NASCAR downplayed reports of failing interest in the Craftsman Truck Series, saying it would continue next year with a full 25-race schedule.
The series will lose Craftsman as a sponsor at the end of the year, and last week, Kobalt Tools said it no longer was interested in taking over the spot.
The truck series originally was designed to help younger drivers gain experience, but it has become racing's senior tour. Nine of the top 11 drivers in the current truck standings are at least 40.
Kevin Harvick, who owns two trucks, remains a strong supporter of the series, but he admits the circuit is still struggling to find an identity.
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't drive a truck,"
Harvick said, explaining why the trucks receive so little interest. "The one thing about it is this is a pretty driver-driven sport. The fans come to see the drivers run around the racetrack, and they have their driver that they cheer for."
Calling on Skinner
Mike Skinner helped turn around the fortunes of Red Bull Racing and driver A.J. Allmendinger earlier this year. Now Skinner has been asked to help Michael McDowell and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Skinner replaced Allmendinger for six races to help the team get the car - and the driver - up to speed. Allmendinger failed to qualify for the first three races, and that's when Skinner was brought in to help. Since returning, Allmendinger has seven top-20 finishes in 14 races, including the past four.
McDowell hopes Skinner can get him on track.
"No driver wants to get out of the car, but I understand that every part of our program needs to be evaluated, and that certainly includes me,"
McDowell said in a statement released to Scene Daily.
Good ol' days
Earnhardt Jr. said fans who believe racing was better 20 years ago might be swayed by the personalities of the older-generation drivers.
Earnhardt grew up in the sport, watching his father win seven Cup titles - and reveling in several rivalries.
"To me, those guys were different. I don't know how to explain it, but they were just different,"
Junior said. "They really wore everything on their sleeves about this sport and how they raced, how each weekend went and how they felt about everything. They could be that way, where we aren't able to be like that as much anymore because everything gets published and printed. You have to be a whole lot more stale than you want to be. The racing was different, but I personally don't think it was better then."
