Blaney Leads Truck Series To The Pocono Mountains

For the first time in his career, Ryan Blaney has taken over the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings lead from defending champion Matt Crafton. With a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes, Blaney has worked his way from ninth to first in points, beginning with a runner-up finish at Dover in May. Now, holding a slim four-point lead over Crafton and momentum on his side, Blaney, the defending race winner, looks to extend his lead Saturday. Although the Brad Keselowski Racing driver has yet to find Victory Lane in 2014, a win would further solidify him as a championship contender and give him two wins in as many starts at Pocono to become the first repeat winner there.

Blaney and the rest of the series will have to plan for an extended show, as the NCWTS race is scheduled for 150 miles instead of its previous 125. The extra mileage won’t be too much of an added burden to the drivers’ stamina; three of the last four races have ended with a green/white/checkered finish (2010, 2011, 2013), extending the races passed their scheduled distances.

The longest previous NCWTS race at Pocono was in 2010 when Elliott Sadler won a 55 lap, 137.5-mile event. Sadler is one of four different winners in four races at the “Tricky Triangle.”