MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR announced its 22-race 2012 Camping World Truck Series schedule on Monday, in conjunction with the Truck and Nationwide series awards banquet at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

The 22-race schedule is the shortest since 2002, when Mike Bliss was champion. But while the series lost races at Nashville, New Hampshire, Indianapolis and Darlington it adds the iconic Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway next season for both the Truck and Nationwide series.

Monday evening, NASCAR vice president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell sat down to discuss the Truck schedule and the Truck Series.

Q: Looking at the Camping World Truck Series from a big-picture perspective, how big of an event was 21-year-old Austin Dillon's 2011 Truck Series championship?

O'Donnell: I think Austin Dillon almost exemplifies the Trucks. The Truck Series is about hard-core racers coming up through the ranks, Austin's in the No. 3 Truck, he's with Richard Childress Racing. Austin is just an all-around good guy and I think he really fits the model of the "NASCAR driver" and the "star of the future" that we're looking for. So it was huge for us.

Q: How significant is it, when you look ahead to 2012 and find that Ty Dillon, Austin's 19-year-old brother, plans to follow in his brother's footsteps and run the Camping World Truck Series?

O'Donnell: I think he's going to do that. Ty Dillon, in the few Camping World Truck Series races that he's participated in, in 2011, has been no surprise to us that he's been running up front. He's going to be with a good team next year and he'll be an immediate contender for the championship. So even though the Dillon name has been in the sport for a while, I think we're going to be hearing about it for years to come.

Q: Looking ahead at the 2012 schedule, what would you consider to be NASCAR's overview of that?

O'Donnell: For the Truck Series, it is a couple fewer races than 2011. But when we look at the schedule, we want to be at the best tracks possible for the series. And we think that we are. We've got a good mix of short tracks and some different, challenging and unique tracks.

We're going to look to expand the schedule in 2013 and beyond, but we felt like, to do that right and to do that properly we wanted to take the time and to make sure that we were really at tracks that we felt were in the best interest of the series and the owners.

Q: Is this schedule reduction in the interest of ultimately moving the series ahead perhaps as significant of a move as the transition from the series' inception as primarily a short-track series to one that expanded into high-speed, larger tracks was?

O'Donnell: I think it is. When you look at where the Trucks have evolved to, it's really been a tremendous stepping stone. And if you look even one step below the Truck Series, to the touring series, we have great, young talent coming out and we need a place for those drivers to advance and compete on a national series level.

And to do that, we need a really strong mix of short tracks similar to tracks they're used to running on. So as we look into the future, that will be a key focus for us, to make sure that we're providing those drivers with the proper venues to advance through our system. Be it short track, road courses or other venues.

Q: From NASCAR's standpoint in general, what does it mean to go back to Rockingham, and what does it mean for the Camping World Truck Series to make its debut there in 2012?

O'Donnell: I think, again when you go back to the Trucks and Austin Dillon and Richard Childress and all the things our Truck Series is -- things our hardest-core racing fans believe in. And Rockingham stands for that with a long tradition of NASCAR racing. We feel privileged to go back and race in front of the loyal fans there, we're hoping for a huge turnout and we feel it'll be a tremendous event for the series.

Q: For the series as a whole, how big a deal is it that four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday is coming back in 2012 for a chance to contend for his record fifth championship?

O'Donnell: Ron Hornaday is the Truck Series. When you look at the staples of the series and people who represent the series, year in and year out it's people like Ron Hornaday. And to have him full time in the series for 2012 is huge for us, and I think it's exciting for him, too, as he goes for another championship.

Q: When you look at where NASCAR wants to be with the Truck Series and venues that want to have it, is that what you're looking at when you say the series is building ahead for the benefit of everyone?

O'Donnell: It is that way. We probably could have had a few more races on the 2012 schedule, but for us, it wouldn't have been a good long-term position to be in. We think, 'let's pick the right venues and let's get to the places that we think can promote the series long-term -- not just a one-year event.'

We want to be at places for a long time. There's a ton of interest out there, which is great so I think we'll be in a position of having to select race tracks. So the future looks bright, be it on road courses or short tracks. I think there are some really good venues out there.

Q: There were 43 trucks that attempted to qualify for the Homestead finale, the most since 45 trucks attempted the Daytona opener. Does that bode well for the series' future and from NASCAR's part is there anything on the table to provide cost-cutting measures for the owners: increased purses or anything else?

O'Donnell: I think our job with the Trucks is still to put on the best racing possible. Our fans demand that, they want that and I think they see that with the Trucks. So I think that every move that we make, next year and into the future, is to ensure that the product on the race track is better than ever. I think that could involve a myriad of things but our job and really our only job is to make the racing as best as possible for the fans.

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Truck schedule highlighted by Rockingham race