Bubba Wallace’s spotter suggests NASCAR brings the Truck Series closer to its roots

Bubba Wallace's spotter, Freddie Kraft, recently opined on strengthening the grassroots level of racing with the help of NASCAR. He believes the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series could play a crucial role in enhancing the same, commenting that success in the Truck series hinges more on understanding the tracks than on having the most powerful engines or the good car bodies.

NASCAR drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, and Josh Berry, have participated in various series to support and promote grassroots racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has competed in the Cars Tour, while Kyle Larson has taken a step further by driving and launching his own series, High Limit Racing, helping in the development and visibility of racing at the grassroots level.

While that is one way to promote grassroots racing among young drivers, Freddie Kraft believes that promoting grassroots racing among young drivers can significantly benefit from the Truck series. In a discussion with Derek Pernesiglio on his show, Kraft shared his vision for the series:

"I feel like we have to take these series that these kids are wanting to go run and bring them back to the short tracks. I think the truck series should never run more than a mile except for, go to maybe Daytona one time, go to Charlotte one time, and then go to the go to Dover and then put Stafford, Pensacola...," Kraft said.

"If you're gonna go to Stafford, Keith Racco can figure out either rent a truck ride, or maybe even put a truck right together because you don't have to have the best bodies and the best engines to run Stafford and be competitive if you have a good understanding of the race track," he added.

He further noted that several drivers, including Keith Racco, can excel in the Xfinity and top-tier NASCAR series because of their experience in various racing formats such as Modified cars, Late Models, Sprint cars, and Dirt car racing. The diverse background helps them get equipped with the skills necessary to compete at higher levels.

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Kyle Larson says that the NASCAR schedule has helped in grassroots racing growth

Recently, Kyle Larson pointed out that the more streamlined NASCAR weekend schedules have provided drivers with additional opportunities to pursue other interests and engage more deeply with fans.

During an interview with "Racing America", Larson expressed his appreciation for NASCAR’s condensed weekend schedule, which typically includes only about 20 minutes of practice time. He believes this adjustment has been advantageous:

"I think grassroots has grown a lot, you know, here the last few years. And I would say live streaming has been a big part of that, but yeah, I mean, I think even probably a factor in that would be the cup schedule being much simpler on a race weekend. It allows your drivers to have more time to go do stuff, want to go do stuff outside of NASCAR, because our weekends are so, you know, with only 20-minute practice."

In addition to the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick are also diving back into grassroots racing series like the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series.