Camping World Trucks - Change Is Good: First Half Highlighted By Youth Movement

Indianapolis, July 28, 2011: Names like Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman and Joey Coulter, not to mention Austin Dillon and James Buescher, share a trait that has defined the first half of the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: The rise of young talent, possibly signaling a changing of the guard.

Friday night’s race at Lucas Oil Raceway marks the exact midpoint of the season, and the names above have become the key storylines of the first half – and, in all likelihood, the remainder of the season.

Cole Whitt: The 20-year-old launched into the 2011 season, tallying five top 10s in the first seven races. Since then, his pace has slowed. Over his last four starts, Whitt has just one top-10 finish and he has dropped from the points lead after Charlotte to his current position of fourth. Still, he owns the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings lead, 10 points up on the following two young guns.

Parker Kligerman: Flip-flop Whitt’s season, and you get Kligerman’s. The 20-year-old started 2011 with five finishes outside the top 10 in the first six events. Since then, he has had four top 10s in six races – including runner-ups at Texas and Kentucky. He’s currently seventh in points.

Joey Coulter: Quietly, Coulter has climbed the Sunoco Rookie standings thanks to five consecutive top-10 finishes (three of them in the top five).

Austin Dillon: Without frustration, there’s no such thing as perseverance. That might as well be Dillon’s 2011 motto. Inconsistency has plagued much of the 21-year-old’s season, but all seems well – for now. Last week’s winner at Nashville, Dillon has finished in the top-two in the last two races and has climbed to second in the points, 18 points behind Johnny Sauter.

James Buescher: The “what if” discussions continue. What if Buescher earned a spot in that Phoenix race, the second event of the season? Buescher has run off a string of eight consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest of any driver this season (the record is 24 straight by Jack Sprague over the course of the 1997-98 seasons). Buescher now sits third in points, 42 behind Sauter.

The young guns dethroned the veterans, at least atop the standings … for now. Two of those veterans are reigning series champion Todd Bodine and four-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr.

Todd Bodine: His campaign to become the first repeat champion has hit speed bump after speed bump. The 47-year-old struggled at the start (six of his first seven finishes were outside the top 10), and moved from his usual No. 30 ride to the No. 5 Toyota. Change was good, to the tune of two consecutive top 10s.

Ron Hornaday Jr.: Hornaday chewed off a four consecutive top fives early on, and a points position of third. But his performance has since dipped, and he now sits ninth, the second-lowest points position of his career through 12 races.