One of the tracks that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series could schedule for Friday June 18 - North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. (Photo courtesy of SaveTheSpeedway.net)

But as the sport as a whole began to boom, sanctioning fees and purse requirements became too expensive for a small track operator hoping to host a NASCAR truck race.

As the country continues to dig out of a lengthy recession, NASCAR should consider a “taking it back to the grassroots level” campaign for the truck race in search of a new home.

Move the event to Saturday night June 19 and schedule it at one of the many short tracks throughout the nation that hosts weekly racing.

The logical choice would be Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Calif., which will play host to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown later this month.

Other candidates could be historic Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, S.C., Madison International Speedway in Madison, Wis., the Motor Mile in Radford, Va., South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Ga. or the newly-refurbished Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga.

Is there a possibility the truck series might return to Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park? The most-recent truck race there in 2008 saw Donny Lia make it three-wide on the final lap to score the win.

And with word that North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway will reopen later this year, that famous short track should certainly be considered.

Let’s face it, NASCAR’s truck series is destined to draw less than 10,000 spectators for standalone events.

So instead of witnessing 5,000 spectators converge on a speedway built to accommodate 100,000 fans, doesn’t it make sense to put some electricity in the air and stage this truck race in front of an overflow crowd at a short track in grassroots America?

– Jeff Hood can be reached at jhood@racintoday.com