Krista Voda: 2010 Truck Season Could Be One To Remember
Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Ron Hornaday is still the man to beat in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series. // Archives, NASCAR Illustrated
COMMENTARY
With a wealth of story lines and so many major personalities in play, this has the potential to be the best season yet in the 16-year history of NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series.
We’ve got defending champion Ron Hornaday gunning for a fifth series title, but Hornaday will do so without crew chief Rick Ren.
Ren left Kevin Harvick Inc. to take a managerial position at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Hornaday began the season with Dave Fuge and is now teamed with Doug George. But what will happen to Hornaday without Ren directing the program?
On the flip side, we’ll be watching Busch make his debut as a NASCAR team owner. Kyle Busch Motorsports will field two trucks. Busch will share a ride with Brian Ickler and former Randy Moss Motorsports driver Tayler Malsam is slated for full-time duty in the organization’s second truck.
Before making his first foray in ownership, Busch did a wise thing in consulting with Harvick about the challenges of making it work. Busch is clearly not going into this venture blind. He sought Harvick’s advice on where — and where not — to spend money in his rookie year as an owner.
Will we see a different side of Busch given his ownership role? He could mellow some in the same fashion as Harvick and Tony Stewart did when they became owners due to their big-picture considerations of the overall business. If Busch can match the success Stewart enjoyed last year in his debut with Stewart-Haas Racing on the Sprint Cup side, he’ll be well on his way as an owner at the tender age of 24.
It’s worth noting, though, that Busch — a very aggressive driver in the Truck Series because he’s racing just for wins by running a limited schedule there — and Hornaday have had some run-ins in the past. They have developed a rivalry, and I think we’ll see that even heightened in 2010.
The fact that Ren left Hornaday and went to his rival’s team only adds spice to that situation. In other series developments, we have a track back on the schedule in Darlington Raceway, which returns for the first time since 2004.
Former series champion Johnny Benson made his return at Daytona after recovering from shoulder surgery, but Benson will not run the full 2010 schedule. Motocross legend Ricky Carmichael is back for full-time duty in the series.
The Raybestos Rookie of the Year battle should be exciting, too. Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, will be competing with defending ARCA Series champion Justin Lofton for those honors. Dillon will also do so in a black No. 3 truck, bringing the memories of Dale Earnhardt back along for the ride.
The off-season brought news that former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was testing for Red Horse Racing. Piquet made his series debut at Daytona, but the team is seeking sponsorship for him to run more races this season. Piquet will try to follow in footsteps of open-wheelers Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, both of whom have competed in the Truck Series.
It’d be tough not to bet on Hornaday as 2010 champion — just as it would be to go against Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup Series — but I’m officially on record now in picking Matt Crafton to win the Camping World Truck Series title this year. His ThorSport team had a ton of momentum at the end of last season before finishing second to Hornaday. And continuity should help Crafton’s cause this year as crew chief Bud Haefele returns to lead a group that remained largely intact from last season.
That stability could be the trump card that carries them across the championship threshold.
We have not even mentioned former series champions Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine. Skinner finished third last season on the heels of three victories. Bodine, meanwhile, began the new year in search of a third consecutive victory at Daytona. He finished runnerup to Timothy Peters in a fantastic finish to the first race of the 2010 season.
Can somebody knock Hornaday off the throne? Stay tuned. This could be a season to remember.
