NASCAR’s truck series nearing its end?
06/28/09 During an interview on SPEEDtv's NCTWS setup program, NASCAR VP Steve O'Donnell said the state of the series is "really strong." [As they race week after week in front of near empty grandstands.] O'Donnell stated that NASCAR officials met with team owners earlier this year to help out the racing with some rule changes, they have been working with the teams, and that the series puts on the "best racing". When asked about double-file restarts, O'Donnell said that the series has two weeks off following Memphis, and that NASCAR will continue to look at it.
06/27/09 Promoter Bruton Smith and NASCAR president Mike Helton are reported to be meeting Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the uncertain future of NASCAR's Truck series, with increasing speculation that the tour – 25 races this season, on 16 Sprint Cup tour tracks and seven other tracks – will be severely cut next season. Indeed even the survival of the Truck series, which was created in 1995 by the late Bill France Jr. as a budget-priced 'proving ground' for new car owners, new sponsors and new drivers, has been questioned. General Motors, Ford and Dodge have all withdrawn financial support of the Truck tour and the Nationwide tour, leaving only Toyota officially involved. Toyota officials have reportedly decided to drop their financial support too, though Toyota racing boss Lee White insists no decision has been made. One suggestion to help save the Truck series has been for the four NASCAR car makers to work together to design an inexpensive 'spec' Truck engine, to cut costs. Another suggestion has been a 'common' engine for all three NASCAR touring series. mikemulhern.net
06/12/09 The Camping World Truck Series offers up some of the best competition in all of NASCAR. Unfortunately, the series is almost surely approaching its end.
The truck races have become one of my favorite parts of the racing weekend. For the most part, the drivers are real racers who drive hard and love what they do. Most of these drivers are older guys who have found a home in this series after being rejected in the higher levels of the sport because they did not fit a mold desired by modern day owners and sponsors.
Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, Dennis Setzer and Rick Crawford are among the gritty competitors who form the backbone of this series.
Regrettably, the reality of the times is in the process of setting in for this division of NASCAR racing. A bad economy is robbing the series of needed sponsors, manufacturers’ support and fan attendance.
On Thursday, General Motors announced it intends to scale back its support of both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.
This comes as one of a series of blows that threaten to knock the division of its feet.
In the most recent truck race in Texas, only 33 machines started the race. Of those 33, nine dropped out after 26 laps or less for reasons such as overheating, handling, too slow or ignition. So in reality, there were only 24 teams racing for the win. The series normally starts fields of 36 trucks. RacingWithRich.com