Note: This article uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia.
 | |
| Category | Stock cars, pickup truck racing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Inaugural season | 1995 |
| Manufacturers | Chevrolet Dodge Ford Toyota |
| Engine suppliers | Chevrolet Dodge Ford Toyota |
| Tire suppliers | Goodyear Hoosier Firestone |
| Drivers' champion | Zane Smith |
| Makes' champion | Ford |
| Teams' champion | Front Row Motorsports |
 Current season | |
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is one of only two series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars, the other being the Camping World Mid-Size Series. The series is one of four national divisions of NASCAR, ranking as the third tier behind the second-tier NASCAR Busch Series and the top level NASCAR RCA Cup Series and NASCAR Arby's Convertible Series. Craftsman has been the title sponsor since 1996.
The series was previously called the NASCAR SuperTruck Series in 1995, rebranding to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starting in 1996.
History[]
The idea for the Truck Series dates back to 1991. A group of SCORE off-road racers (Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable, and Frank "Scoop" Vessels) had concerns about desert racing's future, and decided to create a pavement truck racing series. They visited NASCAR Western Operations Vice President Ken Clapp to promote the idea, who consulted Bill France Jr. with it, but the plans fell apart. Afterwards, Clapp told the four to build a truck before NASCAR considered it. Bakersfield fabricator Gary Collins built a prototype truck, which was first shown off during Speedweeks for the 1994 Daytona 500 and tested by truck owner Jim Smith around Daytona International Speedway. The truck proved to be popular among fans, and NASCAR arranged a meeting in a Burbank, California hotel on April 11, 1994; the meeting ultimately led to the creation of the "SuperTruck Series".
Four demonstration races were held at Mesa Marin Raceway, Portland Speedway, Saugus Speedway and Tucson Raceway Park. Tucson held four events that winter, which were nationally televised during the Winter Heat Series coverage. Tools line Craftsman served as the sponsor of the series on a three-year deal, and the series was renamed to the "Craftsman Truck Series" in 1996. In addition, the series' $580,000 purse is larger than the Busch Grand National Series' fund. While a new series, it garnered immediate support from many prominent Winston Cup Series team owners and drivers. Prominent Cup owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and Jack Roush owned truck teams, and top drivers such as Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan also fielded SuperTrucks for others. The series also attracted the attention of drivers like sprint car racing star Sammy Swindell, Walker Evans of off-road racing fame, open-wheel veteran Mike Bliss, and Atlanta Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville. The inaugural race, the Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway, was held on February 5; the race, featuring an event-record crowd of 38,000 spectators, concluded with eventual series champion Mike Skinner holding off Cup veteran Terry Labonte to win.