The idea for the Truck Series dates to 1991. A group of SCORE off-road racers, including Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable, and Frank "Scoop" Vessels, 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. 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. NASCAR arranged a meeting in Burbank, California, on April 11, 1994, which 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. Sears, Roebuck, & Co., through the Craftsman brand, served as the sponsor of the series on a three-year deal, and the series was renamed to the Craftsman Truck Series in 1996. The inaugural race, the Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway, was held on February 5. This race featured an event-record crowd of 38,000 spectators and concluded with eventual series champion Mike Skinner winning. Prominent Winston Cup Series team owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and Jack Roush owned truck teams. Top drivers such as Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan also fielded SuperTrucks for others. The series also attracted drivers like Sammy Swindell, Walker Evans, Mike Bliss, and Jerry Glanville.
Sears, Roebuck & Co held naming rights from 1995 through 2008, originally via its Craftsman tool brand. The series was called the NASCAR SuperTruck Series in its inaugural season and the Craftsman Truck Series thereafter. In 2009, Camping World took over the sponsorship; the series was called the Camping World Truck Series from 2009 through 2018, the Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2019, the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020, and again Camping World Truck Series in 2021 and 2022. Stanley Black & Decker – which acquired the Craftsman brand in 2017 – took over in 2023, and revived the Craftsman branding. On August 26, 2022, NASCAR announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with Stanley Black & Decker, under which the series would return to being known as the Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 2023.
A Truck Series field currently consists of 36 trucks in races with qualifying. For most races, a single-truck qualifying format is used. For tracks 1.25 miles and shorter, each truck gets two laps with the fastest lap counting. At tracks longer than 1.25 miles, each truck only gets one timed lap. Road course events use a 2-part knockout qualifying format similar to Formula 1. At the event at Eldora Speedway, qualifying sets the lineups for a series of heat races which then determines the lineup.
Initially, the series used rules that differed from both Winston Cup and Busch Grand National Series racing. Most of the first races were no longer than 125 miles in length. Starting with the second race of the series in Tucson, NASCAR adopted a five-minute "halftime" break in place of pit stops. Starting in 1998, NASCAR introduced competition cautions, with each team being awarded four sets of tires; with this rule change, the halftime break was abolished. In 1999, full pit stops were added, with drivers being allowed to pit during races, but were not allowed to change more than two tires during a stop.
A popular rule effective until mid-2004 was the "overtime" rule, mandating that all races must end with a minimum of two consecutive laps in green flag condition, often referred to as a "green-white-checkered" finish. A July 24, 2004, rule change for NASCAR's three national series meant only one "green-white-checkered" finish could be attempted. In 2014, NASCAR banned tandem drafting from the Truck Series. In the 2016 season, the Truck Series experimented with a rule that limited how long a race could go before a competition caution. In 2017, this was replaced with the stage system adopted by all other NASCAR national series that season.
Most of the first drivers in the series were veteran short track drivers who had not made it or struggled to thrive in the other NASCAR national series. Most of the early champions have become NASCAR Cup Series regulars later in their careers, such as 1995 champion Mike Skinner. NASCAR stars Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch each started in the series. A 2001 Truck Series race incident resulted in a significant NASCAR rule change, mandating that any driver competing in a NASCAR national touring series or any regional series race on the weekend of a national series race must be at least 18 years of age. After NASCAR phased out tobacco sponsorships, the minimum age for regional touring series was changed to 16, and the Truck Series' rule regulated a minimum age of 16 for any oval circuit two kilometers or shorter or road courses, with a rule of 18 for ovals 1.33 miles or longer.
Initially, the Truck Series competed primarily on short tracks and tracks in the Western United States. The series' inaugural schedule included races at tracks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. By 1998, most of the short tracks were phased out in favor of speedways of 1 to 2 miles in length. Road courses were phased out by 2001, but returned in 2013 with the Truck race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Also in 2013, the Truck Series began racing at Eldora Speedway, the first time NASCAR had raced at a dirt track since the 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series season.
The 1995 season's races were nationally televised on ESPN, TNN, ABC, and CBS. In 2001, NASCAR moved the series exclusively to cable, first with ESPN, and in 2003, switched to Speed, a network which provided supplemental coverage for Fox's coverage of NASCAR events. Network television returned to the series from 2007 to 2010 when two races per season aired on Fox as NASCAR on Fox events. On August 13, 2013, Speed was converted into Fox Sports 1 (FS1), continuing with all Truck Series race broadcasts. As of the 2025 season, the NASCAR Racing Network, a collaboration of Motor Racing Network and Performance Racing Network, has exclusive radio broadcasting rights to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The chassis for the series is a steel tube frame with a safety roll cage, meeting NASCAR standards. Engine displacement is 5.86 L (358 cu in) built or 376 cubic inch (6.2 L) Chevrolet LSX NT1 crate Pushrod V8. The transmission is a 4-speed manual. The minimum weight without driver and fuel is 3,200 lb (1,451 kg), and 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) with driver and fuel. Power output is 650 - 700 hp (480 - 520 kW) unrestricted, and 450 hp (340 kW) restricted. Torque is 700 N⋅m (520 ft⋅lb). Fuel is Sunoco 93 MON, 104 RON, 98 AKI 85% unleaded gasoline + Sunoco Green Ethanol E15 15%, with a fuel capacity of 18 US gallons (68 litres). Fuel delivery is carburetion (built) or fuel injection (crate). The compression ratio is 12:1, and aspiration is naturally aspirated. The carburetor size is 390 cubic feet per minute (184 litres per second) 4 barrel (built). Wheelbase is 112 in (2,845 mm). Steering is power, recirculating ball. Tires are slick and rain tires provided by Goodyear Eagle. Length is 206.5 in (5,245 mm), height is 60 in (1,524 mm), and width is 80 in (2,032 mm). Safety equipment includes a HANS device and a 6-point seat belt supplied by Willans.
The series was notable in seeing the return of Chrysler Corporation factory-supported race vehicles to the tracks. Chrysler funded a small R&D effort, with factory funding and support for Dodge to return to NASCAR for the Craftsman Truck Series with the Dodge Ram pickup truck in 1997. By 2001, Dodge made a full-time return to NASCAR. While Dodge continued to race in the other series until 2012, the Ram Trucks division raced in the Camping World Truck Series in Dodge's place. In 2013, Ram pulled out. In June 2025, Ram announced it would return to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2026. The Truck Series was the first major NASCAR series to feature Toyota, with the Toyota Tundra model making its debut in the series in 2004. Toyota became the first foreign nameplate to race in NASCAR during the sport's modern era.
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