NASCAR Truck Series at Texas 2015: Full Schedule, Standings and Preview
As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series transitions to Texas Motor Speedway for the Winstar World Casino & Resort 400 and the first foray into a standalone event, all eyes fall on leader Matt Crafton.
Crafton won the event last year and loops back this year both to defend the triumph and his series lead, with an upstart Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones tailgating close behind in the standings.
With more than 25 trucks entered in the fray before Thursday practices, most of them jockeying for position on the leaderboards, the weekend's event figures to be a can't-miss affair in one of the sport's bigger markets.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here's a look at the pertinent info surrounding the race.
Winstar World Casino & Resort 400
Where: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas
When: Friday, June 5 at 9 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1
Winstar World Casino & Resort 400 Weekend Schedule
| Thursday, June 4 | 5:30-6:25 p.m | Practice | N/A |
| Thursday, June 4 | 7:30-8:55 p.m | Final Practice | N/A |
| Friday, June 5 | 6:15 p.m. | Qualifying | FOX Sports 1 |
| Friday, June 5 | 9 p.m | Winstar World Casino & Resort 400 | FOX Sports 1 |
Full weekend schedule available at NASCAR.com.
Entry List
| 0 | Adam Edwards |
| 1 | Donnie Neuenberger |
| 02 | Tyler Young |
| 4 | Erik Jones |
| 05 | John Wes Townley |
| 6 | Norm Benning |
| 07 | Ray Black Jr |
| 8 | Joe Nemechek |
| 08 | Korbin Forrister |
| 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb |
| 11 | Ben Kennedy |
| 13 | Cameron Hayley |
| 14 | Daniel Hemric |
| 15 | Mason Mingus |
| 17 | Timothy Peters |
| 19 | Tyler Reddick |
| 23 | Spencer Gallagher |
| 29 | Austin Theriault |
| 33 | Brandon Jones |
| 36 | Justin Jennings |
| 50 | Ryan Ellis |
| 51 | Daniel Suarez |
| 54 | Justin Boston |
| 63 | Tyler Tanner |
| 74 | Jordan Anderson |
| 88 | Matt Crafton |
| 94 | Timmy Hill |
| 98 | Johnny Sauter |
Truck Series Standings
| 1 | Matt Crafton | 257 |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick | 246 |
| 3 | Erik Jones | 243 |
| 4 | Johnny Sauter | 217 |
| 5 | John Wes Townley | 186 |
| 6 | Timothy Peters | 183 |
| 7 | Cameron Hayley | 177 |
| Spencer Gallagher | 177 | |
| 9 | Daniel Hemric | 176 |
| 10 | Ray Black Jr. | 168 |
Drivers to Watch
Johnny Sauter
Now seems to be Johnny Sauter's chance to strike.
Just 40 points off of the lead and in fourth place, the 37-year-old driver returns to comfortable territory Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, where last year, in the same event, he recorded a top-10 finish, winding up seventh.
Sauter said in a press release from ThorSport Racing that he's quite comfortable with the weekend's locale (via CatchFence.com):
"The track has gotten older, has a lot of character and you can run the whole track, but I prefer the bottom groove. If the balance is right, you can run wide open – when it’s right it’s the best place to race. Texas is just a place we’ve run so well at – won races, have numerous top-five finishes, so it’s a good track for us.
"
The owner of two top-five finishes already this season, Sauter put on a strong showing in Dover last week at the Lucas Oil 200, finishing ninth for a smooth 35 points.
This weekend promises a smaller field at a location Sauter excels at, so keep an eye on the veteran.
Tyler Reddick
One of the sport's fastest-growing sensations, the 19-year-old Reddick finds himself sitting pretty ahead of the showdown in Fort Worth.
Reddick rests second in points behind Crafton thanks to five top-five finishes, including a win at the NextEra Energy Resources 250 in February and last week's Lucas Oil 200.
The scary part? He only seems to keep improving.
Reddick’s crew chief, Doug Randolph, notes Reddick's continued strong development, as captured by Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram: "And I give Tyler credit because he’s learned how to win a race and he’s learned what our racing is all about. You’re starting to see that killer instinct in him, and he’s definitely shown some maturity beyond his age."
Last year, Reddick mustered a 21st-place finish in this same event, which feels like more than one year ago with the way he continues to improve. It's not unreasonable to think he can secure his second win in a row Friday, which would perhaps plant him atop the standings with some breathing room to boot.
Matt Crafton
If someone can bring Reddick's impressive momentum to a screeching halt, it's Crafton.
A year ago, Crafton led an impressive 118 of the 167 laps at the event after starting second, besting contenders such as Justin Lofton and Joe Nemechek, who finished second and third, respectively.
A repeat isn't out of the question, especially when one considers Crafton is one of the series' absolute best at Texas Motor Speedway.
A press release from ThorSport Racing compiles the impressive data (via CatchFence.com):
"With 28 career starts at Texas, Crafton has more starts at the Fort Worth track than any other active series driver entered in the 35th annual event. Furthermore, the ThorSport Racing driver has one win (June, 2014), two poles, 166 laps led, nine top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. Additionally, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Crafton leads the field in Fastest Laps Run (209), and Laps in the Top-15 (2563) at TMS.
"
Crafton has yet to finish outside of the top 10 in six starts this year and won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Atlanta in February and the Kansas 250 in early May.
Pair such strong form with historical dominance at Friday's venue, and it seems quite obvious who will be in contention to cross the finish line first.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
