Written by:
Kevin Krefting
08/19/2008
Harrisburg, N.C.
NASCAR President Mike Helton. (Photo: Donald Miralle /Allsport)
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Article written by veteran motorsports Author and Journalist Tom Jensen - Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com
NASCAR President Mike Helton said the sanctioning body hopes to announce a new title sponsor to replace Craftsman in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for 2009 and beyond.
“Hopefully we're getting pretty close to it,” said Helton during NASCAR’s weekly teleconference on Tuesday. “(NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer) Steve Phelps and his folks are very hard at work on narrowing it down and landing on a specific sponsor for that series. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can put it out in public.”
Craftsman, who has been the series only title sponsor dating back to the inception of the Truck Series in 1995, announced earlier this season that it would be pulling out after this year. Kobalt Tools and UPS are among the names that have been floated as possible replacements for Craftsman, though neither is confirmed.
Helton was on the teleconference as part of an announcement of NASCAR’s top three series schedules. The biggest change to the NCTS schedule for 2009 is the addition of a night Truck race next Aug. 28 at Chicagoland Speedway, replacing Atlanta Motor Speedway’s second date.
“We're very excited about the NASCAR Truck Series coming to Chicagoland Speedway,” said track President Matt Alexander. “It's a strong addition to our schedule that includes the Sprint Cup and Nationwide and IRL. … I really believe we've only scratched the surface in this market and really developing more motorsports fans and we still are trying to provide even a better experience for our fans that come year in, year out. Adding NASCAR trucks to our schedule clearly falls in line with that line of thinking. I think it's a win-win for our fans and our guests.”
NASCAR’s Helton was asked about the possibility of the Truck Series someday returning to the recently re-opened North Carolina Speedway, the one-mile oval in Rockingham, N.C., which now is owned and operated by Andy Hillenburg.
“I've learned a long time ago not to try to get too far ahead of us on predicting things because it changes,” said Helton. “We've got so many moving parts and pieces out there from track ownership to availability to not being able that it's good just to be fluid and flexible. That's kind of what we've done the last several years. I don't know what the future holds for what type race may happen at Rockingham. It's interesting to follow Andy and his crew down there and see what happens.”
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
