The anticipation of the Camping World Truck Series arriving at Pocono Raceway has been building for more than 10 months and for good reason.
The Pocono Mountains 125 will mark the final track on the current Cup Series schedule on which the Truck Series has not competed, and the shortest in laps on an oval, with 50.
It will be a shootout of sorts on the second-longest track where the Truck Series competes. Not only will the lap total be short, but so will qualifying with the addition of multi-truck qualifying.
Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Denny Hamlin are entered to run the event in addition to their normal duties in the Cup Series.
Kahne, who has not competed in the Truck Series since 2004, is attempting to pull off a third victory in his third series start. He has won every series race he has entered, scoring wins at Darlington and Homestead.
And when it comes to Pocono, Hamlin owns the zip code — no matter what he is driving. He has four Cup Series wins at the Tricky Triangle.
But don’t count out Truck Series veterans Todd Bodine and Mike Skinner, both of whom own a pole at the 2.5-mile track in the Cup Series.
Of the two, Skinner leads the way with four top-10 finishes at Pocono. Bodine follows with two top-10s.
It would be easy to assume Saturday’s victory may go to a veteran Cup competitor due to their Pocono experience, but with nine top-five finishes and the largest points lead after 12 races in Truck Series history, Bodine might have another plan up his sleeve.
Multi-truck qualifying on deck for Pocono race
Practice is always important to Truck Series competitors, but Friday’s final practice session at Pocono Raceway is crucial.
The qualifying order for the Pocono Mountains 125 will be set by inverting the practice times from final practice. Multi-truck qualifying will be used for the first time to determine the starting lineup on an oval.
"The distance and uniqueness of Pocono afforded us the opportunity to implement this style of qualifying for this event," said Truck Series director Wayne Auton. "SPEED is excited about the format and we believe the fans, drivers and viewing audience will embrace it, too."
Trucks will be released in approximately 25-second increments. Two laps of qualifying will be allowed with the fastest lap counting. Once a truck comes onto pit road, its respective qualifying lap is complete.
No drafting is permitted. A drawing for qualifying order will be held in case inclement weather cancels the session. The field would then be set according to the Truck Series rule book.
Turning 50 not a Victory Lane issue for Hornaday
For most, the dreaded 50th birthday isn’t cause for a celebration, but for Ron Hornaday, it proved to be worth going over the hill.
His victory last weekend at O’Reilly Raceway Park was his 11th since turning 50 in 2008 and his 50th NASCAR national-series win.
He sits third on the list — behind Harry Gant and Joe Ruttman — as drivers who have earned the most wins since that milestone birthday.
The ORP victory broke a 22-race winless streak for Hornaday — the second-longest such streak in his career.
Statistics prove when Hornaday gets on a roll, he wins — sometimes two or three in a row. So winning at age 50 does not look like it will be a problem for the defending series champion.
He only needs three more victories to surpass Ruttman and eight to take the lead from Gant. And for a guy who has won no less than four races in each of the past three seasons, this could turn out to be a race of its own outside the championship run.
Kahne looking for third victory in third start
Kahne already holds the distinction of being the only driver in NASCAR national-series history to win each of his first two races in any series. Kahne only has two starts in the Truck Series, both were victories.
Can he make it three-for-three?
There’s little reason to think he can’t. He has more experience at Pocono than just about every driver in Saturday’s field. Not only does he have the Pocono know-how, he has success.
In the Cup Series, Kahne has finished in the top 10 in three of the past five races — including a win in June 2008. In that span, he has put up impressive numbers: an average finish of 11.0, a Driver Rating of 113.3, an average running position of 8.5, 119 fastest laps run, 145 laps led and a laps in the top 15 percentage of 83.3 percent.
Of course, there’s another double-duty driver that will likely run up front with Kahne all race — Hamlin.
Hamlin has four victories at Pocono in the Cup Series, including the past two. In those two events, Hamlin had an average running position of 2.8, a Driver Rating of 146.5, a pass differential (passes minus times passed) of plus-43, 118 fastest laps run and 179 laps led.
News & Notes
Milestone for ThorSport – ThorSport Racing will achieve an impressive milestone this weekend at Pocono. It will be participating in its 328th race in the Truck Series. This moves ThorSport into second place in all-time starts behind Roush Fenway Racing with 353 races, and into the lead among active teams.
Online auction benefits flood victims – Fans can help victims affected by the tremendous flooding in Nashville by logging onto www.nascar.com/foundation to bid on racing memorabilia. Items up for bid include a Jimmie Johnson signed helmet and a Richard Petty autographed hero card. A Taylor Swift-signed guitar highlights items from the country music industry.
Bodine hosts charity golf outing July 29 – Proceeds from Bodine’s "Onion Slice Open" at the Blue Ridge Top Golf Course in Mountain Top, Pa., will benefit the John Heinz Medical Center. Hornaday, Austin Dillon, Matt Crafton and James Buescher are slated to participate.
