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Author: Briar Starr

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Pocono

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Pocono

    With just three races until the Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Aug. 26, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their exciting season this weekend at Pocono Raceway.

    With five drivers locked in by virtue of wins, three drivers find themselves on the bubble of not making it. From this weekend until Bristol could make the difference and provide the opportunity to lock themselves into the Playoffs.

    Currently, there are 32 trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who to expect that might end up in victory lane Saturday afternoon in The Tricky Triangle.

    1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be back in the series for the first time since Charlotte in May. He’ll be looking to make history on Saturday afternoon as he’ll be searching to tie Ron Hornaday’s all-time Truck Series wins list at 51. Busch has been close this season to tying or surpassing the record. Aside from the tire issue at Atlanta, Busch won at Las Vegas and finished second twice at Kansas and Charlotte. We could already be talking about a different story if he had won at those racetracks, but Busch will be more hungry than ever to get back to victory lane in the Truck Series. Pocono could be the track he could tie Hornaday’s records due to recent past success. He has only competed in three races at The Tricky Triangle and has had so-so finishes. In his first race in 2011, Busch finished second to race winner Kevin Harvick. He never competed again until 2015 where he won the race after starting second. In the previous race, Busch was involved in an accident on lap 36 thus ending his shot at a win. He’s led 85 laps and has an average finish of 9.3 with an average start of 2.0. He’ll be looking for the weekend sweep at Pocono this weekend.
    2. Johnny Sauter – After a dismal week at Eldora last week, Sauter is glad to be out of Ohio and back on the normal series circuit. Like Busch, Sauter is looking to get back to victory lane after a couple of bad finishes. Sauter hasn’t won since Texas in June and hasn’t had a top-five finish since Chicago where he finished third. Since then, however, he’s had finishes of 15th at Kentucky and 16th at Eldora. At Pocono, Sauter will try to find victory lane. In eight races, he has three top fives and five top-10 finishes, along with 16 laps led. En route to his 2016 championship, he started 11th and finished eighth. In the previous outing at Pocono, Sauter finished fifth after starting seventh. His best finish at the 1.5-mile raceway was second back in 2014. Whether it will be Saturday afternoon or later on in his career, Sauter will cross Pocono off the tracks where he hasn’t won. It’s only a matter of time for the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevy driver.
    3. Todd Gilliland – It will be a learning curve for Gilliland this weekend at Pocono, as he will be making his first ever Truck Series start. However, if past history has told us anything, nothing is new for the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver. In his first ever 1.5 mile start at Charlotte, he finished 10th after starting third but had late-race contact that settled him back a little bit in the finishing order. He’ll be competing in the ARCA Racing Series Friday afternoon to gain more practice and knowledge about Pocono. The truck Gilliland will be driving has finished second and ran at Texas and Chicago. This truck has led 62 laps.
    4. Ben Rhodes – After a tough outing at Eldora last week, Rhodes will be looking to get back in victory lane since Kentucky and this weekend could be his chance to do it. He only has two starts at the 1.5-mile racetrack dating back to 2016, where he finished 11th. His best finish was second in last years race after starting on the pole. He has an average start of 2.0 and an average finish of 6.5. In the two stages last year, Rhodes finished third and fourth respectively en route to his second-place finish.
    5. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt will be back racing at Pocono this weekend for the first time since 2016. In his only race here, he competed for Red Horse Racing driving the No. 11 where he finished third after starting 15th. Moffitt has had success at 1.5-mile tracks this year, however. His first success was back in February when he won at Atlanta. A third-place finish at Las Vegas, fourth at Charlotte and a win at Chicago were his best finishes at those 1.5-mile tracks this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Moffitt performs for the first time since 2016.

    Since the first event in 2010, there have been eight different winners in eight races. The winners include Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Joey Coulter, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Christopher Bell.

    The lowest a race winner has ever come was sixth back in 2013 and was won by Ryan Blaney. The race winner has won from the pole three times with Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, and William Byron.

    There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon with the first one taking place at noon ET with the final practice at 2 p.m. ET, with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET Saturday with an approximate green flag at 1:15 p.m. ET and will be live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The first stage ends on Lap 15, with the second stage ending on Lap 30 and the checkered flag flying on Lap 60.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Eldora

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Eldora

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway never disappoints. It was the 13th race of the season and with three races to go until the Playoffs begin, some drivers are on the bubble and other drivers are locked in.

    Here are four takeaways from the sixth annual Eldora Dirt Derby.

    1. Grant Enfinger Comes Up Short – At Eldora, you wouldn’t think of Enfinger as a dirt racer but he did have some prior dirt experience racing in ARCA at tracks such as Illinois State Fairgrounds and Duquoin where he had some success. Throughout the night, he was quietly racing inside the top-10. Enfinger started 10th and finished seventh and second in both stages, respectively. After some pit strategy late in the race and late race cautions, Enfinger found himself up front with eventual race winner Chase Briscoe. Both of them battled side-by-side in the overtime finish until he fell .038 seconds short of getting his second win and locking himself into the Playoffs.
    2. Noah Gragson and Johnny Sauter Have Forgettable Night – While Gragson finished sixth Wednesday night at Eldora, it didn’t come easy and he had his challenges early in the night. Gragson was put in the last chance qualifier and qualified 27th. At the end of Stage 1, he worked his way up to 18th. He continued to have his challenges as he restarted 25th in the second stage. Gragson would only end up 23rd in Stage 2. The No. 18 Safelite driver benefited from late cautions and various pit strategy and found himself finishing sixth. Nonetheless, Gragson is looking to put Eldora behind him and looking ahead to Pocono. Like Gragson, Sauter was also in the last chance qualifier. He was locked in, regardless, as he could have used a champion’s provisional. Sauter finished fourth in the last chance qualifier, giving him a 29th place starting spot. His night didn’t get better as Sauter was the first caution of the night at Lap 11. Sauter continued to struggle throughout the night not placing in the top 10 in either stage. At the end of the night, Sauter was glad to be done with Eldora as he finished 16th.
    3. Logan Seavey Shines At Eldora – Seavey, a dirt track midget star, had a career night at the dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. He made his Truck Series debut driving the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra for Kyle Busch. Seavey handled the pressure well as he started on the pole for the second heat race. He led seven laps until he was passed by his KBM teammate Todd Gilliland in the final laps of the heat race. By finishing second, Seavey found himself starting seventh for his first ever Truck Series race. His night continued to shine as he took the lead for the first time on Lap 92 and held on for 53 laps, as a late race caution cut Seavey’s three second lead. More cautions continued to fall and with that, it hurt his track position as other drivers were on fresher tires. Ultimately, Seavey finished eighth. If it weren’t for the late race cautions, we all could be talking about a different winner. Nonetheless, Seavey caught some eyes and attention from race fans and owners. It will be interesting to see if he’ll get anymore Truck Series starts in the future.
    4. Three Races Left Until The Playoffs Begin – Now that one of the wildcards is over for the series, there are three races left until the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The Playoff field is pretty much set in stone as five drivers have a win and are locked in. These drivers are Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Gragson, Justin Haley, and Ben Rhodes. As the series heads to Pocono this weekend, the action will start to heat up on the track as three drivers sit on the bubble of not making it. These are Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen and Grant Enfinger. These three drivers will have three more chances to lock themselves in on wins. If not, barring any more issues or troubles they have, they could lock themselves in on points if there aren’t any new winners until the Playoffs begin.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    Eldora Speedway was home of the 13th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In one of the most anticipated races of the season, this standalone event certainly did not disappoint. The field included Truck Series regulars and dirt regulars but it was a not a dirt regular but a former series driver that stood atop the victory circle Wednesday night.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and Chase Briscoe certainly put on quite a show in the last remaining laps. Enfinger, who was looking for the second win of his career, his first since Talladega in 2016, had to settle for second by .038 seconds. The win would have locked him into the Playoffs, but with the consistency and strength that Enfinger has shown in the past remaining races, he sits sixth in the playoffs standings, 120 points. In Wednesday night’s race, he finished seventh and second, respectively in both stages. His second-place finish earned him his fourth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
      2. Stewart Friesen – Friesen came up short once again at Eldora, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from the No. 52 Canadian driver. He was in the fifth heat race and led all 10 laps to score the win, which led him to a third-place starting position. The race was somewhat of a struggle early on for Friesen, as he ran as low 31st but was able to advance with pit stop strategy and cautions helping out the team. But, it wasn’t until the end of Stage 2 when he placed inside the top-10 to finish 10th. Friesen found himself in competition for the win in the final five laps of the race with the multiple race cautions. On one of the restarts, he went four-wide with the top leaders until another caution came out. However, Friesen rallied after being a caution on Lap 29 and earned a third-place finish, giving him his fifth top-five of the year. He’ll have to be careful in the three remaining races until the Playoffs begin as he sits on the bubble in seventh per Playoff standings, 111 points behind, considering no new driver wins until then. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a good night at Eldora, considering this was his first time racing on dirt. Based on qualifying results, he was placed in heat race #2 and ended up finishing third, giving him a 12th place starting position. The three-time race winner in 2018 had to fight his way to the front after fighting in dirty air and heavy traffic. He wasn’t able to earn stage points which will hurt the team just a little bit, but Hattori Racing team already has three wins this year and is good for the Playoffs, if they continue to get sponsorship throughout the season. In the end, Moffitt was helped out with the cautions and race strategy to give him a third-place finish. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Matt Crafton – It has now been one year since Crafton has won a race in the Truck Series. After last night’s race, he has three more races remaining to earn a win to solidify himself into the Playoffs and compete for the championship. Crafton didn’t have a bad night, but it certainly didn’t come without troubles. On Lap 55, he and Tyler Dippel got collected with each other, and Crafton got tipped from behind by Ryan Newman who tore the back end off Crafton’s truck. However, not all was lost, as he and the No. 88 ThorSport team finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages, ultimately giving him a fourth-place finish. But Crafton and the team are hungry for a win as he sits right on the cut line for the playoffs. He may have to get in on points if he wants to be a championship contender. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
      5. Justin Haley – Like Briscoe and Crafton, Haley often competes in dirt racing when his schedule allows. It was second race at Eldora and it was almost the same identical finish for the No. 24 GMS Racing team. In last year’s race, he started 13th and finished eighth. Haley was placed in the fourth heat race and finished fourth after starting sixth. This gave him a 19th starting position, meaning it was going to be a long night for the series regular. But the No. 24 took the entire race to get to the front. He didn’t earn any stage points, but with his Gateway win, Haley is locked into the Playoffs. After a wild finish and race, he finished ninth for his ninth top-10 finish of the year. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Noah Gragson – Gragson had a quiet night at Eldora and didn’t make too much noise. He was placed in the last chance qualifier but had points to fall back on to make it into the race. He didn’t finish inside the top-10 at all for either stage after starting 27th, but Gragson did finish sixth after battling handling conditions all night long. He’ll look to Pocono and try to continue to close the gap on Johnny Sauter’s points lead.
    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes was having a good race going until a few laps after the Stage 2 restart. On Lap 45, he hit the wall and continued to slip all the way back in the field, ultimately having to bring the truck to pit road as the tow was knocked out of the truck. This gave the Kentucky winner a 29th place finish, but he is locked into the playoffs.

  • Chase Briscoe Fends off Teammate Grant Enfinger in Last Lap Thriller at Eldora

    Chase Briscoe Fends off Teammate Grant Enfinger in Last Lap Thriller at Eldora

    In a green-white-checkered race to the finish line, Chase Briscoe was able to fend off his ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger for the win in a last-lap thriller at Eldora Speedway. It was the closest finish at Eldora for the Truck Series with a margin of victory of .038 seconds.

    After a series of late race cautions near the end, Briscoe, with fresher tires than race leader Logan Seavey, was able to restart up front alongside his teammate Grant Enfinger. Both of them battled side-by-side all the way to the checkered flag after the restart and even banged the wall at the finish.

    “It means so much,” Briscoe said. “You know, I think Eldora, just in general, means a lot to people, but when you grow up with Sprint car roots and Sprint car backgrounds; I mean this place is our Daytona for dirt guys. So to be able to win this race, this is so special. There was one race that I wanted to win, it would definitely be this one. So it’s kind of surreal to me. Two years ago or three years ago, whenever (Christopher) Bell won, I came over (victory lane) here and was standing here, pumped that he won. We went to Waffle House later and maybe we’ll do that again tonight. Just unbelievable.”

    “Thank you so much to these Ford guys for allowing me to come do this,” he said. “The ThorSport guys worked their tails off. I hate how I had to race the (Grant Enfinger) 98. We definitely roughed him up a little bit and this is not how I race, but part of it, I guess. Just thankful for the opportunity. It’ll probably be the only truck race I’m going to do this year. It’s good to end on a good note.”

    Earlier in the day, there were five heat races including a last chance qualifier to set the 32 truck field. Last weeks winner, Ben Rhodes, and Todd Gilliland set the front row after winning the first two heat races.

    Stage 1 was 40 laps and there were only three incidents that occurred. One on Lap 9 for 2016 Champion Johnny Sauter who spun around in Turn 2 and went a lap down. On Lap 20, Justin Fontaine in the No. 45 spun out and brought out the second caution, giving Sauter his lap back. Then the final incident in the first stage came on Lap 27, when Stewart Friesen was spun by Chris Windom with other trucks involved as well including Sheldon Creed and Cody Coughlin.

    Kentucky winner, Ben Rhodes was able to win the first stage. The race was restarted on Lap 41 and went to lap 90 for Stage 2. On lap 45, Rhodes smacked the wall hard and had to come down pit road, eventually ending his night. He would ultimately finish 29th.

    Then a little foreshadowing occurred for what the end of the race might be, as Briscoe held off teammate Enfinger for the stage win.

    The final stage took place with 59 laps to go.

    Briscoe and Enfinger made pit stops for fresh tires and were sent to the back of the field. During the early stages of the final stage, this saw dirt standout star, Logan Seavey, lead for a total of 53 laps until a late race caution came with 21 to go. This saw Tyler Dippel and Austin Self make contact in the turns, thus bunching the field up once more.

    Seavey tried all he could to hold off the hard-charging Enfinger and Briscoe, but the late race cautions continued to hurt him as he had no tires. There were two more cautions near the end with less than five to go.

    In the end, there was a green-white-checkered overtime finish. Enfinger and Briscoe pulled away from the rest of the field. The other 30 drivers had to watch a thrilling finish between Briscoe and Enfinger which ended by a .038 seconds margin with Briscoe as the winner.

    Friesen, Matt Crafton and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five finishers in the Sixth Annual Eldora Dirt Derby.

    It was Briscoe’s first win in the Truck Series since his victory at Homestead-Miami last year for the Brad Keselowski Racing team. This was his second career Truck Series win.

    Briscoe led three times for 54 laps with seven lead changes among five drivers. There were nine cautions for 41 laps.

    Sauter, who finished 16th, continues to lead the standings by 32 points over Gragson.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Eldora

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Eldora

    The Eldora Dirt Derby is one of the biggest races for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This historic race is one of the most unique races on the Truck Series schedule. Along with Daytona, Talladega, Canada and Bristol, you could say Eldora is a wildcard, as well, to the series. The Eldora Dirt Derby is a national attraction for the series and as always, expect another exciting race for the sixth annual Eldora Dirt Derby Wednesday night.

    There are 40 entries on the preliminary entry list as for this week in a list of who-who.

    There will be 14 dirt track stars making their Truck Series debut but are no stranger to dirt racing. These include Chris Windom in the No. 54, Kyle Strickler in the No. 63, Logan Seavey in the No. 51, Max McLaughlin in the No. 38, Tyler Dipple in the No. 17, and J.R. Heffner in the No. 15, John Provenzano will be the oldest driver in the field, 63, making his debut in the No. 03 Mike Affarano entry.   These dirt track stars have a built-in resume that includes Six Silver Crown wins, 180 dirt modified wins, a midget driver, 60+ wins, and a K&N driver.

    The rest making their track debut include Austin Hill, John Provenzano, Todd Gilliland, Myatt Snider, Brett Moffitt, Tyler Dippel, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Fontaine, Nick Hoffman, Max McLaughlin, Logan Norman Seavey, Kyle Strickler, Trevor Collins and RJ Otto Jr.

    Chase Briscoe will make his series return driving the No. 27 Thorsport’s fifth entry.

    Ryan Newman will be fielding the No.3 entry of Jordan Anderson Racing. It’ll be Newman’s first start of the series since 2015 where he drove the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports entry at Kansas when he started fourth and finished second. It’ll be the first time at Eldora since 2013 when he drove the Turner Motorsports entry and finished third.

    Here’s who to expect that might end up in victory lane in Wednesday nights annual running at Eldora.

    1. Matt Crafton – It will be the one year anniversary since the two-time champion has scored a win in the series. His last win came at this very track after leading 24 laps and finishing first and ninth in both stages, respectively. Crafton got some dirt exposure this past weekend driving his modified at Oakshade Raceway. He’s been driving his modified whenever his schedule will allow. Crafton has competed in all five races, earning one win, one top five and five top-10 finishes, averaging a 10.4 start and a 7.4 finish. Nonetheless, after a somewhat forgettable season so far, the series veteran will be hungry to get his first win of the season and lock himself in the 2018 Truck Series Playoffs.
    2. Stewart Friesen – This will be Friesen’s playground this week and could be his chance to park it in victory lane for his first career win. Like the other dirt track stars, Friesen is a dirt track standout of his own, driving in the Super DIRTCar Series. He has amassed over 260 wins dirt tracks across the United States since 1999. Friesen currently drives Big-Block Modifieds. Eldora is a special place for the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver. It’s where he made his series debut in 2016 starting 16th but he disappointingly finished 28th due to a crash on Lap 111. However, this opportunity led him to make more series starts before going part-time in 2017, and full-time this year. In last year’s race, Friesen started on the pole and finished second after leading 93 laps. He won Stage 1 and finished second in Stage 2.
    3. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe is back competing in the Truck Series Wednesday night. This time, however, he is competing in the No 27 ThorSport Racing entry. It will be the team’s fifth entry. But Briscoe is no stranger to the series nor dirt, as he competed full-time last year driving for the now defunct Brad Keselowski Racing team. He competed in the Dirt Derby last year finishing third after starting 12th. Briscoe also brings dirt experience having driven quarter midget and 410 Sprint Cars. He also is the youngest winner to earn a victory in the 410 Sprint Car Series. Currently, Briscoe competes in a family-owned team in all kinds of series on dirt.
    4. Tanner Thorson – If there is an upset winner this week in the Truck Series, it could very well be the No. 20 of Tanner Thorson, but if it’s on dirt,  his fans know it wouldn’t really be an upset. Thorson is a decorated dirt track star driving in the TRI-C No.3C Sprint Car and Midget team. In past years, Thorson drove in the Keith Kunz Motorsports and earned 25 midget wins. Other stats include 2013 Midget National Rookie of The Year, 2015-2017 National Midget Driver of the Year, and he won the 2016 USAC National Midget Championship. This year, Thorson is competing in pretty much everything dirt. This includes Midgets, POWRI National Midget, USCS 360 Wing Sprint Car, World of Outlaws, Civil War 360 Wing Sprint Cars, KWS 410 Sprint Car, and in the SCCT 360 Sprint Car series. In the Truck Series this year, he has two starts with those coming in Dover and Iowa. The best finish was 13th at Iowa. It’ll be interesting to see how the decorated dirt star competes against the series regulars when dirt comes into his favor.
    5. John Hunter Nemechek – When it comes to dirt, you wouldn’t think of Nemechek as a contender for the win. However, in the past four starts, he only has one finish outside the top-10 which came in 2016 after some issues during the race. His other finishes include sixth, seventh, and fifth in last year’s race. Nemechek even led 11 laps in the previous race after finishing third in both stages. In his four starts, it has brought him an average start of 11.8 and an average finish of 10.5, with 12 laps led. He’ll be hungry to get to victory lane as one slipped away at Chicago, where he ran out of gas on the last lap on the back straight, ultimately finishing seventh.

    In the past five races, there have been five different winners including Matt Crafton, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Darrell Wallace Jr., and the first event winner Austin Dillon. The lowest a winner has ever come from the field to win was 19th in 2013 from Dillon. The highest starting spot came in last year’s race where Crafton started second and won.

    Two practices are scheduled for Tuesday night with the first one taking place at 7:05 p.m. ET and the final practice is slated for 9:05 p.m. ET, with no live TV coverage.

    Qualifying for the heat races is scheduled for Wednesday at 4:35 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. There will be five heat races starting at 7 p.m. ET. All five heat races will consist of 10 laps to set the starting lineup.

    Live coverage begins at 9 p.m ET Wednesday on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio, with the approximate green flag at 9:15 p.m. ET. Stages are broken into 40/50/60 for a total of 150 laps.

    Eldora Race Format

  • Four Takeways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Kentucky

    Four Takeways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Kentucky

    The NASCAR Truck Series visited Sparta, Kentucky for the 12th race of the scheduled 22 race season in a triple-header weekend.

    The series had a first-time winner while some familiar faces had their issues.

    Here are four takeaways from the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225.

    1. Ben Rhodes Captures Hometown Win – Rhodes was able to capture a win in his hometown Thursday night after winning Stage 1 and leading 38 laps after taking no tires on the final pit stop. They were finally able to have a mistake-free race for once and put all the pieces together. If the No. 41 ThorSport Racing team continues to do that for the rest of the season including the Playoffs, they could very well be the fourth driver for the Championship 4.
    2. Johnny Sauter Has Forgettable Weekend –  It was not the night the 2016 Truck Series champion wanted at Kentucky. He didn’t quite have the truck to contend for the win and didn’t do well in both stages, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively. His night was also hampered by two pit road penalties sending him back to finish 15th. It was a forgettable race, to say the least, but Sauter leaves Kentucky with the points lead by 42 over Noah Gragson.
    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Places All Trucks In The Top-10 – Kyle Busch Motorsports had a solid night at Kentucky placing all their trucks in the top-10. For starters, Noah Gragson claimed another pole this season and won the second stage for his seventh stage win of the year. After a bad pit stop under yellow prior to Stage 3, Gragson rallied back to finish eighth. Next up is Brandon Jones who piloted the famed No. 51 Truck finishing in the fourth spot after starting sixth. He finished fourth and second, respectively in both stages. Jones’ next and final race will be at Las Vegas in the Playoffs. Finally, Todd Gilliland made his first Truck Series start at Kentucky starting in the second spot alongside his teammate. He was able to finish one spot better than his teammate Gragson, which was seventh.
    4. Short Turnaround for the Truckers – By having a Thursday night race at Kentucky, the truckers will have a short turnaround and will have to put their focus on what will be the biggest show of the year for the Truck Series at Eldora. The Eldora Dirt Derby is one the most popular races on the Truck Series circuit and it could be a jump start for a young driver’s career should a rookie win the race. Millions of fans visit the track for the race or watch the race on TV. There’s a lot of pressure on the regular series drivers as there will be a mix of drivers from NASCAR Cup stars to dirt track stars. It’s a list of whos who on the entry list. It will be interesting to see how the young rookies are able to tackle the tough and rough .500 mile racetrack in Rossburg, Ohio.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Kentucky

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Kentucky

    The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway was the 12th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It was another race that didn’t disappoint this season and a race that saw a hometown hero win.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes finally got the monkey off his back this past weekend at Kentucky by collecting his first ever career win. Rhodes was always in contention for the win earlier this year, but it seemed like something always got in the way such as mechanical issues, engine problems and more. This weekend the No. 41 ThorSport team was finally able to put together a mistake-free race and parked it in victory lane. Although, it didn’t come without a little bit of chaos. On the last round of pit stops, Rhodes’s crew chief called him down to pit road and it surprised Rhodes as he had to slam on his brakes, and get to pit road speed. However, a quick fire erupted from Brett Moffitt’s pit and almost made Rhodes miss his pit stop, but he was able to find it just in time. He held off Stewart Friesen who was on two fresh tires and went on to win in his hometown. He won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. Previous Week Ranking: 4th
      2. Matt Crafton – Crafton was able to secure a third-place finish for his fourth top-five finish of the year. After having a somewhat dismal year so far it continued in qualifying when the two-time champion got loose and had to chase it up the track. This caused Crafton to start 30th. But, it didn’t take him long to make his way through the field. He finished sixth in Stage 1 but slipped back in Stage 2 to finish ninth. He was in position to win should his teammate Rhodes or Friesen make contact with each other, race each other, or if a late race caution were to come out. Ultimately, Crafton had to settle for third but will need to win as he is a bubble driver sitting seventh in the points standings. He could get it done on Wednesday night at Eldora as he is the previous race winner. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen has been a standout star this year in the Truck Series after only running part-time in 2017. So far in 2018, he has collected four top fives and seven top-10 finishes. Thursday night continued to prove that he is a challenger for the win and possibly the championship. After starting 14th, Friesen seventh in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2, respectively. Friesen took the lead a few laps later from Parker Kligerman on the restart and led 37 laps. He made 21 quality passes and ran an average position of fifth. Friesen had the lead on lap 88 and held on for 35 laps until the final pit stop, where he took two fresh tires in hopes of chasing down eventual race winner Rhodes. At the end of the day, Friesen finished second but the dirt track standout star heads to one of his favorite tracks Wednesday night at Eldora. In last year’s race, he qualified on the pole and led the majority of the race, leading 93 laps, but had to settle for second. It will be interesting to see how Friesen and Crafton do battle on the dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Noah Gragson – Gragson will have to wait another week to win, but he could make his way into the Playoffs. In Thursday’s race, Gragson started on the pole, his fourth of the year. He led the majority of Stage 1 until Gragson was held up by Bo LeMastus which eventually cost him the stage win. He finished second after leading 31 laps. The second stage proved better for Gragson as he retook the lead on Lap 43, led all of Stage 2 and went on to win his seventh stage of the year. During the pit stop before the final stage, however, the No. 18 Safelite team took a little extra time as needed and this sent him back to 13th on the restart. Gragson couldn’t recover from that and finished eighth to earn his ninth top-10 of the year. He sits second in points, 42 points behind Johnny Sauter. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has improved his finishes at the 1.5-mile racetrack in Sparta. His first ever Truck Series race here was in 2016 when he started 17th and finished 12th. Despite finishing 28th in last year’s race due to an accident, he was able to rebound in this year’s outing. Enfinger started fifth and ran fifth in Stage 1 as well as in Stage 2. After the cycle of pit stops and penalties handed down to several drivers, Enfinger finished sixth for his eighth top-10 of the year. He sits fifth in the standings -123 points behind. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked.

    Fell Out:

    1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt didn’t have the race outing he had hoped for despite winning at Chicago the previous week. He finished 18th and didn’t finish in the top 10 in any of the stages.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had a dismal and forgettable race at Kentucky. He finished ninth and 10th in both stages, respectively, but two pit road penalties late in the race cost him a shot for a reasonable finish. Ultimately this sets him back to 15th.
    3. Justin Haley – The Gateway winner struggled a little bit this past weekend. No stage points, but he quietly earned a top-10 finish. Haley is locked in the Playoffs and sits eighth in the regular season standings.

  • Matt Crafton Earns Third Place at Kentucky

    Matt Crafton Earns Third Place at Kentucky

    After a somewhat uncharacteristic like season, two-time champion Matt Crafton, earned a much deserved third place Friday night at Kentucky Speedway.

    Wednesday at Eldora will mark one year since he has not won in the Truck Series. But he could break through and continue the ThorSport winning ways.

    Crafton didn’t have a great qualifying effort (30th) for the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 and had to fight his way up and work his way through traffic on a track that’s tough to pass. In Stage 1, he finished sixth with a ninth-place finish in Stage 2.

    At the end of the night, he earned his fourth top-five finish of the year, finishing third. But Crafton will need to win if he wants to run for the championship as he sits eighth in the Playoff standings.

    “Yeah, that thing (Truck) was really fast in that first stage,” Crafton said. “Just fought a little bit free in the first stage, but it was fast. We drove to sixth and then we put the right sides on it, and for whatever reason, we got really lose. And then we put four on it right there at the end, and then it came to life. (Carl Joiner) JR, I don’t know what he did, but it finally got a lot better on entry in (Turn) 3 and I could manage, and get into there.

    “All in all, not a bad day for this MENARDS Ford F-150 and great job for ThorSport.”

  • Stewart Friesen Close But No Cigar

    Stewart Friesen Close But No Cigar

    Stewart Friesen has been close many times this season to victory lane and it looked like Friday night at Kentucky Speedway could be the night. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a runner-up position for his fourth top-five of the year and his second runner-up finish.

    He qualified in the 14th position but had to go to the back for unapproved adjustments and ultimately started 30th. However, it was no issue for Friesen as he fought through the field. In the first stage, Friesen finished seventh with a fourth in the second stage.

    His time to shine came in the final stage with 74 to go. Friesen passed race leader Parker Kligerman on Lap 88 and led for 35 laps. On the final pit stop, he took two tires while eventual race winner Ben Rhodes took no tires.

    After the pit stops, Friesen cycled to second and found himself chasing down Rhodes. However, the two tires weren’t enough for the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver. Track position was key, as he to had settle for a second-place finish.

    However, not all is lost though, as the dirt track star heads to one of his favorite tracks next Wednesday at Eldora.

    “Yeah, I got to thank everyone at GMS Racing,” Friesen said. “They rallied and helped our team, swapped motors there right before the race. I didn’t have a lot of time to do it. These guys rallied and just came up one short there, but great teamwork. We got a great (Chevy) Silverado. Thanks to Chris Larsen and Halmar International for letting me to compete at this level. It’s a dream come true. Just didn’t get on pit road like I needed too there on that stop and that was it.”

  • Ben Rhodes Gets Hometown Win at Kentucky

    Ben Rhodes Gets Hometown Win at Kentucky

    After almost missing his pit stall during the final pit stops due to a fire from Brett Moffitt’s pit, the Louisville, Kentucky native finally broke through to earn his first ever win in his hometown state of Kentucky at Kentucky Speedway.

    The stages were broken up into 35 for Stage 1 and 2, while the final stage was 80 laps.

    The first yellow of the night came on the very first lap for Tyler Matthews of the No. 83 who spun out and hit the wall in Turn 2. That was the only caution of the stage as it remained green throughout the stage. When the stage started to wind down with three to go, the No. 54 of Bo LeMastus held up race leader Noah Gragson, who eventually lost the stage win to Ben Rhodes. Rhodes ended up winning the stage.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 42 and went to Lap 70.

    Gragson got out front on the restart with help from his teammate, Brandon Jones. No incidents happened in Stage 2 as it was clean and green, and Gragson went on to win his seventh stage of the year. During the pit stop, the No. 18 crew had troubles and was sent back to 13th for the restart.

    The final stage was restarted with 74 laps to go and the action started to pick up.

    After taking two tires only, Parker Kligerman was the race leader. Stewart Friesen chased him down and passed him on Lap 88. Not much happened throughout those laps, but pit stops began with 30 to go.

    The race leaders started to pit with 26 to go and there were multiple penalties handed out. Myatt Snider was hit for driving through too many pit boxes, Bo LeMastus too fast entering, and Johnny Sauter had two penalties (too fast entering, commitment line violation) and Austin Hill was penalized for too fast entering.

    During this period, eventual race winner, Ben Rhodes came down to pit but almost missed his pit stall as a quick fire erupted from the No. 16 pit. Rhodes took no tires and just fuel only, while Friesen took two tires.

    These two ultimately battled for the race win, but at the end of the day, it was Kentucky native Ben Rhodes picking up his first career win and Ford’s first win of the season.

    “It caught me off guard honestly,” Rhodes said. “We got so behind on these restarts and they’re just so crazy here. You have to be on your game and unfortunately, depending on the circumstances and teammates working together, whatever it may be, we got behind.

    “I mean, excellent call by him (crew chief). He caught me a little off guard. I was slamming on the brakes as hard as I could through (Turns) 3 and 4 and got it slowed down in time. I was a little worried. But man, just a huge thank you to Ford Performance, Carolina Nut, Thorsport Racing, Alpha Energy Solutions, all my fans that came out here, all my supporters and friends, family. Unbelievable, I just don’t have any words.”

    “Maybe we can go to Eldora,” he said. “I’m on ice there though, so I’ll have to take some notes from (Matt) Crafton and see if we can get around there. I think we need to keep this Thorsport going.”

    Rhodes led four times for 38 laps, won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2.

    There were five leaders among twelve lead changes with three cautions for 14 laps.