The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at Kansas Speedway after five weeks away from the track. It’s the fourth race of the season, and it will be an event that sets the tone for the remainder of the year, as the summer stretch of races approaches and the race for the championship continues.
Matt Crafton, the defending and two-time Truck Series champion, has had success on 1.5-mile tracks. During the 2014 season, Crafton captured one win, three runner-up finishes and eight top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks.
At Kansas, Crafton has been to Victory Lane with a win in the 2013 season. Since making his first start at Kansas in the Truck Series, Crafton has captured three top-5s and six top-10 finishes. He has an average start of 14.1 and an average finish of 14.2. In over 14 races at Kansas, Crafton has led a total of 43 laps.
Meanwhile, Sauter has found his share of success on 1.5-mile tracks including Kansas. Sauter is also a previous winner at Kansas, having won in 2010. On 1.5-mile race tracks during the 2014 season, Sauter captured four top-10 finishes. At Kansas, he has made six starts and has captured three top-5s and four top-10 finishes.
2012 champion James Buescher will not be racing this weekend for NTS Motorsports after funding was not found to put him back in the No. 31 truck. Scott Lagasse Jr. will make his second start of the year in the Truck Series in Buescher’s place.
On the track, the Kyle Busch Motorsports trucks of Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Justin Boston have found some speed on the track. All three KBM trucks finished with the top 10 drivers in practice on Thursday. Suarez showed to be the fastest of the three by finishing third in practice.
On the Brad Keselowski Racing side, Tyler Reddick and Austin Theriault also placed themselves within the ten fastest in practice.
Spencer Gallagher also placed within the top-10 in practice, finishing in eighth on the leaderboard. Gallagher, just like some of his fellow competitors has experienced his share of success in Kansas. He won the ARCA Series race at Kansas back in October.
Going into Kansas, Crafton, Sauter, Jones and Gallagher seem to be the drivers with the best bet to reach Victory Lane. If Crafton does get the win, it will help him create a larger gap between the rest of the field and he within the point standings. If Sauter wins, it helps him close the 16-point gap between Crafton and he.
One obstacle may stand in their way at Kansas, as no previous winner has been able to win again at the track. In the 14 Truck Series races held at the track, there has been a different winner each year.
Over the years her work has been featured in various publications, with some of most recent work being featured on NJTV News, RantSports and New Jersey Newsroom.
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