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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Noah Gragson transfer to 2024 All-Star Race from All-Star Open

    Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Noah Gragson transfer to 2024 All-Star Race from All-Star Open

    Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Noah Gragson completed the starting grid for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race after all three transferred from the NASCAR All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 19. 

    Gibbs and Wallace, both of whom started towards the front with the former starting on pole position, raced their way into the main event after finishing first and second, respectively, during the Open while Gragson was revealed as the Fan Vote winner for a second consecutive season, thus claiming the final spot of the 20-car grid for the All-Star event that will follow suit at the North Wilkesboro circuit. 

    The starting lineup for the event was based on the current 2024 Cup Series owner’s standings after the event’s on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Friday, May 17, was canceled due to on-track precipitation. As a result, Ty Gibbs was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with Alex Bowman. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Ty Gibbs rocketed his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE ahead with the lead from the outside lane through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As the field fanned out and jostled for early spots, Gibbs proceeded to lead the first lap as he was being pursued by Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson and a bevy of competitors. Wallace, who also gained a strong launch at the start behind Gibbs from the outside lane, would trail Gibbs for the lead by nearly a second by the fifth lap mark. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Wallace followed by Cindric, Bowman and Briscoe while Gragson, rookie Carson Hocevar, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Josh Berry were racing in the top 10 ahead of Ryan Preece, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Kaz Grala, rookie Zane Smith, Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric and Timmy Hill, respectively. 

    Ten laps later, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Wallace while Cindric, Bowman and Briscoe continued to trail in the top five and by within four seconds. Behind, Hocevar overtook Gragson for sixth place while Nemechek and Berry were running in eighth and ninth, respectively, ahead of Gilliland. 

    Another 10 laps later, Gibbs extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Wallace while third-place Cindric trailed by more than three seconds as Bowman and Briscoe continued to run in the top five. Behind, Hocevar retained sixth ahead of Gragson, Berry, Nemechek and Gilliland while Austin Dillon, Preece, LaJoie, Justin Haley and Erik Jones trailed in the top 15. 

    By Lap 40, Gibbs continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Wallace while Cindric, Bowman and Briscoe trailed by within four seconds in the top five on the track. Meanwhile, Hocevar trailed by seven seconds in sixth place followed by Gragson, Berry and Nemechek while Austin Dillon cracked the top 10 as he occupied 10th place over Gilliland. 

    A designated caution period was generated when the All-Star Open reached its halfway mark on Lap 50. By then, Gibbs was leading ahead of Wallace, Cindric, Bowman and Briscoe while Hocevar, Gragson, Berry, Nemechek and Dillon were scored in the top 10. 

    During the caution period, all the competitors led by Gibbs pitted for a mandatory four-tire service. Following the pit stops, Gibbs retained the lead after exiting first as he was followed by Bowman, Wallace, Briscoe, Berry, Cindric, Gragson, Nemechek, Hocevar and Dillon. Amid the pit stops, both LaJoie and Nemechek were penalized for speeding on pit road.  

    When the race restarted with 43 laps remaining, Gibbs and Bowman battled dead even for the lead as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. During the following lap, however, the caution returned after Cindric, who was trying to race his way back into the top five, got squeezed into Gragson by Hocevar amid a tight three-wide battle through the frontstretch as he then slid his No. 2 Keystone Light Ford Mustang Dark Horse against the wall with right-front damage before proceeding. 

    During the following restart with 36 laps remaining, Gibbs fended off a challenge from Bowman for nearly a lap to retain the lead as Wallace overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot. Wallace, Bowman, Briscoe and Berry would all battle for the runner-up spot during the ensuing laps while Gibbs drove away with the lead as he led by half a second with 33 laps remaining.  

    Wallace and Bowman would then engage in another side-by-side battle for the runner-up/transfer spot during the next three laps, with both neither stepping off the throttle as Berry and Briscoe tried to close in. Other competitors mixed towards the battle included Hocevar, Gragson, Haley and Preece while Gibbs was leading by more than a second with less than 30 laps remaining.  

    With 27 laps remaining, Berry made a bold move beneath Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering Turn 3 to move his No. 4 Harrison’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse into third place as he tried to close in on Wallace for the runner-up spot. Soon after, Haley moved his No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvement Ford Mustang Dark Horse into the top five while Briscoe, Hocevar and Gragson tried to close in from sixth through eighth. Amid the battles for the runner-up spot, currently occupied by Wallace, Gibbs was gone with the lead as he was on top by two seconds with 20 laps remaining. By then, Haley was trying to overtake Berry for third place in his bid to catch Wallace’s No. 23 Alltroo Toyota Camry XSE for second place. 

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than two seconds over Wallace, who had Berry, Haley and Bowman all close in on him for the runner-up/transfer spot. Gibbs would retain the lead by a comfortable advantage of more than two seconds while Wallace would retain the runner-up spot by within two- and three-tenths of a second over Berry as Haley and Bowman tried to close in with 10 laps remaining.  

    With five laps remaining, Gibbs continued to lead by more than two seconds as Wallace retained the runner-up spot by nearly a second over Berry while Haley and Bowman continued to trail in the top five followed by Gragson, Briscoe, Preece, Hocevar and Austin Dillon. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Wallace while third-place Berry trailed by three seconds. Having a comfortable lead to his advantage, Gibbs was able to cruise around the North Wilkesboro circuit smoothly for a final time as he then cycled back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and race his way into the 2024 All-Star Race for a second consecutive season.  

    With the victory, Gibbs, who is coming off a career-best runner-up result at Darlington Raceway, will campaign for his first All-Star Race victory after transferring from the Open for a second consecutive season. Gibbs’ transfer enables all four Joe Gibbs Racing entries to earn starting spots for the 2024 All-Star Race. 

    “Yeah, we were pretty good,” Gibbs said on FS1. “I feel like we were pretty solid, so it’s good to make [the All-Star Race]. Hopefully, we can go ahead and win it. I think we’re solid enough and good enough to [win]. I feel like we learned a lot with what we’re gonna do. I got some good friends here. Let’s go win this thing.” 

    Like Gibbs, Bubba Wallace was also left smiling on pit road after settling in the runner-up spot and transferring into the All-Star Race for the fourth time in his career and his third in a row in recent seasons. As a result, Wallace, who finished second to Kyle Larson during the 2023 All-Star Race, enabled both 23XI Racing entries to make the main event as he will also campaign for his first All-Star victory.  

    “[This event] just made us work extra hard,” Wallace said. “You have to earn every right of this, so I can’t say we deserved, well I guess we deserve to be in the All-Star [Race], but we got to go fight for it every once in awhile. We’re just lacking a little bit. Definitely, a different feel than what we had in practice, so got a little bit of time to make minimal changes to make [the car] better, but all in all, we’re in the show. Appreciate [Bowman] and [Berry] running clean there. That was fun, that was short-track stuff right there. We were able to squeeze away there and hang on to second, but that’s the most stressful spot to be in.”  

    Amid the battles for the top-two finishing spots during the Open, Noah Gragson, who finished fifth in the Open, claimed the final starting spot for the 2024 All-Star Race after being named the 2024 All-Star Fan Vote winner for a second consecutive season. As a result, Gragson joined Chase Elliott and Danica Patrick as the only competitors to be named the Fan Vote winner during the All-Star weekend for multiple seasons, with Gragson becoming the first back-to-back Fan Vote winner since Elliott achieved the honors for three consecutive seasons (2016-18). Gragson’s transfer has also allowed at least one Stewart-Haas Racing entry to make the 2024 All-Star Race as he will attempt to replicate Kasey Kahne’s run by winning the All-Star Race after being voted into the main event by the fans in 2008. 

    “I appreciate all the fans,” Gragson said on the radio following the All-Star Open. “You guys are badass. We didn’t quite have what it took there in that race, but you fans pulled through. Your support means everything. We’re gonna go have some fun.” 

    Rookie Josh Berry and Justin Haley recorded strong finishes of third and fourth place, respectively, but were among the 17 remaining competitors who did not qualify for the 2024 All-Star Race. Among those who also did not make the main event included Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Austin Dillon, rookie Carson Hocevar, Kaz Grala, Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton, John Hunter Nemechek, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Hemric, rookie Zane Smith, Erik Jones, Timmy Hill and Austin Cindric. 

    There were no lead changes and the race featured two cautions for 11 laps. In addition, 18 of 20 starters finished on the lead lap. 

    Results. 

    1. Ty Gibbs, 100 laps led 

    2. Bubba Wallace 

    3. Josh Berry 

    4. Justin Haley 

    5. Noah Gragson 

    6. Alex Bowman 

    7. Chase Briscoe 

    8. Ryan Preece 

    9. Austin Dillon  

    10. Carson Hocevar 

    11. Kaz Grala 

    12. Corey LaJoie 

    13. Harrison Burton 

    14. John Hunter Nemechek 

    15. Todd Gilliland 

    16. Daniel Hemric 

    17. Zane Smith 

    18. Erik Jones 

    19. Timmy Hill, seven laps down 

    20. Austin Cindric, 18 laps down 

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will follow suit on Sunday, May 19, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, with the green flag scheduled to wave around 8:30 p.m. ET. 

  • Corey Heim scores dominant Truck victory at North Wilkesboro

    Corey Heim scores dominant Truck victory at North Wilkesboro

    For the second time of the 2024 season, Corey Heim made it known to the NASCAR community that it is Heim Time after notching a dominant NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the rain-delayed Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 19. 

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for a race-high 66 of 250-scheduled laps in an event. He started 12th but quickly marched his way to the front as he spent the first stage period running inside the top five. Heim was scored in third place when the event was postponed from Saturday night to Sunday morning due to an ongoing increase of precipitation that flooded the circuit.

    He spent the second stage period and a majority of the final stage period running towards the front until he muscled away from Jake Garcia to assume the lead during a late restart period with 65 laps remaining. After retaining the lead through another late-race restart period with 32 laps remaining, Heim pulled away from Grant Enfinger, rookie Layne Riggs and teammate/newcomer Brenden “Butterbean” Queen by as much as three seconds to score his third Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season and his first at North Wilkesboro.

    The starting lineup for the event was determined through a metric system after the event’s on-track qualifying session scheduled to occur on Saturday morning was canceled due to precipitation. Through the metric, Christian Eckes, the current series’ regular-season leader in the standings, was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with Nick Sanchez. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started on Saturday, May 18, Eckes muscled his No. 19 Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead with the lead from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap while Ross Chastain overtook Sanchez to move into the runner-up spot. Tanner Gray would follow suit in his bid for third place along with Ty Dillon. As more battles within the field ensued, Eckes stretched his lead to more than a second by the fifth lap mark while Sammy Smith was penalized for a start violation, where he pulled his Spire Motorsports entry out of line. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes continued to extend his early advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over Chastain followed by Tanner Gray, Dillon and Grant Enfinger while Corey Heim, Sanchez, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10 ahead of Jake Garcia, Daniel Dye, Chase Purdy, Lawless Alan and Bayley Currey. Behind, Tyler Ankrum, rookie Layne Riggs, Matt Mills, Brenden Queen and Rajah Caruth followed suit in the top 20 ahead of Stewart Friesen, Jack Wood, Mason Massey, Bret Holmes and Dean Thompson while Matt Crafton was mired in 27th.   

    Ten laps later, Eckes stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Chastain while Tanner Gray, Dillon and Heim trailed by within three seconds in the top five on the track. Behind, Enfinger was trying to fend off Sanchez and Rhodes in sixth place while Majeski and Taylor Gray trailed in the top 10. 

    Another 10 laps later, Eckes continued to lead by more than two seconds over Chastain while teammates Tanner Gray and Heim battled for third place, though both started to close in on Chastain for the runner-up spot, as Dillon trailed by three seconds in fifth place. Eckes’ would have his advantage slightly decrease to one-and-a-half seconds over Chastain by the Lap 40 mark while Heim closed in while running in third place. 

    Just past the Lap 50 mark, Eckes retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Chastain while third-place Heim kept pace with the leaders as he trailed by a second. Behind, Tanner Gray trailed in fourth place by two seconds while Majeski was up to fifth ahead of Rhodes, Dillon, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Jake Garcia. Meanwhile, Enfinger had fallen to 16th as he trailed Daniel Dye, Ankrum, Purdy, Riggs and Brenden Queen on the track. 

    A few laps past the Lap 55 mark, the event’s first caution period flew due to precipitation being reported in the venue. During the caution period and with a flurry of pit strategies ensuing, a majority of the field led by Eckes pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Riggs was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Friesen and Bayley Currey were both penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    With three laps remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, Majeski muscled his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 ahead of teammate Rhodes and managed to transition from the outside to the inside lane through the first two turns as he retained the lead through the backstretch. As Majeski slowly started to pull away, Rajah Caruth battled Rhodes for the runner-up spot while Heim was trying to overtake both teammate Taylor Gray and Dillon for positions on the track. 

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Majeski claimed his third Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Rhodes, racing with a damaged right-front fender after making contact with Bret Holmes earlier, settled in second while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Dillon, Eckes, Tanner Gray, Jack Wood and Ankrum were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, some including Rhodes, Taylor Gray, Dillon and Wood pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Spencer Boyd lost a jack on the track after dragging it out of his pit stall and onto the track. 

    Then on Lap 81, the field, led by Majeski was directed to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period due to a lightning hold with lightning being reported near the circuit. With more lightning holds occurring along with a rapid increase of precipitation over the next several hours, NASCAR elected to postpone the remainder of the event to Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1. At the time of the red flag period, Majeski was scored the leader ahead of Caruth, Heim, Eckes and Tanner Gray while Ankrum, Chastain, Connor Jones, Sanchez and Jake Garcia were scored in the top 10. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 86 on Sunday morning, Caruth muscled away from Majeski and the field from the outside lane to inherit the lead through the first two turns. As Caruth led the race, Ankrum challenged Majeski for the runner-up spot as Heim and Connor Jones joined the battle. Caruth would retain the lead past the Lap 90 mark while Majeski was trying to narrow the gap. 

    Two laps later, however, the caution returned after Caruth, who was being pressured by Majeski for the lead through the first two turns, slid sideways and barely clipped Majeski before he spun his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST from the middle to the bottom apron of Turn 2 without getting hit by incoming traffic. During the caution period, some including Ankrum, Garcia, Friesen, Caruth and Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Majeski and Heim remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Friesen was penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 98, Majeski muscled away from Heim to retain the lead. Majeski, who would then fend off an early challenge from Heim for the lead, would proceed to lead at the Lap 100 mark while Heim, Eckes, Jones and Sanchez trailed in the top five. Majeski would stabilize his advantage to nearly half a second over Heim just past the Lap 110 mark as Eckes, Jones and Sanchez continued to trail in the top five.  

    Following another caution period on Lap 116 due to Lawless Alan spinning in Turn 2, multiple competitors led by Majeski pitted while some led by Ankrum, who pitted during the initial caution period, remained on the track. During the next restart on Lap 123, Ankrum fended off Garcia and Jack Wood to retain the lead while Sanchez was penalized for changing lanes too soon. As the field behind jostled for spots, Ankrum would lead the halfway mark of the event on Lap 125 while Garcia, Friesen, Wood and Riggs trailed in the top five. 

    Then on Lap 137, the caution flew after Bret Holmes spun and wrecked in Turn 2. Holmes’ incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 140 to conclude under caution as Ankrum captured his second Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Garcia followed suit in second along with Friesen, Wood, and Riggs while Rhodes, Eckes, Heim, Daniel Dye and Grant Enfinger were scored in the top 10. 

    During the stage break, some including Matt Crafton, Dillon, Mason Massey, Matt Mills and Timmy Hill pitted while the rest led by Ankrum remained on the track. 

    With 104 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ankrum and Garcia occupied the front row. At the start, Garcia muscled his No. 13 Quanta Services Ford F-150 way past Ankrum’s No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST and moved into the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs then overtook Ankrum for the runner-up spot as Garcia retained the lead during the following lap.  

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Garcia was leading by two-tenths of a second over Riggs followed by Ankrum, Rhodes and Heim while Friesen, Enfinger, Wood, Eckes and Dye trailed in the top 10. In addition, Dean Thompson occupied 11th place ahead of Sammy Smith, Caruth, Stefan Parsons and Tanner Gray while Taylor Gray, Brenden Queen, Dillon, Jones and Chastain followed suit in the top 20. 

    Ten laps later, Garcia continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Riggs while Ankrum, Heim and Rhodes trailed in the top five. Garcia would proceed to lead by three-tenths of a second over Riggs with 80 laps remaining as Ankrum, Heim and Rhodes continued to trail in the top five. Another six laps later, the caution flew after Jones wrecked his No. 66 Farm Paint/ThorSport Racing entry in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including Wood, Caruth, Dillon, Parsons, Tanner Gray and Jones pitted while the rest led by Garcia remained on the track. 

    With the event restarting under green with 66 laps remaining, Heim challenged Garcia for the lead and overtook him for the top spot during the following lap. With clean air to his advantage, Heim stretched his lead to more than a second over Garcia with 60 laps remaining while Riggs, Eckes and Brenden Queen trailed in the top five within three seconds. 

    With 50 laps remaining, Heim extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Garcia as Riggs, Eckes and Queen trailed in the top five. Ankrum, Enfinger, Sammy Smith, Rhodes and Dye would trail in the top 10 as Heim stretched his lead to another second to three over Garcia with 40 laps remaining. 

    A few laps later, the caution returned after Dean Thompson, who was running 12th, spun and barely avoided hitting the outside wall in Turn 2 as he was also dodged by Chastain. 

    Down to the final 32 laps of the event, the event restarted under green as Heim muscled his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro away from Garcia and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs would move into the runner-up spot over Garcia as both Enfinger and Eckes trailed in the top five ahead of Queen and Sammy Smith while Heim led by a second with 25 laps remaining.  

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Heim stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Riggs as Enfinger, Queen and Sammy Smith were scored in the top five ahead of Eckes, Sanchez, Ankrum, Dye and Garcia. Heim’s advantage grew to nearly three seconds over Riggs with 10 laps remaining while third-place Enfinger trailed by three seconds. 

    Down to the final five laps, Heim continued to lead by more than three seconds over a three-truck battle for the runner-up spot involving Riggs, Enfinger and Queen while fifth-place Sammy Smith, who rallied from his opening lap penalty on Saturday, trailed by less than four seconds. Amid lapped traffic, Enfinger would overtake Riggs’ No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford F-150 for the runner-up spot while Queen tried to follow suit over Riggs. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Enfinger’s No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST. Despite having a flurry of lapped traffic in front of him, Heim utilized his large advantage to cruise around the North Wilkesboro circuit smoothly for a final time as he cycled back to the frontstretch to claim his third checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season. 

    With the victory, Heim, who became the first three-time winner of this season, notched his seventh career win in the Craftsman Truck Series and his second in the previous three races after winning at Kansas Speedway earlier in May. Heim also joined an exclusive club of Truck Series competitors to win at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a list that includes Kyle Larson, Mark Martin and Mike Bliss as he delivered the third victory of the season for both TRICON Garage and Toyota.

    NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 19: Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19, 2024 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

    “That was crazy,” Heim said on FS1. “A crazy weekend with the weather and what not, but I knew since practice we had the speed. [I] Can’t say enough about these TRICON Garage guys. What a truck, what a weekend. I knew we had potential from practice and we put it all together and executed great today.” 

    Both Enfinger and Riggs rallied from slow starts to this season by notching their first top-five runs in second and third, respectively. 

    “Overall, [today provided] the best execution of the season,” Enfinger said. “This is the third time, second in a row, we brought a really good, fast Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. We haven’t been performing to our ability or our standards earlier on in the year. I feel like last week at Darlington was the turning point in our season and I’m standing by that. Very, very proud of this truck, proud of our pit crew all year long. Finally, we have a little bit of results to show for it.” 

    “We really needed this,” Riggs said. “We finally finished where we deserve to finish today. It was a great day for us and hopefully, we can just keep building this momentum.” 

    Meanwhile, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, a CARS Tour late model stock car standout from Chesapeake, Virginia, who notched four victories and settled in the runner-up spot in the 2023 standings, capitalized from being the fastest during Friday’s practice session by finishing in fourth place in his Truck Series debut while piloting the No. 1 Best Repair Company Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage. The solid top-five result also occurred after Queen rallied from an early pit road speeding penalty as he received a standing ovation from the North Wilkesboro crowd.  

    “Man, [this opportunity]’s what I’ve worked for my whole life and never knew if I’d get this opportunity,” Queen said. “I’m just blessed, man, and I just hope I can turn this into some more opportunities. I love racing my late model, but this is my dream to get to the next level. Those guys at the shop [TRICON Garage], they put the hours in and that’s why this truck’s fast. I’m the lucky guy that gets to hold the wheel…I’d love to be full-time [NASCAR racing] next year.” 

    Sammy Smith settled in fifth place while Eckes, Sanchez, Ankrum, Daniel Dye and Friesen finished in the top 10. Notably, Ty Majeski ended up 11th ahead of Jack Wood, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth and Ross Chastain. In addition, Jake Garcia drifted back to 21st ahead of Ben Rhodes while Matt Crafton settled in 20th.

    There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 58 laps. In addition, 26 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap. 

    Following the 10th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes leads the regular-season standings by four points over Corey Heim, 64 over Ty Majeski, 66 over Nick Sanchez and 98 over Taylor Gray. 

    Results:

    1. Corey Heim, 66 laps led 

    2. Grant Enfinger 

    3. Layne Riggs 

    4. Brenden Queen 

    5. Sammy Smith 

    6. Christian Eckes, 62 laps led 

    7. Nick Sanchez 

    8. Tyler Ankrum, 26 laps led, Stage 2 winner 

    9. Daniel Dye 

    10. Stewart Friesen 

    11. Ty Majeski, 50 laps led, Stage 1 winner 

    12. Jack Wood 

    13. Taylor Gray 

    14. Rajah Caruth, six laps led 

    15. Ross Chastain 

    16. Tanner Gray 

    17. Stefan Parsons 

    18. Matt Mills 

    19. Bayley Currey 

    20. Matt Crafton 

    21. Jake Garcia, 40 laps led 

    22. Ben Rhodes 

    23. Mason Massey 

    24. Chase Purdy 

    25. Ty Dillon 

    26. Timmy Hill 

    27. Dean Thompson, one lap down 

    28. Dawson Sutton, two laps down 

    29. Bret Holmes, three laps down 

    30. Lawless Alan, four laps down 

    31. Thad Moffitt, five laps down 

    32. Spencer Boyd, five laps down 

    33. Josh Reaume, five laps down 

    34. Clayton Green, five laps down 

    35. Connor Jones – OUT, Accident 

    36. Trey Hutchens – OUT, Transmission 

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 24, and air at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • NASCAR postpones remainder of Truck event at North Wilkesboro to Sunday; All-Star Heats canceled due to precipitation

    NASCAR postpones remainder of Truck event at North Wilkesboro to Sunday; All-Star Heats canceled due to precipitation

    The remainder of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Wright Brand 250 event at North Wilkesboro Speedway has been postponed to Sunday, May 19, at 11:30 a.m. ET due to an ongoing increase of precipitation that has prevented the event from being completed on Saturday, May 18.

    The event’s postponement is one of several on-track weekend sessions at North Wilkesboro that have been impacted due to the ongoing precipitation, which includes the NASCAR All-Star Open qualifying session being canceled due to rain and the lineup being set based on the owner’s standings while the NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying session was postponed to early Saturday afternoon due to rain canceling the scheduled session for Friday, May 17.

    At the time of the Truck Series event’s delay and eventual postponement, 81 of 250 scheduled laps had been completed. Ty Majeski, who claimed the Stage 1 victory on Lap 70, was scored the leader ahead of Rajah Caruth, Corey Heim, Christian Eckes and Tanner Gray while Tyler Ankrum, Ross Chastain, Connor Jones, Nick Sanchez and Jake Garcia were scored in the top 10.

    In addition to the Truck event, the NASCAR All-Star Race’s two scheduled Heat qualifying events, each spanning 60 laps, have been canceled from occurring on Saturday evening. As a result, the initial starting lineup for the event that was determined through a combined session between on-track qualifying and the Pit Crew Challenge will become the official starting lineup for the All-Star Race instead of the two heat events determining the majority of the lineup.

    Joey Logano, a two-time Cup Series champion and the 2016 All-Star Race winner from Middletown, Connecticut, had already secured the pole position for Sunday’s All-Star event after posting the best three-lap qualifying time in one minute, 29.75 seconds. With the cancellation of the two All-Star Heat events, Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion from Rochester Hills, Michigan, who posted the second-fastest three-lap qualifying session in one minute, 30.14 seconds, will officially start on the front row alongside Logano.

    Christopher Bell, whose pit crew won this year’s Pit Crew Challenge with a lightning-fast four-tire pit service in 13.223 seconds, will start in third place followed by Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher while Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger will start in the top 10.

    With 17 of 20 starting spots already determined and occupied by competitors eligible for the event, the final three starting spots will be determined through the All-Star Open event that will occur at 5:30 p.m. on FS1. The top two finishers in the Open will automatically transfer into the All-Star Race while one extra competitor will claim the final starting spot for the main event after being named the Fan Vote winner.

    The Craftsman Truck Series’ Wright Brand 250 will resume on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1. The All-Star Race is also scheduled to occur on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 following the All-Star Open.

  • Logano claims first All-Star Race pole; Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team wins Pit Crew Challenge

    Logano claims first All-Star Race pole; Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team wins Pit Crew Challenge

    Joey Logano achieved a silver lining amid a difficult first-half span of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch by claiming the pole position for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, May 18. 

    The starting lineup for this year’s All-Star Race was determined through a special qualifying format infused with the return of the Pit Crew Challenge that was postponed to early Saturday afternoon after the qualifying session’s initial occurrence on Friday night, May 17, was canceled due to ongoing precipitation. 

    For the format, each competitor eligible for the All-Star Race exited pit road and commenced their qualifying session by taking the green flag and cycling once around the North Wilkesboro Speedway circuit for a full lap before making a mandatory four-tire pit stop with a mock fuel run in a designated pit stall during the second lap. At the conclusion of the pit stops the competitors would return to the track and race back to the checkered flag to conclude their qualifying session. 

    With a fast three-lap qualifying session of one minute, 29.75 seconds, that included his four-tire pit stop, Logano, who was the sixth of 17 competitors to qualify through the event’s qualifying order, will start on pole position for the All-Star Race for the first time in his career as this season will mark his 14th career start in the All-Star event. In addition, Logano, who will contend for his second All-Star victory and first since 2016, will start on the pole for the first of two 60-lap All-Star Heat events that will occur on Saturday evening. 

    “[I’m] Very proud of the whole team,” Logano said on FS1. “This qualifying session is the most fun session of the year. It really takes every crew member all the way through. Everybody’s got to do their part to make it happen and that’s why it means a lot to get an All-Star pole. Obviously, a great starting spot. Get a little momentum booster for our team.”

    While Logano emerged as the fastest on the track amid his three-lap qualifying session, his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse pit crew led by crew chief Paul Wolfe posted the fifth-fastest pit session at 13.592 seconds.  

    The team that emerged as this year’s Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge winner was the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE pit crew led by Adam Stevens and piloted by Christopher Bell, with the team generating the fastest four-tire pit service during Bell’s qualifying run at 13.223 seconds. Ironically, Bell’s pit crew features the same crew members that won the 2023 Pit Crew Challenge while servicing Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team to pole position for the 2023 All-Star Open. Despite Bell posting the third-fastest qualifying run on the track in one minute, 30.17 seconds, his No. 20 team has the first choice of pit stall selection for the All-Star event as they also claim a $100,000 prize. In addition, Bell will start alongside Logano for the first 60-lap Heat event on Saturday evening.

    “What can you say? This is two in a row for these guys and they’ve been awesome,” Bell said. “I’m incredibly happy for them and honored to be their driver. That was a lot of fun.”

    “I wouldn’t want to battle with no other guys and I wouldn’t want to do it for no other driver than Christopher Bell,” Derrell Edwards. Bell’s jackman, added. “We knew it was gonna come down to a Joe Gibbs [Racing] crew, which was special to say. We’ve been good, man. Back to back, baby.”

    “I’m blessed to be with a good group of guys,” Michael Hicks, Bell’s rear tire changer, added. “I couldn’t do this if I didn’t have a good supporting cast. [The No. 20 crew] are the best on pit road. We got a stud for a driver. It’s awesome to win with these guys.”

    Brad Keselowski, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Darlington Raceway, posted the second-fastest three-lap qualifying session in one minute, 30.14 seconds as he will start on the pole for the second Heat event that will occur on Saturday evening. His No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse pit crew led by crew chief Matt McCall posted the second-best four-tire pit service in 13.323 seconds. 

    Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher qualified in the top five while Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session. 

    Notably, Kevin Harvick qualified in the 12th position in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry while serving as a standby competitor for Kyle Larson, who is qualifying for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Arrow McLaren. 

    Denny Hamlin posted the 11th-fastest qualifying run while William Byron, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney rounded out the 17-car field of competitors currently guaranteed starting spots for this year’s All-Star Race. 

    Qualifying Results/Time: 

    1. Joey Logano, 1:29.75 

    2. Brad Keselowski, 1:30.14 

    3. Christopher Bell, 1:30.17 

    4. Daniel Suarez, 1:30.20 

    5. Chris Buescher, 1:30.29 

    6. Tyler Reddick, 1:30.67 

    7. Ross Chastain, 1:30.77 

    8. Martin Truex Jr., 1:30.95 

    9. Michael McDowell, 1:30.99 

    10. AJ Allmendinger, 1:31.67 

    11. Denny Hamlin, 1:31.85 

    12. Kevin Harvick, 1:36.33 

    13. William Byron, 1:39.54 

    14. Kyle Busch, 1:39.79 

    15. Chase Elliott, 1:42.52 

    16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 1:43.31 

    17. Ryan Blaney, 1:49.89 

    Pit Crew Challenge Results/Time:

    1. Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, 13.223 seconds

    2. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing No. 6 Ford, 13.323 seconds

    3. Team Penske No. 12 Ford, 13.514 seconds

    4. Trackhouse Racing No. 1 Chevrolet, 13.523 seconds

    5. Team Penske No. 22 Ford, 13.592 seconds.

    6. Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet, 13.842 seconds

    7. 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota, 13.954 seconds

    8. Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet, 13.981 seconds

    9. Trackhouse Racing No. 99 Chevrolet, 14.039 seconds

    10. Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota, 14.072 seconds

    11. Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet, 14.180 seconds

    12. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing No. 17 Ford, 14.185 seconds

    13. Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford, 14.389 seconds

    14. Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, 15.387 seconds

    15. Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet, 16.939 seconds

    16. Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet, 17.949 seconds

    17. JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet, 25.741 seconds

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race festivities continue with a pair of All-Star Race Heat events that will commence on Saturday evening at 5:20 p.m. ET on FS2 and set the rest of the starting lineup for this year’s All-Star Race. The 2024 All-Star Race is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 19, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • NASCAR postpones 2024 All-Star Race Qualifying/Pit Crew Challenge to Saturday due to inclement weather

    NASCAR postpones 2024 All-Star Race Qualifying/Pit Crew Challenge to Saturday due to inclement weather

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race’s Qualifying session that includes the Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway has been postponed until Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET due to ongoing precipitation that prevented the session from occurring on Friday evening.

    The return of this year’s All-Star Race weekend at the famed North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, also features the return of a combined session between on-track qualifying and the Pit Crew Challenge.

    From the format, each competitor eligible for the All-Star event would take the green flag to commence a qualifying attempt and cycle around the North Wilkesboro circuit for a full lap before pitting their respective entries during the second lap. After the pit crews of each team perform a four-tire pit service and a mock fuel service for their respective entries, their respective competitors would return to the track and race back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and complete the qualifying session.

    The competitor who posts the fastest qualifying run throughout the entire procedure, with no penalties generated during the pit stops, will earn the pole position for the All-Star Race and the event’s first of two 60-lap heat sessions that is scheduled to occur this Saturday evening, May 18. In addition, the team that generates the fastest pit service will be crowned the Pit Crew Challenge winner.

    With the cancellation and through a revised schedule, the All-Star Race’s Qualifying and Pit Crew Challenge sessions will follow suit after the Craftsman Truck Series’ qualifying session for the Wright Brand 250 occurs, with the latter airing at 10:35 a.m. ET on FS1 and both occurring on Saturday. At the conclusion of both series’ qualifying sessions, the Truck Series’ Wright Brand 250 will occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 before the All-Star Race’s two 60-lap Heat events will commence, beginning at 5:20 p.m. ET on FS2 and all also occurring on Saturday. The 2024 All-Star Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, and will air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

    Prior to the cancellation of the All-Star Race Qualifying session, the 2024 All-Star Open Qualifying session was also shortened due to rain, but the lineup for the event was determined based on the current owner’s standings. With the lineup, Ty Gibbs, who is coming off a career-best runner-up result at Darlington Raceway and whose No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team is ranked in seventh place in this year’s owner’s standings, will start on the pole position for the Open for a second consecutive season. Joining him on the front row will be Alex Bowman, whose No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team is ranked in ninth place in the owner’s standings and will attempt to return to the All-Star Race after being absent from the 2023 event.

    Ironically, this season will mark the second consecutive time that Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota entry and Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet entry will occupy the front row for an All-Star Open.

    Both Gibbs and Bowman are two of 20 entered competitors who will participate in the All-Star Open on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 as they attempt to race their way into the All-Star Race either by finishing in the top two spots on the track during the Open or by being named the Fan Vote winner, which will be announced at the Open’s conclusion.

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race’s Qualifying and Pit Crew Challenge sessions are scheduled to occur on May 18 and air at 11:40 a.m. ET on FS1.

  • 2024 NASCAR All-Star Qualifying & Race Format 101

    2024 NASCAR All-Star Qualifying & Race Format 101

    With the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch reaching its halfway mark upon a wild conclusion of Race No. 13 of 26 at Darlington Raceway, the premier series’ teams and competitors take a one-week break from competing for points and race victories to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.

    It does not mean, however, that the teams and competitors will be taking a one-week break from on-track competition as the next event on the schedule is the Cup Series’ return to North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for the 40th annual running of the All-Star Race that is set to occur this upcoming Sunday, May 19. With the return of the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro for a second consecutive season, so too does the event’s grand prize of $1 million that awaits the race-winning team and competitor following a weekend-long host of on-track activities prior to and during the main event.

    Before the battle for the million-dollar prize along with epic-bragging rights begins, however, the teams and competitors will be tested cohesively and against one another live on mainstream media through the event’s two-day qualifying format that would enable them to obtain a starting spot as high as possible over one another and be a step closer to achieving victory…and the million dollar prize.

    The 2024 All-Star’s qualifying procedure commences with all competitors set to compete in the All-Star Open to generate two qualifying laps through the sport’s traditional single-vehicle round on Friday, May 17, where the competitor who posts the fastest two-lap average qualifying lap will achieve the pole position for the Open event. The Open event is designated for competitors who are not eligible to compete in the All-Star Race due to not meeting the event’s criteria but equally gives all participants a final path to the main event that will be explained later below (Paragraph 9).

    At the conclusion of the All-Star Open qualifying procedure, the All-Star Race qualifying procedure follows suit, where each competitor registered for the main event will perform three qualifying laps individually. Infused within the on-track qualifying procedure for this year’s All-Star event is the return of the Pit Crew Challenge that will occur after each All-Star competitor takes the green flag to commence the qualifying run and cycles once around the North Wilkesboro circuit.

    Then during the second qualifying lap run, the competitors will peel off the track to pit road and park their respective entries within one of two designated pit stalls before their respective pit crews perform a four-tire pit service along with a mock fuel delivery to the cars. After the pit stops conclude, the competitors will return to the track and race back to the checkered flag, which will halt the qualifying clock session.

    The competitor who generates the highest qualifying time from start to finish, including the pit stops, will be awarded the pole position for both Heat Race No. 1 and the All-Star event. In addition, the pit crew that generates the fastest pit service with no penalties will be named winners of the Pit Crew Challenge. The results of the Pit Crew Challenge will also determine the order selection of pit stall selections. As an additional note, all teams will receive two practice sessions: one for pit road entry and one for a qualifying session and a second standard session, both of which will also occur on Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. ET and air on FS1.

    Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The qualifying action continues on Saturday, May 18, following the conclusion of the Craftsman Truck Series’ Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro, where two 60-lap Heat races will occur and determine the full lineup of the All-Star Race for the competitors already guaranteed into the main event. Each Heat event will include a scheduled caution period on Lap 30, where the teams will perform a mandatory four-time pit stop. The results of Heat Race No. 1 will determine the starting lineup of the inside lane while the results of Heat Race No. 2 will determine the lineup of the outside lane.

    On Sunday, May 19, the All-Star Open will take action that will enable all entered participants an opportunity to grab three final transfer spots into the All-Star Race. Comprised of 100 laps and including an intermission caution period on Lap 50, where all teams must perform a four-tire pit stop, the top two finishers of the Open will automatically transfer into the All-Star Race. In addition, one lucky competitor who garners the most electronic votes by race fans will be named the Fan Vote winner and will be awarded the 20th and final starting spot in the main event.

    The Open will then be followed by the highly anticipated All-Star event on the same day. Like the previous season, the 2024 All-Star Race will be comprised of 200 laps and feature an All-Star caution period at the halfway mark on Lap 100, where all teams will perform a mandatory four-tire pit stop. This season, however, generates a twist as a second All-Star caution period will occur on Lap 150 prior to a final leg shootout to the finish. For the duration of the event, all laps under green and caution flag scenarios will count and the overtime rules will also be enforced.

    With this year’s All-Star Race also centering its focus on tire options, all entered teams will be given nine sets of tires for the duration of the weekend. Five sets of tires will be prime tires marked with yellow letterings and the remaining four sets will be option tires marked with red letterings. Each team will be given three sets of prime tires and two sets of option tires to use for the practice, qualifying, Heat Races and Open events while the teams competing in the All-Star Race will receive two sets of each tire choice (prime and option). While the practice, Heat Races and Open events will enable the teams the option to start on any tire type, all teams are required to use the prime tires during all qualifying sessions (All-Star and Open) and start on the option tire for the All-Star Race. Lastly, all four tires of each car must include the same type of tire selection.

    The 2024 All-Star Race entry list features 17 competitors who are set to compete in the main event based on meeting the event’s eligibility criteria, which include winning at least one points event between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, being a former All-Star Race winner or a former Cup Series champion and are full-time competitors.

    These 17 eligible competitors feature AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr.

    The competitor who headlines this year’s All-Star Race’s entry list is Kyle Larson, the reigning three-time All-Star Race winner who became the first competitor to win the All-Star event on three distinct venues (North Wilkesboro, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway) and tied both Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon for the second-most All-Star wins at three. Larson’s 2024 bid for another million-dollar check will add a unique twist to his schedule this upcoming weekend as he is also set to qualify for this year’s 108 running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Arrow McLaren in preparation for his Memorial Day Double Duty effort that will include flying back to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26.

    Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

    With Larson qualifying at Indianapolis, Kevin Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champion and two-time All-Star Race winner, will briefly step out of full-time NASCAR competition and his new role as an analyst for FOX Sports by practicing Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for the All-Star event. Harvick will also serve as a standby competitor for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet team throughout the weekend in the event Larson does not return on time for Saturday’s Heat events.

    For this year’s All-Star Race, Larson is one of six former All-Star winners entered, including Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. That leaves nearly 65% of the remaining participants for this year’s All-Star Race field who have yet to claim the big million-dollar check for the first time, including last weekend’s Darlington winner Brad Keselowski and last year’s All-Star pole winner Daniel Suarez. All entered competitors, however, have made at least one previous start in the All-Star event.

    A notable name who is absent from this list is Shane van Gisbergen, who won the series’ inaugural Chicago Street Course event for his first Cup Series career victory in his debut this past July despite competing as a part-time competitor. van Gisbergen, who currently competes on a full-time basis in this year’s Xfinity Series season and on a part-time basis in the Cup circuit, will not compete in the event due to not having a ride set between a collaborative effort between his two teams: Kaulig Racing and Trackhouse Racing.

    The remaining competitors that include Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, rookie Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs, rookie Zane Smith, rookie Carson Hocevar, Kaz Grala and JJ Yeley will all battle amongst one other to claim the final three transfer spots into the All-Star Race: two through the All-Star Open and one through the Fan Vote.

    Last season, Josh Berry, who was competing as a relief competitor for Alex Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports, won the All-Star Open after leading the final 22 laps as he transferred into his first All-Star event. Ty Gibbs, whose No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew won the 2023 Pit Crew Challenge with a pit time of 13.012 seconds that enabled Gibbs to start on the pole position for the Open, also transferred into the main event after finishing second. In addition, Noah Gragson, who competed last season for Legacy Motor Club and now competes for Stewart-Haas Racing, claimed the final starting spot in the All-Star Race after being named the Fan Vote winner despite finishing seventh in the Open.

    Ironically, the trio of Berry, Gibbs and Gragson return to the All-Star Open as they will square off against one another and against 17 names for additional bids to make the All-Star Race. All three, though, are coming off strong runs at Darlington, where Gragson racked up his eighth top-15 result of the 2024 season by finishing 14th while Gibbs and Berry notched second and third-place finishes, respectively.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Of the 20 entered competitors for this year’s All-Star Open, half have made at least one start in the All-Star Race, among which include Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley and Ty Gibbs. The remaining half that includes Corey LaJoie, Kaz Grala, Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, Timmy Hill, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar are all looking to make the starting grid for the All-Star Race for the first time ever.

    As of this past Thursday, May 9, the top-10 competitors in the Fan Vote’s poll category in alphabetical order are Berry, Bowman, Briscoe, Gibbs, Gragson, Haley, Hocevar, Jones, LaJoie and Wallace. The 2024 Fan Vote winner will be announced at the conclusion of the All-Star Open.

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set to commence with the All-Star Open Qualifying session that will occur this upcoming Friday, May 17, and air at 5:40 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by the All-Star Race’s Qualifying and Pit Crew Challenge sessions that will follow suit and air at 6:20 p.m. ET on FS1. On Saturday, May 18, the two All-Star Race Heat events will occur, with the first heat’s coverage commencing at 5:20 p.m. ET while the second heat event will follow suit at 6:15 p.m. ET, both airing on FS2. Lastly, the All-Star Open will air on Sunday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 before the main event, the All-Star Race, will conclude the weekend by occurring at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Buescher, Reddick involved in post-race altercation amid late-race battle at Darlington

    Buescher, Reddick involved in post-race altercation amid late-race battle at Darlington

    For a second consecutive weekend, Chris Buescher was denied an opportunity to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season amid an eventful run and intense battle for the win in the closing stages of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 12. 

    Compared to a week ago at Kansas Speedway, where he was edged by Kyle Larson in the closest-recorded finish in the Cup Series history at 0.001 seconds but managed a smile, Buescher this week was left fuming over Tyler Reddick, the latter of which foiled both opportunities of netting a victory at the track deemed “Too Tough to Tame.” 

    The late drama for the victory that eventually led to tempers flaring started during a restart with 33 laps remaining when Reddick and Brad Keselowski, Buescher’s teammate and co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, spent the following three laps battling dead even for the lead. By then, Reddick, the pole winner had received stellar pit stops from his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota pit crew that enabled him to beat Keselowski off of pit road from the first pit stall throughout the event’s caution and stage break periods, including the latest service with 37 laps remaining.

    Then entering the frontstretch with 30 laps remaining, Keselowski, who made a bold charge underneath Reddick, made contact with the latter as Reddick scraped the outside wall while Keselowski nearly bounced off of Reddick. With both Reddick and Keselowski briefly falling off the pace and trying to regain their pace, Buescher capitalized on the contact and hard racing by diving his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank/Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse beneath both through the frontstretch as he emerged with the lead entering the first two turns. 

    After muscling ahead of Keselowski to claim the runner-up spot with 28 laps remaining, Reddick then spent the next 18 laps stalking and narrowing his deficit to Buescher. Then as he got to Buescher’s rear bumper while trailing him by a tenth of a second through the backstretch with 10 laps remaining, Reddick seized an opportunity by diving low beneath Buescher in a bid to reclaim the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Instead of the move sticking below the track through the turns as Reddick had hoped, Reddick’s Toyota slid up the track and pinned Buescher’s Ford against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4.  

    The contact resulted in both falling off the pace as both had their rear tires flattened and pitting their respective entries during the following lap, with their hopes of winning for the first time at Darlington Raceway also evaporated. During their late-race issues. Keselowski zipped by both and led the final eight laps en route to his first Cup victory in three years as he also received the honors of recording the first elusive victories of the season for both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing and the Ford Mustang Dark Horse stock car. 

    After taking the checkered flag in 30th place, two spots ahead of Reddick but two laps behind the leaders, before parking his entry on pit road, Buescher wasted no time stalking over to Reddick, where he gave the latter a shove and exchanged harsh words as Reddick still had his helmet on before Buescher walked back to his car. Amid the heated confrontation, Buescher maintained his composure as he summarized his disappointment and perspective over the late-race incident from his post-race interview. 

    “We got wrecked,” Buescher, who led 21 of 293-scheduled laps, said on FS1. “That one’s clear as day. [I] Don’t need any cameras to tell us. [Me and Reddick] raced each other really clean over the years, try to be really respectful about it, and we get used up. I’m just really pissed off about it right now. We certainly had a chance to win another [race].” 

    “Man, I wanted [the win] for our Fifth Third Bank group right here,” Buescher added. “[Reddick] knows he messed up. He said it, but it doesn’t change anything for us. I told him he’s got a win sticker on [his No. 45 door] and we’re still trying to find ours. We get used up like that and take away those opportunities stuff. That’s two weeks in a row we’ve had a shot to win races.” 

    The 30th-place result marks Buescher’s second-worst finish through the first 12 events of the 2024 Cup Series schedule and it dropped him one spot in the regular-season standings to 12th place, where he trails points leader Kyle Larson by 155 points. Nonetheless, Buescher, who remains poised for his first victory of the season, is 15 points above the top-16 cutline, enabling him to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs as this year’s regular-season stretch reaches its halfway mark. 

    Meanwhile, Reddick, who led a race-high 174 laps and won the second stage, was also left disappointed on pit road after ending up 32nd in the final running order despite spending the majority of the event running at the front and dominating in his No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE entry that sported a special throwback scheme honoring the late NASCAR icon Tim Richmond as Reddick also sported a throwback mustache to mirror Richmond. Amid the confrontation, Reddick was quick to accept responsibility for his role in the contact with Buescher.  

    “I completely understand where [Buescher]’s coming from,” Reddick said. “He’s running the top [lane], running his own race, running his own line, keeping me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was gonna clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up and not slide up into him, but…I wish I wouldn’t have done that.”  

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I completely understand why he’s that mad,” Reddick added. “He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race. Take myself out, that’s one thing like I can live with that. I’m just disappointed it played out the way it did and took him out of the race as well. That was not the goal there. Just have to work on that and try to make some better decisions going forward.”  

    Compared to Buescher, Reddick has one victory under his belt through the first 12 events of the 2024 Cup Series schedule after he won at Talladega Superspeedway three races ago. Despite being currently guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, Reddick also dropped one spot in the regular-season standings as he is ranked in sixth place and trails Larson by 90 points as he continues his pursuit for additional victories before the regular season’s conclusion in August. 

    With Darlington Raceway in the rearview mirror, the next event on the 2024 Cup Series schedule for Buescher, Reddick and the rest of the field is the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, where both Buescher and Reddick are set to compete in for equal chances of the event’s prize of $1 million.

    The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set to occur next Sunday, May 19, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Ross Chastain to make 200th Cup career start at Darlington

    Ross Chastain to make 200th Cup career start at Darlington

    Competing in his fourth consecutive full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ross Chastain is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will achieve 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Alva, Florida, Chastain made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway in June 2017. By then, he was campaigning in his third full-time season in the Xfinity Series, all with JD Motorsports. Driving the No. 15 Chevrolet entry for Premium Motorsports, Chastain started 36th and finished 20th in his Cup debut. Four months later, he made his second Cup career start with Premium at Dover during the 2017 Playoffs, where he finished 38th. 

    In 2018, Chastain, who remained a full-time Xfinity competitor, also competed in all but two of the 36-race Cup schedule. Making his first start of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, where he finished 30th, the Floridian achieved a season-best 18th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April, a single-lap lead at Talladega Superspeedway in October and an average-finishing result of 28.4, all while competing for Premium Motorsports. 

    The following season, Chastain, who made 77 career starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series and contended for the Truck Series title, also competed in all but one of the 36-race Cup schedule with Premium Motorsports. He commenced the season by notching his first top-10 career finish during the 61st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway by finishing 10th. He would then notch a 12th-place finish at Talladega in October while tallying a total of 11 laps led and an average-finishing result of 28.2 before the 2019 season’s conclusion. 

    In 2020, Chastain, who became a full-time Xfinity competitor for Kaulig Racing, made his first Cup start of the season during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 with Spire Motorsports, where he ended up 25th after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He then competed in the following three events as an interim competitor for Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford Mustang team as veteran Ryan Newman was recovering from a harrowing final lap wreck during the Daytona 500. In Chastain’s three-race stint with Roush, his highest-finishing result was a 17th-place run at Auto Club Speedway in March. Chastain would then make four additional Cup starts for the rest of the season with Spire Motorsports, where he achieved a season-best 16th-place result at Daytona in August. 

    In September 2020, Chastain was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for the 2021 season. He commenced the season by finishing seventh during the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 despite being involved in a final lap multi-car wreck before finishing no higher than 14th during his next 12 starts. After notching his first top-five career result during the series’ inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in May, Chastain rallied from finishing 37th during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to finish seventh at Sonoma Raceway and a career-best second place behind Kyle Larson during the series’ inaugural event at Nashville Superspeedway in June. Despite recording two additional top-10 results during the final nine regular-season events on the schedule, Chastain fell short of making the 2021 Cup Playoffs.

    Nonetheless, Chastain achieved a third-place finish during the Playoffs opener at Darlington Raceway followed by a seventh-place run at Richmond Raceway in September. He then managed to secure three top-15 results during the final eight events on the schedule before ending up in 20th place in the final standings. By then, Chastain boosted his average finishing result to 18.6 and tallied three top-five results, eight top-10 results and 62 laps led throughout the 36-race schedule. He had also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    In early August 2021, Chastain, who was initially labeled a free agent after Trackhouse Racing purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operations for the 2022 season, was hired by Trackhouse to pilot the team’s No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2022. Despite finishing 40th and 29th, respectively, during the season’s first two-scheduled events, he rebounded by finishing in the top three, including two runner-up results, during his next three starts. Then at Circuit of the Americas in March, Chastain outlasted an overtime battle against AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman, where he bumped and sent Allmendinger into Bowman before the former spun with two corners remaining, to notch the first Cup Series career victory for himself and for Trackhouse Racing, with the victory occurring in Chastain’s 121st Cup career start.

    Four races later, he overtook both Kyle Larson and Erik Jones through the tri-oval on the final lap to score his second career win at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where he only led the final lap. The pair of regular-season victories along with a total of 10 top-five results and 14 top-10 results in 26 starts were enough for Chastain to qualify for his first Cup Series Playoffs.

    After recording three top-10 results during the 2022 Playoff’s first six events, he was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. Then after recording back-to-back runner-up results during the Round of 8’s first two events and entering the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway above the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 round, Chastain achieved an incredible feat on the final lap by sending his car at full speed against the outside wall through the final two turns to go from 10th to fifth before taking the checkered flag.

    As a result, Chastain, who was initially scored two points below the cutline, ended up making the Championship 4 cutline by four points over rival Denny Hamlin, who Chastain also managed to edge at the finish line. Eventually, Chastain would be credited with a fourth-place result after initial fourth-place finisher Brad Keselowski was disqualified for failing post-race inspection. During the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Chastain finished in third place on the track and in a career-best second place in the final standings behind Joey Logano. Despite falling one position short of winning his first Cup title, the 2022 season was a career year for the Floridian, who nabbed his first two career victories and achieved career-high stats in top fives (15), top 10s (21) and laps led (692) along with a career-best average-finishing result of 13.3.   

    Returning to Trackhouse Racing while under a new multiyear deal in 2023, Chastain commenced the season by finishing ninth during the 65th running of the Daytona 500. He then finished in the top five a total of five times during his next 11 starts before finishing no higher than 10th during the next four. Then at Nashville Superspeedway in June, Chastain secured his spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs after scoring the first victory of the season for himself and Trackhouse Racing, where the Floridian led a race-high 99 laps and started on pole position for the first time in his career. After recording only a single top-10 result for the remaining nine regular-season events, Chastain then finished fifth, 13th and 23rd, respectively, throughout the Round of 16, which were enough for him to transfer into the Round of 12.

    With respective finishes of second, 37th and 10th during the Round of 12, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Nonetheless, Chastain proceeded to finish fifth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Round of 8 opener in October before concluding the season with a dominant win in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in November. The finale victory at Phoenix was enough for Chastain to end up in ninth place in the final standings in a season where he notched two victories, a pole, 10 top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 640 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.0. 

    Chastain commenced the 2024 campaign by nearly winning the 66th running of the Daytona 500 until he and Austin Cindric wrecked through the frontstretch on the final lap, which relegated the Floridian to a 21st-place finish in the final running order. He has since recorded a total of four top-10 results through his next 11 starts and is currently ranked in 10th place in the 2024 driver’s standings while trailing the points lead by 136 points.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Chastain has achieved four victories, one pole, 29 top-five results, 48 top-10 results, 1,515 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.3 as he continues his pursuit for his first Cup Series championship. 

    Ross Chastain is scheduled to make his 200th Cup Series career start at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 12, with the event’s coverage to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Parker Kligerman to make 100th Xfinity career start at Darlington

    Parker Kligerman to make 100th Xfinity career start at Darlington

    In his third full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Parker Kligerman is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Xfinity event at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro will make his 100th career start in the Xfinity circuit. 

    A native of Westport, Connecticut, Kligerman made his inaugural presence in the Xfinity Series at Kansas Speedway in October 2009. By then, he was competing on a full-time basis in the ARCA Racing Series for Cunningham Motorsports, where he would achieve nine victories and a runner-up result in the final standings, and was a development competitor for Team Penske. Driving the No. 22 Penske Dodge, Kligerman notched his first career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 172.778 mph in 31.254 seconds and would lead the first seven laps before settling in 16th place in the final running order. He returned for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where he piloted the No. 42 Team 42 Racing Dodge to a 25th-place finish. 

    In 2010, Kligerman made a total of 12 starts in the Xfinity Series between Team Penske and Team 42, with his first start occurring at Auto Club Speedway in February and finishing 22nd despite failing to qualify for the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. After notching his first career top-10 result at Bristol Motor Speedway in August by finishing ninth, the Connecticut native then notched a season-best eighth-place result at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal during the following event. Ultimately, he recorded a total of six top-15 results between his two part-time rides. He would make a total of four Xfinity starts for Team Penske between 2011 and 2012, where he would notch three top-10 results and finish as high as seventh, which occurred at Chicagoland Speedway in July 2012. 

    In 2013, Kligerman, who had scored his first Craftsman Truck Series victory at Talladega in October 2012 while driving for Red Horse Racing, joined Kyle Busch Motorsports to pilot the No. 77 Toyota Camry on a full-time basis. Commencing the season by finishing fifth at Daytona while dodging a harrowing multi-car wreck on the frontstretch, Kligerman would record a total of three top-five results, 13 top-10 results, 45 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.1 throughout the 33-race schedule before settling in ninth place in the final standings. By then, he notched a career-best third-place result at Road America in June and a fourth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in March. At Michigan International Speedway in June, Kligerman led 13 laps and was in the position of achieving his first career victory amid a late pit strategy and gamble before pitting for fuel with 14 laps remaining and ending up in 25th place while two laps down. 

    With Kyle Busch Motorsports ceasing its Xfinity Series program after the 2013 season, Kligerman would move up to the NASCAR Cup Series to compete for Swan Racing and contend for the 2014 Rookie-of-the-Year title. The driver, however, would be released by Swan Racing after the team sold its operations to Xxxtreme Motorsport following the first eight scheduled events. A year later and after he joined NBC Sports Network as an analyst, he made a single Xfinity start for Obaika Racing at Darlington Raceway, where he finished 21st. Another two years later, he competed at Road America for Precision Performance Motorsports, where he finished 10th. 

    In 2022, Kligerman made a total of three starts in the Xfinity Series, with his first start occurring at Circuit of the Americas for Emerling-Gase Motorsports, where he finished 12th. He remained with the team as he competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, where he ended up 37th after being eliminated in an early incident. His third and final start of the season occurred at Talladega Superspeedway during the Xfinity Series Playoffs, where he piloted the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a sixth-place finish. 

    In late October 2022, Big Machine Racing announced that Kligerman will be driving the team’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro on a full-time basis for the 2023 Xfinity season. He commenced the season with a 23rd-place finish at Daytona after being involved in a final lap wreck amid an overtime shootout. After finishing 10th, 11th and 15th, respectively, during his next three starts, Kligerman was in contention of achieving his first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway until he got turned approaching the finish line and wrecked, but managing a fourth-place finish. Kligerman and the No. 48 Big Machine Racing team would proceed to notch six top-five results and 12 top-10 results during the remaining 21 regular-season events, with their best result being a runner-up finish at Road America in late July.

    By virtue of the results and the consistency, including a seven-race consecutive streak of top-nine results between July and August and a fourth-place finish during the regular-season finale at Kansas Speedway in September, Kligerman managed to claim the 12th and final berth to the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst.

    Commencing the 2023 Playoffs with a 31st-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kligerman rallied during the following two events at Texas Motor Speedway and at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course by finishing second and sixth, respectively. The results, however, were enough for the Connecticut native to not transfer into the Round of 8 by four points. Nabbing two top-10 results during the final four events on the schedule, Kligerman settled in a career-best 10th place in the final driver’s standings. By then, he had achieved career-high stats in top fives (8), top 10s (18) and an average-finishing result of 13.2 as a full-time competitor. 

    Remaining at Big Machine Racing for the 2024 season, Kligerman has achieved three top-10 results through the first 10 events on the schedule. He is currently ranked in ninth place in the current 2024 driver’s standings and trails the series points lead by 133 points. 

    Through 99 previous starts in the Xfinity Series, Kligerman has achieved one pole, 12 top-five results, 41 top-10 results, 107 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.9 as he continues his pursuit for both his first Xfinity race victory and championship. 

    Parker Kligerman is scheduled to make his 100th Xfinity Series career start at Darlington Raceway for the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 on Saturday, May 11, with the event’s broadcast time to commence at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.  

  • Christian Eckes to make 100th Truck career start at Darlington

    Christian Eckes to make 100th Truck career start at Darlington

    In his fourth full-time campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Christian Eckes is poised to achieve a milestone start of his own. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST will reach 100 career starts in the Truck circuit.  

    A native of Greenville, New York, Eckes, winner of the 2016 Snowball Derby and Myrtle Beach 400, made his Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway in June 2018. By then, he was competing on a part-time basis in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports and was coming off his first career victory at Salem Speedway. Driving the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Eckes started ninth and finished eighth in his series debut. In the following event at World Wide Technology Raceway, he led 34 laps and won the second stage before ending up in 28th place following a late wreck after he got bumped and turned by Stewart Friesen into the outside wall entering the backstretch. Eckes would return for his third Truck career start at Martinsville Speedway in October, where he finished ninth, before finishing ninth for the third time in his career at Phoenix Raceway in November. 

    The following season, Eckes, who contended for the ARCA Menards Series championship for Venturini Motorsports, made a total of eight Truck Series starts in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota entry. His first start occurred during the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, where he started on pole position for the first time in his career. Despite leading the first lap, Eckes ended up 22nd after being involved in two late incidents. His next start occurred at World Wide Technology Raceway in June, where he started on pole, led a race-high 57 laps and was contending for the victory until he got turned by Friesen on the final lap and dropped to 14th place in the final running order.

    He would then finish fourth, sixth, and 15th during his next three starts at Pocono Raceway, Eldora Speedway and Michigan International Speedway, respectively, before finishing third at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September and 17th at Martinsville in October, both of which he started on pole position. During the season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the New York native started on the front row and led 26 laps before settling in third place on the track and delivering the seventh Truck Series owner’s championship for Kyle Busch Motorsports. By then, Eckes, who had notched three top-five results, four top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.8 through eight Truck starts, had also claimed the 2019 ARCA championship. 

    Following two strong part-time seasons, Eckes moved up to the Truck Series on a full-time basis in 2020 behind the wheel of the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra, where he contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. After commencing the season by finishing no higher than 14th during the first three scheduled events, he notched his first top-five result of the season by finishing third at Atlanta. He then claimed two top-10 results during his next three starts before posting a career-best runner-up result behind team owner Kyle Busch at Texas Motor Speedway in July. Eckes then claimed back-to-back runner results at Kansas Speedway and at Michigan International Speedway, respectively, before posting a single top-five result within the final five regular-season events.

    By then, Eckes managed to qualify for the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs based on points. His Playoff run, however, came to an early end following respective finishes of 17th, eighth and 18th during the Round of 10. Managing three top-six finishes during the final four-scheduled events, including back-to-back fourth-place runs at Martinsville and Phoenix, Eckes settled in eighth place in the final driver’s standings and in the runner-up spot behind Zane Smith for the rookie title. 

    After being released by Kyle Busch Motorsports following the 2020 season, Eckes joined ThorSport Racing and competed on a part-time basis in the 2021 Truck Series season while sharing the No. 98 Toyota Tundra with Grant Enfinger. His first start occurred at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in February, where he finished 10th. He then finished ninth and fourth, respectively, during his next two events at Las Vegas and Kansas before managing three top-15 results during his next five starts. Then at Las Vegas in September, Eckes capitalized on a four-lap shootout to capture his first Truck Series career victory in his 44th series start and amid a historic 1-2-3-4 finish for ThorSport Racing. Eckes would conclude the 2021 season in sixth place during the season-finale at Phoenix as ThorSport Racing’s No. 98 entry ended up in ninth place in the final owner’s standings. 

    Achieving a full-time ride in ThorSport Racing’s No. 98 entry for the 2022 Truck season, Eckes commenced the season on a high note by finishing third at Daytona. He then recorded two top-six results during the following six events on the schedule before posting four consecutive top-five results, including two runner-up finishes, during his next four starts. With three additional top-10 results occurring during the final five regular-season events, Eckes made his second career appearance in the Truck Series Playoffs as a title contender. Following respective finishes of 16th, eighth and 10th throughout the Round of 10, he transferred into the Round of 8. Despite finishing no lower than eighth during the Round of 8, Eckes did not transfer into the Championship 4 round and would conclude the season in eighth place in the final standings. By then, Eckes claimed a career-high stat in top 10s (15) and posted a career-best average-finishing result of 10.9 as a full-time competitor. 

    The 2023 season presented another new beginning for Eckes, who departed ThorSport and joined McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to drive the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST on a full-time basis, where he replaced the 2019 ARCA Menards Series West champion, Derek Kraus. After settling in third place during the season-opening event at Daytona followed by a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas amid a wild save while being sideways, the New York native capitalized on an overtime shootout to edge rookie Nick Sanchez on the final lap and at the moment of caution to grab his second Truck Series career victory at Atlanta in March. Amid respective finishes of 30th, 15th, 30th, 15th and 30th during his next five starts, Eckes capitalized on two overtime shootouts to grab his second Truck victory of the season at Darlington Raceway in May. He would then notch four top-seven results, including two top-three results, during his next six events before officially qualifying for the Playoffs.

    Commencing the 2023 Playoffs by finishing second at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway followed by a third-place finish at the Milwaukee Mile and winning the Round of 10 finale at Kansas, Eckes raced his way into the Round of 8. Despite achieving a runner-up result during the Round of 8 opener at Bristol Motor Speedway in September, he finished 19th and 20th during the next two Round of 8 events, which were not enough for him to make the Championship 4 round by a mere margin. Despite falling short of contending for his first Truck Series championship, Eckes capped off the 2023 season by scoring a career-high fourth victory of the season at Phoenix, which was enough to settle in a career-high fifth place in the final standings. By then, he achieved a career-high 10 top-five results, three poles, a career-high 351 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.1. 

    This season, Eckes has achieved dominant victories at two short track venues: Bristol in March and Martinsville Speedway in early April. To go along with a total of four top-five results and top-10 finishes in all but one of the first eight events on the 2024 schedule, Eckes is currently ranked in second place in the driver’s standings and trails points leader Corey Heim by seven points. 

    Through 99 previous Truck starts, Eckes has achieved seven victories, seven poles, 34 top-five results, 58 top-10 results, 1,119 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.4 as he continues his pursuit for his first Truck Series championship. 

    Christian Eckes is scheduled to make his 100th Craftsman Truck Series career start at Darlington Raceway for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200. The event is set to occur this upcoming Friday, May 10, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.