NEWTON, Iowa — A drive for 25. At least that is what some NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers would relish.
With the 2013 NCWTS season schedule expected to be released soon, some drivers shared their opinions for the series to expand back to 25 races in a Friday news conference before opening practice for the American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.
“I’m hearing a lot of that chatter in the garage,” Points leader Timothy Peters said. “I think it would be great to get back to 25 races.”
The last time the season consisted of less than 25 races was 22 in 2002. This season started Feb. 24, and the 22-race season is a little more than one-third finished. June was the first month this season with three race weekends, competing only once in February and March.
Fewer races spread out the first part of the schedule. If a driver falters, he doesn’t receive a quick chance to rebound.
“Hopefully next year they’ll get 25,” Matt Crafton said. “If you race and have a bad weekend, usually back to back weekends you can recover the next weekend, but we have to have salt in the wound for a whole month.”
Races are more frequent from here on out, squeezing 14 in from today until Nov. 16. The drivers prefer race weekends over extended ones.
“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season,” Rookie Ty Dillon said. “I’m really excited to get to some races where we race back-to-back weekends and stop having so many long weekends off.”
Crafton said he would like to see an addition of road courses and even an extra race at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway on the new schedule. Peters has heard the possibility of a schedule that suits his short-track history.
“Everybody is curious for a couple weeks when it does come out,” Peters said. “I can’t wait. Hopefully, we get that mixture of short tracks and road courses.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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