NASCAR Cup Series

Five questions for the 2015 Camping World Truck season

Published Feb. 20, 2015 11:00 a.m. ET

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Jared Turner

The Camping World Truck Series season began with the running of Friday night's NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Here are five key questions NASCAR's No. 3 division faces in the 2015 campaign:

Last season, Matt Crafton became the first back-to-back truck champion in the series' 20-year-history. Can he make history again this year by becoming the first Truck Series driver to earn three consecutive titles?

Crafton is back in his familiar No. 88 Menard's Toyota fielded by ThorSport Racing, and there's no reason to believe he won't be his usual quietly consistent self -- provided the law of averages doesn't finally catch up with him.

2. WILL THE NEW GUYS MAKE AN IMPACT?

The Truck Series welcomes several notable newcomers this season, including Crafton's teammate, Cameron Hayley, Kyle Busch Motorsports rookies Daniel Suarez, Matt Tifft and Justin Boston, and Brad Keselowski Racing's Austin Theriault.

Hayley will run the full season, competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors under the direction of veteran crew chief Jeff Hensley.

"The opportunity to work with such vast talent at ThorSport Racing is a dream come true for me," the 18-year-old driver said. "ThorSport Racing is achampionship-winning team with great resources and equipment. I know I'll lean heavily on my crew chief Jeff Hensley, who has a long history in this sport, and I'm sure I will rely on my teammates Matt and Johnny (Sauter), as well."

3. WILL BUESCHER RUN FULL SEASON?

Back in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series following a 1-year absence is 2012 truck champion James Buescher, who returns to the series after spending 2014 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with RAB Racing.

Despite finishing a solid 10th in last year's Xfinity Series points, Buescher had no ride for 2015 after sponsor Rheem pulled out and Buescher's team suspended operations.

Buescher competed Friday night at Daytona for NTS Motorsports where he is guaranteed only four more races. The team hopes to find sponsorship to put the Texas native in a truck for the full season.

Kyle Busch Motorsports won more races than any other truck organization in 2014, going to Victory Lane with three different drivers -- team owner Kyle Busch, Darrell Wallace Jr. and part-timer Erik Jones.

KBM's No. 51 team has earned two consecutive owner titles and three in the past five years, but will likely face stiff challenges in 2015 from Brad Keselowski Racing and ThorSport Racing for team supremacy.

5. WILL VETERANS SAUTER, PETERS FINALLY NAB FIRST TITLE?

Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters have been in the hunt for the championship multiple times, only to always fall short.

Sauter finished second to Austin Dillon in 2011, and has come home fourth in points the past two years.

Peters was the runner-up to Buescher in 2012, and ranked fifth in 2011 and 2014.

Both are extremely hungry to finally hoist the champion's trophy -- and both return this season in their familiar rides.

"Every year you look back on the previous year's schedule, the racetracks you performed well at, and the tracks you didn't, and try to rectify it," said Sauter, who begins 2015 with new crew chief Doug George. "Study why or how you missed things at certain tracks, figure out what you need to do to improve on it, and make yourself better.

"I do those things myself, make a check list of what I can do better or help the guys with so that when I get back to the racetrack I'm not having the same problems. We've proven we can win races, and if we can put all those little things together, we can get that championship."

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