With two races in the books for the Camping World Truck Series and thanks to NASCAR’s new pick a series rule, there has yet to be a winner who’s running for the 2011 championship.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”283″][/media-credit]Michael Waltrip’s emotional yet controversial win took center stage in Daytona to kick off the season. He’s not running for points in the CWTS and neither was the second place finisher Elliott Sadler. A week later in Phoenix it was more of the same as Kyle Busch took the win and Clint Bowyer was the runner up.

The series rolls into the Darlington Raceway this Saturday where again two drivers not running for points are looking to crash the party. CWTS regulars such as the defending winner of the event, Todd Bodine, have other plans.

First on the agenda for ‘The Onion’ is to continue his climb through the point standings. After a wreck in the season opening event, his 14th place finish in Phoenix has him sitting 12th in points.

The early deficit puts him in unfamiliar territory in his title defense. Attempting to become the first driver in CWTS history to win back-to-back championships, another strong performance Saturday will help his effort.

This past August in Darlington Bodine, in his No. 30 truck led 47 of 147 laps on his way to the victory. He comes into this weekend as the favorite to do it again. In part, it’s because the egg shaped track is one that Bodine is very much familiar with, making him a contender each time NASCAR is in town.

After practice Saturday morning Bodine was confident he’d be up front again.

“We were pretty good, pretty happy with it,” he said. “Drives good and does everything I need it to.”

Something that pleased Bodine was how his truck maintained a consistent speed on older tires. The track is starting to get the feel of old Darlington back he said, one that is eats rubber. During practice he wore out ever set of tires he had.

“I think we’ve got something for them,” he said about the race though. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

His August victory goes with one from a Nationwide Series race in 2003. Bodine’s experience also extends to the Cup Series.

That’s where his toughest competition will come from. Two of the most competitive and winning teams in the CWTS have big guns in their trucks. Kasey Kahne has the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota from Kyle Busch Motorsports while Elliott Sadler will be behind the wheel of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 truck.

Kahne is also a past Darlington winner in the truck series at Darlington. It came in the first time he competed at the track back in 2004. That race also happened to be the first CWTS race of Kahne’s career.

Saturday will be his first start of the 2011 season in the CWTS.  As of right now he does have any other truck races planned but says that could change. First comes Darlington.

“Darlington is an awesome race track and I’m sure that the Truck Series will put on a great show for the fans this weekend,” said Kahne. He’ll drive the same truck he finished second with at Pocono last year to Sadler.

Second at Darlington would ruin Kahne’s plan.

“I was looking around at all the victory banners on the wall when I took my seat over to KBM a few weeks ago,” Kahne said.

“Whether they came from trucks or late models, Kyle was the driver for pretty much every win. I told [him] I need to get a banner this year so he doesn’t control the wall.”

Both Kahne and Sadler will be up front on Saturday, many already putting money on the No. 18. Bodine knows that as well and doesn’t to see it become three for three in non-point winners.

“Well, that’s what we’re here for [to win], not to finish second,” said Bodine.

The Cup drivers winning the first two races of the year happened for a few reasons, Bodine said. What allowed Waltrip and Sadler to drive away for the win in Daytona was their understanding of the bump drafting from their experience in the Cup cars.

Waltrip’s win was then defended by Bodine.

“Everybody talked about Michael losing that spoiler and winning the race — that’s not what won him the race. He won the race because he was smart and I just want everyone to know that.”

In terms of Phoenix, the trucks that the Cup drivers were racing in are phenomenal and come from great teams. Adding a driver with of the caliber of a Kyle Busch or Kasey Kahne makes it hard to keep them from running up front.

“A guy like myself, we got caught up in a crash,” said Bodine.

“We weren’t probably going to win the race but we were going to be up front. [Ron] Hornaday didn’t have a perfect truck so there’s other factors involved than just those guys being that good.”

He then said, “they are that good — there’s no doubt about that. But there are other factors involved and you have to look at the whole picture to understand that.”

Bodine then said that when it comes to the race Saturday night the CWTS regulars will show that they can run with the Cup guys. Cup guys that will again be at the front of the field.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he said.

There’s a reason why the Darlington Raceway is most often referred to by her nicknames ‘Too Tough to Tame’ and ‘The Lady in Black.’

She’s not nice.

[media-credit id=12 align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]When the Camping World Truck Series takes the green flag Saturday night in the Too Tough to Tame 200, it’ll be more than their third race of the season. Drivers will be in an all out fight not only with each other but with the track. Most are going to lose and only one can say he was able to survive be the track tamer.

Then come the 11 rookies entered in the field.

If all goes according to plan they’ll have looked at the performance Austin Dillon put on here last August in hopes of repeating it. To them, all hope isn’t lost. Dillon was on top of the speed charts during each practice session and then came home with a solid fifth place finish.

Being a rookie is already a disadvantage. But racing at Darlington, a rookie has an even bigger task ahead. Every one of them in the field, all 11, have never raced at Darlington in a truck before, except on any racing simulators they’ve invested in.

Simulators and confidence are the only things they’ll have entering Saturday night.

“I think the learning curve is going to be a lot like it was in Phoenix,” said Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Nelson Piquet Jr. The Brazilian finished 13th at Phoenix two weeks ago and sits 16th in points.

“It’s going to be another weekend where I’m learning the track and trying to gain as much experience as I can. I hope that some of what I learned in Phoenix will apply when we get to Darlington, but obviously they’re different tracks with different characteristics and difference challenges.”

Piquet Jr. feels his Phoenix performance will end up helping him at Darlington. Being able to race so closely to other competitors while bumping and banging was a good opportunity he says and something that he knows will come into play at Darlington.

On the other hand, Miguel Paludo from Red Horse Racing says he knows almost nothing about Darlington.

“I saw last year’s race on television,” he revealed.

“One thing I noticed is it’s a narrow track. I think it would drive a bit like Homestead, and since I have experience at Homestead that should help a little bit.”

Paludo will rely on his teammate Timothy Peters. Peters sat on the pole for last years race and finished second. Any experience that might rub off on the rookie is more than he had before.

And while he doesn’t know much about the track, Paludo does know about the famed Darlington stripe.

His crew chief in fact said that if he doesn’t get one this weekend his crew chief going to be upset because “it’s something that when you’re really fast and you’re running well, it should happen because you’re close to the wall.”

The wall has the tendency to become a magnet to racecars and trucks. From Darlington stripes to hard wrecks, the track isn’t very forgiving. It’s up to the driver to be on their best behavior or wait until as some says, the lady jumps out and bites you.

In order to avoid that, Red Bull Racing driver Cole Whitt will be leaning on Sprint Cup Series star and past Darlington winner Kasey Kahne. He won’t be a in a RBR truck, but Kahne will be in Saturday’s field.

Other than that Whitt says, “there is not a whole lot you can do. Kind of just have to get in there and get some first laps and just shake it down and get the feel for it and wing it. I think it will be good though.”

Whitt is the current Rookie of the Year point leader. Paludo follows close behind with Jeffrey Earnhardt in third. Just four points separate the top three as Joey Coulter, Justin Johnson and Craig Goess follow behind.

As the day begins every driver and every rookie will have an air of positivity about their chances. Each calling their shot and confident in their freshly painted and finely prepared trucks.

It won’t stay that way for long. Darlington is looming.

As the saying goes for rookies, “what they don’t know they don’t know.” Nowhere is that more true than this Saturday night.

It was a day that Elliott Sadler and his fans will never forget and since then they know it can happen many more times.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]After years of experiencing heartbreak, new teams and constant struggles they were back on top. Sadler had jumped at the opportunity drive a Camping World Truck Series truck for Kevin Harvick Inc. last year in Pocono. In doing so he found the magic and the talent he knew he hadn’t lost when he went out and won.

It led to a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series with KHI as well as a part-time Truck schedule. This weekend in Darlington while NNS and the Sprint Cup Series are on an off weekend, Sadler will again be behind the wheel of the No. 2.

“I really enjoy racing at Darlington Raceway,” said Sadler.  “I have had a lot of success there in the past and think it is important anytime that you can go to a track and get some extra track time.  I have had a lot of fun competing in the Truck Series and I’m ready to try and tame the track they claim is ‘Too Tough to Tame’ as we try and get our first victory of 2011.”

The Virginia native inherits a truck that has finished second in the first two races of the 2011 season. Sadler finished second to Michael Waltrip in an emotional yet controversial finish in Daytona. Clint Bowyer finished second to Kyle Busch in Phoenix two weeks ago.

For Sadler, the truck will be familiar. Not only the number and the team but the chassis. That long awaited and needed victory in Pocono has led the way for the chassis No. 042 to be used at Darlington.

Sadler is looking for his second win with KHI in his last 10 starts. He’s again looking for the magic.

The 2011 season is one of redemption as he continues to prove that he belongs in this sport and that he can be a contender. Racing for KHI has him feeling like a brand new driver and a young one at that. Something that he’s repeatedly said is that he has been looking forward to having fun while racing.

That hasn’t happened in a while. It won’t when you’re struggling. Good things however, have happened to Sadler since joining KHI and climbing in their racecars or trucks.

When a driver knows they can win that’s when the fun comes. The No. 2 truck can win, Sadler can win and ironically so can the colors that will adorn the truck this weekend. Amour Vienna Sausages are back on board and will be looking for its fifth win with KHI. Victory lane has been their residence the four previous times it has been a sponsor, no matter the driver or the series.

What more can Sadler ask for? An undefeated truck and a chassis he’s won in before – he’ll be one of the drivers looking to make it three-for-three in races that a non-Truck driver has won.

Much like the NNS, a driver competing for points has not yet won a race. With Sadler behind the wheel of the No. 2 and Kasey Kahne also competing on his off weekend in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18, the two will be tough competition for the Truck regulars.

It’s setting up to be a good showdown on a showdown type of track.

If Sadler needs any more momentum or good mojo he can look no further than what his company and sponsor will be doing. Amour Vienna Sausages, American Marketing Group (AMG) and KHI will be hosting over 50 soldiers from the Wounded Warriors Program. They’ll meet all the KHI drivers and get a tour of the Darlington Raceway.

If the saying holds true that good things happen to good people, Sadler and his No. 2 team should again be in good shape come Saturday night.