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Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

  • Bo LeMastus, No. 54 Crosley Brands Toyota Tundra

    Bo LeMastus, No. 54 Crosley Brands Toyota Tundra

    Track: Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5 mile paved tri-oval
    Event: Overton’s 225 (225 miles, 150 laps)
    Race 11 of 23
    Schedule: Friday, June 29
    5:30 p.m……..First Practice
    7:35 p.m……..Final Practice
    4:30 p.m……..Qualifying (FS2)
    7:00 p.m……..Race (FS1)
    *all times ET
    Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 beginning at 6:30 p.m., ET

    What you Need to Know:

    • LeMastus will be back behind the wheel of the No. 54 Crosley Brands Toyota this weekend with Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion calling the shots
    • The Overton’s 225 will mark LeMastus’ fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start. Each of these starts have occurred at intermediate length tracks (1.5-miles)
    • LeMastus has raced at Chicagoland Speedway one other time in the ARCA Racing Series. In his lone start at Chicagoland, he started from the 14th position and finished 17th
    • In LeMastus’ last Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway, he advanced to the final round of qualifying and scored a NCWTS career-best starting position in the PPG400. He also went on to collect Stage Points with a 10th-place finish during Stage 1 of competition
    • The No. 54 team heads to Chicagoland carrying momentum after securing 4th and 5th-place finishesin the past two Truck Series races

    LeMastus on Chicagoland Speedway:
    “I can’t wait for Thursday to get here. After being out of the seat for a couple weeks, I’m more than ready to climb back in the Crosley Brands Toyota. This team has a lot of positive things happening right now, and we are looking forward to putting together another solid weekend in Chicago. I’ve raced here one other time, I believe it was in 2015, so I’m sure the track has widened out and aged a bit. The worn out tracks always put on a good show. I’m excited to get out there and hopefully get another top-five finish for the 54 guys this weekend.”

  • Justin Fontaine – Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance

    Justin Fontaine – Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance

    Overton’s 225 | Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance
    Team: No. 45 ProMATIC Automation | Superior Essex Chevrolet Silverado
    Driver: Justin Fontaine
    Follow the Team: @NieceMotorsport; @driverfontaine

    Fontaine on Racing at Chicagoland: “I really took a liking to Chicagoland,” said Fontaine. “I learned a lot there last year in an ARCA car and I’m hopeful that I can continue that curve this weekend in a truck.

    “One of our strengths this year has been on the intermediate tracks and I’m eager to see what we can accomplish on Friday night.

    “I look forward to the new challenges Chicagoland will bring in a truck. By the end of the night, I hope we’ve conquered the challenges with our third top-10 of 2018.”

    Fontaine at Chicagoland: Fontaine will make his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start at Chicagoland Speedway this Friday night. Fontaine started and finished 17th at Chicagoland Speedway last season.

    Fontaine has one ARCA Racing Series start at Chicagoland Speedway, which also came last year. The young driver earned a 15th-place finish.

    Recapping Gateway: Fontaine and his No. 45 team continued to improve on his truck throughout last Saturday night’s race at Gateway Motorsports Park.

    Using pit strategy, the team made its way into the top-10, before a competitor oiled down the track, causing Fontaine to make contact with the wall. The accident left the team with a 26th-place finish.

    “It was a big weekend of learning from start to finish,” said Fontaine. “We made some huge strides from practice to qualifying and even during the first two stages of the race.

    “We made a call for track position and found ourselves inside the top-10 when another truck laid some fluid down and the track became incredibly treacherous and I just couldn’t control the truck in the oil.

    “Still, I’m proud of Cody (Efaw, crew chief) and this Niece Motorsports team. We were running very well and making improvements. We’ll try and build on that at Chicagoland.”

    On the Truck: Fontaine’s No. 45 Chevrolet will carry the ProMATIC Automation, Inc. colors in Friday’s race. ProMATIC Automation, Inc. specializes in the design and build of custom factory automation equipment.

    ProMATIC Automation, Inc. has extensive experience in the integration of high-level automation technologies like robotics, laser, vision, and dispensing systems along with many years of combined experience in the design and machining of custom manufactured components.

  • Austin Wayne Self – Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance

    Austin Wayne Self – Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance

    Overton’s 225 | Chicagoland Speedway Race Advance
    Team: No. 22 GO TEXAN | AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet Silverado
    Driver: Austin Wayne Self
    Follow the Team: @NieceMotorsport; @AustinWSelf

    Self on Racing at Chicagoland: “It’s different to go to Chicagoland at the end of June instead of mid-September, but maybe that’s a good thing for our Niece Motorsports team,” said Self.

    “Our Niece Motorsports team has worked really hard to get our No. 22 GO TEXAN | AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet Silverado pointed in the right direction and I feel very confident in our abilities – not only for Chicagoland but for the rest of the summer.

    “We’ve been able to persevere through obstacles and still deliver solid finishes for our No. 22 Niece Motorsports team. Our passion for success is the energy we need to keep charging ahead and focused on getting the best finish not only for our team, but for all our marketing partners too.”

    Self at Chicagoland: Friday night’s race at Chicagoland Speedway will mark Self’s third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start at the track. His best finish was 17th in 2016.

    In addition to his two NCWTS starts, Self has two ARCA Racing Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway. His best finish of 12th came in 2015.

    Recapping Gateway: Self and the No. 22 team battled the handling all evening at Gateway Motorsports Park. The team persevered all race long, ultimately finishing 16th.

    “My Niece Motorsports team worked really hard tonight, but we struggled trying to figure out what was wrong with the front-end of our No. 22 GO TEXAN | AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet,” said Self. “Still, we never gave up and had a solid finish.”

    On The Truck: The Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program and AM Technical Solutions will support Self.

    GO TEXAN represents Texas agri-business on state, national and international levels by building recognition with the GO TEXAN mark.

    Along with its signature mark in the shape of Texas, GO TEXAN celebrates, promotes and supports the business savvy and plainspoken grit Texas agriculture is known throughout the world.

  • Max Tullman set for Truck Series debut at Chicagoland with Young’s Motorsports

    Max Tullman set for Truck Series debut at Chicagoland with Young’s Motorsports

    JOLIET, Ill. – Veteran Sports Car racer Max Tullman (@MaxTullman) will pull double-duty this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway as the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards rookie will also compete in Friday night’s Overton’s 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race for Young’s Motorsports.

    Friday night’s event will be the first of a minimum three-race schedule for Tullman aboard Young’s Motorsports’ No. 20 Chevrolet, as the 20-year-old is also set to compete at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October.

    “I’m very excited about this opportunity to drive for Young’s Motorsports this weekend at Chicagoland,” said Tullman.
    “Originally, we were only slated to race with Tyler (Young, team principal) for two races, however, the opportunity to race at Chicagoland opened and I was glad we were able to make it happen.”

    For Chicagoland, Yurpal.com, the first and only e-commerce platform designed and dedicated to the construction and building materials industry will serve as the primary marketing partner for Friday night’s 150-lap race.

    Set to make his seventh ARCA start of the season for Mason Mitchell Motorsports, the Chester Springs, Pa. native has set a reasonable goal for his transition to NASCAR.

    “I just want to finish the race,” spoke Tullman, who has earned three top-10 finishes in six ARCA starts this season. “I don’t care if it’s first or last, I just want to do a good job for everyone at Yurpal.com and Young’s Motorsports. This is a huge learning curve for me, but I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by great people.

    “I’d be very satisfied with a top-20 finish on Friday night.”

    Yurpal.com CEO Jon De Langis is again thrilled about his company’s involvement with Tullman and Young’s Motorsports.

    “All of us at Yurpal.com are ecstatic about this chance to be a part of Max’s NASCAR debut at Chicagoland Speedway,” offered De Langis.

    “As we’ve mentioned, we consider a relationship in Motorsports as a very high priority to promote our brand as we continue to grow our eCommerce platform for building materials and products. We had a thrilling experience at our first two races of the year with Max at Talladega and Michigan.

    “Our exposure and recognition in ARCA was tremendous and we’re looking forward to seeing that expand with our continued involvement with NASCAR, Max and his incredible team.”

    Andrew Abbott will serve as crew chief for Tullman in the 11th Truck Series race of the season, while Young’s Motorsports spotter Freddie Kraft will guide Tullman around Chicagoland’s 1.5-mile oval.
    Veteran Motorsports crew chief Doug Richert, who led Dale Earnhardt Sr. to his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) championship in 1980 will serve in an advisory role for Tullman’s first NCWTS race.

    The Overton’s 225 (150 laps | 225 miles) is the 11th of 23 races on the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule. Practice begins on Thurs., June 28 from 4:30 p.m. – 5:20 p.m., while final practice is set for 6:35 p.m. – 7:25 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Fri., June 29 beginning at 4:40 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Central).

    For autograph requests and to join Max Tullman on social media, please like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @MaxTullman.

    For additional information on Yurpal, please visit Yurpal.com.

    For more information on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com, follow @youngsmtrsports on Twitter, @youngsmotorsports on Instagram and like them on Facebook at facebook.com/YoungsMotorsports.

    About Yurpal.com:

    Yurpal.com is the first and only e-commerce platform designed and dedicated to the construction and building materials industry.

    Through the convenience of our online platform, buyers can create or upload their entire bill-of-materials for projects large and small and receive competitive price results from every vendor in the country with a single click. With the use of our bundled SaaS, our users can manage multiple clients and projects, schedule phased deliveries of their products, and much more.

    This can be done simultaneously which significantly reduces the repetitive and time-consuming process of sourcing products, from multiple vendors, to get the products when and where they are needed, at the best price available. Essentially, we bring the vendors to the buyers. Best of all, this platform is free for buyers to use.

  • Four Takeaways from NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Gateway

    Four Takeaways from NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Gateway

    The 10th race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took place this past weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park.

    While there were a couple of surprises in the top-10, the same team that has been dominant for most of the season, wound up in victory lane, but this time with a different driver.

    Here are my final four thoughts from the Villa Lighting Delivers the Eaton 200, before the Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Friday night.

    1. Justin Haley Scores First Career Win – Haley, who has been strong all year, finally earned his first career win and locked himself into the postseason Playoffs. While he was somewhat of a surprise winner, the No. 24 team had four top fives and six top-10 finishes before his first season. They were close to winning earlier this season, but just needed to find the right opportunity to strike and that’s what happened in Saturday night’s race. It’ll be interesting to see what the No. 24 GMS Racing team does in order to compete with teammate Johnny Sauter for the rest of the year.
    2. Noah Gragson Close Once Again – Same song, second verse for the No. 18 driver, Noah Gragson. After earning his first win of the season last month at Kansas, Gragson has been close many times to earning multiple victories but has fallen short so far. He had the truck to beat Saturday night, leading 63 times, but late race cautions hurt the team’s chances at winning and they had to settle for a disappointing 10th place. It’s only a matter of time before the team breaks out and start earning multiple victories.
    3. Zane Smith, Riley Herbst, Jesse Little, Chad Finley Have Career Nights – Smith, Herbst, and Finley, all ARCA series regulars, had a solid night at Gateway. Smith and Herbst who made their Truck Series debut, did a spectacular job, finishing fifth and eighth. Finley hasn’t competed in a Truck Series race since 2015 and finished sixth. Jesse Little was able to earn his fourth top-10 finish of the year. A great night for all the young stars involved.
    4. Question Marks Still A Concern For Hattori Racing – After earning two wins this season at Atlanta and Iowa, it sure seemed like the No. 16 team would be a challenger for the Truck Series championship postseason. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for Moffitt and Hattori Racing, at least for now. The No. 16 driver stated in Friday’s media availability that they were still unsure what their plans were past this weekend. And that still holds true. If Moffitt misses the race this weekend, he will not be able to get a waiver in order to compete postseason, because you have to compete in all the races. However, with today’s power of social media and the NASCAR fan base, they have been reaching out to companies all across the United States to sponsor the team in order to continue. While this would be great, it goes to show how unfortunate this is and how it’s tough to secure full-time sponsorship in the Truck Series.
  • GMS Racing NCWTS Chicagoland Preview

    GMS Racing NCWTS Chicagoland Preview

    Cody Coughlin, No. 2 JEGS.com Chevrolet
    Chicagoland Stats
    1 start, Best Finish: 11th (2017)
    Season Stats
    10 starts, 6 top-10 finishes

    Notes:

    – Coughlin will utilize chassis no. 307 this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The No. 2 team has raced this chassis two previous times in 2018 (Kansas and Las Vegas), collecting a second-place starting effort at Kansas Speedway, as well as two top-10 finishes.

    -In addition to one NCWTS start at the 1.5-mile oval, Coughlin also has two ARCA Racing Series races at Chicagoland Speedway under his belt, collecting one pole award and a top-five finish.

    -The No. 2 JEGS.com Chevy will have a different look this weekend at Chicagoland, sporting a rendition of the stars and stripes, honoring the military for the NASCAR Salutes program.

    – With his sixth top-10 finish of the season, Coughlin moved into 10th in the NCWTS driver point standings.

    Quote:

    “I like Chicagoland (Speedway). I ran well there in ARCA a couple years ago. We had a couple mechanical problems there in my last ARCA race, otherwise I think we would have contended for the win after starting on the pole. Then, last year in the truck we finished 11th. I like Chicago and have good thoughts when I think about going back there. I think we’ll be competitive and I think we have a really good shot at our first win there, which is exciting.”

     

    Johnny Sauter, No. 21 ISM Connect Chevrolet
    Chicagoland Stats
    9 starts, 1 win, 5 top-fives, 7 top-10s
    2018 Season Stats
    10 starts, 4 wins, 9 top-fives, 9 top-10s

    Notes:

    – Sauter will pilot GMS chassis no. 304 at Chicagoland. This truck has been raced three times for two wins (Phoenix 2017, Dover 2018) and three top-three finishes.

    – This week’s ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado features the names of 38 GMS employees, friends and family members, who have served in the Armed Forces.

    – The Necedah, Wis., native has built up a 73-point lead in the NCWTS driver point standings.

    Quote:

    “That’s a track that puts a huge emphasis on handling and obviously, the boys at GMS have done a good job of building these trucks over the last year and a half. That’s personally what I think it is. There’s no substitute for grip at Chicago, it’s very rough and has a lot of character. You can run all over the race track and grip is ultimately what prevails. As a driver you’re used to going down the backstretch and straightening the wheel, but here you kind of always have a little bit of wheel in it. It’s different. I still remember the first time I won at Chicagoland in the Xfinity car. Obviously when you have success at a track, and with the way we ran over there the last couple of years, it just makes you feel good about it.”

     

    Justin Haley, No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet
    Chicagoland Stats
    1 start, Best finish: 14th (2017)
    Season Stats
    10 starts, 1 win, 4 top-fives, 6 top-10 finishes

    Notes:

    – Haley will climb behind the wheel of chassis no. 305 this weekend at Chicagoland, a chassis he has used three other times in the 2018 season. The No. 24 team most recently ran it at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month, en route to a third-place finish.

    – After his win in Gateway last weekend, Haley is now locked into The Playoffs and jumped to sixth in the 2018 NCWTS driver point standings.

    Quote:

    “Chicagoland is one of those hard places that if you’re not in the right lane on the restarts it throws you back. I think that was our biggest issue last year. At one point I went from top-five to mid-pack in one corner because I didn’t have the right help behind me in my lane. It’s one of these tracks that races like a superspeedway really. We’ll be wide-open easy, we just have to trim that out as much as we can. It’s going to be about being at the right place at the right time. You could be racing someone for position and the truck behind you will get a run and draft by both of you. I’m glad to have one race there under my belt. It was definitely a fun track to race at.”

     

    Dalton Sargeant, No. 25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet
    Chicagoland Stats
    This will be Sargeant’s first NCWTS start at Chicagoland Speedway.
    2018 Season Stats
    10 starts, 2 top-10s, 7 top-15s

    Notes:

    – Sargeant will pilot GMS chassis no. 303 at Gateway. This chassis has been raced five times this year, most recently at Texas Motor Speedway, where Sargeant finished 11th after starting from the rear of the field.

    – While this is Sargeant’s first NCWTS start at Chicagoland, he has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in two ARCA Racing Series starts at the 1.5-mile track.

    Quote:

    “I’m excited to get to Chicago. That’s the home of Performance Plus Motor Oil, so we’ll have a lot of those guys out there and hopefully we can do a good job for them. It’s a tough track, it seems like the asphalt is getting more worn, just worse and worse each year. It definitely has some character to it. You’ve got to be smart. With the bumps in Turns Three and Four with the tunnel, you’ve got to be kind of setup to get your truck to handle around those bumps and get over them. The curved backstretch changes your entry to the corners, similar to how a frontstretch being curved would. You kind of get a little more racing going on with it being curved and you get some better runs coming off of Turn Two, but nothing too crazy.”

     

    ABOUT GMS RACING

    GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Cody Coughlin, Johnny Sauter, Justin Haley and Dalton Sargeant, 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.

    SOCIAL MEDIA

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

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Gateway

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Gateway

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited Gateway Motorsports Park this past weekend for race number 10 of 22 for the series.

    Just like last week’s finish at Iowa, the Truck Series regulars once again didn’t disappoint in the Eaton 200. Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1) Johnny Sauter – Sauter tops the power rankings this week with a third-place finish. While he didn’t win at Gateway, Sauter was a force to be reckoned with throughout the race. Despite not leading any laps, he placed in the top-10 in both stages and finished third after having a shot at the win in a late race restart. This was his ninth top-five finish of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd

    2) Todd Gilliland – After last week’s troubles at Iowa in a crash, the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver and recent high school graduate, Gilliland, was able to celebrate a career-best finish of second. The 18-year-old driver started eighth but battled handling issues in Stage 1. He made a pit stop during the first caution and worked his way up to 12th for the first stage. Stage 2 was much better as he stayed inside the top-10 and finished third. When all was said and done, Gilliland placed the No. 4 Royal Canin Toyota second for his best career finish. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    3) Noah Gragson –  Gragson had the truck to beat in Saturday night’s race. With a strong qualifying effort of third, the Las Vegas Nevada driver finished second and fourth, respectively, in both stages. He had a dominant truck as Gragson led twice for 63 laps. However, late-race cautions hurt his chances for a shot at the win. In a restart with six to go, he drove into Turn 1 a little too wide and had to pit for tires with another late caution. Ultimately, Gragson had to settle for a 10th place finish and will have to wait another week to grab his second win of the season. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd

    4) Myatt Snider – Snider quietly posted his first top-five finish of the year. His team qualified 14th. After some varying pit strategy and cautions fell in their favor, Snider and his No. 13 Thorsport Racing team finished fourth. This puts him ninth in the standings and one spot below the cut off line. He now heads to Chicago for his first Truck Series start there, but he does have experience there racing in the ARCA Racing Series. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    5) Jesse Little – Just like Snider, Little had another quiet night inside the top-10. The small funded No. 97 team started ninth and finished ninth, and seventh, respectively in both stages. At the end of the night, Little finished seventh for his fourth top-10 of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 4th

    Fell Out of Power Rankings:

    1) Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a strong truck throughout most of the race, however, with two to go for the restart, after the inside line had trouble restarting, Little had accidentally got lose and got into the No. 16 team who had spun out after that contact. Moffitt had to settle for a disappointing 14th place finish. The team is searching for sponsorship and is still unsure if they will be at Chicagoland this weekend.

    2) Harrison Burton- Burton did not compete in this weeks race due to age restriction and requirements

  • Myatt Snider Enjoys Best Finish Of The Year at Gateway

    Myatt Snider Enjoys Best Finish Of The Year at Gateway

    The 2018 Truck Series season has been a challenging one so far for the No. 13 Thorsport Racing driver, Myatt Snider.

    Starting off with Daytona, he was caught up in a wreck and finished 24th. The following week at Atlanta, Snider was able to finish inside the top-10, finishing seventh. Before Iowa, his last finish inside the top-10 was at the snow-delayed Martinsville race where he finished sixth.

    Excluding Iowa, Snider has not had the season he wanted with finishes of 15th twice and a 23rd place at Texas due to another accident. However, it seems as though his season starting to turnaround little by little.

    At Iowa, the team qualified 17th and placed 10th, earning his third top-10 finish of the year. And at Gateway this past weekend, it looks as though the team continues to gain momentum, getting better finishes.

    This week at Gateway, after qualifying in the 14th position, Snider stayed in the top 15 for both stages, finishing 15th and 13th, respectively. After benefiting from some late race cautions and staying out under one caution, the No. 13 Thorsport Racing team found themselves inside the top five and challenging for the win.

    Ultimately, Snider and his No. 13 The Carolina Nut Co. Ford finished fourth, earning his first ever top-five finish of the year.

    With that finish, he sits ninth in the point standings.

    “We got a lot of positions on that last restart,” Snider said. “It was a great job by my whole Carolina Nut Co. Ford F-150 team. We kept adjusting on it – we didn’t have the strongest truck all night, but my guys did everything they could to work on it and help it out. The fact that we worked our way up to fourth makes [this finish] even sweeter at Gateway. It was a good points day for us.”

  • Johnny Sauter Continues Mid-Season Dominance

    Johnny Sauter Continues Mid-Season Dominance

    The 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion came to Gateway Motorsports Park this past weekend for their 18th race at the track, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

    Having competed here since 2009, Sauter has never won at the 1.250-mile racetrack. While he has four victories this season, Sauter was looking to cross Gateway off the list of tracks he has never won at and score win number five of 2018.

    During three practice sessions the No. 21 GMS Racing team battled to get the truck to Sauter’s liking. He placed 12th fastest in the first practice, third in the second session and 10th in the final practice session.

    The team struggled just a little bit during qualifying and started the race in the 13th position. Sauter finished ninth and second, respectively in both stages. But, after several cautions late in the going, Sauter found himself competing and challenging for the win alongside his teammate and the eventual race winner, Justin Haley.

    He fell one spot short of securing his first track win and his fifth win of the season. However, not all was lost, as he continues to lead the standings over second place Noah Gragson by 73 points.

    “We struggled early in the race with being tight and the later into the night we got, it started to loosen up,” Sauter said.  “The No. 21 guys worked hard the last two days and we really improved on what we had in practice. I think Justin did a great job on the restarts there at the end and I wish we had something for him, but it’s really cool to see someone put everything they’ve got out there and finally get rewarded for it. This is a big night for GMS and GMS Fabrication, locking a second truck into The Playoffs.”

    The Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this Friday night and Sauter is the defending race winner.

  • Justin Haley Earns First Truck Series Win In Dramatic Finish

    Justin Haley Earns First Truck Series Win In Dramatic Finish

    After a dramatic finish in Saturday night’s running of the Eaton 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park, Justin Haley captured his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in just the 37th start of his career.

    Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes set the front row in qualifying earlier in the day. Three stages of 35/35/90 made up the 160 lap race. There was already action before the race started, however, as Ben Rhodes had a right front flat tire that put him a lap down for most of the race.

    The race was clean and green in Stage 1 until the first caution on Lap 22 for Jordan Anderson who slowed on the track. Another caution occurred with three to go, as Dalton Sargeant cut down a left front tire after contact was made with Todd Gilliland.

    With the late caution, this saw Stage 1 come to an end and pole sitter Enfinger collected the win.

    The race resumed for Stage 2 on Lap 41 and went to Lap 70. Eckes was able to take the lead and hold on to win the stage, as it once again finished under yellow due to Matt Crafton who stopped on the track to enter pit road. Under yellow, the No. 88 Thorsport team made a battery change and was sent back. The team finally diagnosed the issue and it was an alternator problem.

    The action picked up in the third and final stage. Kansas race winner, Noah Gragson, took the lead on the restart but on the same lap, Stage 2 winner Christian Eckes was spun out by Stewart Friesen and hit the wall ending the night for the 17-year-old.

    After spending the whole race one lap down, Ben Rhodes was able to get his lap back and was finally back on the lead lap.

    Several more cautions throughout the stage including one red flag that stopped the race. On Lap 98, Friesen was spun by Johnny Sauter on the backstretch. With 47 to go, a piece of debris cut through the oil pan of John Hunter Nemechek and had the No. 8 Truck leaving oil all the way around the track, ending his night. This also saw a hard accident between drivers Justin Fontaine and Tate Fogleman who collided with each other in Turns 1 and 2. This eventually put the red flag out.

    After the clean up was made, the race resumed with 36 to go. Three more cautions in the remaining final laps slowed the pace once more. With 28 to go, Iowa winner Brett Moffitt, got loose and made contact with Ben Rhodes. Stage 1 winner and pole sitter, Grant Enfinger, had a left rear flat and left debris on the track causing a caution with 12 to go. The final caution came out after a restart with seven to go for debris. Race leader, Noah Gragson, had to come down pit road due to a flat tire and surrendered the race lead to Justin Haley.

    With just two laps remaining, Haley was able to hold off his GMS Racing teammate Johnny Sauter for his first ever Truck Series victory.

    There were nine cautions for 53 laps and one red flag during the race with seven lead changes among eight different leaders. Race-winner Haley led once for seven laps.

     

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