Truck Series

vWith just a two-week hiatus, the Camping World Truck Series heads back to the track for a standalone Saturday night showdown at Iowa Speedway. In the first of two visits to the 0.875-mile track situated in the heart of the Midwest, the series makes just its third visit to a facility that has featured three very different winners. From Mike Skinner, who won the inaugural race to Austin Dillon, who won last season, age doesn’t seem to matter at Iowa and neither does experience apparently.

Despite the off week, there has definitely not been a shortage of news in the series since visiting Kentucky Speedway. So without further ado, it’s time to play catch up in the world of Truck Series news.

With the Camping World Truck Series off this weekend, there’s not a whole lot of news going on at this point. In fact, most off weeks often make the series seem like a ghost town until they return. In the past, “I’ve given you reasons to watch the Truck Series,”:https://frontstretch.com/blunkenheimer/38767/ and this time, I’m playing a little game of what if. If I were in charge of the Truck Series what would I change?

*The Schedule*

The schedule obviously has to be the number one thing to change. From the moment NASCAR announced the 2012 season had been cut by three races to just 22, I objected to it. Part of the problem came with the closure of Nashville Superspeedway and the removal of Lucas Oil Raceway Park from the docket, however it looks more like the sanctioning body was focused on solidifying the Nationwide and Sprint Cup schedules, while keeping the Truck Series on the back burner.

*Who Will Be The Next First-Time Winner?*

In “Mirror Driving on Wednesday,”:https://frontstretch.com/md/39793/ the question of which driver will become the next first-time winner came up. Suggestions from Ty Dillon, the current Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader to Joey Coulter, who scored his career-best finish Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway, so I decided to take a closer look at those who are just about to break through to victory lane.

The Camping World Truck Series once again descends on Texas Motor Speedway for this Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 500K. While the entry list is only 34 Trucks long, three drivers who have combined to win 13 of the last 20 events (65 percent) at the 1.5-mile oval are looking to add to their totals this week.

Leading the pack with six victories at Texas, *Todd Bodine* comes in with momentum on his side after a rain-shortened victory at Dover last weekend. The Onion wasn’t the strongest truck on the track, even spinning out midrace and likely wouldn’t have visited Victory Lane if it hadn’t been for pit strategy. But a win is a win, no matter how you score it and it’s amazing what a trophy can do for the attitudes within a race team. Just one race removed from a suspension of the team’s No. 7 truck, Bodine still needs financial support to finish the season and that “survivor instinct” can now be paired with the confidence this team can finish first. Besides, I’d be willing to bet the Red Horse Racing driver would like to have a win that doesn’t come thanks to rain.