(This is inspired by sgfulton83's personal mock season because I really like what he's doing with it so I wanted to try something similar to it but obviously with me and my own career!)
The year is 2003 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is gearing up for its 9th season of racing action as NASCAR's 3rd tier racing series. Twenty-five events are set to be held and it's sure to be another thrilling battle all the way to the end. Last seasons champion Mike Bliss of Xpress Motorsports has moved on and Travis Kvapil is set to drive the Xpress #16 for the nearing season. Many are wondering if he will be able to pilot that truck to the same success it saw last year, but another story catching the attention of many around the industry is the recently announced team out of Chesterfield, Virginia; Gibson Motorsports. Team owner Steven Gibson Jr. made a statement in the local paper about it, and here's what he had to say: So Steven, tell us about it! "Aw man, It's really a dream come true! This is what it's all about for me! Sure winning all these races around here in the late model is cool and all, but I'm gonna be the owner and driver of a truck in the Craftsman Truck Series! That's crazy. I'm pumped. Obviously as we announced to the public, me and my guys built a six race schedule that we are very happy with and can't wait to run. We are only running six races this year because that's all the funding we have for now but we are hoping we can ruffle some feathers and find a few sponsors for the truck. We tried keeping the races closer to Virginia or atleast on the east coast to keep travel costs down. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch me run in Martinsville (4/12), Memphis (6/21), Nashville (8/8), Bristol (8/20), Richmond (9/4), and Homestead (11/14)." Which one are you most looking forward to? "That's a pretty tricky question. All of them! No, but uh, seriously I am pumped for them all. I think if I had to narrow it down to a single favorite it would have to be either Bristol or Martinsville. Bristol because well, y'know, who wouldn't love to win at Bristol? Martinsville... Martinsville on the other hand I just can't wait to run. So much success there in the late model, I've never been able to win but I've had some very good runs there in the past and if I could run well there in the truck it would just be so awesome!" Thank you Steven, good luck this year! Many wonder if he will be able to carry local success all the way into the big leagues, many wonder how he will run without much funding, soon these thoughts will no longer be wonders, but reality as we will see it all unfold.
(For all races I don't run, I will use real life results for those races)
Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona | Results
Craftsman 200 at Darlington | Results
Lucas Oil 250 Presented By Glidden at Mesa Marin | Results
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Practice 1
The trucks are pulling out onto the paperclip for the first time this weekend on a cloudy Virginia morning as they are set to take on their first twenty minute practice session.
Mesa Marin winner Dennis Setzer has carried the momentum over into first practice as he tops the charts with a 21.630, Daytona winner Rick Crawford close behind with a 21.631, young Brendan Gaughn in third with a 21.668, and local legend turned national series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. finishes the session in twenty-seventh with a 21.860. Ray Dunlap caught up with Steven at the end of the session: So.. how was it out there? "It was awesome! The truck felt great. It's a little tight up off the corner at times but it felt fast man. Me and the guys decided to pull it in a little bit early there to minimize wear and tear on our parts so there was a plenty speed left out there but with the little funds we have to work with we have to take as many short cuts as we can but I think we have the right data we need to build off of and hopefully we can take it to them in qualifying." There you have it, Craftsman Truck Series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. is happy with the truck and confident there is more to be gotten out there, back up to you Rick!
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Qualifying
Craftsman Truck Series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. qualifies twenty-fourth for the Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville Speedway. "I still think there is speed in the truck, I'm not worried at all." he says after.
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Happy Hour
"Full preservation mode here in happy hour, we went out and logged around two laps and called it a session. Not a display of pace come race time, I am still very confident in our truck and am excited for the race."
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Race
Lap 1- M. Crafton (#88) crashes w/ A. Houston (#15) and others
Lap 6- D. White #23 spun by J. Stout (#91)
Lap 14- R. Crawford (#15) spins J. Stout (#91), J. Stout (#91) collects C. Edwards (#99)
Lap 16- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) pits and receives speeding penalty (EOL)
Lap 19- A. Houston (#15) spun by B. Dotter (#07) | B. Rose (#57) spun by R. Alton (#51) under yellow (seperate wreck)
Restart Lap 27- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) restarts 33rd
Lap 34- R. MacDonald (#72) spun by T. Cook (#29), J. Stout (#91) collected
Lap 36- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) has climbed up to 21st
Lap 40- M. Crafton (#88) spins R. Bickle (#9) | S. Gibson Jr. (#21) spins under yellow after contact w/ J. Hill (#5) and collects M. Crafton (#88)
Lap 48- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) restarts 11th after catching back up to the field after his spin and jumping a few positions after many LL drivers pitted
Lap 61- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) passes B. Hamilton (#4) for 1st place
Lap 63- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) takes checkered flag
"Steven Gibson Jr. will do it! Out of turn four, he will be going to victory lane for the first time, Gibson Jr. wins at Martinsville!"
Steven, you just won in your first ever start? How does it feel? "It feels incredible. I don't even know what to say. When I said I knew the truck had speed I didn't know this is what it had, this thing was a rocket. Great long run pace, it felt really good on old tires and its just so crazy, I don't even know what to say!" Against the likes of Bobby Hamilton, Rick Crawford, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Dennis Seltzer, Ted Musgrave, and the many others I can't name because of time restrictions, what do you think of beating them in your first go? "It's just crazy. First of all, what a race. I hope the fans enjoyed. It was a crazy welcome to the series. It felt like it was getting to be a race of attrition at around the halfway point when we couldn't make it down to turn one, I even had a scare down there in turn one when they checked up a little faster than I would've liked, but man. I've got to give props to all these guys, they raced great, it was so much fun and I can't for Memphis. I just won Martinsville Ray, holy crap!" That's one excited rookie right there, Rick!
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Results
Steven Gibson Jr. wins in his first career start over Bobby Hamilton.
The year is 2003 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is gearing up for its 9th season of racing action as NASCAR's 3rd tier racing series. Twenty-five events are set to be held and it's sure to be another thrilling battle all the way to the end. Last seasons champion Mike Bliss of Xpress Motorsports has moved on and Travis Kvapil is set to drive the Xpress #16 for the nearing season. Many are wondering if he will be able to pilot that truck to the same success it saw last year, but another story catching the attention of many around the industry is the recently announced team out of Chesterfield, Virginia; Gibson Motorsports. Team owner Steven Gibson Jr. made a statement in the local paper about it, and here's what he had to say: So Steven, tell us about it! "Aw man, It's really a dream come true! This is what it's all about for me! Sure winning all these races around here in the late model is cool and all, but I'm gonna be the owner and driver of a truck in the Craftsman Truck Series! That's crazy. I'm pumped. Obviously as we announced to the public, me and my guys built a six race schedule that we are very happy with and can't wait to run. We are only running six races this year because that's all the funding we have for now but we are hoping we can ruffle some feathers and find a few sponsors for the truck. We tried keeping the races closer to Virginia or atleast on the east coast to keep travel costs down. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch me run in Martinsville (4/12), Memphis (6/21), Nashville (8/8), Bristol (8/20), Richmond (9/4), and Homestead (11/14)." Which one are you most looking forward to? "That's a pretty tricky question. All of them! No, but uh, seriously I am pumped for them all. I think if I had to narrow it down to a single favorite it would have to be either Bristol or Martinsville. Bristol because well, y'know, who wouldn't love to win at Bristol? Martinsville... Martinsville on the other hand I just can't wait to run. So much success there in the late model, I've never been able to win but I've had some very good runs there in the past and if I could run well there in the truck it would just be so awesome!" Thank you Steven, good luck this year! Many wonder if he will be able to carry local success all the way into the big leagues, many wonder how he will run without much funding, soon these thoughts will no longer be wonders, but reality as we will see it all unfold.
(For all races I don't run, I will use real life results for those races)
Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona | Results
Craftsman 200 at Darlington | Results
Lucas Oil 250 Presented By Glidden at Mesa Marin | Results
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Practice 1
The trucks are pulling out onto the paperclip for the first time this weekend on a cloudy Virginia morning as they are set to take on their first twenty minute practice session.
Mesa Marin winner Dennis Setzer has carried the momentum over into first practice as he tops the charts with a 21.630, Daytona winner Rick Crawford close behind with a 21.631, young Brendan Gaughn in third with a 21.668, and local legend turned national series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. finishes the session in twenty-seventh with a 21.860. Ray Dunlap caught up with Steven at the end of the session: So.. how was it out there? "It was awesome! The truck felt great. It's a little tight up off the corner at times but it felt fast man. Me and the guys decided to pull it in a little bit early there to minimize wear and tear on our parts so there was a plenty speed left out there but with the little funds we have to work with we have to take as many short cuts as we can but I think we have the right data we need to build off of and hopefully we can take it to them in qualifying." There you have it, Craftsman Truck Series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. is happy with the truck and confident there is more to be gotten out there, back up to you Rick!
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Qualifying
Craftsman Truck Series rookie Steven Gibson Jr. qualifies twenty-fourth for the Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville Speedway. "I still think there is speed in the truck, I'm not worried at all." he says after.
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Happy Hour
"Full preservation mode here in happy hour, we went out and logged around two laps and called it a session. Not a display of pace come race time, I am still very confident in our truck and am excited for the race."
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Race
Lap 1- M. Crafton (#88) crashes w/ A. Houston (#15) and others
Lap 6- D. White #23 spun by J. Stout (#91)
Lap 14- R. Crawford (#15) spins J. Stout (#91), J. Stout (#91) collects C. Edwards (#99)
Lap 16- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) pits and receives speeding penalty (EOL)
Lap 19- A. Houston (#15) spun by B. Dotter (#07) | B. Rose (#57) spun by R. Alton (#51) under yellow (seperate wreck)
Restart Lap 27- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) restarts 33rd
Lap 34- R. MacDonald (#72) spun by T. Cook (#29), J. Stout (#91) collected
Lap 36- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) has climbed up to 21st
Lap 40- M. Crafton (#88) spins R. Bickle (#9) | S. Gibson Jr. (#21) spins under yellow after contact w/ J. Hill (#5) and collects M. Crafton (#88)
Lap 48- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) restarts 11th after catching back up to the field after his spin and jumping a few positions after many LL drivers pitted
Lap 61- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) passes B. Hamilton (#4) for 1st place
Lap 63- S. Gibson Jr. (#21) takes checkered flag
"Steven Gibson Jr. will do it! Out of turn four, he will be going to victory lane for the first time, Gibson Jr. wins at Martinsville!"
Steven, you just won in your first ever start? How does it feel? "It feels incredible. I don't even know what to say. When I said I knew the truck had speed I didn't know this is what it had, this thing was a rocket. Great long run pace, it felt really good on old tires and its just so crazy, I don't even know what to say!" Against the likes of Bobby Hamilton, Rick Crawford, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Dennis Seltzer, Ted Musgrave, and the many others I can't name because of time restrictions, what do you think of beating them in your first go? "It's just crazy. First of all, what a race. I hope the fans enjoyed. It was a crazy welcome to the series. It felt like it was getting to be a race of attrition at around the halfway point when we couldn't make it down to turn one, I even had a scare down there in turn one when they checked up a little faster than I would've liked, but man. I've got to give props to all these guys, they raced great, it was so much fun and I can't for Memphis. I just won Martinsville Ray, holy crap!" That's one excited rookie right there, Rick!
Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville | Results
Steven Gibson Jr. wins in his first career start over Bobby Hamilton.