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Truck Series

Truckin’ Thursdays: Kansas Kind To First-Time Victors

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This weekend, the Camping World Truck Series heads off to Kansas Speedway for a little Saturday afternoon action at the 1.5-mile oval. In 12 previous visits to the facility, no driver has even been a repeat winner — yet. But perhaps what’s more interesting is that of those 12 different victors, four happened to notch their first career trip to victory lane at the speedway. With an entry list 37 strong and only four previous winners at Kansas entered (Johnny Sauter, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Todd Bodine and James Buescher), the likelihood of adding a 13th different winner is pretty high.

But until the checkered flag flies on Saturday afternoon, I’d like to take a look at the drivers who did score their first wins at the track and where they are now.

Tearing Apart the Trucks: Hornaday Loses His Head at Rockingham

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Sunday afternoon presented one of the rare times for the Camping World Truck Series to be in the spotlight; they put on just the race I expected them to. And though Kyle Larson thoroughly dominated the field, leading all but a handful of laps, there was still plenty of action throughout the race right up to the final caution.

That’s when things went, well, crazy for lack of a better word. When Timothy Peters and Ryan Sieg got together, causing the yellow it was clear the field would be set up for an exciting green-white-checkered finish. But more than half a lap after the yellow came out, Darrell Wallace, Jr. was sent spinning and out of the race off the bumper of Ron Hornaday, Jr. Several replays later, it became clear that the veteran had spun the rookie intentionally in retaliation for earlier contact between the two.

Tracking the Trucks: North Carolina Education Lottery 200

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*In a Nutshell:* Kyle Larson was the class of the field from the drop of the green flag until the drop of the checkered. He held off Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano and CWTS veterans Brendan Gaughan and Johnny Sauter on a green-white-checkered finish to win his first career Truck event. Chase Elliott rounded out the top 5 in Rockingham.

*Who Should Have Won: Larson.* It’s only been a matter of time since he made his series debut last year. Still, given the skill and poise he showed, It was hard to believe that Larson was running just his fifth career CWTS race. Larson led 187 of 205 laps en route to complete dominance on Sunday.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Crafton Set to Break Rockingham Record

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This weekend, the Camping World Truck Series heads to Rockingham Speedway for a Sunday afternoon showdown while the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series are halfway across the country in Texas. While Johnny Sauter has stolen the headlines with back-to-back victories at Daytona and Martinsville to begin the season, it’s teammate Matt Crafton who hopes to steal those headlines as he sets the all-time record for most consecutive series starts.

Tracking the Trucks: Kroger 250

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*In a Nutshell:* Johnny Sauter took the lead on the final restart of the race to take home his second win of 2013, his second at Martinsville, and his eighth overall. ThorSport teammate Matt Crafton squeezed by a fading Jeb Burton to finish second. Timothy Peters and Darrell Wallace, Jr. Rounded out the top 5.

*Who Should Have Won: Jeb Burton.* Burton was the class of the field in the Arrowhead Chevrolet from the moment the trucks unloaded in Martinsville, running at the top of the charts in practice, qualifying on the pole, and leading the most laps en route to a third-place finish. It was, perhaps, Burton’s inexperience as much as a loose, fading truck that kept him from Victory Lane; Sauter and Crafton, both series veterans, simply made Burton use his truck up at the end. Still, Burton proved that he’s going to be a factor in this series in 2013.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Chase Elliott Sets Out To Carve His Own Legacy

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_NASCAR fans who have been around for a while know all about “Awesome Bill” Elliott from Dawsonville, but this weekend, it’s his son Chase Elliott that hopes to steal the headlines when the Camping World Truck Series gets back in action at Martinsville Speedway. Chase was just six years old when he sat atop the pit box at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as his father won the 2002 Brickyard 400, one of NASCAR’s most coveted victories._

_Fast forward to today, and the now 17-year-old finds himself able to take advantage of a new rule change implemented by NASCAR for this season. It’s a change in the minimum competition age, from 18 to 16, for a select number of tracks — those shorter than 1.1 miles and road courses — that allows some of the many talented drivers moving quickly through the ranks for a shot at the big leagues._

Truckin’ Thursdays: Miguel Paludo on Time Off, Testing And Illnesses

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Well, we don’t have a whole lot of racing to talk about since we haven’t been on the track since Daytona. But we did test at Martinsville a couple weeks ago on a Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a brand new truck that we built for Martinsville. There were about four or five of us on the first day and seven of us on the second day, and we were super fast both days. Balance wise, we tested everything in the rear end of the truck and focused on the front end the second day. We got an idea of which way to go depending on what happens for the race. I told Jeff [Hensley, crew chief] that two days of testing at Martinsville, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM was similar to the amount of time we have the whole year in our normal practice sessions at the track all at once. It was nice to be able to test everything calmly without a lot of rushing. That brand new truck was really good, so I’m really looking forward to Martinsville. We have a new sponsor for Martinsville — SEM. I’m really excited about it because it’s a different and new sponsor that I’m looking forward to putting up a great finish for them.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Four Tracks That Belong On The Truck Series Schedule

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Today, the Camping World Truck Series remains in the middle of a ridiculous six-week break and won’t return to the track until April 6th, and while the season will pick up as we get toward the summer months, by the time June rolls around, the series will have run just six of its 22 events. Compare that to five consecutive weeks of competition to close out the season, and it’s clear there’s a serious imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

With reports coming out late last season that NASCAR might consider allowing tracks without SAFER barriers on the schedule, fans and media alike became hopeful that the sanctioning body would restore some of the races dropped for 2012. And though the new schedule for this season has its bright spots – Eldora Raceway and the addition of a road course come to mind – the biggest problem still wasn’t addressed. With just 22 races on the schedule, drivers and fans once again are forced to endure breaks that last way too long between events, breaking momentum and challenging the attention span of even the most dedicated fans.

Truckin' Thursdays: Meet The 2013 Rookie Class, Part II

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_Author's Note: Welcome to Part II of our Rookie Class Preview for the 2013 season. Did you miss the first part? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Just \"click here\":http://www.frontstretch.com/blunkenheimer/42514/ to read Part I where we featured Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton and Brennan Newberry._ *German Quiroga* <div style=\"float:right; width:240px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/15539.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"299\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">German Quiroga looking GQ in those white sunglasses. Wait a minute…I think we just coined a nickname.</p></div> *2013 Ride:* No. 77 Red Horse Racing Toyota *2013 Teammates:* Timothy Peters and Jon Wes Townley *CWTS Starts (Prior to 2013):* Six (two in 2011, four in 2012) *Best Finish:* Eighth at Talladega (2012) *Daytona Result:* 25th (Running, three laps down) German Quiroga made his Camping World Truck Series debut with Kyle Busch Motorsports in late 2011, behind the wheel of the No. 51 Telcel Toyota Tundra, in a deal that was meant to determine whether the NASCAR Mexico champion even had any interest in pursuing the Truck Series. Fast forward to 2013 where, just days before the season opener at Daytona, Quiroga has signed on to run the full season with Red Horse Racing. \"I am very happy to join Red Horse Racing,\" Quiroga said after his signing was announced. \"I looked around the RHR shop back in December and was very pleased with the entire organization and how well they support each other.\" While a 25th-place result at Daytona isn't all that exciting, Quiroga had run well prior to being collected in a wreck not of his own making. However, in his limited starts last season, Quiroga has shown promise and will definitely be on to watch in the upcoming season. *Victory Lane This Year?* Red Horse Racing managed to visit victory lane five times last year with all four drivers that made starts with the organization. While Quiroga has just limited experience in the Truck Series, he's a three-time NASCAR Mexico champion and will likely snag a victory later this year. *Darrell Wallace, Jr.* <div style=\"float:right; width:250px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/14528.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"381\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">With a Nationwide Series pole in just his fourth career start last year, is a win that far off for Darrell Wallace, Jr. in the Camping World Truck Series?</p></div> *2013 Ride:* No. 54 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota *2013 Teammates:* Joey Coulter and Kyle Busch *CWTS Starts (Prior to 2013):* none *Best Finish:* N/A *Daytona Result:* 12th Having never made a Camping World Truck Series start, Darrell Wallace, Jr. joined Kyle Busch Motorsports during the offseason to run full time this year. The Joe Gibbs Racing development driver will pilot the No. 54 Toyota throughout the season and has another young driver right alongside him in Joey Coulter. \"I can't wait to get started,\" Wallace said. \"I appreciate everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports for working this out and providing me the opportunity to compete for Rookie of the Year and the championship in the Truck Series. Having the opportunity to run a full season in the Tundra is exciting.\" With such raw talent, it imperative to watch the development of Wallace throughout the season since there's one of two ways it can go for him. He can either be rushed through the ranks like so many promising young drivers before him, or built up gradually for long-term success (see Austin and Ty Dillon). *Victory Lane This Year?* Considering Wallace's only experience in the Truck Series came at Daytona in the season opener, it's easy to count him out for a shot at the victory this season, especially with the learning curve of getting used to driving a truck, however he's already impressed in the Nationwide Series. Plus, he's got the benefit of learning valuable insight from team owner Kyle Busch as well as the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization. With all of that being said, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him head to victory lane at some point in 2012. ———- *Miguel's Corner* …

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