NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol 2015: Full Schedule, Standings and Preview
After a heated weekend trip to Michigan, NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series next tackles a quick midweek turnaround for the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Tempers flared this past weekend in Michigan, but in the end, series regular and hottest NASCAR driver around Kyle Busch stole his second Truck Series win in a row. It's a tough pill to swallow on a short turnaround for the truck drivers, especially headed into an event won by Brad Keselowski last year.
Still, with budding rivalries forming, high-profile debuts on the way and plenty of action on the Camping World Truck Series leaderboard, Wednesday's race stands tall as one of the summer's must-see events.
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UNOH 200
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee
When: Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Truck Series Standings
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 514 |
| 2 | Matt Crafton | 506 |
| 3 | Erik Jones | 505 |
| 4 | Johnny Sauter | 461 |
| 5 | Cameron Hayley | 425 |
| 6 | Daniel Hemric | 420 |
| 7 | Timothy Peters | 416 |
| 8 | John Wes Townley | 414 |
| 9 | Spencer Gallagher | 394 |
| 10 | Ben Kennedy | 381 |
Drivers to Watch
Dalton Sargeant
How about a major debut to make Wednesday's event all the more entertaining?
Fans of the sport know about Dalton Sargeant, the 17-year-old star rising through the ranks of the NASCAR Next development class. He's set to make his big leagues debut Wednesday in the No. 5 Toyota.
Sargeant spoke with NASCAR.com's Zack Albert about the track and opportunity:
"I think going into Bristol, it's going to be a tough race track, but definitely a good place to start with it only being half a mile. Looking at the team's experience, (team owner) Richie Wauters has a pretty good background at Bristol, so definitely looking forward to being able to go and run there for my first truck series start. Just looking to go out there and learn as much as I can really, and just try to have the best result.
"
Of course, Sargeant will need to qualify on speed since Wauters Motorsports has no championship points, but odds are the young gun will find his way into the midweek event.
It makes for an exciting time when the next generation of talent gets to take a stab at the CWTS and even a few Sprint Cup regulars. If nothing else, it looks like the impressive series is about to get a little deeper in the talent department.
Matt Crafton
Former series leader Matt Crafton looked great this past weekend in Michigan, posting a sixth-place finish to stay right behind Tyler Reddick on the leaderboard.
Crafton fell out of the top spot thanks to a finish of 28th in Pocono after an early crash, so his ability to rebound after the rough outing speaks volumes. Not only did he finish sixth, but he survived a penalty and a slide into the wall after contact, which he joked about on Instagram:
Now Crafton's job morphs to overtaking Reddick on the leaderboard rather than just getting his momentum back. Considering the leader also posted a top-10 finish in Michigan, it's not as simple as it sounds.
The good news for the ThorSport Racing driver? He posted a second-place finish last year at this same event. It looks like he's recovered his form just in time to contend at an event he knows quite well, so it wouldn't be a shock if he finds a way to steal back the top spot.
Kyle Busch
There's no stopping Busch at any level, and he proved it once again this past weekend by leading 44 laps en route to the win at Michigan International Speedway.
In other words, Busch has two wins in two starts at the Truck Series this year and will make it three starts in a row based on the race's entry list.
Busch put his experience to good use last week, surviving four late cautions to take the checkered flag.
"It’s cool to finally get the monkey off my back to win in the Truck Series here so it gives me a win in all three series at this track," Busch said, per David Goricki of the Detroit News. "It was really fun to race my truck. I really enjoyed it."
On a quick turnaround, it wouldn't be wise to doubt the winner of two straight, not a driver of Busch's current form or experience.
Busch is the name to watch in racing right now, and a midweek event in Bristol isn't an exception. Expect him to be in contention late under the bright lights.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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