December 2008 Craftsman Truck Series Archive - Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site

December 2008 Truck Series News Archive

For winners of a race in Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series races: see the Misc Stats page for this and other statistical information.

Hornaday to compete in Toyota All-Star Showdown UPDATE: Crafton added to entry list: Ron Hornaday Jr. – who prior to becoming a three-time champion in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, spent much of his life in and around the NASCAR Camping World Series West – recently announced plans to compete in next month’s all-star event at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, California. The prestigious postseason event, slated for Jan. 23-24, is considered the ‘Daytona 500 of short-track racing.’ It will feature two days of racing and will air live on SPEED beginning at 7:00pm PT both nights.(RonHornaday.com) (12-29-2008)
UPDATE: It was the site of one of Matt Crafton’s most dramatic stock car races. And it was the site of his only race in the NASCAR Camping World Series. The location was Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) and the date was Nov. 11, 2000. “I look forward to going back,” Crafton said of returning to Irwindale for what is considered the ‘Daytona 500 of short-track racing’. “It will definitely be a lot of fun.” Toyota All-Star Showdown will feature two days of exciting action among some of the nation’s greatest drivers in NASCAR Camping World Series and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action. [For more information on the Toyota Showdown visit the Jayski Appearances Page](12-31-2008)
DiCarlo to compete in some truck races: Stringer Motorsports is pleased to announce that the Great Clips Race Team with driver Gabi DiCarlo will again compete in the ARCA RE/MAX Series during the 2009 season. The team plans to run a majority of the series races while also competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Crew Chief Randy Nelson will head the Great Clips crew in what will be his first full season with Stringer Motorsports. Nelson joined the team for the last third of the 2008 season and the on track performance showed immediate improvement. Great Clips Inc. will again be the major sponsor on the Stringer Motorsports Toyota Camry’s and will again receive product help from Lucas Oil.(Stringer Motorsports PR)(12-29-2008)
McCumbee unsure of 2009 plans: Reports, rumors and rumblings. That’s what the last six weeks has revolved around for Chad McCumbee. “I read on the Internet what everyone else does,” the West Brunswick (N.C.) High School graduate said. And with the start of the 2009 NASCAR season a little more than six weeks away, McCumbee still doesn’t know if he’ll be competing in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series. McCumbee was on course to drive the No. 44 Sprint Cup car for Petty Enterprises in 2009 before sponsorship issues arose. “We were all good to go and everybody was happy,” McCumbee said. “The economy affected sponsors obviously. It hurt everything.” So, McCumbee said he is keeping his options open, which means he could return to the Camping World Series (formerly the Craftsman Truck Series). He also said he has had “a few talks here and there” with teams in the Nationwide Series. McCumbee said he has the support of Petty Enterprises if he opts to drive a Nationwide Series car for another team. He ran a full-time schedule in the truck series last year and nine races on the Sprint Cup schedule in the #45 car.(Myrtle Beach Sun News)(12-26-2008)
Mansfield cancels Truck race: UPDATE MMP closing: from the Mansfield Motorsports Park website: Due to the economic times that we are all facing, Mansfield Motorsports Park will not be hosting the 2009 NASCAR Truck Race. We will begin processing refunds immediately. Please accept our apologies and please be patient while we are going through the refund process. We apologize for any inconvenience.(12-17-2008)
UPDATE: Citing economic woes, Mansfield Motorsports Park canceled its scheduled Camping World Truck Series race in 2009 early Wednesday. Later Wednesday evening, the track told the Mansfield News Journal it was closing its door. “As of right now, we will not be staying open. We have no events planned,” track owner Mike Dzurilla told the News Journal. “I dealt with the unfortunate task of telling my remaining employees that, by Christmas, they would be unemployed. “Unfortunately, this has been in the works for quite some time. I tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat, but my last option ran out [Tuesday] night.” The Mansfield, Ohio, track played host to a truck race for the past five seasons. The event was scheduled for May 23.(ESPN.com)(12-18-2008)
Iowa Speedway to host NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race in 2009: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that Iowa Speedway will host a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on September 5 in place of the event that was originally scheduled May 23 at Mansfield Motorsports Park. The realignment of the race was a result of Mansfield’s request that the event be moved from its track because of its inability to meet the requirements necessary to remain a NASCAR sanctioned facility. “It is always exciting to go to a new venue and show the fans what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is all about,” said NASCAR’s Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O’Donnell. “The Midwest has some of our sport’s most loyal fans and Iowa Speedway produces some incredible racing as we’ve seen with the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series. We look forward to racing there this season.” In addition to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Iowa will host the NASCAR Nationwide Series, as well as the NASCAR Camping World East and West Series in 2009. “We are extremely pleased to continue our strong relationship with NASCAR with the awarding of yet another NASCAR series race to Iowa Speedway,” said Iowa Speedway CEO Stan Clement. “We know from past experience that fans here in the Midwest will support this exciting new event.”(NASCAR PR)(12-17-2008)
Sad News – Ron Hornaday Sr: Ron Hornaday Sr. passed away on December 21, 2008 at the age of 77. Ron Sr., was a two-time champion in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, when it was known as the NASCAR Winston West Series – winning back-to-back titles in 1963 and 1964. He made 17 NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) starts between 1955 and 1973, mainly on the West Coast. Ron was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in its first class in 2002.(12-22-2008)
Fitzpatrick heads to Daytona with TRG for ARCA testing: J.R. Fitzpatrick, the youngest ever CASCAR Super Series Champion, will make his first appearance at the historic high banks of Daytona International Speedway this weekend as the ARCA RE/MAX Series descends upon the 2.5-mile tri-oval in Daytona Beach, Florida for the first open test in preparation for the 2009 season. This test is critical for Fitzpatrick who hopes to gain approval by NASCAR to compete in the Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2009. Fitzpatrick, who has never raced in the ARCA RE/MAX Series before, will drive the #71a TRG Motorsports Chevy in the three-day test which kicks off on Friday, December. Fitzpatrick will have a teammate in 23-year-old Macon, Georgia’s Beau Slocumb. Fitzpatrick’s effort will be led by veteran Crew Chief, Jon Wolfe, who also serves as the team’s General Manager.(TRG Motorsports PR)(12-17-2008)
Skinners’ visit Daytona Speediatrics Unit: Several of Halifax Health Medical Center’s pediatric patients got a special treat when NASCAR driver Mike Skinner and his wife Angie, along with members of the Speedway Ambassadors, showed up to the Speediatrics Unit bearing gifts and holiday cheer. Halifax Health – Betty Jane France Center for Pediatrics-Speediatrics – is a 36-bed unit that cares for more than 2,000 children annually, with another 400 or more receiving critical care in the area’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. As part of that commitment, The NASCAR Foundation has donated more than $160,000 to Speediatrics in 2008, bringing our total to over $450,000 to Speediatrics since 2006.(NASCAR PR)(12-17-2008)
Red Horse Racing makes formal announcement; two teams Benson & Starr: Red Horse Racing formally announced today that they will expand to two teams for the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with the addition of defending series champion Johnny Benson to the team’s roster. Benson, the 1995 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and 1996 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year, will join teammate David Starr in the Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra’s. Fittingly, Benson will pilot the team’s #1 Toyota with Starr back behind the wheel of the familiar #11 Tundra.(Red Horse Racing PR) [For more on the progression & updates regarding this story, visit the December News Archives page.](12-15-2008)
Bill Davis Racing sold with team lacking sponsors, funds: UPDATE more info: NASCAR owner Bill Davis, struggling to keep his team afloat during a fruitless search for sponsorship, has sold majority ownership of both his race team and his engine company. Mike Held, a California businessman, and Marty Gaunt, an executive with Bill Davis Racing, purchased majority interest from Davis. The duo said they’ve also taken control of Triad Racing Development, which supplied engines, chassis and bodies for all three of NASCAR’s top series. Davis, who has been in NASCAR for more than 20 years, won the 2002 Daytona 500 with Ward Burton and the Truck Series championship this season with Johnny Benson. But he lost his Cup team sponsor and has been unable to secure funding for 2009.(ESPN.com)(12-22-2008)
UPDATE: Triad Racing Technologies (TRT) has announced that the company will acquire Triad Racing Development, a major supplier of engines, chassis and bodies for NASCAR Camping World, Nationwide and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams. In addition to the acquisition of Triad Racing Development, the owners also purchased a majority interest in Bill Davis Racing. An announcement regarding the Bill Davis Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operations, as well as detailed team plans for the 2009 race season, will be made in the coming weeks.(TRT PR)(12-22-2008)
Rule changes ahead for Truck Series? In an effort to help save the teams money for the 2009 season and beyond, we are hearing that NASCAR may be ready to announce a couple of rule changes for the Truck Series. First, teams will be limited on the number of hard cards (annual credentials) they can purchase for the season. This will help control the number of people teams are bringing to the track each weekend. The other rule change rumor that is going around, is that NASCAR will limit the number of guys that can go over the wall during a pit stop. NASCAR will go from allowing seven men over the wall, to six. If this happens, expect teams to take away one of the tire carriers. Again, this would in theory help teams save money, as they would need one less crew member for pit stops.(TheNASCARInsiders.com)(12-15-2008)
Congrats to Steve & Jessica Park: Steve and Jessica were happily married on Saturday the 6th at a beautiful ceremony in front of family and friends. Steve and Jessica would like to send a special thanks to the “SPARKIES” for their charitable gift to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in celebration of their wedding. The happy couple is currently off celebrating their honeymoon on a remote island.(Steve-Park.com)(12-14-2008)
No full time ride for Chrissy Wallace? in a NASCAR.com article about Mike Wallace it was mentioned: Mike’s not the only one in the family on pins and needles these days. He said Chrissy’s 2009 schedule with Germain Racing is far from definitive, with that ugliest of terms — “sponsorship” — being the apparent hang-up. “Chrissy started out looking at a full schedule in the Camping World Truck Series, but now it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Mike said. “There was talk about doing the full Camping World East Series, but we’re not sure about that, either. We’re waiting to see what happens.”(NASCAR.com)(12-13-2008)
FDNY honors truck owner Jim Rosenblum: In recognition of his interest in the traditions of the Fire Service, the welfare of firefighters, and the principles of fire prevention, New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta designated Jim Rosenblum as Battalion Chief in the Fire Department of the City of New York. Jim Rosenblum, Truck team owner, has used his race team to raise funds for the Widows’ & Children’s funds for the FDNY as well as the NYPD and other local Fire Departments in the United States. Rosenblum was previously honored by Mayor Michael Bloomberg with New York City’s prestigious Liberty Medal.(FDNY Racing PR)(12-12-2008)
Keven & Jon Wood out of ride in 2009? Keven and Jon Wood each ran a partial NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2008, sharing seat time in their family-operated #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, but the first cousins may not race at all in 2009. A few days after the organization revealed plans to scale back to as few as 12 Sprint Cup races next season with driver Bill Elliott, Keven Wood says that, as of right now, the Truck team is poised to go away altogether in 2009. As with the Cup effort, the Truck program doesn’t have a full-time primary sponsor in place for the upcoming campaign. Wood, who competed in eight Truck races this past season and earned a best finish of 15th, says the team has let go all of its seven or eight full-time Truck employees as part of layoffs that have impacted 50 percent of the shop. (SceneDaily.com)(12-11-2008)
Ernie Cope to KHI’s Nationwide team as crew chief: Ernie Cope will crew chief Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Nationwide Series team in 2009. Last season, Cope worked as crew chief for KHI’s #2 Craftsman Truck Series team.(FoxSports.com)(12-10-2008)
Benson to Red Horse Racing in 2009? UPDATE 8: Benson to Red Horse Racing in the #1: Team owner Bill Davis wasn’t at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, when rumors swirled about the stability of his race team. A possible merger or sale to Gillett Evernham Motorsports has apparently fallen apart, and now comes whispers that Truck Series points leader Johnny Benson might leave the team at the end of the season to drive for Red Horse Racing.(AP/ESPN.com)(10-30-2008)
UPDATE: Hearing that the entire #23 team may be moving to Red Horse Racing next season. Also hearing that David Starr will be out at the end of the season, and a possible second team at Red Horse Racing will have a rookie named as driver.(10-30-2008)
UPDATE 2: During the prerace setup on SPEED/tv, while interviewing David Starr, Ray Dunlap reported Starr would not be leaving the #11. Starr said that they are working with their new sponsor Zachry through the end of the season and hoped that they liked what they saw and would be back next season with Red Horse Racing.(10-31-2008)
UPDATE 3: Craftsman Trucks Series points leader Johnny Benson is leaving Bill Davis Racing at season’s end, a source close to Benson told ESPN. This is Benson’s fifth year with Bill Davis Racing. Bill Davis Racing refused to comment on the story. Benson has not confirmed any plans for the 2009 season and has left open the possibility of retirement. Coincidentally, BDR announced Tuesday that 19-year old Tayler Malsam has signed on to drive a fourth Toyota in the Truck Series next year.(ESPN.com)(11-5-2008)
UPDATE 4: During an interview with Johnny Benson on Sirius Radio’s Tradin’ Paint with Steve Post & Chocolate Myers, Benson commented on leaving BDR…”At this point in time, about three or four weeks ago I had a conversation with Bill [Davis] and, of course, the people up at Bill Davis [Racing] and I’m opting to try and do something different. Now, I threw around the idea of maybe retiring at the end of the season but when I had said that a bunch of opportunities come up. It was like, you know what, am I going to retire? Am I going to try to do a part time deal, go have some fun and spend time with the family and go do just some off races and things of this nature? The truck series is such a great series but you can go run 10 Cup races and make more money than to run the whole season. But I don’t necessarily know if I want to do that either. Some of it is up in the air but I think in the last two or three weeks there have been some opportunities for me to do something that I may like. Now it seems kind of odd to do that, to be in a situation to run for a championship and then want to leave but there’s a couple of other little issues and things of this nature. But the thing I like about this business, whether we win this championship or not, when I came over to Bill’s they were about 25th in points, 25th to 28th or something like that. We were able to build a team and move it up to a championship contender scenario. I like doing those things. But I want to win a championship. I want to finish that off. But it is very cool to do those types of things and I enjoyed that aspect of it. Obviously, I’d really like to get a championship so if we can get that done this year that’d be great. What I’m going to do next year, I really don’t know. There’s a couple things that some people had laid out in front of me that are tempting. So, that’s where I stand. It basically stands that I won’t be at Bill’s. But Bill and Gail gave me a great opportunity, along with Toyota, to come and have some fun and help build a team to make it a championship contender and I think all of us, as a group, are very proud of that and we’d like to finish this off for Bill, for sure.”(Sirius Radio)(11-5-2008)
UPDATE 5: Team owner Davis confirmed Benson’s decision in a statement. A BDR spokesman said, with this week’s announcement that teenage Sprint Car racer Tayler Malsam had signed a deal to race a BDR Toyota full-time next season, that Davis still hoped to run four trucks in 2009. Since he had his first conversation with Davis and his team managers, Benson has been unsure of what he really wants to do, insiders say; and he was equally unclear Wednesday about his reasons for leaving BDR. “Now, it seems kind of odd to do that — to be in a situation to run for a championship and then want to leave,” Benson said. “But there’s a couple of other little issues.” But Benson said he was comfortable with his decision, no matter what happened in his race with Hornaday. They are the only two men with a shot at the title, as Bodine is third, 223 points behind Benson. (nascar.com)(11-6-2008)
UPDATE 6: Sirius Speedway’s Dave Moody, reports that sources close to Bill Davis Racing say that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point leader Johnny Benson will move to Red Horse Racing next season, taking the majority of his current team — and possibly his sponsor – along with him. Benson will race as a teammate to David Starr, reportedly with the backing of Benson’s current sponsor, Toyota Certified Used Vehicles. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point leader has declined to comment on his future plans recently, saying only that he will not return to BDR in 2009, and has contemplated retirement. However, multiple sources close to the team say that crew chief Trip Bruce has already cleaned out his desk at BDR in anticipation of a move to Red Horse, which is co-owned by Tom Deloach and Fox commentator Jeff Hammond. Starr will reportedly run a full schedule for Red Horse in 2009, with backing from Zachry Holdings, Inc., which joined the team last month.(Motorsports Soapbox)(11-10-2008)
UPDATE 7: Hearing that Trip Bruce [crew chief] and several former #23 BDR team members are already working at Red Horse Racing getting ready for the 2009 season.(12-5-2008)
UPDATE 8: Johnny Benson, who had previously announced he would leave Bill Davis Racing at the end of the 2008 season, will drive the #1 truck as a teammate with David Starr for Red Horse Racing, team co-owner Tom DeLoach confirmed Monday. Trip Bruce, Benson’s crew chief, also has joined the team. As far as sponsorship, DeLoach said that sponsors are still being courted. Benson has won titles in the Nationwide and Truck and has 274 career Cup starts.(SceneDaily.com)(12-8-2008)
Benson & Bodine to compete in Bodine Bobsled Challenge: Johnny Benson & Todd Bodine will compete in the fourth annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 2-4, 2009, at the Olympic Sports Complex. Benson, who competed in his first Challenge last year, won his first Truck Series championship after finishing third in 2007 and runner-up to Todd Bodine in 2006. Todd Bodine has participated in every Challenge and has started a similar support program for the U.S. Skeleton Federation.(NASCAR.com) [For more details on the annual Bodine Bobsled Challenge visit the Jayski Charities Page.(12-8-2008)
Bell joins 3 Doors Down for Concert & Auction: T.J. Bell is scheduled to join multi-platinum, award-winning group 3 Doors Down on Saturday for their Fifth Annual “The Better Life Foundation” auction and concert sponsored by the Mississippi Army National Guard at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi. Bell and TRG Motorsports will be donating a “Crew Chief for a Day Experience” which will include two pit passes for the winner and a guest for an upcoming race of their choice on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. In addition, the winner will receive an in-depth look behind the scenes at the operation of a NASCAR race team.(TRG Motorsports PR) For more information visit the Jayski Appearances Page.(12-5-2008)
Top Performances of 2008: For a look back at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series top performances of 2008 including drivers, rookie, owner, comeback driver, top five races, visit the 2008 Truck Series Review page.(12-8-2008)
Wyler Racing looking to expand to two teams in 2009: UPDATE Layoffs at Wyler; if sponsor not found, team to shut down? When the green flag waves at Daytona Speedweeks to begin the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Wyler Racing hopes to have two full-time Truck Series teams, expanding from their one current entry, the #60 Wyler.com Toyota Tundra. Three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Jack Sprague, the current driver of the #60 Toyota, and Wyler Racing would like to stay together, but the pair is looking for marketing partners to support the 2007 Daytona winner. “We have wanted to expand to a multi-truck operation for a few years now,” said David Wyler, team President. “We thought we had it all put together last year but it just was not meant to be. One of our priorities is to keep Jack racing with us and win races as we have done together in the past. Then we would like to add a second truck with a qualified and funded young driver who would benefit from the experience and knowledge of Jack as their teammate. We are working hard on the sponsorship for Jack and finding his teammate and hope this is the year that we put it all together.”(Wyler Racing PR)(11-21-2008) For more on the progression of this story, see the November Archive Page.
UPDATE: Hearing that Wyler Racing laid off 8-10 people today and are saying that if sponsorship is not found before February 1st, they will be shutting the team down.(12-3-2008)
McCumbee to Cup; announcement soon? UPDATE 2 Under contract, # of starts in question: Hearing that the deal for Chad McCumbee has been finalized for the move to Sprint Cup in 2009, and an announcement is expected sometime within the next week.(8-9-2008)
UPDATE: Petty Enterprises has not decided on a driver for its #45 car next year, team official Robbie Loomis said Friday, but Chad McCumbee remains one of the top candidates for the ride. Michael McDowell and Casey Mears are some of the other drivers who have been mentioned, though Mears appears poised to sign with Richard Childress Racing. Loomis said the team was still speaking with multiple drivers. McCumbee, spending his off-week from the Craftsman Truck Series in the Cup garage at Michigan, said he’s “working hard” on trying to land a ride with the Pettys. The North Carolina native has run several events for the team in its #45 car and recently had a solid run at Pocono. “I’m just kind of floating around for now, waiting to see what’s going to happen,” he said. He added that he expects to hear a decision within the next couple weeks at the latest. Scene Daily)(8-16-2008)
UPDATE 2: Chad McCumbee is under contract to drive for Petty Enterprises in 2009, though the number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races he and the second Petty team will run as a teammate to Bobby Labonte will depend on sponsorship, the team has confirmed. Petty Enterprises Chief Executive Officer David Zucker was asked about his plans for McCumbee at the Street & Smith’s Motorsports Marketing Forum. While it has been expected that McCumbee would drive the team’s Cup car next year, the team has not officially announced that McCumbee would compete at the Cup level next year. After the forum, Chief Marketing Officer Mike Bartelli said in an e-mail that McCumbee is under contract for 2009, while the number of races would be contingent on sponsorship.(SceneDaily.com)(12-3-2008)
Ergon not returning as sponsor: Ergon Hyprene has announced that they will not be returning as sponsor for the #15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota in 2009.(BL Marketing)(12-2-2008)
NCTS Banquet Special on Speed: After a year of record Nielsen Ratings for its coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, SPEED will air a highlight special from the NCTS banquet Dec. 8 at 8:00pm/et. The special will be hosted by Krista Voda and Rick Allen. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on SPEED was the highest rated ever, averaging a .80 and 585,000 households. On the year, 19 of the 22 races on SPEED saw year-to-year Nielsen Ratings increases, 15 in double digits.(SPEED/TV PR)(12-1-2008)

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Born On Date: December 1, 2008