CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

• Truck begin nine-week stretch at Iowa

  Newton, IA (Sports Network) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Sunday, July 11. Race: Lucas Oil 200. Site: Iowa Speedway. Track: .875-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 175. 2009 winner: Mike Skinner. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

  After a three-week hiatus, the Camping World Truck Series returns to action this weekend at Iowa Speedway. Iowa kicks off a nine-week stretch of racing in the series.

  Todd Bodine currently holds a 55-point lead over Aric Almirola, who won the most recent truck race on June 12 at Michigan.

  Almirola claimed his first career truck win in May at Dover.

  "We've been on a roll here lately," Almirola said.

  "It would be awesome to leave Iowa with another trophy this year. We were competitive there last year. We ran second, and I felt like we had a good truck, but we weren't good enough to win. We were just good enough to run second." Mike Skinner won the 2009 inaugural truck race at Iowa. Skinner led all but 20 of the 200 laps, but had just enough fuel remaining to hold off Almirola in a four-lap shootout to the finish. Almirola's second-place run was his career- best finish in the series at the time.

  "I feel really confident going back there, and if everything plays out right, you never know what could happen," Almirola added.

  David Starr is expected to make his 250th career start at Iowa. Starr, who made his first truck start in 1998 at Phoenix, will become the fourth active driver to reach this milestone. He will join Rick Crawford, Dennis Setzer and four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr.

  "I've been very fortunate and blessed that I have been racing at this level for this long," said Starr, who drives the No.81 Toyota for Randy Moss Motorsports.

  "To make it to 250 is very cool, but what I really want to do is make at least 250 more starts after that." Thirty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Lucas Oil 200.

  07/06 20:12:14 ET