NASCAR on TV this week

Truck Series

Truckin’ Thursdays: 11 Winners Down, Who’s Next?

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Ty Dillon’s victory in last Friday night’s Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway marked the 11th different–and sixth first-time–winner in the Camping World Truck Series this year. The current record for most wins in a single season sits at 14–set in 1998 and 2005–and with eight races left on the schedule, it’s a mark that could be broken.

But the question that remains: who might break through and add their name to the list of victors?

At Talladega anyone could make a trip to victory lane in that race – assuming all 36 trucks aren’t wiped out in a massive wreck. After all, remember what happened at the last superspeedway race the Truck Series had in Daytona this February. John King executed an ill-timed bump on Johnny Sauter, sending him spinning and ended up snagging the victory. But that wild card aside, there are plenty of drivers that have yet to win this year and could easily do so before season’s end.

Tracking the Trucks: Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200

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*In a Nutshell:* Ty Dillon took the checkered flag 3.227 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch to win the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200 Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dillon passed Busch for the lead with just six laps remaining and never looked back en route to his first career victory. James Buescher, Parker Kligerman and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 5.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Miguel Paludo on Bristol, Birthdays and More

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_Welcome to the latest edition of Miguel Paludo’s Driver Diary. Every few weeks, Miguel sits down and tells the Frontstretch all about the latest in his on track career as well as his personal life. Kick back and enjoy as Paludo dishes on Bristol, looks forward to Atlanta and so much more._

We were a little off in practice at Bristol. We tried some different things with the right front because Dover is one-mile long and concrete and Bristol is almost the same, just shorter. We had a plan to try and if it didn’t work, we could go back to what the No. 30 and No. 31 (teammates Nelson Piquet, Jr. and James Buescher) had. And we actually did that because first practice wasn’t really good, and then in the second practice we were around 12th. My hopes were to qualify in that same area, around 12th or 13th, but we just didn’t have speed in qualifying.

Tracking the Trucks: UNOH 200

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*In a Nutshell:* Timothy Peters trounced the field and took the checkered flag 0.465 seconds ahead of teammate Parker Kligerman to win with UNOH 200 Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Peters took the lead before completing the first lap and never relinquished the top spot all night long. Ross Chastain, Joey Coulter and Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top 5.

*Who Should Have Won:* Timothy Peters. What more is there to say really? Despite several attempts by his competitors, Peters’ No. 17 Toyota was unbeatable Wednesday night. Add in that he and his crew were flawless on every visit to pit road and there’s no reason to believe anyone else should have won the race.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Through Ups and Downs, Red Horse Racing Remains Red Hot

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For Peters, it’s a night that reminds us how strong his No. 17 team has been throughout the season. He clearly leads the team in his performance, grabbing his second victory (Iowa) in six races and the fifth in his career. After starting in the runner-up spot, the driver of the No. 17 Toyota wasted little time, taking the top spot before the field completed a single lap. And despite charges from teammate Todd Bodine, Brad Keselowski and even runner-up Parker Kligerman on each restart, Peters always left his competitors eating dust. It’s no easy feat to lead every single circuit at the world’s fastest half-mile, where anything can happen, especially after a recent reconfiguration. Heck, it’s near-impossible to do it at _any_ racetrack: Wednesday night marked the first time since Louisville in July, 1997 a Truck Series driver led every lap of a race.

Tracking the Trucks: VFW 200

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*In a Nutshell:* Nelson Piquet, Jr. took the checkered flag nearly ten seconds ahead of Jason White in Saturday afternoon’s VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Piquet, Jr. used a fuel mileage gamble and had enough in the fuel tank to score his first career victory. Dakoda Armstrong, Parker Kligerman, and James Buescher rounded out the top 5. Pole-sitter Joey Coulter failed to lead a lap and finished seventh.

*Who Should Have Won:* Nelson Piquet, Jr.

Truckin’ Thursdays: A Myriad of Changes Just in Time For Michigan

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As the Camping World Truck Series heads to Michigan International Speedway, a couple of drivers won’t be in the rides you’ve become accustomed to seeing them in.

Parker Kligerman, who was released from Brad Keselowski Racing following a solid seventh-place finish at Pocono, announced last week that he had joined Red Horse Racing to pilot the No. 7 Toyota vacated when Daytona winner John King was released just five races into the year.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Exciting Reasons To Keep Watching At Halfway

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Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125 marked the halfway point of the Camping World Truck Series schedule. That’s right … it took nearly six months to get the first half completed, a bit unbalanced as the series will run its final 11 events in right around three months. But despite the lack of momentum, thanks to a poorly designed schedule there have been plenty of exciting moments to keep viewers interested.

In just 11 events, the Truck Series has seen four different drivers grab their first career victories, a potpourri of new personalities gracing the top spot.

Tracking the Trucks: Pennsylvania Mountains 125

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*In a Nutshell:* Nelson Piquet Jr. was the class of the field all day Saturday, winning the pole and running away and hiding during a long green flag run to start the season’s shortest race. But a rash of late-race cautions left the No. 30 vulnerable on a lap 44 restart, allowing Joey Coulter to snag the lead entering turn 1 and driving off to his first career Truck Series victory. James Buescher, Piquet, Matt Crafton and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 5.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Is The Camping World Truck Series Healthier Than Nationwide?

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Not that long ago, many though the Camping World Truck Series was in danger of dissolving thanks to sponsorship woes that resulted in teams scaling back at the least and shutting down at the worst. But the 2012 season has brought with it a breath of fresh air in what appeared to be a quickly dying series. Despite having the best racing on the track, the division suffered from a variety of maladies that could have easily seen NASCAR make the decision to quit supporting it. Now, the Truck Series stands on a much healthier ground and has even surpassed the Nationwide Series in lasting power.

First and foremost, fans finally have the opportunity to get to know the drivers that make up the fields week in and week out. Having endured a 2011 season that focused mostly on Kyle Busch and rest the of the Sprint Cup drivers overshadowing the series regulars, there has been a rebound in the popularity and coverage.