First-time winners in vogue as series heads to Texas

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Will the Craftsman Truck Series produce its record fourth consecutive first-time winner Friday night in the Sam's Town 400 at Texas Motor Speedway?

It certainly seems plausible considering what has transpired in the past three races and the quality of candidates at Texas. Matt Crafton (Lowe's) and rookies Donny Lia (Mansfield) and Scott Speed (Dover) became the third group of first-time winners in CTS history. It also happened in 1995 and 1998.

Fast facts

What	Sam's Town 400
When	Green, 9:15 p.m. ET Friday
TV	SPEED, 8:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 8:30 ET

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Who could be next?

Chad McCumbee has the best credentials. McCumbee, 23, finished second at Lowe's and fifth at Atlanta this season, both sister tracks to 1.5-mile Texas. McCumbee also had the lead for a green-white-checkered finish at Texas this past fall but finished 13th after being involved in a wreck.

"Texas could be a good track for us," McCumbee said. "We've showed we're capable of doing it, and we're feeling confident. We've been running real strong. We have two outside poles (Atlanta and Kansas). We've been a strong contender, but we have to get better. You have to have a perfect weekend to win."

McCumbee will be making his 55th CTS start and fourth at Texas. He was ninth and 13th in his first two races at Texas in 2006. McCumbee is 10th in the point standings this season.

Rookie Colin Braun of tiny Ovalo, Texas, will be making his debut at TMS and his 10th CTS start, but he has shown the speed to run up front this season driving for Roush Fenway Racing. Braun, 19, was third at Kansas and has two more top-10s this season.

"Certainly, we would like to win a race in the next two-thirds of the season," Braun said. "I think we have the performance to do it. We just have to make it all happen and put it together."

Aric Almirola will make his first start in the series since this past September at New Hampshire, driving for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. Almirola, 24, will be making his 33rd career start, and his top finish is eighth. Almirola drove in 18 Nationwide Series races last season and has three Sprint Cup starts this year for DEI. He says the Nationwide and Sprint Cup experience will boost his chances at Texas.

"Since I was there the last time, I have learned a lot, driving in both Cup and Nationwide," Almirola said, "and I feel like I am a better driver, smarter driver and I plan to put it all to good use and hopefully come home with a trophy and a cowboy hat."

It won't be easy for McCumbee, Braun or Almirola to join the first-time club. The field includes Kyle Busch, the only driver with two wins this season in the Truck Series, and Todd Bodine, who has four wins at Texas for Germain Racing including the past two June races.

"I really don't know why we do so well at Texas," Bodine said. "Our mile-and-a-half program at Germain Racing has been very good for several years, so that always gives us a chance."