If you regularly read the site you know how much I love the Truck Series. As I’ve said here over and over again I think it consistently provides some of the best racing we saw in any given weekend. The past several weeks though, as we’ve been without the series, I’ve started to think about it and its place within NASCAR.
When the Series began in 1995 it was truly a beginner series. Independent and veteran team owners combined each week at places like Portland Speedway and Mesa Marin to provide a very different product, in very different places. NASCAR at the beginning and height of its growth was sending its racing to places that had never really seen it before. And people showed up.
As the years have gone on the series has gone from curiosity to NASCAR mainstay. Unfortunately over all those years the Truck Series has lost some of what made it popular, and moved into a place where it takes second, or third, fiddle behind the Nationwide and Cup Series on the schedule and at the track. It’s the ‘red-headed stepchild’ if you will.
It’s neither development nor senior tour. And after the loss of Mansfield and addition of Iowa to the Truck Series schedule, it doesn’t travel anywhere that the Cup or Nationwide cars don’t already go. The short track racing that made the series cost effective and great to watch has gone by the wayside and all those cities and towns that never got NASCAR racing, took back their places.
So I’ve started to wonder, what’s the point of the Truck Series anymore? The ‘cars’ look a little different, and that does change the racing a little bit, but there is becoming less and less of a cost difference with the Nationwide Series and most big teams no longer even compete. And ask any team owner that does compete and has been there for a while, and they’ll tell you sponsorships are hard to come by.
The fact is NASCAR needs to give the series some of its luster back. If I were in charge (unfortunately I’m not) I would rework the schedule and start sending the trucks back to places that don’t normally get NASCAR racing (namely the Midwest, the Mountain West, and the Pacific Northwest); something NASCAR did well at the inception of the Truck Series. Going back to places like Pikes Peak and I-70 would even help NASCAR in its incessant and often times ridicuously bad attempts at cost cutting.
On top of that it could help eliminate the choppy opening weeks to the season (can you believe they’re only four races in?) that make you almost forget that the trucks are still racing. If the trucks aren’t dependent on the other series’ they can stretch out those breaks. I still think too that the trucks should go to places like Iowa, Martinsville, Bristol and yes even return to Richmond. Places like Pocono and Talladega though have no place on the schedule.
Whatever the case I think it’s time NASCAR addresses some of the glaring issues facing the series. I don’t think it can hope to successfully remain in its present position forever. Unless they can carve out a niche for the series soon, I think NASCAR runs the risk of pushing the Trucks into irrelevance (if it’s not already there).
Related posts:
- Where’s The Truck Series Love?
- The Truck Series Race Left A Lot To Be Desired
- Truck Series Schedule Heats Up
- Possible Truck Series Rule Changes: Your Thoughts?
- A Truck Series Rebound? And Rick Ren Leaving KHI?
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on Apr 30th, 2010 at 7:28 am
exactly Journo that needs to happen to get the series back
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Completely Agree! Let the Trucks stand on their own and race at places we dont get to see. I have to say that most of the Truck races are more exciting and a better race than most Nationwide and Spint Cup races. Another thing is if you move these races futher out maybe it would let some people make a name for their selves without playing second fiddle to Sprint Cup drivers and people who already known in Nascar.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Journo-You must have been reading my mind. I’ll watch the Indy cars at Kansas on Saturday on TV, but how many will show up in the stands on Sunday for only the 250 truck race. Even the truck attendance on shared Cup/NW weekends seems poor. A shame because the racing is primo.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Spot on commentary.
I think the Trucks could be a great intermediary between the ‘East’ and ‘West’ Series. Maybe even have some of the Truck events partnered with them at some venues – including road courses.
If push came to shove and I was in charge, I’d dump the Nationwide Series and keep the Trucks!
Long live NASCAR Trucks.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 11:16 am
It is a shame. I’ve made the 500+ mile trek to Mansfield 3 times for the stand alone race at the shortest track on the circuit & was never disappointed…. until Mansfield shut down. I agree that the appeal of the truck series lied in the short track racing. I don’t want to see them run at the super speedways, even though Timothy Peters did get a win at one (obligatory TP mention in a truck related article). The Pocono race will be dreadful. Too bad Irwindale didn’t get California’s date.
Does anyone remember how the Mansfield closure went down? Did the track close because the trucks pulled out or did the trucks pull out because the track closed?
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I used to love the truck series. I especially remember that big championship battle (was it 2003?) when point-leader Brendan Gaughan crashed near the end and Travis Kvapil won the championship after Ted Musgrave was black-flagged for jumping the restart. The truck series was full of exciting moments like that over the years. I also enjoyed the lesser-known tracks and still race at some of them sometimes on an older nascar computer game – places like Portland, I-70, Louisville, Heartland Park Topeka, and others.
Now I usually don’t even remember when the truck series is racing (not getting Speed Channel doesn’t help matters). But it feels like it’s lost its identity, as has the Nationwide Series. I would love it if trucks never went to a track over a mile in length (with maybe a few exceptions–Darlington, Atlanta, Charlotte, Homestead at season’s end). They could go back to some of the tracks they used to visit plus other good short tracks like Irwindale. Honestly, if I were a sponsor, I wouldn’t see much if any value in sponsoring a truck right now, and that isn’t good for anybody involved in the series.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I agree the Truck series is some of the better racing of the three NASCAR series. But its not cost affective. Speed Channel would have to suupply all camera’s and carry all production cost for coverage. They rely on multiple series at a track to spread the cost. They should run at Richmond twice a year and Pocono is an absolute joke. Talladega and Daytona need to have the bumpers line better for safety reason, you run fuul throttle around and can’t touch anyone for fear of causing a wreck. Attendence is down in all three series, TV ratings are holding steady in the truck series, the schedule needs to be tweeked a five break four races in needs to be fixed
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I agree. Probably the only series you could turn back the clock on and still have a viable product. Look at the schedules from the first couple of years (and included Mosport/Canada among the race starved destinations)and photos of the trucks themselves, when aerodynamics didn’t come into play on short tracks and (a novelty at the time) road courses. Costs are saved through lack of need for wind tunnel time and use truly stock truck dimensions in a safe, run-what-you-brung manner. That’s what made the Truck Series (IMO) appealing in the first place. Spectators could identify with the dimensions and look of the trucks, especially their favourite manufacturers. Partnerships with other series (IndyCar; NASCAR North/Cdn Tire; Whelen Modifieds) would still work. Getting a committment to live TV coverage might not be as viable as it currently is on SPEED/Fox but there are private/local broadcasters who would do an admirable job of showing the races nonetheless.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I’d like to see the trucks run more companion races with the cup cars. Nationwide should be better able to stand alone with the new cars coming in and it just might cut back on the cup stars double dipping. It also might bring the trucks more exposure which should bring more and better sponsors. I don’t mean all three series on the same weekend at the same track. Let Nationwide branch off on it’s own for a season or two.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Well written. In the end, I think Sprint Cup and especially Nationwide races are affordable to the average fan. So if you’re living near, say, Michigan- which race do you think you’re going to want to see?
But if you live in Portland, and the Truck race is your only chance to see NASCAR… you’re going to go.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I agree! The Truck Series puts on great racing. However, the problem has been the Cup invaders. They’re ruining the trucks like they’ve ruined the Nationwide Series. I don’t want to see Busch and Harvick winning in the trucks. They are Cup drivers, and they belong in Cup, not the trucks!
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Very Simple Last Place Payout at Kansas this week
$9700.00 purse. Owners pay $7800.00 Tire bill for four sets $1200.00 entry fee .Leaves profit $700.00 . Now pay expenses for crew , Hotel , Air fare. and truck. It is not profitible. Owners will not travel to west coast unless purses go up.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Windowlicker,
Mansfield always struggled with their finances & had a storm that tore down some bleachers. Like Milwaukee, managing the money was more than the Mansfield owners could handle. There was even a rumor that the Truck Series races were a money loser, but never confirmed. So NASCAR pulled out after Mansfield’s owners went bankrupt. – RA Eckart -
on May 1st, 2010 at 6:22 am
I agree!
Send the trucks back to the tracks that the other series do not visit.
Let ‘em beat and bang on each other on the short tracks.
-W
on May 1st, 2010 at 9:25 am
The Mansfield race is exactly the type of event that the CTS needs. Unfortunately, ownership at Mansfield was not ready for an event of that stature. Sure, there were things like the storm that tossed the bleachers onto the track (insured, btw) but the main reason the event is no longer there is simple: incompetence.
The people who put on and managed that event (quite successfully) the first two seasons were told their services weren’t needed for 2006. The event never had any corporate sponsorship after that. The track owner never hired anyone to acquire sponsorships, instead thinking it would magically appear out of thin air. He never bought any advertising either. Journo could tell you that sending all the press releases in the world is great, but in the world of local media buying advertising is what’s going to get those releases in the paper or on television.
There are a lot of quality racetracks that should have a Truck race. But the economics need to be fixed to make it happen. Yes, NCTS purses are too low. But a track like Mansfield struggled to pay the purse at $500k, how could that purse increase and the track make any money?
The series needs to be exacly what it was in 1995: run with 9.5:1 engines with bodies that are as stock as possible and therefore there is no need for windtunnel time. Engines shouldn’t cost a team a million and a half-plus per year and a Truck should never see the inside of a windtunnel. When that happens, team budgets might be more realistic and the economics of the series could allow some of the quality short tracks in the under-served regions of the country to get back into the game.
on May 1st, 2010 at 1:30 pm
THE TRUCK SERIES REALLY DOES NEED TO MAKE A MAJOR CHAGE NOW BEFORE IT TURNS OUT LIKE THE BUSCH SERIES. TEN YEARS AGO THERE WERE ONLY A HAND FULL OF CUP GUYS RUNNING IN THE BUCSH SERIES THE OTHER 30 – 35 DRIVERS WERE BUSCH SERIES REGULARS, NOW MORE THEN HALF THE FEILD IS CUP GUYS AND THEY ARE WINNING ALMOST EVER RACE IN A SEASON AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH BIG NAME SPONSORS, THEY WANT TO WIN “NOW” AND KNOW CUP GUYS WILL CUZ THEY ARE MORE OR LESS DRIVING CUP EQUIPMENT. SO SEND THE TRUCKS AWAY FROM THE CUP AND BUSCH SERIES ALL TOGETHER, HAVE 1 DAY SHOWS EVERY OR EVERY OTHER WEEKEND AT “LOCAL” SHORT TRACKS FROM MARCH TIL MIDDLE OCTOBER.
on May 2nd, 2010 at 12:49 pm
I’m excited that the Trucks are coming to Pocono.
Speaking strictly from the fan’s point of view you can’t beat it. For $20 bucks (kids 12/under are free!) you can see Cup practice, the Truck race and the ARCA race, all on the same day.
on May 3rd, 2010 at 7:01 am
Great article.
How about bringing back the halfway breaks? If the race distance worked out, that could prevent the need of having a full time crew like it used to.
I agree with CTS insider on the stock bodies. The Tundra is the only nose that looks dimensionally correct. The Dodge looks like a Dakota, the Chevy nose went from upright and square on the street to laid back and rolled, and the Ford headlight decals don’t even fit. The trucks looked great 15 years ago when they were identical to a single cab short bed.
on May 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
Thanks RAEckart & CTS Insider for the info. What you both said makes sense RE: poor management. In addition, I remember a big feud between the track & the county over parking.
on Jul 30th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
The truck series also ran in between the cup season. Racing to carry fans over until the cup series resumed. But it almost went broke. I enjoy the Truck races far more than cup. The races are shorter, have less commercials & they race like the cup cars of the 80′s. I don’t think Pocono is a good venue for them though. I’d like to see one of the Pocono & one of the Michigan races go away myself.