The NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) announced the 2021 season schedule on Wednesday afternoon and features a 23-race calendar, one race short of the usual 24 events that have been seen in recent years.
The 2021 season will open with the 52nd annual Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida scheduled for March 11-14. The season will end with the return of the Pomona Nationals at Auto Club on the weekend of November 11-14. The Pomona Nationals was missing from the schedule this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We can’t say enough to thank the loyal NHRA fans who have stuck with us during the trying times of the 2020 season,” said NHRA President Glen Cromwell. “We are grateful to you. All of us at the NHRA look forward to a full season of drag racing in 2021. Thank you to our fans, racers, and partners for your continued support and cooperation.”
The qualifying formats for these races were also announced as well.
For the 17 races, NHRA will use three-day qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday with eliminations taking place on Sunday. In addition, NHRA plans to use a two-day format for five races with qualifying on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday. This was the same format used when the NHRA season was restarted back in July.
Included on the 2021 schedule are Atlanta, Pomona I, Phoenix, Richmond and Seattle which will have three-day events followed by two qualifying sessions for the NHRA Camping World Series. While a different format for qualifying is being used currently, NHRA is expected to return to four qualifying runs at some point in their schedule.
Some of the tracks returning to the schedule are Topeka, Houston and Epping. These events were not run in 2020 as they were canceled due to COVID-19.
It is expected that Top Fuel and Funny Car classes will race all of the races on the schedule while the Pro Stock Motorcycle class is scheduled to compete in 16 races. The Pro Stock class will have an 18-race schedule in their category.
Other schedules announced included the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. The class returns to their normal 12-race schedule. NHRA Top Fuel Harley Series has a 10-race schedule while the Factory Stock Showdown will have eight races during the 2021 season. Three of these classes will be contested at the season opener in Gainesville.
Finally, the Mountain Pro Stock Class announced a six-race schedule that begins at Richmond, slated for the June 4-6 weekend.
For more information regarding the 2021 NHRA schedule, fans can visit nhra.com.
On Saturday afternoon, Phoenix Raceway hosted the second race of the Championship 4 weekend and this time, the NASCAR Xfinity Series took center stage.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley, and Stewart-Haas Racing and Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe made up the Championship 4 for the Xfinity Series.
While the race looked as though it would go to Chase Briscoe, who had nine wins entering the finale, the outlook began to change during Stage 2 when Cindric began to take control. In fact, the Team Penske driver took the lead on Lap 83 and the lead was just enough to take the Stage 2 victory. When the 200-lap event began to wind down, the battle came down to Allgaier and Cindric in the late laps.
Despite the late caution, Cindric prevailed against Allgaier to win his first Xfinity Series Championship in just 100 starts.
Like we did for the Truck Series Power Rankings this week, we’ll analyze the Power Rankings of the Championship 4 drivers in chronological order based on their finishing positions.
Austin Cindric – Cindric ends the year with a season-best of six wins, 19 top fives and 26 top 10 finishes. Those stats are greater than the last two years where he had just two wins last year and respectable top fives and 10s. Before winning the championship, Cindric led 72 laps, finished second in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Things got a little hairy when a late caution came out with six laps to go for a spinning Chase Briscoe. While Cindric was rightfully upset with the yellow while leading, the team took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and actually restarted behind race leader Allgaier who was on older tires. With a quick two-lap dash to the finish, Cindric moved around Allgaier and won by .162 seconds to take home the victory and championship. Not a bad year for Cindric who really came into his own in the summer months.
Justin Allgaier – Allgaier was at some points, the highest running of the Championship 4 drivers, leading over Cindric, Briscoe and Haley. The Illinois driver finished third and second in both stages, respectively. At one point, Allgaier took the lead on Lap 98 and led for 32 laps before being passed by competitor Cindric. Before the final round of green-flag pit stops took place, there was some concern on the team radio that a tire could have been coming apart on the No. 7 Chevrolet. Thankfully for Allgaier, he made it to pit road without blowing the tire and shredding the car. However, it would somewhat prove costly as when the yellow flew, Allgaier stayed out on older tires with Cindric pitting for fresh ones. Allgaier did his best to hold off Cindric in hopes of capturing his first title but in the end, he came up short, finishing fifth. The JR Motorsports driver will end the year with three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10 finishes and 1,008 laps led.
Justin Haley – 2020 proved to be a great year for Kaulig Racing driver Justin Haley. Haley got into the playoffs based on his three wins, with two coming at Talladega and the other victory at Daytona in the summer. The Indiana native would start fourth based on the qualifying metric system although he had some challenges even before the race started. The No. 11 team which was used by the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing pit crew had one member that tested positive for COVID-19. Kaulig Racing called upon the Truck Series championship crew of Sheldon Creed to replace the crew member. When the race began, Haley ran as high as fourth and averaged a mid-race pace of eighth. He had 44 passes to his credit and placed seventh in both stages. However, the team continued to fight the No. 11 machine and tried to get the car to Haley’s liking to where it could run in the front of the field. Unfortunately for Haley, he ran out of time and finished eighth in the running order for his 21st top 10 of the year. However, he improved significantly from last year when Haley had zero wins and finished 12th in the standings.
Chase Briscoe – Briscoe had quite possibly the most disappointing finish of this year’s Championship 4, finishing last out of the group after placing ninth. Briscoe entered the playoffs with a career-high nine wins. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver first punched his ticket into the playoffs with a win earlier in the year at Las Vegas. Then when racing returned in May, Briscoe went on a tear winning at Darlington, Indianapolis Grand Prix, Pocono, Dover, Bristol and Vegas II. The defining moment came at Kansas last month when he punched his ticket to the Championship 4with a victory at the 1.5-mile speedway. When Phoenix came, the No. 98 team was shockingly nowhere to be found after winning Stage 1. Following the stage victory, Briscoe managed third in Stage 2 but began to fall off after the stages were complete. Despite leading early, the No. 98 car started to struggle with the handling and the race leaders pulled away. Unfortunately for Briscoe, he brought out the caution with six laps to go after spinning out in Turn 4. Even though he pitted for fresh tires, he couldn’t move the No. 98 Ford much higher than ninth as Briscoe settled for his 22nd top 10 of the season.
Phoenix International Raceway was the site of the Truck Series 2020 Championship Friday night. The Truck Series championship race was the first of three championships with the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series following suit.
Four drivers were eligible for the season championship with Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith and Grant Enfinger eligible to fight for the title. In this special edition of Power Rankings, we’ll analyze the Championship 4 drivers tonight in chronological order.
Sheldon Creed – From the get-go, Sheldon Creed’s championship hopes did not look favorable, at least through the first stage, with his teammate Zane Smith leading the early portions of the race. However, the No. 2 began to turn the tides little by little following the completion of Stage 1. Creed challenged for the top spot and passed Zane on Lap 49. He stayed out front for 25 laps before getting passed by the 2018 Truck Series champion, Brett Moffitt. In the second stage, the Californian would have to settle for the third position. Then the breakthrough came when a caution flew with six laps to go, changing everything in the race entirely. With Moffitt and Enfinger staying out on the racetrack, Creed elected to come to pit road and take four tires. On the overtime restart, Creed made a dive bomb move in Turn 1, passed Moffitt and retained the lead to win his first-ever Truck Series Championship. Creed will finish the 2020 season with five wins, nine top-fives and 13 top 10 finishes. In addition, he led a total of 587 laps and maintained an average finish of 10.2.
Zane Smith – When you look back on Smith’s rookie season, some will consider the season a good season with two wins, seven top fives, and 13 top 10 finishes. However, at the end of the day, a lot of those stats are thrown out the window when you’re trying to win the title. On Friday night, the rookie from California looked really solid through the beginning portions of the event with Smith winning Stage 1 and leading the first 45 laps with no direct challenge from behind. Unfortunately for Smith, Stage 1 would be the only time the rookie would lead as he would have to end up fighting for most of the night behind the leaders. In Stage 2, Smith finished second to teammate Moffitt, but like Creed, Smith found an opportunity due to the late yellow and pitted with Creed. However, Smith ran out of time and fell just one position short of winning the title by .617 seconds to his teammate Creed.
Brett Moffitt – Moffitt looked on pace to win his second Truck Series championship until the late-race caution changed everything. Due to some miscommunication between the crew on whether or not to stay out, Moffitt remained out on track with older tires restarting in the first position. When the green flag flew with two to go, Moffitt was passed by several drivers on the restart. Not only did he get passed, but the Iowan native fell from first to 10th when the checkered flag flew, ultimately being disappointed with the finish. Not that the stages really matter in the final race, but before winning Stage 2, Moffitt was third in Stage 1. The GMS Racing driver will end the 2020 season with one win at Kansas, 10 top fives and 16 top 10 finishes with an average finish of 9.7.
Grant Enfinger – Aside from a disappointed Moffitt, Grant Enfinger most likely had the most disappointing night of them all. The ThorSport driver started on the pole based on the new metric system but could never really capitalize on it. Through the majority of the first two stages, the Alabaman was the lowest running of the Championship 4 being mired back in either the fourth, fifth or sixth position. During a Lap 104 caution, Enfinger made a pit stop for adjustments to his No. 98 truck to try something different than the leaders. On the next restart, Enfinger restarted in the 12th position and slowly but surely started making his way through the pack. At one point, Enfinger was passing the Championship 4 contenders and got as high as second to Moffitt before the caution. Like Moffitt, Enfinger stayed out to assume second, restarting in the outside lane. Despite Enfinger’s effort, he spun the tires a little bit and would brush the wall in the final laps. In the end, Enfinger could only manage a 13th place finishing position after showing promise late. As the 2020 season wraps up Enfinger finishes with four wins at Daytona, Atlanta, Richmond and, most recently, at Martinsville. The No. 98 team finishes with eight top fives, and 13 top 10 finishes with 156 laps led and an average finish of 10.4.
Not the ending we wanted, but gonna hold our head high with how far we have come as a team. Thanks to everyone @ThorSportRacing for digging deep all year. https://t.co/MfIEwdB6fK
Phoenix Raceway was the site of the season finale race for the 2020 Truck Series Championship. Getting this far seemed almost impossible back in March when the world was shut down for a month and a half. However, the industry, series officials and the tracks rallied together and were able to get all 23 races in to complete the season.
When the checkers flew last Friday night, the Truck Series championship went to Sheldon Creed who bested Zane Smith, Brett Moffitt and Grant Enfinger after taking four fresh tires following a caution with less than 10 laps to go in the race. Creed became the only driver to win the ARCA Menards and Truck Series Championships.
As Creed won the Truck Series title for the first time in his career, it’s safe to say that Creed will once again be a challenge and a threat for the championship in 2021 since the Californian will be back for a second consecutive year to defend his title.
With the season over at this point, we’ll take a look at things we might have missed in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix.
Maury Gallagher Earns First Team Owner Title – The Team Owner Championship has been a long time coming for Maury Gallagher, the CEO of Allegiant Airlines. The title was Gallagher’s first of any kind since entering the sport in 2012 and competing in the ARCA Menards Series. Gallagher entered the Truck Series competition however back in 2013 with his son Spencer and their first Truck Series race was Kansas. Since the initial debut, Gallagher, as an owner, has achieved 37 career wins with Austin Dillon, Grant Enfinger, Ben Kennedy, Kyle Larson, Johnny Sauter, Chase Elliott, Kaz Grala, Justin Haley, Timothy Peters, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Sam Mayer and, of course, Sheldon Creed. It’s been a long journey for the team who entered NASCAR eight years ago, but at the same time, fun being able to watch a team grow. As the team is becoming a powerhouse team, 2021 is looking bright for the organization as a whole and they are set to defend their title.
Jeff Stankiewicz Gains First Truck Series Title – Staying on the topic of firsts, crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz also picked up his first championship Friday night. Creed and Stankiewicz have proved to be a great pairing as both won a total of four races with each other two years ago in ARCA competition and won the championship with Creed as well. By winning the championship Friday night, the North Carolina native was the 19th different crew chief to win a championship in the Truck Series. Stankiewicz’s best points finish prior to Friday night in the Truck Series was seventh with former series driver Joey Coulter in 2014.
Kyle Busch Motorsports Place Three Trucks In Top Five – Even though Friday night was dominated by the GMS Racing team, Kyle Busch Motorsports was right up there in contention with Chandler Smith the highest finishing driver out of the stable as the Georgian finished third. Smith most likely could have finished runner-up had he not been passed by Zane Smith (no relation to Chandler) had Zane not pitted. The third-place finish was Smith’s best result since Talladega last month, where he also finished third. Christian Eckes finished fourth, which matched his Martinsville finish a week prior to Phoenix. Finally, after a rough Martinsville outing of 20th, Canadian Raphael Lessard rebounded to a fifth-place finish to earn his fourth top-five of the season.
Niece Motorsports Ends The Season With A Disappointing Night – Friday night was most likely a forgettable night and end to the season for Niece Motorsports. Trevor Bayne was the highest out of the stable and finished 18th after receiving a speeding penalty following the stage break. Meanwhile, Ryan Truex placed 21st in the No. 40 machine. Carson Hocevar, who will go full-time for Niece ‘21, wrecked out of the event and was credited with 32nd place. 2020 has certainly been a struggle for the team as none of their drivers recorded any wins despite being close at Talladega with Bayne. It is a significant dropoff from last year, where Ross Chastain gave Niece three wins and a spot in the Championship 4. Here’s hoping 2021 will be better for the team.
On the final race day of the year for the 2020 ARCA Menards Series West, just 100 laps separated championship contenders Blaine Perkins and Jesse Love Jr. for the title. There were multiple championship scenarios in play, but the end goal was simple. Love Jr. had to finish eighth or better than Perkins, no matter what Perkins did.
Love Jr. prevailed as the Bill McAnally Racing driver had already collected the ARCA West title with 30 laps to go.
Perkins, in the No. 9 Ford was, out of the race early due to engine issues that relegated him to a 25th place outing and ultimately giving Love Jr. the title for the first time in his career. The title was a huge accomplishment for the 15-year-old Californian as he replaced Hailie Deegan’s old No. 19 ride coming into the 2020 season.
“I just knew when the race started I had to control everything I could control,” said Love. “Kind of put my pride aside and just try to race the nine car and not put myself in any situations. If I could find a gap, I would drive forward to get to that gap, or I would just back off to get to that gap so I could just be by myself and not have to get in any dog fights or anything like that.
“Had to be smart about it. It was killing me. I wish I could have been more aggressive, been able to race really hard. But one of those deals, but obviously it’s cool. Paid off in a championship.”
Despite there being a championship on the line, a race winner was also to be decided. David Gilliland, the 44-year-old team owner of DGR-Crosley earned his first checkered flag since 2012 at Sonoma in what was then called the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
Gilliland qualified on the pole with a time of 27.452 seconds and 131.138 mph to set his No. 4 Ford on the front row.
The race wasn’t all that easy for the former Cup Series driver, as three cautions occurred during the first 12 laps. Gilliland kept himself in contention by staying up front but unfortunate circumstances came at the Lap 54 restart following the halfway break. The Riverside, California native was penalized for a restart violation, changing lanes too soon by diving to the bottom of the track. Gilliland had to serve a pass-through penalty and was mired deep in the 27-car field.
Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs in the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota, was dominating the race but things began to go south with cautions late in the race. The opportunity for Gilliland came with nine laps to go when race leader Gibbs slid up the track and was slightly into the Turn 1 wall. Gilliland’s car was like a rocket and it didn’t take him long to grab the top spot with his son Todd and competitor Sam Mayer, following in suit. However, Gilliland had to wait one more time due to a caution coming out for Mayer when the GMS driver suffered a left-rear flat after contact with Todd.
The final restart came with three to go, and surprisingly, after the contact a few laps earlier, Ty Gibbs was back on the front row with Gilliland. Fortunately for (David) Gilliland, he was able to keep Gibbs at a distance and win for the fifth time in his West Series career, the first checkered flag for him under the ARCA Series banner.
“It’s always fun racing with Todd, and to be able to race with your son is actually a dream come true for me,” said Gilliland. “[It] tops anything. Tops sitting here in victory lane and winning, winning as an owner or a championship — it tops everything, racing with him.
“And to be able to do that today was very special.”
There were seven cautions for 29 laps, and six lead changes among two different leaders.
The 2020 ARCA West Series champion, Jesse Love Jr., ends the season with three West Series victories, nine top fives and 10 top-10 finishes along with four poles. The other two victories for Love Jr. came at Irwindale and Utah Motorsports Campus.
Official Results following the Arizona Lottery 100 at Phoenix International Raceway.
David Gilliland
Ty Gibbs
Taylor Gray
Todd Gilliland
Drew Dollar
Justin Lofton
Trevor Huddleston
Corey Heim
Gracie Trotter
Keith Rocco
Howie DiSavino III
Joey Iest
Alex Sedgwick, 1 lap down
Jesse Love, 2020 ARCA West Series Champion, 1 lap down
Chris Hacker, 2 laps down
Devin Dodson, 2 laps down
Todd Souza, 3 laps down
Kris Wright, 4 laps down
Cody Erickson, 5 laps down
Bobby Hillis Jr, 5 laps down
Sam Mayer, OUT, Crash
Bridget Burgess, 9 laps down
Tauma Koga, 22 laps down
Jack Wood, OUT, Crash
Blaine Perkins, OUT, Engine
Zane Smith, OUT, Crash
Gio Scelzi, OUT, Crash
Up Next: The 2020 ARCA Menards West Series season is now complete. Next for the series is the end of the year award banquet for the ARCA brand, which is currently slated for Tuesday night on Nov. 17. The event can be seen live on arcaracing.com and the ARCA Racing’s Facebook page.
After a quiet first two stages, a late-race caution gave Sheldon Creed the opportunity to drive from eighth place to the front and take the lead to win the Truck Series championship.
“I can’t believe it, thank you so much,” the 23-year-old Californian, Creed, screamed into his team radio as he crossed the finish line. “The caution came out and we were like, ‘we’ve got nothing to lose’,” Creed said of the decision to pit for tires. “I pride myself on my restarts week in and week out and just nailed the restart right there. I was just driving as hard as I can, I wanted this thing so bad.”
Stages 45-45-60 laps made up the scheduled 150 lap race, but an overtime restart extended the race to 156 laps. No Trucks were sent to the rear and Championship 4 driver Grant Enfinger was on the pole based on the metric system. Brett Moffit, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Sheldon Creed made up the Championship 4 contenders.
Stage 1: Laps 1 – 45
Early on in the stage, rookie Zane Smith had the lead over teammates Creed and Moffitt with no challenge from either driver until late in the stage. Surprisingly, no cautions fell in the stage and with a dominant truck, Zane Smith grabbed the stage victory with Creed in second, Moffitt third and Enfinger fourth.
After the stage break, it was Creed who would win the race off pit road and maintain his top position.
Stage 2: Laps 53 – 90
Stage 2 was a carbon copy of the first stage with 8 green-flag laps of racing with no yellows in sight. However, multiple battles for the lead would pursue in the middle of this stage. Creed led from laps 50 – 74 for 25 total laps. His teammate Brett Moffitt came into the picture and made a pass on Lap 75 with just 19 laps to go in the stage. After making the pass for the lead, the Iowan native held on and took home the Stage 2 win. Zane Smith finished second, Creed was third and Enfinger managed fifth.
Under the yellow, Niece Motorsports driver Trevor Bayne was penalized for being too fast on pit road and Moffitt held on to the lead.
Stage 3: Laps 98 – 156
With Enfinger battling a tight truck, GMS Racing made up the top three spots. However, their effort was slowed at Lap 104 when a caution flew for the No. 42 of Carson Hocevar who backed his Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the Turn 2 wall. In the middle of the caution cycle, Enfinger came down to pit road and took four tires to help with the handling of the truck. Meanwhile, the No. 19 of Derek Kraus stalled, having no power in his Toyota Tundra.
When the green flag flew again at Lap 119, Enfinger made the most of his pit stop by climbing to fifth in the running order. However, the four-tire call for Enfinger wouldn’t come into play until late in the race. The Alabaman started making moves with 19 to go, passing Smith for fourth and moving up as high as second with 12 to go.
As the race started to wind down, race leader Moffitt held off Enfinger with a 4.340-second advantage. Getting closer to the checkered flag, the race looked as though it would go to the 2018 Truck Series Champion, Moffitt. Unfortunately for Moffitt, a late yellow flew for the No. 41 of Dawson Cram, setting up an overtime restart with seven laps to go.
The caution would prove costly for Moffitt, as Champ 4 drivers Creed and Zane Smith came to pit road and took four fresh tires. Moffitt and Enfinger stayed out to assume the lead with hopes of holding off the field for a classic finish.
The restart on Lap 154 with 2 laps to go would look like this for the championship drivers; Moffitt was in first, Enfinger was second, Creed restarted in eighth with Smith in ninth.
Following the green flag, Enfinger, on the outside, spun his tires and both Creed and Smith made dive bomb moves to the bottom of the track in Turns 1 and 2. Moffitt ended up sliding up the track and falling back in the running order. As the checkered flag flew, the victory and championship went to Creed who won his fifth race of the 2020 season.
Zane Smith finished second with Moffitt 10th and Enfinger rounding out the Championship 4 in 13th position.
After leading the most laps (78) and winning Stage 2, Moffitt was understandably disappointed after finishing 10th.
“It’s frustrating losing like that,” Moffitt said. “It would have been an honor to win with this paint scheme in honor of (seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion) Jimmie Johnson,” said Moffitt, adding, “I guess if broken legs isn’t enough of a handicap, race strategy is.”
There were four cautions for 28 laps and seven lead changes among five different drivers.
Items to note – Chevrolet won the Truck Series Manufacturers Championship, while GMS Racing’s Maury Gallagher won his first ever Truck Series Owners title. Champion Sheldon Creed ends the season with the most stage victories of 11, while he and Austin Hill end up in a tie with the most playoff points of 28 each.
Final Championship 4 Standings
Sheldon Creed
Zane Smith
Brett Moffitt
Grant Enfinger
Final Championship 4 Owner Standings
GMS Racing No. 2
GMS Racing No. 21
GMS Racing No. 23
ThorSport Racing No. 98
Official Results following the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Sheldon Creed, led twice for 27 laps
Zane Smith
Chandler Smith
Christian Eckes
Raphael Lessard
Stewart Friesen
Ben Rhodes
Tyler Ankrum
Todd Gilliland
Brett Moffitt, won Stage 2, led 78 laps
Johnny Sauter
Austin Hill
Grant Enfinger, led two laps
Matt Crafton
Tanner Gray
Dylan Lupton
Sam Mayer
Trevor Bayne
Tate Fogleman
Austin Wayne Self
Ryan Truex, 1 lap down
Jordan Anderson, 2 laps down
Spencer Davis, 2 laps down
Derek Kraus, 3 laps down
Tyler Hill, 3 laps down
Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
Dawson Cram, 4 laps down
Robby Lyons, 4 laps down
Akinori Ogata, 6 laps down
Jennifer Jo Cobb, 9 laps down
Carson Hocevar, OUT, Accident
Josh Reaume, OUT, Brakes
Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will now enjoy their much deserved offseason and start focusing on the 2021 schedule. The 2021 Truck Series season begins Friday night, Feb. 12 at Daytona International Speedway with the annual NextEra Energy Resources 250.
For the first time in 13 years, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Martinsville Speedway for race No. 32 of the 2020 season and the final race in the Round of 8 Playoffs.
Heading into Martinsville, just one driver was locked into the Championship 4 at Phoenix, and that was Chase Briscoe thanks to his Kansas victory a couple of weeks ago. However, three other spots were up for grabs with seven drivers jockeying for those final three positions to race for a championship.
At the end of the 250-lap race Saturday afternoon, it was Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley who would make the Championship 4 at Phoenix this coming Saturday afternoon.
While the race was geared toward the final three that had a chance to make it in, there was also a race winner to keep an eye on. That race winner turned out to be Harrison Burton in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine. Burton took the lead on Lap 198 and never looked back to lead the final 53 laps en route to his fourth win of the season.
Nevertheless, we’ll take a look at how others fared in this week’s Xfinity Series Power Rankings following the Draft Top 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
Chase Briscoe – A seventh-place run in Saturday’s race was certainly uncharacteristic as the team is used to running in the top three or winning most of the time. Thankfully, with help from his Kansas victory a few weeks ago, he was able to take a breather before the Championship 4 race without having to worry about being in a must-win situation. For the race itself, Briscoe could only earn a stage finish of 10th in Stage 1 before settling for his 21st top-10 of the year. Now, all eyes will be on Briscoe Saturday to see if he can capitalize on what has been a dominant season with nine victories.
Previous Week Ranking – First
Ross Chastain – Chastain finished fifth once the checkered flag flew Saturday and earned his 15th top-five of the year. In addition, the Floridan finished fourth in Stage 1 and won the second stage. Unfortunately, the stage finishes weren’t enough for Chastain to be a part of the Championship 4 as he would fail to move on despite the top-five finish. It was certainly a disappointing effort for the Kaulig Racing driver who will be moving on to the Cup Series next year to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
Justin Haley – Speaking of Kaulig Racing, Haley, the Indiana native, will now be racing for a championship come Saturday after earning three wins, 10 top fives and 20 top-10 finishes this year. This won’t be the first time that Haley has been a part of Championship 4. The last time he was a part of the season finale was two years ago in 2018 at Homestead, which is no longer the site where the champion is crowned. Throughout Saturday’s race, Haley finished fifth and third, respectively, in both stages, before finishing 12th.
Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
Harrison Burton – After a few disappointing finishes at Talladega and transmission woes at the Charlotte Roval, Burton has been on a roll the last few weeks winning back to back races that started with a last-lap pass at Texas. On Saturday, the North Carolina native led 81 laps and finished second and ninth in the first two stages. One has to wonder, had Burton not been eliminated early in the Playoffs, he most likely would be challenging for the championship. But, like most drivers, Burton will have to wait until next year to have his opportunity.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Justin Allgaier – Allgaier is back for a second year in the Championship 4 following his second-place outing at Martinsville. The JR Motorsports driver didn’t lead any laps but finished eighth and fourth in both stages. Allgaier’s 16th top-five of the year was enough to move him on to fight for a championship again. He’s been close many times but we’ll have to wait and see if Allgaier will be crowned champion this Saturday.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Fell Out
Ryan Sieg – While Sieg has enjoyed one of his best Xfinity Series seasons to date with seven top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes, he missed out on competing for a championship due to his 1tth place finish. However, while it was disappointing for the team not to be a part of the finale, Sieg has definitely put up a great fight in the Playoffs and moved on further than anyone was expecting.
The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Martinsville Speedway last Friday night for their second to last race of the 2020 season and the final event before the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway.
Two playoff spots were up for grabs as only two drivers (Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt) were already locked in based on their wins in the Round of 8. The two final positions were changing with a different driver almost every single lap. At different points during the race, Matt Crafton held one of the spots while Austin Hill was in too. Unfortunately for both drivers, they would miss the Championship 4 due to problems.
Grant Enfinger, in a must-win situation, took the checkered flag after the 200 laps were completed. Enfinger is one of the Championship 4 participants and Zane Smith collected the last spot based on points.
As the focus is normally the playoff drivers this time of the year, we’ll take a look at some other stories we may have missed during the Truck Series race at Martinsville last Friday night.
Austin Hill Returns For 2021 Campaign – It was announced during the FOX Sports 1 prerace show on Friday night that Austin Hill would return to the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra for the 2021 season. Hill has had great success with HRE Racing by capturing six career wins including his first at Daytona last year. The Georgian has been close to advancing to the final four many times but hasn’t found that lucky moment to get him over the hump. Unfortunately, Friday’s announcement wouldn’t be lucky for Hill, as he was out of the race early with an engine problem, prematurely ending his bid for a Championship 4 spot.
Stewart Friesen’s Respectable Performance – 2020 has been a strange year for Stewart Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team. The Canadian has yet to win any races this season and unless something major happens, that drought will continue into 2021. However, Friesen showed some promise on Friday night by winning his first stage victory of the year. The last time he won a stage before Martinsville was last year at Talladega when he won the second stage in the Surglands Shine 250 last October. When all was said and done Friday night, Friesen finished sixth and gained his 11th Top 10 of the year.
Wrecks, Wrecks and More Wrecks – While wrecks were to be expected in a typical Martinsville Truck Series race, there seemed to be more than usual Friday night. The cause of it? No one will really ever know but championship contender Zane Smith compared the race to a “Bowman Gray like atmosphere.” There were 11 cautions for 82 laps which equals to 41% of the race running under caution and only an average of 9.8 green-flag runs. This year’s number of cautions nearly matches the 2019 fall race where 12 cautions for 80 laps were seen. Perhaps Martinsville being the final elimination race of the season had something to do with the craziness we saw Friday night.
Danny Bohn Earns First Career Top 10 Finish – Danny Bohn is normally a name that continues to fly under the radar in the Truck Series. Bohn, the former NASCAR Whelen Modified star, has been competing in the Truck Series on a part-time basis this season with just nine starts to his credit. Before Martinsville, Bohn originally had a best finish of 16th at Gateway earlier in the summer. Come last Friday, the New Jersey native finished seventh for the first-ever Top 10 finish in his career. But the finish shouldn’t be too surprising since Bohn has competed on short tracks across the country in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Series.
With just one race left before the Championship 4 event at Phoenix International Raceway, Truck Series drivers and teams were vying for the final two spots in the Playoffs. Two of those spots were already claimed by GMS Racing drivers Sheldon Creed and 2018 Truck Series Champion Brett Moffitt.
Positions third and fourth were up for grabs as six drivers were desperately trying to lock themselves in to fight for a championship spot with only two still available. At some points during the race it looked as though Austin Hill would race his way in, but due to engine woes, the Georgian would be out of the race early and his championship hopes were eliminated, as well. Despite six cautions making up the final stage, at the conclusion of the 200 laps, it was rookie Zane Smith and race winner Grant Enfinger who took the last two spots and earned a shot to win the championship.
However, there were other drivers like Austin Hill who was once inside the cut line but now find themselves having to wait until next year to try again. We’ll take a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the Martinsville Truck Series race.
Grant Enfinger – After years of trying, Grant Enfinger finally can make a bid for the Truck Series championship after being so close to advancing when the Championship 4 format was implemented. Enfinger was in a must-win situation heading into Martinsville, or in a worst-case scenario, needed a lot of help from other playoff drivers who experienced trouble throughout the night. Fortunately for Enfinger, he didn’t have any trouble at all in the race, aside from lining up behind the race leaders at one point during one of the late cautions. The Alabaman reclaimed the lead with just two laps to go, and never looked back, and ultimately advanced to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. In addition, he led 49 laps and finished eighth and third, respectively, in Stage 1 and 2.
Previous Week Ranking – Third
Zane Smith – Smith led 20 laps before coming home with his sixth and most important top-five of the season. His finish was enough to get him locked into the Championship 4 at Phoenix. Smith was in a position to possibly win the race at some points. But his main objective was to fend off Matt Crafton to get the position, which he did, as Crafton finished behind Smith in the running order. Now, Smith will have to overcome his biggest challenge yet and that is to win the championship over his GMS Racing teammates at Phoenix.
Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
Sheldon Creed – Despite bringing out the caution at Lap 176, Creed rebounded to an eighth-place finishing position for his 12th Top 10 of the year. Creed won the first stage and led 65 laps en route to his eighth-place position. He will also be racing for his first championship alongside his teammate Zane Smith.
Previous Week Ranking – First
Matt Crafton – While it was a disappointing finish in Crafton’s eyes, it could have certainly been worse, such as not finishing the race. The ThorSport driver had the lead at certain moments in the race, including at one point when he was one of the four hopefuls to fight for the championship. He led six laps and finished second in both stages before finishing fifth in the running order for his ninth top-five of the season. Unfortunately for Crafton, he finished behind Zane Smith and that was not good enough to move on to defend his 2019 Truck Series Championship.
Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
Ben Rhodes – Rhodes came home in the second position after starting seventh. He was one of the unlucky ones that did not advance to the Championship 4, missing the position by one spot. Despite not advancing, the Kentucky native collected his ninth top-five of the year.
Fell Out
Austin Hill – Engines woes eliminated Austin Hill from championship contention and he was credited with a 35th place finish. Hill was above the cut line heading into the race and most likely would have been racing for the championship, had the engine not expired on his No. 16 Toyota. However, like many others, he will have to wait until next year to try again for the championship.
On the final race day of the season, NHRA drivers, and teams took to the track for their 11th and final race of the year after a crazy chaotic season due to COVID-related issues.
While there were race winners to be celebrated, champions in every class such as Funny Car, Top Fuel, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle were yet to be decided as well.
Top Fuel
Coming into the last race of the year, Steve Torrence was looking to end on a high note after claiming victories as of late. He also had an opponent to watch out for as well, and that included his rival Doug Kalitta who still had a mathematical shot as each elimination was awarded 30 additional points to the respective winner of their round.
For Torrence, it was simple. All he had to do was just win and move on to the next round. The same can also be said for Kalitta. When the first round came, Torrence was already moving after getting the victory over Kebin Kinsley by going 3.736 seconds and 325.45 mph to advance to Round 2. Now, the Texan had to wait, and watch Kalitta do his job. Unfortunately for Kalitta, he was eliminated early after falling to Justin Ashley and ending his 2020 season early. With Kalitta out early, Torrence had the title wrapped up in his hands for the third time in his career and the second consecutive after winning last year.
However, just because the championship was already decided, a race winner for the Top Fuel class wasn’t. Antron Brown earned a Round 1 victory over last week’s winner Tony Schumacher by going 3.720 seconds and 326.87 mph to advance. Brown would capitalize on that momentum by getting victories over Clay Millican in the second round and Steve’s dad, Billy Torrence, in the semifinals. Brown ended up racing the 2020 Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence in the final round of the season after Steve got victories over Troy Buff in Round 2 and Justin Ashley in the semifinal.
When the final round came, it was a close drag race, as Antron Brown would get the hole shot victory over Torrence with the reaction time of .042 seconds. The Las Vegas victory was Brown’s first of the season and his first victory in over two years with his last victory coming at Seattle in 2018.
“This feels so good. The last race of the year to go out with a win, Lord knows, all the glory goes to him, and at the end of the day we had so many people that stuck with us this season,” said Brown who closed out the year ranked fifth in the Top Fuel standings.
“Getting (crew chief) Brian Corradi back in our stable and teaming up again with Mark Oswald and Brad Mason and the rest of this Matco team has been incredible. There are so many people who have stuck by us. The TRD support is amazing and Global Electronic Technology coming aboard this year, and Hangsterfer’s has been so loyal to us. Our supporters give us the motivation, and we beat the resistance with persistence. We have a great staff at DSR. We never gave up or quit. We put our heads down and Brian and Mark and the guys just kept marching forward. It feels so good to end the season with a win. We know we have our work cut out for us in ’21. We’re going to keep improving and working hard. We’ve got a great place to start next season. We can run with anybody out there. We just have to get better, be more consistent and do what we do and that’s win rounds. When you win rounds, you win races and when you win races you win championships.”
Antron Brown Hoist the Wally for the First Time This Season, Photo Courtesy of Auto Imagery
As Brown celebrated the victory, Torrence, the Kilgore, Texas native enjoyed the third Top Fuel championship of his career after being runner-up for the third time this season and the 22nd of his career.
“I am excited to win our third championship” he acknowledged, “(but) I’m a big Doug Kalitta fan. I know what it takes to get here, what it takes to be in this position and how hard every one of those guys over there (at Kalitta Racing) work and how hard Doug’s worked. “The amount of time that he’s spent out here, to come up short, not just one time, but so many times, it’s a mixed emotion for me,” he said. “I know where his head’s at right now. I know how he feels. I’m happy for my team and myself, but I was saddened for Doug and that whole Mac Tools team. They fought so hard. They had a great car.”
Torrence also gave credit to his team following his championship-winning victory and dedicated the title-winning effort to Dom Lagana (crew member for Torrence’s team) who was injured in a car accident following the U.S. Nationals event.
“These (Capco boys) spend countless hours and days and weeks working on this race car and then they give it to me with the hopes that I’m going to go do my job,” Torrence said. “(The Nationals), after Dom’s accident, was extremely difficult. I never found myself in an emotionally motivated situation where you’re trying to do it for your brother (who’s) fighting for his life.
“You want nothing more than to win that race for him (but) I went up there and lost on a holeshot (to Leah Pruett). I didn’t take it well,” he admitted. “I didn’t do my job that race but, fortunately, we were able to redirect our focus. “(Through) nothing short of a miracle and the grace of the Good Lord, Dom he said of the younger brother of car chief Bobby Lagana Jr. “He’s gonna be banged up, in bad shape, but we’re gonna do whatever we have to do to get him back out here with us.”
By winning the Top Fuel championship for the third consecutive time, Torrence made history by tying legendary greats Tony Schumacher and Joe Amato as the only driver to win three Top Fuel Championships. Torrence ends the 2020 season with four victories, three runner-ups and three No. 1 qualifiers.
Steve Torrence Wins His Third Top Fuel Championship, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.
Final Top Fuel Results
Antron Brown
Steve Torrence
Justin Ashley
Billy Torrence
Leah Pruett
Clay Millican
Troy Buff
Doug Kalitta
Jim Maroney
Kebin Kinsley
Shawn Langdon
Cameron Ferre
Chris Karamesines
Tony Schumacher
Funny Car
Three drivers had the chance to compete for the 2020 Funny Car Championship heading into the Las Vegas event. To no surprise of anyone, all three drivers running were all Don Schumacher Racing drivers with those being Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. After leaving the SpringNationals event in Houston, those three drivers were separated by 43 points with Ron Capps having the slightest opportunity in fourth, but he would need a lot of help in order to make anything happen.
When Saturday rolled around for qualifying, Capps qualified on the pole for the first time this season and the 25th of his career. Jack Beckman would qualify in the 10th position with Matt Hagan in second and Tommy Johnson Jr. good enough for fourth. As qualifying was completed, Hagan left the sessions with 900 overall points. Johnson Jr. trailed in second, 45 points behind, while Beckman was 52 points back in third. Another interesting item to note, if Hagan and Beckman won their respective rounds, they would end up facing each other.
On Sunday, things took a quick turn for the worse. Hagan was able to accomplish his job and win over No. 16 qualifier Cruz Pedregon by going 3.901 seconds and 328.38 mph to advance to Round 2. Next was Jack Beckman who was squaring off against Paul Lee. In an upset, Lee ended Beckman’s championship chances by eliminating Beckman in the first round. However, Hagan still had to worry about Johnson Jr. who won over Jim Campbell and advanced into the second round.
Hagan and Johnson Jr. continued their winning ways by winning in Round 2 as well as the semifinals. Capps on the other hand was also enjoying success by claiming victories over Chris Morel and J.R. Todd. The most intriguing matchup came in the semifinal as Capps was facing his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. Capps fired off a 3.906 seconds and 329.83 mph over Johnson Jr.’s 3.943 seconds and 324.20 mph to move on to the finals. Unfortunately for Johnson Jr., his championship hopes were dashed as well by being eliminated early.
Meanwhile, in the semifinal for Hagan, he was able to clinch the Funny Car championship with a victory over Alexis Dejoria. This eventually set a final round match between the Don Schumacher cars of Hagan and Capps. As the Christmas tree lights went green, Hagan overcame Capps for the victory as Capps’ car blew up, going up in smoke. The victory was Hagan’s third of the season and the 36th of his career.
“Dodge and the DSR fab shop, they’ve put a great race car underneath us. My crew chief Dickie Venables, I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s won me two world championships (2014, 2020) and we’ve runnered-up a few times. There’s a handful of guys on this team who haven’t won a championship before. I’m just so proud to give them that opportunity and I know how bad everybody wanted it. For us to have won three world championships now in this sport, it’s incredible.
“It all comes back down to my guys and the car they put under me. It’s not just me. I try not to mess it up. This is one of the most humbling sports I’ve been involved in and it always seems to come down to the last race and that certainly doesn’t make me look any younger. Thank you to everyone who supports what we do and we hope we made you proud to be a part of this.”
Matt Hagan Wins the 2020 Funny Car Championship, Photo Courtesy of Auto Imagery.
Hagan, who celebrated for the third time in his career winning the Funny Car Championship, is now tied with drivers Raymond Beadle and Robert Hight.
Capps had to settle for yet again another runner-up finish. The second-place finish was Capps’ 60th of his career.
“What a weekend. It all came to plan. Especially getting the No. 1 qualifying spot and that Camping World hat. We did get a lucky break first round, but Rahn Tobler and the NAPA/Pennzoil guys did a great job turning it back around. It went almost to plan until the final round. The car was running great and I’m not sure what happened, but another one of those pretty big explosions. Thanks to Impact for great safety gear and everyone at the DSR fab shop for mounting a great Dodge body. Two wins this year, some finals, a pole, not a bad 2020 season for this NAPA team.”
All four Don Schumacher Racing cars finished one through fourth in points. Hagan first, Johnson Jr. in second, Beckman in third and Capps in fourth. Schumacher also enjoyed a great season by winning all 11 races.
Final Funny Car Results
Matt Hagan
Ron Capps
Tommy Johnson Jr
Alexis Dejoria
Bob Tasca III
Blake Alexander
J.R. Todd
Paul Lee
Jack Beckman
Cruz Pedregon
Terry Haddock
Tim Wilkerson
Jim Campbell
Steven Densham
Dave Richards
Chris Morel
Pro Stock
In the Pro Stock category, Erica Enders, the three-time Pro Stock Champion, was looking forward to defending her 2019 title. Enders entered the final round with a 55 point advantage over second-place Jason Line. Enders qualified her Chevrolet Camaro in the 12th position after going 6.652 seconds and 205.35 mph. Line qualified in the second position, going 6.635 seconds and 206.39 mph.
Line was set to face Cristian Cuadra in Round 1 while Enders was going to square off against Alex Laughlin in her round. As the time came for Enders to face Laughlin, the Houston, Texas native locked up the Pro Stock title after winning over Laughlin by going 6.662 seconds and 205.47 mph. Line had a losing effort in Round 1 after falling to Cuadra.
Despite winning the title early on, Enders was determined to win the race as well. She would move on to the finals after winning over Troy Coughlin Jr. in the second round and Greg Anderson in the semis to set herself up for a final round match with Kyle Koretsky. When those two met in the finals, it was Koretsky who ended up fouling in the left lane, automatically giving the victory to Enders for the fourth time this season and the 29th of her career. Enders is now a four-time champion after winning titles in 2014, 2015, and most recently, in 2019.
“Being able to lock up our fourth world championship and becoming the winningest of all time for females. Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them. I’ve not had the best year, but this is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart, you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last. Richard Freeman gave me this opportunity and I’m a blessed girl.”
Erica Enders Celebrates Fourth NHRA Pro Stock Championship, Photo Courtesy of Chevy Racing.
Laughlin finishes second in points, just 167 points back of Enders.
Final Pro Stock Results
Erica Enders
Kyle Koretsky
Greg Anderson
Cristian Cuadra
Aaron Stanfield
Troy Coughlin Jr
Bo Butner
Matt Hartford
Deric Kramer
Jason Line
Kenny Delco
Jeg Coughlin
Mason McGaha
Chris McGaha
Aaron Strong
Alex Laughlin
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Last, and certainly not least, was the Pro Stock Motorcycle division. Matt Smith in his DENSO Auto Parts/Stockseth/MSR EBR Motorcycle had to worry about one competitor and that was Scotty Pollacheck, who entered the final event 58 points back from the top spot.
On Saturday, Smith qualified in the second position with a time of 6.821 seconds and 198.38 mph while Pollacheck qualified fourth after setting a time of 6.900 seconds and 196.04 mph.
In the first round on Sunday, Pollacheck won over David Barron by going 7.020 seconds and 191.62 mph. Smith got his victory in Round 1 after winning over two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey. The victory for Smith set up the second-round match against Andrew Hines, as Pollacheck was set to face Angie Smith. Pollacheck would end up being eliminated by Angie and was unable to move onto any more rounds following the loss.
As for Smith, he got the victory over Hines by going 6.875 seconds and 196.13 mph to advance to the semifinals. By advancing, he would be set to face Steve Johnson in the semifinals. However, Smith would lose the round to Johnson, due to Smith’s bike not going off the starting line. Even though Smith could not race his way into the finals, the second-round win was enough for Smith to win his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship.
“This was a long hard deal today,” M. Smith said. “That [Vance & Hines] group played their cards right and I had to race them in the first and second rounds. If you want to be the champ you have to beat the champ and I just beat the champ [Hines] to win this, so we are the champions. I can’t thank Denso and Mark Stockseth enough for what they do for me.”
Matt Smith Celebrates Winning the Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.
With winning the championship, Smith now has four titles to his credit and is right up there with names such as Andrew Hines, Dave Schulz and Eddie Krawiec who have four or more championships.
In the final round, Angie Smith rocketed her bike over Steve Johnson to win her first race of the season in just eight starts.
“You never know when you’re going to get back here and I’m so emotional,” A. Smith said. “I want to thank my team. They have built me up and have told me to never give up. This one’s for them.”
Up Next: The NHRA 2020 season is now complete. The focus will now turn to the offseason and the 2021 season which is currently set to open up at the 52nd annual Gatornationals on March 12-14.
