Striping Technology 350 Preview

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series saddles up and head to Texas Motor Speedway for the second time of 2016 for the Striping Technology 350. The race will be 220.5 miles or 147 laps.

 

35 drivers have arrived in Texas to compete for 32 spots. John Wes Townley was scheduled to compete in Friday’s event in Texas, but due to a non-racing related injury to his left ankle, Cody Coughlin will pilot the truck on Friday.

 

There have been 37 races for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Texas. 23 different drivers have won from the pole. 21 different drivers have found their way into victory lane. Only five races have been won from the pole with Todd Bodine being the last driver to do so in 2007. In 2015, the race record was set by Erik Jones at 158.002 mph. In 2006, Clint Bowyer set the qualifying record at 184.464 mph.

 

William Byron is going for the Texas sweep on Friday night. Byron was able to outlast Matt Crafton to win in June. “I have the track time and the experience of knowing what it takes to win there. The only difference will be the track conditions since it was much hotter when we raced there in June. It was really hard to judge what the truck would be like when the lights came on and everything cooled off. It will be interesting to go back there this weekend and see what the track is like. I think we’re going to have a lot of speed and hopefully get that ticket to the next round of the Chase,” said Byron, who is going for the win to lock himself in the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

Byron has the chance to join Johnny Sauter in the final four. Sauter was able to win last weekend at Martinsville. Sauter finished third in June. “We aren’t backing down just because we know we’re locked in to compete for the championship. We ran really well at Texas earlier this year and started from the pole so I know we’re capable of making this three wins in a row for GMS,” said Sauter.

 

Ben Kennedy and Matt Crafton are looking for the win or a strong finish at Texas in an effort to keep their hopes for a championship alive.

 

“I feel pretty good about Texas and the way our team has prepared. I’ve run pretty well there over the last few years and I’ve been able to improve a little each time. We finished fourth there in the spring and that was my first top five with GMS. We’ve come a long way since then and I know these guys are going to do whatever it takes to get us locked into the next round,” said Kennedy.

 

“I keep saying it, but I firmly believe it – if it’s meant to be, it will happen. We’ve won a couple times there, and have always run well there, so it’s a track we definitely have the potential to make-up some ground. I think it will take winning, especially given what happened at Martinsville,” said Crafton. “I entered Martinsville saying, I didn’t think you were going to be able to advance with a mulligan, we had ours last weekend. That’s the glory of this chase though, all you have to do is win, and your in. We’ve been able to do that in the past at Texas, so I firmly believe if we do our jobs, and have a little bit of luck on our side, we can get it done.”

 

There were two practice sessions scheduled for the Trucks at Texas on Thursday, but due to weather, the Trucks will have one practice session on Friday morning. That session is scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m. EST to 10:30 a.m. There will be no TV coverage of the session.

 

Qualifying for the Striping Technology 350 will be at 3:45 p.m. EST on Fox Sports 1. The race will also be on Fox Sports 1 and Motor Racing Network beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Caleb Whisler
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