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  • Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland made the most of his final off-weekend period from the NASCAR Cup Series and his one-race return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by winning the second annual Clean Harbors 150 at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, June 18.

    The 22-year-old Gilliland from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, who competes as a full-time rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 58 of 150-scheduled laps, including the final 11, as he muscled away from John Hunter Nemechek and the field during a four-lap shootout to claim his first NASCAR national touring series victory on dirt and his first series win in more than a season.

    The starting lineup for the main event was determined through a formula that evaluated the results and number of positions each competitor gained through four heat events that occurred two hours prior to the main event. When the dust settled and the four heat events concluded, Derek Kraus, who finished second behind John Hunter Nemechek in the first heat event but earned 15 qualifying points, claimed the pole position for a second consecutive season at Knoxville. Joining him on the front row was Carson Hocevar, who won the second heat event and earned a total of 14 qualifying points. Braden Mitchell and Norm Benning were the two competitors who did not qualify for the main event.

    Prior to the event, rookie Jack Wood and Spencer Boyd started at the rear of the field due to both missing driver’s introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hocevar battled with Kraus through the first two turns until he pulled ahead on the outside lane and went on to lead the first lap. Stewart Friesen challenged Kraus for the runner-up spot ahead of Ben Rhodes, Buddy Kofoid and John Hunter Nemechek as the field scrambled for early positions.

    Four laps into the event, the first caution flew when Christian Eckes made contact and turned Dean Thompson in Turn 1 as Thompson limped back to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Another four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Rhodes muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Friesen.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Friesen, Nemechek and Ty Majeski while Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, Kraus, Buddy Kofoid and Grant Enfinger were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than two seconds over both Rhodes and Stewart Friesen while John Hunter Nemechek and Gilliland were scored in the top five. Majeski slipped back to sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Kraus, Enfinger and Kofoid while Tanner Gray, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton, Eckes, Hailie Deegan, Tyler Ankrum, Jessica Friesen and Kaz Grala were scored in the top 20.

    Another 10 laps later, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Friesen while Nemechek, Gilliland and Kraus were in the top five. Meanwhile, Rhodes had fallen back to seventh behind teammate Majeski while Chandler Smith, Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top 10. 

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Tanner Gray made contact with Kofoid’s No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro on the inside lane and spun as he was hit by a sliding Spencer Boyd in Turn 3. During the caution period, Rhodes pitted from seventh place to have the front nose of his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro repaired along with having an overheating issue addressed.

    With one lap remaining in the first stage and as the field fanned out when the race restarted under green, Hocevar pulled ahead once again and went on to claim the first stage victory on Lap 40, which marked his second stage victory of the season. Todd Gilliland settled in second followed by Nemechek, Kraus, Ty Majeski, Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Moffitt, Matt DiBenedetto and Zane Smith. Meanwhile, Friesen, who was running in the top five, lost momentum entering Turn 3 after his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro suffered a flat right-rear tire, though he remained on the lead lap.

    Following a three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the second stage started under green on Lap 41 as Hocevar and Gilliland occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead while Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot ahead of Gilliland while Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top five.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Kraus followed by Gilliland, Moffitt and Enfinger while Nemechek, Majeski, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton and Hailie Deegan were in the top 10. Chandler Smith and Eckes battled for 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen and DiBenedetto while Kofoid was in 15th ahead of Colby Howard, Kaz Grala, Tyler Ankrum, Tyler Carpenter and Jessica Friesen.

    Seven laps later, the caution flew when Jessica Friesen flipped and got her No. 62 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro stuck on the inside burn curb in Turn 3. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 65, Gilliland pulled a bold slid job on Hocevar to assume the lead. During the following lap, however, disaster struck for Hocevar, whose No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST fell off the pace entering the fronstretch before he came to a stop towards the outside wall in Turn 1 and retired due to an engine failure as the caution returned. By then, his teammate Tyler Carpenter, a 30-year-old racer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, who earned a one-race ride with Niece Motorsports for Knoxville after winning the Gateway Dirt Nationals in December 2021, also retired due to a driveshaft issue.

    “[The truck] done blown up,” Hocevar said. “That’s it. I thought Sonoma [Raceway] was gonna be the hardest one to watch and now, this one’s gonna be harder to watch. I’ll probably just sit and think about it for a while…Just sucks. It is what it is. We can’t control. We can’t do anything. It’s fitting this would be our luck.”

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 72, Gilliland retained the lead followed by Kraus as Nemechek issued his challenge for the spot ahead of Moffitt and Zane Smith. As the race reached its halfway mark on Lap 75, Gilliland was leading by more than a second over Nemechek while Zane Smith, Kraus, Moffitt, Stewart Friesen, Enfinger, Grala, Eckes and Deegan were in the top 10.

    By Laps 85, Gilliland continued to lead by more than four seconds over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Moffitt and Stewart Friesen were battling in the top five.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Todd Gilliland captured his first stage victory in his first Truck start of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Nemechek, Moffitt, Kraus, Enfinger, Grala, Stewart Friesen, Crafton and Tyler Ankrum.

    Following a second three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the final stage started under green with 59 laps remaining. At the start, Moffitt, who was one of four competitors who remained on the track without pitting, rocketed with the lead in his No. 22 Concrete SupplyDestiny Homes Chevrolet Silverado RST on the outside lane while Enfinger and Kofoid battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Zane Smith and Gilliland. Soon after, Moffitt was black-flagged by NASCAR for a restart violation after NASCAR deemed that he jumped the initial restart. With Moffit serving his penalty by driving through pit road under green, Enfinger assumed the lead with 54 laps remaining followed by Gilliland, Zane Smith, Kofoid and Kraus.

    With 50 laps remaining, Enfinger was leading by three-tenths of a second over Gilliland followed by Zane Smith, Nemechek and Kraus while Stewart Friesen, Kofoid, Eckes, Majeski and Crafton were in the top 10. Not long after, Gilliland reassumed the lead over Enfinger.

    Ten laps later, Gilliland was leading by nearly a second over Nemechek while Enfinger settled back in third ahead of Zane Smith and Stewart Friesen. Another three laps later, the caution flew due to Bryson Mitchell falling off the pace and becoming slow on the track.

    Down to the final 28 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek moved his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front ahead of Gilliland and the field. Three laps later, however, the caution returned for an incident involving Moffitt and Tanner Gray, both of whom made contact with one another in Turn 4, where Moffitt nearly flipped before both collided again in Turn 1, and sustained damage to their respective machines. At the same time, Grala and Colby Howard slid and collided against one another with Moffitt retiring in the garage.

    With 18 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead while Stewart Friesen and Gilliland battled for the runner-up spot, with the former pulling ahead. Behind, Zane Smith and Kraus were in the top five ahead of Enfinger and the field.

    A few laps later, Gilliland muscled his way back into the runner-up spot and Friesen was left battling with Kraus for third place while Nemechek continued to lead by a narrow margin.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gilliland slid his No. 17 Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150 back into the lead while remaining in a tight battle with Nemechek for the lead while Kraus, Scored in the top 10 were Zane Smith and Friesen occupied the top five. Majeski, Enfinger, Kofoid, Crafton and Eckes.

    Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when rookie Jack Wood spun in Turn 1. The caution stacked up the field for a late shootout to the finish.

    With four laps remaining, the race proceeded under green and Gilliland managed to retain the lead while Nemechek and Zane Smith battled for the runner-up spot as the former retained the spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gilliland was ahead by more than a second over Nemechek as the field jostled for late positions. Having a clear racetrack in front of him, Gilliland was able to slip, slide and cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by nearly a second over Nemechek for his first NASCAR victory of the 2022 season.

    By winning the second annual Truck event at Knoxville, Gilliland claimed his third career victory in the Truck Series, his first while driving for David Gilliland Racing and his first since winning at Circuit of the Americas in May 2021. The victory was also the first for David Gilliland Racing since Ryan Preece won at Nashville Superspeedway a year ago.

    “Just so amazing, man,” Gilliland said on FS1. “The Cup Series is tough. Just racing every single week, I’ve had like a million people ask me, ‘Is this really what you wanna do on your off weekend?’ Absolutely, man. Nothing beats racing. I tell everyone I’m young. I wish I could do this every single weekend of the year. Just so happy for [crew chief] Seth Smith, my whole team, David Gilliland Racing, Ford, especially…Really, really cool. Just so thankful. I love the Truck Series. I ran here forever, it felt like, so to be able to come back and to get one, man, it’s so special.” 

    “I just had an amazing truck,” Gilliland added. “These [David Gilliland Racing] guys prepared me a really good one. We got fitted in the seat on Tuesday afternoon. Just an amazing truck. These guys work so hard. The No. 17 truck’s been really fast a lot this year, so finally to get it a win. I think they’re close to the owners’ Playoff deal, so hopefully, [the win] helped them a little bit and I’ll be anxiously watching the rest of the year now. I feel like a little part of me’s gonna stay on this truck.”

    Nemechek settled in the runner-up spot for the second time of the season and for his fifth top-five result while Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen finished in the top five. Kraus, Crafton, Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum and Ben Rhodes completed the top 10.

    There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 45 laps.

    With three races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by five points over Zane Smith, 10 over Ben Rhodes, 14 over Chandler Smith, 43 over Ty Majeski and 49 over Stewart Friesen. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline by 27 points, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 43, Tanner Gray trails by 50, Tyler Ankrum trails by 53 and Chase Purdy trails by 106.

    Results.

    1. Todd Gilliland, 58 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek, 17 laps led

    3. Zane Smith

    4. Ty Majeski

    5. Stewart Friesen

    6. Derek Kraus

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Grant Enfinger, 10 laps led

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Ben Rhodes 

    11. Buddy Kofoid

    12. Christian Eckes

    13. Chandler Smith

    14. Matt DiBenedetto

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Colby Howard

    17. Dylan Westbrook

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Timmy Hill

    20. Chase Purdy

    21. Jack Wood, one lap down

    22. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    23. Dean Thompson, two laps down

    24. Joey Gase, two laps down

    25. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    26. Kaz Grala, two laps down

    27. Brayton Laster, three laps down

    28. Kris Wright, five laps down

    29. Spencer Boyd, eight laps down

    30. Devon Rouse, 10 laps down

    31. Thad Moffitt, 11 laps down

    32. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    33. Bryson Mitchell – OUT, Throttle

    34. Jessica Friesen – OUT, Brakes

    35. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Engine, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    36. Tyler Carpenter – OUT, Driveshaft

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway for the second of three Triple Truck Challenge events, which will occur on Friday, June 24, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kyle Busch capitalizes in final Truck Series start with a victory at Sonoma

    Kyle Busch capitalizes in final Truck Series start with a victory at Sonoma

    Kyle Busch made the most of his final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the season by winning the inaugural DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 11, following a two-lap shootout to the finish.

    The two-time Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led four times for a race-high 45 of 75 laps and was able to pull away from teammate Chandler Smith at the start of a two-lap shootout to the finish and beating Zane Smith by more than a second to record his first Truck Series victory of the 2022 season at Sonoma, California.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Carson Hocevar, who was still recovering from his final lap accident at Gateway from a week ago, notched his first pole position after clocking in a fast lap at 91.135 mph in 78.609 seconds. During his pole-winning lap, however, Hocevar got loose and smacked the wall in Turn 10. The incident along with unapproved adjustments forced Hocevar to start the event at the rear of the field in a backup truck along with Stefan Parsons. With Hocevar dropping to the rear of the field, teammate Ross Chastain, who was making his 100th Truck Series career start, and Kyle Busch occupied the front row, with Chastain’s qualifying time occurring at 90.492 mph in 79.167 seconds while Busch’s was at 90.428 mph in 79.223 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Chastain rocketed with the lead follows by Kyle Busch as the field battled dead even through the first three turns and entering the return of the Chute corner through Turns 4 to 7. Through Turns 8 through 11 and when the field returned to the start/finish line, Chastain led the first lap while Ty Majeski challenged Busch for the runner-up spot ahead of Tyler Ankrum and Alex Bowman.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Chastain was leading by nearly three seconds over Kyle Busch followed by Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum while John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, Parker Kligerman and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10. Austin Dillon was in 11th followed by Zane Smith, Hailie Deegan, Christian Eckes and Derek Kraus while Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Kaz Grala, Lawless Alan and Timmy Hill occupied the top 20.

    On the following lap, Friesen spun after locking up his front tires and slipping sideways while battling Kligerman in the top 10 in Turn 7. The race, however, proceeded under green as Chastain continued to lead by two seconds over Kyle Busch. 

    At the Lap 10 mark, Chastain remained as the leader by less than two seconds over Kyle Busch while Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, who started at the rear of the field while battling a broken right tibia, was up in 23rd place as he had Daniel Suarez on standby to relieve him.

    The following lap, Hocevar pitted and the driver swap occurred as Suarez hopped into the No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST. By then, Stefan Parsons took his truck to the garage after he was trailing smoke. The switch, however, cost the No. 42 team two laps while Chastain retained the lead by one-and-a-half seconds over Busch.

    Just past the Lap 15 mark, Chastain stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Kyle Busch followed by Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum while Nemechek, Enfinger, Kligerman, DiBenedetto and Zane Smith were in the top 10.

    Shortly after, Friesen pitted his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro followed by the leader Chastain as Kyle Busch moved into the lead. Harrison Burton also pitted. Then with the field approaching the final two laps of the first stage, Kyle Busch pitted his No. 51 Yahoo! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro along with Bowman while Majeski moved into the lead. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Majeski claimed his first stage victory of the season after fending off a last-lap challenge from Ankrum. Nemechek settled in third place followed by Enfinger, Kligerman, DiBenedetto, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith, Austin Dillon and Hailie Deegan. 

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Majeski pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. During the pit stops, Harrison Burton reported being down a cylinder despite continuing. Following the pit stops, Deegan was penalized for an equipment going over the wall early along with Kris Wright and DiBenedetto, both of whom were penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Tanner Gray was also penalized for equipment being thrown from his pit box while Todd Bodine was penalized for speeding on pit road. Meanwhile, Suarez cycled his way to be only a lap behind the leaders.

    The second stage started on Lap 25 as Chastain and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain cleared Busch and the field from the outside lane to retain the lead entering the first two turns. Then in Turn 7, Enfinger, who was in the top 10, locked up his front tires, ran over the curb and spun in the middle of the field. With the field scrambling to avoid hitting Enfinger, the race proceeded under green as Enfinger continued without sustaining any damage. 

    Back at the front, Kyle Busch moved into the lead after overtaking Chastain in Turn 11 while Bowman was in third place ahead of Ankrum and Friesen. During the following lap, the caution returned when Christian Eckes, who was the fastest during Friday’s practice session, made contact with Nemechek as he spun and hit the wall in Turn 8. The caution cycled Suarez to the lead lap.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 30, Kyle Busch pulled ahead of Chastain and the field to lead through the first two turns and entering Turns 3 and 3A. Through the 11-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Busch remained the leader despite having Chastain close behind in his rearview mirror. Behind, Ankrum was in third ahead of Bowman and Majeski while Friesen and Ben Rhodes battled for sixth place. Kligerman was in eighth while Kraus and Nemechek were in the top 10.

    By Lap 35, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Chastain followed by Ankrum, Bowman and Majeski while Friesen, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Kraus were in the top 10. Not long after, Kraus surrendered his spot in 10th place to pit as Zane Smith moved into the top 10. 

    Two laps later, Matt Crafton spun his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Turn 8 after getting hit by Todd Bodine, who locked up his front tires prior to entering the corner.

    Through Lap 40 and with the event surpassing its halfway mark, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Chastain, who had Ankrum pressuring him for the runner-up spot while Bowman and Majeski were scored in the top five.

    Two laps later, a handful of competitors led by Zane Smith pitted under green while Kyle Busch continued to lead. Another lap later, however, Busch surrendered the lead to pit followed by Ankrum, Bowman, Chastain, Majeski and Kligerman while Ben Rhodes moved into the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 45, Rhodes claimed his eighth stage victory of the season. Chandler Smith settled in second followed by Chase Purdy, Kaz Grala, Austin Dillon, Suarez, Timmy Hill, Dean Thompson, Deegan and Bodine.

    Under the stage break, some led by Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With 26 laps remaining, the final stage started as Kyle Busch and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch fended off Chastain to lead through the first two turns while the field scrambled and jostled for positions entering Turns 3, 4 and 7. Back to the start/finish line, Busch was leading by a tenth of a second over Chastain while Majeski, Bowman, Friesen, Kligerman, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Tanner Gray and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

    Five laps later, Bodine spun his No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front of Dean Thompsons entering Turn 3. The race, however, continued under green as Kyle Busch remained the leader by less than a second over Chastain.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Chastain while Majeski, Bowman and Kligerman were in the top five. Way behind the leaders, Crafton pitted as smoke was lightly billowing out of his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, an issue that started through the esses and was enough to have his truck pushed behind the wall.

    With 15 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was leading by less than two seconds over Chastain. Behind, Bowman was in third place, trailing by more than three seconds, while Majeski and Kligerman were in the top five. Just then, the caution flew when DiBenedetto, who was making a move beneath Friesen for 10th place entering Turn 11, ran into the tire barrier and into Friesen with both spinning in the turn as a tire barrier was knocked on its side.

    During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Kyle Busch pitted as Busch exited first followed by Chastain, Majeski, Bowman, Chandler Smith and Nemechek. Back on the track, however, Rhodes, who did not pit, remained on the track and assumed the lead along with Kraus and Chase Purdy, both of whom did not pit. Following the pit stops, Bowman was penalized for equipment interference.

    Down to the final 11 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes took off with the lead through the first two turns while Kyle Busch battled and overtook Kraus for the runner-up spot while on fresh tires. As the field jostled for positions, Rhodes locked up his front tires and Kraus got turned and spun in Turn 7 as Kyle Busch reassumed the lead. 

    Then during the following lap, the caution returned when Deegan blew a right-rear tire, slipped sideways and smacked the wall entering Turn 1, thus sustaining significant right-side and rear-end damage to her No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150.

    With seven laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Kyle Busch rocketed with the lead as teammate Chandler Smith moved his No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Through Turns 3 and 3A, Rhodes went off the course and reported a flat tire as the field continued to jostle for positions under green. 

    Two laps later, Kyle Busch was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Chandler Smith. Behind, Zane Smith overtook Majeski to move into third while Chastain was in fifth ahead of Kligerman and Suarez. Shortly after, the caution flew for a heavy wreck entering Turn 1 that started when Friesen got Josh Bilicki sideways as Bilicki clipped the inside wall before he smacked the outside wall hard along with Friesen. In the process, Bowman and Lawless Alan sustained damage to their respective trucks after getting into Bilicki. The incident was enough for the event to be drawn into a red flag period for nearly 13 minutes.

    When the red flag lifted and the race restarted for a two-lap shootout, Kyle Busch cleared the field and retained the lead while teammate Chandler Smith fended off Zane Smith to retain second place. Through Turn 7, Zane Smith move his No. 38 CMR Ford F-150 into the runner-up spot ahead of Chandler Smith while Busch continued to lead.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Zane Smith and more than two seconds over teammate Chandler Smith as the field jostled for positions. Behind, Dean Thompson spun, but the race remained under green flag conditions. With Zane Smith unable to mount a challenge for the final time through the 11-turn circuit, Kyle Busch navigated his way back to the finish line for his first checkered flag of the season.

    With the victory, Kyle Busch, who is a two-time Cup winner at Sonoma, notched his 62nd career win in the Camping World Truck Series and his first victory on a road course circuit in the Truck Series. The victory also extended Busch’s current winning streak in the Truck Series to 10 consecutive seasons with this season marking his 17th Truck season with at least one victory.

    “I appreciate Yahoo! and everybody that has made this partnership possible with Toyota and [Toyota Racing Development],” Busch said on FS1. “This Tundra TRD Pro was awesome today. I’m really proud to drive it. We had a struggle at Charlotte a couple weeks ago, but today was really good. Awesome adjustments by [crew chief] Mardy [Lindley] and all the guys here to get us in position to be able to win today. Yesterday was ugly. I wasn’t sure about it. I didn’t feel good about the truck, but they worked on it all night long and we made some brake changes. We made some chassis changes and these guys never stop. As hard as it might seem sometimes, I know the efforts there. Super effort here. Ready to go celebrate.” 

    Zane Smith settled in second place for his sixth top-five result of the season followed by Ty Majeski, who notched his fifth top-five result of the 2022 season. Chastain came home in fourth place while Chandler Smith fell back to fifth place.

    “[The day] didn’t start out too good,” Zane Smith said. “Took a huge swing at our MRC Ford Performance F-150. Luckily, it went the right way. It’s really hard to do in a racing situation, so props to my team, but I hate finishing second. Especially to [Kyle Busch]. I feel like just racing with [Chandler Smith], he got out too far out front and I think that last lap was the fastest lap of the race for me. I just wished I was a little closer so I had a shot at him.”

    Suarez earned a strong sixth-place effort while subbing for the injured Carson Hocevar while Kligerman, Nemechek, Ankrum and DiBenedetto finished in the top 10. Jack Wood was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 16th place.

    “[Today] was busy, man,” Suarez said. “It was very busy. I was hoping to go one lap down, but when we went two laps down, I was like, ‘Man, it’s gonna be a long recovery’. I was hoping to recover quicker on that, but the truck had speed. I was hoping for long runs so I can be able to make some ground, but overall, the team did a very good job. Very thankful I was able to help. We were able to get some stage points in stage number 2 and then finish in the top six. That was a pretty decent day. I wished we could have won. The truck was capable of winning the race, but we just ran out of time.”

    There were 10 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 17 laps. A total of 26 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With four races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by five points over Chandler Smith, 12 over Zane Smith, 14 over John Hunter Nemechek. 45 over Ty Majeski and 47 over Stewart Friesen.

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 33 points, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 36, Derek Kraus trails by 39, Tyler Ankrum trails by 50 and Chase Purdy trails by 91.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, 45 laps led

    2. Zane Smith

    3. Ty Majeski, four laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Ross Chastain, 19 laps led

    5. Chandler Smith

    6. Carson Hocevar (*subbed by Daniel Suarez)

    7. Parker Kligerman

    8. John Hunter Nemechek

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Grant Enfinger, one lap led

    12. Harrison Burton

    13. Tanner Gray

    14. Kaz Grala

    15. Chase Purdy

    16. Jack Wood

    17. Austin Dillon

    18. Ben Rhodes, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

    19. Colby Howard

    20. Todd Bodine

    21. Blaine Perkins

    22. Brad Perez

    23. Spencer Boyd

    24. Dean Thompson

    25. Lawless Alan

    26. Kris Wright

    27. Derek Kraus, one lap down

    28. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    29. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

    30. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    31. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Accident

    32. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Accident

    33.  Jade Buford – OUT, Transmission

    34. Matt Crafton – OUT, Transmission

    35. Christian Eckes – OUT, Accident

    36. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Oil cooler

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway for the second annual running of the Clean Harbor 150. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 18, at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Sonoma

    Weekend schedule for Sonoma

    The NASCAR Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to the 1.99-mile road course at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. The Xfinity Series is off and will return to competition at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25.

    There are five active drivers who have won at Sonoma led by Martin Truex Jr. with three wins in 2013, 2018 and 2019. Kyle Busch has won twice (2008,2015). Kurt Busch (2011), Kevin Harvick (2017) and Kyle Larson (2021) have each been to victory lane once.

    Fred Warner, San Francisco All-Pro 49er linebacker, will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag as the honorary pace car driver for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    The Camping World Truck Series has competed only four times at Sonoma, from 1995 to 1998. Boris Said was the most recent winner. None of the drivers on this weekend’s entry list have competed in a Truck Series event at Sonoma.

    However, seven of the drivers entered in the Truck Series race have made Cup Series starts, including Todd Bodine, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Parker Kligerman.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 10

    6:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – No TV

    7:05 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Practice and Qualifying – No TV

    Saturday, June 11

    1 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (TV coverage starts at 2 p.m. – FS1

    2:30 p.m.: ARCA Series General Tire 200 – FloRacing

    4:30 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS2

    5:30 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS2

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series DoorDash 250 race
    Distance: 149 miles (75 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 20, Stage 2 ends on Lap 45, Final Stage ends on Lap 75
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $675,134

    Sunday, June 12

    4 p.m.: Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 race
    Distance: 218.9 miles (110 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 25, Stage 2 ends on Lap 55, Final Stage ends on Lap 110
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,629,830

  • Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

    Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

    A late caution, a given lane choice to restart on the bottom lane on the front row and a well-executed launch during an overtime shootout fell into the hands of Corey Heim as he fended off Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith to win the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, June 4.

    The 19-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for 20 of 165 over-scheduled laps as he benefitted through the overtime shootout and retaining the lead at the moment of caution due to a multi-truck wreck on the final lap to achieve his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career victory in his ninth series start.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, rookie Corey Heim secured his first pole position after recording a pole-winning lap at 138.232 mph in 32.554 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 137.978 in 32.614 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim pulled ahead on the outside lane followed by teammate Chandler Smith while teammate John Hunter Nemechek also made his way into the top three ahead of Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. With the field settling in a long single-file line, Heim led the first lap followed by his two Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Heim retained the lead ahead of Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Zane Smith and Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Colby Howard and Matt Crafton were in the top 10.

    By Lap 10, Heim continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while Nemechek, Zane Smith and Eckes remained in the top five.

    Ten laps later, Chandler Smith, who took over the lead two laps earlier, was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Nemechek, Zane Smith, Eckes, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Crafton and Colby Howard.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Chandler Smith extended his advantage by more than two seconds over Heim. Behind, Nemechek remained in third followed by Zane Smith and Friesen while Eckes was back in sixth.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Chandler Smith notched his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Heim settled in second followed by teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes, Crafton and Colby Howard.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Enfinger, who opted for a two-tire pit stop, exited in first place followed by Chandler Smith, Heim, Nemechek, Eckes, Friesen and Zane Smith.

    The second stage started on Lap 43 as Enfinger and Chandler Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith gained the advantage on the outside lane to reassume the lead while Enfinger settled in second in front of Heim, Nemechek and Eckes.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Majeski turned Taylor Gray and sent Gray into the outside wall in Turn 2. At the same time, Rajah Caruth, a full-time ARCA Menards Series competitor who was making his Truck debut for Spire Motorsports, spun while avoiding Gray’s truck.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 52, Chandler Smith pulled ahead and retained the lead ahead of Enfinger while Heim challenged Enfinger for the runner-up spot. Behind, Friesen battled and overtook Nemechek for fourth place as the field behind jostled for positions.

    A lap later, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck that erupted when Nemechek made contact with Friesen entering Turns 3 and 4, which sent Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sideways in the middle of oncoming traffic. Nemechek’s spin ignited a chain reaction wreck that collected Majeski, Colby Howard, Jesse Little and Blaine Perkins, with Nemechek sustaining damage after hitting the wall before getting hit by both Perkins and Howard. The damage was enough to terminate Nemechek’s following a seven-race span of finishing no lower than sixth place.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 59, Chandler Smith and Enfinger engaged in a heated duel for the lead for two laps until Enfinger got loose beneath Smith, which sent both competitors into the Turn 1 outside wall on Lap 61 with Enfinger sustaining significant damage to his No. 23 Champion Chevrolet Silverado RST while Smith emerged with minimal damage to his No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

    Under caution, names like Rhodes, Crafton, Chase Purdy, Derek Kraus, Austin Wayne Self, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Hill, Brennan Poole, Dean Thompson, Hailie Deign and Rajah Caruth remained on the track while the rest pitted.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes, who had taken the lead following Enfinger and Smith’s wreck, managed to fend off teammate Crafton and the field to retain the lead. With a series of battles occurring behind him, Rhodes remained out in front during the shootout as he claimed his seventh stage victory of the season on Lap 70. Teammate Crafton settled in second ahead of Kraus, Purdy, Self, Hocevar, Deegan, Friesen, Heim and Zane Smith. During the stage break, Friesen ran into the side of Deegan’s truck to his displeasure for being squeezed into the outside wall by Deegan during the shootout.

    Under the stage break, some like Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Carson Hocevar remained on the track.

    With 83 laps remaining, the final stage started as Hocevar and Hailie Deegan occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar pulled ahead of Deegan to lead entering the first turn until Heim challenged Hocevar for the top spot. Hocevar, however, received a push from Zane Smith through Turn 2 to retain the lead for a lap until Smith challenged Hocevar in a side-by-side battle for the lead for a full lap.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 80, Zane Smith managed to clear Hocevar for the lead entering the first turn as he started to pull away while Heim, Eckes, Deegan and Caruth battled behind. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter was in seventh ahead of Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith extended his advantage to two seconds over Eckes followed by Hocevar, Heim and Sauter while Caruth, Chandler Smith, DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray and Deegan were in the top 10.

    Another three laps later, the caution flew when Kris Wright got loose beneath Jordan Anderson and backed his truck into the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Friesen pitted as Friesen inherited the lead while Hocevar exited pit road first. Following the pit stops, Caruth was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 62 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Friesen and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Rhodes while Hocevar was being pressured by Kraus for third place. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar, who made contact with Kraus in Turn 3 during the previous lap and was losing spots, rubbed fenders with Zane Smith as Smith fell off the pace with a flat right-front tire. 

    As the field scrambled and jostled for positions, Friesen continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray while Heim, DiBenedetto, Sauter, Jordan Anderson and rookie Jack Wood were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hocevar was back in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith.

    Then with 53 laps remaining, the caution returned when Crafton made contact and sent Hocevar for a spin through Turn 2. Under caution, some like Friesen pitted while the rest led by Rhodes remained on the track.

    With 46 laps remaining, teammates Rhodes and Eckes led the field back to green flag racing as Rhodes retained the lead. Not long after, Kraus moved into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes. 

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the caution flew when Colby Howard got loose, spun and got into the wall between Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, Rhodes was leading by nearly a second over Kraus followed by Eckes, Heim and Sauter.

    When the race restarted under green four laps later, Rhodes rocketed away with the lead followed by teammate Eckes while Kraus and Heim battled for third place in front of DiBenedetto, Sauter and Chase Purdy. The caution, however, was quick to return with 29 laps remaining due to debris on the track and when Rajah Caruth got into the outside wall.

    With 24 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes retained the lead while Kraus overtook Eckes for the runner-up spot in front of the field.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Rhodes was leading by two-tenths of a second over Kraus while Eckes, Heim and DiBenedetto occupied the top five. Sauter was in sixth ahead of Purdy, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Friesen while Hocevar, Anderson, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum and Tanner Gray were in the top 15.

    Two laps later, Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead over Rhodes followed by Eckes while Sauter intimidated Heim for fourth place.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Kraus extended his advantage to more than a second over Eckes while Rhodes, who fell back to third, radioed power issues to his truck.

    Then with the laps dwindling, Eckes started to erase Kraus’ advantage with the former closing in on the latter. With six laps remaining and following a tight battle with Kraus, Eckes moved his No. 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead in Turn 1. Though Kraus kept Eckes close within his sights, Eckes then started to pull away by nearly half a second under the final five laps.

    Then with the field approaching the final two laps, the caution flew when Tanner Gray spun and wrecked in Turn 3. By then, Eckes had pulled away by more than a second over Kraus as the field was sent into overtime. 

    Prior to the start of the first overtime attempt, Kraus surrendered the runner-up spot to restart on the outside lane behind Eckes, thus giving Heim and Chandler Smith the top-two starting spots on the inside lane with Heim restarting on the front row next to Eckes and with an opportunity to win.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Heim received a push from teammate Chandler Smith that launched Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead ahead of Eckes as he maintained the lead through the backstretch. By then, the restart was under review for Heim potentially jumping the start.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim was still out in front ahead of Eckes and Chandler Smith while Friesen was in fourth ahead of Hocevar and Kraus. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar spun after getting hit by Kraus before he was T-boned by Tyler Hill as Lawless Alan and Austin Wayne Self also wrecked. 

    The carnage involving Hocevar was enough for the event to conclude under caution as Heim cycled his way back to the finish line and claim the victory under caution. By then, NASCAR deemed the final restart that was reviewed towards Heim to be clear with no penaltie and with Heim officially handed the victory.

    With the victory, Heim claimed the first of three Triple Truck Challenge $50,000 bonuses and his second career win in the Camping World Truck Series after notching his first win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Yeah, I can’t believe I got the bottom [lane] right there [on the overtime restart],” Heim said on FS1. “That’s unbelievable. A great push by my teammate Chandler Smith right there. All the dedication to my team. These couple of weeks has been just everything. I’ve been putting in so much time and effort to improve my craft. Man, I’m out of breath right now. That was awesome. Anytime we can get the extra seat time is super important. I feel like I’m getting better every week, but like I said, everyone back at the shop, just phenomenal job.”

    Eckes settled in second place while Chandler Smith, Friesen and Sauter finished in the top five.

    “[I] Spun the tires a little bit and [Kraus] picked my rear wheels off the ground,” Eckes said. “Just didn’t get a good launch. Man, it’s just two of the last three races, we’ve been leading and the caution comes out late. It just sucks, but very proud of my ThorSport Racing team. Just really frustrating. The past three weeks, we should’ve won and we didn’t. We gotta go back to the drawing board and try to fix some stuff out.”

    “To be honest with you, if [Enfinger] didn’t run out of talent there in Stage 2, we’d probably lapped half the field easily,” Chandler Smith said. “Our truck was stupid, stupid good. Hats off to [crew chief] Danny [Stockman Jr.], everybody at [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. They gave me a really fast Safelite/Charge Me Toyota Tundra. I honestly probably should’ve won the race, but got drove all the way into the fence once again. It is what it is. Glad to get a top three out of it, but definitely sucks.”

    Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Rhodes, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy completed the top 10 while Rajah Caruth finished 11th in his Truck Series debut.

    Following the event, Hocevar was airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation following his hard wreck on the final lap.

    There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 54 laps.

    The second of three Triple Truck Challenge events of 2022 is next scheduled to occur at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24.

    With five races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch, Ben Rhodes leads the regular season standings by 17 points over Chandler Smith, 21 over Zane Smith, 22 over John Hunter Nemechek and 24 over Stewart Friesen.

    Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 44 points, Tanner Gray trails by 48, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 59, Tyler Ankrum trails by 78 and Chase Purdy trails by 112.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, 20 laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, nine laps led

    3. Chandler Smith, 40 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Stewart Friesen, 13 laps led

    5. Johnny Sauter

    6. Matt DiBenedetto

    7. Derek Kraus, 12 laps led

    8. Ben Rhodes, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    9. Zane Smith, 16 laps led

    10. Chase Purdy

    11. Rajah Caruth

    12. Matt Crafton

    13. Tyler Ankrum

    14. Dean Thompson

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Jordan Anderson

    17. Timmy Hill

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Jack Wood

    20. Jesse Little 

    21. Tate Fogleman

    22. Blaine Perkins

    23. Colby Howard

    24. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    25. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

    26. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Accident

    27. Mason Maggio, one lap down

    28. Grant Enfinger, two laps led, four laps led

    29. Jake Garcia, four laps led

    30. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

    31. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

    32. Ty Majeski, 29 laps down

    33. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    34. Brennan Poole – OUT, Rear gear

    35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Dvp

    36. Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ return to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the first time in 24 years. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series will make its debut at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway before a sold-out crowd. The Camping World Truck Series will join them for the series’ 22nd race at the 1.25-mile paved oval.

    There are only five open spots available for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Ross Chastain are the only drivers with multiple wins in the series, with two victories each.

    The Xfinity Series will travel to Portland International Raceway, a 1.97-mile paved road course, for the first time, and NASCAR has instituted new caution and pit road procedures for this race as seen below.*

    There have been 19 different Truck Series race winners at Gateway. But only one former winner, John Hunter Nemechek (2017), is entered in Saturday’s Toyota 200.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 3
    Portland:
    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – No TV
    8:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) (Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) FS1
    Gateway:
    5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – Gateway – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    6:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – Gateway – FS1
    6:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Gateway – FS1
    Saturday, June 4
    Gateway:
    11 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) (Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series ‘Toyota 200’ race
    Stages end on 35/70/160 (160 Laps=200 Miles)
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $696,198
    Portland:
    2:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Practice/Qualifying – No TV
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series ‘Pacific Office Automation 147’ race
    Stages end on 25/50/75 (75 Laps = 147.75 Miles)
    The Purse: $1,258,443
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Portland 100 (57 Laps, 112.29 Miles) FloRacing/MRN

    Sunday, June 5
    Gateway:
    3:30 p.m. Cup Series ‘Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter’ race
    Stages end on 45/140/240 (240 Laps = 300 Miles)
    The Purse: $7,013,085
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    *General Procedure Rules for Xfinity Series at Portland

    • The field will be frozen at the time of caution
    • All caution periods will be Quickie Yellows (when Pit Road has opened, ALL cars may pit)
    • Fuel may only be added during the stage breaks
    • Tires may be changed at any time during the event

    Stage Break Pit Stops

    • Stage breaks will consist of a THREE-minute break
      • NASCAR Officials will announce the start of the THREE-minute break after the last vehicle has stopped in their pit stall
      • No crew members on pit road until all cars are stopped and NASCAR has announced the start of the break
    • Fuel may not be added and tires may not be changed at the same time
      • Tires must be changed first, then fuel may be added
    • The lap in which pit road is open during the stage breaks will not count
    • Teams that elect not to pit will stop behind the caution vehicle until the conclusion of the break

    Green Flag Pit Stop

    • Green flag pit stops, where tires are changed, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line:  60 seconds minimum
    • In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag:  If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road

    Restart Lineup (During stage breaks and all caution periods)

    • Lead lap Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lead lap Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lap(s) down Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lap(s) down Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Free Pass, Wave Around, and Penalty Cars (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)

    Pit Stop Penalties

    • Restart Tail End:
    • Servicing the vehicle before the THREE-minute break has started
    • Servicing the vehicle after the THREE-minute break has ended
    • Vehicles not in the correct restart position when the one to go is given at Turn 8
    • Pass-Through:
      • Not meeting the green flag minimum time limit on pit road

    Pit Crew/Pit Equipment

    • The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
      • Road crew roster positions
      • Five (5) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle (excluding the stage breaks)
      • One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
    • All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stops (excluding the stage breaks)
    • Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used.
  • Chastain survives double overtime for a Truck Series victory at Charlotte

    Chastain survives double overtime for a Truck Series victory at Charlotte

    Ross Chastain capitalized through two overtime attempts and a late incident involving teammate Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece to fend off the field and win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 27.

    The 29-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, led twice for four out of 143 over-scheduled laps as he overtook Christian Eckes on the final lap during the second of two overtime attempts before fending off Grant Enfinger to win in his fourth scheduled NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the season with Niece Motorsports as he also claimed his first triumph at Charlotte.

    With on-track qualifying to determine the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Majeski earned his second career pole after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.312 mph in 30.284 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 178.277 mph in 30.290 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Hailie Deegan and Austin Wayne Self started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Majeski received a huge push from Kyle Busch to assume command ahead of Zane Smith before being locked in a side-by-side battle against Busch for a full lap. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Majeski edged Kyle Busch to lead the first lap before Busch pulled ahead entering the backstretch. Not long after, Kyle Busch came under pressure from Zane Smith through Turns 3 and 4 as he challenged Busch for the lead, which he prevailed as the field behind jostled for positions.

    By the fifth lap, Zane Smith was leading by four-tenths of a second over Majeski and Kyle Busch while teammates Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain battled in the top five. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the top-five competitors were separated by a second as Zane Smith continued to lead ahead of Majeski, Kyle Busch, Hocevar and Chastain. Ryan Preece was in sixth place, trailing by nearly two seconds, followed by Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto, and Tanner Gray while Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ben Rhodes were in the top 15.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by nearly a second over Majeski while Kyle Busch, Hocevar, and Chastain remained in the top five.

    Five laps later and as the leaders approached lapped traffic, Majeski narrowed his deficit to Zane Smith to three-tenths of a second. Smith, however, was able to navigate his way through the traffic that included Hailie Deegan to maintain the lead. Behind, Ryan Preece, Hocevar, and Chastain overtook Kyle Busch for positions as Busch was back in sixth in front of Christian Eckes.

    Despite being pressured by Majeski in the closing laps of the first stage, Zane Smith was able to fend off Majeski to claim his fifth stage victory on Lap 30. Majeski settled in second followed by Preece, Hocevar, Chastain, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto, Eckes, Matt Crafton, and Enfinger.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for adjustments and Zane Smith managed to retain the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Majeski, Preece, Hocevar, Eckes, and DiBenedetto. During the pit stops, Stewart Friesen and Brennan Poole were penalized for speeding on pit road along with Dean Thompson and Kyle Busch, both of whom were penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon.

    When the second stage started on Lap 36, Zane Smith managed to retain the lead while Preece made his move into the runner-up spot as the field jostled for positions. Behind, Chastain got loose while battling DiBenedetto entering Turns 3 and 4, but he managed to straighten his truck as he remained in seventh ahead of Chandler Smith.

    By Lap 40, Zane Smith was ahead by more than three-tenths of a second over Majeski, who moved back into the runner-up spot a lap prior, followed by Preece, Eckes, and Hocevar while DiBenedetto, Chastain, Nemechek, Tanner Gray, and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Majeski, who continued to pressure the former for the top spot. Preece, Hocevar, and Eckes were in the top five followed by Nemechek, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Gray, and Enfinger while Chandler Smith, Colby Howard, Derek Kraus, Crafton, Kyle Busch, Tyler Ankrum, rookie Jack Wood, Chase Purdy, Kris Wright, and Ben Rhodes were in the top 20.

    Another two laps later, the caution flew when Tate Fogleman made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 before sliding his truck down towards the pit road entrance. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Zane Smith pitted while Derek Kraus, Rhodes, and Timmy Hill remained on the track.

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes took off with the lead on the inside lane followed by Preece and Eckes while Kraus spun the tires on the outside lane. As the field stacked up and fanned out entering Turn 1, the caution returned when Jack Wood and Matt Mills collided against the outside wall in Turn 1. 

    The incident involving Wood and Mills concluded the second stage scheduled for Lap 60 under caution and at the moment of caution, Rhodes was scored the leader and he managed to claim his sixth stage victory of the season. Teammate Eckes settled in second followed by Preece, Hocevar, Nemechek, Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Majeski, and Kraus.

    Under the stage break, some like Rhodes, Kraus, Timmy Hill, and Spencer Boyd pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track.

    With 69 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Eckes retained the lead through the backstretch until Preece received a push from John Hunter Nemechek to muscle his Ford F-150 on the outside lane to take the lead through Turns 3 and 4. 

    Then with 62 laps remaining, Hocevar, who spent the previous five laps overtaking Eckes and Nemechek, overtook Preece, who got loose, to assume the lead while Nemechek was in third.

    With 55 laps remaining, Hocevar was out in front by more than a second over Preece followed by Nemechek, Eckes, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Majeski, Kyle Busch, Zane Smith, and Chandler Smith while Enfinger, Friesen, Gray, Kraus, Purdy, Crafton, Rhodes, Colby Howard, Ankrum, and Kris Wright occupied the top 20.

    Fifteen laps later, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Preece while Nemechek, Eckes, and Majeski were in the top five. 

    Not long after, green flag pit stops commenced as Chandler Smith, who dealt with power issues throughout the event, pitted. Soon after, names like Chastain, Rhodes, Preece, Nemechek, DiBenedetto, Eckes, Friesen, and the race leader Hocevar also went in to pit. 

    As the cycles of green-flag pit stops ensued, names like Majeski, Kyle Busch, and Kraus pitted while Crafton, who had yet to pit, assumed the lead.

    When the green flag pit stops concluded, Hocevar, who despite enduring a slow pit stop under green, cycled his way back to the lead with 27 laps remaining. Trailing Hocevar by more than three seconds was Preece along with Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Preece while Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes remained in the top five. Chandler Smith was up in sixth followed by Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Zane Smith, and Majeski while Rhodes, Kraus, Kyle Busch, Friesen, and Tanner Gray were in the top 15.

    Soon after, DiBenedetto surrendered eighth place to pit due to a flat tire as the race remained under green. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to lead by nearly six seconds over Preece followed by Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes. By then, Majeski carved his way back to sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Enfinger, Zane Smith, and Kraus while Kyle Busch was mired in 11th.

    With five laps remaining, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than six seconds over Preece while third-place Nemechek trailed by nearly 11 seconds.

    Then a lap later, the caution flew when Jesse Little and Ankrum collided entering Turn 3, sending Little against the outside wall while Ankrum was slipping sideways towards the wall. The caution and the incident all but evaporated Hocevar’s advantage over Preece and the field.

    Under caution, some like Rhodes, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Tanner Gray, and Colby Howard pitted while the rest led by Hocevar remained on the track.

    With the event sent into overtime, Hocevar and Preece led the field to the start of the first overtime attempt. At the start, Hocevar and Preece engaged in a heated side-by-side battle for the lead through the backstretch while Chastain, Eckes, and Nemechek battled for third place. Entering the backstretch, Hocevar and Preece made contact with one another as Hocevar squeezed Preece into the outside wall. Despite the contact, both competitors continued to duel for the lead. Then in Turn 3, Hocevar’s truck slipped up the track against Preece’s and the contact sent Hocevar’s truck around as he backed his truck against the outside wall and damaged the rear deck lid while Preece scraped the wall after getting hit by Hocevar. The incident spoiled Hocevar’s opportunity of winning his first NASCAR race as the field was sent into a second overtime attempt. During the caution period, Preece, who was briefly out in front, pitted to have the damage to his truck repaired as Chastain assumed the lead.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Chastain and Eckes dueled for the lead entering Turn 1 through the backstretch before the former received a push from Nemechek to briefly move ahead of the field. Eckes, however, fought back on the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was out in front by a narrow margin over Chastain while Nemechek made a bold three-wide move on both to try and take the lead through Turn 1. Nemechek briefly gained an advantage entering the backstretch until Chastain gained a draft from Enfinger to pull ahead entering Turn 3. Having the clean air and the advantage to his favor through the final two turns, Chastain was able to fend off Enfinger by a tenth of a second to grab the victory amid the late turn of events.

    With the victory, Chastain recorded his fourth career victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and his first in the series since winning at Pocono Raceway in July 2019, which also marked the last scheduled victory for Niece Motorsports. The victory was also a first for crew chief Cody Efaw.

    During his post-race interview on the frontstretch, Chastain took the time to acknowledge teammate Hocevar’s dominant run and sympathize with Hocevar’s late incident that cost him the victory. 

    “You know, Carson Hocevar and that No. 42 team, they dominated tonight,” Chastain said on FS1. “[Team owner] Al Niece has given us trucks to come out here and fight for wins. I hate it so much for Carson. If I had chosen the bottom [lane] right there [during the first overtime attempt] like he did, I would’ve done the same thing. It’s just you’re in a bad spot. I didn’t give him the push he needed to win. Man, I’m so proud of Carson Hocevar. I just want to say that over and over. That guy’s a future star. He’s such a goofy kid and I love him. He learns so quick and he’s in the program all of us Chevy guys are in. We learn together and we lose together.” 

    Enfinger came home in second place followed by Nemechek and Eckes while Zane Smith finished in the top five. Tanner Gray, Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith, Friesen, and Rhodes completed the top 10 on the track. 

    Meanwhile, Preece settled in 11th while Hocevar, who led a race-high 57 laps compared to Chastain’s four, concluded his night in a disappointing 16th place. While Hocevar was left heartbroken and in tears of frustration, Preece was left fuming at Hocevar over the contact and the incident

    “A dumbass move by myself,” Hocevar said. “That’s it. It sucks. I tried really hard and tried too hard. I didn’t get a good restart and just tried too hard. I tried to wash [Preece] up and I just crashed myself. I feel like a sis crying, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

    “All you kids watching right now, wanting to get to this level, don’t do that,” Preece said. “Race with respect, don’t wreck the guy on the outside of you trying to win your first race. It doesn’t get you anywhere…I’m pissed right now. We got two more races to try and go have some good runs, but that’s just stupid. Just really stupid. Don’t be like that.”

    There were 15 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 25 laps.

    With six races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season, John Hunter Nemechek leads the standings by seven points over Ben Rhodes, 25 over Zane Smith, 29 over Chandler Smith, 33 over Stewart Friesen 38 over Ty Majeski, and 40 over Christian Eckes. 

    Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek. Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, and Stewart Friesen are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 25 points, Derek Kraus trails by 52, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 60, and Tyler Ankrum trails by 72.

    Results.

    1. Ross Chastain, four laps led

    2. Grant Enfinger

    3. John Hunter Nemechek

    4. Christian Eckes, five laps led

    5. Zane Smith, 52 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    6. Tanner Gray

    7. Kyle Busch

    8. Chandler Smith

    9. Stewart Friesen

    10. Ben Rhodes, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    11. Ryan Preece, nine laps led

    12. Derek Kraus, two laps led

    13. Ty Majeski, four laps led

    14. Colby Howard

    15. Chase Purdy

    16. Carson Hocevar, 57 laps led

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    18. Matt Crafton, one lap down, five laps led

    19. Kris Wright, one lap down

    20. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    21. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

    23. Jack Wood, two laps down

    24. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

    25. Austin Wayne Self, two laps down

    26. Max Gutierrez, three laps down

    27. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

    28. Dean Thompson, four laps down

    29. Tate Fogleman, four laps down

    30. Blaine Perkins, four łaps down

    31. Josh Reaume, five laps down

    32. Jesse Little – OUT, Accident

    33. Keith McGee – OUT, Suspension

    34. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    35. Brennan Poole – OUT, Driveshaft

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual event at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, which will mark the series’ first of three Triple Truck Challenge events. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 4, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Charlotte

    Weekend schedule for Charlotte

    NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend for the 63rd running of the Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening.

    The racing action begins Friday when the ARCA Menards Series and the Camping World Truck Series take to the track and continue Saturday with the Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300.

    The weekend is also an opportunity for NASCAR to honor and remember those who have served or are now serving in our military with the NASCAR Salutes program that concludes with the 600 Miles of Remembrance.

    This year NASCAR is also debuting the NASCAR Salutes Wall of Honor mural that will allow fans to write messages on magnets that will be added to the mural to create a mosaic that will be donated to a military base.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, May 27

    Noon-ARCA Practice & Qualifying (no TV)
    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    2 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1

    6 p.m.: ARCA Dutch Boy 150 (100 laps) – FS1/MRN

    8:30 p.m.: Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 – FS1/MRN/Sirius XM
    Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134
    The Purse: $676,097

    Saturday, May 28

    1 p.m.: -Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    The Purse: $1,284,615

    7 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1
    7:45 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1

    Sunday, May 29
    6 p.m.: Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 – FOX/PRN/Sirius XM
    Distance: 600 miles (400 laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 100, Stage 2 ends Lap 200, Stage 3 Ends Lap 300, Final Stage ends on Lap 400
    The Purse: $8,919,032

  • Friesen snaps two-year winless drought with an overtime Truck Series victory at Texas

    Friesen snaps two-year winless drought with an overtime Truck Series victory at Texas

    The 54-race winless drought for Stewart Friesen came to an end under the lights in the Lone Star state Saturday night. The 38-year-old Friesen from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, outlasted an overtime restart and a fierce duel against Christian Eckes to win the SpeedwayCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20.

    Friesen, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap but led the field to the start, led a race-high 60 of 149 laps as he made his long-awaited return to Victory Lane for the first time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since winning at Phoenix Raceway in November 2019.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his fourth Truck pole position of the season after a pole-winning lap at 182.359 mph in 29.612 seconds. Nemechek, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. As a result, Stewart Friesen, who qualified in third place with a qualifying lap at 181,056 mph in 29.825 seconds, and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified in second place with a lap at 182.192 mph in 29.639 seconds, occupied the front row.

    Jordan Anderson, Austin Wayne Self, Grant Enfinger, Bret Holmes and Chris Hacker joined Nemechek at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Colby Howard also started at the rear of the field in a backup truck after he wrecked his primary truck during Friday’s practice session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim and Friesen were locked in a side-by-side battle for the top spot before Heim led the first lap by a hair on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, Friesen managed to clear the field and move into the lead as the field scrambled and jostled for positions early.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Friesen was leading over Ryan Preece followed by Christian Eckes, Heim and Derek Kraus while Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Hailie Deegan and Ross Chastain, rounded out the top-10.

    Nearing the Lap 10 mark, the first caution of the event flew when Chris Hacker spun in Turn 2. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Carson Hocevar, pitted while the rest, led by Friesen, remained on the track.

    On Lap 14, the race restarted under green as the field locked in a heated, side-by-side battle. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Ryan Preece led the following lap before being challenged in another side-by-side battle with Friesen for the lead, with the latter reassuming the top spot. Behind, Eckes and Kraus battled for third ahead of Heim, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and the field.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Preece reassumed the lead over Friesen while Eckes, Majeski, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Kraus, Heim, Rhodes and Matt Crafton were in the top 10. By then, Nemechek, who started at the rear of the field, was challenging for a top-10 spot.

    Ten laps later, Preece stabilized his advantage to more than two-tenths of a second over Friesen while Eckes, Zane Smith and Majeski battled in the top five. By then, Nemechek was up to seventh behind teammate Chandler Smith while Kraus, Rhodes and Heim were in the top 10.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Preece captured his first stage victory of the season while Friesen, Zane Smith, Eckes, Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Kraus and Heim were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the field, led by Preece, pitted and Friesen retained the top spot after exiting first ahead of Preece, Eckes, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Nemechek. During the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized for equipment interference while Blaine Perkins and Todd Bodine were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Chandler Smith pitted for a second time to address a loose left-rear wheel on his No. 18 iBuyPower Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

    The second stage started on Lap 42 as Friesen and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen and Preece were locked in another side-by-side battle for the lead with the latter managing to lead ahead of Eckes and Nemechek, who cracked the top five.

    Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Preece’s No. 17 Morton Buildings Ford F-150 while Nemechek’s No. 4 Tom Thumb/Albertson’s Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was up in third place. ThorSport Racing’s Eckes and Rhodes were in the top five followed by Tyler Ankrum, Corey Heim, Kraus, Grant Enfinger and Majeski while Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto and Chandler Smith occupied the top 15. Behind, Hailie Deegan and Zane Smith battled for 16th while Tanner Gray, rookie Jack Wood and Chase Purdy were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Friesen extended his advantage to more than six-tenths of a second over Preece while Nemechek, Eckes and Rhodes remained in the top five.

    Another six laps later, Preece seized the opportunity when Friesen was stuck in lapped traffic to take the lead while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than four-tenths of a second. By then, fourth-place Ben Rhodes trailed by more than five seconds along with teammate, Eckes.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 70, Preece, who managed to slowly pull away from Friesen, captured his second consecutive stage victory of the season. Friesen settled in second followed by Nemechek, Rhodes, Eckes, Derek Kraus, Heim, Majeski, Chastain and Ankrum.

    Under the stage break, the field, led by Friesen, returned to pit road for service and Nemechek emerged at the top of the leaderboard after exiting with the lead followed by Friesen, Preece, Eckes and Chastain. During the pit stops, Zane Smith, Ankrum and Heim made contact, which sent Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro around on pit road. Following the pit stops, Rhodes was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 70 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Nemechek and Preece briefly dueled for the lead until Nemechek pulled away as the field fanned out through the backstretch. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Preece had fallen back to fourth while Friesen and Eckes were in second and third.

    With 62 laps remaining, the caution flew when Majeski got loose beneath Kraus entering Turn 1 and sent Kraus into the outside wall. During the caution period, some drivers, including Nemechek, Preece and Crafton pitted, while the rest, led by Friesen remained on the track.

    Six laps later, the race proceeded under green as Friesen and Eckes occupied the front row. After Friesen led the first few laps during the restart, Eckes muscled his No. 98 AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front.

    With 50 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Friesen while Chandler Smith, Chastain and Ankrum were in the top five. Enfinger was in sixth followed by Zane Smith, Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto.

    Two laps later, Friesen regained the lead over Eckes. Another six laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Tyler Hill and Kris Wright in Turn 2 that cut Wright’s tire and sent him into the Turn 3 wall. During the caution period, nearly the entire field, except for Chase Purdy, pitted. Following the pit stops, Austin Wayne Self was penalized for improper fueling along with Jesse Little for an uncontrolled tire.

    Down to the final 36 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green as Purdy and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, the field shuffled for positions entering the backstretch as Hocevar retained the lead followed by Eckes and Chastain.

    Three laps later, Eckes took the lead over Hocevar while Chastain, Friesen and Grant Enfinger occupied the top five. Meanwhile, Nemechek was in seventh behind Tanner Gray while Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and Preece were scored in the top 10.

    Under the final 30 laps of the event, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Friesen, Chastain and Enfinger while Nemechek moved up to sixth place. Behind, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith made contact entering Turn 1, but both competitors managed to proceed forward. However, Zane Smith ended up pitting under green due to cutting a right-front tire.

    With 20 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Nemechek was up in fourth behind Friesen. By then, Zane Smith had dropped off the pace as he made another pit stop under green to address the right-front fender on his truck.

    Just then, the caution flew as Ankrum spun due to on-track contact with Enfinger while both were battling for a top-10 spot. During the caution period, none of the front competitors toward the front chose to pit.

    Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race continued under green. At the start, Hocevar led briefly until Eckes carved his way back to the lead when he returned to the start/finish line. Behind, Friesen moved into the runner-up spot while Preece and Nemechek were in the top five. 

    Down to the final 10 scheduled laps, Eckes, Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek were separated by less than eight-tenths of a second as Eckes continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Friesen and less than three-tenths over Hocevar.

    Then with five laps remaining, the caution flew when Rhodes spun and hit the backstretch wall following contact with Tanner Gray. At the moment of caution, Eckes was still out in front by a narrow margin over Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek, all of whom battled intensely in the closing laps of the event. 

    With the event sent into overtime, Eckes and Friesen battled for the top spot for a full lap as the field jostled for last-minute positions behind.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Friesen and Eckes remained dead even for the lead through the frontstretch until Friesen managed to clear and pull ahead of Eckes entering the backstretch. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Friesen went from the top to the bottom lane to block Eckes and stall his progress. This was enough for Friesen to cross the finish line by 0.122 seconds over Eckes to grab his first series victory in over two seasons.

    In addition to snapping a two-year winless drought, Friesen notched his third career victory in the Camping World Truck Series, his first at Texas and his first driving a Toyota. With the victory, Friesen became the fifth Truck regular competitor to grab a win and be guaranteed a spot for the 2022 Truck Playoffs. He also recorded the first NASCAR victory for crew chief Jon Leonard.

    “Man, I made all the mistakes I needed to make in the first two segments,” Friesen said on FS1. “We had an awesome truck. Thanks so much to [owner] Chris Larsen, everybody at Halmar International, the whole group. There’s a huge office there that pulls for us every week. Finally, we got something to celebrate. Thank you, guys. You have no idea the work that’s went into this race team over the past three years to build this up. It’s an awesome group. We’re in the Playoffs. How about that?! Whoo!”

    “I’m terrible on restarts, and that was probably the best one on old tires,” Friesen added. “Just didn’t spin the tires, got a jump and then, thew a slider into [Turns] 1 and 2, and it stuck.”

    Eckes, who led 40 laps, settled in second place for his best result of the season thus far while Preece came home in third place. 

    “[I] Just didn’t have lane position,” Eckes said. “It is what it is. Just super proud of these AHI Facility Services team. It’s been a rough stretch here for a little bit. I’m glad to show that we can actually be here and win races. This is just a taste to come and we’re more hungrier than ever.”

    “We just need to clean up a few things,” Preece said. “When you gain control of the race, you can’t give it up, especially here. It was, really top lane, dominant there, basically in the middle part of the race and to the end. Proud of the speed this Morton Buildings Ford F-150 really had. It’s a pleasure to race trucks like that and to work with [crew chief] Chad Johnston and this entire group. It stings that much more watching [the end] right now, but we got to third. I hate losing more than I love winning, but we’ll try to go get them the next time we’re in this [series].”

    Carson Hocevar, who is still pursuing his first career victory in NASCAR, finished in fourth place while Ty Majeski finished in the top five.

    Nemechek, Heim, Chandler Smith, Crafton and DiBenedetto completed the top 10.

    There were 17 lead changes among seven different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.

    With seven races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the standings by four points over Ben Rhodes, 18 over Chandler Smith, 21 over Stewart Friesen, 32 over Zane Smith and 33 over Ty Majeski. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith are currently guaranteed spots in the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the cutline by 35 points with Derek Kraus trailing by 57, Matt DiBenedetto by 67 and Tyler Ankrum by 68.

    Results.

    1. Stewart Friesen, 60 laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, 40 laps led

    3. Ryan Preece, 27 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    4. Carson Hocevar, four laps led

    5. Ty Majeski

    6. John Hunter Nemechek, 14 laps led

    7. Corey Heim, one lap led

    8. Chandler Smith

    9. Matt Crafton

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11.  Grant Enfinger

    12. Ross Chastain

    13. Todd Bodine

    14. Jordan Anderson

    15. Bret Holmes

    16. Jack Wood

    17. Hailie Deegan

    18. Austin Wayne Self

    19. Jesse Little

    20. Timmy Hill

    21. Chase Purdy, three laps led

    22. Tate Fogleman

    23. Brennan Poole

    24. Tanner Gray

    25. Tyler Hill

    26. Blaine Perkins

    27. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

    28. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

    29. Dean Thompson, three laps down

    30. Lawless Alan, four laps down

    31. Chris Hacker, six laps down

    32. Zane Smith, six laps down

    33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Overheating

    34. Colby Howard, 10 laps down

    35. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    36. Derek Kraus – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Texas

    Weekend schedule for Texas

    NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway for a full weekend of racing culminating with the Cup Series All-Star Race Sunday evening.

    The Camping World Truck Series will headline the on-track action Friday night followed by the Xfinity Series race Saturday afternoon.

    There have been 37 previous All-Star races with 25 different winners. Kevin Harvick (2007, 2015) and Kyle Larson (2019, 2021) lead all active drivers with two wins each. Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have won the exhibition race once.

    The Xfinity Series has produced seven different winners so far this season. Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill have secured a spot in the Playoffs with 15 races left in the regular season. There are only five open spots remaining before the Playoffs begin.

    Camping World Truck Series drivers Zane Smith (three wins), Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes and John Hunter Nemechek have locked themselves into the Playoffs. There are eight races remaining in the regular season and six open Playoff spots.

    All times are Eastern.

    All-Star Race Format

    Friday, May 20

    4 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) – FS1

    4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1

    6 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1

    6:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1

    8:30 p.m.: Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220
    Distance: 220.5 miles (147 Laps)
    Stages 35/70/147 Laps = 220.5 Miles
    FS1/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, May 21

    1:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series SRS Distribution 250 race
    Distance: 250.5 miles (167 Laps)
    Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 Miles)
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    7 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Combined Open and All-Star) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    7:35 p.m.: Qualifying (Open) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    7:55 p.m.: Qualifying (All-Star) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    8:25 p.m.:  Qualifying – Elimination bracket with mandatory pit stop (All-Star) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, May 22

    5:30 p.m.: All-Star Open (20/20/10 Laps) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    8 p.m.: All-Star Race (25/25/25/50 Laps) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Zane Smith cruises to dominant Truck victory at Kansas

    Zane Smith cruises to dominant Truck victory at Kansas

    A late-race caution with 13 laps remaining and an eight-lap dash to the finish could not stall Zane Smith’s dominant run in the Sunflower state as he went on to claim his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in the Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 14.

    The 22-year-old Smith from Huntington Beach, California, led four times for a race-high 108 of 147 laps as he rocketed away from Ty Majeski, John Hunter Nemechek and the field during an eight-lap shootout to the finish to become the first three-time winner of this year’s Truck season.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.644 mph in 30.570 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified at 175.965 mph in 30.688 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Tate Fogleman and Matt DiBenedetto dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. In addition, Stewart Friesen started at the rear of the field after he was unable to participate during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions amid a delayed flight from New York. As a result, NASCAR Cup Series competitor Bubba Wallace practiced and qualified Friesen’s truck in fifth place while Friesen arrived in time for the event.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, teammates Nemechek and Heim battled dead even entering the first three turns until Nemechek gained a huge run on the outside lane to pull ahead and lead the first lap ahead of Heim, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and the field.

    Two laps later, Nemechek and Smith engaged in a tight battle for the lead while Majeski battled and overtook Heim for third place. By the fourth lap, Smith moved his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 into the lead.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second over Heim. Meanwhile, Nemechek was back in third place while Majeski and Chandler Smith were in the top five. Behind, Derek Kraus was in sixth followed by Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton and Colby Howard while Carson Hocevar, Chase Purdy, Riley Herbst, Tyler Ankrum and Christian Eckes were in the top 15. Hailie Deegan was in 16th ahead of rookie Jack Wood, Stewart Friesen, rookie Dean Thompsons and Grant Enfinger.

    Shortly after, Blaine Perkins spun across the backstretch after making contact with Tate Fogleman, but he was able to nurse his truck back to pit road without sustaining any damage and the event remained under green.

    By Lap 20, Zane Smith was being challenged by Heim for the lead. While Heim gained a huge run in Turn 3 to take the lead, Smith pulled a crossover move to issue another challenge for the top spot. Heim, however, gained another strong run through Turns 2 and 3 to assume the lead for good on Lap 22 amid lapped traffic.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Heim extended his advantage to more than a second over Zane Smith while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Nemechek occupied the top five. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Heim streaked his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro across the start/finish line and claim his first career stage victory. Behind, Majeski overtook Zane Smith for the runner-up spot while Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Kraus, Rhodes, Crafton, Tanner Gray and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. By then, Friesen was up in 15th place while DiBenedetto was mired in 21st.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Heim retained the lead ahead of teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Tanner Gray, Rhodes and Ankrum. 

    The second stage started on Lap 36 as Heim and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start and with the front-runners locked in a tight battle through double lanes, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Heim received a strong push from teammate Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to clear the field and assume the lead. 

    During the following lap, however, Zane Smith reassumed the lead and slowly pulled away as the field behind jostled for positions. 

    By Lap 40, Zane Smith was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Heim, Rhodes and Gray were in the top five. Behind, Friesen worked his way up to seventh behind Majeski while Hocevar, Colby Howard and Ankrum were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by less than two seconds over Heim while Nemechek, Rhodes and Majeski remained in the top five.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Zane Smith, who was leading by more than two seconds, claimed his fourth stage victory of the season. Heim settled in second followed by Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Hocevar, Gray, Kraus, Howard and Friesen.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Rhodes assumed the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Heim and the field.

    With the race reaching its halfway mark on Lap 67, the final stage started. At the start, Zane Smith muscled his way back to the lead ahead of Rhodes, Nemechek and the field with the competitors jostling for positions and fanning out to multiple lanes.

    With 55 laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Nemechek and Majeski were in the top five. Meanwhile, Eckes was in sixth followed by Hocevar, Kraus, Purdy and Ankrum while Friesen was in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith, Colby Howard, Matt DiBenedetto and Hailie Deegan. Crafton was in 16th ahead of Grant Enfinger, Tanner Gray, Riley Herbst and Dean Thompson.

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Kris Wright in Turn 2. At the moment of caution, Zane Smith was leading by more than three seconds over Heim.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road for service and Heim reassumed the lead followed by Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek, Majeski and Eckes.

    With 39 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith and Heim made contact with the former assuming the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch while Nemechek and Eckes moved up to second and third. Meanwhile, Heim slipped back to fourth in front of Friesen and Rhodes.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than two seconds over Nemechek while Eckes, Majeski and Chandler Smith, who rallied from losing a lap to the leaders, were in the top five. Friesen was in sixth ahead of Heim, Rhodes, Kraus and Howard.

    Shortly after, Heim’s strong run was spoiled after he made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 and made a trip to pit road, thus losing a lap to the leaders.

    With 20 laps remaining, Zane Smith continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds over Nemechek while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Eckes were in the top five. 

    Just then, the caution flew with 13 laps remaining when Dean Thompson spun in Turn 2. The incident all but evaporated Zane Smith’s advantage of more than six seconds over Nemechek and the field.

    Under caution, some like DiBenedetto, Lawless Alan, Ankrum and Colby Howard pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed with the lead while Nemechek, who struggled at the start on the outside lane, slipped out of the top five as Majeski moved into the runner-up spot. 

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Zane Smith was leading ahead of Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes and Chandler Smith while Nemechek was mired back in sixth place.

    With less than five laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over runner-up Majeski and more than two seconds over third-place Enfinger.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zane Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Majeski. Having no competition coming close to his fast truck, Smith cycled his way back to the finish line as he capped off a dominant run with another victory of the season.

    With his third victory of the season, all occurring in his first campaign with Front Row Motorsports, Smith also claimed his first win at Kansas and his sixth career victory in the Truck circuit.

    “Just an unbelievable truck,” Smith said on FS1. “We, honestly, struggled there in the first stage. I feel like I made the mistake last week with adjusting too much in the heat of the day and wasn’t right in the night [conditions]. We just executed greatly with this truck. This was our Vegas truck. I feel like this would’ve been an image of Vegas what we’ve seen tonight if I didn’t get damage early in the race there. What a track record with Speedco and Love’s [Travel Stops]. Just so cool. That was one of my easier ones I’ve ever had to win, but that late-race restart scared me a little, but good thing I didn’t have another one there because I am stuck in fourth [gear].”

    Finishing in a career-best runner-up spot was Ty Majeski, who also achieved his third top-five result of the season as he is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in the series with ThorSport Racing. Majeski’s second-place run occurred in his 28th series start.

    “We were really close,” Majeski said. “We kept easing on the adjustments all night. Getting the balance better every run. Track was freeing up and we were just a little bit too free. We kept making small changes. The sun went down, I think we under-adjusted a little bit for that last stop. Just couldn’t attack it. Just a little bit too free. Overall, a really, really fast American Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. We’ve been really hitting it off this year. It’s been a ton of fun. Being in the shop every day with these guys and working with them. We have a great relationship and there’s a lot of great things coming. We’re right there.”

    The third-place result was the second in a row in recent weeks for Enfinger, who is currently competing on a full-time basis with GMS Racing.

    “[Crew chief] Charles [Denike], tonight, made some really good calls ‘cause we were terrible when we unloaded, terrible in qualifying,” Enfinger said. “I could drive it at the beginning of the race, but we were slow. [Denike] did a great job adjusting on it all night. I feel like he hit on something. The last two adjustments made a big difference.”

    Chandler Smith came home in fourth place and Eckes completed the top five while Nemechek, who led the first three laps and who was coming off a win last weekend at Darlington Raceway, fell back to sixth place.

    “[I] Spun the tires, didn’t get a good push from behind,” Nemechek said. “It’s on me. I spun the tires and that was pretty much it. That’s all she wrote. [I] Had a decently fast Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro tonight. We missed it. [Zane Smith] was definitely the dominant truck and he should’ve won the race. I feel like we should’ve finished second or third, but got to work on restarts, come back and we know what we need to do here coming back for the Playoff race. Proud of the guys. Proud of the effort. Still on a top-six streak here. Just got to continue on.”

    Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Crafton and Rhodes finished in the top 10.

    There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured four cautions for nine laps.

    With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch complete, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by 20 points over John Hunter Nemechek and 21 over Zane Smith. Currently, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek and Chandler Smith are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 20 points, Derek Kraus trails by 37, Tyler Ankrum trails by 45, and Matt DiBenedetto trails by 66.

    Results.

    1. Zane Smith, 108 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Ty Majeski, one lap led

    3. Grant Enfinger

    4. Chandler Smith

    5. Christian Eckes

    6. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps led

    7. Matt DiBenedetto

    8. Derek Kraus

    9. Matt Crafton

    10. Ben Rhodes, four laps led

    11. Colby Howard

    12. Riley Herbst

    13. Chase Purdy

    14. Stewart Friesen

    15. Carson Hocevar

    16. Tyler Ankrum

    17. Hailie Deegan

    18. Tanner Gray

    19. Lawless Alan

    20. Tate Fogleman, one lap down

    21. Tyler Hill, one lap down

    22. Dean Thompson, one lap down

    23. Austin Wayne Self, one lap down

    24. Jesse Little, two laps down

    25. Kris Wright, two laps down

    26. Jack Wood, three laps down

    27. Timmy Hill, four laps down

    28. Ryan Huff, four laps down

    29. Trey Hutchens, four laps down

    30. Josh Reaume, five laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, seven laps down

    32. Blaine Perkins, eight laps down

    33. Corey Heim, 10 laps down, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    34. Matt Mills – OUT, Axle

    35. Jesse Iwuji – OUT, Too slow

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, which will occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.