Craftsman Truck Series on SPEED From Martinsville

Krista Voda kicks things off at 2:30PM with The Set-Up show on SPEED. This thirty minute pre-race show mixes pre-produced features with interviews and news items.

Rick Allen hosts the race coverage with Michael Waltrip and Phil Parsons alongside. Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander are on pit road. This is a full field of 36 trucks.

Voda once again has a nice points race that is coming down to the final event in Homestead. This race is going to feature a wide variety of NCTS regulars, Sprint Cup drivers, one-time specials and some former Cup drivers who are looking for 2009 rides.

The trucks struggled to get teams to Las Vegas, but now are going to be alongside of the Cup Series down the stretch. That means Cup drivers crossing-over and racing in the NCTS. One big question is how many full-time NCTS teams are going to be able to tow to Phoenix in several weeks?

The pre-race will profile driver Timothy Peters and his low budget team that operates out of neighborhood garage. As TDP mentioned earlier, SPEED owes fans a clarification about why Johnny Benson's truck is without a primary sponsor this week.

Allen and his crew will have what has been one of the most action-packed short track events on the NCTS schedule to call. The final laps in the last truck race at Martsinville resulted in some bent sheet metal and some very hot tempers. They don't call this the "payback track" for nothing.

SPEED's NCTS coverage has been solid all season. This is once again the regular SPEED crew handling the production, so expect the focus on racing and the "old school" style of NASCAR TV. Parsons is the Dean of the truck series and his knowledge about the personalities involved from top-to-bottom is first rate.

It always works better for SPEED to have Waltrip in the booth when he is racing at the same track. He has a better perspective on what the track is doing and the issues that the NCTS teams are dealing with when he has experienced it first hand.

Martinsville is famous for a very tough pit road, so watch for early pit stops without changing tires and then a long run to the finish. Track position is everything and the beating-and-banging usually starts with less than fifty laps to go.

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Tradin' Paint: Petty vs. Pemberton Round 2

The recipe for interesting discussion is set for Saturday afternoon at 2PM Eastern Time on SPEED. While John Roberts will host Tradin' Paint, it will be Kyle Petty and Randy Pemberton who will be meeting-up again at a very tough time in the sport.

Pemberton is not one to mince words. This TV veteran has worked hard to get himself back into SPEED's NASCAR line-up and also emerge as a viable play-by-play announcer on DirecTV's Hot Pass.

Petty is a mess these days. On one side his charitable efforts and family life have never been more successful. On the other side, the new administration at Petty Enterprises has made it very clear they have little use for a 48 year old guy from Randleman, NC.

Petty is out of a ride, out of his grandfather's company and has no clear-cut plans for the remainder of this season or 2009. His saving grace is the fact he had a fantastic summer as the Lead Analyst on the TNT broadcasts and has been a consistently well-spoken panelist on Tradin' Paint.

On this Saturday, the non-superteams in the Sprint Cup Series are running for their very lives. The sponsorship dollars are tight and the American car manufacturers are basically running on empty. What NASCAR will put on the track in 2009 for the top-rated series should be an interesting topic.

As discussed on TDP in earlier posts, Craftsman Truck Series veteran Johnny Benson has just lost his primary sponsorship in the heart of the season. Bill and Gail Davis are now privately funding Benson's racing. How long that can last will certainly be a topic to be discussed even as it was avoided by SPEED on their NCTS coverage.

This post will serve to host your comments before, during and after the program. Sometimes, this series steps-up and delivers on its potential and sometimes Roberts turns it into a love-fest.

To add your comments, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, this should be a fun show to watch.

Unsponsored Benson A Story SPEED Must Cover

NASCAR returns to its roots this weekend with a doubleheader at Martinsville Speedway. While the well-known Sprint Cup stars will handle the Sunday duties, it is often the Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday that has the most action.

Over the years, Johnny Benson has been a fan favorite for his personality and driving ability. This season, he comes into Martinsville locked in a battle for the Craftsman Truck Series championship once again. Unfortunately, reality has come knocking right in the middle of his outstanding season.

Benson's primary sponsor, Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, is suddenly gone. On Saturday Benson will be starting the race in his Bill Davis Racing Toyota painted simply black and red. During SPEED's Friday rain delay coverage, there was a lot of tiptoeing around this topic.

The fact is that for the first time in a very long time, the Saturday race winner at Martinsville may have no sponsor to thank. There will be no hat to wear, no CEO to acknowledge and no "TV time" for Joyce Julius to count. If Benson makes it to victory lane his truck would certainly be a statement about how tough the economic climate is for racing.

How SPEED chooses to handle this overall topic will help to determine just how honest the TV network will be as this series struggles through the remainder of the season. Some fans have been upset at ESPN2 deliberately hiding the "start and park" cars in the Nationwide Series coverage.

This Craftsman Truck Series issue is huge. SPEED is the exclusive TV network of the NCTS. What happens to this series next year and just how many teams can even finish this season has been something not discussed in the mainstream media. The focus this time of the year is on the Sprint Cup Series and The Chase. Saturday, a part of it should be on a 45 year old from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Benson means a whole lot to a big chunk of NASCAR fans. His age and experience relates to the real NASCAR fan base much better than Kyle Busch or Joey Logano. From his Midwestern roots to his long-time TV appearances on Monday nights, Benson being dropped by his primary sponsor as he battles for the series championship is news.

On Saturday at 2:30PM, it will be Krista Voda leading The Set-Up on SPEED. This thirty minute pre-race show usually touches all the bases where series news is concerned. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Benson is definitely one of the bases.

Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip will be along to call the race at 3PM. This trio is very race-oriented, as SPEED does not have any daily or weekly NASCAR show that regularly features the trucks. Perhaps, Waltrip and Parsons might chime-in on what is going-on behind the scenes and just how tough things are for the NCTS teams.

In light of the Benson situation, it seems ironic that 40 trucks are on-hand to try and qualify for this event. From struggling drivers like Sam Hornish and Chad McCumbee to "one timers" like Hermie Sadler and Mike Skinner's son Dustin, the race should prove to be a wonderful mix of personalities and experience.

So, one key element to watch on Saturday will be whether SPEED tackles the Benson issue head-on or chooses to run and hide. It should also be interesting to see how Sunday night's NASCAR TV line-up on SPEED deals with the overall subject.

Sooner or later, even Dave Despain may break from Wind Tunnel's open-wheel devotion and try to figure out just what NASCAR may be putting on the track in 2009.

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