JR Motorsports shutting down Truck Team is bad for Series
JR Motorsports will no longer field a Truck Series team. That Spells trouble for the Series and the teams.JR Motorsports has fielded a Truck Series team since 2015.In 2015, the team fielded an entry for Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Kasey Kahne, Jeb Burton and Cole Custer in effort to get ready for Custer’s full Rookie season in 2016.During the 2015 season, Custer grabbed a victory at Gateway in June, Kahne won in a thriller in late October. In 15 races, the team had 7 top 10’s, 4 top 5’s, 2 poles and two victories.But, during that time, the team was preparing and getting ready to compete for the big prize. The 2016 championship. When 2016 rolled around, the JR Motorsports #00 team was ready to take on the rewarding challenge of hopefully getting to Homestead-Miami in November with a chance at the Championship.The 2016 season would not go as planned however, JR Motorsports and Custer recorded 14 top 10’s, 5 top 5’s, 2 poles, but no wins and ultimately fell short of their goal for the season, making the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. Now with Cole Custer moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, JR Motorsports does not need the truck team anymore.
Kyle Busch Motorsports has been stellar as of late in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
JR Motorsports will field five cars next season. But no Truck Series team. What are the pros and cons?
For starters, the good is the regulars will not have the aggressive, hard-nosed driver, Cole Custer in their mirror every lap hunting them down. They also wont have to worry about a potential threat to their chase hopes.
The bad is the series loses one of the most competitive teams, drivers, and crews. The worst part of all is that with JR Motorsports and Custer, Kyle Busch Motorsports will be going to victory lane even more now.
Over the last three seasons, Kyle Busch Motorsports has scored 14 in 2014, 6 in 2015, and 11 in 2016, 31 total over that time. ThorSport Racing with Matt Crafton as the lead driver has scored 10 wins since 2014. GMS Racing, the championship winning team from this past season, has scored 7 wins since their inception in 2013, with 6 coming this season.
JR Motorsports has only two wins, yet they’ve been a team hat has shown they could stop Kyle Busch Motorsports. When Kahne won in 2015, he beat Erik Jones. Jones was driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports then. Cole Custer has also run up front with them at Martinsville, but has no results to show for it.
Will anyone step up?
It is unclear as to who will be the team who steps up and takes over JR Motorsports role as one of the lead drivers in the series.
What is clear is that the series will still be strong despite the loss JR Motorsports.
It should be an interesting season to see if Kyle Busch Motorsports can keep up their dominate ways or if another team such as GMS Racing who won the Championship last season, can challenge them at all.
Be sure to tune in at the start of the season, Friday, February, 24th to see the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona Internal Speedway and find out.
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