S.M.'s Craftsman Update (Issue No. 9)

Rumors

Brad Keselowski will be driving his No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado truck at the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Travis Kvapil will be driving the No. 09 Zaxby Ford truck for Roush-Fenway Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

David Reutimann will be driving the No. 9 Crocs Toyota Tundra for Germain Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It will be a reunion for him with his old crew chief Jason Overstreet; they worked together at Darrell Waltrip Racing.

Michael Annett, will be back driving the No. 22 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing at New Hampshire, and it's his last start in 2008.

Donny Lia will driving the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Billy Ballew Motosports has made it official: Jason White will be driving the No. 15 truck at the New Hampshire and Martinsville races.

Doug Richert has joined Bill Davis Racing to become Mike Skinner's new crew chief.

News

At the end of the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Dodge will no longer give factory support to their last truck team, Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia.

This shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Other than BHR-VA, only SS Green Light Racing runs a full-time truck, and only a few other teams run a handful of races in Dodges.

It's part of the manufacture cutbacks by Dodge, and it looks like they are done in the series. It's sad to see them make this kind of decision, because it most definitely will hurt them with signing young talent.

Dodge says it won't affect their Nationwide or Sprint Cup programs, but it's only a matter of time before they are done in NASCAR. They are in disarray in both series, and I can't see them turning the corner to improve.

Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia has parked the No. 4 truck for now. This will enable them to put all their resources into the No. 18 Dodge-sponsored truck driven by Dennis Setzer.

Officials from the team are talking to GM, Ford and Toyota about switching to them and getting factory support.

In other news...

Only 30 trucks are on the entry list at NHMS. It will be the smallest field in nine years. The maximum is 36 trucks.

Kevin Harvick Inc, has added You Crate to its list of partners for the Championship winning organization in NCTS.

The new sponsor will debut this year in Martinsville on Jack Sprague's No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado truck.

Now this could be a interesting addition, since it's part of the R&L Carrier's family, and it will be interesting to see it's a full-time deal. If they end up in 2009 on Hornaday's No. 33 as the primary sponsor, expect a major announcement from NASCAR soon regarding the title sponsor.

Title Sponsor Update

Life Lock has been talking to NASCAR about becoming the title sponsor for the truck series.

Pay attention to any announcement from KHI in regards to Hornaday's No. 33 sponsor for 2009. It could mean that NASCAR has found it's new sponsor to carry on the series from Craftsman. (It's purely my thoughts with the comment.)

Shrub Sighting + Some CTS Drivers

The Shrub will be back in the Billy Ballew Motorsports No. 51 Miccosukee Resort & NOS Energy Drink Toyota Tundra at NHMS.

He also be ready to start the chase in the No. 18 M&M's Toyota Camry for JGR.

Johnny Benson after the truck race will be heading to All-Star Speedway in Epping, N.H., for the re-scheduled 43rd Annual All-Star ISMA Classic at the speedway.

Donny Lia will be driving in the Whelen Modified Tour 100 for H&H Motorsports at NHMS before the truck race. 

Chad McCumbee will be back driving the No. 45 for Petty Enterprises at NHMS. He will need to qualify on time, since the team is outside the Top 35 in owner's points.

Speed Bump

The Speed Racer will be back in the No. 22 Red Bull Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing at Las Vegas.

Upcoming Races

Sept. 13: The Camping World RV Rental 200 Driven by Winnebago Industries at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, on Speed at 2:30 p.m. (Saturday)

Sept. 20: Quickliner Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on Speed at 9:30 p.m. (Saturday)

Oct. 4: Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Super Speedway, on Speed at 4 p.m. (Saturday) 

My Top Five Picks at NHMS

1. Ron Hornaday, the only repeat winner at NHMS. The track's similar to Gateway, it's crunch time in the points race, and that's when he's at his best.

2. The Shrub, while he does it for the fun of it, he's always one of the guys to watch and could easily win.

3. Johnny Benson smells the title, makes no mistakes, has the truck regardless of where he starts to get up front and always runs well during the hot part of the season.

4. Todd Bodine is back home in New England, has a lot of racing memories from the area, has a great truck, and what better to add a win to those memories?

5. Erik Darnell has looked good the last few races. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win this weekend and after the comeback at Bristol from three laps down anything's possible.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Point Standings

1. Johnny Benson                      2596

2. Ron Hornaday                         -94

3. Matt Crafton                         -199

4. Todd Bodine                          -249

5. Mike Skinner                          -273

6. Rick Crawford                        -289

7. Erik Darnell                            -307

8. Jack Sprague                         -363

9. Dennis Setzer                        -431

10. Terry Cook                          -438