Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

All three NASCAR national series will compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week. The Cup Series will begin the Round of 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday night as the Playoffs continue.

Friday night the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will kick off the weekend’s events with the second race of the Round of 10 on their playoff schedule. The Xfinity Series will hit the track Saturday at 7:30 p.m. for the second race in their Round of 12.

Saturday night will also feature the ARCA Menards Series West at the Las Vegas Bullring.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, September 25

9 p.m.: Truck Series World of Westgate 200 (Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Brett Moffitt

Saturday, September 26

10 a.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Qualifying (at Las Vegas Bullring)
3:05 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 150 (at Las Vegas Bullring)
7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco 300 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Chase Briscoe

Sunday, September 27

7 p.m.: Cup Series South Point 400 (Stages 80/160/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Kevin Harvick

Cup Series Round of 12 Playoff Drivers

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Kevin Harvick	3067
2	Denny Hamlin	3048
3	Brad Keselowski	3035
4	Joey Logano	3022
5	Chase Elliott	3021
6	Matin Truex Jr.	3016
7	Alex Bowman	3009
8	Austin Dillon	3005
9	Aric Almirola	3005
10	Kyle Busch	3004
11	Clint Bowyer	3004
12	Kurt Busch	3001

September 24, 2020

NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Bristol
Bristol Motor Speedway hosted race No. 17 for the 2020 Truck Series season for the first race of the Playoffs.

Just 10 drivers are entered in the Playoffs this year including Brett Moffitt, Grant Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum, Todd Gilliland, Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith.

While those 10 drivers had high hopes of winning Thursday night’s race at Bristol, none of that fell their way. Instead, part-time Truck Series and newly announced Xfinity Series driver, Sam Mayer, stole the show and claimed the checkered flag. Moffitt was the highest ranked playoff driver, finishing second after leading the most laps of 117.

With Mayer finding victory in his early career, many of the playoff drivers were left puzzled about their finishing result following the 200 lap event.

Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the UNOH 200.
1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had the best Truck for the middle portions of the race and led from Lap 114 to 170, 57-laps in total. He was on his way to his first checkered flag of the season but his Truck started to fade a little bit as the laps wore down. Once Mayer caught and passed Moffitt, all the Iowan could do was watch and maintain his second-place finish. Despite finishing second, Moffitt won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2 and came home with the playoff points lead with a 36 point buffer.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
2. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger made his 100th Truck Series career start last Thursday night, which is hard to believe since his first Truck Series race came 10 years ago in 2010. The Alabaman had an up and down night with his Truck shutting off and on due to a potential electrical issue. The ThorSport driver managed a Stage 1 finish of fifth before earning his 63rd Top 10 of his career, his 10th of the season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
3. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum earned his first career stage win by winning the second stage, and in addition, he finished second in Stage 1. However, most of his race somewhat went south when there was a miscommunication between the crew chief and driver during the stage break caution. Ankrum missed the pit stall the first time around before eventually pitting the second time. While Bristol is what could have been for Ankrum, he finished seventh, gaining his eighth Top 10 finish of the year.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
4. Matt Crafton – Crafton had a respectable finish of 10th after Trevor Bayne, who originally finished fifth, was disqualified, which Crafton moved up in the finishing order. The finish was Crafton’s 10th top-10 of the year. As for the stages, he finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
5. Ben Rhodes – A ho-hum night for Ben Rhodes who came home in the 13th position after winning the Darlington race the week prior to Bristol. Rhodes couldn’t gain a top-10 in either stage, unfortunately. It was certainly a disappointing and forgettable Bristol outing for Rhodes and company.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – First
Fell Out
1. Austin Hill – A frustrating night for the 2020 Regular Truck Series Champion Austin Hill, who finished 25th, five laps down. The Georgian’s night got off to a rough start when he got collected in an incident on Lap 8 with the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen. Hill received right-rear bumper damage from the contact. Throughout the night, Hill maintained as much as he could but continued to fight an ill-handling Truck due to brake issues. More problems arose on Lap 156 when Hill was involved with an accident involving the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self. The final incident pretty much put a damper on Hill’s first race of the playoffs.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
2. Todd Gilliland – 14th place finish for playoff contender Todd Gilliland, who is now eight points below the cut line after fighting a loose handling Truck for much of the night.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
September 20, 2020
Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run NASCAR Playoff races without fans

Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced that no fans will be allowed to attend the upcoming NASCAR races throughout the facility and grandstands on September 25-27, 2020. The announcement came as the track was unable to receive approval from Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada, to have fans in attendance for the races throughout the weekend and with LVMS next on the racing schedule following this weekend’s events at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“To say we’re disappointed that we will conduct the South Point 400 playoff weekend without fans would be a gross understatement,” Chris Powell, President of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said. “Our staff has been working – many of them remotely – since the February Pennzoil 400 to prepare the speedway for our playoff triple-header. But we must adhere to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s directive that limits gatherings due to Covid-19. While we disagree with this policy, we have no choice but to oblige. We certainly regret this situation for the thousands of race fans who won’t be able to attend our NASCAR-weekend events.”

People are not permitted to attend sporting events or concerts under Nevada’s current re-opening phase, with groups being limited to no more than 50 people. Only essential personnel and team members will be permitted to enter the infield facilities and for the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Playoff races at the track next weekend.

Fans who purchased tickets ahead of the NASCAR triple-header weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be contacted by the speedway ticket services department to discuss credits for future races or refunds.

“We’re hopeful that we will be able to welcome all of our fans back for our two race weekends in 2021,” Powell added. “Those dates will be announced soon, and we look forward to getting things back to normal.”

Prior to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus of this year’s racing season in March, Las Vegas Motor Speedway was one of four racetracks that hosted NASCAR events on February 21-23, 2020. The upcoming Truck, Xfinity and Cup races at Vegas are set as Playoff races, with the Truck race serving as the second Round of 10 Playoff race on September 25, the Xfinity race serving as the Playoff opener on September 26 and the Cup race serving as the first Round of 12 Playoff race on September 27.

With Friday night’s announcement, Las Vegas Motor Speedway joins a host of other Cup tracks, including Darlington Raceway (May), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May), Bristol Motor Speedway (May), Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway (June), Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Kansas Speedway (July), Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Richmond Raceway, that have not permitted fans to attend NASCAR races. The upcoming Cup postseason races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway are set to welcome limited number of fans to attend the facility and watch the races from the grandstands.

The NASCAR Truck Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will occur on Friday, September 25, at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race at LVMS will occur on Saturday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at LVMS will occur on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 19, 2020
Sam Mayer scores first career Truck Series victory at Bristol
In just seven Truck Series starts, 17-year-old Sam Mayer played spoiler for the playoff Truck Series drivers as he became the second-youngest winner in series history after passing GMS Racing teammate Brett Moffitt with less than 30 to go to achieve his first Truck Series victory.

“What? Oh my gosh, Bristol dude. I love this place,” Mayer said after the race. “This is win No. 3 for me here and man, I don’t know what to say. I can’t thank the guys back at the shop enough.

“They work their tails off. We fired off so good. We only made like one trackbar adjustment all day, that’s it. That feels so good.”

Despite heavy rain showers earlier in the day due to the remnants of Hurricane Sally, NASCAR officials were able to get the half-mile track dried just in time for the 200-lap event which marked the first of seven playoff races for the Truck Series. Stages of 55-55-90 laps made up the three stages. And only one driver, Jennifer Jo Cobb, had to drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 55

The action was quick from the start and as early as Lap 5 when playoff driver Austin Hill found trouble after contact with the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen. The contact gave Hill right-rear bumper damage which hurt the handling of the No. 16 Toyota. Eventually, the yellow would fly on Lap 8 when the debris flew off the No. 16.

Throughout the rest of the stage, there were no cautions but a few notable incidents among other playoff drivers. It was reported after the Lap 13 restart that Grant Enfinger faced potential issues as he reported the engine kept shutting off and on. Fast forward to Lap 34, when Friesen had handling problems with his No. 52 truck. Although the issue was never diagnosed throughout the race, the Halmar Friesen Racing team reported the truck could have had an ignition problem.

From there, Brett Moffitt took the stage victory with Tyler Ankrum, Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Mayer, Derek Kraus, Johnny Sauter, and Christian Eckes completing the Top 10.

Stage 2: Lap 67 – Lap 110

Just one caution slowed the second stage after the No. 30 of Danny Bohn spun off Turn 4 when contact was made with the No. 20 of Spencer Boyd. However, during the caution, playoff driver Creed came to pit road to take fresh tires and adjustments for the No. 2 Chevy but was penalized for being too fast on pit road.

The rest of the stage remained green, only this time Ankrum took the top spot for the Stage 2 victory. Sauter, Moffitt, Zane Smith, Mayer, Kraus, Crafton, Carson Hocevar, Parker Kligerman, and Eckes rounded out the Top 10 finishers.

During the stage break caution, Sauter and Friesen were penalized for being too fast entering pit road and were sent to the rear prior to the Stage 3 restart. Meanwhile, Stage 2 winner Ankrum, missed his pit box the first time coming to pit road as he and the No. 26 team had a miscommunication and Ankrum was forced to come down pit road a second time to finally make his pit stop.

Stage 3: Lap 119 – Lap 200

Like Stage 2, the final stage was surprisingly clean with just a few minor incidents. On Lap 150, Creed and Kraus make notable contact on the backstretch. Despite the contact, both drivers were able to keep racing and no yellow was flown. Unfortunately, the night would only get worse for playoff contender Austin Hill who was involved in an incident seven laps later on Lap 157 when the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self came up the track and got turned by Hill going into Turn(s) 3 and 4. After the contact, Hill came to pit road to fix the damage but received a penalty for too many men over the pit wall and he also owed NASCAR two laps due to being under the damage vehicle policy from an earlier incident.

The last restart of the night came with 33 to go with Moffitt leading the way. However, it was his GMS Racing teammate, Mayer, who shined under the lights after taking the lead with 29 to go on the backstretch. From there, Mayer had a rocket ship with his No. 24 Chevy and went on to claim his first Truck Series victory with Moffitt following in the second position.

Mayer led just one time for 30 laps.

There were five cautions for 41 laps and four lead changes among three different leaders.

Updated Playoff Grid following Round 1 at Bristol Motor Speedway
1. Brett Moffitt, +36
2. Sheldon Creed, +28
3. Zane Smith, +25
4. Grant Enfinger, +24
5. Tyler Ankrum, +19
6. Matt Crafton, +13
7. Ben Rhodes, +6
8. Austin Hill, +2
9. Christian Eckes, -2
10. Todd Gilliland, -8
Official Results following the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
1. Sam Mayer, led 30 laps
2. Brett Moffitt, led 117 laps, won Stage 1
3. Tanner Gray
4. Parker Kligerman
5. Chandler Smith
6. Grant Enfinger
7. Tyler Ankrum, led 53 laps, won Stage 2
8. Ross Chastain
9. Johnny Sauter
10. Matt Crafton
11. Sheldon Creed
12. Christian Eckes
13. Ben Rhodes
14. Todd Gilliland
15. Derek Kraus
16. Zane Smith, 1 lap down
17. Carson Hocevar, 1 lap down
18. Raphael Lessard, 1 lap down
19. Camden Murphy, 1 lap down
20. Timmy Hill, 3 laps down
21. Tate Fogleman, 3 laps down
22. Clay Greenfield, 3 laps down
23. Jordan Anderson, 3 laps down
24. Danny Bohn, 4 laps down
25. Austin Hill, 5 laps down
26. Josh Bilicki, 8 laps down
27. Spencer Boyd, 8 laps down
28. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 10 laps down
29. Natalie Decker, 14 laps down
30. Cody Erickson, 17 laps down
31. Codie Rohrbaugh, OUT, Brakes
32. Stewart Friesen, 33 laps down
33. Austin Wayne Self, OUT, Crash
34. Norm Benning, OUT, Suspension
35. Josh Reaume, OUT, Suspension
36. Trevor Bayne, Originally finished fifth, but was disqualified for failing post-race tech.
Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will continue its 2020 Playoff run next Friday, Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, live at 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.
September 18, 2020
NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Richmond
For the first time since 2005, the NASCAR Truck Series returned to Richmond International Raceway for the last race of the regular season, before the playoffs began.

Grant Enfinger was once again back on top with the checkered flag passing teammate Matt Crafton after Crafton dominated late in the race. By earning the victory, the Alabaman gained five playoff points headed to the first race for the Round of 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday.

However, there were also a few notables that happened throughout the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond, and we’ll take a look at them with this week’s Power Rankings.
1. Ben Rhodes – While it wasn’t another win as he had hoped, Ben Rhodes had a solid outing at Richmond, but one he might look back on as the playoffs start to get down to the wire. The Kentucky native started second, led 25 laps, and won Stage 2 before coming home to a third-place finish. The top five finish marked Rhodes’s seventh of the season and placed him sixth on the playoff grid, 12 points back from first.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – First
2. Austin Hill – An atta boy effort in Hill’s camp as they clinched the regular-season title after Hill’s Stage 2 efforts and gained an additional 15 points for the playoffs. Before clinching the title, Hill led early on and seemingly had the truck to beat. Though as the night wore on, his truck somewhat fell off the pace and never could contend for the win after being strong through the first 65 laps. Despite the uncharacteristic-like finish, Hill finished third in both stages and continued his streak of top 10 finishes.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
3. Grant Enfinger – Right place, right time for Enfinger when his teammate and then race leader Crafton caught lap traffic at the wrong time with five laps to go. Enfinger made the pass for the eventual win and took home his third checkered flag of the season. Enfinger led three times for 18 laps and finished second in both stages respectively.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
4. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt led 32 laps before coming home in the fourth position. Had he not been passed by Crafton for the lead late, there’s no telling if the Iowan would have held on for the win in what would have been his first victory of the year. With the top-five finish, Moffitt is fifth on the playoff grid, 11 points back from first. Though I’m sure Moffitt wishes he could have the race back in terms of a victory.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
5. Todd Gilliland – After the unfortunate circumstance the week prior at Gateway after contact with Sheldon Creed that took him out of the win, Gilliland bounced back for a 17th place finish and locked himself into the playoffs for his efforts. The Front Row Motorsports driver is ninth on the grid, 23 points back from first.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
Fell Out
Sheldon Creed – It was somewhat of a disappointing outing for Creed who never really contended for the victory and came home in the 13th position, one lap down, and could only salvage a Stage 2 finish of eighth. However, Creed will start the playoffs as the points leader with 2,026 points. It will be interesting to see if Creed can carry his mid-season momentum throughout the playoffs and if he makes the Championship 4 at Phoenix.

Previous Week Ranking – Second
September 14, 2020
Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Richmond
The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Richmond International Raceway this past Thursday night for the first time in 15 years.

Race No. 16 of the season was the last race before the playoffs start this week at Bristol. While Grant Enfinger zipped on by teammate Matt Crafton for the race victory, there were some stories that you may have missed and we’d like to recall from the Toyota Care 250.

Here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the Truck Series race at Richmond.
1. ThorSport Scores 1-2-3 Finish – It’s the first time ever in Truck Series history that ThorSport Racing swept the top three spots with Enfinger, Crafton and Rhodes collecting the spots. Unfortunately for Sauter, his 2020 season struggles continued with an ill-handling truck and he was credited with a 27th place finish for his efforts, missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Despite the Sauter outing, it was still a special night by claiming the top three spots.
2. Rohrbaugh Gets Best Finish Since Daytona – The 2020 season has been up and down for Codie Rohrbaugh and his No. 9 team, who took the last couple of weeks off to regroup and look forward to Richmond. When Richmond rolled back around, the team came back fresh with a sixth-place finish, Rohrbaugh’s third top 10 finish of his Truck Series career.
3. David Ragan Scores Eighth Place Finish – Even though David Ragan last competed at Richmond in the Cup Series in 2019, it was 15-years since he last competed in a Truck Series at Richmond. But Thursday night Ragan had a respectable finish of fourth in Stage 2, before capturing a seventh-place finish, his first top 10 in the Truck Series since ‘06 at Texas when driving for Jack Roush.
4. Jimmy Hensley Back In Victory Lane – While Grant Enfinger was back in victory lane, his crew chief Jimmy Hensley, was also in the winner’s circle again as well. When the Truck Series last visited Richmond, Hensley was celebrating in victory lane in 2005 with former Truck Series driver Mike Skinner who took home the checkered flag that night, which was also on a Thursday night.
September 14, 2020
Enfinger back in Victory Lane at Richmond
Grant Enfinger took the checkered flag at Richmond International Raceway for the third time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series 2020 season. It was his first victory since Atlanta earlier this season. The Alabaman took the lead from his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton with seven laps to go when Crafton had to check up off Turn 4 and roll out of the throttle, which let Enfinger roll on by for the victory.

“Can’t say enough about [crew chief] Jeff Hensley, we’ve both been beating our head against the wall lately, but we go into the Playoffs with some momentum now,” said Enfinger, who led 18 laps in the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150.

Richmond International Raceway marked the first time since 2005 that the Truck Series has raced on the circuit, 15 years ago. And for many drivers, aside from veterans David Ragan, Crafton and Johnny Sauter, most of the drivers in the field did not have any racing experience on the .750-mile race track in Virginia. Race No. 16 of 2020 also marked the last race of the Truck Series regular season before the Playoffs begin at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Austin Hill started on the pole as determined by the new qualifying format that is based on competition percentages. He was also eligible to secure the regular season championship and pick up an additional 15 points as the series heads into the Playoffs. Stages of 70-70-110 laps made up the 250-lap event.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 70

Numerous drivers had issues from the get-go, while pole sitter Austin Hill checked out with the race lead.

On Lap 5, the No. 44 of Natalie Decker was on pit road with the hood up on her Niece Motorsports truck. She would eventually rejoin the race but many laps down and out of contention for the a solid finish. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter’s season continued to get worse, as he was down on pit road just 10 laps into the race. Later on in the stage, the team reported that something had possibly broken on his No. 13 truck. Sauter continued to struggle throughout the night, before being credited with a 27th place finish.

The first caution flag of the night flew on Lap 55 when CMI Motorsports drivers Tim Viens and Ray Ciccarelli had an accident off Turn 4.

Under the caution, Enfinger came down pit road for four tires and fuel while David Ragan was penalized for a crew member over the wall too soon and Trevor Bayne went to the garage for mechanical issues.

After the brief yellow, the rest of the stage remained green from the Lap 61 restart until the Stage 1 completion on Lap 70.

Zane Smith took the stage win with Enfinger, Austin Hill, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Derek Kraus, Sam Mayer, Brett Moffitt, Tate Fogleman and Christian Eckes were the top 10 finishers of Stage 1.

During the stage break, a few drivers received penalties while making their pit stops. The No. 15 of Tanner Gray was penalized for too many crew members over the wall and Ryan Huff was penalized for commitment line violation. Raphael Lessard received a penalty for pitting outside the box and was held a lap and Danny Bohn for a crew member over the wall too soon.

Prior to the restart of Stage 2, Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith was penalized for hitting the choose cone and was sent to the rear of the field.

Stage 2: Lap 82 – Lap 140

Stage 2 saw 59 laps of green-flag racing and no caution flags. The only notable of the stage was when Ben Rhodes took the lead from Enfinger on Lap 120 and held on to take the stage victory. Enfinger, Hill, Ragan, Zane Smith, Moffitt, Crafton, Creed, Gilliland, and Timmy Hill completed the top 10.

By virtue of finishing third in Stage 2, Austin Hill clinched the regular-season title and gained an additional 15 points for the Playoffs.

Stage 3: Lap 153 – Lap 250

Enfinger’s race almost went awry when the green flag flew for the restart. The Alabaman made contact with his teammate and race leader Rhodes. Due to the contact, Enfinger received left rear fender damage. The team elected to bring him down pit road and give up track position to fix the damage, which put Enfinger a lap down.

However, thanks to a Lap 175 caution for contact with Ciccarelli and Austin Wayne Self, Enfinger was the beneficiary of the free pass and was back on the lead lap. Under the caution, Crafton and Moffitt came to pit road, changing up their strategy.

The remainder of the stage was caution-free with Crafton dominating the race and passing Moffitt for the lead with 31 laps to go. Unfortunately for Crafton, lap traffic was starting to get in the way and began slowing him up.

As Crafton was not able to get through lap traffic smoothly, it allowed Enfinger to catch him, slowly but surely. The defining moment came with five to go when Crafton caught the No. 6 of Norm Benning at an unlucky time off Turn 4. From that moment on, Enfinger fended off Crafton for the checkered flag to pick up the win and five playoff points.

There were four cautions for 37 laps and eight lead changes among six different drivers. Enfinger led three times for 18 laps en route to victory.

By virtue of their finishes, Todd Gilliland and Tyler Ankrum clinched the last remaining playoff spots of ninth and 10th. Unfortunately for Derek Kraus, Johnny Sauter and Stewart Friesen, among others, they finished outside the top 10 and will miss out on the Playoffs. It’s the first-time in Sauter’s career he will miss the Playoffs.

Official Results following the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond International Raceway:
1. Grant Enfinger, led 18 laps
2. Matt Crafton, led 25 laps
3. Ben Rhodes, won Stage 2. led 66 laps
4. Brett Moffitt led 32 laps
5. Tyler Ankrum
6. Codie Rohrbaugh
7. David Ragan, 1 lap down
8. Austin Hill, led 65 laps, 1 lap down
9. Timmy Hill, 1 lap down
10. Stewart Friesen, 1 lap down
11. Zane Smith, won Stage 1, led 44 laps, 1 lap down
12. Chandler Smith, 1 lap down
13. Sheldon Creed, 1 lap down
14. Austin Wayne Self, 1 lap down
15. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
16. Tanner Gray, 1 lap down
17. Todd Gilliland, 1 lap down
18. Christian Eckes, 1 lap down
19. Sam Mayer, 1 lap down
20. Spencer Boyd, 3 laps down
21. Clay Greenfield, 3 laps down
22. Derek Kraus, 4 laps down
23. Jordan Anderson, 4 laps down
24. Josh Bilicki, 5 laps down
25. Raphael Lessard, 5 laps down
26. Johnny Sauter, 8 laps down
27. Ryan Huff, 11 laps down
28. Trevor Bayne, 13 laps down
29. Norm Benning, 15 laps down
30. Ray Ciccarelli, 19 laps down
31. Josh Reaume 33 laps down
32. Danny Bohn, OUT, Electrical
33. Natalie Decker, 95 laps down
34. Tim Viens, OUT, Crash
35. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Clutch
Playoff Standings starting at Bristol
1. Sheldon Creed, 2,026 points
2. Zane Smith, -4 from the lead
3. Austin Hill, -4 from the lead
4. Grant Enfinger, -7 from the lead
5. Brett Moffitt, -11 from the lead
6. Ben Rhodes, -12 from the lead
7. Matt Crafton, -17 from the lead
8. Christian Eckes, -21 from the lead
9. Todd Gilliland, -23 from the lead
10. Tyler Ankrum, -24 from the lead
Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will begin their 2020 Truck Series Playoffs with the Round of 10 beginning next Thursday night, Sept. 17, at Bristol Motor Speedway, which will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.
September 10, 2020
Weekend schedule for Richmond

NASCAR travels to Richmond Raceway this weekend. The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is first up Thursday night for their regular season finale while the Xfinity Series will feature a doubleheader, competing Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Saturday will mark the second race in the Playoffs for the Cup Series Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Kevin Harvick remains the points leader after earning his eighth win of the season last week at Darlington Raceway and will start from the pole.

Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer will have substitute crew chiefs after both teams were penalized for missing two lug nuts in post-race inspection at Darlington Raceway, resulting in $20,000 fines for each team. Also, Adam Stevens, crew chief for Busch, and Johnny Klausmeier (Bowyer), were suspended for one race. Jacob Canter will fill in as interim crew chief for Busch and Greg Zipadelli will crew chief for Bowyer.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, Sept. 10

8 p.m.: Truck Series ToyotaCare 250 (Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) FS1/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Austin Hill

Friday, Sept. 11

7 p.m.: Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Ross Chastain
2019 Winner: Christopher Bell

Saturday, Sept. 12

2 p.m.: Xfinity Series Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Replaces race originally scheduled for Michigan)

7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (Stages 80/235/400 Laps = 300 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Kevin Harvick
2019 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

September 9, 2020
NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Ranking – Darlington
The last time the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Darlington Raceway was 2011, nine-years ago. And the last driver to win the Truck race prior to Sunday was former Cup Series star Kasey Kahne, who piloted the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to victory lane that day.

Fast forward to nine years later and the Truck Series returned to Darlington amid the COVID-19 pandemic and state restrictions. The Darlington event was supposed to be the annual Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race. But, with strict travel restrictions to other countries or continents, NASCAR decided to return to Darlington to replace the CTMP event.

Speaking of returns, Ben Rhodes returned to victory lane this past Sunday after taking advantage of an overtime restart and fending off rookie Derek Kraus to snap a winless drought. The victory marked the first time in two years since Kentucky where Rhodes collected a race-winning checkered flag.

While some fans may look at the victory as a fluke due to race leaders Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt electing to come to pit road prior to the final restart, Rhodes had a consistent day in his No. 99 Tenda Ford F-150.

We’ll take a look at Rhodes’s day and others in this week’s Power Rankings following the Truck Series race at Darlington.
1. Ben Rhodes – The victory was finally a weight lifted off of Rhodes shoulders, who has had an up and down season through the mid portions of the schedule. Leading up to Sunday’s victory, Rhodes had six top fives and 10 top 10s. By scoring the victory, he upped his average finish to a solid 9.1 and has a spot in the Playoffs. In both stages, Rhodes finished fourth before leading four laps en route to victory. If Rhodes can continue this momentum throughout the Playoffs, he easily could be a dark horse or championship favorite.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
2. Sheldon Creed – It was what could have been for Creed had he not elected to come down pit road for fresh tires. Though the No. 2 team really didn’t have any choice as his tires were eaten up, and the team elected to pit. Once Creed was mired in the back of the field, the spots he lost prior to the restart were too much to make up in a short amount of time. While finishing 18th may not look like a great outing, the Californian dominated the majority of the race by leading 82 laps and winning Stage 2. Had it not been for pitting with two to go, or for the late yellow, Creed easily could have ended up in victory lane.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
3. Brett Moffitt – Like Creed, Moffitt had a great shot of challenging his teammate for the win late or finishing in the runner up spot, if the caution hadn’t come out late in the race. Unlike Creed, Moffitt was one of the few that could rebound in just two laps to a 10th place finish, earning him his 10th top 10 of the season. Excluding the finish, Moffitt won Stage 1 and placed second in Stage 2. In addition, the Iowa native led 63 laps.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
4. Austin Hill – It was a good day for Austin Hill, all things considered, after finishing in the third position. The Georgian was runner up in Stage 1 and wound up third in Stage 2. There were a few moments throughout the race when Hill contended for the victory but ultimately, third place was all Hill could do in his No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. The top-five finish was his eighth of the season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
5. Todd Gilliland – From first to seventh in a week for Todd Gilliland, who finished seventh after 152 laps in an overtime finish. He didn’t score any points during Stage 1 but the Front Row Motorsports driver did gain points in Stage 2 by finishing ninth. Gilliland currently sits 10th in the last playoff spot. If he has a good race on Thursday and a new driver does not win a race, Gilliland would be a part of the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – First
September 7, 2020
Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Darlington
Darlington Raceway marked race No. 15 of the 2020 Truck Series season. The race certainly had some storylines, both going into and coming out of the event.

It looked as though GMS Racing was once again going to dominate with drivers Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt. But a late yellow and a pit stop took these two drivers out of contention for the win. After that, Ben Rhodes found an opportunity after staying out to assume the race lead. Eventually, the Kentucky native brought home the No. 99 Ford to victory lane, giving ThorSport Racing their second win of the year.

While Rhodes enjoyed victory lane once again after a two-year drought. There was somewhat of a Roush reunion with drivers Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle, and David Ragan all returning to the cockpit for their one-off start. Biffle finished the highest of the bunch with a 19th place effort.

However, there were some other interesting stories that you may have missed. We’ll analyze them in this week’s Four Takeaways following the Truck Series race at Darlington.
1. Matt Noyce Gains First Win – After 49 starts in the Truck Series, crew chief Matt Noyce finally picked himself up a victory with assistance from Rhodes. The first time Noyce and Rhodes worked with each other was at Daytona last year. Since then, the duo has enjoyed some success, scoring solid finishes. Their first second-place finish together came at Martinsville last year. Before Sunday afternoon, the duo had three second-place finishes. Now that Rhodes has a win in the bank and is locked in the Playoffs, we will have to see if the driver and crew chief combination can continue to work well together and advance through the rounds.
2. Kyle Busch Motorsports Sees Successful Day – Both Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers. Christian Eckes and Raphael Lessard, had quiet outings finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the running order. At times, it looked as though the Canadian Lessard was going to have a chance to win and potentially finish ahead of his teammate Eckes. He ran as high as third in some portions of the race but after the checkers flew, it was Eckes who placed one spot higher than Lessard after the 152-lap event. Nonetheless, it was a good outing for the KBM team, especially for Eckes, as he was able to clinch a playoff spot due to his result on Sunday.
3. Timmy Hill Scores Top 10 Finish – Timmy Hill, in his dad’s inspired throwback No. 56 machine, enjoyed his third career top-10 outing following the Darlington race. It’s rare these days to see a small team finish inside the top 10 while competing against the larger teams. But Hill continues to work hard with limited resources and brought home a ninth-place finish after leading two laps. The top 10 result marked his first since Martinsville of last year, where he finished fifth. His other top 10 finish came seven years ago at Talladega, where Hill claimed sixth place.
4. Johnny Sauter in a Must-Win Situation – The Darlington return for veteran Johnny Sauter wasn’t one to remember. Engines woes made it a forgettable race for the Wisconsin native as he was unable to finish and was credited with 31st place. Now, with just one race to go before the Playoffs start, Sauter, like many others outside the 10th position, is in a must-win situation in order to be a part of the playoff grid. Though only one driver can win you have to make it into the Playoffs to contend.
September 7, 2020