Ray Dunlap, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Reporter. (Photo: SPEED)
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One of the latest rumors floating around the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage is that NASCAR is considering shaving a few races off the 2010 schedule, reducing it from 25 to 21 or 22 events.
But 25 have worked well for years and is where I think the series should remain.
The sanctioning body’s line of thinking is that three or four fewer races will save teams money during these tough economic times. But less weekends would give Truck Series teams reduced opportunities to sell sponsorships on their trucks, which would generate less money. Plus, a minimized schedule will add even more off-weekends, hampering the consistency and exposure of the series.
We’ve got far too many consecutive off-weekends as it is, so many that some people completely forget about Truck racing after three or four weeks of down time. If we throttle back to 21 dates, there will be upwards of five or six weekends off here and there because the season will still kick off in February and conclude in November. A season that spread out will sap momentum and hurt the series’ fan base.
Since we haven’t heard anything concrete, I recently asked NCWTS director Wayne Auton if he could provide any information on the 2010 schedule. “It is NASCAR’s policy not to comment on future event schedules until they are finalized and released,” he replied.
There are already a few dates on the hot seat for next year. The Milwaukee race date is a big question mark because the promoters haven’t paid NASCAR money they owe for the 2009 events already run. I’m expecting to see Milwaukee disappear from both the Nationwide and the Truck Series schedules next season.
Nashville, Memphis, Dover and Gateway are owned by Dover Motorsports and there is a deal in the works for an outside company to purchase Memphis Motorsports Park. So, I am not certain it will even remain on the schedule next year.
But if it does, Memphis definitely would benefit from a companion weekend with the Nationwide and Truck Series. I continue to be amazed that NASCAR hasn’t paired up the two more often. Memphis draws midsized crowds for both series but they’d have a great opportunity to sell out the place with a doubleheader. The move would save the promoters money, as well, by requiring them to hire workers for only one weekend instead of two. Plus, they would be able to offer better ticket packages to the fans. Gateway should also be a doubleheader.
Kentucky Speedway is another example. The facility sold out the Nationwide Series race but then the Trucks competed there three weeks later. It’s not feasible for many ticket buyers who drive their motor homes down from other states to return three weeks later. Make it a companion event and you’ll have great crowds for both events.
Since NASCAR is considering dropping a few dates from the Camping World Truck Series schedule, they need to start with Auto Club Speedway in February. We’ve never drawn a crowd there and it is too costly for Truck teams to load up and make the cross-country trek. I’d also move the Atlanta race in March.
In order to streamline the schedule and accomplish the goal of tightening it up, it would make the most sense to just kick off the season at Martinsville in late March, but we can’t drop Daytona during Speedweeks because not only is it a great race, it’s a highly-rated event. Perhaps we run Daytona and then take six weeks off before Martinsville, and then shuffle a few other dates around so we don’t have three and four-week gaps in the schedule during the summer.
The schedule is one of our biggest roadblocks to the continuous popularity and awareness of the series because it is so spread out. There are too many periods of two, three or four weeks without a race. Additionally, we alternate between racing on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening and even a Wednesday night at Bristol. We need an appointed viewing time so the fans, sponsors and marketers know where to find us every week.
Everyone says the Truck Series is the best racing out there. However, people sometimes miss it because of the schedule, whether it’s guessing which day of the week to tune in or how many weeks until the next race. A little streamlining and schedule tweaking will go a long way toward helping bolster the Truck Series to the level it deserves.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel
Ray Dunlap is a pit reporter for SPEED's exclusive race coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
