Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: Briar Starr

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Kentucky

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Kentucky

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Kentucky Speedway this past Saturday for the continuation of their 2020 season. The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 wasn’t exactly the most exciting race on the schedule, but the race was just kind of there and did not amount to a whole lot. Only eight lead changes occurred before the dreaded rains came after Stage 2 was completed and NASCAR had no choice to call the race early.

    When the race was called, Sheldon Creed was credited with the win as he made a power move on what would be the final restart of the race. While Creed and 99.9 percent of NASCAR drivers don’t really like to win this way (a race getting called by rain), but a win is still a win and the victory put Creed and the No. 2 GMS team in the playoffs.

    Even though the seventh race of the 2020 season was shortened by 79 laps, there were some drivers who had their moments and shined until the race was called.

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

    1. Sheldon Creed- The Californian started eighth based on a draw, but really, had a decent race until the skies opened up. Creed would finish third in the first stage and took the lead on lap 52, and went onto win Stage 2. Eventually, he was in the right place at the right time for his first career win in the Truck Series. The victory has been a long time coming though, as he has been consistent on finishing in the top five or 10. If the GMS team can focus on the playoffs and bring a strong Truck to challenge for the championship, there should be no question Creed can’t win the championship.

      Previous Week Ranking- Second
    2. Austin Hill- Hill never really contested for the win, but continued his streak of finishing inside the top 10 ever since the 2020 season started. The Georgian finished ninth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2, respectively. It’s anytime now that we should see the Hattori Racing team finally get their first win of the season, as they’ve been knocking on the door week in, week out. One has to wonder, despite earning those stage points and finishing in the top 10 every week, will we have another repeat like last season, where Grant Enfinger never won a race but was regular series champion, and got knocked out of the playoffs in Round 1. Only time will tell.

      Previous Week Ranking- First
    3. Ben Rhodes- The hometown boy was right up there with eventual race winner Creed for the final restart of the race. Had Rhodes been able to clear him, we most likely would be talking about a different winner right now. Still, a solid outing by the No. 99 ThorSport team, who got their best finish of the season so far by finishing second. In the stages, Rhodes placed 10th in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
    4. Matt Crafton- A bounce back for Crafton after his disappointing Pocono outing, where he wrecked out on the first lap. Crafton came home in the third position for just the second top-five of the season. Kentucky, was a respectable outing, however, with the Californian placing third in the final running order. Stage 1 saw him finish 21st, but Crafton picked it up just in time before the checkered flew early and ultimately finished third in Stage 2. 2020 hasn’t been too kind for last year’s champ, as Crafton has three finishes outside the top 10 and no wins. This team will really have to get into gear over the next few weeks if they want to be a serious championship contender.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fell Out
    5. Zane Smith- Zane Smith had a really good day at Kentucky, where he led 11 laps and won the first stage. The GMS driver and remained in the top five through the first two stages. Had the rains not fell, we probably would have seen Smith up front more and getting the experience of leading laps out front. Kentucky was the fourth race this season, where the rookie led laps in a Truck Series race. Don’t be surprised if Smith can pick a win up soon.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Tyler Ankrum- While part of the GMS team saw success at the 1.5-mile speedway, one team did not and that was Tyler Ankrum. He did have a decent finish in Stage 1, where Ankrum placed fifth. However, a curveball was thrown to the No. 26 team when they tried some varying pit strategy. But, the strategy ended up hurting them more than helping, thanks to the incoming weather. The weather made other teams stay out and Ankrum was back in the pack, where dirty air was seen the most.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fifth
  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Kentucky

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Kentucky

    For the second time this season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series hosted a doubleheader. However, this time, the doubleheader was in the Bluegrass State, Kentucky Speedway. 

    The two races weren’t quite as exciting as the Indianapolis Grand Prix, but still provided some interesting storylines that are worth mentioning. 

    Austin Cindric, finally after 82 starts in the Xfinity Series in a span lasting four years, achieved his first career oval wins. He got the win on Thursday night but was twice as nice when the Team Penske driver earned another win Friday night. Cindric matched a neat stat that was brought up during the Fox Sports 1 broadcast. The North Carolina native matched Richard Petty’s record in 1971, when “The King” won back to back races that year. 

    While Cindric seemingly stole the show, it was actually Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton who stole the show post-race in Friday night’s race. Late in the race, Gragson and Burton were battling hard before the two got squeezed up the race track, with Gragson pushing Burton up the track. Unfortunately, Burton got the worse end of the deal, and cost a good finish. Though the damage was done, as once the two drivers got out of their cars in the garage area, fists started swinging and the fight was on. As soon as the fight was pursued, NASCAR officials broke up the two young drivers to prevent the fight escalating further. That’s just another sign of the season starting to heat up and the playoffs lurking in the background. 

    With another doubleheader completed in the Xfinity Series, here’s a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the two consecutive events at Kentucky Speedway.

    1. Austin Cindric- No surprise here as Cindric gets the top spot. Cindric was disappointed by not being able to win at the Indy Grand Prix the week before, but followed it up with dominating performances at Kentucky, winning two nights in a row and nabbing his first oval win. In Thursday’s night event, Cindric finished third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. For Friday’s showing, the Team Penske driver won Stage 2 and led 130 laps en route to his fourth career Xfinity Series win. Now that Cindric has two wins in 2020, it’ll be interesting to see if the No. 22 team can carry this momentum into the playoffs and perhaps be a dark horse contender for the championship. A really solid back to back nights for Cindric.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
    2. Chase Briscoe- After winning the Indy Grand Prix, Briscoe had high hopes of getting the double wins at Kentucky on Thursday and Friday. Had he done so, he would be very close to his win goal of eight, as Briscoe would be sitting one away from accomplishing that goal. Unfortunately for the Indiana native, he finished fourth in Thursday’s event and runner up in Friday’s event. Hindsight is 20/20, but if you go back and watch those two races, he easily could have won those two races. However, not all was lost in the process. In Thursday’s outing, Briscoe placed third in Stage 2 and then placed seventh in Stage 1, and fourth in Stage 2 in Friday’s race. Both of those races may not have been what Briscoe wanted, as he wants victories right now, but picking up those points are huge and could come in handy once the playoffs are in full play.

      Previous Week Ranking- First
    3. Noah Gragson- Despite the post-race fight overshadowing his performances at Kentucky, the Las Vegas native did have a good run in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. For Thursday’s race, Gragson swept both stages and led 87 laps, before disappointingly winding up 11th after drawing for the pole. In the second event, Gragson appeared to have the car again, as he won Stage 1 but suffered a pit road speeding penalty during the stage break, which ultimately ruined his chances for a good finish. As the night ended barring the fight, Gragson was seventh in the running order after leading 37 laps.

      Previous Week Ranking- Second
    4. Justin Allgaier- Allgaier and the No. 7 JR Motorsports team had a crazy 24 hours at Kentucky. On the first night, the Illinois native ended up getting involved in a wreck on the last lap, which he was credited with a 20th place finish. After the wreck, Allgaier was taken to a local hospital for an elevated heart rate. Fortunately, he was cleared to come back for Friday’s race and had a solid turnaround, but first, let’s take a look at Thursday’s results. While the ending results don’t do much justice, Allgaier certainly should promise during the stages. He brought home the No. 7 Brandt Chevy to eighth in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2. In the Alsco 300 (Friday night), Allgaier had a better outing. The Illinois driver was unable to collect stage points this time around but managed to finish fifth for his third top-five of the season. Certainly, a wild weekend in Kentucky for Allgaier.

      Previous Week Ranking- Third
    5. Anthony Alfredo- Alfredo doesn’t run the full Xfinity Series season, but sure does make the most of those starts. He placed fifth in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2 in Thursday’s Shady Rays 200 and wound up sixth in the running order. As for Friday’s case, the Richard Childress Racing driver fourth in the first stage and second in Stage 2. Alfredo didn’t get to lead any laps, but certainly made his name known when he finished sixth again. Overall, Kentucky was a success for Alfredo, as the Connecticut native earned his sixth top 10 of the 2020 season. A nice turnaround after a forgettable 20th place outing at the Indy Grand Prix, the week before.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked 

    Fell Out 

    1. Justin Haley- Haley was mainly quiet throughout the doubleheaders at Kentucky, but still had some good efforts. He finished seventh in Thursday’s race and third in Friday’s event after placing ninth in Stage 2. As Haley did have a somewhat successful weekend, he was hoping to carry that second place momentum from Indy. Despite finishing seventh and third, Haley and company will have to start picking up more stage points, as he only has six playoff points.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fifth
  • Felix Rosenqvist makes late-race pass for first career IndyCar win

    Felix Rosenqvist makes late-race pass for first career IndyCar win

    Felix Rosenqvist chased down rookie Pato O’ Ward in the remaining laps of the REV Group Grand Prix in Race No. 2 at Road America for his first career IndyCar win.

    Rosenqvist pitted with 13 laps to go to take black tires, while O’Ward pitted for red tires. With around five laps to go, O’ Ward started pushing harder trying to keep the Swedish driver in his rear-view mirror. By pushing hard and catching lap traffic, Rosenqvist erased a 5.5 seconds lead and passed O’ Ward for the win with two laps to go. It was all she wrote, as the Swedish driver held on for the victory in just his 21st start of the series.

    “It feels so good. It’s been a long time,” Rosenqvist said. “We’ve been close so many times. This race was for my 10 car crew, the NTT DATA crew. Also Honda. I’m really proud to be powered by NTT and Honda this year. It’s been really good. Every race just hasn’t had a lock, just hasn’t come together until now. Today we went all for it. Super pace, the car was fantastic. It’s four out of four for Ganassi, which is huge.”

    While Rosenqvist and O’ Ward were the talk of the game, when the laps started to wind down, race No. 2 of the doubleheader at Road America got off to a frantic start.

    A major pile-up occurred at the entry of Turn 1, which saw several drivers involved. When the wreck occurred, it looked as though Ryan Hunter-Reay just lost the car and slammed into the sand trap. However, after a replay was shown by NBC, Will Power in the No. 12 Team Penske machine, made contact with Hunter-Reay which sent him spinning. Power also made slight contact with Graham Rahal, who hit the wall hard after Hunter-Reay’s incident. Rahal crashed hard, but thankfully, he would be checked and released from the care center. Unfortunately, the Ohio native’s day was cut short and he was credited with a last-place finish.

    Due to causing the incident, Power was penalized for avoidable contact and sent to the back of the field. Conor Daly was also involved and awarded a penalty for avoidable contact as well. The day would go from bad to worse for the Dale Coyne driver as he was penalized again for working in a closed pit area. Daly would be served a drive-thru penalty. Santino Ferrucci received a penalty for avoidable contact too when he made contact with the No. 60 of Jack Harvey.

    After the early melee, two restarts occurred, but a full course caution flew on Lap 4 for Power as the No. 12 machine stopped on track when he hit a sign in Turn 13. The Australian brought the car down pit road for repairs after the contact and his Team Penske crew made a front wing change.

    Once the slow start was out of the way, O’Ward began to check out as the race leader by two seconds. The first round of green-flag pit stops took place on lap 11 when Josef Newgarden pitted for a scheduled stop. On Lap 15 during the pit stop cycle, O’Ward would pit from the lead and Rosenqvist stayed out an additional lap before he made his pit stop. At Lap 18, stops were completed and Power was the leader with O’Ward in second. With fresher tires, O’Ward made a clean pass on Power (when Power made a pit stop) and took the lead.

    Through the rest of the race, O’Ward and Rosenqvist would swap the lead with each other numerous times when both drivers made their pit stops. Though, Rosenqvist would try to stay out a lap later in hopes of gaining an advantage and coming out the leader once his stop was complete. On one of the initial stops, Rosenqvist faced problems when his Chip Ganassi Racing crew accidentally dropped the jack as the team was changing tires. Despite that issue, he kept a manageable pace 5.5 seconds back behind leader O’Ward.

    The Chip Ganassi driver began his late charge with eight laps to go. Rosenqvist cut O’Ward’s lead down little by little, lap after lap. With O’Ward the leader, he started to get into lap traffic, which eventually helped Rosenqvist cut the deficit. With five laps to go, Rosenqvist had the lead down to 3.2 seconds. O’Ward eventually used up his fresh Firestone tires and Rosenqvist was there with two to go. When the white flag flew, the Swedish driver had a one-second lead. Rosenqvist had a perfect last lap and got the checkered flag over O’Ward for the first time in his career. And with the victory, he gave Chip Ganassi Racing a weekend sweep, as teammate Scott Dixon won Saturday’s event.

    “It was a lot of hard-earned seconds there that we lost in the pit a couple of times,” Rosenqvist said about the miscue on his pit stop. “But we had so much pace. We kept closing in half a second every lap. And then when they said Pato (O’Ward) was on the used reds (Firestone alternate tires), you obviously get a lot of faith that he might drop off in the end, and that’s what happened. Just stay cool, and then we went for it, really. Used all my push-to-pass on one lap and got him. So, it was a really good fight with him there. Got a little squirrelly coming out of Turn 5 there, but good show and good fun. We came out of (stops) in clear air. Whenever this guy (strategiest Barry Wanser) gave us clear air, we were really fast. We showed that before. Amazing feeling.”

    By getting the victory, Chip Ganassi earned their 112th win as a team in the NTT IndyCar Series. Rosenqvist also became the first Swede driver to win in over 18 years, with Kenny Brack the last to do so at Mexico City in 2002.

    Rosenqvist led four times for eight laps en route to victory.

    There were two cautions for four laps and eight lead changes among nine leaders.

    In the penalty box, there were five penalties. Power, Daly, and Ferrucci were penalized for avoidable contact, and Daly penalized again for working in a closed pit. Dixon was penalized for a safety violation.

    Official Results

    1. Felix Rosenqvist, led eight laps
    2. Pato O’ Ward, led 43 laps
    3. Alexander Rossi
    4. Marcus Ericsson
    5. Colton Herta
    6. Santino Ferrucci
    7. Alex Palou
    8. Takuma Sato
    9. Josef Newgarden
    10. Charlie Kimball
    11. Will Power, led four laps
    12. Scott Dixon
    13. Simon Pagenaud
    14. Rinus VeeKay
    15. Max Chilton
    16. Zach Veach
    17. Jack Harvey
    18. Conor Daly
    19. Marco Andretti, 1 lap down
    20. Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
    21. Oliver Askew, OUT, Off Course
    22. Ryan Hunter-Reay, OUT, Contact
    23. Graham Rahal, OUT, Contact

    Scott Dixon continues to lead the championship by 54 points over second place Colton Herta.

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Iowa Speedway for another doubleheader scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday night July 17 and 18. Race No. 1 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET live on NBCSN.

  • Sheldon Creed Wins Rain-Shortened Truck Race at Kentucky

    Sheldon Creed Wins Rain-Shortened Truck Race at Kentucky

    Sheldon Creed won his first career NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night after series officials called the race official after the completion of Stage 2 due to thunderstorms in the area.

    NASCAR completed two stages that were 35 laps each before the race became official. Getting there, however, was a different story as numerous cautions filled the stages as threatening weather began to approach the area.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 35

    On Lap 1, the No. 02 of Tate Fogleman spun in Turn 4 to bring out the first yellow of the race. As Fogleman faced trouble, his Youngs Motorsports teammate Spencer Boyd, also had issues with his Truck as smoke was coming out the back end.

    Two more cautions occurred in the first stage. On Lap 14, the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh made hard contact with the Turn 1 wall after the Truck snapped loose. The final caution during the stage came out on lap 22 when Tim Veins in the No. 49 went around in Turns 3 and 4.

    The restart came on Lap 25. Rookie Zane Smith held the lead from the restart and went on to take the stage win. Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Christian Eckes, Tyler Ankrum, Todd Gilliland, Grant Enfinger, Derek Kraus, Austin Hill, and Spencer Davis rounded out the top 10.

    Under the stage break, Moffitt was penalized for a safety violation which sent him to the rear of the field.

    Stage 2: Lap 40- Lap 70

    Two cautions once more slowed the stage. Bryant Barnhill went spinning off Turn 4 as a left-rear tire went down. Meanwhile, on Lap 46, Jennifer Jo Cobb and Korbin Forrister were both involved in an accident.

    The final restart came on Lap 51 and it was the winning move of the race. Sheldon Creed got the best of Ben Rhodes and checked out. The GMS Racing driver was not only able to win Stage 2 but also claimed the eventual checkered flag at Kentucky Speedway as the rains came and left NASCAR no choice but to call the race on Lap 71.

    The victory was Creed’s first in 37 starts. The Californian also led 20 of the scheduled 71 laps. There were seven cautions for 25 laps and six lead changes among five drivers.

    One of the biggest stories before the race started was that Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes and Derek Kraus were dropped to the rear of the field for a violation of filler panel in prerace. For violating the rule, they will be docked 10 driver points.

    Official Results

    1. Sheldon Creed, led 20 laps, won Stage 2
    2. Ben Rhodes, led 6 laps
    3. Matt Crafton, led 1 lap
    4. Johnny Sauter
    5. Austin Hill
    6. Christian Eckes
    7. Zane Smith, led 11 laps, won Stage 1
    8. Derek Kraus
    9. Tanner Gray
    10. Todd Gilliland
    11. Brett Moffitt, led 26 laps
    12. Grant Enfinger
    13. Raphael Lessard
    14. Spencer Davis
    15. Stewart Friesen
    16. Tyler Ankrum
    17. Brennan Poole
    18. Parker Kligerman, led 7 laps
    19. Ty Majeski
    20. Austin Wayne Self
    21. Tate Fogleman
    22. Chandler Smith
    23. Cory Roper
    24. Jordan Anderson
    25. Angela Ruch
    26. Clay Greenfield
    27. Ryan Truex
    28. Dawson Cram, 1 lap down
    29. Natalie Decker, 1 lap down
    30. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
    31. Chase Purdy, 1 lap down
    32. Ray Ciccarelli, 1 lap down
    33. Bryant Barnhill, 2 laps down
    34. Korbin Forrister, 2 laps down
    35. Tim Viens, OUT, Handling
    36. Trey Hutchens, OUT, Crash
    37. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Crash
    38. Spencer Boyd, 25 laps down
    39. Codie Rohrbaugh, OUT, Crash
    40. Norm Benning, OUT, Engine
  • Ty Gibbs earns Kentucky ARCA win

    Ty Gibbs earns Kentucky ARCA win

    The ARCA Menards Series returned to Kentucky Speedway Saturday afternoon for the first time in over three years as Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs grabbed the General Tire 150 checkered flag after a fierce battle with Michael Self and Bret Holmes. Gibbs picked up his second ARCA Menards Series victory of the season.

    Last week’s winner Chandler Smith did not compete as he was focused on the Truck Series, which left the field wide open. Three segments broke up the 150-mile race. The segment breaks were at Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 100.

    As the green flag flew, Self was able to lead Lap 1. A short green flag run was seen until Lap 17 when the first caution came out when Scott Melton in the No. 69 hit the wall to bring out the yellow.

    After the restart on Lap 22, Gibbs took the lead from Self and led until the first segment break on Lap 30. Bret Holmes, Self, Hailie Deegan, Ryan Repko, Sam Mayer, Drew Dollar, Thad Moffitt, Tanner Gray, and Derek Griffith were the top 10 at the time of the break.

    From Laps 35-60, the General Tire 150 was mainly caution-free. Self fell back on the initial restart for the second segment, but found his rhythm and continued to make a charge toward Ty Gibbs before the segment ended. However, Gibbs was able to fend off Self when the second break pursued.

    Things started to look a little hairy for Gibbs and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. As the restart flew, he and Michael Self got together and almost saw their day go up in smoke in Turn 4. A few moments later, Gibbs retaliated with payback to Self, causing Self to go up the track. With the contact, Gibbs fell back to seventh and allowed Mayer to take the lead. However, Mayer’s lead was short-lived, as Holmes wrestled the lead away on Lap 68.

    Two cautions flew before the checkered flag. Thad Moffitt wound up hitting the wall hard in Turn 2 after getting loose. Moments later after a restart with 24 to go, Moffitt’s teammate Hailie Deegan, wrecked off the front nose of Dollar’s car on the backstretch causing the final caution of the event. Before the incident, Mayer was penalized for jumping the restart and had to serve a pass through penalty and start at the tail end of the field on the next restart with 18 to go.

    On the final restart, Gibbs restarted in the second position and grabbed the lead aggressively from Holmes. After taking the lead, Gibbs checked out and took home the checkered flag by 1.247 seconds.

    There were five cautions for 22 laps and four leaders among four different lead changes.

    Official Results

    1. Ty Gibbs, led 59 laps
    2. Bret Holmes, led 17 laps
    3. Michael Self, led 23 laps
    4. Sam Mayer, led 1 lap
    5. Drew Dollar
    6. Ryan Repko
    7. Derek Griffith
    8. Ryan Huff
    9. Tanner Gray
    10. Jason Kitzmiller
    11. Willie Mullins, 2 laps down
    12. Brad Smith, 9 laps down
    13. Dick Doheny, 19 laps down
    14. Hailie Deegan, OUT, Accident
    15. Thad Moffitt, OUT, Accident
    16. Don Thompson, OUT
    17. Scott Melton, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series heads to Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18 live on MAVTV.

  • Ron Capps Searching For First Indy Wally

    Ron Capps Searching For First Indy Wally

    The NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) gets set for their return this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indianapolis. NHRA veteran Ron Capps and Don Schumacher Racing look to cross another track off his list.

    Surprisingly, in his illustrious NHRA career, the California native has not been able to score the victory in Indianapolis but he has been close multiple times, especially being the runner up in 2017. Since then, Capps hasn’t been back in the finals. Last year, the NAPA team qualified fourth but got knocked out early in the first round by Ray Martin in E1.

    “2020 has been full of surprises, to say the least,” Capps said. “It’s going to be nice to get a little bit of normalcy back in our racing lives. Once NHRA announced that we had these two races in Indianapolis, it didn’t seem like it was going to get here fast enough, and now we’re finally here. The fact that we’re going to be on FOX network on Sunday is a great thing for motorsports fans.”

    By being in Indianapolis this weekend, Capps notes that summer time temperatures will prove a challenge to everyone competing.

    “It’s going to be a treacherous, hot, humid weekend, which we know can be very difficult, especially with 11,000-horsepower nitro engines,” Capps added. “I brag about the NAPA Know How with our team and we’ve shown that we can run in those conditions as good as anybody. This is going to test a lot of people. We’ll get a couple of shakedown runs on Friday, and then it’s just two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, so you’re not going to have a whole lot of data to go off of. That’s why the way that Rahn Tobler, and I, and our whole NAPA team work together is so important, and these conditions will test every bit of every crew member. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Can’t wait to get back into the NAPA car and step on the gas for the first time and just relive what made me fall in love with driving a nitro Funny Car. Hopefully, the NAPA team will be on FOX on Sunday afternoon standing with a Wally from Indianapolis.”

    Should Capps finally bring home the wally, the Don Schumacher Racing driver will have won at every race track in his NHRA career.

    To note, Capps has three round wins so far in 2020, and is currently ranked fourth in the Funny Car points standings.

  • ARCA Menards Series Preview – Kentucky

    ARCA Menards Series Preview – Kentucky

    After a three-year hiatus, the ARCA Menards Series returns to Kentucky Speedway for their sixth race of the 2020 season.

    Kentucky Speedway, was originally not on the released schedule earlier in the year, as this was supposed to be a Charlotte Motor Speedway event aligned with the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and cases continuing to rise in North Carolina, series officials were forced to change their event to Kentucky. Despite calendar change, Saturday will almost be a reunion for the ARCA Menards Series as the track looks to host the 25th race in its history dating back to 2000.

    The General Tire 150 will feature 17 cars on the preliminary entry list. The entry list maybe small compared to the previous races, but this could provide for some intense action and perhaps an upset winner, should the opportunity present itself.

    For Venturini Motorsports, they look to continue their impressive 2020 ARCA Menards Series season by adding another win total to their column. The Venturini’s have won all but one race (Pocono). However, the team got right back to victory lane last week with Chandler Smith. Speaking of Smith, he will not be in the car this weekend as he looks to make his first Truck Series start of the season. Though, Ryan Repko, will be back in the hot seat, piloting the No. 20 Craftmans Tork Toyota.

    “I’m looking forward to my first intermediate track start this weekend at Kentucky Speedway,” Repko said. “We had a great run at Talladega Superspeedway and I hope to try to improve that by one spot this weekend. Making my first 1.5-mile start is definitely something I’ve had circled on my calendar and I can’t wait to hit the track in my Craftsman, Tork Toyota Camry.”

    Drew Dollar is looking to put last weekend’s event in the rear mirror. The Georgian started ninth but wound up 14th (15 laps down) in his first outing at Lucas Oil Raceway. As in most cases this season, Dollar is making his first starts at several tracks, including Kentucky. The Venturini driver is excited about getting to the Bluegrass State Saturday afternoon.

    “I am definitely excited to get to Kentucky Speedway this weekend,” Dollar said. “This is a track I’ve always wanted to race on, so I am pumped that ARCA was able to get this race added to the schedule. It’ll be good to finally get back to an intermediate track and will only be the second race on a track that size for me. But I am looking forward to it all and getting my Venturini Motorsports Toyota Camry upfront.”  

    Even series veteran, Michael Self, doesn’t have an ARCA start at Kentucky Speedway. Though, he has a start in the Xfinity Series, which came in 2015 where the Salt Lake City, Utah native finished 36th.

    “To say I am excited about going intermediate track racing would be an understatement,” Self said. “These are always the tracks that I look forward to driving at, whether its Kansas, or Chicagoland, or Charlotte or even now Kentucky. Kentucky Speedway is a challenging place. I haven’t driven there since 2015 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but I remember that it was super-fast and very line sensitive. I’m doing a lot of homework before we get on track Saturday, so hopefully we can pick things up quick and put together a strong race.”

    Hoping to knock Venturini Motorsports off their game this week is DGR-Crosley, but it will provide a challenge for the organization. All three of their drivers Hailie Deegan, Tanner Gray, and Thad Moffitt will be making their track debuts this Saturday.

    Despite most of the tracks being new to Deegan this year, she has done a solid job by finishing in the top 10 in all of her starts. By placing in the top 10 in most of her starts, she credits the simulator time which she believes has been helping her.

    “Since I’ve never raced at Kentucky, I’ve been on the simulator practicing as much as I can without actually being on the track. I’ve been racing dirt more, racing at Millbridge (N.C.) Speedway, I’ve been go-karting, pretty much just getting in the seat as much as I can,” Deegan said. “That’s really been important to me since we have such limited practice at the tracks now. We have an hour on Saturday, but still it’s not what we used to have. I’m still getting used to not having as many laps, which is what I need, I’m just trying to get practice anywhere I can.”

    On the other hand, Tanner Gray will be pulling double duty Saturday afternoon, as he is scheduled to compete both in the ARCA and Truck Series race. By competing in both of those races, should Gray complete all the miles, that’s 375 miles in one day. He hopes the extra seat time will carry through the Truck event.

    “I’m excited to run the ARCA race at Kentucky before the Truck Series race on Saturday,” Gray said. “With no practice or qualifying on the truck side, having the extra seat time in the ARCA car is a huge help to me. Obviously, the truck races differently than the car, so not everything carries over, but getting to learn the track and the lines is a big help. There is only so much you can learn from watching film. You have to be able to feel it in the seat and the ARCA race will give me that experience. Plus if we can win, that would be pretty awesome too.”

    Rounding out the DGR-Crosley camp is Thad Moffitt, driver of the No. 46 Richard Petty Performance Plus Oil Ford. Moffitt has never seen Kentucky before, but in comparison, the track can be almost similar to Chicagoland Speedway. In retrospect, Mofftt ended up finishing ninth in the running order at last year’s Chicago race.

    “I think every mile-and-a-half is pretty unique,” Moffitt said. “They all race kind of different, but I’ve been told it’s comparable to Chicago. I ran pretty well there last year. I think coming off of our top five at Lucas Oil we made positive changes all day, so I think if we just keep going in the right direction we’ll end up with another positive run here at Kentucky.”

    In the GMS Racing camp, Sam Mayer will continue to make track debuts and adding his to resume. For the Wisconsin native, Mayer will make his first start at Kentucky this weekend. The team will be utilizing the same chassis Mayer ran at Pocono a few weeks ago, where he finished third in the running order and contended for the win late. Statistically, Kentucky might be a learning curve, as overall this will be Mayer’s first 1.5-mile start.

    “I’m really excited to make my first start on a mile-and-a-half so hopefully everything goes well, but I know I have a great team behind me with GMS Racing,” Mayer said. “I’m also really excited to have California Strong on the car this weekend. Hopefully we can get them in victory lane.”

    Derek Griffith remains in the Chad Bryant Racing No. 22 Original Gourmet Lollipop machine this weekend. Last week, Griffith had a disappointing Lucas Oil Raceway outing, where he finished 12th (12 laps down) due to power steering problems. However, the New Hampshire driver looks to turn things around and is coming in with a positive mindset.

    “Excited to hit the track again in our No. 22 Original Gourmet™ Food Company Ford Fusion,” said Griffith. “Kentucky Speedway looks like an extremely fast and fun racetrack. Hopefully, we can keep our car balanced and be near the front when it counts the most. “I’ve been watching a lot of videos and doing a lot of studying to get ready for the race. That’s all important but nothing accounts for actual track time. Practice is going to be about getting me comfortable and getting our No. 22 Original Gourmet™ Food Company Ford Fusion handling well and then turn all of our focus to the race.”

    Ryan Huff and the No. 10 Andy Hillenburg Racing entry had a difficult outing last week at Lucas Oil Raceway. The Virginian had high hopes, but Huff’s night was ended early due to a driveshaft issue. Huff was only able to complete 74 laps and credited with a 16th place run. This week, Huff has another new challenge in front of him, as he looks to tame Kentucky Speedway. Though, he says, learning the different tracks is going to take a little bit of time. Even so, Huff aims for a top 10 finish every week.

    “It’s just about taking the approach that I’ve done all season long,” said Huff. “It’s another new track for me and it’s going to take a little bit of time to adapt, but once I get comfortable I hope we can make some huge strides in the race. We’re going to be practicing with the track conditions being pretty similar towards race time, that should be a big help. I just want to stay on the lead lap, learn and see if we can get another top-10 finish. We’re doing everything we can right now to be a part of the series every week.”

    In addition, other ARCA Menards Series drivers such as Don Thompson, Willie Mullins, Dick Doheny, Ty Gibbs, Bret Holmes, Brad Smith, Scott Melton, and Jason Kitzmiller will look to have respectable finishes in Saturday’s General Tire 150 at Kentucky.

    As we have seen since ARCA restarted this season, there will be three segments. The first segment ending on lap 30, the second one at lap 60, and the final segment ending at the checkered flag lap 100.

    The ARCA Menards Series made their track debut in 2000, 20 years ago and the list of winners is pretty impressive when you look at the names.

    Former ARCA competitor Tim Steele won the first outing in 2000. Ryan Newman, Frank Kimmel, Chad Blount, Kyle Busch, Ryan Hemphill, Steve Wallace, Brad Coleman, Erik Darnell, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Scott Speed, James Buescher, Parker Kligerman, Corey LaJoie, Brennan Poole, Ryan Reed, Austin Cindric, and Austin Theriault have all won here.

    Kimmel has the most wins with four (2001, 2002, 2005) and won three in a row, making him the only driver to do so. Meanwhile, in the past 10 races, there have been 10 different winners.

    There will be no qualifying, but ARCA teams will get a short practice from 12:15 p.m. – 1 p.m./ET.

    The General Tire 150 is slated to get underway shortly after 2:30 p.m./ET live on Fox Sports 1.

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kentucky

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kentucky

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will get back on track this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, located in Sparta, Kentucky. It will be Round No. 7 of the 2020 Truck Series season, just four races from the halfway point of the season, should all 23 races run.

    Last time out when the Trucks raced, the series was at Pocono Raceway for what was a ho-hum race, which featured numerous cautions. However, part-time Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Brandon Jones finally earned his first Truck Series race after 46 starts in the series. Meanwhile, Truck Series regulars, other than Grant Enfinger, have yet to earn themselves a win through the first seven races of the season.

    As the Truck Series heads to the Blue Grass state, there’s a high chance that a series regular could very well wind up in victory lane, as no Xfinity or Cup Series drivers are scheduled to compete.

    With that said, here are five drivers who could take the checkered flag Saturday night in the Buckle Up Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

    1. Matt Crafton – Crafton is a former winner at this race track, winning the 2015 event. Since then, he’s finished inside the top 10 with the exception of last year’s race, when the California native finished 13th, two laps down. Overall, Crafton has the most starts of any active drivers and the most experience with 21 starts dating back to 2001. His finishes have been up and down over time but statistically, he’s completed 94.8 percent of the laps, led 90 laps, and earned 15 top 10 finishes. Crafton is also consistent at finishing races at Kentucky, as he only has one DNF to his name at the 1.5-mile speedway. The ThorSport Racing driver may not win Saturday, but he can be a good value pick for your fantasy lineup.
    2. Parker Kligerman – While Kligerman may be an unusual pick, he could earn the Henderson Motorsports team a top 10 finish Saturday night. In seven starts, he has two runner up finishes (2011 and 2012). Granted, those finishes came with the now-defunct Brad Keselowski and Red Horse Racing teams. However, Kligerman did earn a seventh-place finishing position in the 2017 race for his current team and led 12 laps in 2018 (the last time Kligerman competed in a Truck race at Kentucky), before a late accident ended his night early.
    3. Stewart Friesen – Potentially, a driver who has been overlooked but who has done well at Kentucky, is Stewart Friesen. The Canadian has three starts going back to his first race in 2017. While his first outing didn’t go particularly well, Friesen has improved finishes the last two races as he’s finished second twice and in the 2018 event, Friesen led 37 laps before falling short. Also in the 2018 race, Friesen finished seventh in Stage 1 and fourth in the second stage. Friesen managed to place sixth in Stage 2 last year.
    4. Sheldon Creed – Creed is looking for redemption after last year’s forgettable race. The GMS Racing driver started second and led 36 laps, but finished 19 laps down in the 21st position after pit strategy ruined his chance for a strong finish. Creed, though, was able to win Stage 1 before the incident. This year, the GMS team will be using chassis No. 324, which has given Creed two top 10 finishes so far in the 2020 season.
    5. Grant Enfinger – Overall, Enfinger’s Kentucky races have not fared too well for him, having a best finish of sixth coming in 2018. However, the Alabaman scored some stage points over the last three years since stages were implemented in 2017. In the 2017 race, Enfinger placed the No. 98 machine fourth in Stage 1, fifth in both stages in 2018, and second in the first stage last year. Unfortunately, after qualifying on the pole, and leading 22 laps, a crash on Lap 64 (86 to go) relegated Enfinger to a 24th place finish. If Enfinger and the No. 98 team can have a solid race this year, don’t be surprised if they end up in victory lane Saturday night.

    Overall, there are 40 Trucks on the preliminary entry list for Saturday’s event and there are some notable names in the field.

    Angela Ruch is back in the No. 00 Reaume Brothers Racing Truck after missing the Pocono race due to sponsorship woes. Also back in the field is Natalie Decker. Decker missed the Pocono outing after she was hospitalized due to bile duct surgery. Trey Hutchens and his No. 14 team will make their debut as a team for 2020. Ryan Truex is entered in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports machine for his second start of the 2020 season. Truex’s previous outing was Atlanta, where he finished 13th. And finally, Chandler Smith makes his anticipated 2020 season debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Smith competed in four Truck Series races last year, where he earned a best finish of second at Bristol.

    Since 2000, Kentucky Speedway has seen 22 Truck Series races. In that 22 race span, there has been a whos-who list of race winners. These include Greg Biffle, Scott Riggs, Mike Bliss, Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton, Dennis Setzer, Ron Hornaday Jr, Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson Jr, Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch, James Buescher, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Ankrum.

    Hornaday has the most wins with three victories (2006, 2009, 2011). Kyle Busch and James Buescher have two wins each. Busch won in 2011 and 2014 and Buescher’s wins came in both of the 2012 events. Buescher is the only Truck Series driver to win back to back events.

    Since 2013, there have been seven different winners. Only Crafton, Rhodes, and Ankrum are previous race winners of the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 of those entered in the field.

    As far as stages are concerned, Ben Rhodes, Noah Gragson, Sheldon Creed, and Matt Crafton are all stage winners.

    On the manufacturer side, Toyota has nine wins, Chevrolet has eight, Ford has three and Dodge has one win. Ford won the first race back in 2000 with Greg Biffle. Chevrolet’s first win came with Mike Bliss in 2002, Dodge’s in 2002 by Bobby Hamilton while Toyota’s first win came in 2007 with driver Mike Skinner.

    Despite there being no qualifying this weekend, track position is key if you want to win at Kentucky. The race winner has came from the pole three times (2009, 2014, 2015). The lowest the race winner has ever started was 22nd, which occurred twice (2006 and 2013).

    The most cautions seen in this event was nine cautions for 40 laps, which occurred in 2000. The fewest amount of cautions was three yellows for 12 laps in 2002. There were also 18 lead changes (the most in the event history) for the Truck Series in 2011 with 18.

    The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 is scheduled for Saturday night, July 11 at 6 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Indianapolis Road Course

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Indianapolis Road Course

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited the Indianapolis Road Course for the first time in the series history and made some new history this past weekend. Late moments in the race provided some of the best racing in the season thus far. 

    After winning Stage 2, it looked as though Chase Briscoe was going to be victorious again in his dominant 2020 season. However, road course ringers AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric cranked up the heat and provided a battle as the laps started to wind down. At one point, Briscoe had overshot the turn, allowing for Allmendinger and Cindric to power by him, which saw those drivers battle for the lead themselves. 

    Allmendinger and Cindric began beating and banging as laps winded down, this allowed Briscoe to get right back in the picture. Both Allmendinger and Cindric actually made contact while battling for the lead. This left the door wide open for Briscoe to go right on through to take the lead again, as Allmendinger and Cindric had some aero damage that ultimately ruined their chances of ever challenging for the lead again. 

    As the checkers flew in the 62 lap event, it was hometown hero Chase Briscoe that claimed his fifth checkered flag of the season after leading well over half the race. With the rest of the schedule yet to be announced as well as the playoff schedule, it wouldn’t feel right without talking about Briscoe who could be an early favorite to win this year’s Xfinity Series title.

    With Briscoe getting the victory, there were many other Xfinity drivers who quietly finished inside the top 10. 

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Pennzoil 150. 

    1. Chase Briscoe- The Indiana native led 30 laps en route to victory and continued his 2020 success. In the process of scoring the victory, Briscoe also earned stage points by placing fourth in Stage 1, but kicked it up a notch by winning the second stage. He lost the lead momentarily to AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric, but found his way back to the front when lap 62 rolled around. As many fans know already, Briscoe put a goal of eight wins at the beginning of the season, and he could very well reach that number as he just needs three more victories.

      Previous Week Ranking- First
    2. Noah Gragson- Putting Pocono behind him, Gragson looked forward to the new unique challenge of the Indianapolis Road Course. The No. 9 JR Motorsports driver had a solid day finishing in the top five, despite getting turned around late in the going. He was never able to lead any laps, but finished sixth in the first stage, which allowed Gragson to get a couple of points. If Gragson was able to have another chance to do the last few laps over again, he most likely would have found himself battling with Briscoe for the win. Though, the Las Vegas native continued consistency and earned his eighth top five finish of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
    3. Justin Allgaier- A quiet but solid day for Allgaier, who replaced Jimmie Johnson in the Cup Series race Sunday afternoon, after Johnson tested positive for COVID-19. Allgaier placed second in both stages and led two laps. His finishes at both Homestead races and Talladega were not the ones he had hoped, but Allgaier continued his momentum from Pocono to gain his sixth top 10 of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
    4. Austin Cindric- It shouldn’t come as a surprise to be talking about Cindric, who has been the best Xfinity Series driver on the road courses. However, despite having a solid track record of success on road courses, that places high expectations on the Team Penske driver to perform well and he almost did so Saturday afternoon. Cindric was strong early by winning Stage 1 and leading the final 18 laps of that stage. Unfortunately, he was penalized for jumping the Stage 2 restart, which cost him stage points for the second stage. Though, the team rallied back and was in contention to win the race, before Cindric and Allmendinger made contact with very little laps remaining. The damage hurt Cindric’s chance to have another opportunity at contending for the win, but brought home the No. 22 to a fifth place finish, Cindric seventh top five of the 2020 season.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
    5. Justin Haley- Had the race really got crazy in the end, should the leaders had wrecked each other out of the win, we would have been talking about another Indiana driver taking the victory. Haley, the Winamac, Indiana native, came home in the runner up position but that shouldn’t really come to a surprise. Throughout the first two stages, the Kaulig driver placed third and fourth in both stages, respectively earning him stage points which will be helpful once the playoffs come around. A rough week last week at Pocono, but Haley rebounded to his fifth top five of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked 

    Fell Out 

    1. Myatt Snider- A subpar performance for Snider, who had a great run the week before at Pocono (finishing fourth). Snider never really got a chance to shine and came home in the 16th position in the final running order.

      Previous Week Ranking- Third
    2. Michael Annett- Somewhat of a set back this week for Annett and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevy. The team finished fifth the prior at Pocono, but finished ninth in the final results. He did manage to finish fifth in Stage 2, but overall, Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was a quiet one for Annett.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fifth
  • Scott Dixon Claims Indianapolis Grand Prix

    Scott Dixon Claims Indianapolis Grand Prix

    Scott Dixon made work of a three tire stop and took home the checkered flag in the GMR Grand Prix on the fourth of July weekend at Indianapolis. Though, the New Zealander wasn’t the most dominating car until midway.

    “We kind of got a little bit lucky, but it also played into our strategy,” Dixon said about the victory. “You know, we started pretty aggressively, all three Chip Ganassi Racing cars on the black tire which was definitely pretty tough. We were able to pick up one spot on the stop and be able to maintain, and that kind of set us into a three stopper (race) and that’s when our window was to pit. Three or four laps later, the yellow came out and we put one set on. A little bit of luck there, but honestly, it was just the strategy we were on and hung out the leaders for sure.”

    Team Penske’s Will Power qualified on the pole Friday afternoon, in what was his third overall pole at the Indianapolis Road Course, his first since 2018.

    Power was dominant early by leading the first 17 laps until his first pit stop. Various drivers also played strategy and tried to make it a two stop race by staying out longer. Those trying different strategy were Graham Rahal, Spencer Pigot, Conor Daly, and Santino Ferrucci who didn’t pit until lap 26. At that point, Power who came out seventh on his pit stop, cycled back out into the lead on lap 27.

    In the early stages, the GMR Grand Prix was mainly a caution free event, leaving very little room for error amongst the drivers. However, the first caution flew on lap 36, when the rookie Oliver Askew pounded the outside wall off Turn 14 which prompted a full course yellow. Under the yellow, numerous drivers pitted as the yellow threw somewhat of a curve ball to the strategy. Almost everyone except for Rahal pitted and by doing so, Rahal re-started as the race leader on the lap 40 restart.

    Alexander Rossi, in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport machine, had troubles getting going on the insuring restart. There were reports from Rossi, that a ‘misfire’ was the potential issue, which caused his car to stall. The California native brought the car down to pit road for his team to diagnosed the problem. Rossi later said, ‘he lost power’ in his No. 27 Honda. With the power issue, Rossi was regulated to a 25th place finish in the running order.

    Meanwhile, as Rossi sat on pit road, Rahal extended his lead over Pigot by a second on lap 45. But, Dixon rose to the occasion on lap 48, when he passed Rahal for the lead and checked out by eight seconds over Rahal. While passing Rahal for the lead, Dixon also set the fastest lap time of the race (1:11.751). As soon as Dixon passed Rahal, however, Rahal made his final pit stop of the race with 26 to go for four fresh tires and fuel. A lap later, Dixon came down for his final stop.

    During the final pit stop cycle, pole sitter Will Power’s car stalled once the stop was completed. The Australian lost several seconds on pit road, as the team was trying to get the car to fire again. Once Power left the pit lane, he was back in the race, running in the 23rd position.

    As Dixon pitted, he was 10th in the running order, and had to be patient and manage his pace to not make a mistake. Once the top nine made their final scheduled stop, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, was back in the lead with 18 laps to go. In those final 18 laps, there were a couple of nervous moments for Dixon. One of those moments was Rahal, who had plenty of push to pass seconds left in which had he caught Dixon, he could have passed him for the lead. Though, Rahal was too far back, as Dixon had well over a 15 second lead. Another intense moment came, when Zach Veach went off the track and could have caused a caution had he hit the wall. Fortunately for Dixon, Veach saved his car from any contact with the wall. And finally, with around six laps to go, teams began bringing rain tires as they were monitoring a isolated storm, just six miles northwest of the speedway.

    Despite the concern of rain, the rain cell never made it and no one was a match for Dixon as he went on to take his second consecutive victory of the 2020 NTT IndyCar season.

    Dixon led twice for 26 laps en route to his 48th career IndyCar Series win. The victory gives Chip Ganassi his 110th IndyCar victory as a team owner.

    There was one caution for four laps and there were eight leaders among 10 lead changes.

    Official Results

    1. Scott Dixon, 26 laps
    2. Graham Rahal, led 18 laps
    3. Simon Pagenaud
    4. Colton Herta
    5. Rinus VeeKay
    6. Marcus Ericsson, led 1 lap
    7. Josef Newgarden, led 4 laps
    8. Pato O’ Ward
    9. Santino Ferrucci
    10. Takuma Sato
    11. James Hinchcliffe
    12. Conor Daly
    13. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    14. Zach Veach, led 1 lap
    15. Felix Rosenqvist
    16. Max Chilton
    17. Jack Harvey, led 1 lap
    18. Charlie Kimball
    19. Alex Palou
    20. Will Power, led 28 laps
    21. Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
    22. Marco Andretti, 1 lap down
    23. Sage Karam, 1 lap down
    24. Spencer Pigot, Mechanical
    25. Alexander Rossi, Mechanical
    26. Oliver Askew, Contact

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Road America for a double header weekend, which is scheduled to take place on July 11 and July 12.