | 15 Chevy | Maurice Gallagher Jr |
| 25 | Matt Tifft | TBD | 15 Toyota | William Venturini, Sr. |
| 29 | Austin Theriault | Cooper Standard | 15 Ford | Brad Keselowski |
| 31 | James Buescher | ERT Investments | 15 Chevy | Bob Newberry |
| 33 | Brandon Jones | TBA | 15 Chevy | Maurice Gallagher Jr |
| 36 | Justin Jennings | Mittler Bros Machine & Tools/Ski Soda | 15 Chevy | Michael Mittler |
| 45 | BJ McLeod | TBA | 15 Chevy | BJ McLeod |
| 51 | Daniel Suarez(i) | ARRIS | 15 Toyota | Kyle Busch |
| 54 | Justin Boston | Zloop | 15 Toyota | Kyle Busch |
| 63 | TBA | Vitterott College/Ski Soda | 13 Toyota | Michael Mittler |
| 74 | Jordan Anderson | Corpe Consulting/Impact Racing Products | 14 Chevy | Mike Harmon |
| 88 | Matt Crafton | Slim Jim/Menards | 15 Toyota | Rhonda Thorson |
| 94 | Wendell Chavous | Testoril & The Glow Zone | 15 Chevy | Jay Robinson |
| 98 | Johnny Sauter | Smokey Mountain/Curb Records | 15 Toyota | Mike Curb |
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.