In what has become tradition the last few years, a time to reflect on the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season is upon us. While many do their “Best and Worst” or “Top Moments” from a season now complete, I’ve enjoyed reliving races through the drivers.
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[/media-credit]This season a new champion was crown, the youngest in series history. Rivalries were born between new drivers while others were refueled. New faces graced victory lane as old faces attempted to keep some of the spotlight stolen by the younger stars. It was a season filled with drama, passion and history.
But as fun as it was, it’s now officially over. Another chapter has been written in CWTS history. Here’s one last look at what kept everyone on the edge of their seat for 25 races this season.
Daytona: “I came here to celebrate his life. I didn’t come here to celebrate a win.” — Michael Waltrip
Ten years to the day that he won his first career race in the 2001 Daytona 500, the same day the NASCAR world lost Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip again went to victory lane for the first time. But it was in a No. 15 CWTS truck after beating Elliott Sadler on a last lap slingshot off turn four. Waltrip had entered all events at Speedweeks with the No. 15 and Napa as his sponsor to honor his former friend and boss.
Phoenix: “It’s the difference between a Corvette and an Impala — maybe a Volt … That’s that electric car.” — Clint Bowyer
Following his second place finish to Kyle Busch the Kevin Harvick Inc. driver spoke about his frustration with restarts and driving a vehicle that was much different than his Sprint Cup car. Bowyer said his mistakes played a key in missing out on victory and that he felt his truck didn’t have enough RPM has it could have.
Darlington: “I am so happy for Darlington Raceway. Look at the crowd we got …” — Todd Bodine
Since returning to the schedule in 2010 after a six year absence, Darlington instantly became a must-see event for race fans. Being a standalone weekend on the calendar many saw some of the best racing of the year at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame.” This past year former champion Bodine repeatedly expressed the strong state of the sport while acknowledging that Darlington was doing a fantastic job attracting a crowd on a Saturday night. Unfortunately, the race has again been taken off the schedule.
Martinsville: “The only thing that was missing today was leather interior.” — Johnny Sauter
It took a late restart and then a bump-and-run but Sauter finally won at Martinsville. In doing so he beat one of the best in the business, Kyle Busch, whom he muscled his way inside of with less than two laps to go. Sauter praised his team for the hard work and a truck that he couldn’t have been happier with.
Nashville: “Hell of a wheelman, that old man still gets after it.” — Kyle Busch
After beating the veteran of the CWTS, Ron Hornaday, Busch acknowledged a great race the two had put on. Hornaday had passed Busch with less than 10 laps to go, but the No. 18 was not to be denied that night and returned the favor for good just laps later to seal his second win of the year and at Nashville. The good relationship between Busch and Hornaday wouldn’t last long in 2011.
Dover: “Running second to Kyle’s almost like winning now-a-days.” — Cole Whitt
For as strong as Whitt and the No. 60 Red Bull team ran in the early part of 2011 they were never able to seal the deal. At Dover he fell short to Busch who was able to get around him thanks to a late race restart. Afterwards the rookie tried to look for a way to put it in perspective.
Charlotte: “I had an angel running with me that last run with Zahra Baker.” — Kyle Busch
For the grief that Busch takes about his on and off-track antics, on a Friday night in Charlotte he had many in tears. Knowing that he didn’t have the fastest truck to win the race, as well as having spun out during the event, Busch wasn’t about to go down easily. With the name of murder victim Zahra Baker on the side of his truck he dug down deep to take the checkered flag in her memory.
Kansas: It fried my rear end.” — Todd Bodine
There comes a time when every driver will be at odds with their machine. Not just with its handling but with the toll it takes on their body. At Kansas the interior of Bodine’s truck wasn’t equipped to handle the heat well as his behind became quite uncomfortable. Even with a fire lit underneath it though, it wasn’t enough to propel him to victory.
Texas: “God Bless America.” — Johnny Sauter
Very rarely does the driver who finishes under the checkered flag first not win the race. In Texas Sauter beat Hornaday but was black flagged for changing lanes before the start/finish line on the green-white-checkered finish. When reporters caught up with him after he exited his truck, Sauter didn’t have much to say about the situation.
Kentucky: “It’s crazy what we’ve been able to do.” — Parker Kligerman
Rookie Parker Kligerman was a new face who nearly found victory lane in 2011. He had back-to-back second place finishes at Texas and Kentucky, where he praised his small team for their big accomplishments. Kligerman revealed the big goals the team had and said he knew they were going to win a race. Unfortunately they never did but finished 11th in points.
Iowa: “They moved a race shop and built the truck, they went to victory.” — Matt Crafton
It was a long time coming for Crafton and his No. 88 Menards team but they finally earned their second career victory by holding off the dominate Austin Dillon. It came at the conclusion of a busy week for the ThorSport organization who had just relocated into their new shop in Sandusky, Ohio while also preparing for the race weekend.
Nashville: “It’s just so great to have a win. When you get a win, everything just seems to be a lot easier.” — Austin Dillon
Victory was also a long time coming for Dillon who had let many slip through his fingers early in 2011. The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team came to Nashville with one goal in mind: winning a custom guitar from Sam Bass. Starting on the pole and leading the most laps, Dillon’s victory kickstarted his championship campaign into the summer.
Lucas Oil: “I’m very impatient and I had a lot of great people around me to say, ‘Hey, keep your cool.’ And here we are, we preserved.” — Timothy Peters
When things aren’t going well it’s easy to get down on yourself as Peters did in the early part of 2011. The team struggled to bring home the finishes they deserved but knew it would turn around eventually. Just a week after talking about how great they are and how much he appreciates them, Peter’s pit crew helped him recovered from a blown tire to capture victory in Indianapolis.
Pocono: “You hate losing to him, but you hate losing to anybody.” — James Buescher
Many drivers will admit that it is fun racing with the Sprint Cup Series drivers of Harvick, Busch and others. But when it comes to seeing them win, while beating you, it’s not as fun. In Pocono Buescher lost his shot at victory when both Harvick and Busch bested him at the end of the Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125.
Michigan: “It’s not Sunday, but any trophy you can bring home is a good thing.” — Kevin Harvick
On the flip side, it’s only about fun for the Cup drivers. Unable to run for the driver’s championship because of the preseason rule change, Cup drivers want nothing but wins on Friday and Saturday’s. Wins that go a long way for Harvick and company who fought and won the owner’s championship in 2011.
Bristol: “You can’t fix a crybaby and he’s just a crybaby.” — Kevin Harvick
There’s no other track that is better suited for scores to be settled and rivalries to be ignited than Bristol. But it wasn’t Harvick and Busch going at it, instead it was Busch and Elliott Sadler who tangled and hurt each others feelings. Sadler said Busch wrecked himself while Busch said Sadler was following the orders of team owner Harvick, who won while they feuded. However Sadler wasn’t driving for KHI that night.
Atlanta: “See that trophy? We stole it tonight.” — Ron Hornaday
The 2011 season will be one of ‘what could have been’ for Hornaday who seemed to have troubles drawn to him. From the beginning he found himself in a deep championship hole, that he nearly climbed out of, thanks to a lucky break in Texas and a fuel mileage gamble in Atlanta, the sites of his first two wins. Hornaday had just enough in the tank to make it to the finish line ahead of a hard charging Clint Bowyer.
Chicago: “Everybody has different slangs. Some are speaking more redneck languages than others. I’m still learning the language.” — Nelson Piquet Jr.
One of the fresh faces in the series was Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr., who drove for KHI. A few times it looked like he was going to bust down the door and win a race but came up just a little bit short at tracks like Nashville and Chicago. It was here where he was working with a new spotter in his ear and while they finished third, Piquet said it takes time to become familiar with another voice.
Loudon: “Honestly, it was like a parade. It was a terrible race and everybody was following everybody around and hard to pass.” — Kevin Harvick
It’s rare for the CWTS to have a bad race or one that was just stunk up by a driver. Yet at Loudon Kyle Busch led all but 10 laps on his way to another victory and third place finisher Harvick didn’t hide the fact that he was upset with the racing conditions, which produced the race that many saw and were unhappy with.
Kentucky: “We gave ’em hell at the end but the old man whipped my tail.” — Austin Dillon
No other driver went on a hot streak at the end of the 2011 season like Ron Hornaday. Unless you count Tony Stewart in the Sprint Cup Series. Hornaday kept on winning and running in the top five to climb his way back in the championship fight. At Kentucky his team used pit strategy to get ahead of a fast Dillon late in the race. The win was the 50th of Hornaday’s career.
Las Vegas: “I finally won in Vegas.” — Ron Hornaday
A week later it was more of the same. This time though it was Hornaday dominating the day for his first win in Sin City. He brought him to within 21 points of the championship and helped KHI extend their owner points lead. But Vegas would be the site of Hornaday’s last 2011 victory.
Talladega: “It’s been a long time since I won a race, nobody knows how much this means to me.” — Mike Wallace
With the seat open in the No. 33 for the Talladega event, KHI called Mike Wallace to fill the void. Teaming with Hornaday and perfecting the two-car tandem drafting, the pair were never far from the front of the field on raceday. In the end Hornaday pushed Wallace to his fifth career victory and his first NASCAR win since 2004. An emotional Wallace soaked in the moment in victory lane when he could have been on vacation with his wife for their anniversary.
Martinsville: “There’s no cure for stupid.” — Todd Bodine
The best and worst in drivers can and most likely will be brought out at Martinsville. This season it was between Germain teammates Bodine and Max Papis who got together on pit road then continued on the track. Bodine didn’t like Papis crowding him on pit road, where crew members are in danger, and when he felt that Papis was brake checking him, he spun him out. Later that night on Twitter Papis responded by saying he wasn’t going to pull over for Bodine and that it was “BS” to be wrecked by a teammate.
Texas: “I didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed. He did.” — Ron Hornaday
As previously mentioned, the good relationship between Hornaday and Busch didn’t last long. The two found each other on numerous occasions in 2011 and it never ended well. In Texas while racing side-by-side just 16 laps into the race, it appeared Hornaday got loose while trying to navigate around a slower truck and ran up the track into Busch. The two hit the wall and when the caution came out Busch blatantly wrecked Hornaday. It started a verbal war of words between KHI and Busch, who was parked for the remainder of the weekend and who would not be in another 2011 CWTS race.
Homestead-Miami: “You can’t go out of the Truck Series any better than this.” — Austin Dillon
In just his second full season the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet driver won his first CWTS championship. But Dillon won’t be back in 2012 to defend his title as he and his team move to the Nationwide Series, where he feels he can win the title there. In Homestead Dillon finished a solid 10th to claim the title while rival Johnny Sauter won the event to close out the season.
Be sure to check back in for the reviews of the 2011 Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.
