NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Five drivers to watch in 2015
Matt Crafton, No. 88 Toyota
Crafton, 38, became the first driver to win back-to-back truck series championships last season and hopes to join Ron Hornaday Jr. (four) and Jack Sprague (three) as the only three-time champions. Crafton won just two races but had 13 top-fives, including a second place at Kansas Speedway.
James Buescher, No. 31 Chevrolet
Buescher, 24, returns to the truck series after spending the 2014 season in the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series. Buescher sandwiched two third-place finishes in the truck series around his championship in 2012. He won four times in 2012, including at Kansas Speedway, and twice in 2013.
Tim Peters, No. 17 Toyota
Peters, 34, owns the longest streak among active full-time truck series drivers with at least one win in six consecutive seasons. Peters’ win at Talladega was the eighth of his truck career. Peters finished a career-best second in the 2012 standings.
Erik Jones, No. 4 Toyota
Jones, 18, is entering his first full-time truck season and is the front-runner for Rookie of the Year honors. He has won four races in a mere 17 series starts, racing part time for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Jones, from Byron, Mich., became the youngest NASCAR national series winner at the time after his victory at Phoenix in 2013.
Ben Kennedy, No. 11 Toyota
Kennedy, 23, won Rookie of the Year honors after finishing ninth in the truck series standings. Kennedy, son of NASCAR chairwoman/executive vice president Lesa Kennedy and great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., has moved from Turner Scott Motorsports to Red Horse Racing and owns his Ben Kennedy Racing team in the NASCAR K &N East series.
| Randy Covitz, rcovitz@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published February 21, 2015 at 1:01 PM with the headline "NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Five drivers to watch in 2015."