Save The Trucks? Here’s An Idea

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

August 11, 2009 6:31 pm UTC 2 Comments

The Camping World Truck Series has produced some of the best racing nearly every year since it’s inaugural season in 1995.

(This post also appears at The Catfish Show)

Many enjoy the series because of the feel – it feels like a throwback to short track racing and to the way racing was in the 1980s. Veterans, young drivers, and drivers just making a living doing what they love. Yet despite stronger TV ratings this year than in previous years, the Truck Series has a dearth of quality sponsors, a greater percentage of start and park efforts, and have rarely gotten a full field since the beginning of the year. Manufacturers have pulled their support from the series and left the advances to the teams. The saving grace, and what makes this series worth saving, is exactly what I said earlier… the Truck Series has great racing! Yet the series is in real trouble due to the previous factors. I’ve come up with an idea that I think will help the series maintain healthy interest – and in the process elevate the focus on both Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series championship battles at the same time.

Here is my idea for the Trucks: End the season at Richmond in September.

The Truck Series currently runs a 25-race schedule and it appears it will do the same next year. My idea to shorten the season comes from the idea that “minor leagues” in other sports end before the top series. The Truck Series is, after all, a minor-league series. In baseball, minors end in time for teams to call up its best players in September. Even in football, the college bowl season ends around the same time the NFL regular season does. This helps the NFL have the sole focus on their playoffs by giving football fans their undivided attention. Hey NASCAR, wouldn’t having one of your three national series finish before the Chase begins be an asset?

For a series that consists of 25 races, 10 less than Nationwide and 11 less than Sprint Cup (13 if you count the two non-points races) it doesn’t make sense at this point to start the year in mid-February and end the year in mid-November. Keeping the schedule more compact will be less of a strain for all parties involved. By contracting the amount of time spent on each season, no longer will we have ridiculously long breaks between Truck races. Consider the beginning of the year: Daytona, California, week off, Atlanta, 3 weeks off, Martinsville, a month off, Kansas, and then another 3 weeks until Charlotte. In 4 months, the series runs a total of 6 races. Is there a certain reason why this is the way it is? I think it’s a case of poor planning.

So by accepting this premise, let’s look at the races after Richmond that will be cut out: Gateway (currently the same week as Richmond), Loudon, Las Vegas, Martinsville, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix, Homestead.

These races can be moved fairly easily and still fit into the schedule. Flip flop the combo races at Loudon so that the Trucks go there on the Sprint Cup Series’ first visit, and the Nationwide Series takes the current spot. Same could even go for Talladega, Texas, and Phoenix. That leaves Las Vegas, Martinsville, and Homestead. From a fan perspective, these races can be moved to any point of the schedule and I’ll still watch. I suspect most other fans of the series will as well. Why not put a race at Martinsville on July 4th weekend? This would be shortly after the Memphis races, two short tracks in a row. Since the rumor is the series won’t return to California (Auto Club Speedway) the Las Vegas date is open. That leaves a date at Homestead. I think if this idea were to gain traction, we could find an agreeable date.

That’s my pitch to make the series more compact and just as interesting and fun to watch. Crown a champion in Richmond, see ya in February next year. Continuity is important and I think this move would deliver it big-time. At the same time, it helps NASCAR’s top 2 national series, which is a win all around. The stretch run of 10 races are treated like true events. Let’s make this work.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Auto Club Speedway, How to fix NASCAR, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR, trucks

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Truck Series Gang Mentality

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

November 13, 2008 2:10 am UTC 3 Comments

Sometimes, I can’t tell if the Ford 200 is a race or a fight. An active tradition for the last several years in the Trucks has been for championship teams to double their efforts. The trend has had some high points and very low points, and it looks to continue Friday night as the razor-thin margin between Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson will make for some intense racing.

Three years really set the trend for this action: 2002, 2003, and 2007.

In 2002, Mike Bliss ended up winning the championship over Rick Crawford and Ted Musgrave by 46 and 51 points respectively. In that race, it was Ron Hornaday driving a second IWX truck and taking the win, thus taking possible points away from Crawford and Musgrave. Bliss finished a comfortable 5th and won the title.

2003 set the bar from gang mentality, as each championship team (with the exception of Dennis Setzer and Morgan-Dollar) entered at least 1 extra truck in the race, with Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports throwing 5 – count ‘em, 5 – trucks in the race, and sure enough one of them played a huge part in the outcome of the championship battle. Smith had entered his 2 full-time trucks with Ted Musgrave and Andy Houston behind the wheel, along with hired guns Marty Houston (Andy’s brother), Tracy Hines, and P.J. Jones. Marty took out championship leader Brendan Gaughan in the race, creating championship chaos that allowed Travis Kvapil to win the 2003 title over Setzer and Musgrave.

Last year, Bill Davis and Kevin Harvick participated in the fight, and what Harvick lacked in trucks he made up for by piloting the second truck himself. Davis entered his championship contender Skinner, Johnny Benson, Jacques Villeneuve, and Cup driver Dave Blaney in the field. Skinner of course finished 35th and allowed Hornaday to secure the title.

Adding the trucks in the finale could prove to be a smart decision, like it was in 2002. It could take out a championship contender by hiring a crappy driver, like 2003. Or, it could be a non-factor, like it was last season. Harvick is driving the #2 truck again this weekend and Davis has entered ’09 driver Taylor Malsam in an extra truck to go along Skinner, Brian Scott, and Scott Speed to flank Benson. Will it be a factor? We’ll find out Friday. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if the Phoenix race turned out to be the PG version of the battle.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Craftsman Truck Series, Dave Blaney, Jacques Villeneuve, Kevin Harvick, NASCAR, Scott Speed

Tagged with: andy houston, Bill Davis Racing, brendan gaughan, brian scott, Craftsman Truck Series, dennis setzer, Ford 200, Homestead, Homestead-Miami Speedway, jim smith, Johnny Benson, marty houston, Mike Bliss, p.j. jones, Phoenix International Raceway, rick crawford, ron hornaday, Scott Speed, taylor malsam, ted musgrave, tracy hines, trucks, ultra motorsports

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Look for a development driver to win Saturday’s Pocono 200

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

June 5, 2008 2:25 pm UTC 5 Comments

The ARCA/ReMax Series will head to Long Pond, PA this weekend to team up with the Sprint Cup Series, and with the Trucks in Texas and Nationwide Series in Nashville, this could be the spot in which someone impresses the right person and moves up through the ranks. This race has been dominated by either Cup rookies moving down to get track experience, or a hotshoe from a Cup team gaining experience for a future foray into the series.

Since 2003, Cup drivers or Cup development drivers have won 8 of the 10 races at Pocono. These drivers include Casey Mears twice, Scott Riggs, Ryan Hemphill, Travis Kvapil, Chase Miller, Chad McCumbee, and Michael McDowell. Only the series’ great one, Frank Kimmel, broke the streak, taking the July races in 2005 and 2006. Also competing in these races have been drivers such as Kyle Busch, David Reutimann, and David Ragan. Previous polesitters have included Mears, Riggs, and Kvapil, as well as David Stremme.

As for the 2008 edition, there is no shortage of candidates to win. This season has been an exciting one in the series, as young drivers have come in and performed exceedingly well. Current points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., second-place Matt Carter, and sixth-place Scott Speed have all won this year. Speed also won the Truck race at Dover, and will compete in Friday night’s Truck race. Still, there are others who will pose a threat. You can’t discount Kimmel, who still maintains a top points position despite working on a shoestring budget with his own team. He could use a win, and it could come as soon as this very weekend.

One thing is for sure, the ARCA/ReMax Series is entertaining again, and this race fan is more than happy to see the return of its glory days.

Photo credit: AP

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Eddie Sharp Racing, Frank Kimmel, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series