Camping World Truck Series

Ron Hornaday Jr. ended a 22 race losing streak with a convincing victory in Friday night's AAA Insurance 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Hornaday and his No. 33 Georgia Boots team were led by crew chief Ernie Cope this week, and they went back to a basic package.

You wouldn't know it by Horn's performance in the closing laps, but he continued to pull away from Kyle Busch, even bouncing off the wall, and winning by 2.095 seconds.

Hornaday would qualify fifth for the AAA Insurance 200 after running third in the first practice, and fifth in the final practice.

By the first caution on Lap 10, Horn was running in fourth, right on Matt Crafton's bumper and getting ready to battle for third.

On the Lap 18 restart, Horn passed Crafton for third and started after the leaders, Timothy Peters and Kyle Busch. But As the laps ticked off Horn slowly closed the gap on between himself and Peters and Busch.

At Lap 40, Horn was back 1.835 seconds behind Peters and about a second behind Busch in second.

By Lap 61, Horn passed Busch on the low side for second and started to reel in Peters.

On Lap 63, Horn caught and passed Peters on the low side for the lead, and managed to pull away by several truck lengths on that lap.

Horn had stretched the lead to 1.863 seconds on Busch in second by Lap 68, while Peters and Crafton were battling side-by-side for third and fourth.

On Lap 72, Horn had a 2.325 second lead on Busch in second, teammates Crafton and Johnny Sauter both passed Peters for third and fourth.

On Lap 86, Horn lead by 1.114 seconds on Crafton in second, but the second caution came out for debris on the track.

This brought all the lead lap trucks to pit road. Horn fueled up, got four tires and an air pressure adjustment, but his No. 33 team held serve with getting him off pit road with the lead.

On the Lap 90 restart, Horn would take the green starting on the high side. Coming into turn one, he get the jump on Crafton, but he'd rally back, and coming back to the stripe Horn cleared him for the lead.

On Lap 97, the third caution came out for a multi-truck wreck involving Narian Karthikegan, Aric Almirola, and Mario Gosselin. At the time, Horn held a 0.463 second trail on Busch in second.

On the Lap 101 restart, Horn took the green again on the high side, battled most of the lap side-by-side with Busch , and came to the stripe Horn led by a nose.

The following lap, Busch would get loose below Horn, leave a tire donut on the No. 33 and allow Horn to clear him for the lead.

On Lap 106, Horn held a 0.363 second lead on Busch in second, but Sauter would pass Busch on the low side for second and Crafton was on his bumper for third.

By Lap 108, Horn would lead Sauter in second by 0.423 seconds and Busch in third is 1.423 seconds back.

The fourth caution comes out on Lap 120 for debris and once pit road opened just Peters and Jason White were the only lead lap drivers to pit and everyone else stayed out.

On the Lap 124 restart, Horn took the green flag coming out of turn two, he had the lead pulling away from Sauter in second.

As the laps ticked off, Horn would maintain anywhere from a half second to a 0.895 second lead on Sauter in second.

The fifth caution came out on Lap 142, for a wreck involving Donny Lia and Nick Hoffman. Both Peters and White stayed on the track, but the rest of the lead lap trucks pit.

Horn's No. 33 was serviced a second time giving him four tires and fuel. He got off the pit road first and lined up in third on the restart.

On the Lap 147 restart, Peters took the green, due to White starting bad and was able to pull away by half a second.

On Lap 151, while Peters still leads, Busch and Horn are side-by-side battling for second and third.

On Lap 155, Horn would pass both Peters and Busch in the same straight away on the bottom and take the lead.

Over the final 45 laps, Horn would stretch his lead from a truck length to a 2.096 lead and cruise to his first win of 2010.

But this particular win wasn't achieved without some concern over the No. 33 pit wagon that had co-owner Kevin Harvick sitting with Cope and in communication with his driver and spotter Rick Carelli.

On Lap 186, Horn ran over a piece of paper while still leading, and caused a small fire near the right tire when it hit the hot exhaust pipes.

Then with six laps to go, Horn bounced his truck off of the wall, but didn't miss a beat continuing to widen his lead on Busch.

Horn would lead 129 laps of 200, win his fourth race at ORP, and earn his 46th career victory in the Truck Series.

"I'm worn out," said Hornaday after the race.

"It was hot day. I have to thank Georgia Boot for coming on board and sticking with us, all of our sponsors have been so supportive."

"It takes a lot of people to make this happen and I can't thank them enough. Maybe now with this win, it will keep everybody from talking about the streak. Ernie Cope made all the right calls tonight, whatever he did on that last stop made all the difference."

"I have to thank the No. 33 team, they have been working their guts out and they deserved a win. We had a great truck here tonight, I love this race track, and we got what we came here for".

Kyle Busch was second, Matt Crafton was third, Johnnny Sauter fourth, and James Buescher fifth.

The next race is the inaugural Pocono Mountain 125 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 31 at 2:00PM.

Source for quotes: truckseries.com and kevinharvickinc.com
Photo Credit: zimbio.com

NASCAR has announced they have revised qualifying for the Camping World Truck Series at Pocono Raceway.

The series makes it debut at Pocono on July 31 for the inaugural Pocono Mountain 125, and they'll have a multi-truck qualifying session setting the field.

Due to the uniqueness of Pocono, being a 2.5-mile track with its triangular shape, it led to NASCAR trying this style of qualifying for the trucks.

The qualifying order for the 36-truck field will be set by final practice speeds that will be held on Friday, July 30, and teams will have from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to make the event.

The top-25 in owner points are locked in, leaving 11 positions for the rest of the field to battle over to make the race.

Then they'll invert the field, allowing the slowest truck to be qualifying first, and work there way to the fastest truck going out last to qualify.

Trucks will leave pit road in 25-second increments, to run two qualifying laps, and only the fastest lap will count.

When a truck comes to pit road, it ends that respective qualifying lap and no drafting will be permitted.

"The distance and uniqueness of Pocono afforded us the opportunity to implement this style of qualifying for this event," said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton.

"Speed is excited about the format and we believe the fans, drivers, and the viewing audience will embrace it, too."

NASCAR has always used the Truck Series to try out new things that they want to implement across the board in its other series.

So with this multi-truck qualifying, if this works and the fans like it, we may just see this in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup for road course qualifying.

This also means that Speed TV will be showing the Pocono qualifying, along with both practices, and it's something that they normally don't do these days with the Series.

I'm excited by it, since unlike Daytona and Talladega, traditional qualifying at Pocono on it's 2.5-mile won't be any fun seeing one truck at a time.

If my math is correct, we'll have 10 trucks qualifying at any given time, including those on a cool down lap and it'll be pretty cool to watch.

The series will still draw for qualifying order the traditional way, just in case inclement weather would effect Friday's practice sessions.

If it rains on Saturday, the field will be set by the NCWTS rulebook, and the field will be set based on owner points, then by number of appears from positions 26 through 36.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com (I altered the picture just to get the stands shot.)

This week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be racing Friday night under the lights at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

It's race No. 12 of 25. ORP is the other speedway in Indianapolis. It's a .686-mile oval short track that races like a big track and a multipurpose racing facility.

Here are my top-five picks, my Raybestos Rookie of the Race pick, and my sleeper pick.

1) Ron Hornaday Jr.

In 10 races at the track, Horn has compiled three wins, seven top-fives, seven top 10 finishes, led 376 laps, has an average start of 6.1, and an average finish of 9.1.

Horn will have another stout Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet; he should be fast and qualify top-five or better.

He's top dog on the short track in the series, with 20 career wins and counting.

If he already isn't dominating the race, he'll be amongst the lead pack and in position to battle for the win.

2) Mike Skinner

In 10 races at the track, Skinner has compiled two wins, three top fives, four top 10 finishes, won two poles, led 432 laps, has an average start of 7.1, and an average finish of 13.8.

Skinner will be racing his favorite chassis, be fast, and will need to qualify well.

He's one of the best on short tracks. He should be racing amongst the lead pack and could challenge for the win in the closing laps.

3) James Buescher

As a rookie, Buescher started the race 17th, ran one of his best races of the season in CBR, and finished sixth.

Buescherwill be another one with a stout KHI Chevrolet; he should be fast and will qualify in the top 10.

This could be the breakout race for him. He should be amongst the lead pack, and with a good truck, challenge for the win or battle hard for a top five finish.

4) Matt Crafton

In nine races at the track, Crafton has compiled two top fives, six top 10 finishes, led 22 laps, has an average start of 12.7, and an average finish of 10.2.

Crafton will also have one of those stout KHI Chevrolet's, be fast, and need to qualify well.

With a good truck early, he very easily could be amongst the lead pack, and even lead some laps. If his truck is bad early in the race, I expect he'll rally to a top five finish.

5) Aric Almirola

In three races at the track, Almirola has compiled one top five, two top 10 finishes, has an average start of 16.0, and an average finish of 11.3.

Almirola will have a really good Toyota, be fast, and should qualify in the top 10.

He should be amongst the lead pack for the majority of the race, maybe even lead some laps, and depending on how good his truck is, lead in the closing laps.

He'll either battle for the win or a best possible finish in the top five.

My Raybestos Rookie of the Race pick: Austin Dillon

Dillon ran a Nationwide race at ORP, started 26th, ran a good race to finish 18th.

He'll have another really good Chevrolet, will be fast, and qualify in the top five or better.

Dillon should run a really smart race, be there for the end, and pick up a top 10 finish or better. His crew chief Danny Stockman will be a big help for him this week, keeping him focused and calm.

My Sleeper Pick is: Dennis Setzer

In 13 races at the track, Setzer has compiled one win, three top fives, nine top 10 finishes, won one pole, led 294 laps, has an average start of 11.9, and an average finish of 9.2.

Setzer is one of the top short track drivers in the series. He's won in junk before, so quality of the ride doesn't matter and he should quietly work his way into the top 10.

Friday will be no different; qualifying really won't matter to him, and by race end he'll quietly battle his way to a top 10 finish or better.

Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, and Johnny Sauter just missed the cut.

Timothy Peters, Ricky Carmichael, David Starr, and Jason White could all factor in as well.

ORP is one of my favorite truck tracks. Nothing tops the trucks beatin' and bangin' on each other, leaving donuts on the doors and crinkling the bumpers while battling for the win under the lights.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

I'm on my way, I'm on my way
Home sweet home, tonight tonight
I'm on my way, I'm on my way
Home sweet home.

This verse from Motley Crue's timeless classic song Home Sweet Home , could very easily apply to Ron Hornaday Jr since he driving his RV this week to O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Horn will be doing a rare double dip for Kevin Harvick Inc., running the No. 33 in both the Camping World and Nation races at ORP this weekend.

Since in the Camping World Truck Series, ORP is known as Horn's House by his fans, and he's the only three-time winner at the track.

Horn's known in the series as the king of the short tracks due to his 20 career wins on short tracks.

It's also a track were Horn could end his 22-race winless streak at, and he'll have Ernie Cope on the pit wagon this weekend.

In 10 previous starts at ORP in trucks, Horn has three wins, seven top-fives, seven top-10 finishes, and led 376 laps.

In nine previous starts in the Nationwide, Horn has one win, two top-fives, five top-10 finishes, and led 81 laps.

In 2009, Horn came to ORP having won three consecutive races and the opportunity to make Truck Series history should he win.

Horn did just that, winning his fourth consecutive race in a row, becoming the first to do it in the series. He made bigger history the following week, winning his fifth consecutive race.

He'll have Georgia Boots on his No. 33 Silverado at ORP for Friday night's AAA Insurance 200 and it's the first of three races for Georgia Boots.

Then Saturday night, he'll be piloting the No. 33 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet in the Kroger 200.

"I'm looking forward to running both races, it will be a busy, but fun weekend," Hornaday said.

"ORP is a traditional short track. I love racing there because it reminds me a lot of the tracks I grew up racing on. It eats up tires, it gets hot during the day, and gains grip at night. It's just a fun place to race at."

The two keys to having a successful race at ORP? First, qualify well, then it's all about being able to run through the middle of the corners and being able to come off the turns in the gas.

Horn should qualify strongly in the top-10 and even collect his third pole of the season in trucks.

He'll be racing chassis No. 043 at ORP in Trucks. It's visited victory lane at Martinsville, then finished third at Nashville in its two prior starts.

Then in the Nationwide, Horn will be racing chassis No. 051 and it's finished no worse than sixt, in its previous four starts.

For the AAA Insurance 200, Horn is the favorite to win, he very easily could dominate this race again this season, and no doubt pick up his first win in 2010.

Now in the Kroger 200, he should qualify top-10, run top-10 for the majority of the race, and finish seventh or better.

It's always exciting when Horn makes his rare Nationwide starts for KHI, but even cooler that it happens to be ORP. Let's hope he changes his luck around with a visit to victory lane.

Source for quotes and Photo Credit: kevinharvickinc.com

For the first time in 2010, Ron Hornaday will pull double duty at O'Reilly Raceway Park, driving both the Nationwide Series No. 33 Jimmy John's Chevrolet and the Camping World Truck Series No. 33 Georgia Boot Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Incorperated.

“Double duty is usually fun, unless you were with me at Milwaukee last year,” said Hornaday in the team preview. “The Truck race was cancelled due to rain so I ended up running the Truck and Nationwide race on the same day. I was pretty tired after that experience, but we won the Truck race and finished ninth in the Nationwide Series race.  I also ran the Nationwide car here at ORP last year and we ran sixth. I’m looking forward to running both races; it will be a busy but fun weekend.”

Hornaday has only ran one Nationwide race this year, which came at Road America where he finished 12th.

In nine previous Nationwide Series starts at ORP, Hornaday has one win, two top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

In the Camping World Truck Series, Hornaday currently sits sixth in the standings, 261 points out of the lead, with no wins and six top 10s in 11 races.

In 10 previous Camping World Truck Series races at ORP, Hornaday has three wins (1997, 2007, 2009), seven top fives and seven top 10s.

“ORP is a traditional short track," said Hornaday. "I love racing there because it reminds me a lot of the tracks I grew up racing on. It eats up tires, it gets hot during the day and gains grip at night.  It’s just a fun place to race at.”

Could this be the track that he turns his championship hopes around?

It could be. A lot of people are counting him out and a win could do wonders at this point.

Last year, he was successful as he won his fourth consecutive race on the schedule. He backed it up with another win at Nashville Superspeedway a week later to become only the third driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive races.

“It was really strange," said Hornaday in the team preview when asked what it was like. "I knew when we won that race that we had done something incredible but the impact of it did not sink in really with any of the No. 33 team members until later. I think we were all riding the victory high. Then it ended after Nashville, but we went on to win the championship so we were content with that. Looking back on it this season I can’t believe we were ever in that position to begin with. The competition is so tough and it is any driver’s race week-in and week-out. Skinner probably should have won that race last year but we pulled it out somehow. I just continue to be reminded how lucky I am to be with such a competitive team.”

Another win could happen as the chassis that they are taking to ORP is chassis No. 43, which is the same chassis that owner Kevin Harvick won with at Martinsville and Hornaday finished third with at Nashville.

It looks like Kevin Harvick Inc. after the Iowa race on Sunday, has released crew chief Doug George and it's a shame to see this happen.

Since George has only been on the pit wagon for 10 races, but also Horn's third in the points, and crew chief changes mid-season don't always workout.

I believe they'll have either Ernie Cope or Butch Hylton sitting on the pit wagon at Gateway. If it's Cope it would be just for Gateway, but Hylton could be moved over to the No. 33 team permanently.

Horn will have Charter Communication on-board as sponsor on his No. 33 KHI Chevrolet at Gateway International Raceway for Friday nights Campingworld.com 200.

He'll be looking to become the first two-time winner at Gateway in the Trucks. Horn won in 2008, where he dominated the race leading 113 of 160 laps.

Over the last four races at Gateway, Horn has led a total of 323 laps, and it's the most in the series.

It's also the perfect track for Horn, one of his favorites by the way, and to end his 21 race win less streak at.

"Gateway is one of my favorite places to go on the schedule," said Hornaday.

"I really can't wait. I love one-day shows too. We get everything in all in one day, so it's a lot of fun."

Horn will be racing chassis No. 037 at Gateway. It's the same chassis that he clinched the 2009 Championship with at Phoenix.

The last three races at the track, Horn has started the race from the outside position and he has a good shot of starting on the pole.

While Horn definitely could very well just dominate this race. I'm sure he'll lead at some point the race, but he'll race top-five all day and with a good truck will battle hard for the win in the closing laps.

Now with a bad handling truck, he'll just think big picture, and race for the best possible finish.

I just hope he takes advantage of Gateway, has an excellent points day, and more importantly get his first win of 2010.

Source for quote and Photo Credit: kevinharvickinc.com

This week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be racing Friday night under the lights at Gateway International Raceway.

It's race No. 11 of 25. Gateway is a 1.25-mile oval, that's egg-shaped and has two unique sets of turns.

Turns One and Two are banked at 11 degrees, then Turns Three and Four have a sweeping nine degree banking.

Here are my top-five picks for the race, along with my Raybestos Rookie of the Race pick, and my sleeper pick.

1) Todd Bodine

In five races at the track, Bodine has compiled one win, three top-fives, four top-10 finishes, led 70 laps, has an average start of 8.4, and an average finish of 6.8.

Bodine will have one of his older and favorite chassis this weekend, should unload with a fast truck, and will qualify top-10.

He may dominate the race, but if not, he'll work his way to the lead and battle for the win in the closing laps.

2) Johnny Sauter

As a rookie last year, Sauter started the race in third, ran a great race, and ended up finishing second.

Sauter will have a wicked fast Kevin Harvick Inc. chassis, should unload fast right off the hauler, and should qualify strongly in the top-10.

He very easily could dominate the race, but expect him to be amongst the lead pack and with a good truck. Sauter could battle hard for the win or the best possible finish.

3) Aric Almirola

In two races at the track, Almirola has compiled one top-five, two top-10 finishes, has an average start of 18.5, and an average finish of 7.0.

Almirola will be another with a decent Toyota, he should be fast right off the hauler, and should qualify top-10 or better.

He should be amongst the lead pack, could challenge for the win or just battle for the best possible finish.

4) Ron Hornaday Jr.

In seven races at the track, Horn has compiled one win, three top-fives, three top-10 finishes, led 343 laps, has an average start of 6.3, and an average finish of 12.6.

Horn will have another wicked fast KHI chassis, should unload off the hauler fast, and qualify top-five.

He very easily could dominate this race, but he'll lead some laps early and be there in the end battling for the win or the best possible finish.

5) Mike Skinner

In seven races at the track, Skinner has compiled one win, two top-fives, three top-10 finishes, led 55 laps, has an average start of 10.6, and an average finish of 16.4.

Skinner will have the oldest chassis in his truck fleet at Gateway, it'll be fast, and he'll need to qualify well.

He should run most of the race in the top-10, could challenge for the win, but should battle hard for a top-five finish.

My Raybestos Rookie of the Race pick is: Austin Dillon

Dillon will be making his debut start at Gateway, but he's driving the same chassis he had in Iowa and he'll have another great race.

Dillon will have his favorite chassis this weekend again, not only will it be fast, but also on rails and will be on the pole or in the top-three.

He very well could have another dominating performance, but I think he will pick-up another top-five finish, and just miss out challenging for the win.

My Sleeper Pick is: James Buescher

As a rookie, he started the race 16th, lost a right-front tire, and crashed into the wall finishing 23rd.

Buescher will be another one with a wicked fast KHI chassis, should be fast, and will need to qualify well.

He could be the spoiler. Since he came back to trucks full-time he has just been running so much better than last year.

We could see another first-time winner at Gateway with Buescher winning Friday night.

Matt Crafton, Kevin Harvick, and Timothy Peters just missed the cut.

Ricky Carmichael, Steve Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Brian Ickler, and David Starr could all factor in as well.

Gateway is a unique track, that has led to some exciting racing in the Truck Series over the last 12 years, and Friday night will be no different.

We could see three champions become the first to repeat (Ron Hornaday Jr., Todd Bodine, and Mike Skinner,) see a driver win at Gateway for the first-time, or we could see another first-time winner in the series.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

Rookie Austin Dillon dominated the Lucas Oil 200, for his first career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starting from the pole and leading 187 laps Sunday at Iowa Speedway.

He held off Johnny Sauter in a green—white—checkers finish for the win, by a margin of .635 seconds and became the first rookie to win from the pole in Trucks.

Dillon is the 20 year old grandson of legendary NASCAR owner Richard Childress and son of former NASCAR driver Mike Dillon. The win came on his 12th start in Trucks and Dillion is  the second youngest winner in the series.

He's been on a tear of late; winning his third pole in a row at Iowa.

Dillon lead laps, at Texas, Michigan and collected top—five finishes. You knew after that  he was so close to putting it together for a win, and he achieved that win at Iowa.

More importantly Dillon showed his critics Sunday that he belongs, and has the talent to be in NASCAR. 

He silenced those fans that thinks you can't  juggle College with racing and be any good, and my favorites which are the fans that say "He  hasn't shown me anything yet or, that he's only getting the chance because of his Grandpa".  

For me, today was a sweet win to watch happen. Since I've never doubted his talent, I knew this day was coming that this Kid would be a winner in NASCAR.

Dillon in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet would chose the outside front row over being in the inside line for the win.

On that final restart on Lap 202, Dillon would pass Sauter coming out of turn two and cruise to the checkered flag.

Not only was it an emotional win for Dillon, but the sell out crowd cheered for the rookie and it's just exciting to watch a first-time winner with his team celebrate.

His crew chief Danny Stockman even stopped Dillon's celebration mid-burnout by letting him know that they were taking the truck to Gateway and don't tear it up.

What was even cooler were all the stars of the Series that came to victory lane to congratulate him for the win, and the pride Richard and Judy Childress shared with there grandson.

It was a weird race, since while Dillon dominated  the top four in the points Todd Bodine, Aric Almirola, Timothy Peters, and Ron Hornaday,Jr. all had problems at Iowa.

The points race has tightened up, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner  will next be racing at Gateway International Raceway Friday night for the Camping World.com 200.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

Ron Hornaday, Jr. will have Karl Chevrolet on-board as sponsor on his No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet at Iowa Speedway for Sunday afternoon's Lucas Oil 200.

Horn and his No. 33 team are riding a wave of momentum, having collected five top-five finishes in the last six races.

With Iowa being a short track, Horn is one of the favorites to win Sunday, and he has a series-leading 20 short track wins.

Horn's poised to pick up his first win in 2010, end his 20-race winless streak, and cross Iowa off of his list of nine tracks where he has yet to win.

"I'm looking forward to going back to Iowa," Hornaday said.

"The fans there are great and everyone is so happy to have us there. I'm also excited to premiere our new sponsor, Karl Chevrolet. It's always pretty cool to have a hometown sponsor on the side of the truck that everyone in the stands can relate to."

Horn and his No. 33 team, led by crew chief Doug George, kept busy over the break by working on several new chassis, and one will be debuted at Iowa.

He will be driving chassis No. 046 at Iowa. It's brand-spanking new, and it produced excellent wind tunnel numbers in recent tests by the team.

Horn should unload with a wicked-fast truck; they won't bring the wrong chassis like last year.

He should qualify top-five or be on the front row, maybe even lead a few laps early, but he will be there in the closing laps battling for the win.

Horn and George have a game plan, so I won't be surprised to see him dominate the race Sunday, and not only win, but pick up some valuable points.

Source for quotes and photo: kevinharvickinc.com

This week the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be racing Sunday afternoon at Iowa Speedway and they're coming off of a three week break.

It's race No. 10-of-25. The .875-mile oval was a great edition to the series last season, and it's home to some of the most energetic fans in the Truck Series.

Here are my top five picks, along with my Raybestos Rookie of the Race and my sleeper pick.

1. Ron Hornaday Jr.

In the inaugural race, Hornaday started at 15th, but struggled with his set-up most of the race and rallied to finish fourth.

Horn will be breaking in a brand new KHI chassis, it'll be wicked fast, and he should qualify top-five or be in the front row.

He's the best short track driver in the series; he'll lead some laps early in the race, should be running amongst the lead pack, and will take the lead in the closing laps for the win.

2. Mike Skinner

In the inaugural race, Skinner started from the pole, he just dominated the event leading 180 laps, and won the race.

Skinner will have a decent truck, be fast, and will need to qualify well.

He should be amongst the leaders, will challenge for the win, but will get passed by Horn in the closing laps.

3. Johnny Sauter

In the inaugural race, Sauter started sixth, ran a decent race, and battled hard to finish fifth.

Sauter will have one of those wicked fast KHI chassis, be fast right off the hauler, and should qualify top-five.

He should be amongst the lead pack, but whether or not he'll challenge for the win will depend on whether or not his team uses pit strategy and how good of a truck he has in the closing laps.

4. Aric Almirola

In the inaugural race, Almirola started eighth, ran one of his best races last season to finish second, and led three laps.

Almirola will be another top competitor with a good Toyota; he should be fast and should qualify in the top-10.

He'll be running with the lead pack, but I think he'll get beat by saving tires for a late caution (where he doesn't get one) and will battle hard with Matt Crafton to finish fourth.

5. Matt Crafton

In the inaugural race, Crafton started third, ran a good race leading 17 laps and ended up finishing sixth.

Crafton will also have a tout KHI chassis, will be fast right off of the hauler, and will need to qualify well.

He'll run most of the race in the top-10, then in the closing laps he'll battle hard for a top-five finish.

My Raybestos Rookie of the Race Pick: Austin Dillon

In 2009, Dillon made his first start of the season at Iowa were he started ninth, and finished 12th on the lead lap.

Dillon will have a really good Chevrolet; he'll be fast and should win his third pole in a row or be up front.

He's had two top-fives in the first nine races, and I won't be surprised to see him win at Iowa.

I expect him to pick-up another strong finish inside the top-10.

My Sleeper Pick: Brian Ickler

In the inaugural event, Ickler started the race in seventh, and just never got the handling on the truck to his liking, finishing in 18th place, one lap down to the winner.

Ickler seems to be able to run Rowdy Busch's set-ups fairly good; he should have a fast truck and needs to qualify well.

He has two top-10 finishes in his other two starts for Busch, and expect him to battle hard for a top-five or better finish.

Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters, David Starr, and Ricky Carmichael just missed the cut.

James Buescher, Jason White, Steve Wallace, and Ken Schrader could all factor in as well.

I like the addition of Iowa, it's the perfect track to race the trucks on and nothing's better than seeing all the beatin' and bangin' going on the short track.

Photo Credit: pella.org