Trucks on the short track, where they should be!
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visits the legendary Martinsville Speedway this weekend and that leads me to reminisce about “the good ole days”. The series began in 1995 and during that first season, the trucks competed primarily on short tracks. Venues like Saugus, Evergreen, I-70 and Mesa Marin are just a few of the fantastic short tracks that the trucks visited. They also visited Martinsville that first season as well, with Joe Ruttman taking the win that day. Fifteen of the twenty races scheduled that first season were short tracks, two races on road courses and just three on superspeedways. That is a great mix. There is just something amazing about seeing 36 trucks beating and banging around the great short tracks we have around the country. Obviously, the trucks at Daytona and Talladega are great, but it just doesn’t compare to a race at Portland or Tuscon.
In the beginning, the truck series brought us back to the rough and tumble Saturday night racing we grew up with at legendary tracks like Hickory or Bowman Gray, yet had that appeal of the “big time”. The drivers had character flaws and attitudes, they weren’t polished and toned down. When a driver got interviewed after a wreck, their remarks were always unpredictable and exciting.
While working in the pits on late models the weekends, we loved when a NASCAR touring series came to town. It was the big time, the series we wanted to be in someday. We admired these guys, despite the fact that they weren’t perfect, in fact, that may have strengthened our admiration. They were real people. This is the same feeling we had with the trucks series in it’s early years.
In recent years, the series schedule has moved away from the small bullrings with imperfect surfaces and more toward following the Cup and Nationwide series on very nice raceways with new surfaces and no bumps. Those tracks are great and definitely have their place on NASCAR, but the trucks should be back on the bullrings where they started.
Recently, rumors have been swirling that NASCAR is going to move the schedule back to the shorter stand alone tracks. The Kroger 200 at Martinsville this Saturday will be a look back to the past. Hopefully, the powers that be will be paying attention and see how great the racing action is and it will help push the trucks back to their roots.
Hot 20 over the past 10 – Brad and Denny are hot, Jimmie just lukewarm heading to Martinsville
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[/media-credit]When all is said and done at Homestead, the guy who is the hottest over the final ten events could very likely be our champion. How to become that man is not so simple. Winning is good, but not everything. Matt Kenseth has won twice in the Chase, but pending a zombie apocalypse he does not have much of a chance of taking the crown. Avoiding total disaster has its positive points. Kevin Harvick was five times just outside the Top Ten, yet he is out in the weeds behind even Kenseth.
The curve is mighty steep to keep in the hunt. It would seem having at least as many Top Threes as finishes outside the Top 15 would be required to keep one alive in the Chase, and anything outside the Top 30 cooks your goose. Brad Keselowski has a couple of victories with his worst finish being 11th. Jimmie Johnson remains in the hunt with a trio of Top Threes and Denny Hamlin has a win and a runner-up finish to his credit.
Possibly one of our leading contenders could face disaster over the upcoming four events. Maybe two. However, what are the odds of all three faltering before we end the season?
Here is a look at our hottest 20 drivers over the past ten races.
1 (1) Brad Keselowski – 376 pts
Martinsville not nearly as kind to Brad as it has been to his challengers…
2 (3) Denny Hamlin – 375
…for example, 4 Cup wins and seeking a second in the trucks.
3 (4) Clint Bowyer – 358
The last time he was in Victory Circle, so was Kyle Nelson!
4 (5) Kasey Kahne – 351
Sun might be setting on this season, but there is hope for a new dawn next year.
5 (8) Jeff Gordon – 342
If this is frustrating, imagine how Montoya must feel.
6 (6) Martin Truex Jr – 341
One of a couple of reasons Michael Waltrip might be a happy man.
7 (2) Jimmie Johnson – 337
Brad has been better over the past ten, but the final four will decide a champion.
8 (13) Kyle Busch – 326
He might not be a Chaser, but the man remains a true racer.
9 (10) Kevin Harvick – 322
Has not finished worse than 16th in Chase, but no better than 11th (three times)
10 (11) Greg Biffle – 320
Averaging 32 points per race is good, just not at this time of year.
11 (9) Matt Kenseth – 314
Winning is great, but lack of other Top Tens has killed his chances.
12 (7) Tony Stewart – 288
Winning final four might still be too little too late.
13 (16) Paul Menard – 285
Not yet a contender, but third in Kansas makes him no pretender.
14 (18) Joey Logano – 270
If his Cup stats could look like his Nationwide results, he might be on to something.
15 (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 267
Two weeks off and still hotter than most…
16 (14) Carl Edwards – 261
…for example, earned just 16 points at Atlanta and Talladega combined.
17 (17) Marcos Ambrose – 260
Could do well this weekend with a few good brakes.
18 (15) Ryan Newman – 259
Bringing back lead singer Matt Borland to the band.
19 (23) Regan Smith – 240
Filled in for Junior in Cup, driving for Junior in Nationwide next year.
20 (19) Jeff Burton – 239
Fewer than 30 drivers are relevant and he remains one of them.
21 (20) Jamie McMurray – 229
Well, I guess he remains hotter than half the guys out there…barely.
