The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series is one of three national divisions of NASCAR, ranking as the third tier behind the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and the top level NASCAR Cup Series.
Virgil Earnest Irvan, occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is perhaps best remembered for his comeback after a serious head injury suffered from a crash during practice at Michigan in 1994 that left him with only a 10% chance of survival. Irvan has been inducted into numerous halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. After a series of injuries in the late 1990s, he retired from racing in 1999.
Russell Scott Riggs is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the No. 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Michael Curtis Skinner is an American former stock car racing driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and he was the first ever champion of the latter in 1995. He has most recently driven the No. 98 Ford Fusion for Phil Parsons Racing in the Cup Series. He is the father of former NASCAR drivers Jamie Skinner and Dustin Skinner. He was born in Susanville, California.
Jonathan Thomas Benson Jr. is an American retired stock car racing driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson Sr. Benson has raced across NASCAR's three national series, and his career highlights include the 1993 American Speed Association AC-Delco Challenge series championship, the 1995 NASCAR Busch Series championship, the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award, and the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.
Michael Samuel Wallace is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Born in Fenton, Missouri, he is the younger brother of Rusty Wallace, older brother of Kenny Wallace, and uncle of Steve Wallace. His daughter, Chrissy Wallace, and son, Matt Wallace, are also active in racing competition.
Richard Allen Bickle Jr. is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Now retired from NASCAR racing, Bickle, who never completed a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, had a long history in short track racing. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described him in 2012 as a "stud on the short tracks in the late 1980s and early '90s and a journeyman who rarely caught a break in NASCAR." He won three NASCAR truck races and had a career-best fourth-place finish in the Cup Series in 218 career NASCAR starts.
Henry "Butch" Miller is an American retired stock car racing driver. He is a multi-time champion in the American Speed Association stock car series.
The 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 42nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 19th modern-era Cup Series. It began on Sunday, February 11, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Because of a highly controversial penalty to Mark Martin early in the season, Dale Earnhardt with Richard Childress Racing was crowned the Winston Cup champion for the fourth time, edging out Martin by 26 points.
The 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 51st season of professional Stock car racing in the United States, the 28th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 1990s and the 20th century. The season began on Sunday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Dale Jarrett, representing Robert Yates Racing, was crowned the champion, while the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by the Ford drivers with 13 wins and 231 points over second-place Chevrolet who had 12 wins and 210 points and third place Pontiac who had 9 wins and 205 points.
The 2007 NASCAR Busch Series was the 26th season of the NASCAR Busch Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It began on February 17 with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 17 with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards clinched the series championship on November 3 during the O'Reilly Challenge with 2 races remaining. The 2007 season was the final season of the series under Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship. In 2008, the Busch Series became the Nationwide Series sponsored by insurance company Nationwide Insurance with a $70 million contract for 7 years.
The 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season was the thirteenth season of the third highest stock car racing series in North America. Sanctioned by NASCAR, the season began on February 16, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250, and ended on November 16, 2007, with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Kevin Harvick, Inc. was crowned champion, tying Jack Sprague for most Truck Series championships at three.
Cale Kelly Gale is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief. He is named after other accomplished racer Cale Yarborough.
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup season. It was contested over thirty-six races, and began on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, followed by the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17. The season continued with the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning on September 14 with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and concluded with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.
The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series was the 27th season of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway with the Camping World 300, and ended on November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 300. This was the first season in which NASCAR's second-tier series was known as the Nationwide Series, ending the 26-year sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch's Busch Beer. The seven-year agreement gives Nationwide Insurance the exclusive rights to tie its brand to NASCAR's second most popular racing series.
The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the fourteenth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It was contested over twenty-five races, beginning with the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnny Benson of Bill Davis Racing was crowned champion. The season was also the last under the Craftsman sponsorship banner until the 2023 season. Sears Holdings Corporation, the owners of the Craftsman brand name of tools, withdrew sponsorship at the end of the season. On October 23, NASCAR officials confirmed that Camping World would become the title sponsor beginning with the 2009 season.
Tim Schendel is an American professional stock car racing driver. A past winner of the Toyota All-Star Showdown and champion of the NASCAR Midwest Tour, he has also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the ASA Midwest Tour.
The Scott Irvin Chevrolet/Craftsman 200 was a NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman race held at Saugus Speedway in Santa Clarita, California on April 15, 1995. The third of 20 races in the series' inaugural season, it was run on the shortest track the series ever competed on; it was won by Winston Cup Series regular Ken Schrader.
In 1994 and early 1995, seven non-championship demonstration races for the newly-born NASCAR SuperTruck Series were held. The races were broadcast during coverage of the Winter Heat Series and were held on tracks primarily based on the West Coast of the United States, featuring four to five trucks each. The series helped begin the careers of future NASCAR drivers like Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Matt Crafton, and Ron Hornaday Jr.
The 1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic was a pickup truck race held on February 5, 1995 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It was the first event of the 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series, the first season of what is now the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the first edition of what is now the Craftsman 150.
