2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season is the sixteenth season of the third highest stock car racing in the United States. The season includes twenty-five races, beginning with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the 2010 season, NASCAR announced a few notable calendar changes, including a race addition at Kentucky Speedway and the removal of Gateway International Raceway from the schedule. Toyota entered 2011 as the reigning Maunfacturer's Champions, while Todd Bodine is the defending Driver's Champion.

Teams and drivers
Note: A driver designated with a (R) next to their name indicates that they are contenders for the 2011 Rookie of the Year award.

Team changes

 * Germain Racing will add its #9 team to its full-time lineup with Max Papis.
 * Billy Ballew Motorsports will merge with West Coast team Vision Aviation Racing to continue running in the Truck Series. The team will run under the VAR banner, with Ballew being majority owner and Toyota continuing its support. The original plan, as stated by manager Tom Davis, was to run his son Dusty in the #15 for 7 races and Justin Johnson for 22. However, after Nashville, the #15 was shut down and the #51 running a limited schedule after Vision Airlines Chief operating officer Steven Acor decided to cut back the racing team to compensate for increased fuel prices.


 * Began operations
 * Texas businessmen Bob Leavine and Lance Fenton have formed Leavine Fenton Racing. Fenton will run a partial schedule in the #95 Ford.
 * Virginia native Joe Denette will start his own race team, Joe Denette Motorsports. Denette is a NASCAR fan who won the Virginia Lottery Mega Million in May 2009 after being laid off four months prior. He has teamed with fellow Virginian Hermie Sadler to start his own team with assistance from Kevin Harvick Incorporated. Jason White will bring sponsorship from GunBroker.com to the team for 2011.


 * Discontinued operations
 * Team Gill Racing shut down with their assets having been purchased by Eddie Sharp Racing.

Driver changes

 * Mike Skinner parted ways with Randy Moss Motorsports after the 2010 season due to a lack of chemistry. In a interview with Sirius Speedway, Skinner said that he had talked to a few teams and would prefer to remain with Toyota. On February 11, Skinner announced that he would drive the #45 of Eddie Sharp Racing at Daytona and potentially at Phoenix.


 * Changed teams
 * Justin Lofton was released by Red Horse Racing after his rookie season. He will drive the #77 for Germain Racing.
 * Jason White leaves SS-Green Light Racing and takes his sponsorship from GunBroker.com with him to the new Joe Denette Motorsports team.
 * Midway through 2011, Germain Racing was unable to field its flagship #30 Toyota driven by Todd Bodine due to a lack of sponsorship. Germain announced on July 13 that they would partner with Randy Moss Motorsports to put Bodine in the #5 for the rest of 2011, releasing Travis Kvapil. According to owner Bob Germain, the trucks will be prepared by Germain but given the #5.


 * Entered the series
 * Joey Coulter will drive full-time this season with Richard Childress Racing, as a teammate to Austin Dillon. He will drive the #22 Silverado and will have veteran Harold Holly as crew chief.
 * Fourth-generation driver Jeffrey Earnhardt will run for ROTY with Rick Ware Racing. However, he was released after 3 races when Fuel Doctor decided to leave.
 * Johanna Long will move up to full time status for 2011 with her Panhandle Motorsports team.
 * Former Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. will drive for Kevin Harvick Incorporated full-time this season.
 * With Eddie Sharp Racing having purchased Team Gill Racing, 2010 ARCA runner-up Craig Goess will drive the #46 Toyota full time in 2011.
 * Brazilian driver Miguel Paludo will drive Red Horse Racing's #7 Toyota full-time with sponsorship from Stemco Duroline.
 * Vision Aviation Racing teammates Dusty Davis and Justin Johnson will move up from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West to drive the #15 and #51 Toyotas respectively. They were not approved to run at Daytona International Speedway, so Michael Waltrip and Aric Almirola drove the #15 and #51.
 * Chris Eggleston will attempt to run for ROTY with Winfield Motorsports, promoting various charities.
 * Red Bull development driver Cole Whitt, after spending a season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, will run for ROTY with Stacy Compton's Turn One Racing.
 * Chase Mattioli, son of Pocono Raceway owner Joseph Mattioli, will form his own team, Chase Mattioli Racing and will run the full 2011 season with sponsorship from CollegeComplete.com. Mattioli was unable to start at Daytona due to a gastrointestinal infection and had Chad McCumbee drive. The team will use Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing's owner points from 2010, as Jennifer Jo Cobb is running the Nationwide Series.
 * Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen announced that he would run a part-time schedule starting in the summer, driving for his own ICE 1 Racing team in a partnership with Foster Gillett. On April 2, it was announced that Räikkönen will instead drive a limited schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports starting at Charlotte. He will be sponsored by beef jerky company Perky Jerky. He is now entered at Charlotte driving Vision Aviation Racing's #15 Toyota, fielded by Busch.


 * Returned to the series
 * Brendan Gaughan returns to the Truck Series full time for the first time since 2008. He will drive for Germain Racing.
 * Travis Kvapil returns to the Truck Series full time for the first time since 2007. He will drive the #5 for Randy Moss Motorsports, replacing Mike Skinner. Kvapil will officially run for the Truck Series title while driving the #38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports.
 * Justin Marks returns to NASCAR for the first time since 2008. He will drive for Stacy Compton's Turn One Racing.


 * Exited the series
 * Aric Almirola will drive for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series due to lack of sponsorship being found for Billy Ballew Motorsports; he returned to the #51 truck for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona as Vision Aviation Racing's drivers were both ineligible to run Daytona because of NASCAR's requirements for driver experience before running Daytona or Talladega.
 * Narain Karthikeyan returned to Formula One this season with Hispania Racing.

Mid-Season Changes

 * Justin Lofton parted ways with Germain Racing after the Winstar World Casino 400. He soon signed with Eddie Sharp Racing, which, ironically, was the team that Lofton won the 2009 ARCA Remax Series championship with. Craig Goess, the driver Lofton replaced, is currently unable to find a ride.
 * Due to season struggles, Randy Moss Motorsports and Germain Racing joined forces to field Todd Bodine in the #5 truck for the remainder of the season after the UNOH 225. The team will be run out of the Germain shop and crew chiefed by Mike Hillman, Jr. The move leaves Travis Kvapil without a ride, and original crew chief Dan Stillman moved to ThorSport Racing.

Calendar changes

 * The Lucas Oil 150, held at Phoenix International Raceway, will be moved from November to February, causing it to become the second race of the season.
 * Darlington Raceway's race date will move from August to March.
 * Kentucky Speedway will receive an additional race in July.
 * Atlanta Motor Speedway's race date will move from March to September.
 * Kansas Speedway's race date will move to June.
 * Gateway International Raceway will not be included in the calendar.

Drivers
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.
 * 1 – Post entry, driver and owner did not score points.
 * 2 – Bell originally registered for Truck points, switched to Sprint Cup after Charlotte.
 * 3 – Ickler was not registered for Truck points at Texas.