[1] A group of SCORE off-road racers (Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable, and Frank "Scoop" Vessels)[2] had concerns about desert racing's future, and decided to create a pavement truck racing series.

They visited NASCAR Western Operations Vice President Ken Clapp to promote the idea, who consulted Bill France Jr. with it, but the plans fell apart.

Prominent Cup owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and Jack Roush owned truck teams, and top drivers such as Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan also fielded SuperTrucks for others.

[4] The series also attracted the attention of drivers like sprint car racing star Sammy Swindell, Walker Evans of off-road racing fame, open-wheel veteran Mike Bliss, and Atlanta Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville.

[1] The inaugural race, the Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway, was held on February 5; the race, featuring an event-record crowd of 38,000 spectators,[1] concluded with eventual series champion Mike Skinner holding off Cup veteran Terry Labonte to win.

After the 2014 season, Brad Keselowski stated his Brad Keselowski Racing team had lost $1 million despite recording a win that year,[11] and told the Sporting News: "The truck series, you have to be able to lose money on a constant basis.

[16] Camping World signed a seven-year extension in 2014 to remain the title sponsor of the Truck Series until at least 2022.

[9] A 2001 Truck Series race incident resulted in a significant NASCAR rule change.

[28] After NASCAR phased out tobacco sponsorships, the minimum age for regional touring series was changed to 16, and the Truck Series' rule regulated a minimum age of 16 for any oval circuit two kilometers (1.25 miles) or shorter or road courses, with a rule of 18 for ovals 1.33 miles or longer.

[29] In later years, though, the Truck Series has also become a place for Cup veterans without a ride to make their living[9] which included Ricky Craven, Jimmy Spencer, Dennis Setzer, Brendan Gaughan (who started his career in a family-owned team, and after his Nextel Cup attempt, returned to the family operation), Rich Bickle, Andy Houston, Todd Bodine, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and previous champions Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, Ted Musgrave, and Jack Sprague.

The rule was popular with television and fans, and was spread for the entire schedule afterwards as pit reporters could interview drivers and crew chiefs for the break in a time without stress.

During the 1997 season, trucks could only legally take fuel and make adjustments during pit stops during the race.

[citation needed] For a short time in 1995, NASCAR adopted traditional short-track rules by inverting a number of cars at the front of the grid after complaints about some races where drivers led the entire event.

Unless interrupted by weather, Craftsman Truck Series races had to end under green flag conditions, and the rule mandated that all races must end with a minimum of two consecutive laps in green flag condition, often referred to as a "green-white-checkered" finish.

Since racing to the yellow flag was prohibited until 1998 (and again in 2003 under the current free pass rule), scoring reverted to the last completed lap, and until racing back to the line was legalized in 1998, if the yellow waved during the first lap of a green-white-checkered finish, the entire situation would be reset.

(Although reducing the Truck Series attempts at a green-white-checkered finish to one, the rule change was part of NASCAR's implementation of the rule to the Cup and Busch Series due to complaints regarding NASCAR's policy at the time regarding late race cautions; the policy stated that a red flag would be thrown during a late race caution to attempt to ensure the race would finish under green but if a caution occurred after the window for the red flag, the race would end under caution regardless of where the incident occurred or how severe it was).

Ironically, the first Truck Series race under the new rules ended with a yellow flag on the final lap.

In 2014, NASCAR banned tandem drafting, a method of racing in which two vehicles would line up with each other to gain speed, from the Truck Series.

[35] In the 2016 season, the Truck Series experimented with a rule similar to those used in longer-distance Super Late Model events such as the Snowball Derby that limited how long a race can go before a competition caution for pit stops or adjustments in an effort to reduce green-flag pit stops, with which younger and more inexperienced drivers were unfamiliar.

[41] The second most recent addition to the series schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway, which returned to hosting Truck races in 2015 after a two-year absence.

[42] The most recent addition to the series schedule is North Wilkesboro Speedway which returned to hosting Truck races after a twenty-six–year absence.

[47] Motor Racing Network has exclusive radio broadcasting rights to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The series was notable in seeing the return of Chrysler Corporation factory-supported race vehicles to the tracks.

The Japanese automaker became the first foreign nameplate to race in NASCAR during the sport's modern era.

All figures correct as of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (November 8, 2024).