Trucks. Racing them seems weird on the surface of it.

They pull with engines full of torque and low gear power. Speed is not their first function of design.

Yet they are the vehicle of choice for NASCAR for high speed and tight racing as the Camping World Truck Series.

They opened the season at Daytona and with more than a month off return to racing in April at Martinsville. After that, the schedule fills up and the run for points tightens up. It is no small wonder, with an essential season reboot, that teams and drivers took a run at Martinsville in mid-March for a refresher.

Stepping, somewhat, out of the shadows of their fathers are Jeb Burton and Chase Elliott. Their fathers, Ward and Bill, carry some weight but as the sons made clear once the call to start engines is on the race is all in the driver’s seat. The advice and pep talks ride in the back of the mind and it is up to them to apply their own skills to the track. (more…)