Austin Dillon was the first to ply Eldora Speedways half-mile dirt expanse in a NASCAR race truck in October in a clandestine test conducted by NASCAR. On Tuesday, he was first out onto the moistened earth again in the initial Camping World Truck Series practice session preceding NASCARs first excursion off pavement in 43 years. Now Dillon would like the chance to take one of his Nationwide cars onto the slick banks of a grassroots short track, specifically Eldora. And hes not alone. NASCAR officials, however, want to assess the quality of competition in the Truck series event on Wednesday before even considering another such major leap, although NASCAR senior vice president Steve ODonnell conceded, ‘a lot of folks didnt think we would do this in trucks, so I never say never to anything.” ODonnell stressed patience and tempered expectations even though the series has been seeking short-track avenues for three years. The series and Eldora officials were able to make the truck event feasible with alterations to both the race vehicles and facility. ‘We obviously want to see how this goes’ ODonnell said.( ESPN )
