Catchfence

When the Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas this weekend, look for the entry list to be a little stronger. We are hearing that both rookie Johanna Long and Tayler Malsam will return to CWTS competition in the desert.

First, expect an announcement on Monday that Long will be driving a truck prepared by her family’s race team, Panhandle Motorsports. We’ve heard that her effort will be led by veteran crew chief Kevin “Cowboy” Starland, and that more races might be upcoming for Long and Panhandle for the 2010 season. If she qualifies, the Vegas race will mark Long’s fourth start of the season. In her previous three truck starts (for Billy Ballew Motorsports) coming at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Nashville Superspeedway, and Chicagoland Speedway, Long has scored two top 20 finishes. Besides racing trucks, Long has spent the season making various latemodel starts at tracks in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, and has two USAR ProCup starts.

Malsam, who has been racing in the Nationwide Series since being released by Kyle Busch Motorsports early in the season, will return to the Truck Series in an entry fielded by Randy Moss Motorsports. Malsam competed for RMM for the entire 2009 season before moving on to KBM for 2010. Expect veteran crew chief Doug Wolcott to call the shots for Malsam’s team at LVMS. Malsam ran the first seven truck races of the season for KBM before his team was shut down due to lack of funding. The young driver from Washington was then given an opportunity to run for Braun Racing in the Nationwide Series and has since made 11 starts with a best finish of 11th. No word on if any more truck races are planned for Malsam.

Moving forward, it’s always good to see new teams and young drivers getting a chance to make their mark in the sport. Both of these drivers have a ton of potential, and adding competitive teams to entry lists is always a good thing.

- The NASCAR Insiders