A year ago, Chase Elliott won the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, but the win was secondary to a crazy story post-race when after contact between Mike Skeen and Max Papis, Skeen’s girlfriend slapped Papis post-race.
So what the heck does CTMP have in store for an encore?
“I wish I knew! That first one was a hard one to top,” Ron Fellows told MotorSportsTalk at Le Mans this year. Fellows is part of the track’s new ownership group, who have made sizable capital investments to the facility since taking over a couple years ago.
Track improvements include better viewing areas for fans at Turn 1, and additional corporate enhancements.
“As a race fan and as a kid, you’re always searching for where you want to watch and what’s important to be able to see,” Fellows said. “There are some things we’ve done have been done to improve viewing areas. Now having the outfield side of Turn 1 for corporate hosting available too has enhanced the overall experience.”
On-track, there’s only 29 Trucks entered this weekend for Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250.
The two “ringers” you’d expect to fight for the win are Canadian locals Alex Tagliani, recently announced for Brad Keselowski Racing, and Andrew Ranger, a NASCAR Canadian Tire two-time champ who’ll be in NDS Motorsports’ No. 53 RAM.
As for the season-long regulars, any of young guns Ryan Blaney, Darrell Wallace Jr., or Erik Jones could hassle the usual Truck veterans.
But it’s doubtful in terms of drama and surprise, that the post-race dustup will match up. Still, there’s something cool about seeing Trucks away from a standard oval, and we’ll see if the 2014 edition can live up to the inaugural event.
