Friday, Oct. 11, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.
The idea seemed like a slam dunk at the time.
Sixty percent of the vehicles sold in the United States in 1984 were pickup trucks and NASCAR was looking to start a feeder series for its Busch Grand National and Winston Cup series. When four off-road enthusiasts came up with the idea of racing full-sized, American-made pickup trucks on oval tracks, NASCAR leapt at the idea and agreed to sanction the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Eight seasons and 188 races later, the Truck Series returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday's Las Vegas 350 -- the sixth visit to the 1.5-mile superspeedway since 1996 -- and history has proven the race likely will attract a crowd of about 20,000.
While attendance figures like that at stand-alone truck races -- those not partnered with Winston Cup, Busch Series or Indy Racing League events -- are not uncommon, officials at NASCAR and presenting sponsor Craftsman are far from panicked.
"We're pleased with some things (and) we would have liked some things to have worked better," said Kevin Triplett, NASCAR's managing director of business operations. "Would we like more sponsors on the trucks? Absolutely. Would we like more people in the grandstands? Absolutely."
Triplett said the Truck Series has not had the luxury of Winston Cup or Busch in working out the growing pains "under the radar screen" because the trucks have been on national television since the series' inception in 1995.
"Winston Cup is 54 years old but the majority of the fans are 10 years old -- as far as how long they've been following the sport," Triplett said. "The Busch Series is 21 years old but in the early years ... it wasn't on television and there were some growing pains but we were able to work them out.
"They're not any different than any of the growing pains you've had with other (series), but they're noticed."
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will join with a new television partner beginning in 2003 when the Speed Channel replaces ESPN as the series' television home. The Speed Channel will carry all NCTS races live, offer race rebroadcasts and present a weekly, hour-long show focusing on the series.
John Lebbad, director of event marketing and sales promotion for Sears, Roebuck & Co., said his company recognizes the value of its eight-year sponsorship and is pleased with the direction of the series.
"We are happy with the growth of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," Lebbad said. "We're extremely pleased with (the new television contract) and feel like the series is going to continue to grow.
"Our title sponsorship is a great fit for our Craftsman brand and our alignment with NASCAR is a great brand fit aligning us with the leader in motor sports ... and the implied endorsement of the best in the business using our products."
Lebbad said he is not discouraged that some stand-alone truck races, such as this weekend's event at LVMS, play to smaller crowds than the Winston Cup Series. But comparing Truck Series attendance figures to those in Winston Cup is unrealistic, Triplett said, because the hugely popular stock-car series has a 46-year head start.
"Keeping things in perspective is a very hard thing to do sometimes in this sport," Triplett said. "But you have to try to have a pragmatic plan of attack in how you're going to make (the Truck Series) better. If it's reactionary to Winston Cup, then we're going to be pushing water uphill for a long time.
"And that's not what the Craftsman Truck Series is there for; it's there to provide another form of entertaining motor sports for fans and a place for guys who are transitioning from our touring series -- or any touring series -- to a national series that races both on short tracks and superspeedways but where the demands or pressures aren't as great."
In that respect, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has been an overwhelming success, launching the careers of current Winston Cup drivers such as Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Greg Biffle, Mike Wallace and Stacy Compton.
"If you look at the growth of the series and what car owners, in looking for talent, have done, it has been successful," Triplett said.
"There are a lot of good things happening right now with this series. Everybody is always trying to make their product better. Our product is pretty good and we want to make it better."
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