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  • John Hunter Nemechek Earns First Career Pole in NASCAR Xfinity Series

    John Hunter Nemechek Earns First Career Pole in NASCAR Xfinity Series

    John Hunter Nemechek claims his first career pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at ISM Raceway, setting a time of 26.970 seconds at 133.482 mph.

    Nemechek edged Cole Custer by 17-thousandths of a second, as both drivers were the only two to run in the 26-second bracket. Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Preece completed the top-five.

    “It feels good,” Nemechek told NBCSN. “We came here with the mindset to try and qualify on the pole. We unloaded not really good yesterday so we only got to do one mock (qualifying) run and it wasn’t that great.”

    Most of the other Playoff drivers will start in the top-10. Elliott Sadler qualified in sixth, Daniel Hemric in eighth and Matt Tifft in 10th. Tyler Reddick had a slip in the second round, preventing him from putting down a fast enough lap to get into the final round. He will start 14th. The biggest news with those in the championship hunt was Christopher Bell failing inspection three times. He will start 38th.

    Round one had about half of the Playoff contenders waiting until the last few minutes before turning a lap. Austin Cindric was fastest and most Playoff contenders held top-15 lap times. All but one made it through to the second round. Christopher Bell and Ty Majeski failed inspection three times, so they will start at the rear of the field. Neither was able to turn a lap, along with Josh Bilicki.

    “Well the good thing is (Miami) doesn’t decide on where we start, it decides on where we finish,” Bell told NBCSN. “We got 200 laps, which is an eternity, especially from what I grew up doing in sprint car racing. Got a bunch of pit stops in there and a fast car to make it up. We’ll be fine.”

    Bell also shared that this was the same car that won both times at Richmond Raceway.

    “This is probably the fastest car we’ve brought to the race track all year-long compared to the field,” Bell said.

    In round two, one more Playoff contender was eliminated. Tyler Reddick car got loose in Turn 4, which hurt his first and second attempts at improving his qualifying time. He will start 14th in the afternoon’s event. John Hunter Nemechek was fastest over Cole Custer, as the two were the only drivers to run just one lap in qualifying.

    For the final round, the remaining Playoff drivers hold top-10 starts, and despite some last second laps by Cindric, Nemecheck was the one holding the top starting position, ahead of Custer, Cindric, Allgaier and Preece. Coverage for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at ISM Raceway will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on NBC.

    Starting Line Up
    ISM Raceway
    20th Annual Whelen Trusted To Perform 200

    Pos Car Driver Team Make
    1 42 John Hunter Nemechek Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet
    2 00 Cole Custer (P) Haas Automation Ford
    3 22 Austin Cindric # (P) Discount Tire Ford
    4 7 Justin Allgaier (P) BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
    5 18 Ryan Preece Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota
    6 1 Elliott Sadler (P) Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet
    7 19 Brandon Jones Toyota Service Centers/Mobil 1 Toyota
    8 21 Daniel Hemric (P) South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
    9 3 Shane Lee CIPT/Race to Give Chevrolet
    10 2 Matt Tifft (P) Go Green Chevrolet
    11 23 Spencer Gallagher ISM Connect Chevrolet
    12 16 Ryan Reed Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford
    13 5 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
    14 9 Tyler Reddick # (P) BurgerFi Chevrolet
    15 11 Ryan Truex LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet
    16 39 Ryan Sieg Lombard Brothers Chevrolet
    17 36 Alex Labbe # Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet
    18 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet
    19 38 JJ Yeley Iron Mountain Data Centers Chevrolet
    20 8 Tommy Joe Martins Chevrolet
    21 35 Joey Gase Donate Life Arizona/Sparks Chevrolet
    22 40 Chad Finchum # Smithbilt Homes Toyota
    23 4 Ross Chastain Flex Seal Chevrolet
    24 52 David Starr Whataburger Chevrolet
    25 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet
    26 90 Donald Theetge MercedesBenzStNicolas/CircuitAcura FALSE
    27 0 Garrett Smithley Flex Tape Chevrolet
    28 01 BJ McLeod Flex Glue Chevrolet
    29 15 Quin Houff teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet
    30 99 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet
    31 13 Tyler Hill OCR Gaz Bar Toyota
    32 76 Spencer Boyd # Grunt Style Chevrolet
    33 66 Akinori Ogata Toyota
    34 55 Bayley Currey(i) RollinSmokeBBQ/TouchedbyPros Toyota
    35 89 Morgan Shepherd Visone RV Chevrolet
    36 74 Mike Harmon Veterans 4 Child Rescue Chevrolet
    37 78 Vinnie Miller # CorvetteParts.net/JWTransport FALSE
    38 20 Christopher Bell # (P) GameStop Just Cause 4 Toyota
    39 60 Ty Majeski Ford Ford
    40 45 Josh Bilicki # Prevagen Toyota
  • Cole Custer Sweeps All Rounds of Xfinity Qualifying for DC Solar 300

    Cole Custer Sweeps All Rounds of Xfinity Qualifying for DC Solar 300

    In the last race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, Cole Custer sets the pace for the pole position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the inaugural DC Solar 300 with a speed of 179.295 mph at 30.118 seconds.

    “Yeah, that was one of the craziest qualifying sessions I’ve had,” Custer shared on pit road after winning his fifth career pole in the XFINITY Series.

    Custer was over two-tenths faster than Austin Cindric, who edged out Elliott Sadler and Christopher Bell by thousands of a second between those three drivers. Ross Chastain fought his way to a fifth place effort.

    Shane Lee in his first 1.5 mile oval attempt stayed in the top ten of qualifying all day, and will start in sixth. JR Motorsports teammates Tyler Reddick, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett will start seventh through ninth respectively. The last two drivers to attempt a qualifying time in the final round were Ryan Sieg and Ryan Reed.

    Jeremy Clements was the only driver in the final round that did not make an attempt to qualify, so his No. 51 Chevrolet will start in the 12th spot in today’s race.

    Last Second Lap gives Custer the Pole in the First Round of Qualifying

    The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford set the pace early in qualifying with a speed of 177.032 mph in the first round of qualifying. After struggling to get through the inspection line, Custer was able to finally pass inspection, finish their final preparations and cross the start/finish line to begin their qualifying attempt with 40 seconds left on the clock. JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick were close in the top three. Christopher Bell and Elliott Sadler completed the top five, but Shane Lee was the one who held the top spot the longest for his first 1.5 mile race.

    During the first stage of qualifying, many cars failed inspection, mostly in the rear end. A few teams even failed the second time, putting the car chiefs in jeopardy. According to NASCAR’s rulebook, if a team fails inspection three times, the car chief is ejected from the race and facility for the rest of the weekend. Because of this, some teams elected to not to go through inspection. Matt Tifft was one driver that failed inspection for a third time, so his car chief was ejected for the remainder of the weekend.

    David Starr qualified 24th in the first round to be the last driver to move into the second round. He will start in that spot for Saturday's DC Solar 300. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
    David Starr qualified 24th in the first round to be the last driver to move into the second round. He will start in that spot for Saturday’s DC Solar 300. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.

    Qualifying was halted for a red flag incident with Garrett Smithley, who collided with the outside wall. In qualifying, any incidents that would usually be a yellow flag in race conditions is a red flag. This halts the timer, but inspections continued to give teams a little extra time. Smithley would have to start at the rear of the field in a backup car.

    David Starr held the last transferable spot going into the second round, as he beat Timmy Hill.

    The drivers that either elected to not attempt a qualifying run or were held up with tech inspection included Daniel Hemric, Stan Mullis, Matt Tifft, Brandon Jones, Ryan Preece and Ryan Truex.

    Custer Sweeps Both Stages of Qualifying

    Cole Custer kept his top spot in the second round of qualifying with a speed of 178.406 mph. Ross Chastain found himself in the top 10 of qualifying for the first time with a runner-up effort. Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell completed the top five of the second round.

    Roughly four drivers made some last run attempts to get into the final round of qualifying but fell short of the top 12. The closest of these was Chase Briscoe, but as he took the green flag, the car got loose and was close to hitting the outside wall at the exit of Turn 4. He pulled out onto the track earlier in the session, but after he took the green flag, the car bobbled in the bumps of Turns 1 and 2, so he wisely backed out to get a better attempt later in the session.

    Four drivers in the second stage did not set a qualifying time: Ray Black II, Cole Rouse, BJ McLeod and David Starr.

    Starting Lineup
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Inaugural DC Solar 300

    Pos Car Driver Team Make
    1 00 Cole Custer Code 3 Associates Ford
    2 22 Austin Cindric # MoneyLion Ford
    3 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
    4 20 Christopher Bell # GameStop Tomb Raider Toyota
    5 42 Ross Chastain DC Solar Chevrolet
    6 3 Shane Lee Childress Vineyards Chevrolet
    7 9 Tyler Reddick # Nationwide Children’s Chevrolet
    8 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
    9 5 Michael Annett Allstate Parts & Service Group Chevrolet
    10 39 Ryan Sieg Big Valley Towing Chevrolet
    11 16 Ryan Reed Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford
    12 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicales.com Chevrolet
    13 60 Chase Briscoe Ford
    14 23 Spencer Gallagher Allegiant Chevrolet
    15 36 Alex Labbe # Sticky-stuff.com/JamesCarterAtty Chevrolet
    16 4 Landon Cassill Chevrolet
    17 35 Joey Gase Sparks Chevrolet
    18 38 JJ Yeley RSS Racing Chevrolet
    19 55 Bayley Currey(i) Prevagen Toyota
    20 26 Max Tullman Yurpal.com Ford
    21 8 Ray Black II Chevrolet
    22 78 Cole Rouse Chevrolet
    23 15 BJ McLeod teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet
    24 52 David Starr Chevrolet
    25 66 Timmy Hill CrashClaimsR.Us Dodge
    26 45 Josh Bilicki # Prevagen Toyota
    27 76 Spencer Boyd # Grunt Style Chevrolet
    28 74 Mike Harmon Shadow Warriors Project Chevrolet
    29 40 Chad Finchum # Smithbilt Homes Chevrolet
    30 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet
    31 90 Josh Williams Sleep Well/Star Tron Chevrolet
    32 72 John Jackson CrashClaimsR.Us/JamesCarterAtt Toyota
    33 01 Vinnie Miller # JAS Expedited Trucking Chevrolet
    34 18 Ryan Preece Rheem Toyota
    35 21 Daniel Hemric South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
    36 19 Brandon Jones Menards Mastercraft Doors Toyota
    37 2 Matt Tifft KCMG Chevrolet
    38 11 Ryan Truex LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet
    39 0 Garrett Smithley FAME-USA.com Chevrolet
    40 13 Stan Mullis OCR Gaz Bar Dodge

     

  • Brad Keselowski finally tames ‘The Lady in Black’

    Brad Keselowski finally tames ‘The Lady in Black’

    The Xfinity Series took the Darlington Speedway by storm today for the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200. It was a sunny warm day for the drivers and for some the heat was on. It looked as if Ross Chastain was going to take the win easily however one driver had his car in the right place at the right time.

    Brad Keselowski in his No. 22 Penske Racing Ford took the lead after an exciting incident between race leader Chastain and Kevin Harvick took them both out of contention. Keselowski captured his first win at Darlington Speedway and the 39th of his career.

    “Yeah, we had a really great Snap-On Ford Mustang and I could keep up with Ross (Chastain), but I couldn’t pass him. I tried to make the move to get by him and I just brushed the wall and him and Kevin got back by me and then they had their issue off of two and were just so strong that we pounced on it and took advantage of the opportunity. That’s a testament to this team. I drove five races this year and we’ve won three of them. That’s pretty darn good and I’m really proud of that,” Keselowski said.

    Stage 1 had one incident on Lap 2 when Austin Cindric wrecked after contact with Ryan Truex. Cindric sustained heavy damage to his race car and was unable to continue in the race. Chastin, who started from the pole position, led every lap of the first stage.

    During Stage 2 Harvick took the lead on the restart and led several laps of the stage. Fan favorite, Christopher Bell brought out the caution when he hit the wall with a cut tire and got a piece of Daniel Hemric’s car. The only other incident of the stage was for Brandon Jones who spun his car around. Chastain came out of the pits in the lead for the restart and won Stage 2 of the race.

    The final stage of the race brought out excitement, tempers, and a few tears. With 33 laps to go in the race, Harvick saw his opening for the lead when he and Chastain came up on a lapped car. Harvick and Chastain went for the same space and Chastain ended up into the wall, then came down and spun Harvick. Harvick showed his displeasure with the incident by stopping in Chastain’s pit stall. Harvick in his post-incident interview referred to Chastain as an “inexperienced driver” putting the blame on Chastain for the incident. However, Chastain in his post-race interview saw the incident a little differently.

    “I’m just trying to race and I’ll have to see the film, you know, and if I made a mistake it’s on me. Being the leader there I felt like I’m just trying to race, man, and we’ve been giving each other room all day.” With tears of frustration in his eyes, he added, “It’s unfortunate.”

    Cole Custer stayed in the top of the field all day and came home second in his No.00 Stewart Haas Racing Ford.

    “We just had a great Haas Automation Mustang. I can’t thank everybody in the shop enough,” he said, “Everybody at Ford Performance, they’ve given us great tools all year so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

    Tyler Reddick had a great run today in his No.9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and crossed the finish line third. Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Matt Tifft, Ty Dillon, and Michael Annett finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

    Allgaier leads the Xfinity Series point standings with 888 points, Sadler is in second with 872 points, Custer is in third with 871 points, Bell is in fourth with 852 points and Hemric rounds out the top five with 844 points.

    The Xfinity Series heads next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 8.

  • Driver Analysis: Austin Cindric

    Driver Analysis: Austin Cindric

    It seemed as though the 2017 season was a wild start for many drivers including Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 19 Ford F-150. On the first lap of the season, he, along with others, was collected in a Lap 1 crash that took out most of the field. A 27th-place finish at Daytona was not the way the Columbus, Ohio driver was hoping to start out.

    His first top 10 of the season came at Kansas where he finished 10th. At Dover, he earned his first ever top five, finishing fifth. The following week at Fort Worth, Cindric was involved in a crash on Lap 28 taking him out early, with the scoring pylon showing him 25th that night. When the summer months came around, his finishes began to improve, as he scored his career-best finish of fourth at Kentucky.

    “We had an awesome LTi Printing Ford F-150 all night and it was cool to have those guys here at the track,” Cindric said. “Getting to race around Kyle Busch and learn from him was a huge plus for me. For the first time this year, we finished where I feel like we deserved to, and I’m really proud of the effort.  Doug [Randolph, crew chief] did an awesome job making sure we were stable enough for the race, and the pit crew was fantastic. We need races like this for the rest of the season. I learned a lot and I’m really proud of that.”

    He continued to finish inside the top 10 in the following races throughout the summer months, including having a controversial first ever career win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. On the last lap of the race, Cindric gave his friend Kaz Grala a bump, spinning Grala out as Cindric went on to win and collect a spot in the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. For Cindric, however, it felt like a must-win situation.

    “It was an incredible weekend for this Draw-Tite team,” he said. “We unloaded and were fast right away and I’ve got to thank Doug [Randolph, crew chief] and all the guys at BKR for that. I’m not sure there was one highlight I saw all week where there wasn’t somebody getting into the back of somebody else to win the race, but I hate that it came down to that. I’ve known Kaz for a long time and I think he, or anyone else, would have done the exact same thing with that much on the line.

    “The way NASCAR’s point system is now, you have to win and you’re in the playoffs. I feel like this team deserves the win and I feel like it’s going to uplift everyone in the shop. This truck was brand new and purpose built for this race, and I had to carry out my job and win the race. My experience road racing was what was able to get me from 16th to ninth on a restart and ninth to fourth on the next restart. I feel like, without that experience, I wouldn’t have won today.”

    When the Playoffs began at Loudon, Cindric finished inside the top 10 for two races and finished inside the top five in four races, including a second at Fort Worth. With those consistent finishes, he clinched a spot in the Championship 4, competing for his first championship.

    “It means the world to me to put Brad Keselowski Racing in the Championship 4,” Cindric said. “It’s a huge opportunity for me and for everyone on this team, especially since this is the last race for BKR. I’ve got thank everyone for putting their heart and soul into this program. It’s also really special to have Draw-Tite and REESE Brands on our Ford F-150 this weekend. Horizon Global has been a longtime partner with BKR and it’s incredibly special to have them along for the ride this weekend. I’ve never raced at Homestead, so I’m getting as much information and talking to as many people as I can. We are the underdog, and I love that. It’s going to be critical for me to get up to speed and understand the balance of the race truck.”

    When it was finally time for the Championship 4 weekend at Homestead, the former No. 19 driver qualified third for the Ford 200. In Stages 1 and 2, Cindric finished sixth in both. He ran as high as second and as low as 11th and ran about fourth throughout the race. Cindric was never able to lead a lap in the final event of the season. As 2017 came a close, he finished fifth, third among the Championship 4 standings. Despite finishing fifth in the race, Cindric wanted a little more.

    “We had better short-run speed in our Draw-Tite Ford F-150 than anybody else,” he said. “If we would have had one more restart there, it would have been a lot of fun. We wish we could have brought home a championship on Ford Championship Weekend. I drove my heart out to try and get by the No. 4 of Bell. I had to start trying some things. I tried the top there and was able to get around Crafton on the last lap with a slide job for third in the championship. I’m really pumped about that. I love these guys. I’m so excited for the future. I hope we get to work with some of these guys moving forward and I know that I’m blessed to be where I am.”

    With Brad Keselowski Racing not fielding an entry for quite some time in the Truck Series, the 2018 season will see Cindric competing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by sharing a ride with Chase Briscoe in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    In 2017, he collected one win, eight top fives and 16 top 10 finishes, along with an average start of 9.1 and an average finish of 10.2 with 106 laps led.

    For more news on Austin Cindric, follow him on Twitter @AustinCindric and on Instagram @AustinCindric.

     

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Championship Edition-Homestead-Miami

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Championship Edition-Homestead-Miami

    The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series concludes Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There will be four drivers competing for the championship including Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric. Three of the four will be returning to the Championship 4 for a second consecutive year. Here’s a look on this special championship preview edition on how these championship drivers will fare at the final race of the year.

      1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter will be strong all night at Homestead. In the past five races, he has finished inside the top 10, with the exception of 2013 where he finished 16th. Sauter only has six laps led with an average start of 11.6 and an average finish of 8.4. In last year’s race, he started 19th but worked his way up all night toward the top 10. By Lap 40, he was placed ninth and then advanced to third on Lap 120, which was good enough for him to claim his first ever career Truck Series championship.
      2. Matt Crafton – If there is a veteran driver that will win the championship, it’s Crafton. He is already a two-time champion and is looking for his third. One year, Crafton even finished the race with his truck all torn up and still became champion. He has one win (2015), one top five and three top 10 finishes, with an average start of 5.6 and 10.0 for an average finish, with 115 laps led. Crafton let the championship slip away last year after Sauter passed him late in the going and never could get him back. He eventually finished seventh last year to finish second in the championship. Should Crafton win his third championship, he will be high on the list with Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague. That would be quite an accomplishment for the Tulare, California driver.
      3. Christopher Bell – Bell only has two previous starts at Homestead. In his debut, he finished 25th after running out of fuel in the late going. Last year, Bell finished eighth after starting eighth to wind up third in the championship point standings. He will have to pick up his average finish as it’s 16.5 and only five laps led. He ran as low as 14th and as high as fourth. Practice time tomorrow will help get the No. 4 JBL Tundra dialed in for the final race of the season.
      4. Austin Cindric – Cindric is one of the few that does not have experience at Homestead-Miami as he will be making his first career start tomorrow night. Practice time will be critical for the Draw Tite F-150 Ford. However, he could surprise everyone as the unexpected driver to win the 2017 championship.

    Qualifying will be critical at the 1.5-mile track. In the past five races, the winners have come from the top 10, with the exception of Kyle Busch who won the race after starting 12th. In the last two races, however, the winners have started and won from the pole. The lowest a champion has ever started was 19th, which was set by last year’s champion Johnny Sauter.

    This will be an all-day event as there will be two practices in the morning at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, both on FS1. Qualifying is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

    The Ford Ecoboost 200 coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with the green flag scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET all on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • Austin Cindric Punches Ticket Into Championship 4

    Austin Cindric Punches Ticket Into Championship 4

    On Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway, Brad Keselowski Racing driver, Austin Cindric was able to point his way in for his first Championship 4.

    Let’s take a look at how Cindric got here first.

    Despite finishing 21st or worse in the first three races this season, Cindric has had a fairly consistent 2017 season. He posted seven top five and 15 top 10 finishes, and only had two DNF’s that came in Texas and Daytona. Cindric collected his first win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after moving Kaz Grala out of the way on the last lap.

    When the Playoffs started, he was solid throughout the rounds. Cindric posted eighth, fourth, fifth, 10th, second and ninth at Loudon, Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville, Fort Worth and Phoenix, respectively.

    However, the Phoenix race didn’t come without controversy. On Lap 131, Playoff driver Ben Rhodes, came down to block Cindric which resulted in a multi-vehicle accident including championship contender Matt Crafton.

    Now the only way Cindric would not advance to the Championship 4 was a win from John Hunter Nemechek, which almost happened as Nemechek finished second. Even with the ninth-place finish and second for Nemechek, Cindric pointed his way to his first ever championship race.

    “The 27 (Rhodes) had been executing all night,” Cindric said. “They’d been doing what they needed to beat us, and on that restart, I had envisioned us getting the perfect restart and trying to pop to the inside if I did. It’s one of those racing deals: two guys fighting for the same amount of real estate. It was very similar to what happened at Homestead last year in the Cup race, two guys racing for the same real estate with Carl Edwards and Joey Logano. Unfortunately, that’s how it ended.

    I wish we were able to race him hard from there, racing three-wide. I’m sure his spotter was telling him to defend the bottom or ‘looking inside’ and, sure enough, I was on the inside. It certainly wasn’t intentional and I didn’t want to earn the spot that way. I think we’ve surprised a few people with how far we’ve come this season. Hopefully, we can have a fun night at Homestead and maybe come back with some confetti on our Draw-Tite Ford F-150.”

  • Johnny Sauter Goes Back To Back After Wild Race In Phoenix

    Johnny Sauter Goes Back To Back After Wild Race In Phoenix

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series headed out west tonight for the annual running of the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway and it sure didn’t disappoint.

    Johnny Sauter was able to score his second consecutive victory after holding off John Hunter Nemechek on a late race restart.

    Christopher Bell and Noah Gragson set the front row in qualifying on Friday afternoon.

    The stages were broken up into 40/80/150 laps.

    In the first stage, it was run cleanly and smoothly without any incident, as Gragson and Bell traded the lead back and forth before Bell eventually took the Stage 1 win. With this stage win, he was able to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead.

    Stage 2 was similar to Stage 1. Bell and Gragson swapped the lead a few times before the second caution came out for the 98 of Grant Enfinger who made contact with the Turn 1 wall. This prompted Stage 2 to end under yellow, seeing Bell sweep both of the stages. Matt Crafton also clinched the third championship spot after Stage 2 due to collecting enough points needed.

    When Stage 3 began on lap 88, it might have been one of the wildest stages all year. There were several incidents and three red flags. The first incident came on lap 121 for Josh Reaume, who stopped on the track. Then shortly after the restart, a big accident took place on the frontstretch involving Austin Cindric, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Austin Hill and Norm Benning.

    As they say “cautions breed cautions” and it was in effect tonight, as another incident took place after the restart on the backstretch, where Ryan Truex hit the wall hard, collecting Dalton Sargeant, Jesse Little, Todd Gilliland and Stewart Friesen.

    The race went back to green on lap 141 and this saw race leader Bell, and Gragson, racing hard for the win until Gragson and Bell made slight contact, which sent both of them into the wall ending their shot at the win. During the wreck, Gragson hit the wall hard backward and then Justin Haley plowed right into him, causing more contact for Gragson’s No. 18. John Hunter Nemechek was also involved, after running over a piece of debris. Gragson was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

    With a late race restart that saw two to go, Nemechek gave all he could for Sauter, but Sauter eventually held off the No. 8 and won his second consecutive race of the 2017 season after winning Texas last week.

    Sauter led once for five laps and placed sixth in both stages. There were six cautions for 38 laps and three red flags. The race had nine leaders among three drivers.

    Along with Sauter, Matt Crafton, Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell will now be competing for the championship next weekend at Homestead Miami.

     

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Texas

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Texas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continued their championship stretch Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. It wasn’t a surprise as to who the winner was, clinching a spot in the Championship 4.

    Here’s a look at the power rankings from Texas.

    1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter continued his recent success at Texas Friday night by winning and advancing to Homestead-Miami for another shot at the championship. He placed second and ninth, respectively, in Stages 1 and 2. Sauter regained the lead on Lap 135 and held off a hard charging Austin Cindric for his 16th career Truck Series win and fourth career track win at Texas.
    2. Austin Cindric – Cindric had another strong showing Friday night by placing in the second position. After starting sixth, he was consistently in the top 10 most of the night when finishing third and seventh in both stages. Cindric even led once for 36 laps, but ultimately finished .170 seconds behind race winner Johnny Sauter. Currently, he sits fourth, -50 points behind first and is right on the cutoff line for advancing to Homestead. Nonetheless, a great showing by the No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing team, who is closing their doors at the end of the season.
    3. Justin Haley – Haley only had one previous start at Texas, which came in the June race and finished sixth. On Friday afternoon, he qualified on the pole, securing his first ever career pole position in the Truck Series. He did not place in the top 10 at all during both stages, but with pit strategy, Haley worked his way up and finished fifth, giving him his third top five of the season.
    4. Christopher Bell – Somewhat of a decent showing for Bell and the No. 4 JBL Tundra team. After winning the June race, it was expected for him to be up front and challenging for the win, however, Bell came up just two spots short. Bell dominated the first stage by winning and placed third in the second stage. He led twice for 20 laps and finished third.
    5. Chase Briscoe – The other BKR teammate was also in the top five Friday night, finishing in the fourth position. Briscoe started 10th but had a difficult truck to work with after not scoring in the top 10 in both stages. With the help of his crew and adjustments made during pit-stops, Briscoe rallied to a fourth-place finish, earning his eighth top-five finish in 2017.
  • Five Of The Six Truck Series Playoff Drivers Have Solid Day At Martinsville

    Five Of The Six Truck Series Playoff Drivers Have Solid Day At Martinsville

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicked-off its Round of 6 this past Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, thus setting off a four-race stretch to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Five of the six drivers all placed in the top 10.

    The first of the five was Matt Crafton. Crafton started second and finished second after leading 102 laps and winning the first stage. He lost the lead on the final restart to eventual race winner, Noah Gragson, who passed him on the outside after the restart. Crafton now sits third -15.

    Johnny Sauter finishing third shouldn’t be a surprise in the truck series, especially at Martinsville where his team was the defending race winner. He started the race out strong by qualifying fourth. In Stage 1, he placed second. Stage 2 was basically flip-flopped as Sauter won it and Crafton finished second. Sauter would challenge for the win multiple times but settled for third. He is only three points behind in the playoff standings.

    “We had a good day, just didn’t execute when we needed to,” Sauter said. “It’s unfortunate, but we had a fast ISM Connect Chevy. Joe did a good job; all the guys at GMS did a great job. We had a fast truck on that first run but that adjustment we made just wasn’t the right one I guess. Nonetheless, I still think track position is king. You get out in clean air and it’s dominant. I feel like anymore, everyone runs the same speed, so when you give up seven spots it’s pretty tough to overcome. But with that being said I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself, it happens, I can’t be mad about it. Despite it all, it was a good points day and we’re just getting started in what I believe is the part of the schedule that really plays into our strengths.”

    Next up on the list is a driver who has been dominant all year long and in the Round of 8, Christopher Bell. He had somewhat of a decent showing by finishing eighth after getting spun earlier in the race on lap 123, bringing out the fourth caution. The Norman, Oklahoma driver scored another top 10 finish and is currently leading the playoff standings.

    “I don’t know, our JBL Tundra was really, really strong throughout the second stage,” Bell said. ” I don’t know, other than that second stage we struggled to get going, but I’m not really sure what happened getting into (turn) three there. I thought I left Matt (Crafton) enough room, but overall it was not the day we wanted, but we were able to salvage a good finish out of it and got some stage points in the second stage. We’ll move on to Texas (Motor Speedway) and hopefully be a lot better than we were today.”

    The Las Vegas winner, Ben Rhodes, scored his 12th top 10 finish of the year and is fourth in the standings, -34 points. He is certainly not out of it yet, but will most likely have to get a few more stage wins and a victory to get to Homestead.  Rhodes had a solid showing of ninth after starting third, but it was earned the hard way.

    “Yeah, we survived, but just barely,” Rhodes said. ” I didn’t survive in the position that I wanted to survive in. I wish we were a little bit further up. The whole race was a little bit frustrating. We had a top-five truck, I felt like. We ran up there the whole day. I feel like we made a bad call on pit strategy because we came in, and everybody else stayed out. Then that just put us in the back, and we just got knocked into the wall – bounced around like a pinball. All-in-all, our Safelite Tundra was fast, we just didn’t get back up through the field like we wanted to, and we saw that with a lot of trucks today. I feel like maybe we missed it on pit strategy, just a little bit. We probably could have had a little bit better day, but overall still an okay day for points. Just always wish it could be a little better.”

    Austin Cindric rounds out the five playoff contenders having a decent showing at Martinsville. The Columbus, Ohio driver earned his 13th top 10 finish of the year by finishing 10th. He now sits fifth, -45 from first. Cindric placed seventh in Stage 1, did not finish in the top 10 in Stage 2 but came home in the top 10.

    “It was a solid finish by our Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford F-150 team and we moved up one spot in the championship standings,” Cindric said. “I’m happy with it. We have a pretty clean truck, all things considered. I think we got the most out of it today and we need to keep having races like this.”

    The Camping World Truck Series heads to the mid-west this Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway for the JAGS Metals 350.

     

  • Four Takeaways from the Camping World Truck Series Race-Las Vegas

    Four Takeaways from the Camping World Truck Series Race-Las Vegas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series went to the wild west this past Saturday night in Las Vegas. The trucks are known for their exciting races and this one sure didn’t disappoint. Here are four takeaways from the Las Vegas 350.

    1. Ben Rhodes Gets First Career Win – After coming close at Kansas earlier in the year and only coming up short due to an engine failure, Rhodes finally broke through and scored his first win on Saturday night in a last-lap thriller. Rhodes did a solid job of driving and racing his own race until the last lap came where he held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell off Turn 4 right at the finish line. With this win, Rhodes is now locked into the Round of 6 and will not have to worry about the pressures/wild card of Talladega.
    2. Christopher Bell Has Another Strong Finish – If Bell does not end up in victory lane, then he is for sure close to it. He recorded his 12th top five of the year Saturday night. This will only help Bell further his championship chances. Surely, he will be a championship lock for the final four, if nothing goes sour for the rest of the season.
    3. Brad Keselowski Racing Earns Top Five Finish – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric both had strong runs Saturday night. But, it shouldn’t be surprising, since both of the BKR trucks swept the top spots in last year’s race. Both of them, however, needed the strong runs to help continue their championship chances.
    4. Kaz Grala and John Hunter Nemechek Need Great Finish At Talladega – Two playoffs drivers are in danger of being eliminated from the Round of 8 next weekend at Talladega, but anything can happen. Grala could earn two stage wins and be safe as long as he doesn’t get collected in a wreck. Nemechek will most likely need a win in order to move on. However, there are still two drivers who will have to go home and be eliminated after all is said and done. Although, no one can predict the unpredictability of Talladega, which makes the race fun to watch for the fans.