By: Ashley McCubbin

There are certain events that spark interest and attention for any series. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ready to do battle at North Wilkesboro Speedway is one of those races. The Wright Brand 250 will see the tailgaters battle on a track filled with prestige and history, and short track love. Is there anything better than this?

NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain knows a thing or two about running well at short tracks – just ask him about the hail melon at Martinsville Speedway. He also knows how to drive a truck, as evident by picking up the checkered flag at Darlington Raceway. He will once again drive for Niece Motorsports this weekend hoping to better his ninth place from a year ago.

Niece Motorsports getting a win makes them the fifth team to do so this year, joining REV Racing (1), Spire Motorsports (3), McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (2), and TRICOR Racing (2) on the map this year. Spire is the most impressive, as they’re the only team to do so with two different drivers, courtesy of a pair for Kyle Busch and Rajah Caruth‘s first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They are also the defending event winner, grabbing the victory with Kyle Larson in 2023. Caruth could use a good run after crashing out at Darlington, but a lot of eyes will be the No. 7 as NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sammy Smith will hope to add a checkered flag to his collection.

Shockingly, this means ThorSport Racing has yet to grab a checkered flag. That becomes more shocking knowing their reputation in the series as a multi-time champion with Matt Crafton, and having won back-to-back titles the past two years with Ben Rhodes. You may want to watch those two, but keep your eye on Ty Majeski. The Snowball Derby winner knows how to run a short track from his late model experience, and scored a runner-up at Wilkesboro last season. He’s also ranked highest of the ThorSport drivers in points (fourth) following a fifth at Darlington.

You cannot talk about the Truck Series without mentioning Christian Eckes and Corey Heim as they take up the top two spots in the standings separated by 14 points with two wins and eight top-10 finishes each in nine races. Heim was faster last year at Wilkesboro in placing sixth, while Eckes was back in 25th.

Sitting third in points is Nick Sanchez, who seems to have his season back on-track. He kicked off with a win at Daytona, but fell off with a pair of finishes outside the top-10. Now having scored four consecutive top-six results including a runner-up at Darlington, he may be getting hot just before the summer stretch. Unfortunately, he placed 30th last season at Wilkesboro.

A short track event is going to have an ace mixed in there somewhere. Branden “Butterbean” Queen may be the driver to keep an eye on for a darkhorse, as he makes his Truck Series debut with TRICOR Racing. The multi-time Langley Speedway Champion has experience at Wilkesboro in a late model, and has been fast this season with a win on the CARS Tour. A break-out moment would go far for his young career.