Charlotte kick-starts seven-week stretch for trucks

It is a bit of a challenge to be a Craftsman Truck Series fan or team from February to mid-May. The season got off to a flying start with consecutive races at Daytona and California, then slowed substantially.

From Feb. 23 until now, a span of 11 weeks, the series raced just three more times. But this Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., the heart of the schedule finally begins. The Quaker Steak & Lube 200 will kick off seven races in seven weeks for the trucks, their longest uninterrupted stretch of the season.

"When the season first starts, you always look at the schedule and try to have yourself ready to go when that long stretch starts," said Rick Crawford, third in points in the No. 14 Circle Bar Racing Ford. "The off-weeks have been welcome, because we've been trying to build our truck inventory."

Also welcome was a test session last week at Lowe's, the series' final sanctioned test of the season. A variety of work was completed, from Nextel Cup regular Kyle Busch turning laps in the No. 51 Chevrolet for Billy Ballew Motorsports in an attempt to get comfortable for his title defense at Lowe's (he has won there the past two years) to Jack Sprague working out his Wyler Toyota in hopes of making a push from his fifth-place position in the standings.

"I know the guys gave me two great trucks here at the test," Sprague said. "Hopefully we can come back Friday and at least contend for the win."

If not win, at least build momentum.

"We're looking to get into a rhythm starting [this] week," said Tony Furr, Sprague's crew chief. "There are several tracks coming up that are similar to what you learn here. At a mile-and-a-half track, everything, including horsepower and aero, comes into play, so you have to take advantage of it all you can."

Test sessions are rarely newsmakers. But Lowe's was for the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team, for all the wrong reasons.

Regular driver Johnny Benson allowed friend and non-NASCAR licensed driver Mike Lichty into the driver's seat of his Toyota for part of the test. Lichty probably was not the first such participant in a test, but he may be the last.

The 21-year-old's identity was discovered when he crashed during the test -- no one was injured -- and NASCAR handed down severe penalties for his presence in the Tundra.

Crew chief Trip Bruce was fined $10,000 and suspended for the next two races, the team was docked 50 owner points and Benson was hit with a 50-point penalty in championship points. If applied today, Benson would fall from seventh in series points into a tie for ninth.

"We agree with the penalties NASCAR has issued to the 23 team and we will deal with them accordingly," said owner Bill Davis in a statement. "NASCAR has rules and policies in place to keep the drivers and crew members safe and we appreciate their vigilance in this instance."

Justin Hobgood, a full-time fabricator for Germain Racing, will drive a third Germain entry at Lowe's alongside defending champion Todd Bodine and 2005 champion Ted Musgrave. He will drive the No. 03 Toyota Tundra.

Hobgood made three truck starts for Germain in 2005, with a top finish of 20th at Phoenix. That was when Germain fielded just one full-time team with Bodine, and Hobgood cited Bodine's help as a factor in getting back into the driver's seat.

"I have been able to do quite a bit of testing for Germain Racing and for some other teams. And working with Todd has really helped. For example, when I spot for Todd, he always takes time to point out something he's doing on the racetrack that I should see, and he is really a good mentor," Hobgood said.

Busch Series driver Shane Huffman will race Friday in the No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet. He ran four of the last five events last year for Key, with a high finish of 20th at Homestead-Miami. … Erik Darnell credited a second-place finish in the ARCA race at Kansas as a major factor in his first-ever truck series win at Kansas. So watch out for him in July at Kentucky Speedway; last weekend he won the ARCA event there. … Chase Miller was released from the No. 4 Dodge of Bobby Hamilton Racing. He ranked 21st in series points after five starts with a season-best finish of 14th at California. Kevin Hamlin is slated to drive the truck this week. He previously drove the No. 04 for BHR at Daytona. Hamlin and Evernham Motorsports' Kasey Kahne tested the No. 4 at Lowe's.

John Schwarb is a freelance journalist covering motorsports and a contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at johnschwarb@yahoo.com.