For the first time all season, NCTS points leader and two-time race winner Kyle Busch is skipping this weekend's Truck race to concentrate on the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series festivities at Talladega Superspeedway.

Busch's seat in the all-conquering Billy Ballew Racing Toyota Tundra will be filled this weekend by 25-year-old Georgia native Shane Sieg. And while the Truck regulars will still have to deal with what so far has been the most successful vehicle in the series, at least they won't have to deal with the winningest driver in NASCAR.

Sieg has competed in 27 races since 2003 with a best finish of eighth at The Milwaukee Mile. He drove Ballew's No. 15 truck three times last season, finishing 10th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"With Kyle's schedule at Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend, there was no way he could make the race in Kansas," Ballew said. "We looked at all the scenarios but it just wasn't feasible. Shane has driven for us before and is familiar with the equipment."

Busch's absence should open things up on Saturday.

At a fast 1.5-mile track, the favorites naturally include 2006 series champion Todd Bodine, driver of the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra, and Mike Skinner, who wheels the No. 5 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. Bodine is a past winner here and Skinner has three top fives in four NCTS Kansas starts.

"I like Kansas a lot and I am looking forward to running there," said Skinner, who last year started on the pole and finished fifth at Kansas. "We have got to get back on track here and I think Kansas is the place to do it. Jeff (Hensley, crew chief) and the guys have worked real hard to get things up to par, so hopefully we can capitalize on that this weekend.  We normally run rather well here, and I would love nothing more than to get this No. 5 Toyota Tundra back in victory lane."

The driver to watch, though, might by Rick Crawford, who was runner-up in the last two Kansas truck races in the No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford and finished third here in 2004. He'll certainly have the bit between his teeth on Saturday. "We've gotten to that point a few times, but we've just never had the perfect day that it takes to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race (at Kansas)," said Crawford. "You never say a track owes you one, but it'd sure be nice to put our Ford F-150 in Victory Lane at Kansas and erase all those memories of finishing second there."

Another Ford driver with a solid shot at victory on Saturday will be Erik Darnell, the defending race winner and driver of the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment F-150. Darnell led 92 laps here last year to score his first NCTS victory, and he did so by a whopping 10.440 seconds.

There may be some wildcards up front as well.

Jon Wood, who will do double-duty this weekend, driving both The Barnhill Group LLC Ford F-150 at Kansas, and his family's Sprint Cup No. 21 at Talladega, has one Kansas Truck victory as well as the best average finish here of any driver in the field.

Chad McCumbee, driver of the No. 8 MRD Motorsports Chevrolet, has shown strength at intermediate tracks recently, including this year's stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway where the Supply, N.C., native qualified on the outside pole and finished a career-best fifth. "The intermediates always have been a strength of mine," said McCumbee, who is looking to become the fourth driver to win his first NCTS race at Kansas Speedway.  "They suit my driving style."

NOTES: Jennifer Jo Cobb and Michelle Theriault will make their NCTS debuts this weekend at Kansas. Cobb has competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Theriault was 13th in NASCAR Camping World Series East standings in 2007. Also new this week is former USAR Pro Cup champion Mario Gosselin, who will drive the No. 12 Chevrolet.

Scott Speed will drive the No. 27 Red Bull Tundra for Bill Davis Racing in Kansas, replacing Phillip McGilton, who has been released despite being tied for the rookie points lead. "This is a great opportunity for me to work closely with Mike (Skinner) while I get my feet wet in the truck series," said Speed.  "He knows what it takes to run well and win races, and that's a hell of a mentor to have.  The more I can learn from him, the quicker my learning process will be in these trucks."

John Quinn has succeeded George Church at Wyler Racing while Lance Hooper, formerly with Thorsport Racing, replaces Gary Showalter at Key Motorsports.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com.  He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.  The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to speedtvanswerman@gmail.com