The concept of pickup truck racing started in 1983 when former NASCAR driver
Buck Baker established the National Pickup Truck Racing Association to help Buck Baker Driving School graduates start their careers. The series, which did not plan to have a points system, had a ten-race schedule planned with intentions to sell the series to NASCAR. The trucks were built with a
1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series car base; the four-barrel Cup Series
carburetors were reduced to two to decrease speeds. The series began to increase in popularity, and the schedule was increased to eleven races. After the season ended, Baker's attempted sale of the series to NASCAR was denied, and was sold to
Dick Moroso, with the series being rebranded the Moroso Performance All-Pro Pickup Truck Series. In 1991,
SCORE International racers Dick Landfield, Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable and
Frank "Scoop" Vessels unveiled plans to create a pickup truck series for NASCAR. Three years later, the trucks were unveiled at the
1994 Daytona 500, and officially created as the SuperTruck Series. After hosting seven exhibition races, the series held its first season in 1995. The series, now known as the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, is one of three national series sanctioned by NASCAR (besides the
Cup Series and
Xfinity Series). ==Truck racing series==