The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be making milestones with two official series debuts this weekend. First off the tailgate brigade will be racing at the mammoth Pocono Raceway, and its unusual triangle shaped oval, for the first time in its history with Saturday’s running of the Pocono Mountains 125. Secondly, the series will be debuting multi truck qualifying in what has already become a highly anticipated experiment.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
Multi truck qualifying is a bold new experiment from NASCAR that, if successful, could be incorporated into the other two national series as well. The format is somewhat similar to the qualifying procedure currently used by the Formula One Series. Here’s how it will work at Pocono:
The qualifying order will be based on the results of Friday’s final practice session. The speed chart from this session will be inverted and that will be the final determination for the qualifying order on Saturday.
Once the qualifying starts the trucks will be released to go onto the track in increments of approximately 25 seconds.
Two laps of qualifying will be allowed with the fastest lap counted as the official qualifying speed.
Once a truck returns to pit road, its respective qualifying lap is complete.
The aerodynamic element known as drafting will not be allowable during qualifying.
Wayne Auton, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director, is really looking forward to implementing the new qualifying procedure and said “it will be the first time we’ve done something like this on an oval. It will be exciting for the fans in the stands and for those at home watching on SPEED. Just think, we will not know who wins the pole till the last truck goes out for qualifying.
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The Pocono Mountains 125 will also have some very special guests in the line up this Saturday. Chief among them is Kasey Kahne who will be behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota of Scranton Tundra entered by Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kahne has two official starts in the series, with the last being 2004, but he will be highly motivated. Kahne won both truck starts and will be looking to make the score three for three at Pocono. He has already proven that he can handle Pocono’s tricky triangle. He won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race there back in 2008.
Denny Hamlin, a four time Sprint Cup winner at Pocono, will also be in this race driving the #15 Toyota for Billy Ballew Motorsports.
Yet another Sprint Cup visitor will be Elliot Sadler who will be behind the wheel of the #2 Kevin Harvick Inc Chevrolet. Grand Touring Vodka will be the primary sponsor for this effort.
Making his series return, as well as his first series start of 2010, will be Bobby Hamilton Jr. Hamilton will be driving the #6 Chevrolet owned by Rick Ware Racing.
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Thorsport Racing, who field trucks for drivers Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, will be achieving a milestone this Saturday. The Pocono race will mark the team’s 328th start which places them second on the series start list behind Roush Fenway Racing’s 353 starts.
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers have been invited to join Todd “The Onion” Bodine for a round of golf on Thursday for a very worthy cause. The Onion Slice Open will be held at the Blue Ridge Trail Golf Course in Mountain Top-Pennsylvania. The charity tournament benefits pediatric patients, suffering from brain trauma and brain disease, at the Pennsylvania based John Heinz Medical Center. Series drivers Ron Hornaday Jr, Austin Dillon, Matt Crafton and James Buescher have already signed on to play.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Pocono Mountains 125 is 50 laps.125 miles around the Pocono Raceway’s mammoth 2.5 triangle shaped oval.
The race has 35 entries meaning all teams will get to start the event based on the series’ policy of a 36 truck field.
Because the series will be making its official debut at the Pocono Raceway, all 35 drivers in the event will technically be race rookies.
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