Comments on: Truck Series Inching Toward Irrelevance

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:41:33 +0000

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.

By: windowlicker

windowlicker — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:29:51 +0000

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.

By: chad

chad — Mon, 03 May 2010 11:01:28 +0000

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.

By: chubdubblub

chubdubblub — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:49:39 +0000

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.

By: abridge

abridge — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:30:22 +0000

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.

By: CTS Insider

CTS Insider — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:25:52 +0000

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.

By: Woogeroo

Woogeroo — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:22:49 +0000

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

By: RAEckart

RAEckart — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:31:37 +0000

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 -

By: SCOTT

SCOTT — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:09:16 +0000

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.

By: KenB

KenB — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:49:33 +0000

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!