In the case of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, one of its best attributes is its size. The Truck races are shorter than those in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. So's the Truck season, which weighs in at just 25 points races, vs. 36 for the Cup boys and 35 for the Nationwide Series.
With shorter races and a shorter season, it's no coincidence that most rational people believe that the racing in the Truck Series is as good, if not actually better, than in any of NASCAR's top divisions. Even though the Cup series has a 10-race playoff, the truckers unquestionably put together a much more compelling — and closer — championship battle last year than the Chase for the Sprint Cup turned out to be.
In the Truck Series, smaller is beautiful.
It also means that there's no fat in the schedule, no time to waste or mulligan's to collect.
So when the Trucks take to California Speedway Saturday afternoon for the San Bernardino County 200, every driver will be looking to get 'er done.
For Kyle Busch, who last year used this race as a springboard to a record 21 NASCAR victories, he'll be wanting to repeat his 2008 win. Two-time consecutive Daytona winner Todd Bodine will be looking for another strong points night in California, as will his fellow former series champions Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner. Reigning NCWTS champ Johnny Benson, meanwhile, will be looking to rebound from a disappointing start to the season as he attempts to defend his title.
In other words, with just the second of 25 races on deck, the series already is wide open and up for grabs.
Certainly "Rowdy" Busch will be one of the drivers to beat at Auto Club Speedway on Friday night. ACS is a track where Busch has race victories in all three of NASCAR's top divisions, and the place where in 2005 he became the youngest driver in history to win a Cup race.
Fresh off his runner-up finish at the season's first race in Daytona, Busch will be back behind the wheel of the familiar No. 51 Toyota Tundra out of the Billy Ballew Motorsports fleet. In fact, Busch will return with chassis No. 11, the same truck that the team won with in 2008.
"Kyle's pretty comfortable with that chassis," said crew chief Doug George, a California native. "We have a pretty good setup on the truck and after second last week I know he wants to go to California and win."
Also quietly optimistic this weekend is Terry Cook, driver of the No. 25 Harris Trucking Toyota, who was fourth here a year ago and third at Daytona last weekend, in his first race since moving over from Wyler Racing.
"We are coming off a huge high from Daytona," said Cook, who in his career is a six-time Truck Series race winner. "You know when you run well there is an old saying, it doesn't matter how hard you worked, how many overtime hours you put in or how far away your hotel is … if you run well that is all erased."
For sure, four other drivers to watch for will be longtime series veterans Bodine, Benson, Hornaday and Skinner. Of the four, Bodine and Skinner both have visited Victory Lane here, while Benson and Hornaday are looking to win for the first time on the 2-mile oval. Interestingly, of those four, Benson has the best finishing average — 6.800 — but he is tied with Skinner for the fewest top fives in the group, with just two.
Add it all up, and Saturday's race should be a typical NASCAR Camping World Truck Series affair — fiercely competitive, wide open and down to the wire.
