Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan
Four race into the season for the trucks – three drivers (Johnny Sauter, John Hunter Nemechek and William Byron) have wins and supposedly are locked into their eight-driver chase. The key is supposedly as if there are nine winners before the cut off date, then it goes by amount of wins, followed by points position to determine who gets left out.
On that note, there are plenty other drivers who could easily score a victory in the next couple of weeks to become part of that equation, ranging from series veterans to rookies. Do you really think two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton is going to go without a win this year?
So who will be the next driver to get a win? Here’s a list of potential suspects.
The aforementioned Matt Crafton has to be the first suspect, given that he’s won the championship the past two seasons. He’s shown speed this year, running in the top-five in each of the first four races, posting three top-10 finishes. While he hasn’t ever won at Dover, he has posted a top-10 finish in seven of his last eight starts.
Timothy Peters is currently leading the standings with a streak of three top-eight finishes in the last three weeks. You’ll notice that each week he has continued to get stronger – eighth, fifth and third last weekend at Kansas Speedway. He also knows how to get to victory lane, as he has scored a victory in each of the last three seasons. He’s also ran well on the Monster Mile before, scoring three top-10s in his last four starts.
Brad Keselowski Racing was one of the teams that were predicted to be in the Chase with both of their drivers. This is a good weekend of opportunity for both Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick as they boost the second and third best average finish of active drivers in the series. Hemric finished fourth last year, while Reddick is the defending race winner with an eighth in his first start there in 2014. So far this year, though, it’s been a tale of two tapes for the teammates. Hemric currently sits second in points with three top-eight finishes, while Reddick has encountered trouble on a weekly basis so far to currently sit 14th in points.
Spencer Gallagher feels that he is ready to score his first career victory and join GMS Racing teammate Sauter in the chase after showing perseverance at Kansas to score a top-10 finish despite three separate incidents. He had a decent run at Dover last season, finishing 12th.
A pair of darkhorses to watch could be Ryan Truex and Tyler Young. Truex has impressed so far with Hattori Racing, currently sitting third in points with a pair of top-10 finishes to start the year off. Meanwhile, Young has posted a top-13 finish in each of the first four races this season with his family-owned team and was 10th at Dover last year.
Another small-team driver looking for a strong run – Parker Kligerman. His season right now stands in a precarious situation following a wreck at Kansas Speedway. He may not have a truck for Charlotte if the team can’t put something together. Now if he can score a win this weekend, that could change the whole ball game. He has done well at Dover previously. finishing in the runner-up spot a couple years ago while driving for Brad Keselowski.
Though while these guys gun for the wins, it won’t be easy as those whom have won already will be looking to stop them in their tracks.
Johnny Sauter has the best average finish of the three at Dover International Speedway with a top-10 finish in each of his last three starts there. He also needs a good run after getting wrecked late while leading at Kansas Speedway this past weekend.
John Hunter Nemechek should be quick this weekend as well as he’s shown speed on a weekly basis and finished sixth at Dover in 2014.
