Series History

• All-time drivers

Depending upon your interpretation of history, the Truck Series was born in Baja, Calif., or in Daytona Beach, Fla., where a prototype truck was a show-stopper at a 1994 trade show held during Speedweeks.

Four off-road enthusiasts, longtime competitors in major truck racing events held in Mexico and in the deserts of the American Southwest, dreamed of moving their favorite sport to asphalt tracks throughout the United States. So they -- Dick Landfield, Jim Smith, Jim Venable and Frank "Scoop" Vessels -- commissioned Bakersfield, Calif.-based chassis builder Gary Collins to build a race truck.

That Ford F-150, a virtual lookalike of the popular half-ton street truck, was completed just in time to be trailered to Florida for display before thousands of race fans. The four off-roaders figured if the buzz was loud enough, perhaps NASCAR would give the concept its blessing.

Which, after an audience with NASCAR Vice Chairman Bill France, the organization did.

The SuperTruck Series by Craftsman was unveiled at Infineon Raceway in May with four demonstration races following two months later in Bakersfield, Portland, Ore., Saugus, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz. Three non-points races were held during the annual Winter Heat series at Tucson Raceway Park -- giving a national television audience a preview of the series to come.

The curtain finally went up on Feb. 5, 1995. Few knew how many teams to expect or who might be driving in the new series and many held their breath.

Thirty-three trucks took the green flag for the inaugural Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic. Cup Series champion Terry Labonte was among name drivers who included Daytona 500 winner Geoffrey Bodine, Ken Schrader and Joe Ruttman.

Hendrick Motorsports fielded trucks for Labonte and Scott Lagasse while Richard Childress Racing brought a black, No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet for Mike Skinner. Dale and Teresa Earnhardt kicked off the series with West Coast star Ron Hornaday, who won the pole with a lap of 123.665 mph around the Desert Mile.

The race itself lived up to expectations -- and more.

Skinner, after a late stop for tires, caught and passed Labonte in the last turn of the final lap to win by .09 second. Schrader, Joe Bessey and Bodine followed the pair to the checkered flag.

The philosophy underlying the series, in its formative seasons, was to provide the excitement of NASCAR competition to tracks that were unlikely to host NASCAR's premier series or a race for the Nationwide Series. The 1995 schedule of 20 races -- which stretched from Virginia and New Jersey to Southern California and Washington -- included three races on one-mile tracks, two road courses and the remainder short tracks, many part of NASCAR's weekly series.

Because most the venues lacked hot pits, and to save teams money, races were divided into segments, 10 minutes apart. The "halftime" break enabled teams to refuel, change tires and make adjustments to their trucks.

Skinner, with eight victories, won the first championship beating Ruttman by 126 points.

Already, major changes lay ahead.

Two 1.5-mile tracks -- Homestead-Miami Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- were inked to the 1996 schedule. Craftsman signed a five-year agreement as entitlement sponsor.

Cup Series owners jumped into the series including Richard Petty and Jack Roush. When Childress promoted Skinner directly to his Cup team in 1997 (and he won the pole for the Daytona 500), philosophies also shifted. The Craftsman Truck Series, in addition to providing great racing, was a logical place to groom up-and-coming drivers.

Roush was among the first to sense the opportunity with Greg Biffle in 1998 and Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, two years later. Every one of the series' eight champions either has climbed the ladder to the Cup Series or is a veteran of NASCAR's premier division.

The 1998 season also saw the phasing out of the "halftime" break. Beginning in 1999, every race would be run with "live" pit stops. A number of smaller tracks, also faced with escalating purses, dropped off the schedule to be replaced with major speedways.

Texas Motor Speedway became the fastest track to become part of the schedule in 1997. And, signaling a tectonic shift, Daytona International Speedway hosted the season's curtain-raising event in 2000.

Another strategic change saw more of NASCAR's national touring series events bundled at the same track on the same weekend. By 2005, eight tracks offered fans the opportunity to see all three divisions on the same racing program.

The 21st century also brought with it changes in broadcasting. The Truck Series, since Day One, had enjoyed live, flag-to-flag television coverage on a variety of networks -- both broadcast and cable. Beginning in 2003, SPEED won exclusive broadcast rights with the Truck Series becoming the network's premier, live motorsports events.

The series continues to be the No. 3 most watched racing on cable television behind NASCAR's other two national touring divisions.

Many of the races have been shifted into the nighttime hours -- with increased event crowds following. More than 50,000 fans attended the 2003 event at Bristol Motor Speedway which brought in the series on a Wednesday night after a three-year absence.

In 2004, Toyota became the series' fourth manufacturer. The presence of the truck-maker's potent Tundra model infused new enthusiasm into existing manufacturer programs and escalated the competition level to new heights.

The series celebrated its first decade with a 10 Year Tough observance in 2005. Appropriately, perhaps, Smith -- the last active member of the pioneering quartet of off-roaders -- finally won the series championship with veteran Ted Musgrave.

Competition reached an all-time high with a record-matching 14 different winners and 40 different race leaders. A record number of teams competed in all 25 races with the title race going down to the Homestead finale for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

The 2006 season saw the series visit NASCAR's longest oval track -- the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama where a crowd of more than 80,000 saw Mark Martin win the inaugural John Deere 250. The race was a cornerstone of a season in more than 1.1 million fans attended series events. Todd Bodine became the ninth Truck Series champion.

In 2007, two former champions -- Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday Jr. -- swapped the points lead a record six times during the final eight races before Hornaday became the second competitor to win three series titles. Hornaday set a season record for winnings while Skinner -- who led all drivers with five victories including three in a row -- became the first non-champion to win $1 million in a season.

The Truck Series represents the first rung in NASCAR's national touring series. It has proven to be an outstanding series for competitors who aspire to be Nationwide Series and Cup Series drivers, with many of today's premier drivers such as Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards, having competed in the series over the years. However, many drivers also have chosen to spend their entire careers in this division due to the competitive nature and popularity of the series.

Milestones in the history of the series:

• May 14, 1994. NASCAR President Bill France announces creation of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, then titled NASCAR SuperTruck Series, during news conference at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

• July 30, 1994. First of four demonstration races is held at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. P.J. Jones is first Craftsman Truck Series winner in a Ford owned by Vessels. Later in year, 20-race schedule is released with total posted awards of $1.1 million along with complete national television package.

• Feb. 5, 1995. Inaugural race is run at Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Skinner, driving Richard Childress Racing's GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet, is the first winner of a championship race. He edges former Cup Series champion Terry Labonte by just .09-second.

• Oct. 27, 1995. Skinner wins first Truck Series championship at Phoenix by 126 points over Joe Ruttman. Championship is worth $428,096.

• February 1996. Sears Craftsman agrees to become title sponsor of the Truck Series. Initial agreement is for three years and with a number of extensions.

• Sept. 8, 1996. Ron Hornaday Jr.'s New Hampshire International Speedway victory makes him the first in series to win on short track, road course and superspeedway in single season.

• Nov. 16, 1996. Hornaday, celebrating the 1996 Truck Series championship, sets season winnings mark of $625,634. Skinner's third-place awards make him first series millionaire.

• March 16, 1997. Kenny Irwin becomes first rookie of the year contender to win a race capturing the Florida Dodge Dealers 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

• June 6, 1997. Mike Bliss, who laps Texas Motor Speedway at 175.667 mph, heads fastest field in series history. Starting field for the inaugural Pronto Auto Parts 400 averages 171.209.

• Nov. 9, 1997. Jack Sprague becomes third different Truck Series champion by a record, 232 points over Rich Bickle. Sprague's total take for the first of his three series titles is $880,835.

• July 25, 1998. Series adopts "live" pit stop format for most venues. Tempus Resorts 300k is first event run under format and is won by Hornaday.

• Oct. 18, 1998. Dennis Setzer's victory at Mesa Marin Raceway establishes single season record for different winners -- 14.

• Nov. 8, 1998. Hornaday becomes series' first two-time champion edging Sprague by three points -- closest margin in history. Hornaday sets season money won record at $915,407.

• March 27, 1999. Hornaday becomes first driver to win in all five seasons of the series when he captures Chevy Trucks NASCAR 150 at Phoenix.

• April 3, 1999. Hornaday wins series' 100th race, at Evergreen Speedway near Seattle, and with it a $100,000 Craftsman-posted bonus award.

• Sept. 13, 1999. Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford drivers participate in historic NASCAR test at Daytona International Speedway to lay groundwork for a visit to the World Center of Racing in February 2000.

• Sept. 24, 1999. Greg Biffle's victory in The Orleans 250 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the driver's record, ninth win of the season.

• Oct. 30, 1999. Three drivers -- Biffle, Sprague and Dennis Setzer -- enter the season finale just 25 points apart in the series' closest, three-way showdown. Sprague wins NAPA Auto Parts 200 at California Speedway to clinch his second NCTS title. His eight-point cushion over Biffle was the tour's second tightest margin of victory. Addition of post-season awards make Sprague and Hornaday the series' first $3 million winners.

• Feb. 18, 2000. Daytona International Speedway hosts its inaugural series race. The lead changes hands a series record 31 times before Mike Wallace drafts past Andy Houston entering the final set of turns of the 100th and final lap around the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

• July 8, 2000. Kurt Busch becomes first rookie to win back-to-back races on the series. Busch wins at The Milwaukee Mile and New Hampshire International Speedway.

• Oct. 13, 2000. Biffle closes out the championship for the first time prior to the final race of the season. He is the first champion to drive a Ford to the title. It is the first NASCAR championship for owner Jack Roush.

• Nov. 2, 2000. Biffle is the first single-season millionaire on the series with total winnings of $1,002,510. He also becomes the youngest champion at 30 years nine months 22 days and the first who didn't compete on the tour in 1995.

• June 8, 2001. In winning for the first time at Texas Motor Speedway, Sprague becomes the only competitor to win in six consecutive seasons in the Truck Series.

• July 7, 2001. Ricky Hendrick becomes the youngest winner in NCTS history (21 years three months five days) with his victory at Kansas Speedway.

• July 14, 2001. Sprague's third-place finish at Kentucky Speedway makes him the series' first $4 million career winner.

• Sept. 28, 2001. Ted Musgrave's victory at South Boston Speedway gives Dodge its first series manufacturer championship.

• Nov. 3, 2001. By starting the final race of the season at California Speedway, Sprague wraps up an unprecedented third series championship.

• 2002. The Truck Series, Cup Series and Nationwide Series will begin and end the season on the same weekends at the same tracks -- Daytona International and Homestead-Miami speedways.

• Feb. 15, 2002. Robert Pressley becomes the second competitor (and first since the series' inaugural race) to win in his first Truck Series appearance. Pressley wins the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

• Nov. 15, 2002. Mike Bliss becomes fifth Truck Series champion with fifth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Finish is closest among top three in series history -- 51 points. Xpress Motorsports is first championship team without NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner or driver affiliation.

• February 2003. NASCAR and Toyota announce the truck maker's Tundra model, assembled in Indiana, is eligible for Truck Series competition beginning in 2004.

• Feb. 14, 2003. Rick Crawford wins Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway in the series' first threeway, side-by-side finish.

• June 21, 2003. Ted Musgrave wins series' 200th race at Memphis Motorsports Park. Team owner Jimmy Smith has fielded at least one entry in every Truck Series event with at least one victory in every season.

• July 26, 2003. Brendan Gaughan wins Sears 200 at Michigan International Speedway at a series record average speed of 154.044 mph.

• Oct. 11, 2003. A victory in the Silverado 350k at Texas Motor Speedway makes Gaughan the first competitor to win four consecutive events at the same track.

• Nov. 14, 2003. Champion Travis Kvapil is first to move from third place to first in the season's final race edging Setzer by nine points for the 2003 Truck Series title. Steve Coulter becomes the first owner to claim consecutive championship. The finish marks the closest top three (18 points) and top four (40 points) in series history.

• July 31, 2004. Kvapil wins Line-X 200 at Michigan International Speedway for Toyota's first NASCAR national touring series victory.

• Sept. 9, 2004. With an eighth-place finish at Richmond International Raceway, Sprague becomes series' first $5 million career winner.

• Nov. 19, 2004. Bobby Hamilton, 47, becomes the Truck Series' oldest champion and first driver-owner champion.

• Feb. 26, 2005. Rick Crawford becomes the first series driver to compete in 200 races. His 200 starts are consecutive beginning Jan 19, 1997, at Walt Disney World Speedway, Orlando, Fla.

• May 20, 2005. Kyle Busch, at age 20 years 0 months, becomes series' youngest winner at Lowe's Motor Speedway. A month later, Busch is the fast qualifier at Michigan International Speedway to become the series' youngest pole winner.

• Nov. 19, 2005. At age 49 years 11 months 1 day, Ted Musgrave becomes the oldest champion in NASCAR national series history.

• Feb. 17, 2006. Mark Martin completes a sweep of major events at Daytona International Speedway with his victory in the GM FlexFuel 250.

• July 8, 2006. Marcos Ambrose of Australia wins the Budweiser Pole for the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway thus becoming the first foreign-born driver to win a pole since Canadian Ron Fellows was top qualifier at Watkins Glen International.

• Aug. 12, 2006. Jack Sprague becomes the first driver to win $6 million in the series with a second-place finish in the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

• Sept. 23, 2006. Mike Skinner reaches 30 career Budweiser Poles with his No. 1 qualifying run prior to the Smith's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Skinner also won the race.

• Oct. 21, 2006. En route to winning the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Jack Sprague becomes the first driver in series history to lead 6,000 laps.

• Nov. 17, 2006. Todd Bodine finishes 21st at Homestead-Miami Speedway to become the series' ninth different champion.

• June 1, 2007. Ron Hornaday Jr. wins the series' 300th race at Dover International Speedway.

• June 16, 2007. Spears Motorsports owned by Wayne and Connie Spears becomes the first team to compete in 300 Truck Series races.

• Nov. 9, 2007. With his 11th pole of the season, Mike Skinner breaks his own single-season qualifying record set in 1995. His team, Bill Davis Racing, holds the same record in the Nationwide Series.

• Nov. 19, 2007. Ron Hornaday Jr. becomes the third driver to win a series championship that didn't hold the points lead entering the season's final race. Hornaday joins Jack Sprague as a three-time champion.