The series was remarkable when the factory-backed Chrysler Corporation race cars returned to the tracks. Chrysler withdrew factory support for its Dodge and Plymouth brands after the 1972 season to cut costs, although the teams continued to use cars with Plymouth and Dodge power plants and power plants until 1985. Chrysler funded a small R&D effort with plant funding and support from Dodge to return to NASCAR in 1997 for the Craftsman Truck series with the Dodge Ram pickup. In 2001, Dodge returned to NASCAR full-time. While Dodge raced in the other series until 2012, the Ram Trucks division (split from Dodge after the Fiat Group took control of Chrysler) took Dodge`s place in the Camping World Truck Series. In 2014, Ram retired and left the Nationwide Series as the last series with teams using Dodge. Starting in the 2021 season, there will be no more teams in Ram trucks in the Truck Series. In 1996, some races had two breaks for full tire and refueling stops, while longer races were stopped three times – a limited break near the one-quarter and three-quarter marks for pit stops and halfway down the track for fuel and tire stops. If tire wear was an issue, NASCAR would also allow two tire changes if necessary during the first and third breaks. These rules have had an impact on driver development.
The drivers had to learn how to avoid tire wear for half a race, which saved them the truck. Some drivers have used the rules to learn tire protection for other series. In 1997, NASCAR began pit stops. During the 1997 season, trucks could only legally refuel and make adjustments during pit stops during the race. Tire changes were always illegal except in emergencies and during breaks. [ref. needed] A Truck Series field currently consists of 36 trucks in qualifying races. Previously, 32 trucks formed a plateau, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the field was increased to 36 and 40 in qualifying races and 40 without space for as many trucks as possible. The idea for the Truck series dates back to 1991. [2] A group of SCORE off-road racers (Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Vable and Frank “Scoop” Vessels)[3] were concerned about the future of desert racing and decided to create a series of Pavement truck races.
They visited NASCAR`s vice president of Western operations, Ken Clapp, to promote the idea, who advised Bill France Jr. on the matter, but plans failed. After that, Clapp told the four to build a truck before NASCAR thought about it. Bakersfield manufacturer Gary Collins built a prototype truck that was first unveiled at Speedweeks for the 1994 Daytona 500[2] and tested by truck owner Jim Smith at Daytona International Speedway. The truck proved popular with fans, and NASCAR held a meeting at a hotel in Burbank, California, on April 11, 1994.[4] the meeting eventually resulted in the creation of the “SuperTruck Series”. [2] With falling money and rising costs,[8] the series has financial difficulties with sponsorship and prizes, the latter often being low,[9] while the former would result in the closure of teams to reduce their size. Teams such as Richard Childress Racing, a Cup team with 31 truck wins,[10] ceased their truck operations; in the case of CPR after the 2013 season. After the 2014 season, Brad Keselowski stated that his Brad Keselowski Racing team had lost $1 million despite a win that year,[11] telling Sporting News: “In the truck series, you have to be able to lose money all the time.
That is how the system works. [12] BKR closed after the 2017 season. To keep costs down, NASCAR required teams to use sealed engines, with teams not allowed to compete in a maximum of three races with an engine already in use. In addition, NASCAR reduced the maximum number of crew members allowed for a pit stop above the wall from seven to five, requiring teams to carry only fuel or tires on a single pit stop in 2009. [13] This requirement was waived for the 2010 season. A racing accident in the Truck Series in 2001 resulted in a significant change in NASCAR rules. In early November of that year, the Truck Series served as a support race for CART`s Marlboro 500, the final race in the series. Since the race weekend was organized by CART and not NASCAR, the rules had to be followed. Therefore, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Regulations was in force. For example, each driver who participated in the race weekend had to be at least 18 years old. The rule concerned the No. 99 Roush Racing truck driven by Kyle Busch, as he was a minor at the time (16) and therefore disqualified from the event, even though he was already qualified.
In addition, the series` $580,000 prize pool is larger than the Busch Grand National Series fund. Although it was a new series, it immediately received support from many team owners and drivers in the Winston Cup Series.[5] Celebrity Cup owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush owned truck teams, and top drivers such as Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan also used SuperTrucks for others. The series also caught the attention of drivers such as sprint car racing star Sammy Swindell, off-road racing fame Walker Evans, open-wheel veteran Mike Bliss, and Atlanta Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville.[5] The inaugural race, the Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway, took place on February 5; The race with a record crowd of 38,000[2] ended with eventual series champion Mike Skinner defeating Cup veteran Terry Labonte to victory. Initially, the series used a set of rules that differed from both the Winston Cup and the Busch Grand National Series.[6] Most early races were no longer than 125 miles, with many 150-lap races being short distances. To save teams money, because teams don`t need to hire pit specialists and buy extra tires, and because some tracks, including Saugus Speedway, Flemington Raceway, Tucson Raceway Park, Evergreen Speedway and Colorado National Speedway, didn`t have a pit lane safe enough for pit stops, or had off-track pits, Starting with the second race of the series in Tucson, NASCAR introduced a five-minute break at halftime instead of pit stops, during which teams could make changes to the truck. Tyre changes were only possible for safety reasons, such as a flat tire or a danger to the tire. The rule was popular with TV and fans and was later broadcast throughout the programme, as pit reporters could interview drivers and crew chiefs for the break at a stress-free time. However, beginning in 1998, NASCAR introduced competition warnings, with each team receiving four sets of tires. With this rule change, the halftime break of the race at Pikes Peak International Raceway was abolished. [33] Full pit stops were added in 1999, where drivers were allowed to pit stops during races, but were not allowed to change more than two tires during a stop. [34] The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a series of pickup truck races operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
The series is one of NASCAR`s three national divisions and ranks third behind the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and the highest NASCAR Cup series. Stanley Black and Decker become the third title sponsor of the series, following Camping World which sponsored the series from 2009 to 2022. Sears was the original sponsor through the Craftsman and held that position from 1995 to 2008. [1] A single-truck qualification format is used for most races. For distances of 1.25 miles and less, each truck receives two laps with the fastest number of laps.