NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Next Race: NextEra Energy Resources 250

The Place: Daytona International Speedway

The Date: Friday, Feb. 19

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 250 miles (100 laps)

Stacked Trucks Field Forecasts Ultra-Competitive Season

Seven returning full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers accounted for 14 wins in 23 of the circuit’s races last season – Matt Crafton (6), Tyler Reddick (2), Timothy Peters (2), Cole Custer, John Wes Townley, Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek.

Custer, Bell and Nemechek hope to visit Victory Lane even more in their first full-time seasons this year. Adding to the competition are returning full-timers Cameron Hayley, Daniel Hemric, Ben Kennedy and Johnny Sauter, as well as up-and-comers Rico Abreu, William Byron and Ben Rhodes.

The Truck Series will showcase much of NASCAR’s top young talent with seven NASCAR Next members/alumni running full-time schedules – Custer, Byron, Kennedy, Hayley, Rhodes, Abreu and Nemechek. 

“Killer Bs” Lead Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016

The “Killer Bs,” 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion William Byron, 18, and 2015 Eldora Speedway Mud Summer Classic winner Christopher Bell, 21, launch their first full-time NASCAR national series seasons in Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

The two youngsters will attempt to bring Kyle Busch Motorsports its third consecutive Camping World Truck Series owner’s title and second straight driver’s championship.

Bell made seven series starts for KBM last year, registering one win, two top-fives, three top-tens and an average finish of 11.9.

Byron wrecked out of his only Truck Series start on the sixth lap last season, finishing 31st at Phoenix. In 14 K&N East starts, Byron registered four wins, five top-fives and 11 top-tens. 

Brad Keselowski Racing Eyes First Driver Championship

Tyler Reddick produced a breakout season in 2015, finishing second in the Camping World Truck Series final standings on the strength of two wins, 14 top fives and 19 top-tens in 23 starts. The 20-year-old Californian will take another shot at capturing Brad Keselowski Racing its first Camping World Truck Series championship this season beginning in Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Reddick is the defending race winner and owns three top-five finishes in four career starts at restrictor-plate tracks.

Daniel Hemric will also attempt to capture a championship for Brad Keselowski Racing. He finished seventh in the Truck Series standings last season, competing for NTS Motorsports. In 26 career series starts, Hemric has four top-fives and 13 top-tens. His Brad Keselowski Racing  equipment is by far the best he’s raced in at the NASCAR national series level. 

Next Meets Best: ThorSport Boasts Former Series Champ

and Three NASCAR Next Members/Alumni

ThorSport Racing employs the odds-on favorite to win this season’s Camping World Truck Series championship – Matt Crafton. Although he came up short of his third consecutive Truck Series title last season, Crafton won a career-best six races and four poles, which powered him to a third-place finish in the last standings.

Joining Crafton at ThorSport are NASCAR Next alumni Cameron Hayley and Ben Rhodes, and current NASCAR Next member Rico Abreu.

Hayley ran a full schedule for ThorSport in 2015, placing sixth in the last Truck Series standings on the strength of four top-fives and 13 top-tens.

Rhodes, the 2014 K&N Pro Series East champion, claims one top-five and three top-tens in four career truck series starts. He primarily raced in the XFINITY Series last season, logging two top-ten finishes in ten starts piloting the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Abreu, who has won the last two Chilli Bowl Nationals sprint car competitions, raced stock cars for the first time last year in the K&N Pro Series East. He logged one win, four top-fives and eight top-tens in 14 starts. Abreu ran the last two Truck Series races of the season, posting a high finish of 13th at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

Young King Cole Embarks on First Full-Time Season

Cole Custer – the youngest NASCAR national series race and pole winner – finally gets to showcase his talents over a full season. The 18-year-old Californian will run a full schedule in the No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, beginning with Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

In 19 Camping World Truck Series starts, Custer owns two wins, four top-fives, four top-tens and three poles. For the past two years, he has been a member NASCAR Next, an industry-wide initiative that showcases and develops the sport’s future stars. 

Family Affair At Daytona For The Nemecheks

John Hunter Nemechek will be running a truck at Daytona for the first time. The younger Nemechek finished 11th in his lone restrictor-plate race at Talladega in 2015. John Hunter established himself as one of NASCAR’s top prospects by producing one win, nine top fives and ten top-tens in 18 Truck Series starts last season. He finished the year strong, registering three runner-ups in the last four races.

His father, Joe, will be running Saturday afternoon’s XFINITY Series race at Daytona . 

Red Horse Racing Hopes to Carry Late Season Success Into 2016

If drivers Timothy Peters and Ben Kennedy can carry their late-season performance from last year into 2016, Red Horse Racing will be a force to be reckoned with.

Peters finished sixth or better in the last eight races of 2015 and posted two wins (Talladega, Phoenix) over that stretch.

Kennedy, the 2014 Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year, finished fourth in the season-finale at Homestead to cap off a late season run of three finishes of fourth or better in the last nine races.

Red Horse Racing owner Tom DeLoach has logged 15 wins over the course of 11 seasons fielding a truck.

Sauter Leads GMS Racing in 2016

One of the most notable off-track headlines of the 2015 Camping World Truck Series season was Johnny Sauter’s decision to leave ThorSport Racing for GMS Racing. The 37-year-old Wisconsin native now leads the GMS organization, which also features full-time drivers Spencer Gallagher and Grant Enfinger.

A 15-year NASCAR veteran, Sauter owns ten Truck Series victories, 63 top-fives and 102 top-tens in 175 starts. He has placed fourth in the last series point standings the last three seasons.

Gallagher placed tenth in the last series’ standings last season, producing one top-five and six top-tens in 23 starts for GMS.

Also joining GMS is Grant Enfinger, who made six Truck Series starts from 2010-12. Enfinger has competed primarily in ARCA the last two seasons, winning six races in each campaign.

GMS earned its first-ever Truck Series victory last season behind the efforts of Austin Dillon in the series’ 500th race (New Hampshire). 

NASCAR Implements Caution Clock for Camping World Truck Series

Debuting in the Camping World Truck Series this season is The Caution Clock.

The Caution Clock will be utilized in each Truck Series event except for the one held at Eldora Speedway.

The clock will be set to 20 minutes and triggered at the start of each green-flag run during race events. When the clock counts down to zero, a caution flag then will be displayed and no beneficiary will be awarded. A caution occurring before time expires resets the clock when the subsequent green flag is displayed and the first truck a lap down will be the beneficiary.

The Caution Clock will be turned off with 20 laps to go at all events in the series, with the exception of the races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Pocono Raceway, where the clock will be turned off with ten laps remaining. 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase

The Camping World Truck Series will have its own Chase format beginning this season.

The Camping World Truck Series Chase, beginning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 24 will feature eight drivers and two eliminations rounds with four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A win in the first 16 races all but guarantees a driver entry into the Camping World Truck Series Chase, provided that the driver is in the Top=30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each race.

The first round, called the Round of 8, consists of the races at New Hampshire, Las Vegas, and Talladega. All drivers will have their points adjusted to 2,000, with three additional bonus points added to their total for each win in the first 16 races. If a driver wins a race in the Round of 8, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions (1-6) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

Each driver who advances to the Round of 6 (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix) then will have their points reset to 3,000. Drivers who win a race in the Round of 6 automatically advance to the Championship 4. The remaining available positions (1-4) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead will have their points reset to 4,000. The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will win the championship.

All rules outlined above also apply to both series’ owner championship structure.

Daytona Truck Race has International Flavor

Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway will feature a handful of international competitors. France native Michel Disdier will pilot the No. 07 for SS-Green Light Racing. Mexican driver/owner Carlos Contreras (No. 71 BellatorMMA Chevrolet and Mexican Daniel Suárez are also set to race. Hattori Racing Enterprises owner Shigeaki Hattori of Japan, will field the No. 81 Toyota for Ryan Truex.