Joey Coulter, driver of the #22 Steak-umm Chevrolet, leads a pack of trucks during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 22, 2012 in Bristol, Tennessee.
Photo – Tyler Barrick/Getty Images
With the new Camping World Truck Series Season less than two weeks from starting, everyone is making their final predictions for what they believe will happen in the Truck Series this season. The new additions to the Truck schedule like Eldora and MoSport in Canada make the expected excitement level very high. 2013 could be like last season where our expectation level was way too low and the actual season was epic. But, we won’t make that same mistake this season. We all expect the action to be top-notch in the Truck Series this season. Below, I give some bold predictions for the Truck Series this season.
Bold Prediction 1 – Kyle Busch Motorsports wins the most races as an organization
Going into 2013, we all know that Kyle Busch Motorsports will be the team to beat. They will have, at most, three trucks trying to get to victory lane all season. Two of those trucks will be going after the championship. KBM is taking part in the youth movement in NASCAR and they have two of the best younger drivers in the Truck Series. Darrell Wallace Jr and Joey Coulter will be teaming up this season to bring KBM a boat load of success. These two young guns definitely have potential to get to victory lane often this season.
With the talent level at KBM, they should be in victory lane multiple times this season and I predict their organization will have the most wins in the Truck Series at season’s end. In the ten races Kyle Busch will be racing, he could easily win nine of them. That may be a stretch but, anything could happen going into the new season. Expect KBM to be in victory lane a lot this season and with all of their drivers. 2013 may just be KBM’s year.
Bold Prediction 2 – Turner-Scott Motorsports will not have the same amount of success this season as they did in 2012.
2012 was probably the best season in the history of Turner (Now Turner-Scott) Motorsports. A truck championship, six Truck wins and two Nationwide Series wins made the whole season a reason to celebrate. After an extremely successful season, can they have a repeat performance? It is highly unlikely since we have never seen a team have that much success in one season and then have a repeat performance in the following season.
I’m not saying they won’t win races or compete for the championship this season, I’m just saying they won’t be in victory lane as much as they were last season. James Buescher will once again be a dominant figure in the Truck Series but, maybe the defending champion won’t be as dominant as he was last season with all the other drivers chasing him. Buescher and the rest of Turner-Scott Motorsports will have another great season but, I don’t believe their 2013 will be as good as their 2012.
Bold Prediction 3 – The list of first time winners won’t be as big this season as it was in 2012.
Almost half of the Truck Series’ races last season were won by guys who had never won a Truck race before. Nine to be exact. Having nine first time winners in a season is a huge stat and it will be hard to repeat. I predict that in 2013, we won’t see as many first time winners. We will definitely see some guys win for the first time in a Truck but, not nine different guys. The action in the Truck Series will be intense and really anyone can win but, the list of possible first time winners is short and therefore, it will be harder for the drivers on the list to get their first Truck Series win.
An exciting, wild and just plain crazy season is in-store for the Truck Series. Whether its trucks flying into the catch fence at Daytona or trucks sliding around on dirt at Eldora, anything could happen in the Truck Series this season. Last season, the action in the Truck Series went beyond our expectation and the same thing could happen this season. In just over a week, the Trucks will be back and under the lights at Daytona to kick off their season. Expect the unexpected in 2013 because the Truck Series will be as wild as ever.
