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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

Jesse Little; JJL Motorsports prepared to roll the dice in Las Vegas debut

SHERRILLS FORD, N.C. – Back on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) trail, Jesse Little and his part time JJL Motorsports team head to Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway eying their fifth top-10 finish of the season in Friday night’s World of Westgate 200.

Preparing to compete in four of the remaining six Truck Series races this season, the Sherrills Ford, N.C.-based team hopes to roll the dice in Sin City and gain some momentum for the final stretch.

“I’m really excited to compete at Las Vegas,” said Little. “I’ve never been there, but I feel really good about the truck we are bringing, and we’ve worked hard to make our mile and a half program better since the beginning of the year.

“Hopefully, we can have a competitive finish on Friday night and carry that towards the end of the year.”

With the intent to compete at Las Vegas, Martinsville, Texas Motor Speedway and the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway to complete their season, Little is optimistic his team can put themselves in a position to not only be in the spotlight but perhaps pull an upset and win a race.

“I think we can do it,” added Little. “My crew chief Matt (Noyce) works day and night to make our program better, my JJL Motorsports guys are hardcore racers who want to win just as bad.

Plus, we’ve been fortunate enough to have the support of Ford Performance this season and that relationship has helped us to be competitive.

“I think Las Vegas will give us an opportunity to put ourselves back on the map after our bad luck at Bristol and contend for another strong finish.”

Little and JJL Motorsports will also welcome the support of FASTSIGNS® for Las Vegas.

The experts at FASTSIGNS® handle all of your business visibility needs – from the signs and graphics you know us for to digital signs, décor graphics and everything in between.

To assist JJL in their Las Vegas debut, Little and Noyce will utilize chassis No. 003 – which they raced at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway earlier this year and essentially burst the team into the spotlight contending for the win in February before finishing eighth after a late-race restart.

To generate some connection with the fans, JJL Motorsports will offer two Truck Series garage passes for Friday night’s race. Stay tuned to the team’s social media channels to find out how you can win!

In addition to FASTSIGNS®, Little’s No. 97 Ford F-150 will have support from Ford Performance and Performance Friction Corporation (PFC) Brakes for his seventh start of 2018.

The World of Westgate 200 (134 laps | 201 miles) is the 18th of 23 races on the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule. Practice begins on Thurs., Sept. 13 from 2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m., while final practice is set for 4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Fri., Sept. 14 beginning at 3:05 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 6:00 p.m. with live coverage on FS1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
For more on FASTSIGNS®, please visit FASTSIGNS.com.

For more on Jesse Little, please like him on Facebook at Jesse Little Racing.

Little tweets too. Follow him @JesseLittle97.

For additional information on JJL Motorsports, please visit JJLRacing.com.

JJL Motorsports tweets too. Follow them @JJL_Motorsports.

September 11, 2018
Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Canada
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series began their playoff run to Southern Florida this past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as it continues to be the most exciting series of 2018.

With the track known for its controversial finishes and top moments in the series for the past five years, it didn’t disappoint this year with another exciting finish.

Here are four takeaways from the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at CTMP.
1. Another Exciting Ending – In the past prior to the 2018 race, there have been several exciting finishes to the end of the races at CTMP. In 2013, it was Chase Elliott who made contact with Ty Dillon in the last corner of the race and went on to win. The next year, saw Ryan Blaney edge German Quiroga to the line in a clean finish. In 2016, John Hunter Nemechek won the race after bouncing and taking Cole Custer off the track, and into the wall, ending with Custer tackling Nemechek after the race. In 2017, Austin Cindric did a bump and run, spinning Kaz Grala out to win the race and lock himself into the Playoffs. This year was no exception. On the last lap, Noah Gragson accidentally took out his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland for the race win but was unable to successfully complete the maneuver, which saw a thrilling ending to the end of the race. The two teammates were able to recover but were relegated to ninth and 11th in the official results, after almost having a 1-2 finish.
2. Justin Haley Breaks Through – The No. 24 GMS Racing driver was able to break through after all the mess on the final lap to lock himself into the Round of 6. It was Haley’s second win of his career and the first since Gateway in the summer. Haley can breathe a little easier with not having to worry about Las Vegas and the wildcard race at Talladega to end the round. He continues to be quietly consistent this year and it would not be a surprise if he ends up being in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami in Southern Florida. GMS Racing continues to be the team to beat for the championship, whether it will be Haley or Johnny Sauter.
3. Timothy Peters Gets A For Effort- After Red Horse Racing shut down a few years ago, it left veteran Timothy Peters without a ride. Since then he has competed part-time in the series driving for multiple teams. When the news broke prior to the race weekend that Dalton Sargeant and his team had parted ways this would have seen Spencer Gallagher replace Sargeant to drive at CTMP. However, Gallagher had a shoulder injury and wasn’t able to compete in the race. This gave Peters the opportunity to step in but it almost didn’t happen either. His passport was expired so he had to get it renewed and did not leave for Canada until Friday morning. Peters made the trip and qualified fifth, finished eighth in both stages, led two laps and wound up finishing fourth for his second top-10 of the 2018 season and scored his 124th career top-10 finish. It was his best finish in the top five since Charlotte of last year, where Peters finished fifth. It will be interesting to see if this opportunity will allow Peters to get more chances in the Truck Series and potentially end up full time again. Only time will tell.
4. Alex Tagliani Scores Top-10 Finish – Lost in all the excitement from Sunday’s race and finish could very well be, Alex Tagliani who piloted the No. 12 of Young’s Motorsports. He had a quiet race, but is normally found inside the top-10 or competing for race wins at road courses, when the right opportunity comes along. Tagliani, who regularly competes in the NASCAR Pinty Series in Canada, earned his second career top-10 finish in the Truck Series in his fourth start. He didn’t earn any stage points in either stage, but nonetheless, Tagliani continues to impress at road courses in whatever equipment he races.
The Truck Series now takes two weeks off before continuing their Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night September 14.
August 29, 2018
GMS Racing Statement – Elliott will return to the No. 23

Statesville N.C. (August 28, 2018) – “Due to Spencer Gallagher’s shoulder injury, Chase Elliott will return to the No. 23 Chevrolet beginning this weekend at Darlington Raceway as well next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As Gallagher continues to work with his doctor back home in Vegas, we do not have an exact time frame of when he will return to the seat.” – Mike Beam President of GMS Racing

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Johnny Sauter, Cody Coughlin, Justin Haley and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Since the team’s start in 2014, GMS Racing has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.

SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

August 28, 2018
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series power rankings-Canada
The Round of 8 and the third annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs began this past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Some drivers upped their A game, while others had a frustrating day in another thrilling finish.

Here’s a look at this week’s power ranking following Canada and the first race in the Playoffs.
1. Noah Gragson – Gragson dominated most of the race by starting second and winning both stages. He led three times for 35 laps and earned two playoff points. His day looked to be done after a restart in the final stage as he slipped back and was passed by Johnny Sauter for the lead. However, a late race caution with four to go, set up a NASCAR Overtime restart. Race leader, Todd Gilliland, got out in front and was able to pull away for the most part, until Gragson began to follow in his tire tracks. As noted in recent history, this place has been known for last lap passes and controversial finishes. Sunday proved that once more as Gragson went to make a move on the bottom on his teammate in the final turn. Unfortunately, his move didn’t work, ending up taking out his teammate for the win and he was relegated to a ninth-place finish. With his ninth-place finish and his two stage wins on Sunday, the No. 18 Safelite driver is now fourth in the standings, 24 points above the cut line. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
2. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland proves week in and week out that he has tons of talent and incredible driving ability. Especially since for most tracks, he is making his first starts at racetracks in a truck. Gilliland played strategy at the end of both stages by pitting with two to go in order to have track position for the next stage. His time to shine came on Lap 54 where he took the lead from Sauter. Unfortunately, a caution came out late with four to go, and his four-second lead was evaporated over Gragson who was trying to catch him. He continued to lead until the final lap where Gragson made the move and accidentally took him out in trying to win. With the incident, Gilliland finished in 11th place finish after leading 11 laps. Gilliland will look to rebound and race for the win in the final seven races. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had a quiet, but solid day at the road course in Canada. The regular season champion started sixth after qualifying in the rain Saturday evening. The No. 21 GMS Racing driver finished seventh in both stages. After a restart late in the race, Sauter took the lead and led once for nine laps and wound up finishing sixth for his 14th top-10 of the year. He leads the playoff points standings over Brett Moffitt by six points. Previous Week Ranking: 1st
4. Justin Haley – What becomes a misfortune for one becomes good fortune for another. This was the case for the No. 24 GMS Racing team with the driver that broke through the last lap melee and earned his second win of the season. Haley started in the eighth position and finished third in both stages. Haley was able to lead once on Lap 34 and of course, came out on top of the wreckage for the first playoff win of his career. With his win, he is now locked into the Round of 6. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
5. Matt Crafton – Crafton showed speed this weekend in qualifying and throughout the race. His day was almost similar to Sauter’s as he didn’t make much noise but got the job done and accomplished what he needed to do and that was to finish the race. Crafton had a decent qualifying effort by starting in the fourth position. He finished fifth in both stages and after the thrilling finish, Crafton finished fifth for his sixth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: Not RankedFell Out
  1. Stewart Friesen – Friesen had an up and down day at CTMP. He spun around early on in the race but was able to rebound and finish seventh after starting 16th. He was able to finish sixth in the second stage but did not collect any stage points in the first stage. He sits sixth, one point above the cut line.
  2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a good day at CTMP. He won the pole and finished second in Stage 1, but did not finish in the top-10 at all in Stage 2. Rhodes led six laps, but that was the most noise he made as he finished 14th after he had contact from Sauter on the last lap. He sits seventh, one point behind the cut line. He’ll need to win a couple of stages or win at Las Vegas or Talladega to advance to the next round.
August 27, 2018
KBM teammates collide on last lap in controversial finish

Two Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates, Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson, were racing for the first and second position on the last lap at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Gilliland had worked hard all day to get his truck in position for the win.

After slipping back and dominating most of the race by sweeping two stages, Gragson had slipped back a little after a restart to begin the final stage. However, with a late race caution, the No. 18 driver came back and was running in the second position.

Gragson, who will be is a playoff driver, while Gilliland is not, caught the No. 4 in the final corner on the last lap. Since it was the last lap, all bets were off and with past history, something was going to happen. And that something ended up being, Gragson making a dive bomb move on the inside of Gilliland to try and advance on to the next round. Unfortunately, the move didn’t work out as planned and Gragson ended up taking out his teammate coming to the finish. Both were unable to recover from it and Gragson finished ninth while Gilliland had to settle for 11th after contact was made.

Needless to say after having a shot at the win, Gilliland was not too happy with Gragson after being taken out for his first potential race win.

“He (Noah Gragson) drove through me on the last corner, like we’ve seen in the past 12 years here,” Gilliland told MRN Radio. “That sucks. We had a really fast Frontline Enterprises Toyota Tundra. Can’t thank everyone at KBM. I hate he (Gragson) cost us the 1-2 finish. It’s very frustrating, but we just need to refocus and go get a win next week, and go win the rest of them.”

Gragson, after starting on the front row in second and winning both stages, was disappointed after the contact was made with his teammate Gilliland.

“I was making that move work all through the race,” Gragson told MRN Radio. “Most of the blame is on me. Ultimately, I wasn’t fully there. Todd (Gilliland) was a nose ahead of me, so he claimed the position, but was expecting his spotter to say inside getting into that last corner to his back wheel. That’s part of it. Unfortunately, I hate it for the 4 guys. I wasn’t trying to take him out. I was just trying to race hard, side-by-side to the finish line. Just not a lot of room when it came down to it. Strong Safelite Toyota Tundra. We’ll move to Vegas, but mainly just want to apologize to Todd, the 4 team, and everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports. That one is on me.”

Gragson wound up finishing ninth and now sits fourth in the playoff standings 24 points above the cut line.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series take two weeks off and will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the second race of the Playoffs in the Round of 8.

August 27, 2018
Justin Haley wins at Canada after controversial finish between KBM teammates

“Oh Canada” is Canada’s national anthem. However, some might be saying, Oh Brother, instead, after another wild finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

For PG references, that’s what was going on between the minds of KBM teammates Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson after Gragson made a move in the last turn of the race, spinning Gilliland and taking both of them out in the process, for the win. Neither could recover to win and fell back to finish ninth and 11, respectively.

Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland collide as Justin Haley speeds to the win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

With the incident, it saw 2018 playoff driver Justin Haley break through and take the checkered flag for his second career win in the series and his first at CTMP.

“I knew those KBM guys were gonna rough it up, especially Noah (Gragson) in there,” Justin Haley told MRN Radio. “He just wants a win as bad as we all do. So, I knew we were in the catbird seat and I liked where I was, and liked being third for that restart, kind of that plan. Gotta hand it to these guys. Hats off. We’ve been chasing this one for a long time and road courses, and finally got it done. It’s all them guys (GMS Racing) not me.”

Qualifying took place in the rain yesterday evening and with that, it saw playoff drivers, Ben Rhodes and Noah Gragson on the front row. As the race began with Stage 1 being 20 laps, the action was fast and furious from the start.

Rhodes got out to the lead, but Gragson followed him closely behind until he took the lead on Lap 7. From there, Gragson dominated and went on to win the first stage. There were a couple of incidents without yellows due to the nature of the road course. Jordan Anderson spun around, Stewart Friesen spun, and Myatt Snider spun around after contact with Johnny Sauter. With the road course being long enough and allowing drivers to get back to speed, there were no cautions for these incidents.

Stage 2 got underway on Lap 24 and went to Lap 40.

After falling back shortly on the restart, Gragson was able to take the lead once more on Lap 25 and he held on for nine laps. The second caution of the day came out on Lap 32 for the 20 of Max Tullman who stalled on the track. This saw playoff drivers, Sauter and Grant Enfinger pit for strategy and track position. Unfortunately, Enfinger’s truck pulled the gas can with him and was penalized for removing equipment, and had to serve a stop and go penalty.

The restart came with six to go in Stage 2. With no more incidents in the second stage, Gragson collected his ninth stage win of the year.

After a lengthy cleanup and caution, the final stage resumed with 16 laps to go. Sauter took the lead on the restart from Gragson. However, another caution flew for the 22 of Austin Wayne Self who spun out after contact with Friesen and John Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch.

After the restart with 13 to go, Gilliland took the lead two laps later. Gragson passed Rhodes and Enfinger for second. But, a caution came with four to go after Wayne Self had contact with Jason White in Turn 3, setting up NASCAR overtime for a two-lap restart.

As seen in recent history, most finishes come down to the very last lap and the very last turn and that was the case again for this year’s running at CTMP.

With the contact made between the teammates, Haley scored his first ever win at CTMP and advanced himself into the Round of 6.

“I don’t know if we’re going to take a break,” Haley told MRN Radio. “It’s definitely going to be a lot less heavy breathing. We don’t got to worry about it. Like I said, Las Vegas is our best track and at Talladega, we’re good and it’s a wildcard, so, this is what we came here to do and we accomplished our mission.”

There were five cautions for 18 laps with six leaders among eight lead changes.

There will be a two-week break for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series until the series returns to Las Vegas Friday night September 14 for the second race in the Round of 8.

Here’s where the rest of the playoff contenders finished in the annual running of the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

3. Brett Moffitt
5. Matt Crafton
6. Johnny Sauter
7. Stewart Friesen
9. Noah Gragson
14. Ben Rhodes
17. Grant Enfinger

Playoff Point Standings
1. Justin Haley
2. Johnny Sauter +35
3. Brett Moffitt +29
4. Noah Gragson +24
5. Matt Crafton +1
6. Stewart Friesen +1

Below the cut line
7. Ben Rhodes -1
8. Grant Enfinger -12

August 26, 2018
Analyzing The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2018 Playoffs
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs will begin this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It will be the first time a road course has ever started the Playoffs for the Truck Series.

This will be the third time the Playoffs take center stage for the Truck Series since the first year it was implemented in 2016. Eight drivers over seven races will round out the Playoffs for the remaining 2018 schedule.

These seven races consist of the opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, then heading off to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway concluding the Round of 8.

Then the Round of 6 begins with three consecutive races in a row beginning at Martinsville on October 27th. This round goes to Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, and with the finale at ISM Raceway on Friday, November 9th.

After all is said and done, and four drivers advance on to compete for the championship that will be held at the season finale in Southern Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway slated for November 16th.

However, let’s take a look at the eight drivers who will be running for the championship and who might have a shot to be in the final four at Homestead.

The eight drivers competing for the 2018 Truck Series championship are Johnny Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley, and Matt Crafton.
1. Johnny Sauter- Sauter will be competing in his third consecutive playoff since the first one in 2016. He has 42 bonus points and is seeded No. 1 in the playoff standings. You could say his 2018 season is almost relative to his 2016 championship season. It’s obvious that Sauter has the most experience in these situations. In his 2016 championship season, the Playoffs began at New Hampshire. Throughout the eight races that year, Sauter finished 10th, seventh at Las Vegas and seventh at Talladega. After solid finishes in the first couple of races, his time came as he won two consecutive races at Martinsville and Texas. With his win at Texas, he punched his ticket for his first Championship 4. While current Cup regular, William Byron may have won the finale, Sauter was the one who pulled through by being the highest finisher by finishing third and clinching his first ever title. In 2017, Sauter was the regular season champion and was crowned after winning the race at Chicago. He won two races again at Texas and Phoenix, allowing him to get a Championship 4 spot for the second consecutive year in a row. Sauter came up one spot short in hopes of securing his second championship to Christopher Bell who finished second. Sauter is on pace currently almost having a year comparable to 2016. This year so far, he has collected five wins, twelve top fives and 13 top-10 finishes. His wins at Daytona, Dover, Texas and Bristol locked him into the Playoffs for a third consecutive year. He was also the regular season champion. If everything goes according to plan and his season continues the way it has, it would be to no surprise to see him in Championship 4 again in 2018.
2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team will be competing in their first ever playoff. Their wins at Atlanta, Iowa, and Michigan put them in the Playoffs this year. It didn’t come without struggle though, as the team fought hard to secure sponsorship for the remaining races. They were almost done earlier in the summer as they didn’t have sponsorship for the following week. And with that, the Hattori team wouldn’t be competing in the Playoffs because they would not have been granted a waiver. The team is still in search of sponsorship for races at Talladega and Texas. If they can get sponsorship for those races and continue to win, they will have a shot at the championship in Southern Florida. Regardless of what is happening at the moment, Moffitt is the second seed with 27 bonus points. It’ll be interesting to see how the No. 16 team fares in the Playoffs after their best season to date and almost closing earlier in the year.
3. Noah Gragson – Like Moffitt, Gragson will be competing in his first playoff as well. 2018 has been a so-so year for the No. 18 Safelite Tundra driver. His 2018 season got off to a rocky start. He crashed at Daytona, finished second at Atlanta, 12th at Vegas, fifth at Martinsville, and almost had a shot to win at Dover until he and Sauter made contact in the remaining laps relegating him to a 20th place finish. He finally broke through at Kansas by earning a pole and winning the race. So far, this has been his only race win of the year. Gragson has been close multiple times by finishing second at Iowa in a thriller, fourth at Chicago after starting on the pole, and eighth at Kentucky, starting on the pole there as well. He’s led 475 laps and has an average start of 5.1 with an average finish of 8.3. But he has collected two DNF’s at Daytona and Dover. On the brighter side of things, he has seven stage wins with six top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He will be seeded third in the standings with 22 bonus points. Gragson did not qualify for the Playoffs last year, but he did earn a win at Martinsville.
4. Ben Rhodes – With his win at Kentucky, Rhodes solidified a playoff spot. He’s had an up and down 2018 season. He started off the season by finishing fourth at Daytona and Atlanta. Rhodes earned a pole at Martinsville but finished 12th. His struggles began at Kansas by finishing 18th, 16th at Texas, 17th at Iowa and 19th at Gateway, with the Playoffs being a little uncertain for the No. 41 ThorSport team. They collected a second place finish at Chicago and finally won at Kentucky in his home state. This won’t be his first Playoffs as he competed in the Playoffs last year. In one of the rounds, Rhodes won his first ever race at Las Vegas, advancing forward, but he suffered a crash at Talladega. Despite his win at Vegas, he couldn’t continue on to compete in the Championship 4 with a couple of bad finishes. In the end, Rhodes finished fifth in the standings. He’ll be seeded fourth with 14 playoff points to carry into the first round.
5. Stewart Friesen – Friesen is having his best season to date after running off and on for the first few years. This is his first full-time season competing in the No. 52 Halmar team with having a technical alliance with GMS Racing. He’s been close multiple times this year to earn his first ever win. Friesen finished third at Kansas and second at Texas after starting on the pole and leading 13 laps. He struggled a little bit mid-summer, finishing 13th at Gateway and 19th at Chicago. Since then, however, he’s rebounded to finish in the top-five four times including a second at Bristol, where he almost won the race. It’ll be the first time Friesen competes in the Playoffs and the first time competing in the Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He is seeded fifth with 12 playoff points.
6. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger could be a sleeper in the playoff run. He’s been steadily quiet but consistent this year. The No. 98 team collected four top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He’s had an average start of 7.7 and an average finish of 8.2. His best finish this year came at Eldora by finishing second, just .038 seconds behind of his first ever win. Enfinger has had some stage wins this year, especially at Michigan. At Bristol, he locked up his playoff spot during the second stage. In 2016, he won at Talladega which was in the Playoffs but he was was not a playoff contender. He missed out on the Playoffs last year but competed in the whole season. His best finishes came at New Hampshire and Talladega where he finished fourth. At Homestead last year, he finished eighth, ending the season in 11th place in the standings. Enfinger and the No. 98 team are slated as the sixth seed with 11 playoff points.
7. Justin Haley- Like Enfinger, Haley and the No. 24 GMS Racing team have also been quiet this year. With a win at Gateway, his first ever career win, he locked himself into the Playoffs. His season started out with a second place at Daytona but he had a couple of disappointing finishes at Atlanta and Vegas. He got right back on track with his win at Gateway and since then, Haley has collected five top-10 finishes. For 2018, the No. 24 team has collected five top fives and 12 top-10 finishes, along with an average start of 10.1 and an average finish of 9.6. With Martinsville and Texas being in the Playoffs, Haley finished 10th and third, respectively. As the regular season came to an end at Bristol, he finished sixth. In 2017, he finished 13th at New Hampshire, had engine issues at Vegas and finished 21st, collected a 16th at Talladega, an 11th at Martinsville, won the pole at Texas and finished fifth, finished 14th at Phoenix and ninth at Homestead. The No. 24 team is seeded seventh in the standings with nine playoff points. Haley can be seen as a dark horse and could punch his way into the Championship 4.
8. Matt Crafton – 2018 has been an uncharacteristic season for the No. 88 Menards ThorSport driver, almost similar to his 2012 season. This will be Crafton’s third consecutive playoff appearance since the inaugural year in 2016. Through the first two Playoffs, he qualified for the Championship 4 with his best finish of second in the standings in 2016. He was the second highest finisher to 2016 champion, Johnny Sauter. In 2016, Crafton won at Dover and Charlotte to lock himself in. In the 2016 playoff rounds, Crafton finished third at New Hampshire, eighth at Vegas, 22nd at Talladega, 17th at Martinsville, second at Texas, third at Phoenix, then finished seventh at Homestead in the championship race. In 2017, he won at Eldora just a few races prior to the Playoffs. Crafton finished fourth in the standings. He had finishes of sixth at New Hampshire, seventh at Vegas, ninth at Talladega, second at Martinsville, ninth at Texas, 21st at Phoenix and sixth at Homestead to finish fourth in the championship standings. In 2018 though, Crafton has had an up and down year. Stat wise, he collected five top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with two DNFs and 53 laps led. Crafton also has had an average start of 9.4 and an average finish of 11.4. His season got off to a disappointing start by finishing 19th at Daytona, brake issues which saw him finish 29th at Vegas, and at Martinsville, he finished 15th. Despite those finishes, his season started to turn around a little at Dover, where Crafton finished second. He went on to finish sixth at Kansas, 11th at Charlotte, fifth at Texas, but then had problems at Iowa and Gateway. But he had solid finishes at Kentucky, Eldora, Pocono, Michigan and Bristol. Things did seem a little uncertain about making the Playoffs this year, but Crafton and the No. 88 team pulled through with an eighth-place finish at Bristol and locked themselves in for a third consecutive year. He will be seeded in the eighth position with just three playoff points but believes the team will break through anytime.
August 24, 2018
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series begin their Playoffs this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This track has been a unique addition to the Truck Series since its first race in 2013. Every year, there has been a last-lap pass for the win.

What will be unique this time around is that CTMP will be the first road course in the Playoffs where it had previously been held before the Playoffs start.

Currently, there are 31 trucks on the preliminary entry list.

Here’s a look at who might wind up in victory lane this weekend in the annual running of the Chevrolet Silverado 250.
1. John Hunter Nemechek – While he may not be competing in the Playoffs, Nemechek has competed here since 2014 earning him four starts at the 2.459-mile road course. His first start was not the greatest as he finished 25th after starting 16th. Since then, however, Nemechek earned a win in 2016 after a controversial finish with Cole Custer that saw them go off the race course coming to the finish line. After the race, the two tangled with each other but Nemechek still got the win. At Canada, he has earned one win, one top five and two top-10 finishes, along with an average start of 12.0 and an average finish of 13.8, and 20 laps led. When stages were implemented in 2017, he finished fourth in the first stage but ultimately finished 20th, one lap down. He looks to turn things around this weekend and secure his second victory at CTMP.
2. Johnny Sauter- Sauter is coming off his win at Bristol where he was crowned regular season champion. He has made five starts at CTMP since 2013. In those five starts, Sauter has collected four top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.4 and an average finish of 11.0, with four laps led. His first outing, Sauter had a gas line issue which saw him finish 28th for a DNF. Since 2014, he has collected finishes of eighth, sixth, seventh, and sixth, respectively. In 2017, he did not finish in either stage.
3. Noah Gragson – Gragson made his track debut last season. In his track debut, the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver started sixth and wound up finishing second. He finished sixth in Stage 1 but did not finish in the top-10 at all in the second stage. Prior to the 2018 race, Gragson competed in the NASCAR Pinty Series event at CTMP, where he started 13th and finished third. KBM has visited victory lane before at Canada, where the team won with Erik Jones in 2015.
4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has started in the last two races at CTMP. In 2016, he finished 30th due to a crash on Lap 6 but had a much better outing in 2017 where he finished 10th after starting ninth. He has an average start of 9.0, but with the crash, he has an average finish of 20.0. With the stages last year, Rhodes finished 10th and third, respectively, in both stages. He’ll look to up his average finish this year.
5. Matt Crafton – This weekend could be the weekend Crafton winds up in victory lane. He has five starts dating back to the first race in 2013. His finishes at CTMP has been up and down. In 2013, he finished 10th but in the previous race, Crafton had engine issues that relegated him to a 25th place finish. Crafton had a best-finish of second in 2015 after starting third that year. With that said, he has two top fives and four top-10 finishes, with an average start of 9.8 and an average finish of 9.4.
The CTMP has held five races since its inception in 2013 and has had five different winners. The list of winners includes Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and Austin Cindric. Each race has seen a last-lap pass for the win.

There will be some drivers making their track debut at CTMP this year. Those include Justin Kunz, Austin Hill, Myatt Snider, Wendell Chavous, Max Tullman, Jason White, Jesse Iwuji, Justin Fontaine, Ray Ciccarelli, Harrison Burton, Stewart Friesen, Bo LeMastus and Roger Reuse.

Iwuji will be making his NASCAR Truck Series debut, along with Kunz for Jennifer Jo Cobb. Alex Tagliani’s best finish was fifth in 2015 and he does have two poles at the road course. Spencer Gallagher will return in the Truck Series competing in GMS Racing’s No. 25 machine.

The lowest a race winner has come from to win is 14th set by Ryan Blaney in 2014. The highest a finisher has ever started from was first and that came last year by Austin Cindric.

The first practice is slated for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET and the final practice is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2.

The Chevrolet Silverado 250 is slated to take place Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio, with the approximate green flag at 2:46 p.m. ET. Stage 1 will end on Lap 20, Stage 2 on Lap 40 and the checkered flag is scheduled to fall on Lap 64, barring any overtime finishes.

This will be the first race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs with the Round of 8.
August 23, 2018
Full weekend schedule for Road America, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Staff Report | NASCAR.com

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is off this weekend. NASCAR Xfinity Series will be at Road America and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at Canadian Tire. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

FRIDAY, AUG. 24

ROAD AMERICA
1:35-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Follow live)
3:35-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Follow live)

SATURDAY, AUG. 25

ROAD AMERICA
12:35 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN (Follow live)
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Johnsonville 180 (45 laps, 182.16 miles), NBCSN (Follow live)

CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK
9:30-10:25 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, No TV (Follow live)
11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, No TV (Follow live)
6 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS2 (Follow live)

SUNDAY, AUG. 26

CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 (64 laps, 157.37 miles), FS1 (Follow live)

MORE: How to find NBCSN

August 23, 2018
DGR-Crosley NCWTS Advance: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 23, 2018) – Bo LeMastus will return to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) action this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ont., driving the No. 54 Crosley Brands Toyota Tundra. The Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 250 will mark LeMastus’ ninth race of the 2018 season with the team he co-owns.

Although it will be LeMastus’ first career start at the 10-turn track, he has numerous road course races under his belt across many racing series including four starts in the ARCA Racing Series (ARS). In his four ARS road course starts, he has an average finish of 15th, with his best result of 12th occurring at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J. Along with previous experience, LeMastus has also spent two days testing at the 2.459-mile track in Canada behind the wheel of a X-Bow KTM car and a high-performance sports car where he was able to work with a road-course instructor, familiarizing himself with the course.

Track: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, 2.459 mile road course
Event: CTMP 250 (157.37 miles, 64 laps)
Date: Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 2:30 p.m., ET
Broadcast: Fox Sports 1

Weekend Schedule: Saturday, Aug. 25
9:30 a.m……..Practice
11:35 a.m……..Final Practice
6:00 p.m……..Qualifying
Sunday, Aug. 26
2:30 p.m……..Race
(all times ET)

LeMastus on Canadian Tire Motorsports Park: “I can’t wait to get out here with the Truck. These last few days have been all about learning. I’m doing everything possible to get ahead of the curve. The advantage will be the fact that come Saturday when the Trucks go on the track in the first sessions, I won’t have to be out there hunting and pecking to get to know the course.”

“In the Truck, it’s all about getting it to set, and then getting it to turn…getting the drive on the rear wheels and keeping it off the nose. You want to drive the truck off the rear. I’m just here to learn. You don’t want to overdrive these trucks; you’ll wear out your stuff. The biggest challenge for me is to slow down and learn how to use the horsepower to get the power to the ground. This is all about going to school for me. I come with the mindset that I know nothing. I’m here to learn, period.”

August 23, 2018