In 1994 and early 1995, seven demonstration races for the newly-born NASCAR SuperTruck Series were held. The races were broadcast during coverage of the ''

Winter Heat Series ''Winter Heat Series'' (or NASCAR Winter Heat) is a television program on TNN and later ESPN2 that featured stock car racing. History The program aired during the winter months between November and January (during NASCAR's offseason). The program ...

'' and were held on tracks primarily based on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

, featuring four to five trucks each. The series helped begin the careers of future NASCAR drivers like Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch,

Matt Crafton Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a three-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2013, 2014, 2019), in which he competes full-time, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 ...

, and

Ron Hornaday Jr. Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...

Another exhibition race was held at the

Homestead Motorsports Complex Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres * Homestead principle, a legal concept ...

at the end of the 1995 season called the NASCAR Supertruck 25, though not as a ''Winter Heat'' race.

Supertruck Mesa Marin 20

The race was run as a support event to the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour. Craig Huartson, a

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series was a NASCAR-sanctioned amateur/semi-pro late model stock car racing series based in the Southeastern United States. The series was formerly known as the Slim Jim All Pro Series; it was founded i ...

driver, won the pole for the race with a lap speed of . After leading the first lap, he lost the lead to offroad racer Dave Ashley, who led for seven laps before relinquishing it to

Rob MacCachren Rob MacCachren (born March 24, 1965) is an American off-road racer from Las Vegas, Nevada. MacCachren won over 200 off-road races including five editions of the Baja 1000. He raced the Mickey Thompson Stadium Series early in his career and w ...

. MacCachren would lead until lap 13, when

P. J. Jones Parnell Velko "P. J." Jones (born April 23, 1969) is an American professional racing driver. He has contested in multiple disciplines, including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series, USAC, the Chili Bowl, and the S ...

claimed first, and led for the remainder of the race, beating Gary Collins by 15 seconds. Jones won the race in a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, though the team switched to Chevrolet for the next race after General Motors offered the team a technical package.

Race results

Supertruck Portland 20

The race, run as an undercard to the

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Northwest Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Northwest Series was a regional NASCAR late model stock car racing series first codified in 1985. The series, along with its three other series in its division, folded in 2006. Unlike the NASCAR national series ...

, was sold out. After starting second,

led all 20 laps of the race.

Race results

Supertruck Saugus 20

The race, held as part of a Featherlite Southwest Tour race weekend, featured a sellout crowd of 6,308. Gary Collins led the entire race. Originally scheduled for 20 laps, the race was cut by five laps after an incident on lap 14 and after the caution started to rain;

, who was in second, backed his Ford into the wall between turns 3 and 4. At the same time, it began raining at the track which led the race to be the first ever Truck series event shortened due to rain. As a result, the race ended under caution. Craig Huartson did not finish the race when his engine failed after completing four laps.

Race results

Supertruck Tucson 20

Mike Hurlbert failed to start the race. After Gary Collins led the first lap,

and

Rick Carelli Richard Dean Carelli (born November 9, 1954) is a retired American race car driver from Arvada, Colorado. He was nicknamed the "High Plains Drifter". He won multiple times in the No. 6 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck. He is the spotter for Er ...

each led for one lap until Jones inherited the lead on lap 5. Craig Huartson led lap 6 before Jones reclaimed first, leading for three laps. Huartson retook the lead on lap 10, but relinquished it to

on lap 11, who led two laps before Hornaday passed him for first. Hornaday led the final 13 laps to win the race.

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat 200 No. 1

The race, along with the next two, were broadcast nationally by

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On Septembe ...

as part of the ''Winter Heat'' program, an eight-week series featuring both the SuperTrucks and the

Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

. Former

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

kicker Mike Cofer, who had won on the regional Southwest Tour, was initially scheduled to run the race but did not. Mike Skinner led the first 62 laps of the race; halfway through his run, a caution for debris was called on lap 32.

and Skinner traded the lead on laps 64 and 65 before the former led 79 straight laps. The No. 54 of Steve McEachern spun on the frontstretch on lap 86, bringing out the second caution of the day. On lap 137, T. J. Clark crashed in turn two to force a third caution. Shortly after the green flag wove on lap 143,

took the lead, leading for 24 laps before relinquishing it to Carelli. The two battled for first until lap 176, when Carelli held on to the position for the final 25 laps to win. Dave Ashley failed to start the race. Off-road racer

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...

suffered an engine failure on lap 53, while Mike Hurlbert and T. J. Clark had rear end and suspension problems on laps 86 and 127, respectively.

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat 200 No. 2

The second of the ''Winter Heat'' races, a competition caution was implemented to be flown at the race's halfway point on lap 100. Pole-sitter Ron Hornaday Jr. led the first 71 laps of the event. During his run, a caution was flown on lap 38 for

Ken Schrader Kenneth Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford for Fast Tra ...

's slow truck. Hornaday gave up the lead to Mike Skinner on lap 72. Steve McEachern spun in turn 4 on lap 131 to force another caution, while the third and final yellow flag of the day occurred on lap 141 for debris. Skinner continued to lead until lap 177 when P. J. Jones passed him. Jones led the final 23 laps to win. Two drivers failed to finish the race: Kerry Teague's engine failed on lap 38, while

Johnny Benson Jonathan Thomas Benson Jr. (born June 27, 1963) is an American retired stock car racing driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson Sr. Benson has raced across NASCAR's three national series ( Cup, Busch, Truck), and his ...

failed to start.

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat No. 3 (1995)

In comparison to the first two ''Winter Heat'' races, the third was marred by cautions; six accidents occurred during the race.

Butch Gilliland Leonard N. "Butch" Gilliland (born February 25, 1958) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series driver from California. He was the 1997 Winston West Series champion and based on the west coast. All of his 10 Cup starts ca ...

led the first ten laps of the race before Ron Hornaday Jr. took the lead, holding on for 91 laps. During Hornaday's run from laps 11–101, two cautions were flown:

Bob Strait Bob Strait (born April 12, 1949) is an American stock car racing driver. He was one of the pioneer NASCAR SuperTruck Series drivers. He has sixteen Automobile Racing Club of America, ARCA victories. Motorsports career results NASCAR (Template:N ...

and Steve McEachern crashed in turn three on lap 39, while Craig Huartson spun in turn one on lap 59. The third caution, a result of Kerry Teague's truck spilling oil on the track, resulted in Hornaday losing the lead to Rick Carelli. He led until lap 149, when Mike Skinner took first. Two laps later, the Nos. 2 and 23 trucks of Dave Ashley and T. J. Clark were involved in a crash in turn one. The final caution period of the day came on lap 197 when Gilliland spun in turn four, forcing a

green–white–checker finish In North American auto racing, a green–white–checker finish (GWC) is a racing restart procedure one in which the race is restarted from a caution period with 2 laps remaining. When the race distance is extended to accommodate such a finish, i ...

and extending the race by four laps. Skinner led those laps to win the race. Of the 18 drivers competing, seven did not finish the race: T. J. Clark retired on lap 187 for overheating issues, P. J. Jones' brakes failed on lap 165,

Tobey Butler Tobey Butler (born December 23, 1959) is a former American NASCAR driver. He finished in the top-10 in points in the inaugural year of the Craftsman Truck Series and then did a limited schedule. Career He was the 1987 champion of the NASCAR Nor ...

and Teague both suffered engine problems on laps 100 and 99, respectively,

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

' truck overheated on lap 73 and Strait and McEachern's crash forced both of them out of the race.

Race results

NASCAR Supertruck 25 (1995)

Following the end of the

1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series The 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman was the inaugural season of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series. The season began on February 5, 1995, and ended on October 28. Mike Skinner of Richard Childress Racing won the championship. Pr ...

season, the series held a 25-lap exhibition race at the newly-opened

. At the time, the track resembled a smaller Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was praised by series champion Mike Skinner. As trucks weren't as aerodynamic as regular stock cars, he commented, drivers had to be more cautious entering the turns. Pole-sitter

Jimmy Hensley James Hensley (born October 11, 1945) is a former NASCAR driver. With a career spanning 27 seasons in all three of NASCAR's elite divisions, Hensley may be best remembered for his Rookie of the Year award won in 1992, his 15th season in the seri ...

led the first two laps before

Skinner Skinner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname * Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules *Skinner, a rin ...

took the lead. Skinner led until lap 12, when the competition caution was waved, and

Geoff Bodine Geoffrey Edwin Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers (with Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine), and sister Denise. Bodine lives in West Melbourne, Florid ...

claimed first. Bodine led for three laps, followed by Skinner leading for a lap, then Butch Miller for two laps. Bodine took the lead from Miller on lap 19, and led all but one of the final seven laps (Skinner led lap 22) to beat Skinner by 0.1 seconds.

Ernie Irvan Virgil Earnest "Ernie" Irvan (born January 13, 1959), occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is best remembered for his comeback after a serious head ...

, who had failed to qualify for the

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

race, finished third. The track was added to the

1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the second season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. Ron Hornaday Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the championship. ES ...

schedule as the opening race.

Race results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1994-95 NASCAR SuperTruck Series exhibition races NASCAR Truck Series 1994 in NASCAR 1995 in NASCAR

Supertruck Mesa Marin 20

Race results

Supertruck Portland 20

Race results

Supertruck Saugus 20

Race results

Supertruck Tucson 20

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat 200 No. 1

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat 200 No. 2

Race results

Supertruck Winter Heat No. 3 (1995)

Race results

NASCAR Supertruck 25 (1995)

Race results

See also

References