Random Thoughts

4. Todd Bodine - After winning the Championship last season, 4th must seem like a big disappointment to Todd and his team. They actually weren't too far off from their 2006 results, just one less win and two less top five's, but the other three teams ahead of them in the points were just that much better.

5. Rick Crawford - Best finish in the points for Rick since 2002. Although Rick didn't end up winning any races he sure did race up front a lot! In 25 races, Rick finished outside the top ten only seven times, which made for a really strong season for Rick and his team.

6. Travis Kvapil - Although Travis won four times in 2007, the results trailed off towards the season went along which is unfortunate because at one time he had a shot at being in contention for the Championship. I'm pretty surprised that Travis fell all the way to 6th in the points from 3rd, and I'm not sure entirely what might have caused the drop in results other than that the #6 team had some bad luck in some races. In 2008 Travis will race the #28 for Yates Racing, and given the way that organization has struggled recently, he'll probably be lucky to have four top tens let alone four wins next season.

7. Ted Musgrave - The 2005 Truck Series Champion, Ted had never finished lower than 3rd in the points as a full-time truck driver before winning the Championship, but he hasn't done as well since he's been with Germain Racing. Last season he finished 6th in points and this season 7th, and Germain has cited a lack of intensity that they didn't like as to why they were opting to go in a different direction in 2008. I also have to wonder if Germain was less than pleased when Ted got himself suspended for one race. Ted has said that he's reassembling some old friend with a new team and rumors connect him with multiple organizations including Wyler-Gaughan Racing and Bobby Hamilton Racing. Wherever he ends up it'll be interesting to see whether Ted has finds the fire again next season.

8. Matt Crafton - We didn't hear much about Matt, nor did he win this season, yet he raced well enough on a consistent basis to finish in the top ten in points. Not bad.

9. Jack Sprague - A 9th place finish in the points isn't terrible but it's Jack's worst points finish in 11 seasons as a full-time truck series driver. Jack's a three-time series champion and there was a definite drop-off in results between 2006 and 2007 so I can understand why he got so excited about the opportunity to race for Kevin Harvick, Inc. since the trucks they field seem to be more competitive than those at Wyler-Gaughan Racing. I expect to see Jack in Victory Lane a couple more times in 2008. It'll be interesting to see who takes Jack's place in the #60 - I think a young driver would compliment Brendan Gaughan nicely (assuming Brendan races for them next season) but it'll probably come down to who brings sponsorship with them.

10. David Starr - After winning a race and finishing 4th in the points last season, David didn't win any races and dropped to 10th in the points this season. David will be going back to Red Horse Racing next season, and I think the results will be improved for both David and RHR next season compared to last season.

11. Brendan Gaughan - This is actually Brendan's best finish in the points since 2003 when he finished 4th. Each season since his return to racing in the Truck Series full-time Brendan and his team have made progress and improved. Now that they've merged with Wyler Racing I think they'll be even better next season - if Brendan decides to race for them. Brendan was very unhappy when the merger was announced and was very upset at the prospect of leaving Las Vegas for North Carolina but in the long-run it's likely the best thing for his race team and his career.

12. Erik Darnell - Erik won a race this season but he didn't improve his finish in the points as compared to last season - both years he's finished 12th.

13. Dennis Setzer - Even winning a race couldn't keep Setzer from losing his ride. After 17 races, Spears Motorsports released Dennis, and he ended up racing for Green Light Racing and Bobby Hamilton Racing to close out the season. Although there's been no formal announcement, it was said on one of the truck broadcasts that Dennis will race full-time for BHR next season. After three straight years of finishing second in the points, and 7 seasons overall of finishing in the top ten in points, Dennis has now finished 13th in the points for two years in a row. In the Cup Series a top 15 points finish is considered pretty good but not in the Truck Series where the level of competition isn't as great. I'm not sure we'll see the results improve all that much for Dennis at BHR.

14. Terry Cook - After winning a race last season and finishing 8th in points, although he had some good finishes, Terry didn't race up front as much as he did the season before which likely had to do more with the #59 team than Terry himself. Terry's lone top five and four top tens are an improvement for the #59 team from 2006 when Steve Park and Chad Chaffin only combined for two top tens, so this team is likely moving in the right direction and will probably continue to do so with Donny Lia, hungry to make his mark in the Truck Series like he did in the modifieds, behind the wheel. As for Terry he's still looking for a ride for next season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the #60 if Ted Musgrave doesn't end up in that truck.

15. Willie Allen - The 2007 Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series. Although Willie won ROY with just one top ten, his results otherwise weren't all that bad for a rookie and his only DNFs were due to engine issues as opposed to wrecks. He'll be back with ThorSport Racing next season where he'll be looking to build on his solid rookie season.

16. Tim Sauter - One of the imfamous Sauter Brothers, Tim is in need of a ride for next season.

17. Mike Bliss - In just 18 races for three different teams, Mike was able to race his way to four top 5's and ten top ten's. Nicely done. The 2002 Series champion, he'll be full-time next season in the Busch Series, but it's clear he still knows how to race a truck.

18. Chad McCumbee - In 22 races between two teams Chad had just one top ten. I'm not sure what Chad will be doing next season. There had been some talk of him racing Busch for Petty Enterprises in 2008 to develop him to eventually take over the #45 but I haven't heard anything about that lately. Sponsorship could be an issue like it is with so many other teams.

19. Ken Schrader - Ken raced the most races he's ever raced in the Truck Series - 17 - and had the best results, two top fives and three top tens. I would guess in a full season he'd do even better. However, Ken has said that he will likely race 12 or more Cup races next season for the Wood Brothers so while he's said he'll also race some truck races it might not be as many as this season when he was doing a favor for Bobby Hamilton Racing.

I don't have something to say about all of the rest of the drivers so from here on out I'll just highlight a few.

21. Stacy Compton - In addition to working for ESPN, Stacy raced in 14 truck races for a few different teams and was able to get a top five (a second place finish at Dover) and three top tens. I'm not sure whether he plans on concentrating on his broadcast career next season or whether he's going to try to continue to race, but three top tens in such a limited amount of starts isn't bad.

23. Bill Lester - Bill lost his ride with Billy Ballew Motorsports after just 15 races, due to a lack of sponsorship. The results for Bill weren't actually that terrible and seemed to be somewhat better than what he did in 2006, but given his overall lack of results over the course of his career I think he's going to have trouble finding another full-time ride next season.

24. Ryan Mathews - Hard to believe that Bill Davis Racing let Mathews go since he got a pole, a top five, two top tens and had an average finish of about 16th in just 13 races, the first 13 truck races he had ever raced. It seems to me that Ryan has some talent and I hope that another team gives him a chance full-time next season.

25. Aaron Fike - What a waste. Based on his top five and four top tens in only 12 races, it's clear that Aaron had some talent behind the wheel. But the pull of heroin was more enticing than the potential success he could have had in Nascar. We've seen other drivers who have been suspended for drugs come back (never successfully) but even if he's able to return to the sport I doubt Fike will get the same kind of opportunities that he could have had if he had stayed clean.

26. Kyle Busch - Kyle loves racing trucks so much that he does it for free. That's right, Kyle told Billy Ballew that he doesn't have to pay him to race the #51. Considering Kyle has two wins, four top fives and four top tens in just 11 races, I'm sure Billy will put him in the truck for as many races as he wants, providing there's sponsorship to pay for the costs of the truck.

27. Jon Wood - After mysteriously getting out of his Busch ride due to headaches and other issues that he said were caused by a reaction to medication he was taking for ADD, Jon started racing in the Truck Series. Which is probably where we'll see him in 2008 as well. Jon once had a lot of potential, and he may still end up having a successful career, but right now it's not looking like his career is going in the right direction.

33. Josh Wise - Josh was able to get two top tens in nine starts. I would have liked to have seen what he'd be able to do in more races, but since MWR sold the truck team, Josh won't have that opportunity. Hopefully we'll see Josh full-time in the Nationwide Series next year.

34. A.J. Allmendinger - Although A.J. finished 2nd at Charlotte in the #00 truck, the results weren't all that great for him in the nine truck races he was in, though in those nine races there were two engine failures. I doubt we'll see him in this series again, particularly since the #00 team's been sold.

36. Kevin Harvick - Kevin had two top fives and only finished outside the top ten once, due to an expired engine, in the six truck starts he made.

37. David Green - David stepped into the #1 when Red Horse Racing needed a driver on short notice due to Aaron Fike's problems, but after seven races they replaced him with Jason Leffler and Brandon Whitt. For a guy who hadn't raced much in the truck series, David actually didn't do too terribly as he never finished outside the top 20, and was able to race his way to one top five.

38. Mark Martin - Mark wasn't able to repeat his 2006 success where he won six races, but he did get three top fives for the Wood Brothers in just six starts.

39. Chad Chaffin - Chad was only able to manage two top tens in eight starts, but that's not bad for a driver who had thought heading into the season that his racing career was over and that he would be running his family's recycling business for the rest of his life.

41. Jason Leffler - Jason did well in his five starts in the #1 truck - three top fives and a 9th place finish. If not for his Nationwide ride, I suspect this team might have been interested in having Jason race for them next season.

42. Jacques Villeneuve - I'm extremely unimpressed with Jacques so far. In seven truck races he DNF'd due to wrecks three times. It wasn't for lack of a good truck that Jacques's results were so poor since Ryan Mathews got a pole, a top five and two top tens with the same team (in 13 races), but rather it was Jacques's inexperience in a truck. It's almost astonishing that Ryan had been results than Jacques since Jacques is a far more accomplished and experienced racer than Ryan. Jacques will be in the #36 full-time next season and I don't think the results are going to be pretty. Given his struggles in the truck, it boggles my mind that Bill Davis Racing didn't put him in the #36 car for more races to end the season after Jeremy Mayfield left the team.

43. Tyler Walker - Another driver with talent that wasted it on drugs.

57. Brad Keselowski - Brad made just three truck starts this season, but it was the start he made in place of the suspended Ted Musgrave that really made an impact and jump-started his career. Brad was already on the radar of some in the garage area but he really impressed by putting the #9 truck on the pole and looking like he might win the race until he got wrecked late in the race. Germain wanted to sign him immediately and Michael Waltrip Racing also expressed interest in signing him but they both lost out to JR Motorsports. Brad will race the #88 for JR Motorsports full-time next season, and with improved equipment from Hendrick Motorsports I expect to see a lot of Brad up front in 2008.