It's been six weeks since Tony Jackson Jr. has raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway. Jackson showed a lot of speed and promise at the mile-and-a-half speedway before a small leak in the radiator caused the engine to overheat in his No. 07 SS Green Light Chevrolet Silverado and relegated the rookie driver to 21st in the final running order.
This weekend, Jackson will make his fourth start in NASCAR's No. 3 series very close to his Lebanon, Mo., home at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.
"It's about three hours to Gateway from home," said Jackson. "We'll have quite a few friends and family coming over to see the race. It's exciting for them to come and see us race on the big track after following my career at the short tracks.
"I'm really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the truck. I know putting in the laps and getting the seat time is what I need, but I'd really like to see us get that first top-10 with all our friends at the track."
"We had a great truck at Texas and we are going to run the same truck here at Gateway. I feel pretty good about our chances in this truck."
Jackson has kept busy over the last month, racing both on the dirt and pavement both near his home and near the home of SS Green Light Racing in North Carolina.
Crew Chief Jason Miller is excited to work with Jackson again.
"Tony has done a nice job each race and has improved tremendously each time he gets behind the wheel. I'm really looking forward to Friday to see how he does at this track," Miller said.
Gateway is the fourth of seven scheduled races for Jackson with the SS Green Light No. 07 team this season. By running a seven-race schedule, Jackson will retain his eligibility for NCWTS rookie of the year in 2011.
Forty-four trucks are on the entry list for the Camping World 200, which should make for a very exciting qualifying session and a competitive race.
It will be a busy weekend at Gateway as this is the first ever double-header weekend at the track, with the Nationwide Series Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 following the trucks on Saturday night.
