Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

Four Takeaways-Gander Outdoors Truck Series- Kansas

The Digital Ally 250 took place this past weekend at Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City, Kansas in a thrilling race that saw a fan favorite win, while others were left disappointed and wanting more.

Here’s a look at this week’s four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Digital Ally 250.

Niece Motorsports Gets First Team Win – Al Niece, the owner of Niece Motorsports, has been waiting for this moment since he started the team nearly four years ago in 2016 with driver Casey Smith. Smith ran two races for them with a best finish of 22nd that year at Iowa but did qualify at Martinsville.

Since then, they have gone through drivers like Jeffrey Abbey, T.J. Bell, Justin Fontaine, Travis Pastrana, Victor Gonzalez Jr., Austin Wayne Self, Landon Huffman and Max McLaughlin. However, Ross Chastain caught their eye in 2018 and was picked up for three races. Despite a best finish of 12th at Bristol, they finished 26th and 16th at Homestead. Then a new year dawned with new goals and challenges. Chastain faced similar circumstances when he lost his Xfinity Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing over sponsorship issues. In 2019, Chastain returned to Niece Motorsports with hopes of going to victory lane at some point in the season. The team almost did that at Daytona earning a third-place finish. During the time span before the Kansas victory, Chastain and the No. 45 team finished sixth at Atlanta, 10th at Las Vegas, fourth at Martinsville, seventh at Fort Worth, and 10th at Dover. The team could smell victory after top-10 finishes and having some of their best performances ever since Niece Motorsports started their truck team in 2016. In fact, Chastain felt they had the truck to win at Texas back in March but they fell short.

Then came Kansas, where the team was looking to continue their top-10 streak. The No. 45 Niece Motorsports team qualified sixth and once again, ran up front in the stages. And then the opportunity arose when, with three to go, the race leader ran out of gas. Chastain held off a hard-charging Ben Rhodes for a popular win in the NASCAR community.

Some say, it was Chastain’s biggest win yet and you could tell that it meant so much to him as he excitedly climbed out of his truck, jumping up and down with the crowd cheering him on. Most importantly, lost in all of this, was Al Niece’s first win as a team owner in the Truck Series. The team could be considered an underdog favorite. But Chastain and Niece don’t like the term and want to be considered along with everyone else, to have a shot at the win, week-in and week-out. With this victory, the team will become more of a threat to the field every week. While Chastain can’t compete for the Truck Series championship, the team can focus on the owners’ championship and at the end of the season, the team could very well accomplish just that. Keep an eye on Niece Motorsports, especially the No. 45 team, as they start to come into their own going into the summer months.

Natalie Decker Has Forgettable Night Kansas – The No. 54 DGR-Crosley team was looking to turn their luck around coming into Kansas Speedway after having some miserable finishes to start the season. After granting a little girl her birthday wish on Friday, it might’ve been a good omen for Decker and the No. 54 team. However, their night and bad luck continued as Decker went sliding off Turn 4 into the grass, getting all four wheels off the ground and winding up 25th. Here’s hoping the team can turn their luck around this week at Charlotte.

Austin Hill Quietly Shines In Top Five – Lost in the finishing order was likely Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team. Hill and company flew under the radar finishing fourth after starting seventh. He finished fifth and eighth in both stages and wound up earning his second top five of the 2019 season.

Kyle Busch Motorsports Places Trucks In Top-10 – The Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a great night in the heartland placing all of their trucks in the top-10 running order. Todd Gilliland, who needed a decent finish coming into Kansas, started fifth and finished third. He finished seventh in both stages and was up front late in the race for a shot at the win. Ultimately, Gilliland was happy with the finish he needed. Brandon Jones continued the No. 51 fame finishing fifth, Riley Herbst finished ninth and Harrison Burton was 10th. All in all, the Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a strong night in Kansas.

May 13, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Kansas
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series headed west this past weekend to the heartland and the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway and as usual, the Truck Series didn’t disappoint.

Some were worried that it was going to be a single file race. But, in the end, a crowd favorite won the race with a late race thriller while others were left disappointed and still searching for a win.

There are some fresh new names that popped up in the power rankings, while some were able to keep their position. Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.
1. Ross Chastain – Chastain finally broke through this past weekend by winning at Kansas Speedway. Chastain and the Niece Motorsports team had been running and finishing inside the top-10 all season and have been close many times, especially with a third place finish at Daytona to open the season. Some fans since then have considered the Niece Motorsports a fan favorite and quite possibly, an underdog team in NASCAR. They continued week by week to strive toward their goal in hopes of winning in the Truck Series, or NASCAR overall. That moment came Friday night when Chastain passed Stewart Friesen with three laps to go, as Friesen ran out of gas and Chastain went on by. Chastain and the No. 45 team were hoping for no cautions for the rest of the way while Ben Rhodes was trying to chase him down in hopes of redemption from a couple of years ago, but couldn’t do it. In the end, Chastain and team owner Al Niece won their first Truck Series win. Chastain led three times for five laps and finished fourth in both stages. It was his first Truck Series victory in just 66 starts and Chastain’s first top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway. The Niece Motorsports team will look to carry this momentum throughout the rest of the season in hopes of fighting for the owners’ championship in which they currently sit third, 33 points behind Kyle Busch’s No. 51 team.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 5th
2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a strong No. 99 Carolina Nut Co. Ford F-150 on Friday night at Kansas and came oh so close to capturing the Digital Ally 250 checkered flag. Despite looking at practice speeds after practice was over with where Rhodes slated 12th and 14th fastest in both practices, some probably thought, he may not have the truck to win Friday night. Rhodes and the No. 99 Thorsport team proved them wrong where he finished tenth in Stage 2 and found himself with a shot at the win late in the race. Rhodes was chasing down eventual race winner Ross Chastain, but ran out of time and fell .483 seconds short. It was his third top five of the 2019 season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
3. Grant Enfinger – After qualifying 13th, Enfinger and the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment Ford F-150 quickly moved up into the top-10 and led 47 laps until a late race incident with 27 to go when he and Brett Moffitt made contact, bringing out the fifth caution of the race. The team was doing well before then by finishing third in both stages but eventually finished seventh. If things had gone their way, they probably could have finished inside the top five or top three. Nonetheless, Enfinger still holds the points lead over Brett Moffitt by 13 points.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 1st
4. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland and the No. 4 KBM team improved on their finish from Dover by finishing third in Friday night’s race at Kansas. He started fifth and remained consistent, running in the top-10 and finishing seventh in both stages. In an exciting late-race battle for the win, Gilliland and company wound up in the top five. It was a much needed top five after finishing 15th at Dover and his first top five of the year.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
5. Matt Crafton – Crafton was looking to snap the long winless streak this past weekend in the heartland, but once again, fell short of doing so, not without effort, however. The No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 driver showed speed in early morning practice sessions on Friday by placing third and fourth fastest, respectively, in both practices. The No. 88 Thorsport team followed that up by qualifying on the pole, Crafton’s 14th of his career and his first at Kansas. Crafton led early but only led eight laps and was not really seen up front after leading early. He finished sixth in both stages to ultimately finish a disappointing sixth after having such a fast truck in practice and qualifying.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 4th
  
  Fell Out
  
  1. Johnny Sauter – A forgettable night for Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport team who previously won at Dover before heading to Kansas Speedway. Mechanical issues plagued Sauter early on and he was sent to the garage to fix the problem. He could never really rebound and wound up 22nd after starting 12th.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 3rd
  
  2. Brett Moffitt – Much like Sauter, Moffit and the No. 24 GMS team had a disappointing night and were ready to move on to Charlotte after the race ended. The team started well by qualifying fourth earlier in the day. He even finished second in both stages and led three times for four laps. But troubles came late in the race when Moffitt and Enfinger collided with each other off Turn 2 and spun out. Both would escape without major damage, but the incident more than likely ended Moffit’s chance at the win and he had to settle for finishing eighth. The No. 24 GMS team will look to rebound this week at Charlotte.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 2nd
May 13, 2019
Ross Chastain wins in late race thriller at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited the Midwest Friday night at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

Ross Chastain passed Stewart Friesen with three laps to go, as Friesen ran out of gas and went on by to score his first career Truck Series win.

“Every win is huge,” Chastain said. “These guys, Al’s (Niece) first Trucks Series win. We each have won a Xfinity Series race, but you can’t rank one above the other. It is so hard to win in NASCAR. I know Kyle Busch has won, winning 200. Like that is incredible, I won two NASCAR races now. I can’t even put it in to words. I know Kyle (Busch) is like, gets up here and he’s mopy and oh well, I only won a Trucks race, but this means so much to all of us. There are so many people in this world that are working toward this goal and I know that, because we went through it. So yeah, I don’t rank one above the other, they all have their place, it only fuels us to win more.”

The Digital Ally 250 saw Matt Crafton on the pole and he led laps early.

The first stage was 40 laps and there were some major incidents. On Lap 23, last week’s Dover winner Johnny Sauter suffered a mechanical issue which saw the truck fall off the pace. He eventually had to take it to the garage for a short while. On Lap 25, Brandon Jones spun out off Turn 4.

After that caution, however, there were no major incidents but some thrilling battles for the lead with Brett Moffitt and Stewart Friesen on Lap 28 with Friesen eventually taking the lead for good on lap 32 and winning the first stage.

Stage 2 began with Moffitt and Sheldon Creed on the front row for the restart. The next caution came out on Lap 52 for Natalie Decker who went sliding coming off Turn 4, getting all four tires off the ground and into the grass. Decker was not injured but her night was done early.

After the incident, there were six laps of racing and Friesen went on to win the second stage.

The fifth caution came out with 24 to go, as Moffitt and Grant Enfinger made contact with each other off the exit of Turn 2. The final incident of the day came with 20 to go for Josh Reaume’s No. 33 Truck, which stalled off the exit of Turn 4.

When the race started to wind down, the battle for the lead started to heat up with Chastain, Austin Hill and Todd Gilliland.

While some were questioning Friesen’s fuel mileage, his crew chief thought they would have enough gas to make it to the finish. But Chastain began to close in and eventually caught him as Friesen ran out of gas with three to go. Chastain went on by and captured the first Truck Series win of his career.

“You always want to win, but you saw Johnny (Sauter) won last week, drove away from Brett (Moffitt) at the end and had perfect handling truck and tonight, I never saw him. I don’t know if something happened to Johnny. Oh did it? I was gonna say, I never saw him. Different trucks come and go each week, and last week we had a terrible week and still finished 10th. I got out of the truck and stretched my back out because it was locking up, and my arms were jello. This week my arms were jello because I was fist bumping so hard. I dented in the roof because I was jumping up and down on it on the frontstretch.”

“Yeah, I mean you just show up each week. This Truck Series is so fun and any racing is fun when you have a team like this, and you show up and have speed. We showed up with this exact race truck in Texas. We walked in that morning of the garage for practice and our chest was out, and we walked out that night our tails were tucked in-between our legs because we were so bad. He (crew chief) was about to cut the dang cross bend out of it, raise it up and cut the frame apart. I wished he (crew chief) would have. You know, it’s like the highest of highs tonight and the lowest of lows in the same truck at Texas, where Al (Niece) had so much invested in that race and we were gonna fifth and we ended up finishing seventh, as the right rear tire ended up going flat at the end, but still a good night saw some promise. Just show up every week, get through practice, try not to have some big moments like I had, you know getting loose and show up and fight.”

Chastain led twice for five laps.

Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, Riley Herbst and Harrison Burton rounded out the top-10.

Enfinger still leads the points standings by 13 points over Brett Moffitt.

There were six cautions for 29 laps with 22 lead changes and a margin of Victory of .483 seconds.

Up Next: The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads east next weekend to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 17.

May 10, 2019
Stewart Friesen Sweeps Both Practice Sessions At Kansas

Two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice took place this morning with the No. 52 team of Stewart Friesen sweeping both practice sessions.

Friesen was fastest in the first practice with a time of 30.40. Brett Moffitt, Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Harrison Burton, Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill, Tyler Ankrum and last weeks winner Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-10.

Final practice was almost similar, but Gus Dean, Ross Chastain creeped in the top-10 with a minor incident with Creed barely scraping the wall bringing out the caution.

Qualifying takes place this afternoon on Fox Sports 1 at 4:05 p.m./local time with the Digital Ally 250 scheduled green flag for 7:40 p.m./local live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

May 10, 2019
Weekend Schedule for Kansas

With the Xfinity teams off this week, the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams head to the Midwest for a two day show at Kansas Motor Speedway. Here is how you can keep up on all of the action.

Note: All times are ET

Friday, May 10
9:35 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series first practice – NASCAR.com/live
11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice – NASCAR.com/live
12:35 p.m. – 1:25 p.m: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice – NASCAR.com/live
2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice – FS1/MRN
5:05 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1
7:05 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying – (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1/MRN
8:30 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Digital Ally 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 MILES) – FS1/MRN

Saturday, May 11
7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Digital Ally 400 (Stages 80/160/267 laps, 400.5 miles) – FS1/MRN

May 9, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kansas
After visiting the Monster Mile this past weekend, the Truck Series heads to the Midwest and Kansas Speedway. Some drivers may follow “the yellow brick road” to victory lane in the heartland and others will leave grateful they are “not in Kansas anymore.”

The sponsor of the race is a Lenexa, Kansas based company Digital Ally, and the Truck Series race will be called the Digital Ally 250.

Currently, there are 27 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s race at Kansas Speedway.

While Johnny Sauter won his first race of the season last weekend at Dover, is he ready to set the world on fire or will someone else take over this weekend?

Here’s a look at who might just win Friday nights Truck race at Kansas.
1. Matt Crafton – This weekend could be the weekend that snaps Crafton’s year and a half winless streak since Eldora of 2017. He has the most starts of any active drivers with 18 starts and has competed in every race since the Trucks debuted at Kansas in 2001. Crafton has two wins at Kansas (2013, 2015). Overall, he has completed 97.7 percent of the laps and has led 110 laps. The No. 88 driver also has five top fives and nine top-10 finishes but does have three DNFs with the last coming in 2005. Since then, he’s had inconsistent finishes. In 2018, Crafton finished sixth, 16th in 2017, second in 2016 and 2014, and 12th in 2012. Nonetheless, Crafton could be following the “Yellow Brickroad” to victory lane on Friday night and snapping his long winless streak.
2. Brandon Jones – Brandon Jones will once again pilot the famed No. 51. Jones returned to the Truck Series last weekend at Dover where he finished 13th. He’ll have some pressure to perform well as Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch swept the top two spots last season at Kansas. Jones will also have veteran crew chief Rudy Fugle who has two career wins at the track located in Kansas City, Kansas. The first in 2016 was with William Byron and last year with Gragson. Jones has two starts overall at Kansas with a best finish of ninth coming in last year’s race. He’ll be using chassis number KBM-055 as this chassis has had three outings with two wins, both this season with owner-driver Kyle Busch behind the wheel, at Atlanta and Texas. Jones finished seventh and fourth in both stages in 2018. He also has a couple of ARCA starts as well.
3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has been on a roll recently in the Truck Series by taking over the points lead after Dover and he just might continue that momentum this weekend at Kansas. In just two starts, his first coming in 2017, he has a best finish of eighth at the 1.5-mile track. In the first race, Enfinger started 15th and finished eleventh, and led 14 laps led. In 2017, he finished ninth and sixth in both stages, while in 2018 Enfinger finished fifth and eight in both stages, respectively. Enfinger finished inside the top-10 last year on 1.5-mile tracks including winning the Las Vegas race in September. Look for the No. 98 team to continue their momentum this weekend for the Digital Ally 250.
4. Stewart Friesen – Friesen and the No. 52 team will be looking forward to getting back on track this weekend at Kansas, and he might do just that. While his first outing didn’t go well finishing 32nd in 2017, Friesen upped his finish in last year’s race where he finished third after starting eighth and leading six laps. He also finished 10th and fifth in both stages last year. Friesen will be hungry for a win.
5. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt only has two starts at Kansas with a best finish of seventh in his first start in 2017. Last year didn’t fare so well for the defending Truck Series champion, where he finished 16th, four laps down. However, Moffitt has had four top fives and four top-10 finishes this season and he finished second last weekend at Dover after leading 81 laps.
  
  Of note, Angela Ruch will drive the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports, Norm Benning will be in the No. 6, Joe Nemechek will drive the No. 8, Josh Bilicki will be piloting the No. 34 Reaume Brothers Racing Truck and Riley Herbst will be in the No. 46. Natalie Decker originally wasn’t supposed to race at Kansas but added six races to her schedule and will be competing this weekend in the No. 54.
  
  Update – Announced Wednesday, May 9, the No. 30 On Point Motorsports team of Brennan Poole has withdrawn from Friday night’s race due to lack of sponsorship. The team will return to Charlotte next week.
  
  The list of winners at the speedway include Ricky Hendrick winning the first race in 2001, Mike Bliss, Jon Wood, Carl Edwards, Todd Bodine, Terry Cook, Erik Darnell, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, hometown favorite Clint Bowyer, James Buescher, Matt Crafton who won twice, Kyle Busch who also won twice, William Byron in 2016, and recently, Noah Gragson in 2018.
  
  Qualifying will be critical here at Kansas, as the lowest a race winner has ever started was 10th set by Todd Bodine in 2005, Erik Darnell in 2007 and Kyle Busch in 2017. The highest a race winner has come from was first place three times, the first in 2008 by Ron Hornaday Jr., Kyle Busch in 2014 and Noah Gragson in 2018.
  
  The Truck Series gets on track early Friday morning with the first practice at 9:35 a.m. ET and final practice at 11:35 a.m. ET. Qualifying for the Digital Ally 250 is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.
  
  The Digital Ally 250 will take place Friday night a little after 8:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio for 167 laps.
May 9, 2019
Four Takeaways-NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race-Dover
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Dover International Speedway for their six race of the 2019 Truck Series season. While a season-veteran and champion return to victory lane, what did we learn from the race? Here are four takeaways from the JEGS 200 at Dover.
1. Johnny Sauter Finally Gets Win – If you would have told someone before Dover that two-time Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter would not have a win yet at this point in the season, some would have shaken their heads in disbelief. Despite it taking this long, if you look at last year, he won the season opener at Daytona but wouldn’t win again until Dover. Friday was his first win of the season and his third consecutive Dover win. Now we have to wait and see if Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport team will set the world on fire or not.
2. Track Position- Dover is not known to have the best races and that’s been seen here recently in the Truck Series. There wasn’t that much excitement that happened throughout the race. While yes, it was somewhat determined as a short track, it didn’t provide much passing for the lead. Also, Brett Moffitt wasn’t able to catch Sauter for the win late. Sauter even said in a post-race press conference, that track position was very important. And you could see why. It seemed like the only way you could pass was either on the restart or on pit road under caution. In last year’s race, there were only nine leaders among seven lead changes. This years race saw a little bit more lead changes with 11, but still, there wasn’t much excitement. There were only six cautions for 35 laps with two of them coming for stage breaks, and four of them coming for actual incidents. Maybe the Truck Series shouldn’t come to Dover or maybe they should but something needs to change.
3. Start Time – There was an odd start time to Friday’s race at Dover with a 5 p.m. ET start on the East coast. It’s hard for someone to who works a 9-5 job to take off early to catch a Truck Series race with a start time like that. Imagine living on the West coast, where the start time would be 3:00 p.m. Pacific. Barely anyone would be able to catch the race live. Thank goodness for DVRs. Still, something needs to change about the race start times. Maybe it’s time for a doubleheader with the Xfinity Series.
4. Derek Kraus Earns Top-10 Finish – Flying under the radar after Friday’s race was rookie Derek Kraus, who currently drives part-time for Bill McAnally Racing in the Truck Series. It was Derek’s third career Truck Series race in his young NASCAR career. He tied his best finish of eighth. Kraus also finished eighth in his first Truck Series race at ISM.
May 8, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Dover
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returned to on-track action this past weekend at Dover International Speedway, famously known as the Monster Mile.

While it’s known to reach out and bite drivers, the drivers, for the most part, able to tame it. One, in particular, Johnny Sauter, took the lead with 30 to go and went on to win the JEGS 200. It didn’t come without some controversy, however, as Sauter fought an ignition issue early on but he rebounded nicely for the win.

While it was Sauter’s third consecutive win at Dover, how did everyone else fair? Was Stewart Friesen able to keep the points lead?

Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.
1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment team had a good day at Dover, finishing fourth after starting sixth and running inside the top-10 all day. Enfinger even finished fourth in both stages and led three laps. Nonetheless, Enfinger had something to smile about after the race was over, as he took over the points lead by four points over teammate Johnny Sauter. It was Enfinger’s fourth top five of the year thus far.
  
  Previous Week Ranking- 2nd
2. Brett Moffitt – Some say Moffitt should have won this race. The No. 24 team got off to a great start Friday by qualifying on the pole. As the race started, Moffitt completely dominated and won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. He consistently stayed up front, led 81 laps and finished second.
  
  Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
3. Johnny Sauter – You could say Sauter got the monkey off his back by winning at one of his favorite racetracks. He showed speed in qualifying by starting on the outside pole. Sauter won Stage 2 but faced an ignition issue afterward. The No. 13 team was able to get it fixed and ultimately Sauter went on to win. Believe it or not, it was his first win of the season. Keep an eye on Sauter and company as they just might start to go on a tear this summer.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
4. Matt Crafton – Crafton and the No. 88 Menards team were able to salvage a top-five finish at Dover this past weekend, but not without a tough start. The two-time champion had to drop to the rear after an engine change before the race. Problems only got worse for Crafton as they started to face plug wire issues. Crafton came back to finish fifth. However, the No. 88 team had seen better days and were looking forward to getting out of Dover. Nice rebound, however, for the veteran driver.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 3rd
5. Ross Chastain – Chastain had an eventful day at the Monster Mile. He didn’t have nearly as strong a truck as in past races this year but still managed a top 10 finish, even after some close calls. There was a moment late in the race, where he almost lost control of his truck which would have brought out a caution. A late race caution helped the team get a decent finish to continue their great run in the 2019 season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 4th
  
  Fell Out
  
  1. Stewart Friesen – After qualifying fourth and finishing fifth in Stage 2, the No. 52 team was really nowhere to be seen throughout the race. Friesen wound up 12th and lost the points lead to Grant Enfinger, and now sits third in the standings, 11 points behind.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 1st
  
  2. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum quietly finished ninth at Dover but didn’t make too much noise, as he has had in previous races, such as his sixth-place finish in March at Texas.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – 5th
May 8, 2019
Weekend Schedule for Dover

Once again, all three national touring series will be back in action as the Gander Outdoor Truck Series, XFinity teams and the Cup guys will try to tame Miles the Monster at Dover International Speedway this weekend. This will be the first time in over a month that the Trucks will be getting back in action. Here is how you can watch all the drama unfold.

Note: All times are ET

Thursday, May 2nd
2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series first practice (No TV) Results
4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice (No TV) Results

Friday, May 3rd
11:05 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NASCAR.com/live
12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NASCAR.com/live
1:10 p.m. Gander Outdoors Truck Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions, NASCAR.com/live
2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NASCAR.com/live
3:40 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions), FS1
5:00 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series JEGS 200 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 200 MILES), FS1

Saturday, May 4th
9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series second practice, FS1
10:10 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions), FS1
12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Allied Steel Buildings 200 (STAGES 45/90/200 laps, 200 miles), FS1, MRN

Sunday, May 5th
2:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV 400 (120/240/400 laps, 400 miles), FS1, MRN

May 2, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Dover
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns to action this weekend at Dover International Speedway, popularly known as the “Monster Mile,” after well over a month off from action. The last time the Trucks were last seen was at Texas Motor Speedway in March, when all-time wins leader Kyle Busch got four in a row to extend his winning streak.

This time, however, Busch will not be competing at Dover this weekend, as the next time he’ll be in a Truck will be Charlotte in middle May. Despite Busch not being able to compete this weekend, the Truck Series normally action packed on any given race weekend.

Last time the Truck Series visited Dover saw a thrilling finish between Johnny Sauter and now Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson battle it out for the win. In the remaining laps, Noah made a divebomb move to try and pass Sauter for the win, but couldn’t make the Truck stick and ended up wrecking out of the race, thus seeing the race ending under caution.

When the entry list came out earlier this week, there were 35 trucks entered but the No. 04 of Roper Racing with Cory Roper withdrew Wednesday due to the lack of funding. The No. 1 (Travis Kvapil) and No. 43 (Anthony Mrakovich) also withdrew Thursday, leaving a total of 32 entries for the JEGS 200. In other notables, this weekend will see the return of Austin Wayne Self to his family-owned team to the No. 22 of AM Racing. Self violated NASCAR’s substance policy earlier this year but has since been reinstated as of this week.

With the Truck Series back racing this weekend, here are five drivers that might get it done in the JEGS 200.
1. Johnny Sauter – You really can’t go to a race without having Sauter as a contender for the win. Surprisingly enough, he does not have a win yet in 2019 but Sauter is the defending Dover race winner. In 10 starts at Dover, he has two wins, two top fives and seven top-10 finishes with an average finish of 8.0. Sauter also won here in 2017 making it two consecutive wins when he visited victory lane here last spring. He has 170 laps led in total and zero DNFs but that was with GMS Racing when Sauter visited victory lane. What about his time with ThorSport Racing? The last time Sauter and company raced with each other was back in 2015 where he finished ninth. Other finishes include fifth in 2009, 15th in 2010, 11th in 2011, 24th in 2012, seventh in 2013, and third in 2014. Sauter turned 41-years-young this past week and what a birthday present it would be if he could get to victory lane Friday night.
2. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland only has two starts at Dover with one top-10 finish coming in last year’s race where he finished 10th. However, Gilliland kept himself busy during the off week by winning the ARCA race at Talladega last weekend. It was a little sigh of relief after facing so much pressure to perform this season in the Truck Series. Gilliland is determined to get to victory lane this weekend and put the critics’ comments aside once more. Momentum is everything in this sport, so don’t be surprised if he wheels the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry into victory lane at Dover. The No. 4 KBM team will be using chassis KBM-045. The chassis has 10 starts and one win at Chicagoland Speedway in 2016 with owner-driver Kyle Busch behind the wheel.
3. Ben Rhodes- Rhodes could be an upset winner this weekend at Dover. He may not have the best results statistically but he has improved his finishes the last two times the Trucks visited there. His first two outings did not fare well for the Kentucky native with finishes of 22nd and 28th but he finished fourth in 2017 and eighth in 2018. In last year’s race, Rhodes finished sixth in both stages. He has an average finish of 15.5 with 71 laps led. Rhodes will continue to look to improve his finish by going to victory lane this Friday.
4. Brandon Jones – Jones will be back in the No. 51 KBM entry at Dover this weekend. Jones could very well end up in victory lane and it wouldn’t be shocking. He has competed at Dover in the Truck Series since 2014 and aside from the 2016 race (where Jones finished 20th), he has finished inside the top-10 in most of his starts at the “Monster Mile.” Jones’ best finish in a Truck at Dover is fourth in 2014. He did not compete in last year’s race but made five starts for KBM in 2018 with a best finish of third at Charlotte.
5. Stewart Friesen – Despite Friesen not finishing the last two Dover races, he has been solid in 2019 and is currently the Truck Series points leader. So far this year, the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver has three top fives and four top-10 finishes with one pole. Friesen’s best finish this year is second at Texas. He’ll be looking forward to putting the Dover slump behind him.
The Truck Series has competed at Dover over the past 19 years since 2000. Current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch won the first outing here in 2000. The first back-to-back winner was Kyle Busch from 2013-2014. Johnny Sauter is the most recent back-to-back winner here at Dover. No driver has ever won three in a row.

The race winners is a list of who’s who ranging from Scott Riggs, Ted Musgrave, Jason Leffler, Chad Chaffin, Mark Martin, Scott Speed, Brian Scott, Aric Almirola, Todd Bodine, Tyler Reddick to Matt Crafton.

Kyle Busch has the most wins at the track with four. However, as previously noted, will not be racing this weekend in the Truck Series.

First time winner? The Truck Series at Dover have produced 15 different winners.

The race winner has come from the pole only three times with the most recent taking place in 2014 set by, none other than Kyle Busch. The lowest a winner has ever come from to win was 15th and was set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday in 2007.

The Truck Series takes to the track on Thursday afternoon with two practice sessions. The first practice will take place at 2:05 p.m. ET and final practice at 4:05 p.m. ET with no live TV coverage.

Trucks will qualify on Friday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. ET live on NASCAR.com.

The JEGS 200 is slated to get underway a little past 5 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.
May 1, 2019