NCWTS heads to NASCAR's backyard - The NC Education Lottery 200 Preview

by Cortney Dryden on May 19, 2011 12:55 AM EDT in NASCAR Camping World Trucks

Kyle Busch could be rockin' in a new era of records this weekend.
LEBANON, TN - APRIL 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Dollar General Toyota celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on April 22, 2011 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Laps: 134

Miles: 201

Capacity: 171,000

Total purse: $490,620 (2010 figures)

Race record: Kyle Busch, 2006 (124.845 m.p.h.)

Qualifying record: Mike Skinner, 2005 (183.051 m.p.h.)

NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series will have no break this week as it heads straight to the heart of NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Defending race champ Kyle Busch currently boasts many impressive credentials. Not only did he win last week’s Lucas Oil 200 at Dover, but he is fast approaching some career milestones. In the more than likely chance that he wins the race Friday, he will tie Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip on the all-time national series wins list at 97. Three more and he will be the youngest driver ever to reach 100.

Busch gained his first series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2005. He is also the only pole-sitter to win this race and the first three-time champion at this track in the trucks.

Busch’s top competition will likely come from Ron Hornaday Jr., who has the second most wins (2) in the last six races at CMS. Busch has three. But it has been done before. In 2009, Hornaday won his 40^th truck series race at this track finishing 1.669 seconds ahead of Busch.

But the most anticipated part of this race is the debut of 2007 Formula 1 Champ Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen will drive the No. 15 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. The Finland native will be racing along past F1 competitors Max Papis and Nelson Piquet Jr., who have both had some outstanding moments in the 2011 NCWTS season.

If last weekend’s race was any indication, keep an eye out for rookie Cole Whitt. Though soft spoken, the young driver is aggressive on the racetrack and may have something for Cup regulars Busch and Clint Bowyer. Whitt has never raced at Charlotte before, but sitting only seven points out of the lead is plenty of motivation to win.

Matt Crafton currently leads the NCWTS points. Johnny Sauter, Cole Whitt, Ron Hornaday Jr., and Timothy Peters round out your Top 5.

The entry list is after the jump.

Entry	Trk#	Driver	Owner	Crew Chief	Vehicle Mfg	Sponsor
1	1	TBA	Rick Ware	Bobby Burell	11 Chevrolet	TBA
2	2	Clint Bowyer	Delana Harvick	Bruce Cook	11 Chevrolet	Ollies Bargain Outlet
3	02	Jamie Dick	Jimmy Dick	Corrie Stott	11 Chevrolet	Viva Auto Group
4	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress	Danny Stockman Jr.	11 Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Remington/Tracker Boats
5	4	Ricky Carmichael	Steve Turner	Mark Rette	11 Chevrolet	Monster Energy
6	5	Travis Kvapil	David Dollar	Daniel Stillman	11 Toyota	International Truck - Monaco RV's
7	07	Butch Miller	Ken Smith	Troy Smith	11 Chevrolet	TBA
8	7	Miguel Paludo	Tom Deloach	Rick Gay	11 Toyota	Stemco Duroline
9	8	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Delana Harvick	Chris Carrier	11 Chevrolet	Bozzano-Jontex
10	9	Max Papis	Bob Germain	Randy Goss	11 Toyota	GEICO
11	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Mark JaNes-O'rourke	10 Ford	Drivenmale.com
12	13	Johnny Sauter	Mike Curb	Joe Sear	11 Chevrolet	Safe Auto/Curb Records
13	15	Kimi Raikkonen	Billy Ballew	Doug Howe	11 Toyota	Perky Jerky
14	17	Timothy Peters	Tom Deloach	Butch Hylton	11 Toyota	Red Horse Racing
15	18	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Eric Phillips	10 Toyota	NOS Energy Drink
16	20	Johanna Long	Michelle Gosselin	Kevin Starland	11 Toyota	Panhandle Grading & Paving
17	22	Joey Coulter	Pete Raymer	Harold Holly	11 Chevrolet	RCR/Rip-It
18	23	Jason White	Steve Urvan	Chad Kendrick	11 Chevrolet	Gunbroker.com
19	28	Wes Burton	Jim Rosenblum	Dick Rahilly	11 Chevrolet	FDNY Racing
20	29	Parker Kligerman	Brad Keselowski	Jeff Stankiewicz	11 Dodge	Penske Truck Rental
21	30	Todd Bodine	Steve Germain	Michael Hillman Jr.	11 Toyota	Germain.com
22	31	James Buescher	Steve Turner	Michael Shelton	11 Chevrolet	Exide Batteries
23	32	Brad Sweet	Steve Turner	TBA	11 Chevrolet	Great Clips
24	33	Ron Hornaday Jr.	Delana Harvick	Jeff Hensely	11 Chevrolet	Utz Snacks
25	38	Mike Garvey	Pam Sieg	Timothy Brown	11 Chevrolet	S&W Services
26	39	Ryan Sieg	Susan Bates	Rod Sieg	11 Chevrolet	S&W Services
27	46	Craig Goess	Eddie Sharp	Trip Bruce	11 Toyota	Greenville Toyota
28	50	TJ Bell	Mark Beaver	Tony Liberati	11 Chevrolet	Liberty Tire Recycling-Pinnacle Rubber Mulch
29	51	Justin Johnson	Billy Ballew	Doug George	11 Toyota	Vision Airlines Wounded Warrior Project
30	57	Norm Benning	Norm Benning	James Dugger	11 Chevrolet	TBA
31	60	Cole Whitt	Vickie Compton	Marcus Richmond	11 Chevrolet	Red Bull/Fuel Doctor
32	62	Brendan Gaughan	Rick Ware	Bryan Berry	11 Toyota	South Point Hotel and Casino
33	66	Justin Marks	Stacy Compton	Doug Wolcott	11 Chevrolet	GoPro chevrolet
34	68	Clay Greenfield	Bill Alger	Tim Walter	10 Dodge	TBA
35	73	Mike Skinner	Ron Crosby	Joey Sonntag	11 Chevrolet	TBA
36	77	Justin Lofton	Rick Germain	Ryan Fugle	11 Toyota	Lofton Cattle
37	81	David Starr	Bobby Dotter	Jason Miller	11 Toyota	ZACHRY
38	84	Chris Fontaine	Chris Fontaine	Kevin Ingram	11 Chevrolet	Glenden Enterprises
39	88	Matt Crafton	Rhonda Thorson	Vance Haefele	11 Chevrolet	Millican/Great lakes/Menards
40	89	Chris Lafferty	Tracy Lafferty	Tracy Laffery	11 Dodge	NASCAR Speed Park
41	92	Clay Rogers	Ricky Benton	Michael Hester	11 Chevrolet	BTS Tire & Wheel/Fleet HQ
42	93	Shane Sieg	Pam Sieg	Tony Wilson	11 Chevrolet	S&W Services
43	99	Bryan Silas	Charles Vest	Cal Boprey	11 Ford	College Complete.com