Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

  • Weekend schedule for Phoenix Raceway

    Weekend schedule for Phoenix Raceway

    This week the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Phoenix Raceway. The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series is off this week and will return to competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 14. The ARCA Menards Series will make its first trip to the one-mile track in Arizona.

    Kevin Harvick has won three of the last five spring Cup Series races at Phoenix, in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Ryan Newman won the event in 2017 and Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.

    There have been five different Xfinity winners going back to November 2017 when William Byron won. Brad Keselowski  earned the win in March 2018 while Christopher Bell went to victory lane in Nov. 2018. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in March 2019 and Justin Allgaier won in November 2019. Former winners Busch, Keselowski and Allgaier are entered in this weekend’s race.  

    Ty Gibbs won the K&N Series West event at Phoenix in 2019.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 6

    Noon: ARCA Menards Series Final Practice – No TV

    2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – FS1

    3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice – FS1/MRN

    4:30 p.m.: ARCA Series Qualifying – Impound (Group Qualifying) No TV

    5:02 p.m. – 5:27 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – FS1

    5:35 p.m. – 6:25 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1/MRN

    7 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 – FS1

    Saturday, March 7

    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1

    2:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1/MRN

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Series LS Tractor 200 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 200 Miles) – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, March 8

    3 p.m.: Cup Series FanShield 500 (Stages 75/190/312 Laps = 312 Miles) – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Chandler Smith nabs eight races with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Chandler Smith nabs eight races with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Announced today via Kyle Busch Motorsports, Chandler Smith will drive the famed No. 51 Toyota Tundra in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with sponsorship from JBL. The Georgia native made a lot of noise early on in his Truck Series career by having outstanding performances.

    Last year Smith competed in four races and will add four more in 2020 for a total of eight races with KBM. Those eight races include Richmond International Raceway on April 18 and Dover International Speedway on May 1. During those two races, he will be a part of the annual “Triple Truck Challenge.” Then the next time Smith will be on-track in the truck will be August 8 at Michigan International Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on August 21, Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 25, Talladega Superspeedway on October 3 and his final race of the year will be at Phoenix International Raceway on November 6.

    While some of these tracks may be new to Smith, he competed in four races last year and had stellar performances by achieving three top fives and four top-10 finishes with a best finish of second at Bristol last August. The KBM driver made his first start at Iowa Speedway last June and led 55 laps. During that time, the Georgia native was able to learn quickly in those four races.

    “I learned a lot about racing in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series last season in my four races and I’m thankful to everyone at KBM, JBL, Toyota and TRD for the opportunity to have an expanded schedule this year,” Smith said. “Danny Stockman (crew chief) and all the guys on the No. 51 team are already off to a great start getting a win with Kyle (Busch) at Las Vegas and having a strong run with Riley (Herbst) at Daytona. I know they are going to provide me with fast JBL Tundras every week. If I do my job and we execute as a team, I’m confident that we’ll be able to rack up a few wins and put ourselves in position to bring home another owner’s championship for KBM.”

    Team-Owner Kyle Busch says Smith reminds him a lot of former drivers Erik Jones and most recently driver Christian Eckes.

    “Chandler is one of those young drivers that come along and are able to produce speed and run up front at every level as they progress up the ladder and it was no different for him last year in the Truck Series,” owner Kyle Busch said. “He was fastest in practice for his first truck race and went out and led a bunch of laps. Although he had just four races on his schedule, he was in the mix for the win a couple of times and we feel that his first of many wins at KBM is just around the corner.

    While running a part-time schedule this year, Busch says it’s intended to prepare Smith for running full-time in 2021.

    “Much like some of the younger guys before him, Erik Jones and most recently Christian Eckes, we feel that the schedule he is running for his second year in trucks is a mix of different types of tracks and with a good portion of his races coming during the Playoffs it will help to prepare him for running for rookie of the year and competing for a championship next season.”

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series at Las Vegas

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series at Las Vegas

    While there was still buzz around the Daytona finish last week, the Truck Series drivers had to turn their focus on what many call the first real race of the season last Friday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch was back in the field and completely dominated the race by sweeping the stages and leading the most laps. Throughout the Strat 200, there were some dicey moments, but for the most part, it was almost a caution-free race as there were only five cautions for 25 laps. Two of them were for stages, while three of them were for incidents. 

    However, there may have been other notes of interest that racing fans might have missed or the broadcast did not cover it. Here are this week’s four takeaways from the Strat 200. 

    1. Kyle Busch Back In Victory Lane – About a week ago, Busch and the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports team announced its five-race schedule for the 2020 Truck Series season. Those races were Las Vegas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Kansas, and Chicago. It is crazy to bet against him in those races but anything can happen in the racing world. Busch was back in the field Friday night at his hometown racetrack. He didn’t qualify on the pole but had the best truck out of anyone in the race. Busch swept both stages, led 108 laps and picked up his first win of the 2020 season.
    2. Bounty Out For Busch Win – After the win, on Saturday morning, former Cup Series champion and former Truck Series owner Kevin Harvick issued a $50,000 bounty to any full-time Cup driver that can beat Busch in the next four Truck Series races. After Harvick tweeted that out, Social Media literally blew up with all kinds of comments (mainly offers from Cup drivers). Cup drivers and Xfinity drivers chimed in wanting to take Harvick’s offer. This got so much attention that the owner of the sponsor in the series Marcus Lemonis chimed in and said, “Hey Kevin, I’ll match that… I’m that comfortable Kyle Busch can’t be beat.” With that said, the bounty now has gone up to $250,000 courtesy of Lemonis who wants the event to take place on FOX. It will be interesting to see if this comes to fruition as I’m sure there will be sponsor and manufacturer conflicts for any driver that wants to take the offer. Still, this is one of the most intriguing stories that has taken place in the last 10-years in the Truck Series. It is just one of the many reasons why I love the Truck Series. It deserves more attention then it gets right now.
    3. Stewart Friesen Rallies To Ninth Place Finish – It was a difficult night for Friesen and his No. 52 team who struggled most of the night. The Canadian had a poor qualifying effort of 17th and really did not make up that much ground during the race. Friesen’s mid-race run was averaging 20th place throughout the night. He spent zero laps in the top-10 and did not collect any stage points. Friesen even was handed a penalty for improper fueling which set him back even more. However, his truck seemed to come to life late in the going and he was able to finish ninth.
    4. Off-Week – With two races under the belt, the Truck Series will have three-weeks off until the next race that takes place on Saturday, March 14. After a couple of exciting races, race fans can catch their breath as the season will really start to pick up after the Atlanta race. The Truck Series 2020 season has been off to a great start so far this year with just two races in.
  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Las Vegas I

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Las Vegas I

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series headed out west this past weekend for their first of two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. To no one’s surprise, the all-time series wins leader, Kyle Busch, dominated the race and won his seventh consecutive Truck Series race.

    However, it wasn’t all that easy for Busch as he did have some challengers throughout the race who, if the opportunity presented itself, could beat Busch in the end. But the Las Vegas native was unbeatable Friday night and went to victory lane. For the rest of the field, some flew under the radar and had a great run, while others had a difficult night at the 1.5-mile speedway. 

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Strat 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

    1. Austin Hill – Hill followed up a strong run at Daytona with another solid finish Friday night at Vegas. The Georgia native started sixth, ran top five for most of the night and ended up passing Matt Crafton for third coming to the checkered flag. He was penalized after a pit stop but still rebounded for his ninth career top-five finish. Hill was able to place fifth in Stage 1.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had one of the best races in his career at Vegas Friday night. The ThorSport driver qualified on the pole and was never really out of contention. Sauter only led seven laps early but that doesn’t show how well his truck ran all night. Despite not leading a lot of laps, the Wisconsin native finished third and 10th in both stages, respectively. It was almost a flawless race for Sauter but he fought handling issues as well. Still, Sauter found himself with a shot to win late as he was trying different lines but ran out of time to catch Busch. All in all, not a bad outing for him as Sauter’s 2020 is off to a good start.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third

    3. Sheldon Creed – You could very well say that Creed also had the truck to challenge Busch for the win. There were a couple of restarts that occurred late in the going where Creed battled side-by-side with Busch for several laps before settling into second. The GMS Racing driver had a close moment with race leader Busch as Creed got loose off Turn 4 but he was able to save it and continued racing. However, it cost him a lot of spots and eventually a great finish. Creed was relegated to a 10th place finish after having a great truck early and qualifying on the outside pole.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    4. Todd Gilliland – It was a quiet night for Gilliland who was in the top three at one point in the race. However, at one point, he almost made contact with Christian Eckes, as Eckes was behind him and got into the wall, which cut his tire down. Gilliland avoided that incident and continued on racing. It wasn’t all that easy for the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports driver as he qualified 25th, but Gilliland made his way up to the front early on. He finished ninth in the second stage before winding up in the seventh position.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    5. Matt Crafton- Like Gilliland, Crafton also flew under the radar but showed his potential by competing in the top five and 10. He wasn’t able to place at all in Stage 1 but finished fifth in the second stage. Crafton had to fight tire management throughout the night which probably prevented him from getting up front to challenge Busch but he still came home with a fourth-place finish. It easily could have been a third-place finish but he was passed by Hill coming to the finish line on the last lap. A nice rebound for Crafton this week after he finished 15th last week at Daytona.

      Fell Out

      1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger was caught up in a crash on Lap 89 and received significant damage to the left-front. He did have a great truck early, finishing fourth in the second stage. It was a disappointing night for the Alabaman as he finished 31st after winning Daytona the previous week.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

      2. Jordan Anderson – It was a tough outing for Anderson who finished 20th this past weekend at Vegas after so much attention surrounding him about his Daytona finish. While winning most certainly wasn’t the expectation, a top-10 or top-15 would have been. But Anderson finished two laps down in the final running order.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth 

  • Toyota Racing NGROTS Post-Race Recap – Las Vegas 02.21.20

    Toyota Racing NGROTS Post-Race Recap – Las Vegas 02.21.20

    KYLE BUSCH CELEBRATES IN FRONT OF HOMETOWN CROWD

    LAS VEGAS (February 21, 2020) – Tundra driver Kyle Busch dominated Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to earn his seventh consecutive series victory in as many starts.

    Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
    NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Race 2 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles

    TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
    1st, KYLE BUSCH
    2nd, Johnny Sauter*
    3rd, AUSTIN HILL
    4th, Matt Crafton*
    5th, Ben Rhodes*
    9th, STEWART FRIESEN
    12th, SPENCER DAVIS
    15th, BRENNAN POOLE
    22nd, DEREK KRAUS
    23rd, CHRISTIAN ECKES
    24th, ANGELA RUCH
    27th, JOSH REAUME
    30th, RAPHAEL LESSARD
    32nd, JOSH BILICKI
    *non-Toyota driver

    Tundra driver Kyle Busch won his third straight spring NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night.
    The Las Vegas native won both stages and led 108 (of 134 laps) en route to his series-leading 57th Truck Series victory.
    This is also Busch’s seventh consecutive Truck Series win in as many starts dating back to Pocono 2018.
    Austin Hill (third) and Stewart Friesen (ninth) also finished in the top-10 at the 1.5-mile track.

    TOYOTA QUOTES

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
    Finishing Position: 1st

    What happened on the restarts?

    “I don’t know why we just couldn’t fire off on the restarts. We just didn’t have any speed. Once we got about 10 laps in, we started to check away from everybody. This Cessna Tundra was awesome. It had really good long run speed. The guys did a fantastic job. It’s the first win for Danny Stockman with KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), so that’s cool to have him on board. For us to have good stuff with Rowdy manufacturing. All my guys, they just worked their butts off. When we unloaded we weren’t really that close. Worked on it a lot with this tire and we got it a lot better. Kind of showed that with the long run. Overall, thanks to Toyota, TRD, Rowdy Energy keeping us powered here lately, Black Clover, Gander RV & Outdoors, appreciate their support of the series and being here with us. Of course all the fans – pretty cool to have a homecoming win in Vegas like this.”

    What was it like battling for position early in the race?

    “The restarts were crazy. We just couldn’t fire, couldn’t take off the last couple. That was not what I wanted to have in store for us. You can kind of get yourself in a bad spot sometimes in those situations. This Cessna Tundra was awesome tonight. Rowdy nation out here in Las Vegas, there’s nothing like having a homecoming and being able to win out here. I have to give a shout out to Big Machine Vodka, too I appreciate their support the last couple years. It’s fun, you know anytime you can win, it’s great. Anytime you can win in your own stuff with all these KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) boys, it means a lot. It’s cool to give (Danny) Stockman his first win.”

    Does winning the Truck races seem as easy to you as the numbers show with your laps led?

    “We certainly work really, really hard. It wasn’t like we unloaded and knew we had a great piece and that we were going to go out there and dominate like that. We work for it, these guys do. All the preparation at the shop comes a long way with Danny (Stockman, crew chief), with Rudy (Fugle, No. 18 crew chief), with Mike Hillman Jr. (No. 4 crew chief). It’s just been really cool to get the equipment going that we have now. Obviously the talent that we have now. Our groups of guys, the core of them have been together now for a long time. It’s nice to keep some familiarity around KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) with the faces that are there and bring in some experience to help facilitate growing the 51 team too a top notch team.”

    Do you agree with Danny, do drivers make crew chiefs or do crew chiefs make drivers?

    “I think it goes both ways. We have some awesome talent coming in the 51 this year with Chandler (Smith). Hopefully these two will put on a good show.”

    DANNY STOCKMAN, Crew Chief, No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Did you feel any issues with the tire used tonight?

    “There was obviously some wear. We ran a tire similar to this last year in Cup Series, so I kind of knew we would have some issues like this. I think our truck turned well enough to where it didn’t wear the left front tire out that a lot of people experienced. We did not have any issues.”

    How does it feel to get your first win with KBM?

    “I told Kyle (Busch), ‘I was like zero to hero in a week or a couple months.’ It’s awesome to have this opportunity. Being a crew chief it’s about having high enough stock, right. There’s a lot of people who would like to have my job and you just have to fight hard every day. The opprotunity that Kyle has given me, we’re going to make the most of it. Crew chiefs don’t make drivers, drivers make crew chiefs. It’s going to be pretty fun.

    AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 United Rentals Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises

    Finishing Position: 3rd

    Did you struggle with grip throughout the race?

    “Yeah, if you look at our left front (tire), it’s all corded. This tire that we brought just wasn’t what we needed. I’ve always went by the philosophy that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They came with a different tire compound and we just struggled all night finding grip. I could only run the bottom, I couldn’t run up the race track any, and if I did it was just a four wheel slide. I felt like we were on top of the race track. Can’t thank United Rentals enough for coming on board. Our Tundra was okay early in the run, but then once the tire wear came in and the left front started cording, there’s really nothing else you can do. I have to thank my guys Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and all the guys at the shop. Eddie up in the spotter’s stand, he gave me a lot of tips and tricks in the race that seemed to help me get back up to the front. It was an okay day for us. I wanted to race against Kyle (Busch), but we weren’t good enough.”

    # # #

    About Toyota

    Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

    Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

  • Kyle Busch earns dominant Truck Series win at Las Vegas

    Kyle Busch earns dominant Truck Series win at Las Vegas

    Kyle Busch, the all-time wins list leader in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series, was able to pick up his first victory of the 2020 Truck Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night. He had the best truck all night long and while Busch didn’t start on the pole, it didn’t take him long to get out front and pull away from the field. He had to fight off some contenders including Sheldon Creed and Johnny Sauter, but Busch held on for his 57th career Truck Series victory.

    “The restarts were crazy, you know,” Busch said to MRN Radio. “I don’t know why we couldn’t fire. We couldn’t take off there the last couple (restarts). That was not what I wanted to have in store for us, you can kind of get yourself in a bad spot sometimes. This Cessna Tundra was awesome tonight. I want to thank TRD, everyone at KBM, Rowdy Manufacturing, Rowdy Energy, Credible Bank, Black Leaf Clover, and Gander RV and Outdoors for supporting our series and the fans. Being able to win out here (in Las Vegas). Big thanks to Big Machine Vodka, I appreciate their support last couple of years.

    “It’s fun, you know? Being able to win the last couple of years. Anytime you can win it’s great, but anytime you can in your own stuff with all these KBM boys, it means a lot to get Danny Stockman (Crew Chief) his first win.”

    Qualifying was held earlier in the day for the Strat 200 and veteran Johnny Sauter qualified on the pole with Sheldon Creed on the outside pole. Race winner Busch was third. Prior to the race, several trucks went to the back due to infractions. Those were Matt Crafton, Angela Ruch, and Stefan Parsons who went to the back for unapproved adjustments while Cory Roper went to the back for an engine change.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 30

    It didn’t take long for the first caution to fly, as the caution came out on the second lap of the race. The No. 19 of Derek Kraus went for a spin in Turn 3. Surprisingly, that was the only caution in the first stage. Johnny Sauter led the first seven laps of the race, before Busch took the lead and the Stage 1 win.

    Busch, Christian Eckes, Sauter, Tyler Ankrum, Austin Hill, Raphael Lessard, Ross Chastain, Brett Moffitt, Ben Rhodes and Sheldon Creed completed the top-10 finishers for Stage 1.

    After the pit stops, there were some penalties handed down to several drivers. Natalie Decker was penalized for fueling twice which caused her to get a one-lap penalty. Zane Smith and Spencer Davis were caught with an equipment violation. Stewart Friesen, Spencer Boyd, and Josh Reaume were penalized for improper fueling, while Austin Hill and Tate Fogleman had an uncontrolled tire.

    Stage 2: Lap 38- Lap 60

    For a short while, Busch’s teammate, Eckes, took the lead after Stage 2 was underway. But it didn’t take long for the Las Vegas native to take the lead away on Lap 45. There were no incidents during this stage, other than the No. 83 of Stefan Parsons who was on pit road late in the stage for a throttle issue.

    The second stage was another flawless stage for Busch, as he picked up the stage win once more. Eckes, Chastain, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Rhodes, Moffitt, Lessard, Todd Gilliland, and Sauter rounded out the top-10 for the second stage.

    Late in the stage, Busch reported a vibration with his truck but it appeared to get better as the run went on. Tyler Ankrum was also penalized for pitting outside the box and received a one-lap penalty.

    Stage 3: Lap 67- Lap 134

    The third stage featured a little more action and it wasn’t all that easy for Busch to pull away. With 61 to go, teammate Eckes cut a right-front tire down which sent him plowing into the wall. This brought out the caution to slow the pace. After the restart with 56 to go, Creed challenged Busch for the lead for multiple laps before Busch got the better of Creed.

    The final caution of the night took place with 39 to go. Daytona winner Enfinger and Canadian Lessard were both involved in an incident on the backstretch. Both drivers would be out of the race early and wound up 30th and 31st respectively.

    A final restart occurred with 35 to go and there were some intense moments for race leader Busch. Sheldon Creed got really loose off Turn 4 and almost took out Busch in the process. However, both drivers were able to save their trucks from major incidents.

    From there, Busch had no issues and took home his sixth consecutive Truck Series victory dating back to 2018. But this win was extra special to Busch, as he was able to obtain Danny Stockman during the off-season.

    “Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get him,” Busch added to MRN Radio. “I had to do a hell of a sell job on him and fortunately it all worked out. He knows he’s got a great organization here with Rudy (Fugle, Crew Chief) and myself, and (Mike) Hillman Jr being there as well. That adds to the portfolio with the strength of Stockman and hopefully being able to have some really good results. I know the other two (Christian Eckes and Raphael Lessard) got caught up in some other stuff tonight. We got to straightened them boys out and kick them into shape and show them they should be right here, finishing one-two-three with us.”

    Busch led 108 laps of the 134 en route to victory. There were five cautions for 25 laps and 15 lead changes among five different leaders.

    Official Results

    1. Kyle Busch, led 108 laps, won both stages
    2. Johnny Sauter, led seven laps
    3. Austin Hill
    4. Matt Crafton
    5. Ben Rhodes
    6. Zane Smith
    7. Todd Gilliland
    8. Tanner Gray
    9. Stewart Friesen
    10. Sheldon Creed
    11. Tyler Ankrum
    12. Spencer Davis
    13. Ty Majeski
    14. Ross Chastain
    15. Brennan Poole
    16. Brett Moffitt
    17. Austin Wayne Self
    18. Codie Rohrbaugh
    19. Tate Fogleman, one lap down
    20. Jordan Anderson, two laps down
    21. Natalie Decker, two laps down
    22. Derek Kraus, three laps down
    23. Christian Eckes, four laps down
    24. Angela Ruch, four laps down
    25. Spencer Boyd, five laps down
    26. Cory Roper, six laps down
    27. Josh Reaume, eight laps down
    28. Timmy Hill, OUT, Overheating
    29. Stefan Parsons, 22 laps down
    30. Raphael Lessard, OUT, Crash
    31. Grant Enfinger, OUT, Crash
    32. Josh Bilicki, OUT, Handling

    Up Next: The next time the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will be back on-track is Saturday March 14 at 1:30 p.m./ET live on Fox Sports 1.

  • ThorSport Racing places three trucks in the top five

    ThorSport Racing places three trucks in the top five

    It was a solid night for ThorSport Racing as they placed three trucks in the top five at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Pole-sitter Johnny Sauter was second, Matt Crafton fourth and birthday boy Ben Rhodes was fifth.

    Sauter qualified on the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series pole for the first time since Texas of 2018. The Wisconsin native had a strong showing early before falling back late in the race. Sauter was able to finish third in the first stage and 10th in the second stage to earn some playoff bonus points. He was also able to lead seven laps in Stage 1. While those were the only laps he led, Sauter was able to get back in the mix late in the going and challenged Kyle Busch for a little while.

    As the laps were winding down, Sauter was trying different lines to catch the eventual race winner Busch, but failed to do so and wound up second.

    “We had a great truck in practice today, obviously qualified well,” Sauter told MRN Radio. “When the green flag dropped, I thought, man this thing is a rocket and then we just went loose, sideways loose. We made a lengthy pit stop there. Nothing you could do. We had to pull spring rubbers and make adjustments, so we lost a lot of track position and got a lot of it back, and I couldn’t get going on restarts tonight. Last year, I was great, but this year, I was spinning the tires. I guess we got to go somewhere in between that.”

    “Just proud of Joe (Shear Jr., Crew Chief) and all of these guys. I thought I had something for Kyle there and I was squeezing in on them there and kept running the third grove down there and he moved up there and took my line away. Then we got tight for a little bit and ended up loose again. So, I’m not exactly sure (what happened). All in all, a good effort from what I thought we were going to have tonight and we came a long way.”

    For Crafton, it was all about tire management. He was running third just a few laps before the finish. However, he was passed by Austin Hill and that relegated Crafton to fourth.

    “We had a lot of tire wear tonight,” Crafton said to MRN Radio. “We were really free all night and just had to tire manage. It was actually a lot of fun. I kind of fell back on restarts, but I was like man, every time I went hard on the restart, it just killed the left-rear tire and then I got really free. Not a great run, but a decent run for this Menards Ford F-150.”

    Rhodes came home with a quiet fifth-place finish. Rhodes was somewhat satisfied with the finish considering the handling issues he experienced during the race.

    “I guess so,” Rhodes said to MRN Radio about the finish. “Considering the day we had, we struggled and we have to get better on a lot of things. We came in and lost spots on every single stop and we were on the splitter the whole race. I couldn’t really go until four laps until the end of the stage. It took me 30 laps for the tires to come up and barely getting it off the splitter, and then at the end, it never even came off of it. I just felt like I had my hands tied behind my back the whole race and wasn’t able to show what we had.”

    “Every time we would make up ground, we would lose it again. It’s just a really hard-fought fifth-place finish for our Carolina Nut Ford F-150. I wish it wasn’t this hard-fought. We worked pretty hard on the birthday here but for as hard as we worked, I wished we would have had a first-place finish. Some nights you have finishes like this and struggles like this. Just as a whole, we need to get better as a team and I think if we do that, we capitalize on these mistakes and we’ll be up there competing for wins with no problem.”

    The other ThorSport contender Grant Enfinger was involved in a wreck on Lap 89, which took him out of the race and he had to settle for a 31st place finish.

  • Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    This week all three series head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 is scheduled for Friday night while the Xfinity Series will take center stage Saturday with the Boyd Gaming 300. The NASCAR Cup Series will close out the weekend’s activities with the Pennzoil 400 Sunday afternoon.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Feb. 21

    11:05 a.m.: Truck Series final practice – No TV

    2:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series final practice – FS2

    4:05 p.m.: Cup Series first practice – FS1

    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap/All Positions – FS1

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series final practice – FS1

    9 p.m.: Truck Series Strat 200 (Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Feb. 22

    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap/All Positions – FS1

    2: 35 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap/All Positions – FS1/PRN

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles) FS1//PRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, Feb. 22

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Pennzoil 400 (Stages 80/160/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles) FOX/PRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Defending Race Winners:

    Cup Series: Joey Logano

    Xfinity Series: Kyle Busch

    Truck Series: Kyle Busch

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Las Vegas I

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Las Vegas I

    After a spectacular season opener for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series, the series now heads west for race 2 of the 2020 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While the racing won’t be a crash fest like Daytona was, it will certainly still be an exciting actioned-packed event as the Truck Series normally is. 

    Here is this week’s preview of the Strat 200 and five highlighted drivers that might end up in victory lane in Friday night’s race. Currently, there are 35 trucks on the preliminary entry list for the Strat 200, which means three trucks will be sent home after qualifying. 

    1. Kyle Busch – It’s really hard to count out the all-time wins leader of the Truck Series, Kyle Busch. Busch is making his first of five starts this year in 2020 and the winning looks like it won’t stop soon. Busch has made two consecutive starts dating back to 2018 and has pretty much swept the two events by qualifying on the pole and winning both races. While he only led 55 laps in 2018, Busch led 110 out of the scheduled 134 laps in 2019 and won both stages as well. He’ll be expected to be up front and challenge for the win Friday night.

    2. Brett Moffitt – If there is anyone that can challenge Busch for the win, look no further than the No. 23 team of Brett Moffitt. Since entering the GMS Racing camp of last year, Moffitt has one top five finish and one top-10 finish for Maury Gallagher. In the spring race, the Iowa native finished runner up to Busch and so far, it’s Moffitt’s best finish at the track. He also finished second and 10th during both stages, respectively.

    3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen has had mixed results at Las Vegas during his past six starts dating back to 2016. Only once has he wrecked out which occurred in 2017. Since then, it’s either been top five finish or top-20 finish. For last year’s race, Friesen started seventh and finished fourth after leading 20 laps. The Canadian also also finished seventh and second in both of the stages. We’ll see how this year’s race will go, as he finished fifth in the spring of 2018, 17th in fall of 18, fourth in spring of 19 and 19th in the fall race last year. So maybe Friesen will be in for another strong run this time around.

    4. Christian Eckes – Hard to base anything off two starts, but Eckes had a strong outing in two races there by finishing third. The New Yorker started first and finished third after leading four laps in the fall 2019 race. Eckes also placed sixth in the second stage of that race. He’ll have crew chief Rudy Fugle and boss man Kyle Busch to lean on should he need any help. Eckes will be piloting chassis KBM-58. This chassis has seen four starts with a win by Busch at Charlotte in May of last year.

    5. Sheldon Creed – Speaking of two starts, that’s how many the California native Creed has to his name at Vega and both came in last year’s races. Las Vegas has been kind so far to Creed, who finished sixth in last year’s spring race, while finishing fourth in the fall race. He has not led any laps, but managed to finish seventh in Stage 2 in the spring race, finish sixth in Stage 1, and seventh in Stage 2 in the fall race. Keep an eye on Creed Friday night.


    Dating back to 1996, Las Vegas Motor Speedway has seen 25 Truck Series races and since 2018, they have seen two races a year. The winners include Jack Sprague, Joe Ruttman, Greg Biffle, Ted Musgrave, David Starr, Brendan Gaughan, Shane Hmiel, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, Travis Kvapil, Johnny Sauter, Austin Dillon, Ron Hornaday Jr, Nelson Piquet Jr, Timothy Peters, Erik Jones, John Wes Townley, Tyler Reddick, Ben Rhodes, Kyle Busch, Grant Enfinger, and Austin Hill.

    Chevrolet has the most manufacturer wins with nine, Toyota with eight, Ford with five and Dodge one. Toyota has won the last two races here. 

    As for qualifying, it has differed in various races. The race winner came from the pole seven times throughout the 25 races, meaning 28 percent of the races have been won from the pole. The lowest a driver has ever come from the back to win was 21st by Shane Hmiel in 2004. 

    The most lead changes the Las Vegas race has seen was 21 in the September race of 2018, which was won by Grant Enfinger. The fewest lead changes occurred twice with six happening in the first race in 1996 that was won by Jack Sprague and the second in 2004, also won by Hmiel. 

    Ever since stages were implemented in 2017, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Kyle Busch, and Ross Chastain have all won the stages.

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will only have one practice session that take place Friday morning at 11:05 a.m. ET with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:05 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports 1.

    The Strat 200 is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages of 30/60/134 laps will make up the 201-mile race.

  • Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    Daytona International Speedway hosted its 21st NASCAR Truck Series race Friday night on Valentine’s Day for its season opener. As always, the Truck Series does not disappoint wherever they race and one of those prime examples was Friday night. There were a lot of special stories in the field, while the normal front runners had their issues.

    Here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona. 

    1. Natalie Decker Is Highest Female Finisher in Series – One of the stories coming out of Friday’s Truck race was Natalie Decker, who finished fifth, the highest a female driver has finished in the Truck Series field since 2011. The previous top finish for a woman was accomplished by current series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb, who finished sixth in 2011. Decker patiently took her time and avoided most of the wrecks to end up with an outstanding finish. Despite running a part-time series schedule, this will certainly be a momentum booster for Decker after a rough 2019 season.

    2. Ty Majeski Flips – There hasn’t been a Truck that has flipped at Daytona since 2017 when, now Cup Series driver, Christopher Bell, flipped on another Friday night. Majeski, just 17 laps into the race, was the victim of a bump draft gone wrong when Todd Gilliland made contact with Austin Wayne Self and others. The incident collected Majeski who was sent flipping upside down going into Turn 1, eventually landing upside down on his Truck hood. Thankfully, the Wisconsin native was able to get out and walk away from the accident with no injuries. It was a frustrating finish for sure, but the flip will be a highlight for years to come.

    3. Stewart Friesen Has Rough Outing – The first race of the season was looking bright for Canada native Stewart Friesen. He finished sixth and seventh in both stages but was caught up in a couple of wrecks that eventually ended a good run. He was still able to finish the race but wound up 21st after running up front most of the night. The No. 52 team will hope for better circumstances at Las Vegas this Friday night.

    4. Strong Field For Daytona – The last couple of years have been so-so for the Truck Series in terms of how many trucks come to the races. There have been times when there were only 28 trucks and other times 32 to 34 trucks. However, at Daytona this weekend, there were 39 trucks on the preliminary entry list which meant seven trucks were sent home. While it’s certainly not ideal for the ones who went home and did not qualify, it just goes to show how competitive the Truck Series can be when a full field comes to qualify. Just for reference, the first Truck Series race at Daytona saw 52 rucks entered and only 36 made the race.