Tight points battle in trucks heading into Chicagoland

Joliet, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Camping World Truck Series will kick off NASCAR's triple-header weekend at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday night.

This is the 15th event on the 22-race schedule. Johnny Sauter currently holds a seven-point lead over ThorSport Racing teammate and defending series champion Matt Crafton. Ryan Blaney, the winner of the most recent truck race on Aug. 31 in Canada, is 13 points behind.

Truck teams practiced at Chicagoland on Thursday. Blaney posted the fastest lap in the opening session at 175.234 mph. Sauter was quickest in the second and final session at 176.540 mph.

The series has been running at this 1.5-mile racetrack since 2009. Sauter and Crafton have both competed in each of the previous five races here. Sauter's first career win in the Nationwide Series came at Chicagoland 12 years ago.

"I've liked the track from the first time I got on it, and I won my first Nationwide Series race there in 2002," Sauter said.

Sauter has finished in the top-10 in four truck races at Chicagoland, including a 10th-place run here last year.

Crafton has scored four straight top-10 finishes at this track, including fourth-place runs in the past two races.

"Chicagoland is definitely not boring to go around in the driver's seat," Crafton said. "The track has got a lot of character because the surface is worn out, and it's a lot of fun to drive because it has multiple grooves. You can run high, low or wherever you have to do to help your truck find speed. It's a fun, fast track. We've had some decent runs here in the past, and hopefully that continues there this weekend."

Blaney finished third in his first truck race at Chicagoland one year ago. He competed in the Nationwide event here in July, placing ninth.

"We ran very well at Chicagoland last year," Blaney said. "Running the Nationwide race there this summer helped me out a lot. The track changed a lot from day to night, and it was good to get a race under our belt to kind of know where the track is going to go. It was very helpful."

Thirty-two teams are on the entry list for the Lucas Oil 225. Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon are those Sprint Cup Series regulars competing in this race. Busch has the most truck wins at this track with three, including a victory last year. Dillon won here during his championship season in 2011.

Series: NASCAR Camping World. Date: Friday, Sept. 12. Race: Lucas Oil 225. Site: Chicagoland Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 8:30 p.m. ET. Laps: 150. Miles: 225. 2013 Winner: Kyle Busch. Television: FOX Sports 1. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.