On July 24, the trucks will make their dirt début at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Photo – Jeff Wackerlin
Historic Event To Offer Unique Qualifying, Race Procedures
NASCAR announced today the qualifying and race procedures for the inaugural “Mudsummer Classic” – the highly anticipated NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday, July 24. Unlike asphalt tracks, dirt tracks have historically used a format much different from typical races and that will be the case for this event, the first NASCAR national series race held on dirt in more than 40 years.
The race will feature a traditional two-lap qualifying session, five qualifying races, one last-chance race and a champion’s provisional to determine the 30-truck starting field. The top-20 in owners’ points entering the race event will have a guaranteed starting position.
Here are additional details for each round of qualifying:
Qualifying
Two-lap qualifying determines starting position for the qualifying races
Qualifying Races
Five qualifying races
o Eight laps each; only green flag laps count
o Five trucks transfer from each qualifying race
Lineup for the qualifying races will be based on qualifying speeds with four locked-in trucks (trucks in the top 20)
The top-five trucks in qualifying will start on the pole for their respective qualifying race
Highest finishing non-locked-in truck will transfer to race from each qualifying race
At the completion of the qualifying races, 25 trucks will have earned spots into the feature.
Last Chance Race
15 laps; only green flag laps count
The top-four finishers will transfer to the feature and start in positions 26-29
The lineup will be based on the finish from the qualifying races
Starting position No. 30 will go to the most recent past series’ champion who has not already qualified. If the 30th starting position is not filled by an eligible champion, it will be assigned to the next highest finishing truck in the Last Chance Race.
“NASCAR and Eldora Speedway have collectively worked together to come up with a format that embraces the history of dirt track racing while also ensuring that full-time competitors have an opportunity to be a part of this special event,” said Chad Little, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director. “This will also add an exciting element for the fans and we look forward to putting on a great show at this unique venue.”
The race length and format are also new for the series. The race will be 150 laps divided into three segments. The segments will be 60, 50 and 40 laps.
There will be pit stops between each segment, with teams having the opportunity to change tires and work on their trucks.
More details on the event schedule will be released later this spring.
The “Mudsummer Classic” will be the first NASCAR national touring series event held on dirt since NASCAR’s premiere series competed on September 30, 1970 in Raleigh, N.C. Richard Petty won the Home State 200 at the one-mile State Fairgrounds Speedway.
Fan2Fan NASCAR Talk begins with our media guest Nick Brincks,a Junior Mass Communication major at Morningside College; student station manager of KMSC, employed part-time at KWIT and KKYY.
Next is Sal Sigala Jr, and his guest Tom Bogner from Lucas Oil marketing
Johnny Sauter is only the second driver in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history to open the season with back-to-back wins. Mark Martin in 2006 was the first. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Johnny Sauter’s hot start to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season continued Saturday afternoon with a win in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
The win gave Sauter a sweep of the first two races of the season. He won the opener at Daytona five weeks ago and with Saturday’s win he became only the second driver in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history to win the first two races of the season. Mark Martin won the first two races of the 2006 season.
“We typically run well here, so our expectations are high. Yesterday (Friday practice) was no different. The truck was really fast off the hauler,” Sauter said after his second Martinsville Speedway victory. “We knew today was going to be about tire management, more so than I ever remember here. So the first part of the race we ran about 80 percent and tried not to lose too much track position.
“Later on after our first pit stop, we were around eighth and still riding. After the next pit stop with 100 to go we were 18th and I was wondering how I could be patient and aggressive. With 40 or 50 to go we put the hammer down and let her go. It was an amazing day.”
Sauter took the lead with 17 laps to go and really wasn’t challenged, taking a 1.888-second victory over ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton.
Pole-sitter and rookie Jeb Burton finished third, followed by former Martinsville winner Timothy Peters and rookie Darrell Wallace Jr.
Burton, who set a track record in qualifying Friday, had the dominant truck for most of the day, leading 154 laps at the .526-mile track before losing the lead to Sauter.
“I really wanted to win and had them covered for half of the race,” said Burton. “I was really good at the beginning and we adjusted to the track at half way and we still had them covered. I just used up too much of the truck late. But we’ve got nothing to hang our head about. We had a good truck all day.”
The day finished much better than it began for Crafton. He started eighth, fell back through the field and was involved in a little beating and banging two or three times.
“I thought we were going to go down a lap on the first run. They dropped the green and I was good for about five laps and then I was about done,” said Crafton. “But this bunch of mine never gave up. They kept making adjustments. I can’t thank those guys behind the wall enough … they were using their heads and making methodical changes to the truck.”
Action returns to Martinsville Speedway Sunday with the running of the STP® Gas Booster™ 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Excellent seats remain for Sunday’s STP® Gas Booster™ 500 at Martinsville Speedway and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Martinsville Speedway’s ticket office will open at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Denny Hamlin, leading at Bristol, March 2013 Photo – Getty Images
Wild is just one word to describe the start to the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. After five races last season, we sure didn’t have any rivalries and we were just complaining about the lack of action in the races. 2013 is a different story. The action we’ve seen so far this season has just been incredible. From heated tempers to Danica-mania, the storylines just keep rolling. NASCAR introduced the Gen 6 car for this season and that car is likely the result of the electrifying start to the season.
Each race so far in 2013 has its own storylines. The growing anticipation for the first race at Daytona and the start of the season along with Jimmie Johnson winning his second Daytona 500. Phoenix included Carl Edwards breaking his winless streak. Vegas contained a chase between Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth. Bristol featured hot tempers between former teammates. Fontana had a wild last lap that left everyone speechless. To say 2013 is off to a good start would be an understatement; it is off to a phenomenal start that no one had expected.
Daytona
It was only six short weeks ago that the anticipation meter for the start of the season was at an all-time high. Gen 6, Danica, and Daytona racing were what fans were most looking forward to when the green-flag dropped in the Great American Race. February 24, 2013 was the day we were all waiting for since the 2012 season ended. The 500 didn’t disappoint, but it didn’t include the wild racing we were sort of expecting.
Once the checkered flag fell in the race, Jimmie Johnson was in victory lane again and everyone was reflecting on the race. It was a calm-natured race which was what we weren’t expecting up until the Saturday before the race. The Nationwide Series wreck that sent 28 fans to the hospital the day before the Daytona 500 and scared the drivers into running a safe, clean race.
Danica finished eighth which was better than we expected and the one thing we could all agree on was that we hoped NASCAR could make a few changes to the restrictor plate package before we head to Talladega. The Gen 6 car didn’t entirely disappoint, but it could have been better. As the Daytona weekend went away, some people were scratching their heads and reality had set in for others since the season was about to get rolling real quickly.
Phoenix
The race out in the desert was another calm race which featured teams still trying to figure out the Gen 6 car. Passing was at a minimum and drivers were starting to get anxious, because they wanted their teams to figure out how to make this car a bit faster and be more competitive. Carl Edwards broke his winless streak that afternoon after racing the dominant car of the day. The spotlight was then on Denny Hamlin after he said a few words after the race about the Gen 6 car’s performance. That led NASCAR to issue Hamlin a fine which would begin the talk of Hamlin for at least the next four weeks.
Las Vegas
Finally, it happened in Vegas. The true identity of the Gen 6 car showed through with most everyone pleased with the race in which Birthday boy, Matt Kenseth, won. There was passing seen throughout the race and the last few laps featured an intense battle for the win between Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. Before the season started, NASCAR said they hope the Gen 6 car would bring more excitement to the sport and the finish in Vegas saw their wishes become reality. Overall, the race was definitely thrilling and the exciting racing would carry over to the next two races.
Bristol
This race had almost everything hoped for a Bristol race. The race featured hot tempers, plenty of carnage, and good, hard racing. Kasey Kahne redeemed himself after coming up short at Vegas and took the checkers. Much like the race last August on the revamped surface, the race had plenty of carnage. Most notably, when Jeff Gordon was leading, his tire blew out and he went up into the wall and second-place driver, Matt Kenseth plowed right into him. That wreck was a game changing incident in the race, but overshadowing was another wreck that happened beforehand.
We all know what happened that afternoon with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. The wreck and then the exchange of words in the garage area is what has had everyone talking the past few weeks. This feud between the former teammates boiled over into the next race at Fontana and it all started in classic Bristol fashion.
Fontana
To be honest, everyone had this race marked as a snooze-fest. The opening laps sure indicated that would be the case, but the Logano/Hamlin incident that carried over from Bristol is what made this usually boring race, a must-see. Kyle Busch held the keys to the race throughout the day and after a last-lap pass which was full of luck, Busch opened victory lane with those keys. Much like the race in Vegas, the last few laps featured an intense battle between the drivers going after the win. What was special about this battle was that it showcased two rivals not wanting each other to win.
Logano and Hamlin were battling side-by-side as they went down the backstretch and once they entered turn three, everyone watching the race knew what was going to happen. Logano slid up into Hamlin and both drivers wrecked while Busch sneaked by on the outside to grab the victory. Logano was able to salvage a third-place finish out of the race following his wreck, but Hamlin was less fortunate. As you all know, Hamlin crashed hard into the concrete wall before pit entrance and all he could murmur out was “my back, my back, my back.” Hamlin was seriously hurt and Logano had gotten his “pay-back,” but this was much worse than it should have been. The race at Fontana sure wasn’t the calm race we thought it would be and the action continued off the track.
Logano had picked another fight with Tony Stewart on the late restart and the two went at it on pit road after the race. Stewart threw a punch and Logano threw a water bottle. Stewart then called Logano “a little girl” and a rivalry was born. These incidents left everyone saying, “I can’t wait for Fontana next year” and that is something no one ever expected to say. The Gen 6 car had done its job and Fontana was a perfect example of NASCAR’s goal with the car.
What a start to the season. This was one beginning that no one had ever predicted. It only took four races for the drivers’ tempers to melt and that is something that will make the next 31 races must-see events. NASCAR hit the jackpot with the Gen 6 car and it only took five races for us to come to this conclusion. If it only took five races for the season’s action to pick up, with fans wondering, what could happen in the next five and beyond? One way to find out is to continue watching NASCAR’s drama unfold as the season hits full-speed.
