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Sauter Wins the NCWTS TheHouse.com; Bell Clinches 2017 Regular Season Championship

Johnny Sauter passed Christopher Bell for the lead on Lap 123 of 150 and drove away to win Friday Night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) TheHouse.com at Chicagoland Speedway.

This was Sauter’s first win at Chicagoland, the second this season and the 15th career NCWTS win.

“This truck was unbelievable. We had a great truck yesterday (in practice). I was worried with the Cup guys and the XFINITY guys here the track might change a little bit. This is what we needed. This is the momentum, the shot in the arm. This thing was on rails the last run.” said Sauter.

Chase Briscoe finished second, Christopher Bell third, Ryan Truex fourth and Grant Enfinger finished fifth.

Bell clinched the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2017 Regular Season Championship.

There were six caution flags for 28 laps with 12 lead changes among six drivers.

Ryan Truex earned his first-career NCWTS pole, led two times for 29 laps and won the first stage event, but he missed the Playoffs by a tie-breaker (Rhodes’ best finish of the season being a second-place result at Pocono vs Truex’s best result of third-place at Pocono).

“I felt like I had to be really, really aggressive on the restarts and I was and I was able to get those spots, but deeper in the run they passed me back and I couldn’t hold them. It sucks. Half the guys in the playoff field run 12th to eighth every week and we run top-five and miss it. That’s racing.” Truex said.

The eight-driver field for the seven-race playoff:
1. Christopher Bell, No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota: 2,040 points
2. Johnny Sauter, No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet: 2,025 points
3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,014 points
4. Matt Crafton, No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota: 2,014 points
5. Chase Briscoe, No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford: 2,009 points
6. Austin Cindric, No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford: 2,007 points
7. Ben Rhodes, No. 27 ThorSport Racing Toyota: 2,007 points
8. Kaz Grala, No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet: 2,005 points

Race Results
Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois
Friday, September 15, 2017
============================
1. (4) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 150.
2. (2) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 150.
3. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 150.
4. (1) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 150.
5. (8) Grant Enfinger #, Toyota, 150.
6. (13) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 150.
7. (12) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 150.
8. (6) Noah Gragson #, Toyota, 150.
9. (14) Kaz Grala #, Chevrolet, 150.
10. (10) Myatt Snider, Toyota, 150.
11. (11) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 150.
12. (16) Regan Smith, Ford, 149.
13. (15) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 149.
14. (9) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 149.
15. (7) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 148.
16. (5) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 148.
17. (17) Justin Fontaine, Toyota, 148.
18. (23) Wendell Chavous #, Chevrolet, 144.
19. (25) Josh Reaume, Chevrolet, 143.
20. (18) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 143.
21. (21) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Clutch, 133.
22. (22) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, Suspension, 102.
23. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Transmission, 101.
24. (31) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Suspension, 27.
25. (19) Gray Gaulding(i), Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 25.
26. (27) Ted Minor, Chevrolet, Engine, 23.
27. (28) Mike Harmon(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 12.
28. (29) Tommy Regan(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 11.
29. (24) Kevin Donahue, Chevrolet, Accident, 10.
30. (26) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 10.
31. (20) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7.
32. (32) Mike Senica, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 0.

September 16, 2017
Kyle Busch Fastest in First Cup Practice at Chicagoland

Kyle Busch topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.325 and a speed of 184.143 mph. Daniel Suarez was second in his No. 19 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 29.441 and a speed of 183.418 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 29.521 and a speed of 182.921 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 29.531 and a speed of 182.859 mph. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 29.566 and a speed of 182.642 mph.

Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Danica Patrick, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.

Kurt Busch was 11th, Ryan Newman was 12th, Austin Dillon was 14th, Matt Kenseth was 15th, Jamie McMurray was 16th, Jimmie Johnson was 19th and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Playoff drivers in 26th.

Elliott posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.347 mph.

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September 15, 2017
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Chicago

NASCAR heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend as the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs begin with the Round of 16. For the XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series, it’s the last race of the regular season. The Truck Series Chicagoland 225 kicks off the competition Friday evening on FSl. On Saturday afternoon the XFINITY Series hits the track for the Chicagoland 300 and the Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 closes out the activities at 3 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN.

Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

Thursday, September 14

On Track:
3:30-4:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice (Follow live)
6:30-7:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice (Follow live)

Friday, September 15

On Track:
12:30-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 2)
2-2:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
4-4:50 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
5:05 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
6:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Chicagoland 225 (150 laps, 225 miles) – FS1

Garage Cam: (Watch live)
12 p.m.: Cup Series
1:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
11:30 a.m.: Jennifer Jo Cobb, Matt DiBenedetto, Jeffrey Earnhardt, John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Tifft and Darrell Wallace Jr.
12 p.m.: Michael Annett, Dakoda Armstrong and Brendan Gaughan
6 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying
11 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

Saturday, September 16

On Track:
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC (Canada: TSN GO)
12:35 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
2-2:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 5)
3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Chicagoland 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 5)

Press Conference: (Watch live)
6 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series race

Sunday, September 17

On Track:
3 p.m.: Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 4)

Press Conference: (Watch live)
6 p.m. Post-Cup Series Race

Complete TV Schedule

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

Race Details:

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race: TheHouse.com 225
Rlace: Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Friday, Sept. 15
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on lap 150)

NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: TheHouse.com 300
Place: Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Tales of the Turtles 400
Place: Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Sunday, Sept. 17
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)

September 13, 2017
Ambulance ruins Kenseth’s night at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. — An ambulance that came to a stop at the entrance of pit road during the fifth caution of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway ended the night of Matt Kenseth.

Following an on-track incident involving Austin Dillon dumping Danica Patrick, most of the field elected to pit under the aforementioned caution. A number of cars started whoahing up, resulting in Kenseth ramming into the back of Clint Bowyer and pushing in the nose in the radiator area.

“Well we were all just kind of coming to pit road and I saw an ambulance sitting there and so I looked left of the ambulance at the same time (Jason) Hedlesky (spotter) yelled at everyone to stop there was an ambulance just sitting there,” Kenseth said. “It was an accordion effect and I just couldn’t get stopped. Not really sure why pit road was open with an ambulance parked there, but everybody stopped and I didn’t see it in time and ran into the car in front of me.”

He retired from the race with a 38th-place finish.

“Well, I mean I don’t think they should open pit road if there’s an ambulance parked there,” Kenseth added. “It’s a very narrow entry. Pit road speed is pretty fast – 45 miles an hour or something – and, you know, still I shouldn’t have hit the car in front of me, but I can’t say I was expecting to see an ambulance blocking me, so by the time I looked up and saw him parked there and they were stopping in front of me, I tried the best I could to stop and couldn’t.”

While Kenseth was more restrained with his thoughts of what happened, Martin Truex Jr. was not.

“I was thinking that somebody that ‑‑ whoever hits the button to open pit road needs to pay attention to what’s going on on the racetrack. That’s what I was thinking,” Truex said. “It’s not like it was a big surprise. It didn’t happen in a split second. The emergency vehicles were riding down the backstretch next to us as soon as we came off of 2, and continued all the way until the opening of pit road, and they just left pit road open. Somebody obviously wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t doing their job properly, and in my opinion at this level, it’s inexcusable.”

The ambulance incident ruined what was a fantastic race for Kenseth to that point, leading 89 laps, finishing fourth in the first stage and runner-up in the second.

Despite the misfortune with the ambulance and the poor finish, Kenseth still qualified for the Playoffs. He’ll enter Chicagoland Speedway as the 15th seed.

September 10, 2017
Larson Wins in Overtime at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. — While not the dominant driver of the night, Kyle Larson took the race lead when it mattered in overtime to win the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway.

Exiting pit road ahead of race leader Martin Truex Jr., Larson jumped ahead on the final restart to score his fifth career victory in his 137th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

“I was surprised at how good our car was tonight,” Larson said. “We weren’t as good at the No. 78 (Truex) which nobody really is at any race track. We kept our heads in it. Our pit crew was, oh my gosh, they were so spectacular all night. We gained spots or at least gained time on pit road. Especially that last stop, it was awesome. Can’t thank them enough, this win is all about the and this whole race team really. So, just having a blast this season. We’ve got four wins in the regular season, which is awesome, so hopefully we can go on into the Playoffs and make it through some rounds and hopefully get to Homestead if Irma doesn’t wash it away and go for a championship.”

Joey Logano finished runner-up and Ryan Newman rounded out the podium.

“Came up a little bit short overall. Yeah, it stings a little bit,” Logano said. “Last time we were sitting here (in the Richmond Raceway deadline room) after a race, it was after a win, and this time it’s after a second, which overall if you look at our Richmond overall for a season with the two races, you’d say, ‘That’s pretty good, a first and a second.’ But just overall, obviously it stings to come up one spot short and not be able to get into the playoffs. It is what it is. It’s reality, and we’ll move on.”

“Yeah, I mean on the last lap we were in the best running spot we were the whole race,” Newman said. “Good run for the Caterpillar Chevrolet. I sped on pit road the one time and put us back and then we had one bad pit stop, but other than that we had a great long run car. Struggled on the short runs and just continued to fight and the guys did a good job. It wasn’t easy.”

Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.

“Our Fords are fast and now we’re finding this handling balance,” Busch said. “I’m really proud of everybody at SHR for working hard, knowing we were kind of going into unknown territory, but we got it switched over and thanks to Doug Yates, Haas Automation, Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Monster Energy. They’ve been with me the last six years and it’s great to see them as the entitlement sponsor of our series, but it’s great to carry their logo on our car and have all of their vendors at the track. We’re having a Monster time. We’re in the Playoffs and now we’re gonna go execute for these 10 weeks.”

“We both drove in really, really deep. When I got on the brakes, the splitter slammed down on the ground, shot me up the track into him,” Hamlin said, explaining what happened between him and Truex on the final lap. We weren’t racing for the win or anything. But it’s unfortunate. Didn’t want to get into him. He’s a great teammate of ours. But, yeah, tough day for our FedEx team. Overnight we messed it up pretty good. We struggled all day. Got a little bit better there at the end by just kind of going back to where we started the day. Definitely not a car that could contend.”

Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-10.

RACE SUMMARY

Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 7:49 p.m. He led the first 89 laps, before ceding the lead when he pitted under the second caution of the race. Teammate Kyle Busch, who opted not to pit and took over the lead, won the first stage.

Two laps after the Lap 109 restart, Larson drove underneath Busch to pass him for the lead in Turn 3. Busch took it back exiting Turn 2 on Lap 130. Truex assumed the race lead for the first time, overtaking Busch entering Turn 3, on Lap 154 and won the second stage.

He held the lead until Austin Dillon dumped Danica Patrick in Turn 1, and then lost it on pit road to Kyle Busch. However, he took it back going into Turn 3 on Lap 289.

While most cars started pitting with 88 laps to go, Truex waiting until 66 to go to make his original final stop, handing the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brad Keselowski ran him down on fresher tires and took the lead from him with 51 to go. Truex did the same to Keselowski with 46 to go. Derrike Cope’s crash in Turn 4 brought out the fifth caution of the race and set up the overtime finish.

CAUTION SUMMATION

Caution first flew on Lap 34 when Landon Cassill cut his right-rear tire and slammed the Turn 1 wall. The second came out on Lap 87 for, according to the NASCAR race report, “smoke.” The end of the first stage brought out the third caution on Lap 100. The end of the second stage brought out the fourth caution on Lap 200. Cope’s wreck in Turn 4 with two laps to go brought out the fifth and Truex’s wreck in Turn 1 on the final lap in overtime brought out the sixth that ended the race.

NUTS & BOLTS

The race lasted three hours, two minutes and 52 seconds, at an average speed of 99.417 mph. There were 13 lead changes among seven different drivers and seven cautions for 38 laps.

Truex leaves with a 20-point lead over Larson, as the points reset for the playoffs that commence next week.

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September 10, 2017
Keselowski Chases Down 2nd NXS Win of the Season

RICHMOND, Vir., September 9, 2017 – Winning his 36th NASCAR Xfinity Series race of his career, Brad Keselowski took the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang to victory lane in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Raceway on Friday night.

Keselowski, had the perfect set up for the long run and the power of the Ford FR9 engine to battle Kyle Busch for the win. The No. 2 was able to conserve his tires and navigate through lapped traffic to make a final pass and take the lead with 15 laps left in the 250 lap race. Keselowski never looked back, building a 3.008 second lead before taking the checkered flag.

“Congratulations Brad and Roger,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Brad did a great job managing his tires throughout the course of the race and was there at the end to battle for the win. Their strategy came together at the end of the race and we are proud to bring home another win for Ford Performance and Team Penske.”

On his way to his second NASCAR Xfinity win of the season and fifth for Team Penske, Keselowski collected a second stage win and lead a total of 25.5 miles on the .75-mile track.

“I am not a very patient guy, commented Keselowski”. “Being behind the wheel is no fun knowing that you have to be smooth and steady every lap to have a shot at winning it. The team gave me a great car and we’re real good about being patient and here we are in victory lane. That is really cool.”

Full-time Xfinity drivers Ryan Reed and Cole Custer finished P12 and P14 respectively, while securing additional points for the NXS Playoffs.

The Xfinity Playoff field will be set after next weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway, September 16th. Reference the full 2017 schedule on www.roushyates.com.

13 CHAMPIONSHIPS • 306 WINS • 277 POLES!

About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading edge engine development company, with 3 state-of-the-art facilities based in Mooresville, NC; which include Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Performance Engines Group, focused on road racing and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class manufacturing center and ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and twin-turbo EcoBoost Ford V6 race engine that powers the Ford GT super car.

With the unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

5 Series – 9 Countries – 128 Races

September 9, 2017
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Richmond

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR XFINITY Series head to Richmond Raceway this weekend. This will be the last race of the regular season for the Cup Series, setting the field for the 16-driver playoffs. Both races will be televised on NBCSN.

Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

Friday, September 8

On Track:
8-9:55 a.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBC Sports App (Follow live)
10-10:55 a.m.: Series Practice – NBCSN
12-1:25 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
4:15 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
5:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
7:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 (250 laps, 187.5 miles) – NBCSN

Garage Cam: (Watch live)
11:30 a.m.: Cup Series

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
9 a.m.: Joey Logano
9:15 a.m.: Matt Kenseth
11 a.m.: Elliott Sadler, William Byron
11:15 a.m.: Denny Hamlin
1:50 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2:20 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
3:15: Erik Jones
6:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying
10 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

Saturday, September 9

On Track:
7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (400 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN

Press Conference: (Watch live)
11 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

Complete TV Schedule

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

Race Details:

NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Virginia529 College Savings 250
Place: Richmond Raceway
Date: Friday, Sept. 8
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 187.5 miles (250 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on lap 250)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Federated Auto Parts 400
Place: Richmond Raceway
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on lap 400)

September 7, 2017
Truex Finishes Eighth after Blowing Tire in Closing Laps

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Martin Truex Jr. put on a strong drive in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and had the race in check as the laps wound down, but the defending race winner blew a tire in Turn 3, costing him the win, and nursed his damaged car around to an eighth-place finish.

After the completion of the final cycle of green flag pit stops, Kevin Harvick cycled to the head of the field, with Kurt Busch and Truex in tow. Busch snagged the lead from his teammate with 47 laps to go, then lost it when Truex made a banzai move into Turn 1 with 42 to go.

The race was in his control from that point on. But then Denny Hamlin, who lost the lead with 55 to go when he overshot the entrance to pit road, moved his way through the running order on much fresher tires and took second with 20 to go. With 10 to go, the gap from Truex to Hamlin was less than two seconds. Coming to five to go, Hamlin was on Truex’s tail.

Entering Turn 3, Truex suffered a right-front tire blowout and hit the wall.

He said after the race that it wasn’t a hard hit.

“It was literally at the end of the backstretch. I was so high getting in the corner anyway that I only had six inches to go to hit it,” Truex said. “I literally stepped on the brake. The car turned right. I was a foot from the wall when the tire popped, and I just kind of glanced off it and glanced around the track. It really wasn’t bad at all, and I was actually able to make two laps with the thing on the inner liner and finish eighth. Not bad, just disappointing more than anything.”

Hamlin ducked underneath him to take the lead and drive on to victory. Truex, meanwhile, rode out the remaining two and a half laps and brought his car home to eighth.

While a solid finish nonetheless, Truex said it was “bittersweet” to come up two laps short. Especially on a night when he swept the stages, including edging out Kyle Larson to the line on the final lap of the first stage, which clinched him the regular season championship (and an extra 15 playoff points).

“Yeah, I mean, it was definitely a bittersweet night for us, to come up just two laps short there, blow a tire at the end after having no issues with tires all night and having such a good race car,” Truex said. “I don’t know if that last run was the longest one we made all night. I’m not really sure to be honest. I was kind of out there caught up driving my guts out at the end trying to hang on. It’s unfortunate we blew the tire, but really proud of everybody on this team for an amazing season so far, and to lock up the regular season points is a huge accomplishment for us, for our team. I feel like we’ve come a long way in just a few years together and continue to climb. Proud of everybody. Wish we could have won, but that’s the breaks. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t, and tonight we come up a little short. But definitely a lot to be proud of.”

Truex leaves Darlington with a 107-point lead over Kyle Busch.

September 4, 2017
Hamlin Rallies from Pit Road Overshoot to Win Southern 500 at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin overcame a botched pit road entry, resulting in him missing the pits entirely, and took advantage of Martin Truex Jr. collecting the wall with three laps to go to win the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

As the field started hitting pit road on Lap 298 for the final round of green flag stops, Hamlin waited until 55 before making his final stop. He came in too hot and turned his car out onto the track to avoid hitting the sand barrels that line the leading edge of the pit walls.

However, the high number of cars lapped kept him in contention. As a result, he used his fresher tires to run down the cars in the running order, culminating with his late battle with Truex.

Entering Turn 3 with three to go, Truex suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall. This allowed Hamlin to moezie on by and score his 31st career victory in his 423rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

“Drove our ass off. That’s as hard as I could drive. We got ‘The Flying 11.’ It’s flying.

“This track is just amazing. I love this race track.

“This was weird. To go through the adversity we did right there, missing pit lane. I knew I had to drive my tail off to get it back.

“It’s good to see the entire state of South Carolina in the stands. Thank you so much,” Hamlin said.

Kyle Busch finished second and Kurt Busch rounded out the podium.

Austin Dillon and Erik Jones rounded out the top-five.

Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Truex, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.

RACE SUMMARY

Kevin Harvick led the field to the green flag at 6:20 p.m. After caution flew for the first time on Lap 15 for a two-car wreck in Turn 1, Kyle Busch exited pit road with the race lead. Kyle Larson took the lead going into Turn 1 on the ensuing restart. Truex ran down and passed Larson exiting Turn 4 on the final lap of the stage to win the first stage.

Exiting pit road with the race lead, Larson led the field to the green on Lap 107. Truex took it back on Lap 148, only to lose it to Denny Hamlin on pit road under caution, a result of a two-car wreck in Turn 2 on Lap 155. But Truex forced a three-wide battle down the backstretch to take the lead exiting Turn 4, and with caution flying for Gray Gaulding spinning out in Turn 2 on Lap 197, the second stage ended with Truex winning the stage.

Hamlin exited pits with the lead and led the field back to green on Lap 204. A cycle of green flag stops sent Truex to the front, only for a caution for debris in Turn 2 to give the lead back to Hamlin, and setting up the run to the finish.

CAUTION SUMMATION

Caution flew first on Lap 15 when Trevor Bayne slammed the Turn 1 wall, followed moments later by AJ Allmendinger spinning and collecting the left-rear of Bayne. Caution flew for the second time on Lap 40 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slammed the frontstretch wall. The third caution flew for the end of the first stage on Lap 100. The fourth flew on Lap 125 when Daniel Suarez pounded the wall in Turn 1. Caution flew for the fifth time on Lap 155 for a two-car wreck in Turn 2. Gray Gaulding brought out the sixth caution on Lap 197. David Ragan brought out caution for the seventh time on Lap 206 with his spin in Turn 2. Debris in Turn 2 brought out the eighth and final time on Lap 260.

NUTS & BOLTS

The race lasted three hours, 46 minutes and 34 seconds, at an average speed of 132.761 mph. There were 20 lead changes among eight different drivers and eight cautions for 38 laps.

Truex leaves with a 107-point lead over Kyle Busch, having mathematically clinched the 15-point regular season points bonus.

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September 3, 2017
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
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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.

September 3, 2017