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Author: Briar Starr

Kurt Busch wins in thrilling fashion at Kentucky

Kurt Busch won the Quaker State 400 in overtime at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night after a thrilling overtime battle with younger brother, Kyle Busch, to earn his first victory of the 2019 season.

It appeared that Joey Logano might run away with the race win in overtime but a late race caution changed everything. With six laps to go Bubba Wallace spun in Turn 1 and set up a late race overtime restart.

Busch passed Logano on the restart and set his sight on his brother. During the last half lap, the two brothers dueled for the win. Kurt Busch was able to beat him to the finish line by inches after almost wrecking each other for the win. It was his first victory for Chip Ganassi Racing.

“That was epic!” Kurt Busch said to PRN Radio in his post-race interview. “I was hoping we would get a shot, one more restart. I was just hoping that it would go our way and get that yellow. Then my little brother (Kyle Busch), the best guy in the world to go racing against. He’s been winning a ton, I couldn’t be happier for him and where he’s gone in his career.”

“That duel in Turn 3 and 4, and who was going to lift first, what’s going to happen, he gave me just enough on the outside like a true racer would. We made it work and both could have clobbered each other, and third place (Erik Jones) could have won, but I’m glad I came out on top with my Monster Energy Chevrolet. To get this team (the win), there’s a ton of first-time winners in victory lane.”

Daniel Suarez started on the pole, his first of the season and his first since Pocono of 2018.

The stages were broken up into 80/80/107 laps to make up the 267-lap race at Kentucky Speedway.

There was action before the race started, as fuel was accidentally laid down before the start of the race. Therefore, speedy dry was put down on top of the PJ1 that was also applied again in the morning hours.

The first half of the race was mainly clean and green, and what you would expect at a 1.5-mile track. There were some incidents, including one where Brad Keselowski reported “something is audibly off,” a possible tire vibration. The first caution of the race flew on Lap 47 for Chase Elliott’s car, as he blew a right front tire and left debris all over the track.

Another yellow flew on Lap 55 for Corey Lajoie, who spun off Turn 4 but wound up not hitting the wall. Kurt Busch would lead for the first time right before the caution by taking the lead on Lap 53. Before Busch could go on to win Stage 1, the caution flew once more on Lap 64 for Landon Cassill and Bayley Currey who both spun in Turn 2. Both drivers would escape without any major damage.

Despite the yellow, Kurt Busch would hang on to the lead and win the first stage after leading 30 laps.

Suarez led the first 49 laps, before finishing 14th in Stage 1. Also during the stage, Keselowski had a possible valve spring issue.

Stage 2 saw a lot of different strategies take place, with drivers taking only two tires or just fuel in order to get that much-needed track position.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would take advantage of that track position by staying out and taking the lead at the beginning of Stage 2. Stenhouse led for 21 laps until Kyle Busch took the lead on Lap 104. Another strategy call was made by Suarez’s pit crew on Lap 108 by pitting. After pitting, Suarez was told he could make it to the end of the stage without stopping again.

However, that was all thrown out the window as he would be caught speeding on pit road. Other pit stops would be made for those who stayed out. Logano pitted on Lap 120 for a possible vibration but looked as though it was all clear after the pit stop.

Later in the stage, Austin Dillon learned he was going to have to change the battery at the end of Stage 2. Dillon did so and it cost him a good finish. He wound up 35th, 29 laps down.

More issues appeared to rise for Elliott’s crew who pitted from 22nd. Elliott received an uncontrolled tire penalty, which was later overturned by NASCAR.

The race leader Kyle Busch pitted on Lap 149 from the lead. Despite pitting, Busch would remain the leader. Other drivers were caught with penalties, however. Daniel Hemric had a penalty for removing a jack from his pit box.

Kyle Busch would maintain the lead as pit stops cycled through and go on to win the second stage.

The third and final stage went green with 101 laps to go and saw a lot of action.

Kurt Busch would be back up front for the restart. There were some great battles going on which allowed Kyle Busch to close in once again.

Although, as cautions breed cautions, another one was seen as the No. 48 car of Jimmie Johnson was loose and snapped around, hitting the wall off Turn 2 on Lap 179. It would be the sixth caution of the night.

More interesting items developed on the next restart, as William Byron was cited by NASCAR for a restart violation. Byron would wind up serving a stop and go penalty.

Pit stops began to take place shortly after with 54 to go. Once Clint Bowyer passed Kurt Busch for the lead, Busch pitted in hopes of being the race leader once stops cycled out. Bowyer then pitted as well, but Busch exited just ahead of him. Meaning, if the stops cycled out as they normally do, Busch would be the new race leader.

However, other drivers were trying to outsmart each other during the final laps of the race. Kyle Busch would lead the next 13 laps before pitting. Hamlin then led five laps before pitting, Newman for 15 laps until he ran out of gas and Suarez led three laps until Lap 248.

While all this was going on, Kyle Busch and Logano were battling each other for a potential race win as they would be the new leaders once stops cycled out. Both raced each other hard for the lead and nearly wrecked each other while doing it. Logano took the lead with just 18 laps to go.

In what looked liked it was going to be the Joey Logano show, a late race yellow ended his hopes with six laps to go. This set up a NASCAR overtime finish with Logano and Kyle Busch on the front row. Older brother Kurt Busch would sit right lurking close behind.

As the race restarted, Logano got shuffled back in the middle as Kurt Busch and Erik Jones went three wide on the leaders. Busch was on the high line and got around Logano and Kyle Busch.

Both brothers would duel it out all the way to the finish line, even touching each other, leaving Kurt Busch with some tire smoke from a fender rub. In the end, it was older brother Kurt Busch barely beating his younger brother at the line by .076 seconds.

With this win, he has won with every car owner he has driven for in the series.

“I felt the connection with Chip (Ganassi, Team Owner) was perfect right away,” Busch added in his interview with PRN. “I mean, it was a 30-minute conversation, we knocked out a contract and then we went racing. And then, it’s a matter of making all the right steps to make this No. 1 car a winner. Tonight, we had luck on our side, positioned ourselves with speed and handling was there.”

With the future a little uncertain for Busch by having just a one year contract, he is still not sure what next season holds for him, but indicated that he’s not retiring anytime soon.

“It’s a matter of getting going now,” the 2004 champion said. “We got that win and now the second half is in front of us, and it’s a matter of everything coming together, you know? The manufacture, the sponsor, the team owner and the driver. I thought this year might be the last, but we’re having so much fun, we’ll see how things go.”

With this win, Kurt Busch is now locked into the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Busch is currently seeded seventh in the Playoff standings.

It was Busch’s first win of the season, his first since the Bristol night race last August and the 31st of his career. He led four times for 41 laps and won Stage 1.

There were seven cautions for 35 laps with 10 leaders among 15 lead changes.

Playoff Watch

1. Kyle Busch, Four wins
2. Martin Truex Jr, Four wins
3. Brad Keselowski, Three wins
4. Joey Logano, Two wins, Current regular standings points leader
5. Denny Hamlin, Two wins
6. Chase Elliott, One win
7. Kurt Busch, One win
8. Alex Bowman, One win
9. Kevin Harvick -101
10. Aric Almirola, -204
11. Ryan Blaney, -211
12. William Byron, -229
13. Kyle Larson, -235, +40 points in
14. Clint Bowyer, -265, +10 points in
15. Jimmie Johnson, -265, +10 points in
16. Erik Jones, -273, +2 points in
Outside looking in
17. Ryan Newman, Two points out
18. Daniel Suarez, Two points out
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 46 points out

Up Next: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues their summer stretch of races by heading to the Northeast for race No. 20 of the 2019 season. There are only seven races left until the Playoffs began.

July 13, 2019
Brett Moffitt so close yet so far away

Brett Moffitt was just inches away from going back-to-back this year but he ran out of gas on the backstretch with just a half lap to go Thursday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Moffitt tried to play the fuel mileage game, but fell short and finished in the seventh position.

“It’s a heartbreak for sure,” Moffitt said to MRN Radio. “Jerry (Baxter, Crew Chief) and everyone on this 24 did a great job tonight. I’ve never ran strong at Kentucky, so had one of the best trucks out here tonight. At the end of the race, we probably had the most speed which was great. But it’s definitely a heartbreak to lose them like that, unfortunately, we handed away another playoff spot to another manufacturer which is a Chevy team. It’s not great, but I thank them for their support and the Gallagher family, and everyone involved in this team. We were just one lap short, you gotta push it and we just pushed it a little too hard.”

Moffitt and his GMS No. 24 team qualified seventh and finished seventh in Stage 1. Moffitt did not record a top-10 finish in Stage 2, as he finished one spot short in 11th. He led twice for 35 laps.

It was Moffitt’s ninth top-10 of the year. He continues to lead the playoff points standings over Ross Chastain.

July 12, 2019
Ross Chastain clinches playoff spot with third place finish

Niece Motorsports driver and recent Xfinity Series winner, Ross Chastain came into Thursday night’s race just 10 points out of the top 20. Chastain needed to earn at least 10 more points in order to be playoff eligible and compete for the championship.

With a strong qualifying effort of fifth, Chastain was solid all night long. He never took the lead but had finishes of fifth and second in both stages.

Despite running in an unsponsored truck, Chastain put on a show for the fans. He ran as low as 10th in the final laps of the race. But thanks to pit strategy and a few drivers running out of fuel, Chastain found himself in the top five. Eventually, the Niece Motorsports driver would finish there with a fourth-place outing.

The strong stage efforts and the top five finish was just enough for Chastain and his crew to clinch a spot in the 2019 Truck Series Playoffs. However, even with the great news, the Florida native was somewhat disappointed with the outcome.

“It’s pretty cool to be upset with fourth,” Chastain said to MRN Radio. “Really, really loose all night, just behind from the beginning this weekend. We unloaded really tight and just never been here as a group. So just learning as we go and building a notebook for further down the road, but at the end of the day, it’s really cool to be disappointed with fourth with an unsponsored race truck.”

The fourth place finish earned him his fifth top five of the season and he currently sits second in the playoff standings.

July 12, 2019
Tyler Ankrum scores first career win at Kentucky

Former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series champion Tyler Ankrum earned his first career Gander Outdoors Truck Series win at Kentucky Speedway after passing Brett Moffitt with two laps to go.

“I can’t even describe it,” Ankrum explained to MRN Radio in his post-race interview about the last laps. “I don’t know if anything was going through my head honestly, I was just trying to drive as hard as I could. This DGR-Crosley Railblaza/Academy Toyota, it was on fire. I just can’t believe that we did this!

Coming into the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225, Grant Enfinger won the pole earlier in the day, his second of the season. Stages were broken up into 35/35/80 laps to make up the 150-lap race.

It was clean and green without any major incidents in the first stage. As a matter of fact, the stage would remain caution free. There were some notable incidents, however, as Austin Hill came down pit road on Lap 28 with possible engine issues. Just a few laps later on Lap 33, he went behind the wall for the rest of the night and wound up with a disappointing 31st place finish.

Sheldon Creed and the No.2 GMS Racing team took home the first stage after leading all 35 laps.

The action picked up, especially on pit road when Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton were each caught with a commitment line violation and had to serve a penalty.

Stage 2 began on Lap 41 and saw a lot of incidents ramp up. The first incident took place right after the restart when Spencer Boyd and Natalie Decker made contact with each other and were sent viciously into the wall, destroying both trucks. The incident also collected Jordan Anderson and a little bit of Sauter’s truck as well.

On Lap 56, the third caution was brought out for the No. 42 of Chad Finley, when his truck just snapped loose and wound up hitting the wall off Turn 4. Finley would wind up 26th after starting 12th.

More action occurred under caution when the No. 4 of Todd Gilliland come down pit road with the hood up. It appeared there were engine issues, possibly a plug wire or it was down a cylinder. But there was no confirmation from the team on the issues for the No. 4 truck.

The next caution flew on Lap 60 when Harrison Burton got loose in Turns 1 and 2, eventually going sideways. Burton brought two other trucks with him in the incident, Gus Dean and Josh Bilicki. Sauter once again barely escaped the wreck without any major damage.

Five laps later, the No. 98 of Grant Enfinger hit a bump in Turn 4 with Brandon Jones to his outside. The two would make hard contact with each other, slamming Jones in the wall with his truck eventually catching on fire. Both Jones and Enfinger would be done for the night.

With the wreck taking place so close to the end of Stage 2, the second stage ended under caution and with the No. 88 of Matt Crafton taking the stage win and earning 10 Playoff points.

The third and final stage began on Lap 76 and saw a long green flag run toward the finish line.

A few notable incidents occurred in the stage as well. Stage 1 winner, Sheldon Creed, wound up having a flat right front tire shortly after the stage restarted.

Later on, as the stage began to wind down, Tyler Ankrum took the lead on Lap 73. Despite a hard-charge from Ben Rhodes, he could not take the lead from Ankrum and Chicago winner Brett Moffitt took second place.

Pit stops began to take place shortly after lap 100. Even with the pit stops, it appeared most drivers did not have enough to make it on fuel to the end, which saw the race become a fuel mileage game.

Moffitt tried outsmarting Ankrum on his pit stop, while Ankrum had a somewhat longer stop. Moffitt would still be the leader after his final round of pit stops.

With about 20 to go, Rhodes and Brennan Poole made contact with each other. This left Rhodes with a left rear tire to go down, while Pool had a right front tire go down late in the going.

Just 10 laps later with 10 to go, the race leaders, including Moffitt, were told to start saving a little bit of fuel in case of caution. During that run, other drivers like Matt Crafton and Todd Gilliland fell short and ran out of gas. Moffitt continued running thinking he had enough to make it on fuel. Unfortunately, he ran out of gas just half a lap away from taking the white flag. Ankrum, who just turned 18-years-old, went on by to take the lead and eventually his first ever career win.

“I accidentally put a ice bag down my chest, ripped my right side ear mold out,” Ankrum told MRN Radio. “So half the time, all I could understand was inside or outside. I honestly did not hear a whole lot, so I’m so proud. Man, that’s all I got, I don’t know. This goes to show that youngsters and underdogs can still win. You know, I don’t think DGR has been viewed as a GMS, KBM, or ThorSport team but they will be now. I’m honestly so proud of that, that’s what I’ve been wanting to do. I’m all about improvement, improving every single week trying to get better and that’s what we did, we finished it!”

It was Ankrum’s first Truck Series win in just 12 starts. His previous best finish was third at Texas in June. Ankrum led three times for 40 laps and has currently earned a spot in the Playoffs.

There were five cautions for 33 laps, with 10 lead changes among seven drivers.

Playoff Watch
1. Brett Moffitt, Two wins
2. Ross Chastain, One win, Clinched playoff spot
3. Johnny Sauter, One win
4. Austin Hill, One win
5. Tyler Ankrum, One win
6. Grant Enfinger, +73
7. Stewart Friesen, +61
8. Matt Crafton, +40
Below the cut line
9. Harrison Burton, -40
10. Ben Rhodes, -60
11. Todd Gilliland, -110

Up Next: The Truck Series will take another week off before heading to “The Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 27.

July 11, 2019
Stewart Friesen takes second at Kentucky after wild day

You could say that Stewart Friesen had one of the wildest days as a Truck Series regular aside from Ross Chastain’s disqualification at Iowa.

When Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Racing team unloaded his primary truck this morning for the two practice sessions, he was unable to use it. NASCAR confiscated his truck due to a firewall issue and the team was forced to bring out the backup truck.

Despite the issue, Friesen was able to get out in the first practice to make some laps and participated in the second practice as well. With the backup truck being pulled out, no matter where Friesen qualified, he had to start in the back of the field.

Friesen started last but when the race began, he was a man on a mission. In the first stage, he went from 32nd to finish 17th. In the second stage, Friesen placed the No. 52 Halmar Racing truck in the sixth position.

A long green flag run broke out in the third and final stage, that saw some fuel mileage strategy take place. Friesen, among other drivers, pitted to make their final round of green flag pit stops. After the stops, drivers were told to save fuel with a 74 lap run to the finish shaping up.

With fuel, a concern, drivers like Matt Crafton, Todd Gilliland and race leader Brett Moffitt ran out of gas. This saw Friesen move up to second with his eyes set on Tyler Ankrum who was the leader at the time. Hoping for a late race caution, Friesen never caught the break he needed, but still wound up second after the long day since practice.

“It’s been a whirl day,” Friesen said to MRN Radio in his post-race interview. “It’s racing man, the crew never gave up on me all day. It was sketchy at the beginning, we worked on it, got me track position and it was just weird. The PJ1 had grip then it didn’t, guys were sketchy and sliding, I know Ross (Chastain) was struggling just as bad as I was.”

“The restarts I couldn’t do anything. Thanks to Chevrolet for all they do for us, really appreciate those guys, they’re a great group and it’s awesome to represent them.”

With the second place finish, it was Friesen’s eighth top five of the year. He currently sits seventh in the playoff standings, 61 points above the cut line.

July 11, 2019
ARCA Menards Series Preview-Elko

After a few weeks off, the ARCA Menards Series returns to action and continues their stretch toward the championship finale at Kansas Speedway in October.

The series will see their 13th race of the scheduled 20 this Saturday night at Elko Speedway, located in Elko, Minnesota in what is still a relatively new track for the ARCA Menards Series. So new that only a few of the series regulars have starts there.

That includes current ARCA Menards Series championship points leader Michael Self. Self has no starts at the short track in Minnesota but has been preparing himself by watching footage of old races.

“I’m usually not a huge fan of the short tracks,” Self admits, “but I’m actually really looking forward to Elko. I’ve watched a couple of the past races there as well as some onboard footage and the track just reminds me so much of the places we raced out west in the K&N series. Roseville, Colorado National, I-44, Stockton, and the Vegas Bullring were all 3/8-mile tracks that were on the schedule at some time when I was running it, so those are the tracks that really formed my stock car racing roots.”

Self leads the series standings over Bret Holmes by 35 points. He will look to stay as the points leader following Elko.

Another driver who does not have any starts, but is having a breakout year is NASCAR superstar Hailie Deegan. Deegan has only competed a couple of times this year in the ARCA Series but the results have been somewhat of a disappointment for the breakout star.

Deegan has only managed to finish one race that occurred at Pocono back in June, where she started fourth and finish seventh. Her other finishes include an 18th at Toledo after being wrecked out and 12th at Madison after her engine expired late in the going. Deegan hopes to have a better outing in her limited starts this time around at Elko.

“Coming out of the gate really strong is big for me,” said Deegan. “I like to come out of the gate strong and not have to work at it to get up to speed too much. I like to make my goal for each race and then get better throughout the day. As a racer, I always want to win. But I’m still early on in my career and still learning these ARCA cars. The goal for Elko is a top five. We have a top 10 in the ARCA series, now we need a top five. Once we get that first top five then we’ll adjust to our first win. We need to set a new goal every week and then work our way into it.”

Deegan has short track experience by competing and making a lot of noise in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East. Her best is in the West having two wins, five top fives and six top-10 finishes with 67 laps led, most of them occurring on short tracks like Irwindale, Tucson, Colorado and Douglas County.

While Self and Deegan do not have any track experience for the upcoming race at Elko Speedway, Bret Holmes, who currently sits second in points, does. Holmes has one start in his family owned No. 23 machine two years ago in 2017 where he finished fourth after starting second.

Elko is a short track where there has been some bumping and banging going around the last couple of years to determine the winner. If Holmes was put in the position Saturday night, he is not afraid to rub some fenders with the race leader, but also knows he has to keep the big picture in mind.

“I don’t mind it if it comes down to it,” Holmes said. “I own all of this stuff so it’s different when a driver owns all of the stuff. It’s more family-based and I work with our construction company and we try to make as much money as we can to come do this. I don’t think a lot of the guys we are racing against have that thought. I don’t mind it and I don’t want to outright wreck people but I don’t mind replacing some body panels.”

Like Holmes, Chad Bryant Racing driver Joe Graf Jr. has one start which came in last year’s race. Graf Jr. started fifth and finished third in the Chad Bryant owned No. 77 Ford. Despite his up and down year, he believes he can get back on track at Elko this Saturday.

“Being at the front and on the bottom,” he chuckled, “I learned a lot last year. Gus and I raced hard. Yeah, it got a little physical on the restart but I don’t think anyone expected different. You need to have tires, track position and luck to win at Elko. I’ve been waiting to get back to Elko since last year and I feel like it may be one of my best opportunities to get back in Victory Lane this season.”

While his Venturini Motorsports teammates do not have any recorded starts, the No. 15 of Christian Eckes does and he has been close to victory lane twice in his two starts. In 2017, he started fourth and finished second after leading 91 laps. In 2018, Eckes started on the pole and finished second while leading 36 laps.

“Elko has always been a track that I’ve really enjoyed going to,” said Eckes. “Grabbing the pole and finishing second last year definitely makes me excited coming back. It’d mean a lot to win there especially with the bit of a drought we’ve had here lately. All the guys on this JBL Audio team have been working extremely hard to get this year turned around, so we’re ready to go have some fun this weekend.”

Travis Braden and his family owned No. 27 also has one start at Elko, where he finished seventh after starting 11th. Braden believes, however, that Elko will be an intense and exciting short track race Saturday night.

“It’s always intense on short tracks, and this is the shortest, so you do the math,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be pressure-filled start-to-finish. Elko tends to allow for two grooves of racing in the corners, but those tiny straightaways sure get narrow if you end up side-by side. Sparks will fly at some point. You will have to be aggressive and take risks at some point in the race if you want to go to the winner’s circle. There’s no room to breathe until you get there.”

One driver, Corey Heim, who is taking over the No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing machine for the rest of the season has no experience at Elko. Despite not having the experience, Heim will have his teammate Graf Jr. and his team to rely on for any advice this weekend. What a birthday present it would be for the now 17-year-old future prospect to win on Saturday night.

“I’m very fortunate to have a lot of people around me who have plenty of experience around Elko,” Heim added. “They are all veterans. Paul’s been here before so I know he can set up our car pretty good and then I can talk to Joe if I need help with my driving line and whatnot. Saturday will go by in a hurry – but I’m excited to see what another new track brings for me.”

Heim does have short track experience this year, finishing fifth at Pensacola and Salem, 10th at Toledo and Madison, and the last time he raced at Gateway, he finished fourth.

There will be other drivers trying to make a name for themselves like Alex Clubb, Ty Gibbs, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, Carson Hocevar, Tim Richmond, Eric Caudell, Dale Shearer, Brad Smith, Howie DiSavino III, Mike Basham and rookie Tommy Vigh Jr.

The racetrack in Elko, Minnesota has seen five races since its first race back in 2012. Since then, there have been five different race winners and more than likely, we will see its sixth different winner Saturday night.

Brennan Poole won the first race in 2012 for Venturini Motorsports, Frank Kimmel in 2013 for ThorSport Racing, current Truck Series regular Grant Enfinger in 2014 for Howard Bixman, Austin Theriault in 2017 for Kenny Schrader and Gus Dean who won last year’s race for Win Tron Racing in a thrilling last-lap battle for the win.

If you’re going to have a shot at the win, you’re going to need to qualify well. The last five winners have come within the top five, with the exception of two that came from the top-10 in 2013 and 2018. No one, however, has ever won from the pole position. The closest a winner has come from was second back in 2014 by Enfinger.

It will be a one day show for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway. The only practice session of the day is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET lasting until 3:30 p.m. ET, live on arcaracing.com. General Tire Pole Qualifying will be seen at 5:15 p.m. ET and ARCA drivers will have two laps to qualify. It will also be live on arcaracing.com.

The Menards 250 green flag flies shortly after 9 p.m. ET Saturday, live on MAVTV with live leader board on arcaracing.com.

July 11, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kentucky
After a week off for the Fourth of July holiday, the real fireworks get back on track Thursday night for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

The Truck Series was at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago where we saw last year’s champion take home the trophy. It was Moffitt’s second win of the 2019 season, which occurred on the 1.5-mile speedway, the same as Kentucky.

The Playoffs continue to be on the horizon and with five races left, there are some drivers who continue to be winless in the series. Believe it or not, only four series regulars have taken home a trophy. Other than Moffitt, Austin Hill won at Daytona and Johnny Sauter won at Dover. Ross Chastain had victories at Kansas and Gateway but sits 10 points out of the top-20. Chastain should easily make it into the Playoffs, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.

Despite only having four series regulars winning this year, there are other big names who have not won yet. Those include series points leader Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Sheldon Creed, who are all on the outside looking in. With that said, however, those names could break through at Kentucky this Thursday night.

There are currently 34 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for 32 spots.

Here are five drivers to keep an eye on in Thursday night’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225.
1. Matt Crafton – Kentucky could be the place where Crafton breaks his long two-year winless streak. He is the most experienced driver with the most active starts at 20, ever since the first race here in 2001. The No. 88 ThorSport Racing driver has just one win here that occurred in 2015 when he started on the pole and led 43 laps that night. Otherwise, he has six top fives and 15 top-10 finishes with one DNF. Crafton’s average finish is 9.9 with 79 laps led overall. The Tulare, California driver has finishes of third in 2018, eighth in 2017 and 2016, a win in 2015 and sixth in 2014. He doesn’t have any stage wins, but Crafton finished sixth in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2 in the 2018 race. Keep an eye on the No. 88 Menards driver who hopes to snap his winless streak Thursday night.
2. Ben Rhodes – The ThorSport train continues with Ben Rhodes. Rhodes is the previous race winner at Kentucky after leading 38 laps last year. It was a hometown win for Rhodes, as he resides in Louisville, Kentucky just 57 minutes away from Kentucky Speedway. However, prior to his win, Kentucky Speedway had not been too kind to Rhodes. He crashed out of the race in 2017, finishing 27th, and finished 13th in his first race in 2016. The Kentucky native has an average finish of 13.7 with an average start of 5.7. It will mark one year since Rhodes has not won a race in the Truck Series. He currently sits somewhat comfortable in the standings, in fifth, 98 points behind first. He’ll need a win or a finish in the top 10, or top five, to contend in the Playoffs.
3. Stewart Friesen – Speaking of being close to winning, Friesen has a decent chance of getting his first win Thursday night. He finished second to Rhodes in last year’s race after leading 37 laps. He has Stage finishes of seventh and fourth in the 2018 race, but no stage top-10 finishes in 2017. The Canadian finished 12th in his first outing two years ago. Look for Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team to be a contender in Thursday night’s race at Kentucky.
4. Brandon Jones – The Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series regular returns to the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck this week. The Atlanta, Georgia native has four starts at Kentucky Speedway and has finished in the top-10 in every start since 2015. Jones has had great results with a best finish of second in 2017. His other finishes include fourth in 2018, seventh in 2016 and 10th in 2015, which equal an average finish of 5.8. The No. 51 truck has not seen victory lane since Texas last month when Greg Biffle earned a popular victory. At Kentucky, the truck has not been to victory lane since 2014 when team owner Kyle Busch brought it to victory lane. Jones will try to put that No. 51 truck back in the winner circle this weekend.
5. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland has just one start which came in last year’s race. The No. 4 KBM driver finished seventh after starting second and led just one lap. Gilliland has a stage finish of third and sixth in both stages that came in the 2018 race.
Other drivers on the entry list include Codie Rohrbaugh in the No. 9, Spencer Davis in the No. 11, Dylan Lupton in the No. 15, Tyler Ankrum in the No. 17 and Brennan Poole returns with his No. 30 machine. Josh Bilicki will compete in the No. 34, Chad Finley returns to the track in the No. 42, Jeb Burton in the No. 44, Ray Ciccarelli in the No. 49, Tyler Hill in the No. 56 and Clay Greenfield in the No. 68.

Ben Rhodes and Noah Gragson are the only stage winners since 2017.

Kentucky Speedway has seen 21 races and counting since their first race back in 2000. A list of winners include Greg Biffle who won the first race 19 years ago, Scott Riggs, Mike Bliss, Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton, Dennis Setzer, Ron Hornaday Jr (2006, 2009, 2011), Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson Jr, Todd Bodine, James Buescher (2012 and 2013), Ty Dillon, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Christopher Bell.

The race winner has come from the pole three times set by Matt Crafton in 2015, Kyle Busch in 2014 and Ron Hornaday Jr in 2009. The lowest a race winner has ever come from was 22nd by Ty Dillon in 2013 and Hornaday Jr in 2006.

It will be an all-day show for the Truck Series with first practice at 9:35 a.m. ET and final practice at 11:05 a.m. ET with no TV coverage. Qualifying is scheduled to take place at 4:05 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 can be seen live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio with the green flag flying shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET. Stages will be broken up into 35/70/150 laps to make up the 225-mile race.
July 10, 2019
Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes compete in IMSA IMPC race

In hopes of getting some extra track time in preparation for the Chevrolet Silverado 250 Truck Series race in August, ThorSport Racing drivers took to the track by competing in an IMSA IMPC race this past weekend at Bowmanville.

Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes had a couple of practice sessions on Friday, July 5. After the practice session, the teammates placed 17th overall and 16th in the GS Class.

Similar to the Truck Series, it was mostly a one day show with qualifying and the race taking place Saturday afternoon. Rhodes qualified the No. 15 Motorcraft Quality Parts Ford Mustang in the third position.

When the race started, Rhodes and Enfinger were splitting the driver duties and at one point, Rhodes took the lead. Unfortunately, things went downhill for the teammates as Enfinger finished the final stint and wound up 13th. But even with the unfortunate finish, the ThorSport drivers were able to learn something for next month’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Enfinger had this to say on Twitter, “Had a great time @CTMPOfficial with @Multimatic and @FordPerformance,” Enfinger said. “Learned a ton to help us when we come back here. @benrhodes did great on the first stint. I lost track position twice then made it back to finish P13. Now to continue the 10 day road trip with the wife.”

Rhodes even had a few notes that he posted on Twitter as well.

In response to Enfinger, Rhodes said, “You did good coming back from that penalty!’ #GoodJobTeammate.

“Man, I really enjoyed it,” Rhodes added on Twitter. This was a huge learning experience for me. You and Tyler (Mcquarrie, IMSA IMPC driver) are super talented and strong competitors. I wish you both the best of luck in the rest of the season! Maybe one day I can rub doors with you guys in the @NASCAR_Trucks!”

Race day here @ctmpofficial! @benrhodes will qualify and run the first stint, then I’ll finish the race this afternoon. Thanks for the opportunity @fordperformance @Multimatic pic.twitter.com/LhrZQEGU9u—Grant Enfinger (@GrantEnfinger) July 6, 2019

Our #FordMustang is fast! Qualified P3 for today’s race. Had pole speed but got held up on both fast laps? Make sure to tune in!#MustangNeedsRoomToGallop ?? pic.twitter.com/r9vSkX96lp— Ben Rhodes (@benrhodes) July 6, 2019

The Chevy Silverado 250 for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will take place on Sunday, August 25 at 2:30 p.m. ET. It will be the second race in the Truck Series Playoffs.

July 8, 2019
Four Takeaways: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series-Chicago
Chicagoland Speedway hosted the 12th race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season Friday night and saw a familiar winner back in victory lane.

The Camping World 225 was a relatively quick, and for the most part, a caution free race. The race lasted about one hour and 49 minutes with five cautions for 27 laps. There were three incidents during the race; Jordan Anderson spun off Turn 4, Natalie Decker was nudged by Todd Gilliland off Turn 4 and Austin Wayne Self, Spencer Davis and Grant Enfinger were involved in an accident off Turn 4 as well.

The percentage under caution and green flag were about equal, with 18 percent run under caution, as race fans saw 20.5 laps under the green flag. There were seven leaders that made 12 lead changes among Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Brandon Jones, Camden Murphy, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed and Spencer Boyd.

Despite those lead changes, Moffitt was able to pick up his second win of the 2019 Truck Series season and the ninth win of his career.

With that said, here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the Camping World 225.
1. Moffitt Wins In Unsponsored Truck – Quite possibly one of the more newsworthy items following the race was Moffitt winning in an unsponsored truck at Chicago. It’s the first time this season that Moffitt was not sponsored. While there may or may not be concerns in the GMS Racing camp about sponsorship, Spencer Gallagher noted on Friday night, “the statement is that the winning race truck is available for sponsorship to those organizations that want to be a member of a winning team and a future championship team, I believe.” Hopefully, it’s the only time Moffitt is not sponsored in a race and the team picks up more sponsors for the rest of the season. Nonetheless, it will be an interesting story to follow throughout the season.
2. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Solid Outing – KBM was able to place all their trucks in the top-10 in Friday night’s race. Brandon Jones was the highest finisher placing second, Harrison Burton was fourth and Todd Gilliland rounded out the KBM team finishing order in sixth. Jones and Burton were able to place themselves in the top-10 during the stages, while Gilliland did not. However, it was just what Burton and Gilliland needed after facing some criticism this season. Although, both will need a win soon as the Playoffs are on the horizon as Burton sits sixth in the standings while Gilliland is eighth and neither have any wins. They could race their way in on points. However, as it stands right now, Sauter, Hill and Moffitt all have wins, while Enfinger, Friesen, Crafton and Rhodes do not. When the points reset for the Playoffs, Sauter, Hill and Moffitt will be on top of the points standings and everyone else will move down a spot. This will more than likely leave someone that is highly competitive out of the Playoffs.
3. ThorSport Racing Struggles – While one team enjoyed success, another team struggled to place their trucks in the top-10. After having such a solid season early on and leading up to Chicago’s race Friday night, it was a forgettable night for the Sandusky, Ohio based team. The night went from bad to worse when Ben Rhodes, who qualified 17th, blew up on the first lap of the race before getting into the turn. Due to the engine issue, Rhodes wound up with a last-place finish. It was the first last-place finish of his career for the Louisville, Kentucky native. More issues arose for his teammate Johnny Sauter. Sauter began experiencing the same thing in both of the stages. The No. 13 team believed it was a spark plug wire issue but never could figure out the exact cause. This left Sauter with a disappointing 18th place finish after qualifying second. For Enfinger, it looked like he was going to earn his first race win of the season. He qualified fifth, finished second in Stage 1 after getting passed on the last lap and won the second stage. The Alabama native led 49 laps only to finish 16th. Matt Crafton was the only ThorSport driver in the top-10 finishing eighth. It was a forgettable night for ThorSport Racing who will probably use the off week to reset and start fresh again.
4. Off Week – After completing 12 races of the 2019 Truck Series season, the regulars will be taking a week off. Many drivers will probably be celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, while others will use it as a reset before heading to Kentucky next week. Believe it or not, there are only five races left until the Playoffs. Those five tracks are Kentucky, Pocono, Eldora, Michigan and Bristol (the cutoff race before the Playoffs begin). There are some drivers that could sneak into the playoffs like Sheldon Creed, Tyler Dippel and possibly Spencer Boyd, who could surprise the field. Nonetheless, there are some other drivers like Enfinger and Friesen, among others, who have not won yet. The 2019 Truck Series season will only heat up from here in what has been one of the most exciting seasons to date.
July 2, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited the Windy City this past weekend for race No. 12 of the 2019 season.

For some, it was a great race. Brett Moffitt earned his second win of the 2019 season in an unsponsored truck, while Kyle Busch Motorsports’ drivers placed in the top-10 for the first time in a while.

Other drivers like Anthony Alfredo, Dylan Lupton, Sheldon Creed and Tyler Ankrum all had good runs finishing ninth through 13th, some earned their best career finish.

However, others had their struggles coming out of the Camping World 225, despite being on a hot streak coming into the race.

With that said, here’s a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the 12th race of the season.
1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt claimed his second win of the season Friday night in Joliet, Illinois. However, it was a newsworthy win for Moffitt and his No. 24 GMS Racing team, as they came in Thursday and unloaded an unsponsored truck. This left some people wondering how Moffitt would do in the race and whether or not, sponsorship problems would affect his performance. Obviously, it didn’t, as Moffitt started third and a had a great truck from the start. The Grimes, Iowa native finished third in both stages. However, it really wasn’t until after Stage 2 when we saw Moffitt out in front leading the way. He took the lead on Lap 74 and led for 46 laps. Despite green flag pit stops late in the going, Moffitt cycled out and regained the lead with 25 to go. From there, he held steady and won the race. This moves Moffitt up into third in points, 53 points behind first. The question remains if GMS Racing will continue to face more sponsorship woes as the season goes on.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
2. Ross Chastain – Chastain quietly finished in the seventh position at Chicago Friday night after his popular win at Gateway the week prior. He started midfield, qualifying 16th. The Niece Motorsports driver didn’t place in the top-10 at all in Stage 1 but was able to earn playoff points by finishing eighth in Stage 2. Chastain ran as high as sixth, but never really got any further as he had to settle for a seventh place finish. This would be Chastain’s 11th top-10 finish of the season. He is now 10 points outside the top-20 in order to make the Playoffs, as there are now five races remaining.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
3. Stewart Friesen – Another week, another third-place finish for Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team. He started in the 10th position, then finished eighth and sixth in Stage 1 and 2, respectively. This allowed Friesen to gain two points on championship points leader Grant Enfinger. Friesen is now 52 points back. Friesen ran as high as second in the race and averaged a fifth place showing throughout the event.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
4. Harrison Burton – After a disappointing 16th place at Gateway, Burton and his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team rebounded to a fourth-place finish this past weekend. He never led a lap, but ran as high as second and finished sixth and fourth in both stages. Burton would remain consistent throughout the night and would finish in the top five for the fifth time this season. He sits sixth in the points standings, 111 points back with five races remaining before the Playoffs begin.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had strong outings in both stages, finishing second in Stage 1 and winning the second stage. He led three times for 49 laps until an accident late in the going on Lap 80 took Enfinger out of contention to win. The Alabama native continued to struggle throughout the night, having tires go down. This would, unfortunately, place Enfinger 16th, one lap down. Despite the bad luck, he still remains the points leader over Stewart Friesen by 52.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – First
Unranked:

1. Sheldon Creed -It was a rough outing at Chicago for the No. 2 GMS Racing team. While his teammate Moffitt was celebrating in victory lane, Creed was left with a disappointing 11th place finish. Creed did not finish in the top-10 in either stage, despite qualifying seventh and leading two laps.

Previous Week Ranking- Fourth

Other Notables:

Dylan Lupton returned to the Truck Series in his first outing in 2019. Lupton competed in the No. 5 DGR-Crosley Toyota and wound up 10th for the first top-10 finish of his career. Tyler Dippel earned a 12th place finish. It was his first 12th place finish since Kansas back in May.
July 1, 2019