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Author: Briar Starr

  • Christopher Bell Hopes to Turn Strong Run into Championship at End of the Year

    Christopher Bell Hopes to Turn Strong Run into Championship at End of the Year

    Christopher Bell has had a great 2017 season so far. The No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra driver has four wins, 10 top fives and 14 top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 6.6 and 592 laps led. If Bell carries this kind of consistency into the postseason playoffs, he’ll for sure be a lock into the final four. Bell was among the final four drivers last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he ended up finishing eighth, third in the playoff standings. He believes that this is an important factor in capturing his first championship.

    “Well last year I felt like we were able to really capitalize on consistency,” Bell said. “We got a win in the middle part of the year at Gateway last year, but overall we just weren’t able to consistently compete for wins, but we were able to knock down those top-fives, those top-eights and that’s essentially what got us all the way to Homestead.”

    However, the 2017 season has been a night and day difference for Bell.

    “This year it’s been a little bit different progress,” Bell said. “We’ve been able to compete for wins a lot more often and win a lot more races and hopefully we can continue that and win our way to Homestead.”

    A new addition to the 2017 NASCAR season was added back in January, which is called playoff points. Any driver finishing in the top 10 during a stage or winning stage, race, earns a different amount of points. But Bell has a different mindset about how the playoff points will affect how this year’s champion will be decided.

    “Well, that’s going back to what I said earlier, I don’t think it changes our mind at all,” Bell said. “We’re going to go out there and try and compete for wins and know that we’ve got those bonus points in our back pocket, but don’t rely on them. The biggest thing is just no mistakes. If you get through with no mistakes, especially where I’m at and where Johnny (Sauter) is at, we’re in pretty good shape through this first round and assuming some of these guys back here don’t win, we should be okay through the second round too. But we want to win races. All of us want to win races and so that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

     

  • Matt Crafton Eyeing Third Truck Series Championship

    Matt Crafton Eyeing Third Truck Series Championship

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs begin this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. One driver is looking to put the past weekend behind him and start his run toward a third championship. That driver is two-time champion, Matt Crafton. With winning championships back-to-back in 2013-2014, experience plays a huge role in trying to win another championship, but Crafton knows there’s an equal amount of pressure.

    “Tremendous amount,” Crafton said. “Going into the Playoffs and even my second championship – just the pressure that you had. I know that Johnny (Sauter) I’m sure last year, you had the pressure – you know what could go wrong. There’s so much pressure on you when you get to the second one, it was just if it happens, it happens. You’re definitely nervous, but that first one’s very nerve-racking just because you think of any gremlin that can go wrong. I just remember like the last race all I had to do was start the race. I just remember being nervous as the thing got started. I’m really looking forward to – hopefully, we got all of our gremlins out of the way so far.”

    In order to move on throughout the playoffs, Crafton cannot afford finishes like 16th, 25th and 19th. He’ll need to have strong top five runs and possibly some wins. Even the two-time champion agrees that those finishes won’t cut it and finishing well is big in the first round, but no need to worry about being eliminated just yet.

    “No, I think you just run in the top-five, top-three and you get yourself out of the first elimination round,” Crafton said. “Then the next one I feel that you’re going to be stacked up against ones that are probably a little faster so you might have to win there. I don’t think you’re going to hit the panic button yet.”

    In the first round from last year, the 41-year-old finished third, eighth and 22nd at Loudon, Las Vegas and Talladega respectively. After that, Crafton finished 17th at Martinsville, second at Texas, third at Phoenix. Despite the 22nd place at Talladega and a 17th place finish at Martinsville, Crafton still earned himself a final four spot at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he eventually finished seventh and wound up four points behind 2016 champion Johnny Sauter. Whatever you do, don’t count out Crafton just yet.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-New Hampshire

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-New Hampshire

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues the on-track action this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not only do they continue the on-track action, but the Round of 8 begins and it starts the championship run to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Here’s a look at who will be hot this weekend in Loudon.

    Loudon is an interesting place for the Camping World Truck Series. The series raced there consecutively from 1996-2011. However, the series recently made its return to the track in 2014. Here’s a look at who’s hot at New Hampshire.

    There are currently 30 drivers on the preliminary entry list.

    Since its return in 2014, there have been three different winners in the past three races. Only a few drivers have experience here, while there will be rookies making their first start.

      1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is carrying momentum after his win last week at Chicago. In the past three races, he has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 5.7. With the momentum, it won’t be surprising if Sauter ends up winning at New Hampshire. Sauter is also hungry as he does not have a win at this track. Look for him to be a contender on Saturday afternoon.
      2. Christopher Bell – In one start at New Hampshire, which came last year, Bell finished a solid second. During that race, he even led 11 laps in his track debut.
      3. Matt Crafton – Crafton will look to put his dismal Chicagoland weekend behind him and it could happen this weekend at New Hampshire. In the past three races, Crafton finished third, second and third, respectively. Not to mention, he leads all active drivers with three top fives and top 10 finishes, and an average finish of 2.7.
      4. John Hunter Nemechek – If there is a track similar to New Hampshire, it’s Gateway Motorsports Park. Gateway was the site of his first win of the season. Nemechek may be the fourth best driver to compete this weekend. He has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 6.3. New Hampshire just might be the place where Nemechek could once again set the Truck Series on fire.
      5. Kaz Grala – Grala has one start in the Truck Series at New Hampshire. In the 2016 race, he finished seventh. Something Grala once again has to do this weekend.

    On track action begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET with first practice and final practice taking place at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET and the green flag is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, all on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Chicago

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Chicago

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to action this past Friday night for the final race of the regular season. Here are four takeaways from “TheHouse.com” 225.

    Johnny Sauter goes back to victory lane – In the first time since Dover, Sauter went back to victory lane and won for the second time this year. It seems as though in the past few races, he is starting to gain momentum on championship point leader Christopher Bell. Sauter is now 15 points behind. Earlier this summer, he was as far as 40+ points behind. If there’s a time to start heating up again, it’s right now.

    Christopher Bell ends as regular-season champion – For the first time this year, NASCAR had three first time regular season champions, which thus give them more playoff points. With a strong third-place finish, Bell ended as the Truck Series regular season champion. Something strange will have to happen in the playoffs, in order for Bell not to be in the final four at the end of the season.

    Matt Crafton has disappointing night – The two-time series champion, Matt Crafton, had an unusual night at Chicagoland. On lap 107, he spun out and caused the last caution of the race. Crafton needs to start having better runs in the playoffs and win like he did at Eldora if he wants to have a strong shot at the championship.

    Final spot determined by tiebreaker – Ben Rhodes ended up getting the final transfer spot by a tiebreaker to transfer in the playoffs. Truex ended up, unfortunately on the outside looking in. Now what the two drivers have to do, is win, especially Rhodes, but Truex is also competing for his first win as well. It will be interesting to watch the playoffs sort out in the remaining eight races of the season.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    The final regular season race took place last Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and set the final playoff point standings. Here’s a look at who thrived in Chicago.

    1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter seemed to have found his rhythm back after having several weeks of disappointment and losing his championship lead in the summer months. This past Friday night, he changed that as he won for the first time since Dover International Speedway. Sauter finished second and fourth, respectively, in both stages and didn’t take the lead until 27 laps to go. He might be heating up at the right time as he cut the Christopher Bell’s point lead down to 15.
    2. Christopher Bell – In the past three races, Bell has been up and down, and it has shown that in the points differential. At Bristol, Candian Tire Motorsports Park and Chicagoland, Bell finished seventh, 26th and third, respectively. This past Friday night, he finished eighth in Stage 1 and won the second stage. But at Bristol, Bell had a 42 point lead over Sauter, however, due to the engine failure at Canada and Sauter’s win on Friday night, the points lead was cut down to 15. Bell did lead 18 laps but needs to have his momentum back that he had during the summer months. Still no doubt, he will be a strong championship challenger throughout the playoffs, but he needs no mistakes.
    3. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe had a strong night at Chicago. Throughout the race, he led twice for 18 laps and finished in the top 10 in both stages. He’ll need to keep up the momentum and perhaps win a race if he wants to be in the final four at Homestead. Nonetheless, another solid run for the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Cooper Standard Ford.
    4. Ryan Truex – The other Truex is maybe showing shades of his older brother Martin, here lately, in the Camping World Truck Series. In the past two races, he has won at least one stage. In Canada, it was the second stage and he wound up finishing fifth, while this past weekend in Chicago, Truex won the first stage and finished fourth. Unfortunately, Truex missed the 2017 playoffs by a tie-breaker.
    5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had a quiet but decent night at Chicago. The 32-year-old scored his seventh top five of the year but missed the playoffs by not having enough points/wins. Not finishing in the top 10 in any stages hurt Enfinger’s chances of making the playoffs. The only task Enfinger can do now is finish the year out strong by winning a couple of races and look forward to the 2018 NASCAR season.Next up: The “Round of 8” begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Saturday. Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Crafton, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Ben Rhodes and Kaz Grala will be competing for the championship. It will be interesting to see how these eight drivers will compete throughout the playoffs. These drivers cannot afford any mistakes if they want to have any chance making it to the final four.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Chicago

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Chicago

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to Chicagoland Speedway this week for the final race of the regular season. On the entry list, there are currently 32 Trucks entered for the TheHouse.com 225.

    Kyle Busch has won in 2016, 2014 and 2013. However, due to the NASCAR rule not letting drivers race in the XFINITY/Trucks playoffs, Busch, among other cup drivers are not allowed to race in other series, if they have five or more years of experience. Therefore, we can expect a new winner in 2017.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek can end the regular season on a high note with a win. In 2015, he won the race after leading just two laps of the scheduled 147. Sure, Nemechek only has two starts at Chicago, but he has an average finish of 7.5.
    2. Johnny Sauter – If Sauter wants to keep rebounding and possibly get a win, Chicago might just be the place. He has four top fives and six top 10s. Sauter finished fifth in last year’s race. He might just get a win this Friday night.
    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton, just like Sauter, has competed in all eight races at Chicago, however, he’ll have to step up his average finish. In eight starts, Crafton has three top fives and five top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 9.9, but one DNF which came in the 2016 race. Crafton could erase last year’s disappointing finish by winning and start the playoffs on a high note.
    4. Christopher Bell – It would be a mistake to count Bell out of competing for a win. In his only start which came in 2016, he started 12th and finished fourth. Bell is also hungry for a win as he hasn’t won since over a month ago at Kentucky. Watch for Bell to be a strong contender Friday night.
    5. Austin Cindric – Cindric is coming off a momentum win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park from Labor Day weekend. He may be peaking at just the right time before the playoffs start. Two practices are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The first practice takes place at 3:30 p.m. ET with the final practice at 6:30 p.m. ET.Qualifying is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 5:05 p.m. ET on FS1.The race is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1 and MRN Radio.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings- Bowmanville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings- Bowmanville

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series went north of the border for an action packed Chevrolet Silverado 250. One driver who was on the outside looking in was able to lock himself into the playoffs after a wild last lap. Here are this week’s power rankings.

      1. Austin Cindric – Cindric had been a strong contender all year long. Before Canada, he had four top fives and nine top 10 finishes. But one thing was missing and that was a win to lock himself into the championship hunt. On Saturday afternoon, the 19-year-old sat on the pole for the first time in his career. All he needed to do was back that up in Sunday’s race. Cindic dominated in Stage 1 by leading most of the laps and ended up winning. He didn’t finish in the top 10 at all during Stage 2, due to some varying pit strategy. He closed in on race leader, Kaz Grala who already had a win at Daytona earlier this year in the late laps. On the last lap, Cindric gave Grala a controversial bump and therefore winning his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
      2. Kaz Grala – Grala was oh so close to securing a second win of the 2017 season. He hasn’t won since the first race of the season at Daytona and since the midseason point, he’s been somewhat struggling. In Stage 1, Grala kept close to Cindric’s bumper but never could pass for the lead, therefore, finishing second in the first stage. During varying pit strategies, he was able to take the lead on lap 45 and lead for 19 laps until the last one, where he was bumped by second-place Cindric. Grala didn’t lose too many spots though as he finished a disappointing third.
      3. Noah Gragson – Gragson was another one of those bubble playoffs drivers who needed to win. Late in the race, he made a daring four wide move to up to third. Gragson stayed close behind the leaders and was able to make a pass on third. After Grala was bumped, he finished behind race winner, Austin Cindric. This was Gragson’s best finish of his career. However, it wasn’t enough for him to move up in the points, as he will have one more chance at Chicagoland to secure his playoff spot for the playoffs.
      4. Justin Haley – Haley had a quiet but strong day at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He finished fifth in Stage 1, but like others due to pit strategy late in the going, Haley wasn’t in the top 10 at the conclusion of Stage 2. He rebounded though and finished fourth. He’ll most likely have to win at Chicagoland to have any chance for the 2017 championship.
      5. Ryan Truex – Like Haley, Truex had a decent outcome at Canada. He finished seventh in Stage 1 and won the second stage after staying out, while others pitted. After stops, Truex stayed inside the top five for the remainder of the race and finished fifth. Truex has the best chance of making it into the playoffs based on points.

    Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes another week off before heading to Chicago Motor Speedway Friday night September 15.

  • Four Takeaways From Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    Four Takeaways From Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    1. Austin Cindric gets first career win – Cindric had a dominant race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He led twice for 32 laps. After the various pit stop strategies, Cindric caught Kaz Grala on the last lap and bumped him out of the way on the last lap for his first ever career win and is locked into the 2017 playoffs.
    2. Noah Gragson comes up short – Gragson scored his career best finish of the season at Canada this past weekend. He made a daring four-wide move late in the going and moved up to third. He eventually settled for second after Grala’s spin on the last lap. He sits ninth in the playoff standings but will most likely need a win to get into the playoffs.
    3. Championship contenders Christopher Bell and Matt Crafton have engine woes – Bell and Crafton had a forgettable day at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after finishing 26th and 25th, respectively. Bell finished once in the top 10 during Stage 1 but never could rebound after that. On lap 44, he missed a shift and caused the engine to blow. During the same caution, Crafton’s engine also expired and was done for the day. Needless to say, both drivers can forget that this ever happened.
    4. Ryan Truex continues his strong season – Truex made some noise at Canada this past weekend. In Stage 1 he finished seventh and won the second stage after staying out. Truex was able to capitalize on staying out by finishing fifth. He now has five top fives and nine top 10s of the season and sits somewhat comfortably sixth in the playoffs picture.
  • Austin Cindric Wins Chevy Silverado 250 After Wild Last Lap

    Austin Cindric Wins Chevy Silverado 250 After Wild Last Lap

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on a Sunday afternoon for the fifth year in a row and it sure did not disappoint.

    Just turned 19-year old Austin Cindric won the pole after qualifying late Saturday afternoon.

    This was Cindric’s first win of his career in the Truck Series and solidified himself into the championship picture.

    20 laps laps made up both stages 1 and 2, while 24 laps made up the final stage.

    When Stage 1 began, Cindric had a strong enough truck and with track position being so important, he was able to go on to win the first stage. Daytona winner, Kaz Grala, was able to close in with six laps to go but got held up by a slow truck and went on to finish second.

    The race got back underway on lap 23 for stage 2. However, more action began to take place. A caution came out one lap later for Jennifer Jo Cobb’s truck that stalled in turns 5 and 6. Later on in the stage, Cindric pitted for a scheduled pit stop, but his gas can got stuck while his truck took off and was penalized for removing pit equipment. John Hunter Nemechek was also penalized for too fast exiting.  Championship points leader Christopher Bell had a tire rub, therefore, he also had to pit late in the stage.

    Ryan Truex played his own strategy by staying out and went on to win the second stage.

    With the race winding down, the race was restarted with 20 laps to go in the final stage. On lap 45, Kaz Grala took the lead, but Bell missed a shift and blew up, which caused another caution to fly. Under the same caution, Eldora winner, Matt Crafton had engine issues as well and his day was done.

    After a restart with 15 to go, Noah Gragson made it four wide on the restart and went to third. But the action was stopped once again, as Cody Coughlin spun around on lap 51, thus ended up stuck in the grass after overnight rains.

    The race went back to green with 10 to go, but it wasn’t until five to go where there was a three wide battle for the lead. Cindric passed Gragson on the frontstretch and moved up to second.

    Cindric caught up to Grala on the last lap and gave him a bump, which caused him to spin out. Cindric was able to hold on and went on to win his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win.

    “I gotta acknowledge going into Kaz (Grala) in Turn 5,” Cindric said. “Everyone’s watched this race many years past and everybody knows its gonna come to contact. The second guy’s closest to the first. I’ve raced with Kaz growing up. He drove my Bando. It was the first car he ever drove. I know his family isn’t going to be overly excited, but he already had a win. So I don’t feel too bad about having to do something to make it happen for this team.”

    There were five cautions for 14 laps and four leaders among five lead changes.

    Cindric led twice for 32 laps.

     

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – Chevrolet Silverado 250
    Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
    Sunday, September 3, 2017
    ==================================
    1. (1) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 64.
    2. (6) Noah Gragson #, Toyota, 64.
    3. (3) Kaz Grala #, Chevrolet, 64.
    4. (2) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 64.
    5. (11) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 64.
    6. (10) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 64.
    7. (18) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 64.
    8. (4) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 64.
    9. (20) Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, 64.
    10. (9) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 64.
    11. (13) Todd Gilliland, Toyota, 64.
    12. (15) Brian Wong, Chevrolet, 64.
    13. (16) Grant Enfinger #, Toyota, 64.
    14. (17) DJ Kennington(i), Toyota, 64.
    15. (22) Jason Hathaway, Chevrolet, 64.
    16. (21) Victor Gonzalez Jr., Chevrolet, 64.
    17. (27) Bobby Reuse, Chevrolet, 64.
    18. (26) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 64.
    19. (12) Alex Tagliani, Chevrolet, 63.
    20. (7) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 63.
    21. (19) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 60.
    22. (24) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, 58.
    23. (23) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 55.
    24. (14) Gary Klutt(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 54.
    25. (8) Matt Crafton, Toyota, Engine, 46.
    26. (5) Christopher Bell, Toyota, Engine, 44.
    27. (32) Joe Hudson, Chevrolet, Brakes, 12.
    28. (29) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Clutch, 7.
    29. (28) Todd Peck, Chevrolet, Transmission, 5.
    30. (30) Mike Senica, Chevrolet, Clutch, 2.
    31. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, Suspension, 1.
    32. (31) Tommy Regan(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 0.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

    In one of the most unique/wild card races of the year, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is back in action this weekend in Canada after a week off. With two races remaining until playoffs begin, it’s crunch time for drivers who outside looking in. It’s win or bust at this point for those drivers.

    There are currently 33 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list at a track that’s somewhat relatively new to the series. The first race took place in 2013, with current Monster Energy Cup Series star Chase Elliott winning in a chaotic last lap. Let’s take a look at who might have a chance at the winner circle on Sunday.

    In the past four races, there have been four different winners.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek is the defending winner of this race. Nemechek led twice last year for 20 laps. In fact, Nemechek has three starts at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He has one top five and two top 10 finishes. His third win of the season might just come this weekend.
    2. Matt Crafton – Crafton is next up as far as experience goes. He has raced in all four races with his best finish of second in 2015. In other track stats for Crafton, he has two top fives and four top 10 finishes, along with five laps led. If experience means anything, which it does, then expect Crafton to be up front and contending for the win.
    3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter’s season could get back on track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He has finished in the top 10 three times, with a best finish of sixth in 2015. Sauter might just chip into Christopher Bell’s points lead with a win at Canada.
    4. Christopher Bell – Bell has some experience at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, both good and bad. Bell competed in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series race earlier this year but did not finish after having brake trouble. However, in last year’s Truck Series race, Bell finished in the fifth position.
    5. Austin Cindric – This track might fit into Cindric’s style. In one start, Cindric finished 23rd after starting second. However, he has competed in three races for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, with the best finish of fifth at Watkins Glen. The weekend kicks-off Saturday morning with two practice sessions. First practice begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, while the final practice is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET. Qualifying also takes place later in the day beginning at 5:45 p.m. ET with coverage on FS2.The Chevrolet Silverado 250 is slated for Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN Radio.