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Camping World Trucks
TRUCKS: First Pocono Go-Round For Truckers
Denny Hamlin has dominated at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...
Denny Hamlin will make a rare NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Pocono. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125 represents a bold new step for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in more ways than one.
First, it’s the inaugural visit of the Truck Series to the 2.5-mile, three-turn Pocono Raceway track, one of the quirkier and more unusual stops on the circuit.
The qualifying procedure will be radically different, too: The qualifying order for the Pocono Mountains 125 will be set by inverting the practice times from final practice, meaning the slowest trucks in practice will go out first. Multi-truck qualifying will be used for the first time to determine the starting lineup on an oval.
Trucks will be released in approximately 25-second increments. Two laps of qualifying will be allowed with the fastest lap counting. Once a truck comes onto pit road, its respective qualifying lap is complete. No drafting is permitted. A drawing for qualifying order will be held in case inclement weather cancels the session. The field would then be set according to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rule book.
“The distance and uniqueness of Pocono afforded us the opportunity to implement this style of qualifying for this event,” said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. “SPEED is excited about the format and we believe the fans, drivers and viewing audience will embrace it, too.”
The Pocono field will have some faces who don’t typically race in the Truck Series. Denny Hamlin, who has dominated the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in recent years, will drive the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for Billy Ballew Motorsports.
“This race is going to be a lot of fun,” said Hamlin. “It's definitely one that everyone has a special incentive to win. It would be really cool to say that you were the first person to win a Truck race at Pocono. Only one driver will have that honor. I'm really excited to have a shot at that.”
The race will be just 50 laps, which means getting to the front will be a priority.
“You don't sit back and wait,” said Hamlin. “You don't settle in and let your truck to come to you. There's no time for that, especially when you're at a track that can be difficult to pass. You give it everything you've got from the green flag. I think that's going to make for one of the most exciting races that the Pocono fans have seen.”
Two other Cup regulars will be in the Pocono field: Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet with sponsorship from Grand Touring Vodka, while Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 18 Toyota Tundra Dealers Toyota.
And the series regulars are fired up about Pocono as well.
“It’s pretty cool to get to go back to Pocono,” said Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Randy Moss Motorsports entry. “I really used to enjoy running at that track; the fans up there are really cool. I have some good history in a Cup car at Pocono; we don’t necessarily have the finishes to show for it, but we certainly did have some strong races there. I’m excited to see what we can do with the International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.”
“I think the group qualifying will be interesting to see,” said James Buescher, who drives the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet. “I am curious to see how it works out and if being the first in your group gives you a disadvantage from the drafting standpoint. No one really knows how it will go so we will all figure it out together on Saturday. Since the race will only be 50 laps there won’t be much time to wait for handling to come in.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
First, it’s the inaugural visit of the Truck Series to the 2.5-mile, three-turn Pocono Raceway track, one of the quirkier and more unusual stops on the circuit.
The qualifying procedure will be radically different, too: The qualifying order for the Pocono Mountains 125 will be set by inverting the practice times from final practice, meaning the slowest trucks in practice will go out first. Multi-truck qualifying will be used for the first time to determine the starting lineup on an oval.
Trucks will be released in approximately 25-second increments. Two laps of qualifying will be allowed with the fastest lap counting. Once a truck comes onto pit road, its respective qualifying lap is complete. No drafting is permitted. A drawing for qualifying order will be held in case inclement weather cancels the session. The field would then be set according to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rule book.
“The distance and uniqueness of Pocono afforded us the opportunity to implement this style of qualifying for this event,” said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. “SPEED is excited about the format and we believe the fans, drivers and viewing audience will embrace it, too.”
The Pocono field will have some faces who don’t typically race in the Truck Series. Denny Hamlin, who has dominated the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in recent years, will drive the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for Billy Ballew Motorsports.
“This race is going to be a lot of fun,” said Hamlin. “It's definitely one that everyone has a special incentive to win. It would be really cool to say that you were the first person to win a Truck race at Pocono. Only one driver will have that honor. I'm really excited to have a shot at that.”
The race will be just 50 laps, which means getting to the front will be a priority.
“You don't sit back and wait,” said Hamlin. “You don't settle in and let your truck to come to you. There's no time for that, especially when you're at a track that can be difficult to pass. You give it everything you've got from the green flag. I think that's going to make for one of the most exciting races that the Pocono fans have seen.”
Two other Cup regulars will be in the Pocono field: Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet with sponsorship from Grand Touring Vodka, while Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 18 Toyota Tundra Dealers Toyota.
And the series regulars are fired up about Pocono as well.
“It’s pretty cool to get to go back to Pocono,” said Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Randy Moss Motorsports entry. “I really used to enjoy running at that track; the fans up there are really cool. I have some good history in a Cup car at Pocono; we don’t necessarily have the finishes to show for it, but we certainly did have some strong races there. I’m excited to see what we can do with the International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.”
“I think the group qualifying will be interesting to see,” said James Buescher, who drives the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet. “I am curious to see how it works out and if being the first in your group gives you a disadvantage from the drafting standpoint. No one really knows how it will go so we will all figure it out together on Saturday. Since the race will only be 50 laps there won’t be much time to wait for handling to come in.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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