NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams hopefully enjoyed their month away from the track, because the tempo definitely picks up beginning with this Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.

The race is the first of three in May and five over a seven-week period stretching into mid-June.

How drivers and teams perform in Kansas, North Carolina, Delaware, Texas and Michigan will go a long way toward identifying this year’s true championship contenders.

Kansas Speedway’s event also is significant in that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch — winners of three of the season’s first four races — won’t be part of the action.

Harvick’s replacement in the No. 2 Chevrolet is veteran Ken Schrader while Brian Ickler, a rising star who finished third at Martinsville Speedway, backs up Busch in the No. 18 Toyota Tundra Toyota.

Mike Skinner is the defending winner of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250, a race that was postponed and flagged short of its scheduled, 167-lap distance due to weather. Skinner, the series’ 1995 champion, is one of nine different drivers to visit Victory Lane in as many races at the 1.5-mile speedway.

“Last year’s race meant so much for the entire Randy Moss Motorsports organization,” said Skinner. “For me, it was exciting to win with a new group of guys and to be in a position where we were capable of winning races after being at another organization for such a long time.”

The 1 p.m. ET race offers Skinner the opportunity to return to the top 10 in the championship standings. He currently ranks 13th, but is just 17 points out of 10th.