Ryan Blaney Ready for Double-Duty at Kansas
Life is about to get a lot busier for the Camping World Truck Series drivers after enjoying their break. And few will be as busy as Ryan Blaney.
After racing only twice so far this season, the 2014 schedule will get hectic over the next couple of weeks. For the first time this season, the series is in action in back-to-back weekends with the SFP 250 this Friday night at Kansas Speedway and next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For Blaney, It will be a full weekend in Kansas as the 20-year-old driver is racing in both Friday night’s SFP 250 and Saturday night’s 5-hour Energy 400. It is the Sprint Cup Series début for Blaney, driving the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske on Saturday.
The race could also give Blaney a chance to compete against his father Dave, which would make them the first father-son duo to compete in the same Sprint Cup Series event since Bobby Hamilton Sr and Jr raced at Atlanta on October 30, 2005. Both Blaneys raced against one another last season in the historic truck race at Eldora Speedway.
Blaney, already has two truck series and one Nationwide Series win on his résumé, and will join teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano in the field. Before that happens, Blaney will jump in his truck owned by Keselowski for Friday’s race. Blaney enters this weekend in fourth, four points behind leaders Timothy Peters and Johnny Sauter.
Blaney is also scheduled to make a second Cup series start at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall, in another double-duty effort during the Camping World Truck – Sprint Cup Series weekend.
The third-generation driver has also made four starts in the Nationwide Series so far this season, with three top-ten showings, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at Bristol in March.
Kennedy’s Busy Week Continues at Kansas
Ben Kennedy has had a busy week. First, last Saturday, he graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in sports management. And come this Friday, he’ll be racing the No. 31 for Turner Scott Motorsports. He’ll honor his alma mater by wearing a special Class of 2014 Gators helmet during the race.
Kennedy is also running a special paint scheme honoring ALS Awareness Month, and have a special guest with him throughout the weekend. Kennedy’s truck is honoring Don Post, the 2013 Betty Jane France Humanitarian of the Year winner. Post has defied the odds in terms of his life expectancy, and has since dedicated his life to helping others. Kennedy is featuring Posts name above the right-side door, as the month of May is ALS Awareness Month.
Defying the life expectancy given to him, for the past 34 years, Post has dedicated his life and energy to helping others, Donating his time to many Kansas City charities, Post’s love of children has made March of Dimes Bikers for Babies his primary focus. Post’s leadership has been instrumental in making Kansas City’s Bikers for Babies ride the biggest in the United States, raising nearly $7,000,000 to help premature babies.
Nemechek Aims at Kansas Career Sweep
Joe Nemechek is going for a career trifecta this weekend at Kansas Speedway and honor his partner at SWM-NEMCO Motorsports. Nemechek, is sharing the full-time truck entry this season with his son John Hunter, and swept both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Kansas in 2004. He returns this weekend going for a win in the Camping World Truck Series, looking to become the first driver to win in all three national series events at the track.
The elder Nemechek is also honoring his team partner, Sid Mauldin. Mauldin is receiving treatment at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the No. 8 truck is featuring the facility. Mauldin wanted to show his support for the facility that has provided him with recent healthcare.
The father-son duo are tenth in the owners point standings after a sixth-place finish by Joe Nemechek in Daytona and an 11th-place run by 18-year-old John Hunter Nemechek at Martinsville.
Crafton Looks to Regain Momentum at Kansas
Matt Crafton’s lengthy legacy of excellence in the Camping World Truck Series came sharply into focus a year ago at Kansas Speedway. Crafton won in bright sunshine a year ago while Friday’s race will be the first night race for the Truck Series at Kansas. But one thing that hasn’t changed is Crafton’s level of performance, resulting in the 2013 series’ championship.
And Kansas — where Crafton’s ThorSport Racing squad grabbed the points lead that it never relinquished — was key. He now sits third in the point standings, just four points away from the point leaders Timothy Peters and Johnny Sauter.
“Kansas gave our team huge momentum last year,” Crafton said. “We went to Martinsville a few weeks before that race and we finished second to our teammate Johnny (Sauter) and then we went to Rockingham and ran really good there and then we went to Kansas and won.
“That just took our momentum to a whole new level. After that we went to Dover and finished second to Kyle (Busch) so we just had a really, really good beginning to our summer stretch.”
Despite having only five top-ten finishes in 13 career Kansas starts, Crafton believes what he saw last year at Kansas gives him and crew chief, Carl ‘Junior’ Joiner a pretty good direction.
Additional Camping World Truck Series Notes
On Monday, NASCAR revealed that Camping World is renewing their partnership for seven years as the series entitlement sponsor through the 2022 season. The outdoor company has sponsored the series since 2009.
Austin Dillon, the 2011 series champion, is making his first truck start since last year at Chicagoland and is driving for NTS Motorsports. Dillon own last year in the series at Eldora Speedway.
Tayler Malsam returns to the series this weekend in Kansas driving for Turner Scott Motorsports. Malsam debuted in the series in 2008 and competed full-time in 2009.
Joey Coulter has signed Vertix, a tactical and outdoor apparel brand as primary sponsor the Kansas race and they are also an associate sponsor for GMS Racing on all GMS entries in the series.
John Wes Townley is running in the SFP 250 piloting the No. 5 Zaxby’s entry. Townley has six previous starts at the Kansas track in the Nationwide, Camping World Truck and ARCA Racing Series’. His best finish came in 2013 where he posted a third-place finish in the ARCA Racing Series.