what about Nascar trucks ??

marcus · 4 Jul 2001, 15:02 (Ref:112980)

does anyone follow this series at all ???

I have seen a couple of races and think they are pretty good..i love the shape of American pick ups (we would call them 1 tonners or utes over here in OZ)

i like the series but dont really see alot of it to get a grip on things that well...what engines are they using and power output do they have ??? and how much lighter are they than a winston cup car..all starnge questions i know but I would like to know a bit more about them for the next race i get to see..do any of the drivers get a chance in winston cup from this series ( i have seen Ron hornaday have a drive)..but is it classed as a feeder series to the Busch series and then winston cup?

and ive seen them on road courses and think they are pretty good on them ..anyway any info that you could give me would be appreciated.

CHEERS
Marcus

Joe Fan · 4 Jul 2001, 20:58 (Ref:113116)

Marcus, unless things have changed recently, the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks are the same weight as the Winston Cup cars and use the same engines. However, if I recall correctly, they have a tighter compression ratio to reduce their horsepower. However, I am sure they are on par with the Busch Grand National (BGN)cars horsepower-wise, so they probably produce 600-650 horsepower. Even though they are Trucks, they are much closer to a Winston Cup car than a BGN car because I believe that their wheelbase is the same as a Cup car and their weight which I mentioned earlier.

As far as watching the series, I will be seeing them in person this Saturday at our new Kansas Speedway track. I kind of like the Trucks because they are something a bit different and they usually put on a pretty good show. But the Winston Cup and BGN series has robbed a lot of their talent lately, so I haven't watched as much of their races this year as in years past.

Emfa · 6 Jul 2001, 05:18 (Ref:113626)

The NASCAR trucks are kind of interesting. I think quite a few people look at their series as a feeder to Busch and Cup. Like you said, Hornaday is one who moved up to Busch, also Biffle and a few others. Kurt Busch and Mike Skinner jumped straight to Cup.

The truck series travels to a number of tracks that have neither Busch nor Cup races (Portland & Louisville come to mind immediately), so it is a good chance for other people to see this type of racing. It seems that most of their races are on smaller tracks, too, which tends to make it a bit more exciting!

Did you know that 3 of the top 4 places in points at present are held by Dodge drivers? I think Dodge started in the truck series several years ago to test the waters for a full NASCAR program. It's taken a while, but they seem to be getting it all together. I heard that when they started on their Cup program they had to design a new motor because the one they were using in the trucks was not suitable - not quite sure as to the details.

In a recent interview Howard Comstock - crew chief for Carlos Contreras - was quoted as saying that the chassis on a NASCAR truck is almost identical to a Winston Cup car except that it is 2 inches longer! A lot of the pieces bolted onto the frame are the same (rear axle, front suspension, etc). The roof height of the trucks is 59 inches, the Cup cars 51 inches - therefore a bunch more drag.

Joe, have fun this weekend! I hope they put on a good show.

FordPrefect · 8 Jul 2001, 13:05 (Ref:114388)

I enjoy the trucks but they never have caught on the way NASCAR wanted, I suspect this series life is limited.

Joe Fan · 9 Jul 2001, 03:04 (Ref:114606)

Quote:

Originally posted by FordPrefect
I enjoy the trucks but they never have caught on the way NASCAR wanted, I suspect this series life is limited.

I heard rumblings a few years back that the future of this series was in jeopardy but all they have done since is expand the schedule. At that time, I was surprised to hear this because I thought the series was becoming more popular. However, if I heard these rumblings now I would tend believe them more. A lot of the top Winston Cup owners have pulled out of the series and much of the talent has migrated up to BGN or Cup.

marcus · 10 Jul 2001, 16:35 (Ref:115299)

thanks for the info guys..very helpfull nest time I get to watch a race.

i still like them and hope they continue to produce the good racing ive seen so far and I hope they dont get canned.

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