Ryan Blaney, driver of the #29 at Martinsville Speedway Oct 2012
Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images
Dirt, right turns and new faces are on the horizon for the Camping World Truck Series in 2013.
The Trucks will be slingin’ some dirt at Eldora and making right and left turns at MoSport in Canada. Young and new faces will also be featured in the Truck Series this season as part of a youth movement striking in NASCAR. These are just some of the interesting things that are raising questions about what’s to come in the Camping World Truck Series this season.
Picking three questions, regarding the trucks this season, was hard but these three questions are biggest unknowns swirling around the Truck Series heading into the upcoming season.
What will Eldora bring?
The most anticipated race in Truck Series history will be on dirt at Eldora this July, but many people are wondering what will this race bring and how will this race go down. The first ever truck race on dirt will surely be exciting, but what can we expect to happen and who could be competing up front for the win? With possible dirt track stars entering this race, they could be the favorites to win but they may not be able to handle the truck. Many drivers may seem like the favorites in the race but until the last lap of the race, we won’t know who is able to succeed on the dirt.
Although NASCAR hasn’t released the format of the race yet, it will feature heat races, which are signature to dirt racing, and there will be a main feature with about thirty trucks competing. The format could answer some questions on how this race will go down but it won’t give any details on what to expect in the race. The format could give some clarity on what to look for in the race but it will still leave some big questions..
NASCAR has never done this before. Trucks on dirt would have sounded like a crazy idea ten years ago but in 2013, it will become reality. This is quite possibly the biggest unknown heading into the 2013 season, mainly because we are so excited for it but have no clue on what will happen in the race. There could be huge fireworks occurring on and off the track which creates even more anticipation for the event. Questions will be lingering until the race concludes but seeing this race occur, will surely be exciting as well as historic.
Will some new drivers be up front and competing for the win in each race?
Lots of new faces will be coming into the Truck Series this season as well as some drivers in better equipment this season with a better chance at success. This creates the question of who will be up front and competing for wins each weekend? New faces in the series this year that weren’t running for the championship last year include Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney and Brendan Gaughan. All three are in great rides and each have an equal shot at success but will they be competing for the win each week? That is the question.
Blaney had immediate success last season in BKR’s truck when he came in mid-way through the year and he even got to victory lane once but will the success carry over to this season? Blaney definitely has potential but only time will tell if he can live up to the hype.
Jeb Burton will be driving his first full-time truck season in 2013 and whether he fits in with the rest of the pack is the question. We could have a new star on our hands or just another driver.
Brendan Gaughan has been floating around in NASCAR for the past few seasons and in 2013, he’ll be a little more stationary in the truck series while he competes for the championship. Gaughan has talent but if he can bring back the success he had before, he will be running up front. Lots of new faces will have the opportunity to run up front this season but the part we don’t yet know is who will have success this season.
Can anyone beat James Buescher?
When the past champion returns to the series the following year, they’re always the driver everyone wants to beat. James Buescher will be the driver with the target on his back this season as he tries to win his second consecutive championship. Buescher is likely the best driver in the Truck Series garage and the most likely to succeed driver this season. Buescher will be hunted down this season but by who is the real question.
The list of drivers that could beat Buescher this year is small but a few names stick out on the list. Ty Dillon is probably the best driver with a shot at beating Buescher. 2013 will be Dillon’s second year in the trucks and he’ll take what he learned last year to try and take down Buescher this season.
The other driver that could beat Buescher is Timothy Peters. Peters was atop the points standings until around the end of the summer last season and in 2013, Peters could stay on top of the standings long enough to take home the championship.
James Buescher will be extremely hard to beat this year but a few drivers could possibly get it done. Buescher will be searching for repeated success this year while having a target on his back and well, that could create some excitement for the trucks this season.
The worst and most exciting part of an upcoming season for fans, teams and drivers alike are the unknowns. Who will be running up front or what will happen are the questions for which we want answers but we just don’t have those answers yet.
The expectation for each driver and their team is sky high heading into the season and they all are looking for success. But some team hopes will die down before the season ends, but which teams, is a question we will have to wait and find the answer.
The smell of a new season is in the air and expectations are at an all-time high but pretty soon we will get the answers to our questions, and those answers will be the unknown as we look forward to finding the unknown results this season.