The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be bringing their tailgate party to “Big D”: Darlington Raceway this Saturday night. This is one of the most challenging tracks in the country and it’s going to be interesting to find out which one of the series drivers will claim the right to say they controlled “the track too tough to tame.”
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
Todd Bodine, driver of the #30 Germain Racing Toyota, will be looking to capitalize on the momentum of last Saturday’s win at the Nashville Super Speedway. The driver known as “The Onion” will also be looking to further pad his points lead over chief season rival Aric Almirola. Bodine goes into the Darlington race with a 174 points advantage in his quest for a second series championship.
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But the really intense points race connected to NASCAR’s truck series is the ongoing battle for the owner’s championship. The Germain Brothers, team owners for Bodine, are also on top of this championship run as well. Based on their driver’s two wins, 10 top five finishes and 11 top tens, the team now has 2,188 owner’s points.
However right behind them is Kyle Busch Motorsports and their #18 Toyota. The team also has two wins this year along with eight top fives and 11 top tens. Drivers Kyle Busch and Brian Ickler have been sharing the seat this year. Ickler is set to drive Saturday night at Darlington while his boss tends to duty at Michigan
Also very much involved in the run for the owner’s championship is DeLana Harvick, of Kevin Harvick Inc. Harvick is only 24 points away from the top of the standings based on the performance of their #2 Chevrolet Truck. The team has four wins along with eight top fives and 11 top tens. NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader will be returning to the Harvick truck for the Darlington race.
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Sad to note that Billy Ballew Motorsports has made the decision to temporarily shut down their second Toyota team until sponsor funding can be located. The team plans to park their #15 truck for at least the next two series races at Darlington and Bristol. The #15 has been entered in every series race since 2004. Team officials are heavily stressing the point that they consider this shut down procedure to be extremely temporary.
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MAKE Motorsports and driver T J Bell will be making a return to the series at the Darlington race Saturday night in the #50 Chevrolet Truck. Liberty Tire Recycling has signed on as the primary sponsor. The team also announced the signing of All Sport Drink as an associate sponsor.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Too Tough To Tame 200 will be 147 laps/200.8 miles around Darlington Raceway’s famed 1.366 mile oval.
The race has 32 entries for a race that accommodates up to 36 trucks which means all entries will start the event.
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