Crucial, Five-Race Stretch Begins In Kansas
Raybestos Rookie Cobb Hopes To Shine In Homecoming
Schrader, Ickler Come Off Bench For Harvick, Busch

Kansas Speedway Kicks Off Busy Month Of May
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams hopefully enjoyed their month away from the track, because the tempo definitely picks up beginning with this Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.  The race is the first of three in May and five over a seven-week period stretching into mid-June.  How drivers and teams perform in Kansas, North Carolina, Delaware, Texas and Michigan will go a long way toward identifying this year's true championship contenders.

Kansas Speedway's event also is significant in that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch — winners of three of the season's first four races — won't be part of the action.  Harvick's replacement in the #2 Chevrolet is veteran Ken Schrader while Brian Ickler, a rising star who finished third at Martinsville Speedway, backs up Busch in the #18 Toyota Tundra Toyota.

Mike Skinner (#5 International Trucks/Monaco RV Toyota) is the defending winner of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, a race that was postponed and flagged short of its scheduled, 167-lap distance due to weather.  Skinner, the series' 1995 champion, is one of nine different drivers to visit Victory Lane in as many races at the 1.5-mile speedway.  "Last year's race meant so much for the entire Randy Moss Motorsports organization,"; said Skinner. "For me, it was exciting to win with a new group of guys and to be in a position where we were capable of winning races after being at another organization for such a long time.";  The 1 p.m. ET race offers Skinner the opportunity to return to the top 10 in the championship standings. He currently ranks 13th, but is just 17 points out of 10th. 

Only Todd Bodine (#30 Toyota) and Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Chevrolet), among drivers currently ranked among the top 10, have won at Kansas Speedway./p>

Rookie Cobb Believes Kansas True Test Of Team's Potential
It's not easy being a rookie in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where frequently the only experience a driver gets at a given track is the couple of hours before the race itself. Jennifer Jo Cobb (#10 DrivenMale.com/DriverBoutique.com Ford) knows that feeling, never having been to either Martinsville or Atlanta before competing there last month.

Kansas Speedway, where she made her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, should be a welcome change for the Kansas City, Kan. resident, who agrees, "There is no place like home. My whole career, my friends and family have been so supportive of me and I'm thrilled to be racing in front of them,"; she said. "It's a great feeling to have so many familiar faces in the crowd. I just hope to give them a great show.";

The 2010 season has been about what a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate might expect: Lots of ups and downs. Cobb made just one lap at Daytona before being collected in an accident. Her best finish, 21st, came at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  "Since we're a new team, we pretty much had to start from scratch with our setups and I've had to drive pretty conservatively,"; she said. "The good news is that we've left each place with a much better understanding of what it takes to do well there. "I'm feeling much more comfortable behind the wheel and our trucks are getting faster and faster each time we unload.";

Cobb believes this week she can show the team's potential. "I've run two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races there before so coming back will be a smooth transition,"; Cobb said. "I think that will make getting up to speed a lot easier than at the other tracks we've been to so far.";

Two Missouri drivers, Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon (#07 Chevrolet) and Jesse Smith of Wildwood (#98 Great Wolfe Lodge/Lloyds BBQ/Hormel Foods/Child's Tire Toyota) also are in the field.

Wayne's Words: Kansas A Track Where ‘Young Guns' Excel  
"Kansas Speedway, the Kansas City area and Kansas are very special to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. With the exception of 2000, when Kansas Speedway still was under construction, there's been at least one event here since the series began in 1995. 

"One of my most cherished moments as series director came in the Kansas Speedway's inaugural NCWTS event. Ricky Hendrick won his first race on a very emotional afternoon. "Perhaps it's the track's multiple grooves and wide corners but Kansas Speedway seems to offer greater opportunity for non-veteran drivers to show their stuff. It's one of only two tracks currently active for five years or longer without a repeat winner.  "And, like Ricky, there have been other first-time winners like Jon Wood in 2003 and Erik Darnell in 2007.

"Kansas Speedway was where Carl Edwards was ‘discovered' so to speak. His top-10 finish for Mike Mittler, an independent owner, set in motion the wheels that propelled him to stardom in our series and ultimately the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  "No disrespect to our veteran winners here  — Todd Bodine, Terry Cook, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner — but Kansas Speedway is a place where you can bet the ‘young guns' are going to make their presence felt.    "So don't be surprised if an unfamiliar name stands atop the leader board when the checkered flag waves. It's happened before and it's likely to happen again.";

O'Reilly 250 Marks First Time 2010 Owner Points Set Field
Being among the top 25 in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner Standings is a good thing entering Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250.  That means your team has a guaranteed starting position in the 36-truck field.  The switch-over from 2009 points follows the season's fourth race on April 2 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Still, there's no guarantee a team "locked in"; this week will have the same status next time. Steve Urvan's #21 H2O Fire Prevention Chevrolet driven by Chris Eggleston is 25th in current rankings but a mere 30 points are the difference between positions 25 and 30.  There's not much safety in opposite numbers: positions 21 and 25 are 36 points apart.

For the second consecutive season, it's possible there could be separate driver and owner champions. The race between Kevin Harvick Inc. and Billy Ballew Motorsports — the latter with multiple drivers — went down to the 2009 season finale before DeLana Harvick prevailed.  This year's battle currently pits KHI and the #17 Red Horse Racing Toyota of Timothy Peters. Peters holds an 82-point lead in driver standings while KHI is two points ahead of Tom DeLoach in owners' scoring. Busch's #18 is third.

Crafton-Haefele Fashion Successful Careers Together
Crew chief Bud Haefele and driver Matt Crafton (#88 Menards Chevrolet) have been a constant in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2003.  Haefele joined ThorSport Racing as a consultant in 2003, followed Crafton to Kevin Harvick Inc. in 2004 then returned with Crafton to his current team the following season.  After a season as truck chief, Haefele became Crafton's crew chief beginning with the second race of the 2006 season.

This week's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 will be his 105th consecutive race atop the #88 team's pit box — easily the longest tenure of any current driver-crew chief combination in the series.  The pairing has been successful. Crafton got his first victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008 and has finished among the top 10 in the championship standings in each of the past three seasons. Crafton ranked #2 a year ago and stands fifth entering the season's fifth race.              The duo should be a contender this week. Crafton finished seventh a year ago, one of four top-10 finishes in his nine starts at Kansas Speedway.  Crafton finished fifth in 2004.  "The best way to get the driver comfortable at Kansas or any race track is to give him a truck that handles good and fast,"; said Haefele. "We have good horsepower and a good mile-and-a-half package so Matt is usually pretty happy. We really concentrate on making the fine adjustments.";
           
Weather is the variable. "The challenge at Kansas is it's usually really hot and the track gets slick,"; said Haefele. "We start with our baseline set-up and work with the changing track conditions. "Last year it was cool and wet and that really threw us for a loop.";

Schrader, Ickler Tapped To Sub For Absent Winners
Bench strength is crucial to any championship drive and Kevin Harvick Inc. and Kyle Busch Motorsports are taking opposite approaches to keeping their owner championship numbers up with their #1 drivers busy in Richmond International Raceway this weekend.
           
KHI goes with veteran Ken Schrader in Harvick's #2 Chevrolet while Busch will be spelled by Brian Ickler, a 24-year-old star in the making.
           
Schrader, 54, will be making his first start both for KHI and at Kansas Speedway.  "I've had a lot of opportunities in the past to just be at the race track but I don't just want to be at the race track,"; said Schrader, a series winner in 1995. "I'm excited to be going to the race track knowing I have a chance to win.";  The same is true for Ickler, who posted a third-place finish in KBR's #18 Toyota last month at Martinsville. He was fifth in last year's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, ironically in the truck that Busch won seven races.           

Five Who Could Extend Kansas' Run Of Different Winners
Kansas Speedway boasts a competitive rarity – nine different races, nine different winners.  The statistics make a case for 10-for-10, with a few notables who could do the deed:
           
Brian Ickler (#18 Toyota Tundra Toyota): Ickler only has one Kansas start, but it was a good one. Last year, he finished fifth with a Driver Rating of 95.4, an Average Running Position of 9.4, one Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 88.6%.
           
Tayler Malsam (#56 Toyota Tundra/One Eighty Toyota): Malsam also only has one Kansas start, and it was likewise a strong one. Last season, he finished 11th with a Driver Rating of 93.1, an Average Running Position of 9.6, four Fastest Laps Run, a Pass Differential (passes minus times passed) of plus-23 and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 95.5%.
           
Johnny Sauter (#13 Chevrolet): Also a rookie last year, Sauter competed in his first series Kansas race in 2009. He finished ninth, with a Driver Rating of 85.7, an Average Running Position of 9.4, all while spending all 132 laps in the top 15.
           
Johnny Benson (#15 Ted Top Collector Car Auction Toyota): The 2008 champion isn't running a full schedule this season but the starts he makes are expected to be of high quality. Benson's qualifying numbers aren't spectacular — 17.4 — but he's picked up an average of five positions in the finishing order. He has a Driver Rating of 92.7 which ranks eighth over the  past five races.
           
Matt Crafton (#88 Menards Chevrolet): Crafton's numbers aren't spectacular but he's the leader of two statistical categories. He's tops in Green Flag Passes with 264 and Quality Passes with 149. Crafton has a Driver Rating of 76.7.

NCWTS Etc.
 *Forty teams have filed entries for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250. That's the most entries for a NCWTS event at Kansas Speedway since 2003. It also matches the track's largest number of entries.   *The field has an international flavor with three Canadians and India's Narain Karthikeyan (#60 Safe Auto Insurance Chevrolet) on the entry list. Two north of the border competitors bidding to make their series debut are Terry Jones (#46 Team Gill Racing Dodge) and Derek White (#96 OCR GAZ BAR Chevrolet).
 
*NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton and his wife, Libby, have become grandparents for the first time. The couple's youngest daughter, Telesa, delivered granddaughter Harper Rose on April 23.

*Sunday racing is a rarity in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 is the first scheduled Sunday event in five years. The last scheduled Sunday race was held May 16, 2005 in Mansfield, Ohio, and was won by the late Bobby Hamilton.
*Nelson Piquet Jr. has announced an additional schedule of three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events for the 2010 season beginning with the May 21 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Piquet also will drive Billy Ballew Motorsports' #15 Qualcomm/ArcSight Toyota at Texas Motor Speedway on June 4 and at Michigan International Speedway on June 12. The 24-year-old former Formula 1 competitor finished sixth in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Daytona earlier this year.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings
Driver   Points
1. Austin Dillon, 43
2. Justin Lofton, 38
3. Brett Butler, 36
4. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 34
5. Chris Eggleston, 9
6. Landon Cassill, 7

Up Next: Dover
Dover International Speedway, which hosts the May 14 Dover 200, has produced first-time NASCAR Camping World Truck winners in each of the past two seasons. Scott Speed was a surprise winner in 2008 while Brian Scott took the checkered flag a year ago. Speed now is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular while Scott is competing for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Scott and Speed were just the latest drivers to get their first victory at the "Monster Mile."; Jason Leffler (2003) and Chad Chaffin (2004) also went to Victory Lane for the first time at Dover.

The track's roster of winners, however, contains a pair of NASCAR Camping World Truck champions, Ted Musgrave (2002) and Ron Hornaday Jr. (2007) as well as brothers Kurt Busch (2000) and Kyle Busch (2005) and Mark Martin (2006).(NASCAR PR)(4-26-2010)

Timothy Peters Leading The Strong Under 30 Contingent
Skinner's Rebound Into Championship Contention Pivotal Over Stretch
In The Loop: Ron Hornaday Jr. Heading In Right Direction

Young Guns Making Strong Statement Early In Season
In 2010, it is good to be 30 and under with just four races complete on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. Six of the top 10 in the point standings are under the age of 30 and changing the face of this series.
Series standings leader Timothy Peters (#17 Red Horse Racing Toyota) was born Aug. 29, 1980 (29) and he leads the young contingent of drivers this season posting a win at Daytona, three top fives and four top 10s in the first four races of the season.

Second in the standings, Aric Almirola (#51 Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota) is 82 points behind Peters. Almirola was born March 14, 1984 (26) and the young driver is carrying the Billy Ballew Motorsports banner this year, posting one top five and three top 10s this season.

Seventh and eighth in the standings are two 30-year-olds, Ricky Carmichael (#4 Monster Energy Chevrolet) and Jason White (# 23 GunBroker.com Dodge). Carmichael, born Nov. 27, 1979, has posted two top 10s in the first four races of the season, and White, born July 5, 1979, has been hot out of the gate, sitting on the pole at Daytona and going on to finish in the top five at the famed 2.5 mile superspeedway.

Rounding out the six young drivers in the top 10 are the two youngest, Tayler Malsam (#56 Toyota Tundra Toyota) was born Feb. 15, 1989 (21), and the only owner-driver of the group, Kyle Busch (#18 Dollar General Toyota) born May 2, 1985 (24).  Busch is coming off a win at Nashville Superspeedway, giving his new organization, Kyle Busch Motorsports, its first victory. Busch has  posted one win, two top fives and a pole in the three starts he has made this season. 

Skinner Can Rebound With This Next Stretch Of The Season
Last season, Randy Moss Motorsports signed Mike Skinner (#5 International Trucks/Monaco RV Toyota) and in just five races, he gave team owner Randy Moss his first win in the series. Skinner captured the checkered flag in the weather-shortened event at Kansas Speedway. He went on to finish the 2009 season third in the points. He posted three wins (Kansas, Iowa and Gateway), eight top fives and 17 top 10s. Following his win at Kansas, Skinner rallied off three top fives and six top 10s in the next eight races, making this next stretch of the season pivotal in his climb back into championship contention in 2010.
           
Skinner's last season win at Kansas was no fluke. Skinner has made six starts at the 1.5-mile speedway and has one win, five top fives and two poles. Skinner has started 2010 off slow, with a DNF at Daytona, followed up by a 14th-place finish at Atlanta and 27th-place finish at Martinsville. But Skinner rebounded at Nashville, posting his first top 10 of the season. 

The 2010 NASCAR Season-to-Date Loop Data shows Skinner is ranked fifth in the Average Running Position category (9.908) and is ranked fifth in Laps In The Top 15 with 82.7% of his laps completed in the top 15. 

In The Loop: Hornaday Picking Up Speed After Slow Start
A sixth-place points position after four races is no reason to panic.  But that's where Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Longhorn Chevrolet) currently resides, and it's the second-worst standings spot of his career after four races.  Hornaday has normally gotten off to strong starts. Only this season and 2006, when he was 19th, has Hornaday been outside the top five in points after four events.
But, again, there's no need to fret. Hornaday's standings position has everything to do with poor finishes in the first two races. At Daytona, he finished 27th; at Atlanta he was 34th. His last two finishes – a second at Martinsville and a third at Nashville – were more befitting a four-time series champion.  Hornaday's season is a tale of two halves. In the first two, Hornaday had an average finish of 30.5, a Driver Rating of 85.9, an Average Running Position of 24.2, a Pass Differential (passes minus times passed) of minus-3, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 24% and three Fastest Laps Run.
In the last two, Hornaday had an average finish of 2.5, a Driver Rating of 112.2, an Average Running Position of 5.9, a Pass Differential of plus-28, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 88% and 32 Fastest Laps Run.

Now Hornaday heads to a track at which he has had great success – Kansas Speedway. In the previous five Kansas races, Hornaday has a Driver Rating of 118.9, an Average Running Position of 5.9, 217 Laps Led and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 90.3%. In his 2008 Kansas win, Hornaday scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0.

NCWTS Etc.

KBM:  A Powerhouse Team Early
The country music center, Nashville, Tenn., was the site of Kyle Busch Motorsports' first win of the season. And how fitting was it for the owner-driver, Kyle Busch (#18 Dollar General Toyota), to get his team their first win, becoming the second-youngest owner-driver to win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series?         "I'm very fortunate that I have great people, starting with Rick Ren, but a lot of other guys who work really hard and have enabled KBM to get off to a good start,"; said Busch. "The support from Toyota has been great. You want to make sure everybody is achieving and striving for the right goals. I've learned more lessons in this short time period than I ever have."; Busch has posted one win and two top five finishes in his three starts this season.  Also, Busch's teammate, Tayler Malsam, (#56 Toyota Tundra Toyota) is doing well this season. He currently is ninth in the series standings after posting four top-20 finishes in the first four races of the season.

2008 Series Champion Benson Returns
Johnny Benson (#15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota), the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, will make his series return driving for owner Billy Ballew  at Kansas Speedway and Dover International Speedway.  Benson has already made two starts this season, finishing eighth at Daytona driving for Danny Gill and finishing fifth at Martinsville driving for Ballew.

Carmichael Staying Active In ARCA
Ricky Carmichael (#4 Monster Energy Chevrolet) participated in the ARCA event at Texas this past weekend, finishing 25th. He is scheduled to race at Talladega this coming weekend as well.

Up Next: Kansas Speedway
One week left until the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to high impact, side-by-side racing  at Kansas Speedway for the May 2 O'Reilly 250.
Kansas Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in 2001, which was won by Ricky Hendrick. In the nine events hosted by the 1.5-mile speedway there has never been a repeat winner, but owner Jack Roush leads the way amongst truck owner wins, with 3.(NASCAR PR)(4-19-2010)