Streak of recent Michigan winners to continue

With Brendan Gaughan the only previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race winner at Michigan entered in Saturday’s Michigan National Guard 200 it means the streak of new winners over the past eight races will continue.

Gaughan, who enters this weekend looking for his first win of the season, won in 2003 at the track. There have been eight different winners beginning with Dennis Setzer’s 2005 victory.

Greg Biffle and Travis Kvapil are the only two-time Michigan winners but neither is entered in this week’s race.

One driver who could continue the streak of different winners is Miguel Paludo. Paludo looks to continue his impressive run to a first NCWTS victory at Michigan International Speedway and also set a new personal record.

In his two previous starts at MIS, the Brazilian native has enjoyed success with a pair of top 10s highlighted by a third-place finish in 2011. Paludo has already equaled his career-best season total of seven top-10 finishes and can set a new career mark if he keeps his streak alive at MIS.

While Ryan Blaney doesn’t have any previous starts at Michigan in a truck, he enters this weekend on a roll after his win at Pocono. The 19-year old driver also has some experience at the two-mile oval finishing second in an ARCA race earlier this year.

In fact, Blaney could be a part of two streaks this weekend at the track. He would be the ninth consecutive different winner at MIS and also the first driver win back-to-back races since Johnny Sauter did it to open the 2013 campaign.

Armstrong Returns To Michigan With New Crew Chief

Dakoda Armstrong returns to Michigan, site of his career-best NCWTS finish of third last season. His No. 60 Turn One Racing Chevrolet team will be accompanied by a new crew chief, someone who knows how to put winning trucks in Victory Lane.

Joe Shear Jr., a nine-time series winner, recently was named Armstrong’s crew chief and Michigan will be the first race for the duo.

Shear long has enjoyed success in the truck series, and turned the wrenches earlier this season in helping Johnny Sauter pick up a pair of wins (Daytona International Speedway & Martinsville Speedway) before deciding to step down at ThorSport Racing back in July. Shear and Sauter combined for seven victories during their ThorSport tenure.

Shear’s first series victory came in 1997 with Sauter’s older brother Jay. The Richard Childress Racing pair won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Shear also was the overseer of trucks driven by the late Tony Roper and Kevin Cywinski, which recorded top-20 championship finishes in 1998-99.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.

Two NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors – Kyle Busch and Joey Logano – will compete in the Michigan National Guard 200. Busch attempts to add Michigan to the list of nine tracks on which he has won in all three NASCAR national series. With a victory on Saturday, Logano becomes the 24th driver to post victories in NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series. … Saturday’s race will mark the debut of the series on the new FOX Sports 1.

NASCAR