The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will get underway for the Pocono Mountains 150 on Saturday, July 30th at 1 pm E.T. on Fox Sports 1. The drivers will make a big change from last week’s event at Eldora’s half-mile oval dirt track. This week, they will buckle up and compete on Pocono Raceway’s 2.5 mile tri-oval known as the “Tricky Triangle”. Kyle Busch won last year’s event, but will not be participating in this weekend’s race.
Veteran racer Matt Crafton will look to take the points lead from William Byron in the 7th annual Pocono Mountains 150. In fact, the ThorSport Racing speedster is one of only four drivers who have competed in all six Camping world Truck Series events at Pocono Raceway. Crafton has seen a lot of success at this race track.
The 2014 champion is tied with fellow racer Johnny Sauter for two top five’s in the six races ran here. Furthermore, Crafton has four top 10’s, which is the most of any driver in the truck series. He also is tied with three drivers for the most lead lap finishes.
Matt Crafton sits second in the Camping World Truck Series point standings after 11 events in 2016. He is one of two racers that has multiple wins on the year. Crafton is guaranteed a spot in the Camping World Truck Series eight driver playoffs. The chase will get underway at New Hampshire Speedway in Louden, N.H. on the 24th of September.
William Byron, the Camping World Truck Series points leader, will look to extend his lead over second place driver Matt Crafton. To help the rookie phenom to prepare for the Pocono Mountains 150, Byron competed in the ARCA Racing Series event here last month.
Byron started in the third position and led three laps and finished in the eighth spot. As a result, he gained valuable experience in the process. The extra track time will help him get up to speed faster when he climbs in his #9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra for this week’s race.
William Byron is bringing a really fast Kyle Busch Motorsports truck for the event. He drove this hot-rod twice this year and finished his day in Victory Lane on both occasions. The first was at Kansas Speedway for Byron’s first Camping World Truck Series win ever. The second victory was in June at Texas Motor Speedway.
Byron hope to make this his fifth overall win on the 2016 season. Furthermore, four members of his Kyle Busch Motorsports team hail from the state of Pennsylvania. They all consider Pocono Raceway their home track. One of which is Byron’s Crew Chief Cody Glick.
NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski will have a little skin in the game when the green flag drops on Saturday. Tyler Reddick, who drives for Keselowski Motorsports, will look to continue his hot streak. He started the season off poorly with no top 10 finishes in his first four races, but the worm is starting to turn for Reddick.
The #29 Cooper Standard Ford driver has placed tenth or better in six of the last seven races. As a result, he has accumulated four top five’s in the process. Reddick has placed 10th or better in six of the last seven races with four top fives. The speedster is eighth on the Chase grid, just 18 points above Ben Kennedy on the cutoff line. Reddick commented on his chance to win at the 2.5 mile tri-oval.
“Pocono’s a place I picked up on very fast and a lot of that credit goes to crew chief Doug Randolph,” Reddick said. “Brad Keselowski Racing has won there before, I have absolute faith in those guys and what they do.”
There are plenty of talented rookie drivers that are filling up the top ten point standings. The catch is that these competitors have never navigated the “Trick Triangle” in a Camping World Truck Series race. The field is stacked with inexperienced drivers and veterans alike. Both are looking to seal their place in the Camping World Truck Series playoffs.
The forecast calls for rain all throughout the racing weekend. Practices for the Pocono Mountains 150 will be at a premium. If rookie stand-outs like Christopher Bell and William Byron can get enough reps around the track, their talent level and quality of machines could be enough. If the youngsters find themselves under a tarp for the practice rounds, the advantage could sway over to veteran drivers like Matt Crafton or Johnny Sauter.
