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  • Victory Eludes Stewart Friesen Once More

    Victory Eludes Stewart Friesen Once More

    Stewart Friesen and the No. 52 team of Halmar Racing are still searching for their first win. Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway looked promising until a late pit stop resulted in a penalty.

    Friesen started the race in third after a strong qualifying effort and ran in the top 10 for most of the stages, staying out of trouble. Then, with 40 to go, he passed Todd Gilliland for the race lead. Just a few laps later, both went in to pit with 33 to go but misfortune came for Friesen as he was penalized for speeding during that final pit stop.

    He could never catch the break he wanted in hopes of a caution but ultimately finished eighth after leading 12 laps.

    “Just blew the green flag stop, Friesen told MRN Radio. “Got in there and wheel hopped, I don’t know, there was a little confusion on when we were actually going to pit. They called me into the pits in Turn 3 outside of a guy and I screwed up. I should have just made another lap and came in to take my time. It is what it is, just thanks to Halmar and Chris Larsen, everybody. They work so hard and bust their ass. They deserve to win more than I did.”

    This was Friesen’s 14th top 10 of the year.

  • Johnny Sauter Salvages 11th Place Finish At Texas

    Johnny Sauter Salvages 11th Place Finish At Texas

    After a week removed from being locked into the Championship 4 with his win at Martinsville Speedway, Johnny Sauter took on the Lone Star State at Texas Motor Speedway in hopes of carrying the momentum with him.

    It started out well in qualifying as he ended up winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole for the seventh time in his career. Unfortunately, his night went sour as soon as the race started.

    His truck was loose from the get-go and he slipped back several spots. Sauter ended up bringing out the caution on Lap 7 due to a right rear flat going down. Throughout Stage 1, he continued to report on his truck, saying it was “loose center off 1 and 2” and pitting for chassis adjustments.

    Sauter continued to fight his truck as it continued to get loose and made his way up to 19th after a caution. Ultimately, this is where he would finish for Stage 1. Sauter made adjustments for his loose handling truck during the pit stop.

    On Lap 40, he was involved in the multi-truck crash that occurred and Sauter collected damage. His night continued to go south as he had another tire go down, this time occurring with a flat left rear. He continued to battle an ill-handling truck for the rest of Stage 2, and wound up 17th.

    Even with the truck Sauter had, he managed to make it into the top five and ran in the top 10 for part of the final stage. The No. 21 GMS Racing team and Johnny Sauter did the best they could, and he salvaged an 11th place finish.

    After the race, Sauter told MRN Radio, “That’s why last week was so important. Just proud of everybody at GMS on our ISM Connect Chevy. I got a flat rear tire right there at the beginning of the race and got a lap down, and the lucky dog or whatever they call it nowadays.”

    “We were getting ready to back to green again and I was like, hey the left rear tire is flat. So we came and changed left sides, and from there I don’t even know what happened. We didn’t have any tires left obviously because we were out of tires at that point. We ran the last however many of laps on 10 set of tires. A night like tonight and you still finish 11th, that’s just persevering.”

    “All in all, not the day we wanted,” he said, “but that’s the way it goes in racing.”

     

  • Weekend schedule for Texas tripleheader

    Weekend schedule for Texas tripleheader

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series will be in action at Texas Motor Speedway. The Monster Energy Series and Xfinity Series head into their second races of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs, while the Camping World Truck Series enters the second race in the Round of 6. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    THURSDAY, NOV. 1
    4:05-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice (No TV) (Results)
    6:05-6:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (No TV) (Results)

    FRIDAY, NOV. 2
    2-2:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    3:05-3:50 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    4:10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS2 (Follow live)
    5:35-6:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    7 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series JAG Metals 350 (147 laps, 220.5 miles), FS1 (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    12:30 p.m.: Joey Logano
    12:45 p.m.: Chevrolet
    1 p.m: Gray Gaulding
    1:15 p.m.: Aric Almirola
    1:30 p.m.: Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric
    3:30 p.m.: Kyle Busch
    3:45 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    4 p.m.: Hailie Deegan
    7:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
    10:30 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race

    SATURDAY, NOV. 3
    12:30-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series second practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    1:40 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    3-3:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBC Sports App (NBCSN joins in progress at 3:30 p.m. ET) (Follow live)
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    6:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

    SUNDAY, NOV. 4
    3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 (334 laps, 501 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    6:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

    MORE: How to find NBCSN

  • Todd Gilliland’s Night Ends with Disappointing Fourth Place Finish

    Todd Gilliland’s Night Ends with Disappointing Fourth Place Finish

    In what could have been the night for his first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, it quickly turned into a night of disappointment for the 18-year-old rookie, Todd Gilliland.

    Gilliland was just a half lap away from taking home his first ever truck series victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, fuel issues with his truck on the backstretch denied him his first win and relegated him to a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night.

    “We were in position to win that race … it sucks, it’s horrible. We were just a touch short on fuel,” said Gilliland. “I didn’t know there was anything happening (on fuel). I’m incredibly disappointed … but I’m super-proud to be in position to be fighting for wins.

    “It’s just heartbreak and kind of disbelief. You’re a half-lap away from my first win at a place like this that’s so special and after everything we did today coming from the back, I felt like we executed a perfect race, honestly. Besides lacking a little bit of speed to beat some of those guys straight-up. With what our cards were dealt for the race, we ran 100 percent perfect, I felt like, minus the last half-lap. That’s all we can do is look forward now. It’s over and just need to move on.”

    Gilliland finished 10th and ninth respectively in both stages and led for a race-high 60 laps while Justin Haley took home the winner’s trophy for his third victory of the season at Texas.

     

  • Blaney leads Ford brigade to Texas Busch Pole Award

    Blaney leads Ford brigade to Texas Busch Pole Award

    Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    FORT WORTH, Tex. – Ryan Blaney may have exited the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the desire to win has left the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

    Running the fastest lap of the day in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney sped around the 1.5-mile track in 26.932 seconds (200.505 mph) to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

    In winning his first Busch Pole Award at Texas, his third of the season and the fifth of his career, Blaney fell just short of the track record (26.877 seconds at 200.915 mph) set by Kurt Busch in November of last year. Nevertheless, Blaney’s lap in the money round was the second fastest ever run on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.

    Blaney, who paced the first round but fell to eighth in the second, beat playoff driver Clint Bowyer (200.230 mph) by .037 seconds when it counted. Kevin Harvick (199.941 mph) qualified third, as Ford drivers swept the top five spots on the grid and seven of the top eight.

    “We just seemed to get tighter round to round,” Blaney said. “We just kept freeing it up, and I messed up Round 2 pretty bad. I got really greedy in (Turn) 1 and drove in there too deep. So we freed it up even more, and I backed my entry up, and that helped it out …

    “It felt really fast. That’s what you get with this nighttime qualifying. High speeds. Speeds pick up, and it has been cool here today. We’ve had a really good Ford all day, and it is nice to back it up in qualifying. It doesn’t mean a lot if you are fastest in practice and blow it in qualifying … I’m excited to see how it is in race trim in Saturday’s practice.”

    With Aric Almirola qualifying fourth and Kurt Busch eighth, Stewart-Haas Racing placed all four of its drivers in the top seven, and all four are still in contention for the series championship. Brad Keselowski was fifth fastest, giving Team Penske two drivers in the top five.

    Toyota driver Denny Hamlin was seventh with the only non-Ford in the top eight. Team Penske driver Joey Logano — already qualified for the Nov. 18 Championship 4 race at Homestead by virtue of last Sunday’s victory at Martinsville, was eighth quickest after topping the second round at 200.267 mph.

    Playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. will start 13th on Sunday after Almirola bumped him out of the final round by .001 seconds.

    “I got a little loose on Turn 3 in my last lap there,” Truex said. “If I didn’t mess that up, I probably would have been in. It’s a sensitive track, really fast. For whatever reason, we’ve been off qualifying since they redid this place.

    “I haven’t quite figured out what I need for qualifying. In our race trim, we’ve been really good here. We’ll see. We’ll work harder on it (Saturday in practice) and see on Sunday.”

    Chase Elliott, winner of two Playoff races, will start 16th. Ninth-place qualifier William Byron, Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was the only Chevrolet driver to crack the top 12.

  • Logano’s Move at Martinsville Was Par For The Course

    Logano’s Move at Martinsville Was Par For The Course

    A day after Joey Logano’s controversial bump-and-run on Martin Truex Jr. coming to the checkered for the win at the First Data 500 at Martinsville, social media still seems to be fired up. Granted, the race’s final 30 laps were some of the best racing we’ve seen all year and the run to the checkered was one of the best this season. But most of the energy from the drivers and peers seems to be centered on Logano and whether what he did was right or wrong.

    Arguments on whether it was wrong are rooted in the fact that Truex managed to race Logano cleanly up to that point. Meanwhile, the argument that it was right centers around the fact that since a championship is on the line, nothing is sacred coming to the checkered on a short track. Ultimately, that latter train of thought is the more logical approach to the race’s finish.

    Many argue that Logano raced dirty and that he owed Truex a clean run to the finish. The fact of the matter is that Logano owes nobody anything.  Given the circumstance – a win would place him in the championship round at Homestead – giving another driver a nudge in the final two corners of a playoff short track race was what was required to win.

    Playing nice is out the door at this point of the season. There are no teammates or friends among the playoff drivers, there are only peers. So why are people upset or angry that Logano acted in this manner? Why are people acting like this is unexpected of Logano? He’s bumped Mark Martin out of the way for a win. He’s dumped Matt Kenseth for a win. He’s not afraid to use his bumper. If anything, people are angry because of who made the move – Logano.

    To most, Logano dons the black hat. He’s not here to make friends; he’s here to win and be the best. That’s literally a requirement in what makes a good racer. He’s drawn the ire of many in the process, and on that note, he ranks up there with some elite company such as Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. He’s been popped in the mouth because of this, but he doesn’t back down. Instead, he swings back in some cases, which draws even more ire from his detractors.

    So on Sunday at Martinsville, when Truex made his move too early and cleared Logano off of Turn Two, it should have been obvious Logano was going to bump Truex. It was an innocuous bump, the same Jeff Gordon used on Rusty Wallace at Bristol in 2002. It was a simple bump short track racers across the country use to win. There was nothing wrong with it. So, for the most part, this ire was unwarranted.

    Two drivers raced hard for the win on a short track which carried some serious championship ramifications. Given the current playoff system – “Win and you’re in” – the bump for the win was cultivated almost perfectly by the system. It’s a moment that has happened before and will happen again as long as this system sticks around. So with that said, it was typical, awesome short track racing.

     

  • Victory in Sight, Truex Gets Taken Out Near Finish Line at Martinsville Speedway

    Victory in Sight, Truex Gets Taken Out Near Finish Line at Martinsville Speedway

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 28, 2018) – Martin Truex Jr. didn’t leave Martinsville Speedway a happy person even though he finished third after starting Sunday’s 500-lap race from the rear of the field due to a prerace inspection issue.

    Truex passed Joey Logano for the lead with one-lap remaining but as the cars rounded the final corner and headed to the checkered flag Logano intentionally
    knocked Truex out of the way to take the win in the first race of the Round of 8 playoffs. The victory gave Logano an automatic berth in the Final Four in three weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    When Truex’s No. 78 5-hour ENERGY Toyota got sideways from the bump it resulted in Denny Hamlin taking the second-place finish.

    “We should be in Victory Lane right now,” Truex said in post-race interviews. “He (Logano) might have won the battle but he won’t win the war. I was next to him for six laps and never knocked him out of the way. We were going to race hard for it in my book. I cleared him fair and square and we weren’t even banging doors. He just drove into the the back of me and knocked me out of the way. It’s short track racing but what goes around comes around.”

    Truex’s crew chief Cole Pearn was equally unhappy with the final lap incident.

    “It was tough to take,” Pearn said. “We had a great car today and Martin did a good job racing him (Logano) clean. Not surprised coming from him (Logano) — that’s how he drives and that’s his choice to make. I guess that’s short track racing — kind of a crappy way to have it. To be that close and work so hard for this team and everything we got riding on this with the team closing down and just to have it right there is tough to take. We put our whole lives into this and when you come that close you get emotional about it for sure.”

    With two races and three spots remaining to make the Championship 4, Truex is 25 points ahead of the cutline. He and Kevin Harvick are tied in points. Truex came into the race with a 23-point lead above the cutline. (see point standing below)

    It was the second time in the playoffs that Truex got taken out while in the lead near the finish line. It also happened in the first round at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But the Martinsville hit had a bigger consequence for the Furniture Row Racing driver since a victory would have punched his ticket to the Championship 4, and an opportunity to repeat as the NASCAR Cup Series champion.

    “I just took a cheap shot at the end,” Truex said. “Had an awesome race car all day long and did what we had to do to put ourselves into position to win our first time here at Martinsville and at a short track. Honestly just proud of my team, proud of all our guys.

    “This is the kind of day we had to come here and have. I really wanted to win that race and feel like we definitely deserved it. We raced him (Logano) clean. We passed him clean and just out ran him in the long run. I pretty much had the feeling going to the backstretch that that was going to happen and there was nothing I could do about it. It sucks, but that’s the way it goes. I can promise you I won’t forget what he did. Everybody said we were out, said we couldn’t run good at Martinsville, we don’t run good at short tracks, our team’s shutting down so we can’t make it to the Championship 4. Yeah. I’m going to show everybody.”

    Though he started at the rear of the field, Truex didn’t panic. He took care of his equipment and patiently drove to the front. He reached the top 10 on Lap 113 and finished seventh in the first stage and fourth in the second. He led twice for 18 laps.

    After Logano, Hamlin and Truex the top-10 finishers were: Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez and Kevin Harvick.

    The race had eight cautions for 68 laps and there were 11 lead changes among six drivers.

    The two remaining races in the Round of 8 are scheduled for Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (Nov. 4) and ISM Raceway in Phoenix (Nov. 11).

    Round of 8 Point Standing

    1. Joey Logano (Win – Advances to Championship 4)

    2. Kyle Busch, 4104 points

    3. Martin Truex Jr., 4083

    4. Kevin Harvick, 4083

    5. Kurt Busch, 4058

    6. Chases Elliott, 4052

    7. Clint Bowyer, 4041

    8. Aric Almirola, 4033

  • Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Joey Logano won the First Data 500 at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon after a chaotic battle for the win against Martin Truex Jr. He scored his second win of the season and punched his ticket to the Championship 4 at Homestead.

    “That was just a hard great race. NASCAR racing at its finest. It was a lot of bumper banging towards the end and a hard race. You know, we didn’t wreck each other. We bumped into each other a lot and that is what this sport was built on. I know a lot of fans out there aren’t too happy about it but it is racing and that is what NASCAR is about and what stock car racing is. I am just glad we finally won here,” Lagano said in victory lane.

    Logano led 309 laps. Denny Hamlin came in second, with Truex, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green after winning the pole on Saturday. It was a struggle for him early as it took teammate Denny Hamlin 32 laps to take the lead from him. Busch fell to third when Clint Bowyer was able to take another position from him.

    The first caution came out on Lap 43 when Jeb Burton crashed into the wall. Kyle Busch selected the first pit stall coming out of the pits which gave him the advantage and was able to retake the lead after the pit stops. Alex Bowman was penalized for speeding in the pits.

    The race started slow for some of the playoff drivers but they were all making a run at getting a top 10 finish to end Stage 1. Chase Elliott and Truex were two drivers that started further back and drove toward the top 10.

    The race lead was flipping around between Kyle Busch and Hamlin. They had a nice battle throughout the entire stage. Jimmie Johnson spun out on Lap 71 bringing out the second caution.  Most of the leaders stayed out as we saw Jamie McMurray and teammate Kyle Larson pit. No major damage was reported for Johnson following his spin.

    Hamlin won Stage 1. Truex was the fastest car on the track closing Stage 1. He finished the stage in the seventh position. The only playoff driver out of the top 10 was Chase Elliott finishing 11th and missing out on any playoff points. Hamlin led 29 laps of the stage.

    The race off pit road during the stage break had Logano surpassing the Joe Gibbs teammates and taking the lead. Bowyer made contact with Erik Jones giving him some damage in the right front. Ryan Blaney had an uncontrolled tire and was forced to start in the back for Stage 2.

    Logano got a great jump in the restart and he never looked back from then. The Busch brothers had some good door to door battles for third at the beginning of the run. Hamlin went back to fourth because of it.

    On Lap 173 we saw a good battle between Truex and Bowyer as they made contact for the fifth position. Logano had a dominant stage as he started lapping many of the cars. By Lap 207 he had lapped half of the field. Drivers Larson and Blaney were put down a lap by Logano.

    Kevin Harvick had a pretty tough stage. He dropped out of the top 10 on Lap 212. Truex continued his surge to the front as he took fourth from Kurt Busch.

    AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon had good Stage 2 runs as both cars made their ways into the top 15 and were able to stay on the lead lap. We saw Harvick go down a lap at the end of Stage 2 when he was in the 15th position.

    Hamlin closed in on Logano in the final laps of the stage for a side by side finish favoring Logano. Logano dominated Stage 2 but found some trouble holding off Hamlin. Logano was able to hold the lead during the stage break edging in front of Hamlin off pit road. Ryan Newman was caught speeding, he was supposed to restart sixth.

    Going into the final stage, teams started to adjust their strategies as the radar showed some rain heading towards the race track. The final stage started pretty clean with Logano holding the lead on the restart. Logano was taking care of the lead while there was a lot of mixing up behind him.

    Truex didn’t have a good restart dropping him a few spots to sixth. It was eventful for Johnson who entered the top 10 on Lap 285 after overcoming the spin earlier in the race.

    Truex started to settle down laps into the run when he started to get some positions back that he lost on the restart. He eventually moved up to second as the run continued. Harvick was the playoff driver that struggled the most during the last run. He was maintaining in the top 15.  Almirola’s car was the fastest around Lap 330 when he moved up to sixth.

    Logano’s lead began to diminish as he was seeing Truex close in on him after Lap 154. Truex’s car was handling much better in the corners when they started battling for the lead. He was able to take the lead from Logano on Lap 360. This was Truex’s first time on the lead in the afternoon after starting the race in 33rd.

    A caution came out shortly after Truex took the lead when Byron got into the wall on Lap 366. The radar was showing the rain getting closer to the track by this time. Truex held on to the lead with Logano behind him on pit road.

    On Lap 374 the green flag came out for the restart with Truex continuing to lead the field. Logano maintained the second spot as he was inching toward Truex. Almirola started to lose spots after restarting forth because he was not able to get his car to the bottom line. Logano retook the lead from Truex on Lap 377.

    A caution came out on Lap 382 after Timmy Hill’s car caught fire on pit road. Bowyer led cars behind him into pit road. Elliott came out in front of the pits with the group starting from ninth.

    Logano held off Truex on the restart and Brad Keselowski started to come into the picture after he was able to take third following the restart. A caution came out a few laps later for Larson. It appeared that he had some mechanical issue after a lot of smoke caused him to exit his vehicle.

    The green flag was back out on Lap 415 with Logano leading into the first turn. Keselowski took second from Truex. He was able to get to Logano’s side and take the lead from him shortly after. Keselowski started the race at the rear for unapproved adjustments.

    Truex dropped all the way to sixth. Logano and Hamlin’s battle for second started to heat up. This gave Keselowski an advantage and extended his lead. A caution came out on Lap 457 after playoff contending Bowyer made contact with Johnson and spun. He was running outside the top 10 at the time.

    The leaders came down pit road during the caution with Logano coming out in front of everyone else. Most of the drivers took four tires.

    The restart was led by Logano with 37 laps left. He was able to lead going into Turn 1 but there were some hectic battles behind him. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, and Truex had some bumpy battles for the few positions behind Logano.

    “We had a good run there. We were really good on the short runs but we struggled a little bit on the long runs and it just didn’t end up playing out there for us at the end. It is good to see Joey (Logano) get to victory lane. Happy for Team Penske,” Keselowski said.

    The final 10 laps had some intense racing between Logano and Truex for the lead. Side by side racing in the final few laps as Logano was able to put a bumper on Truex in the final corner to take the win.

    Next week we head to Fort Worth for the AAA Texas 500.

    Post Martinsville Playoff Standings

    1. Joey Logano: 1 win
    2. Kyle Busch: +46
    3. Martin Truex Jr: +25
    4. Kevin Harvick: +25
    5. Kurt Busch: -25
    6. Chase Elliott: -31
    7. Clint Bowyer: -42
    8. Aric Almirola: – 50

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 70th Annual First Data 500 – Sunday, October 28, 2018
    Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – 0.526 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 500 Laps – 263. Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 10 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford
    2 3 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
    3 33 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota
    4 1 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Halloween Toyota
    5 7 2 Brad Keselowski Thomas Built Buses Ford
    6 6 41 Kurt Busch (P) Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
    7 19 9 Chase Elliott (P) SunEnergy1 Chevrolet
    8 16 31 Ryan Newman E-Z-GO Chevrolet
    9 8 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota
    10 12 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Busch Beer Ford
    11 5 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Ford
    12 34 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
    13 13 37 Chris Buescher Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
    14 15 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
    15 23 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet
    16 17 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet
    17 14 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet
    18 36 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford
    19 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford
    20 4 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Moen Ford
    21 2 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers Ford
    22 35 21 Paul Menard Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
    23 24 6 Matt Kenseth Wyndham Rewards Ford
    24 28 72 Cole Whitt MOEN Chevrolet
    25 20 34 Michael McDowell Dockside Logistics Ford
    26 21 20 Erik Jones DeWalt Toyota
    27 29 96 * DJ Kennington(i) Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota
    28 27 95 Regan Smith WRL General Contractors Chevrolet
    29 22 15 Ross Chastain(i) Ternio Chevrolet
    30 25 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
    31 38 23 JJ Yeley(i) Adirondack Tree Surgeons Toyota
    32 32 99 * Landon Cassill(i) StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
    33 39 51 Jeb Burton(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet
    34 37 43 Bubba Wallace # Pioneer Records Management Chevrolet
    35 30 00 Joey Gase(i) Donate Life Chevrolet
    36 26 32 Matt DiBenedetto Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford
    37 9 42 Kyle Larson First Data/Clover Chevrolet
    38 40 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Rewards.com Toyota
    39 11 24 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet
    40 31 7 * Hermie Sadler II I Virginia Lottery Chevrolet
  • Johnny Sauter Dominates At Martinsville With Win; Grabs Spot In Championship 4

    Johnny Sauter Dominates At Martinsville With Win; Grabs Spot In Championship 4

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took center stage today at the paperclip, Martinsville Speedway. It was the site for the start of the Round of 6 for the playoff drivers and the site for one driver who clinched his spot in the Championship 4 for the championship race at Homestead Miami.

    Johnny Sauter collected his sixth win of the season and 23rd of his career after leading 148 of the scheduled 200 laps.

    “You don’t get them (trucks) like that everyday,” Sauter told MRN Radio. “Just proud of Joe, everybody at GMS Racing. With our ISM Connect Chevrolet, it was a good day to be in a Chevrolet, that’s all I can tell you. Just pumped up. Just gotta thank everyone that helps us out. Maury Gallagher, the whole Gallagher family, this is a special win and obviously racing for a championship at Homestead.”

    With qualifying early Saturday morning, Todd Gilliland won the pole with teammate, Harrison Burton alongside.

    Stage 1 went for 50 laps and saw one minor incident that took place on lap 36, which saw Chad Finley spin and hit the wall. Under the yellow, Todd, Burton, Friesen along with others pitted.

    Sauter assumed the lead with seven to go for the restart. He held on to win Stage 1. As soon as the caution came out, Sauter and team elected to stay out for Stage 2.

    Stage 2 began on lap 60 and went to lap 100. There was one caution during the stage and it was after the restart, as Stewart Friesen had a left rear tire go down after contact from Jeb Burton.

    The restart came on lap 67 and it went green for the remaining stage as Sauter came home again with the stage win.

    After everyone pitted except for Kyle Benjamin, the final stage went green with 89 to go.

    A few laps after the restart, Myatt Snider and John Hunter Nemechek made slight contact, thus giving Nemechek a left front rub.

    Sauter was enjoying his five second lead until another caution was displayed with 48 to go, as Dawson Cram  spun around off Turn 4 after slight contact from Friesen.

    The final caution of the race fell with 41 to go. It saw Chase Purdy and Grant Enfinger spin around in Turns 1 and 2.

    On the restart before the caution, Snider made a dive bomb and took the lead. However, with a restart of 33  to go, Sauter retook the lead.

    From there, Sauter held on to win the sixth race of the season and the 23rd of his career.

    “Believe it or not we came here with a completely different set-up when it all rained out,” he told MRN Radio. We were like now. Joe said, we have to put it back the way it was in the spring. I didn’t think we were that good in the spring. It was good today and track position is so important, and we played it right by passing those guys at the front early on and just pumped up!”

    With today’s win at Martinsville, Sauter and the No. 21 GMS Racing team are now locked in to the Championship 4 at Homestead Miami. However, it’s not going to change the way he races at Texas and ISM Raceway.

    “Do what we always do,” Sauter said to MRN Radio. “Race like hell, you know what I mean!? We race hard no matter what, I’m not changing the way we drive for points, you know what I’m saying? We’re in a position to win the race and get wiped out, that’s the way it goes. Just pumped up to be able to compete for the championship.  We got a pretty good piece going on at Homestead. It would be awesome to get another win at Texas and Phoenix. Six wins this year, it’s been a dream season and we just have to cap this off with a championship.”

    Other playoff drivers finished second (Brett Moffitt), Sixth (Justin Haley), Seventh (Noah Gragson), 13th (Matt Crafton), and 14th (Grant Enfinger).

    Playoff Points
    1. Johnny Sauter (W, Advanced at Homestead)
    2. Noah Gragson +24
    3. Brett Moffitt +15
    4. Grant Enfinger +2

    Below the cutline
    5. Justin Haley -2
    6. Matt Crafton -10

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 20Th Annual Texas Roadhouse 200 Presented
    By Alpha Energy Solutions – Saturday, October 27, 2018
    Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – .526 Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 105.2 Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 8 21 Johnny Sauter (P) ISM Connect Chevrolet
    2 17 16 Brett Moffitt (P) AW N.C./AISIN Group Toyota
    3 16 13 Myatt Snider # Louisiana Hot Sauce Ford
    4 4 41 Ben Rhodes The Carolina Nut Co. Ford
    5 5 17 Kyle Benjamin(i) Crosley Brands/DGR Crosley Toyota
    6 13 24 Justin Haley (P) Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet
    7 3 18 Noah Gragson (P) Safelite AutoGlass Toyota
    8 2 51 Harrison Burton Morton Buildings Toyota
    9 12 46 Christian Eckes Craftsman Toyota
    10 9 23 Timothy Peters AutosbyNelson.com Chevrolet
    11 11 52 Stewart Friesen We Build America Chevrolet
    12 1 4 Todd Gilliland # JBL/SiriusXM Toyota
    13 10 88 Matt Crafton (P) Chi-Chis/Menards Ford
    14 6 98 Grant Enfinger (P) Protect the Harvest Ford
    15 22 30 Jeb Burton(i) Strutmasters.com/SparrowRanch.org Toyota
    16 14 75 Parker Kligerman Global Building Contractors/Food Country USA Chevrolet
    17 25 25 Tyler Dippel America First/Turning Point USA Chevrolet
    18 19 54 Tyler Ankrum Ma y’s Hawaii/Crosley Brands Toyota
    19 15 2 Sheldon Creed AM Ortega/United Rentals Chevrolet
    20 7 02 Austin Hill Young’s Building Systems/Randco Chevrolet
    21 27 99 Chase Purdy Bama Buggies Chevrolet
    22 21 63 Kyle Donahue First Responder Racing Chevrolet
    23 29 22 Austin Wayne Self GO TEXAN Chevrolet
    24 23 83 Dawson Cram RGS Products/THP Chevrolet
    25 24 49 DJ Kennington SobrietyNation.org Chevrolet
    26 26 3 Jordan Anderson Commercial Property Services Chevrolet
    27 28 45 Justin Fontaine # ProMATIC Automation/Superior Essex Chevrolet
    28 31 15 Brad Foy Strutmasters.com Chevrolet
    29 32 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor Chevrolet
    30 18 8 John Hunter Nemechek(i) Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet
    31 30 20 Tanner Thorson Go Share Chevrolet
    32 20 33 Chad Finley Airlift/Strutmasters.com Chevrolet

     

     

  • John Hunter Nemechek Nabs First Career Xfinity Win At Kansas Speedway

    John Hunter Nemechek Nabs First Career Xfinity Win At Kansas Speedway

    The Xfinity Series hit the track at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 and what an interesting race it turned out to be. Two drivers would stay up front and battle for the lead, but only one driver could win. John Hunter Nemechek, in his No.42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, grabbed his first career Xfinity Series win after battling hard with Daniel Hemric.

    Although Nemechek isn’t eligible for the Playoffs, he’s looking for a ride for next year and today’s win may make the difference he needs. It was also a special win for him as his father, Joe Nemechek, swept the Xfinity Series race and the Cup Series race in 2004. Nemechek was a little boy back then but knew it was a special day for his father.

    “It means a lot especially in Kansas in 2004, I forget how old I was, my dad swept the weekend in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series,” Nemechek told reporters. “It’s pretty special,” Nemechek added. “Huge thank you to Fire Alarm Services and Chip Ganassi Racing and Chip for giving me this opportunity.”

    Stage 1 had a wild start to the race when pole sitter Hemric took the green flag. Justin Allgaier got loose and spun taking out several Playoff contenders, not to mention himself. Also involved in the crash were Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Michael Annett, Ryan Truex, Spencer Gallagher, and Chase Briscoe. Custer was the only Playoff driver able to continue, however, he didn’t have any power steering. There were a couple of minor cautions after the big one but they were only one car accidents. Hemric led every lap in the stage and took the stage win.

    During Stage 2 the drivers settled down into the race and there were only a couple of minor cautions. During the race, the strong wind blew off the hood of Ross Chastain’s car and was demolished when the drivers behind him ran over it. Midway through the stage Nemechek and Hemric battled for the lead and Nemechek would take the lead. The stage ended under caution after driver Ryan Preece hit the wall. Nemechek was the winner of Stage 2.

    The final stage of the race started with Hemric’s No.21 Richard Childress Chevrolet back in the lead with Nemechek right behind him. It looked as if it would be an easy win for Hemric who had a good lead over Nemechek when the caution came out for the stalled car of Vinnie Miller.

    Matt Tifft didn’t pit under the yellow to take the race lead with Elliott Sadler behind him. Sadler’s team strategy was to take two tires only getting him on the front row on the restart. However, both drivers strategies failed as Nemechek quickly took the lead and didn’t look back. Hemric led a total of 128 of the 200 laps and finished in the runner-up spot. At the end of the race, there were only eight cars on the lead lap.

    “I thought the restart wasn’t really that bad,” stated Hemric. “I had a vibration the last fifteen laps. I don’t know if the tires equalized or what. It’s frustrating. I just didn’t have what he had, that last run it was unbelievable how fast that thing was taking off.” He ended by saying, “its all gonna work out the way it’s supposed to.”

    Sadler driving his No.1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet ended the race in third place, after the call for two tires only.

    “It was a wild race which we’ve seen in the Xfinity Series the last couple of years,” Sadler commented. “Always the first race of a round gets kinda crazy, everything happens so quick and so fast. We’ve put our best foot forward and we’ll build on this going to Texas. Being in second place is great but we still have a lot of work left to do.”

    Shane Lee and Tyler Reddick would round out the top five. Matt Tifft, Ryan Reed, Ty Majeski, Ryan Sieg and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10 respectively.

    The Playoff Standings after today’s race are as follows: Hemric +23, Sadler +14, Reddick +11, Bell +1, Tifft -1, Allgaier -5, Custer -23, and Cindric -43

    The Xfinity Series is off next week. They head next to Texas Motor Speedway Nov. 3.