Three races into 2011 and we’ve seen a 20-year-old win the biggest race of the year, a four-time champ return to Victory Lane and last year’s season-ending-momentum-man turn another flip.
Can I just ask, why are we taking a break?
I know I’m not alone . . . tons of fans have come up to me in the garage or sent me an e-mail asking the same thing. Next year, we won’t have to worry about it as the season starts one week later, eliminating the March off-week.
But this weekend, there will be racing. And while you won’t see Trevor Bayne, we do have Kasey Kahne!
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has the spotlight all to itself this weekend. And the series is making the most of it, racing at The Track Too Tough to Tame, Darlington Raceway, on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. ET. Sprint Cup star Kahne will join defending Darlington winner Todd Bodine, four-time series champ Ron Hornaday and rookie of the year Austin Dillon as well as former Cup standout Elliott Sadler.
But why is Kahne sacrificing something as precious as an off weekend to race a truck? Because the Truck series is that much fun!
“Darlington is an awesome race track, and I’m sure that the Truck series will put on a great show for the fans this weekend,” Kahne said.
The good news for the rest of the field? The last time Kahne raced a truck at Darlington, in 2004, it was on the track’s old, rough surface. The Lady in Black has had a face-lift since then. The bad news for competitors? He won that race . . . his first in a truck.
In fact, Kahne has won two of the three Truck races he’s ever entered. His only “loss” came at Pocono Raceway last year when Elliott Sadler stole his thunder. Sadler was driving for Kevin Harvick; Kahne was driving Kyle Busch’s truck.
See how many Sprint Cup drivers have their hands in the Camping World Truck Series? But they aren’t just coming over to steal the money — they are the ones spending the money — as team owners and overall supporters.
Kahne is once again driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports this weekend. In fact, after visiting Busch’s shop a few weeks ago, he issued a bit of a challenge to his boss.
“I was looking around at all the victory banners on the wall. Whether they came from trucks or late models, Kyle was the driver for pretty much every win. I told Kyle I need to get a banner this year so he doesn’t control the whole wall," Kahne said.
I’ll kick off our coverage from Darlington at 4:30 p.m. ET with the prerace show, "The Setup." But I won’t be the only NASCAR on FOX connection on the SPEED broadcast. Larry McReynolds will be in the booth, substituting for Michael Waltrip. Leave it to Larry Mac to outwork me — the man never takes a weekend off!
Last year, I channeled Johnny Cash, dressing all in black in honor of The Lady in Black. What will I have in store this weekend?
Krista Voda is a pit reporter for NASCAR on FOX. Check out her website KristaVoda.com and follow her on Twitter, @KristaVoda
