NASCAR Truck Series at Bristol 2014: Full Schedule, Standings and Preview
Johnny Sauter secured much more than just a victory on Saturday afternoon at Michigan. By virtue of his win in the Career for Veterans 200, Sauter climbed up to the top of the Camping World Truck Series standings.
The ThorSport Racing driver held off teammate Matt Crafton at Michigan and now holds a nine-point lead over him in the standings. With three wins between them, the tandem is now tied with Kyle Busch Motorsports for victories among full-time drivers.
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But that lead for Sauter might be short-lived if he can't perform well again just five days later. Following the Saturday race, the entire field heads to Bristol for the UNOH 200 on Wednesday night.
Though the entry list has not been announced for the short-track event, the Sprint Cup drivers will be in town. Busch won the event last year, so there's a good chance he will look to earn a sixth victory this year on Wednesday night.
Before the green flag waves, here's a look at the schedule, standings and preview for the UNOH 200.
| 1 | Johnny Sauter | 448 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 2 | Matt Crafton | 439 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | 432 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | Ron Hornaday | 429 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | 412 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | German Quiroga | 403 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | Timothy Peters | 396 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | Ben Kennedy | 389 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Joey Coulter | 388 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | Jeb Burton | 360 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
UNOH 200 Information
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
When: Wednesday, August 20, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Race Preview
It's not called the "World's Fastest Half Mile" for nothing. Bristol commonly lives up to that nickname, regardless of the vehicles on the track.
Ahead of Wednesday night's race, however, the track will have to contend with the results from Michigan. The event on Saturday turned out to be the fastest truck race in history, per NASCAR Trucks:
Sauter took the event and now heads to a track where he's enjoyed success in the past. In fact, the 36-year-old finished fourth last year for his second top-five result in three seasons.
He spoke about holding off Crafton at the close of the Michigan race, per Steve Kaminski of MLive.com:
"I just think I had a little better truck at the end of the race," Sauter said. "I could do pretty much anything I wanted to. I thought it was going to be closer at the end, but we were able to run wide open."
Outside of the two top trucks in Sauter and Crafton, another full-time CWTS driver to watch is Darrell Wallace Jr. After winning two events already this season, "Bubba" is hoping to post another top-five result at Bristol after a third-place finish last year.
After leading 48 laps at Michigan, Wallace slipped back to finish 11th on Saturday. He referenced the fact that he was one of the best on the track on Twitter:
Wallace will be a contender in the race along with several others, but Busch comes in as the heavy favorite if he races. The Sprint Cup regular led just seven laps last year but defeated Timothy Peters to close out the race.
Peters won the event in 2012 and also has a strong chance to lead multiple laps at the short track. As the season winds down and the points race heats up, Bristol promises to live up to its name as the "Bullring" when the truck series kicks off the week.
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