They say that as much as things continue to change, other things stay the same. That saying will look to play truth in the Camping World Truck Series this year as even while there are some new faces in the mix, the same team will rise to the top to claim the driver’s championship.
With the first race of the season in the books and a look at this year’s Camping World Truck Series drivers, it looks like ThorSport Racing will be headed towards their second straight driver’s championship. The only question that remains – – which of their drivers will win the championship?
Matt Crafton captured the championship last year in his 14th season in the Camping World Truck Series. The veteran had a stellar season, completing every lap of competition, while scoring 19 top 10s in 22 races. The championship marked no surprise as the California native has finished in the top 10 in the point standings the last seven years. With the same group of guys around him, Crafton seems to have all the pieces to do it again. If he can have that same consistency and stay out of trouble, look for Crafton to be the series’ first repeat champion.
In series history, there has yet to be a repeat champion – so with that mind, the focus shifts to Crafton’s teammate Johnny Sauter. Last year, Sauter finished fourth in points with a total of 14 top 10s. He’s also a veteran of the series, with five full-seasons under his belt, with a best points finish of second in 2011. Sauter is also a very consistant driver, though finds himself in situations that cause damage to his truck and result in poor finishes. To beat his teammate for the championship, Sauter will have to avoid those situations and capitalize at tracks that he runs well on.
ThorSport Racing had a third truck at the season opener at Daytona with Jeb Burton behind the wheel. Burton had an incredible rookie season as he finished fifth in points with 11 top 10s. Burton was left without a ride just before the season due to his sponsor backing out, however ThorSport stepped up to the plate with a ride and a sponsor. If ThorSport can secure more sponsorship for Burton, look for the young Virginian to join the championship picture.
While ThorSport Racing looks to be the team to beat this coming season, they’re not the only team that you have to watch as there are other drivers that may find themselves in the championship picture.
After solid rookie years, both Ryan Blaney and Darrell Wallace Jr. are looking to back that up with more success.
Blaney, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, had 13 top 10s last year in his way to finishing sixth in points. With only three wrecks last season, Blaney showed that he has the ability to be consistant. Though to make himself championship material, Blaney will need to put himself in position to win more races while putting together stronger, consistent finishes. Both of those come with experience so look for Blaney to be a top five contender this year.
Wallace Jr., driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, had 12 top 10s last year on his way to finishing eighth in points. One of the things that hurt Wallace last season was the fact that he had eight wrecks last year. Wallace will need to work towards minimizing those wrecks, while putting together the stronger consistent finishes that it takes to be championship material.
A veteran that could find himself in the championship picture is Red Horse Racing competitor Timothy Peters, who comes off of a second place finish at Daytona. Peters enters his sixth full season in the Camping World Truck Series with his strongest points finish being a runner-up in 2012. Peters struggled last year as he only finished 10th in points after suffering 4 DNFs. Peters will look to rebound this year and if he can get back to the consistency that he had in 2012, look for him to be one of the contenders.
While those five are some of hte obvious choices for the championship, there are three dark horses that you should keep your eye on – John Wes Townley, Joey Coulter and Ross Chastain.
John Wes Townley will run the full schedule this year for Richie Wauters. Wuaters has had success in the series in the past, scoring wins with Kyle Busch and Shane Hmiel in his trucks. Townley, known as ‘Chicken Man’, was prone to wrecking a lot. However, the last 10 races of last season, Townley was able to put together six top 10 finishes. If Townley continues to build on that momentum, he could find himself up in the points mix. However, with Townley, a thing to keep in mind is he is running for both the truck title and ARCA Championship with Venturini Motorsports. Could that be a distraction? Possibly.
After struggling with Kyle Busch Motorsports last year, Joey Coulter makes the move to Gallagher Racing, a new team in the series. Gallagher Racing purchased the equipment that Richard Childress Racing used last year that led to their championship. Coulter has ran RCR equipment in the past, having his best truck season to date in 2012 with 15 top 10s on his way to finishing third in points. If Gallagher Racing can put the pieces together, look for Coulter to run upfront.
After running a partial schedule last year for Brad Keselowski Racing, Ross Chastain makes the move to Ricky Benton’s team in 2014. Ricky Benton hasn’t had the best statistics as an owner in the series, however perhaps Chastain’s youth will help bring success in 2014. Chastain had seven top 10s last year in his 14 starts.
Rookie of the Year Battle
The 2014 Rookie of the Year battle will be between Turner-Scott Motorsports’ Ben Kennedy, Brad Keselowski Racing’s Tyler Reddick and WinTron Racing’s Mason Mingus.
My pick? Ben Kennedy. Ben Kennedy enters this season with an impressive track record after having success last year in the K&N Pro East Series with a couple race wins. He’s also stepping into the truck that James Buescher drove to the championship in 2012.
The Owner’s Championship
The battle for hte owner’s championship will once again come down between ThorSport Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports. On ThorSport’s side, it could be either Crafton or Sauter leading their team to victory.
For Kyle Busch Motorsports, they return with the same combo that led them to the 2013 Owner’s Championship as Kyle Busch will run 10 races while Erik Jones will run 12 races. There’s no questioning whether Busch can win in a truck, though Jones could rank right up there with his boss. In the five races that he ran last year, Jones had five top 10s and scored his first career victory at Phoenix International Raceway.
My pick? Kyle Busch Motorsports.
