Pickup truck racing is a form of auto racing which involves modified versions of pickup trucks on racing circuits , mostly oval tracks . Race pickup trucks are mechanically similar to coupé -shaped stock cars , with the main difference being the more boxy shape of the cab, which does not have as good aerodynamics as stock cars.
21-679: The ARCA Truck Series was a pickup truck racing series which ran on numerous short tracks throughout the American Midwest , running in Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Kentucky and Michigan . Sanctioned by the Automobile Racing Club of America , it raced mid-size trucks with V6 and V8 engines unlike the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series which ran full-size trucks. Most of
42-622: The Ford duo tag-teamed Jeff Gordon for 3rd and 4th. The two Fords swapped positions with five laps to go, and Irvan passed Terry Labonte (who was hung up behind Jimmy Hensley ) in the tri-oval with three laps to go. But Sterling Marlin's Morgan-McClure Chevrolet was untouchable, and he finally won a Winston Cup race in his 279th start after eight second-place finishes. He broke Dave Marcis ' previous record for most starts before his first Cup win (227th start, at Martinsville in 1975 ). Martin ran out of fuel with two to go, but he managed to take
63-648: The Ford Ranger , Chevrolet S-10 and the Chevrolet Colorado , Dodge Dakota , and Toyota Tacoma . The rules were very stable during the history of the series, the biggest change being the introduction of V8 engines in 2011. The V8 proved to be much more reliable and cost-effective than the V6 and the 4-cylinder engines partially because of the rules the ARCA Truck Series established: additionally,
84-595: The Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 won the race, the first win of his NASCAR career. During Speedweeks, on the first day of practice for the Daytona 500, legendary driver Neil Bonnett crashed in turn four. Bonnett died at Halifax Hospital from massive head injuries. Three days later, reigning Goody's Dash Series (NASCAR's four-cylinder class) champion, Rodney Orr , making his Cup debut, lost control and spun in turn two. His car flipped and hit
105-520: The 36th running of the event , was held February 20 at Daytona International Speedway , in Daytona Beach, Florida . Loy Allen Jr. , ARCA graduate and Winston Cup rookie , driving the No. 19 for TriStar Motorsports , won the pole. Speedweeks 1994 was marked by tragedy when two drivers, Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr , were killed in separate practice accidents for this race. Sterling Marlin in
126-543: The National Pickup Truck Racing Association to help Buck Baker Driving School graduates start their careers. The series, which did not plan to have a points system, had a ten-race schedule planned with intentions to sell the series to NASCAR. The trucks were built with a 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series car base; the four-barrel Cup Series carburetors were reduced to two to decrease speeds. The series began to increase in popularity, and
147-399: The catch fence with the roof above the driver's seat. Orr was killed instantly. After the deaths of Bonnett and Orr, NASCAR Veteran Jimmy Means announced his retirement from driving. Following these tragedies, a worried Rusty Wallace gave a lecture, calling out the drivers for over-aggression on the track, during the pre-race Drivers Meeting. In his lecture, Wallace was extremely critical of
168-562: The drivers taking bold risks such as gambling on their tires, making overly-aggressive moves early in the races, and not taking much time to fix any damages to their car on pit road. In conclusion, he told the drivers, "Use your damn heads!" He was given a round of applause from the drivers and teams after his lecture. In the middle of the Goodyear-Hoosier tire war, Hoosier released teams from their contracts three days following Orr's death. Hoosier received blame from some observers as
189-461: The end of the race in order to stop this dangerous practice. This practice is not used at other circuits As of 2022, teams in the Cup Series are required to use specification shock absorbers and springs from seventh-generation specification supplier Tenneco . Rookie polesitter Loy Allen, Jr. failed to lead the first lap. Ernie Irvan and Dale Earnhardt swapped the lead several times in
210-500: The fans seemed to be more interested in the V8-powered trucks. Pickup truck racing NASCAR Truck Series vehicles have been rapidly evolving since the inception of the series in 1995, in terms of speed, aerodynamics, and engine equipment. The NASCAR series was also the first to use this type of vehicle, unveiled in 1994. The concept of pickup truck racing started in 1983 when former NASCAR driver Buck Baker established
231-621: The first 60 laps (which turned out to be a preview of the Championship battle), with Jeff Gordon leading briefly. The Big One happened on lap 62 when Chuck Bown and Kyle Petty touched in Turn 4. Petty, Robert Pressley , John Andretti and Rusty Wallace were done for the day. Hut Stricklin , Harry Gant , Bobby Hillin Jr. , and rookie Jeff Burton , among others, were also involved. The race restarted with Daytona 500 rookie Todd Bodine in
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#1732802508074252-525: The last race of the season for unknown reasons and the championship went to Pro 4 Series veteran Bill Withers. The decision to go to trucks was popular with fans and competitors alike. Over twenty three different trucks with twenty five drivers competed in the fifteen races the first season. The basic rules required the use of a tube frame racing chassis from ARCA approved builders, stock appearing fiberglass body from PMG approved suppliers, and specification Hoosier Racing Tire . Body styles are Mid-size trucks,
273-441: The lead. He was soon passed by Earnhardt and was then tagged by Gordon whom Todd thought he was clear of. Jimmy Spencer , Ted Musgrave , Brett Bodine and Michael Waltrip were caught up in a chain reaction to Bodine's spin; Brett and Waltrip would continue. The yellow flag was displayed with 60 laps to go when Morgan Shepherd spun, which made for interesting fuel mileage strategy. Earnhardt, Irvan, and Mark Martin came into
294-466: The mounting brackets to fail. By 1999, drivers were complaining about the extremely soft shock package for safety issues, and NASCAR implemented rules in 2000 mandating specification shock absorbers and springs supplied by the sanctioning body at Daytona and Talladega, where teams arrived at the NASCAR trackside office and are randomly assigned shock absorbers and springs that must be returned to NASCAR at
315-507: The outside investigation. In order to reduce drag, teams were using extremely aggressive suspension packages with extremely soft shock absorbers and springs at Daytona and Talladega in order to reduce drag. The cars often bottomed out, creating sparks, which became visible at Daytona after the Firecracker 400 was run at night in 1998. The extremely soft shock absorbers and springs, along with aged pavement (last replaced in 1979) caused
336-431: The pits again for extra fuel. 1990 winner Derrike Cope led the field at the restart, only to be passed by Marlin and Irvan a couple of laps later. Irvan took the lead with 43 laps to go, but on Lap 180 he suddenly got loose in Turn 4. He recovered the car, but Marlin retook the lead as Irvan fell back to 7th. With 12 laps to go, Irvan was repassed by Martin, whom he had passed a few laps before, but with eight laps to go
357-536: The schedule was increased to eleven races. After the season ended, Baker's attempted sale of the series to NASCAR was denied, and was sold to Dick Moroso , with the series being rebranded the Moroso Performance All-Pro Pickup Truck Series. In 1991, SCORE International racers Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable and Frank "Scoop" Vessels unveiled plans to create a pickup truck series for NASCAR. Three years later,
378-570: The series together. With the popularity of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and trucks in general, a long time ARCA official came up with the idea to race compact trucks. The inaugural season consisted of eleven asphalt and four dirt races in four states in the Midwest. The series produced ten different winners but sixteen-year-old Aaron Hulings dominated the series with six wins and eight pole awards but sat out
399-520: The teams in the series were owner-driver combinations or family-owned. It was announced January 9, 2017 that the series would cease operations, effective immediately. The ARCA Truck Series ran exhibition races late in 1998 with the first full season in 1999. The series evolved from the series which ARCA sanctioned from 1990 through 1998 called The Pro 4 Series. The Pro 4 Series cars were full tube chassis stock cars with highly modified 4-cylinder engines. Both full body and open-wheel cars competed in
420-506: The tires were the only linking factor between the two deaths. However, the criticism was purely speculative and NASCAR never blamed the tires for the deaths and never offered an official cause of the accident for either fatality. An investigation done by the Orlando Sentinel blamed Orr's crash on a broken right-rear shock absorber mounting bracket. That same part was reportedly broken on Bonnett's car. NASCAR refused to comment on
441-614: The trucks were unveiled at the 1994 Daytona 500 , and officially created as the SuperTruck Series. After hosting seven exhibition races, the series held its first season in 1995. The series, now known as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series , is one of three national series sanctioned by NASCAR (besides the Cup Series and Xfinity Series ). 1994 Daytona 500 The 1994 Daytona 500 ,
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