Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Ben Rhodes

Grant Enfinger wins 2022 Truck Series Playoff opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

A gusty call to pit for four fresh tires under caution with less than 10 laps remaining before bolting his way to the front through two late-race restarts netted Grant Enfinger a big victory in the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 29.

The 37-year-old Enfinger from Fairhope, Alabama, led four times for 13 of 207 over-scheduled laps and utilized four fresh tires to overtake Zane Smith during an overtime attempt to capture his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season and to become the first Playoff contender to transfer from the Round of 10 to 8.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Friday, Playoff contender John Hunter Nemechek started on pole position for the fifth time in 2022 after posting a pole-winning lap at 111.188 mph in 22.211 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Nemechek’s teammate and Playoff contender Chandler Smith, who won last weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway and won Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event earlier at IRP before he clocked in his best lap at 110.998 mph in 22.249 seconds.

Prior to the event, Chris Hacker and Josh Reaume dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Nemechek launched his No. 4 Yahoo! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the lead while Chandler Smith and Christian Eckes battled for the runner-up spot before the former retained the spot in front of the field.

As the field returned to the start/finish line to complete the first lap, Nemechek retained the top spot ahead of teammate Chandler Smith and Eckes while Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim battled for spots within the top six.

By the fifth lap, Enfinger moved his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST up to third followed by Hocevar while Eckes fell back to fifth in front of Stewart Friesen and Heim. Meanwhile, Nemechek remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

Nearing the Lap 10 mark, the first caution of the event flew when Josh Reaume and Spencer Boyd wrecked in Turn 1, resulting in Reaume’s truck sustaining significant rear-end damage and Body’s truck bursting into flames. By then, Nemechek, who nearly lost the lead to teammate Chandler Smith, was back out in front followed by Enfinger, Hocevar and Friesen while Heim, Eckes, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and Derek Kraus were in the top 10. In addition, Zane Smith, the 2022 Truck Series regular-season champion, was mired in 17th behind Austin Wayne Self while Matt Crafton was back in 22nd behind Chase Purdy.

Following an extensive caution period, the event restarted under green on Lap 20. At the start, Nemechek retained the top spot while Carson Hocevar made a bold move on the inside lane in an attempt to take the lead before he settled in third behind Chandler Smith. Behind, Enfinger and Stewart Friesen battled for fourth in front of Corey Heim and the field that fanned out to multiple lanes.

Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Nemechek was leading by two-tenths of a second over teammate Chandler Smith followed by Hocevar, Friesen and Enfinger while Heim, Ben Rhodes, Eckes, Kraus and Majeski were in the top 10.

Four laps later, the caution returned when Reaume, who was involved in the first caution with Spencer Boyd, spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, Matt Crafton pitted for adjustments to his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro along with Jesse Little and Blake Lothian while the rest of the field led by Nemechek remained on the track.

When the event proceeded under green on Lap 37, Nemechek retained the lead while Chandler Smith fended off Hocevar and Friesen to remain in second. As the field fanned out, Enfinger was in fifth followed by Heim, Rhodes, Majeski and Eckes while Zane Smith cracked the top 10.

At the Lap 50 mark, Nemechek continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Chandler Smith as the top-10 spots were occupied by Playoff contenders. The only Playoff competitor who was not in the top 10 was Crafton, who was mired in 24th.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Nemechek captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammate Chandler Smith trailed in the runner-up spot while Hocevar, Friesen, Enfinger, Rhodes, Heim, Majeski, Zane Smith and Eckes were scored in the top 10. Crafton, meanwhile, was still mired in 24th.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Nemechek pitted and teammate Chandler Smith emerged with the lead followed by Hocevar, Nemechek, Rhodes, Heim and Enfinger. Following the pit stops, Rhodes and Kris Wright were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 70 as Chandler Smith and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar rocketed his No. 42 Premier Security Chevrolet Silverado RST to the lead on the inside lane in front of Chandler Smith as the field fanned out to multiple lanes around the circuit.

Three laps later, the caution returned when Blake Lothian came to a stop in Turn 1 as his night came to an end.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 80, Hocevar managed to retain the lead while on the inside lane as Enfinger challenged Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot in front of Nemechek. Behind, Tyler Ankrum was in fifth ahead of Heim, Kraus, Friesen, Eckes and Zane Smith.

By Lap 90, a heated side-by-side battle for the lead was occurring between Hocevar and Enfinger. While Enfinger gained a run and was strong through the turns, Hocevar managed to fend off Enfinger and retain the lead entering the straightaways. Meanwhile, third-place Nemechek trailed by less than a second while Chandler Smith and Ankrum were in the top five.

At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Hocevar was leading by a narrow margin over Enfinger while Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Ankrum, Friesen, Heim, Zane Smith, Majeski and Kraus were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Christian Eckes was in 11th, Rhodes was in 14th and Crafton was back in 17th behind Taylor Gray.

Five laps later, Enfinger persevered through his tight, endless battle against Hocevar by taking the lead through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. Another two laps later, the caution returned when Nemechek, who was closing in on Hocevar and teammate Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot, spun in Turn 2 after making contact with the lapped truck of Kris Wright. Despite spinning and coming to a stop in the middle of the track and in a cloud of smoke in Turn 2, Nemechek was dodged by the oncoming competitors led by Ankrum as he managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage.

During the caution period, most of the field led by Enfinger pitted while names that included Chandler Smith, Rhodes, Kaz Grala, Lawless Alan and Timmy Hill remained on the track as Smith reassumed the lead.

With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chandler Smith retained the lead on the inside lane ahead of Rhodes as the field fanned out entering the backstretch. Two laps later, however, Ty Majeski muscled his No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the lead on fresh tires followed by Enfinger, who quickly dispatched Chandler Smith on fresh tires. Another two laps later, Zane Smith and Chandler Smith made contact as Zane rubbed against Chandler’s No. 18 Toyota in Turn 1 with both making contact with the outside wall. Despite the contact, the race proceeded under green as Majeski remained as the leader.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 120 under caution after Dean Thompson spun in Turn 2, Majeski held off Enfinger to claim his second stage victory of the season. Enfinger settled in second followed by Rhodes, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Ankrum and Colby Howard.

Under the stage break, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Lawless Alan, Kaz Grala, Austin Wayne Self, Johnny Sauter, Hailie Deegan, Timmy Hill and Jake Garcia pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track.

With 72 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Majeski fended off Enfinger to remain as the leader while Hocevar was in third ahead of Friesen, Ankrum, Nemechek and Heim while the field fanned out.

Following a debris caution reported in Turn 4 10 laps later, the race proceeded under green with 55 laps remaining. At the start, Majeski retained the lead by a narrow margin over Enfinger while Nemechek, Friesen and Ben Rhodes duked for fifth in front of Hocevar, Heim and Tyler Ankrum. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Lawless Alan, who was locked in a tight four-wide battle through the backstretch, got turned by Chase Purdy as he spun and made hard contact against the inside wall. In the midst of the carnage, Zane Smith sustained minimal damage to his No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 after hitting Alan.

During the caution period, names like Zane Smith, Taylor Gray, Austin Wayne Self and Dean Thompson pitted while the rest led by Ty Majeski remained on the track.

With 42 laps remaining, the event restarted under green. At the start, Majeski and Enfinger dueled for the lead through Turn 1 as Nemechek also attempted to squeeze his way to the top spot. Despite the tight racing for the lead entering the backstretch, Majeski managed to clear Enfinger to remain as the leader while Nemechek settled back in third. Behind, Friesen was in fourth while Rhodes was in fifth in front of Hocevar.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Majeski was leading by more than one-and-a-half seconds over Enfinger followed by Nemechek, Friesen and Rhodes while Hocevar, Heim, Colby Howard, Ankrum and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10. By then, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Eckes were in 14th, 15th, 17th and 21st, respectively.

Ten laps later, Majeski, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Enfinger while Nemechek, Rhodes and Friesen remained in the top five.

Then with 12 laps remaining, Majeski, who was getting stalled by the lapped truck of Hailie Deegan and Blaine Perkins, was caught by Enfinger as Enfinger dueled and overtook Majeski for the lead a lap after as Nemechek started to close in while running in third place.

With 10 laps remaining, however, the caution flew when Colby Howard, who was having a strong run in eighth place, made contact with Hocevar entering Turn 4, which Hocevar repaid the favor by veering dead left and sending Howard’s No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST backward into the outside wall. The incident prompted Howard to express his displeasure towards Hocevar after he exited his damaged truck.

During the caution period, the majority of the field led by Enfinger and Majeski pitted while names like Nemechek, Taylor Gray, Ankrum, Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, newcomer Layne Riggs, Johnny Sauter, Austin Wayne Self, Jesse Little and Chris Hacker remained on the track as Nemechek inherited the lead.

Down to a two-lap shootout to the finish, the race restarted under green. At the start, Taylor Gray managed to pull ahead of Nemechek and the field to take the lead entering the backstretch. Then entering Turn 4, Gray was hit by Nemechek as he spun his No. 17 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 across the outside wall, which prompted NASCAR to display the caution and send the event into overtime. At the moment of caution, Nemechek managed to retain the top spot followed by Zane Smith while Ankrum was in third ahead of Enfinger, Layne Riggs and DiBenedetto.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Nemechek launched ahead on the outside lane entering the first two turns before he got forced into the outside wall by Zane Smith. With Nemechek falling below the leaderboard following his late scrape, Zane Smith assumed the top spot followed by a hard-charging Enfinger, who was on four fresh tires, as the field fanned out and jostled for late positions.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Enfinger was ahead by a nose over Zane Smith as Rhodes carved his way into third. Enfinger then managed to clear Zane Smith and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch to assume full authority. With no late challenges instigating behind and having four fresh tires to his advantage, Enfinger cycled his way back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by four-tenths of a second over Rhodes.

With the victory, Enfinger, who competed between ThorSport Racing and CR7 Motorsports a year ago before reuniting with GMS Racing as a full-time competitor this season, claimed his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win since winning at Martinsville Speedway in October and his seventh career win in the series. He also became the 13th overall competitor to win a Truck event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as he recorded the first victory of the season for GMS Racing and the third for the Chevrolet nameplate.

By winning the first event of the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Enfinger, who managed to secure a Playoff spot based on points a week ago at Pocono Raceway, also earned an automatic transfer spot to the Round of 8 as he continues his pursuit to win his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

“We’re finally moving forward at all,” Enfinger said on FS1. “This is the first laps we’ve led since Atlanta or something. Terrible off-season. Not because of these [pit] guys behind me, but we’ve just been off a little bit as an organization. [I] Can’t say thank you enough to [GMS Racing president] Mike Beam, [owner] Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, everybody at GMS Fabrication and everybody on this No. 23 team. We’ve been working so hard because we’ve been sucking. It hurts to say it, but we’ve had a terrible season to this point. We had a great No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet all day. [I] Felt like every time I got the lead, the caution come out. It put [crew chief Jeff] Hensley in a bad spot. I knew from experience, just trust his gut. It’s a pretty special night. Definitely very, very thankful.”

During his victory celebration, Enfinger credited the late gusty pit call made by his veteran crew chief Jeff Hensley, who reunited with Enfinger at GMS Racing in late June. Both Enfinger and Hensley worked together at ThorSport Racing from 2017 to 2020.

“Four years and we’ve ridden the roller coaster together,” Enfinger added. “We’ve been in the lows. We missed the Playoffs our first year together and we haven’t missed it since then. We’ve had some success together. He’s a racer. I’m a racer. Neither one of us are very smart, but we put it together tonight.”

Rhodes came home in second place in front of Zane Smith while Friesen and Heim finished in the top five. Ankrum finished in sixth in front of newcomer Layne Riggs while Majeski, who was initially in a position to win his first NASCAR race, settled in eighth. Crafton rallied to finish ninth while Nemechek, who led a race-high 75 laps and ended up in the wall while leading, fell back to 10th place.

Notably, Playoff contenders Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith and Carson Hocevar finished 16th, 18th and 21st, respectively.

The Truck Series’ return to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park since 2011 featured 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race also featured 10 cautions for 78 laps.

Results.

1. Grant Enfinger, 13 laps led

2. Ben Rhodes

3. Zane Smith

4. Stewart Friesen

5. Corey Heim

6. Tyler Ankrum

7. Layne Riggs

8. Ty Majeski, 71 laps led, Stage 2 winner

9. Matt Crafton

10. John Hunter Nemechek, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner

11. Matt DiBenedetto

12. Johnny Sauter

13. Hailie Deegan

14. Derek Kraus

15. Jesse Little

16. Christian Eckes

17. Timmy Hill

18. Chandler Smith, 13 laps led

19. Austin Wayne Self

20. Kaz Grala

21. Carson Hocevar, 34 laps led

22. Taylor Gray, one lap led

23. Tanner Gray

24. Chris Hacker

25. Jack Wood

26. Blaine Perkins

27. Chase Purdy, one lap down

28. Jake Garcia, one lap down

29. Dean Thompson, three laps down

30. Chad Chastain, three laps down

31. Kris Wright, three laps down

32. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

33. Josh Reaume – OUT, Too slow

34. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident

35. Blake Lothian – OUT, Driveshaft

36. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

Playoff standings

1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

2. Zane Smith +50

3. Ben Rhodes +36

4. Stewart Friesen +28

5. John Hunter Nemechek +24

6. Chandler Smith +24

7. Ty Majeski +19

8. Carson Hocevar +7

9. Matt Crafton -7

10. Christian Eckes -7

With the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs underway, the second Round of 10 events is scheduled to occur at Richmond Raceway on August 13. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

July 30, 2022
Kligerman fends off Zane Smith for wild Truck Series victory at Mid-Ohio

Parker Kligerman capitalized in a three-lap shootout and fended off several fierce challenges from Zane Smith to win the inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9. The 31-year-old Kligerman from Stamford, Connecticut, led three times for a race-high 56 of 67 laps, including the final three, as he assumed the lead from Zane Smith at the start of a three-lap dash to the finish.

Once he assumed the lead, Kligerman managed to fend off and remain in front of Smith through the 13-turn circuit three times before etching his name as the winner of the inaugural Truck event at Mid-Ohio and return to Victory Lane in the series for the first time in four seasons.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, which was also shortened due to rain, rookie Corey Heim started on the pole position after posting a time at 69.181 mph in 117.500 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Parker Kligerman, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 68.869 mph in 118.032 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Derek Kraus, Austin Wayne Self and Kris Wright dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made toothier respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim launched his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro clear of the field entering the first turn followed by Kligerman and Carson Hocevar as the field fanned out and jostled for early positions. With the competitors navigating their way through the 13-turn circuit for the first time, Heim, who was engaged in an early battle with Kligerman for the lead, led the first lap as John Hunter Nemechek moved up to third place. Meanwhile, Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto battled for fourth in front of Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum.

Two laps later, Kligerman, who intimidated Heim for the lead since the start, made his move in Turn 4 to assume the lead while Heim kept Kligerman within his sights.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Kligerman was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Nemechek, DiBenedetto and Hocevar while Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Justin Marks were in the top 10. Behind, Dylan Lupton was in 11th ahead of Connor Mosack, Christian Eckes, Kaz Grala and Taylor Gray while Tanner Gray, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Trey Burke III and rookie Jack Wood occupied the top 20. Ty Majeski was in 21st and Chandler Smith was in 23rd ahead of Hailie Deegan and Derek Kraus.

Three laps later, the first caution flew when Mason Filippi stopped on the track. During the caution period, some like Dean Thompson and Taylor Gray pitted while the rest led by Kligerman remained on the track.

When the event restarted on Lap 10, Kligerman and Heim battled for the lead as the former retained the top spot through the first two turns and entering Turns 3 and 4. Meanwhile, Nemechek retained third ahead of DiBenedetto, Ankrum, Hocevar and the field.

By Lap 15, Kligerman extended his advantage over Heim followed by Nemechek, Zane Smith and Ankrum while Enfinger, Hocevar, Justin Marks, Crafton and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. Behind, Frisen was in 11th followed by Rhodes, who was reporting engine issues to his truck. Lupton, Grala and Tanner Tray occupied the top 15 while Connor Mosack, Majeski, Chandler Smith, Deegan and Chase Purdy were in the top 20. Meanwhile, DiBenedetto, who fell off the pace on Lap 13 when the power in his No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet Silverado RST shut off before re-firing entering Turn 2, was mired back in 28th.

During the following lap, the caution returned when Trey Burke III, who earlier went off the course in Turn 2, came to a stop while trying to exit pit road.

With a single lap remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Kligerman retained the lead ahead of Heim, who was challenged by teammate Nemechek for the runner-up spot as Zane Smith joined the battle. In the midst of the three-truck battle, Zane Smith overtook both Kyle Busch Motorsports competitors to move into the runner-up spot as the field fanned out. Despite Smith’s late charge to the front, Kligerman managed to fend off Smith to remain the leader as he went on to claim the first stage victory on Lap 20. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Nemechek, Heim and Enfinger while Eckes, Ankrum, Hocevar, Marks and Friesen were scored in the top 10.

Following a three-minute break period, where the teams were allowed to change tires, add fuel and make adjustments to their respective trucks while the field retained their sports, the second stage started under green on Lap 21. At the start, Kligerman and Zane Smith dueled for the lead from Turn 2 to Turn 4 until Kligerman managed to fend off Smith again as he remained with the lead. Behind, teammates Nemechek and Heim battled for third in front of Enfinger while Eckes made his way to sixth in front of Majeski.

Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Kligerman remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Heim and Eckes were in the top five. Friesen was in sixth while Grant Enfinger, Hocevar, Ankrum and Grala were in the top 10. A lap earlier, Rhodes made an unscheduled pit stop as his pit crew went to work on the fuel cell amid his power issues to his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. The situation for Rhodes went from bad to worse when he was penalized for speeding on pit road.

By Lap 30, Kligerman continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Heim and Eckes remained in the top five.

Nearing the Lap 35 mark, Nemechek, who had smoke coming out of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, pitted before he made the turn to the garage. By then, Rhodes, who was two laps behind the leaders amid his mechanical issue, went off the course, though he continued as the race remained under green.

At the start of the final lap of the second stage, the battle for the lead between Kligerman and Zane Smith ignited as Smith, who had slowly been pressuring Kligerman for the lead, made his move for the top spot and dueled for the lead through the first two turns. When the leaders returned to the start/finish line, Smith, who managed to overtake and clear Kligerman for the lead through the Esses, claimed his seventh stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 40. Kligerman settled in second followed by Heim, Eckes and Hocevar while Enfinger, Friesen, Ankrum, Grala and Majeski.

Following another three-minute break period for pit stops and adjustments, the final stage commenced under green with 25 laps remaining. At the start, Zane Smith received a strong start to hold the lead before Kligerman launched his challenge for the lead exiting Turn 2. Then in Turn 4, Kligerman gained a strong run as he managed to reassume the lead.

With 20 laps remaining, Kligerman was leading by three-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Hocevar, Eckes, Enfinger, Friesen, Ankrum, Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. In the midst of the on-track action, Dylan Lupton backed his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST into the tire barriers in Turn 7. Two laps earlier, Justin Marks, who was running in 13th, spun by himself in Turn 10 as he dropped out of the top 20.

Two laps later, the caution returned when Marks, who darted to the left while trying to avoid Lawless Alan, lost his brakes and slid his No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST backward into the gravel trap in Turn 4 as he pounded the tire barriers on his right side, thus ending his one-race return as a driver in the infield care center. By then, Tyler Ankrum, who was running in the top 10, dropped off the pace after sustaining damage and a right-rear tire.

Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kligerman retained the lead in front of Zane Smith while Heim and Hoover battled for third place in front of the field. Shortly after, however, the caution returned for a multi-truck incident that started when Austin Wayne Self, who got loose while battling Chase Purdy and Colby Howard in a three-wide battle entering the first turn, spun and was hit by rookie Jack Wood’s No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST while Blaine Perkins and Timmy Hill sustained damage amid the carnage.

With eight laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Zane Smith overtook Kligerman to reassume the lead exiting the first turn. At the same time, Hocevar briefly took over the runner-up spot over Kligerman before he went wide entering Turn 2 and fell back to fourth. In the midst of the on-track battles, Heim moved up to second followed by Kligerman and Hocevar. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Chase Purdy spun in Turn 12 following contact with DiBenedetto, but the race proceeded under green.

During the following lap, however, the caution flew when Heim fell off the pace due to a mechanical failure and came to a stop between Turns 6 and 7 as his hopes of winning a second Triple Truck Challenge bonus came to an end.

Down to the final three laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith held a brief advantage before Kligerman made his move and reassumed the top spot exiting the fourth turn while Hocevar was up in third place. Behind, Crafton and Kris Wright spun, but the race proceeded under green. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Zane Smith launched another challenge on Kligerman for the lead, but he could not execute the move as Kligerman retained the top spot in his No. 75 Food Country USA/Tide Chevrolet Silverado RST.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kligerman received another challenge from Zane Smith’s No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 entering the first turn, though Kligerman retained the lead. Through Turns 3 to 12, Kligerman managed to hold a reasonable gap between himself and Smith. Then entering Turn 13, Smith launched his final attack by bumping and trying to move Kligerman up the track. The move, however, did not execute to the end as Kligerman managed to claim the checkered flag and cap off his dominant run with a narrow victory.

With the victory, Kligerman earned his third career win in the Camping World Truck Series and his first since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2017, which also marked the final victory to date for Henderson Motorsports. He also claimed the third and final $50,000 bonus from the Triple Truck Challenge.

“[The win]’s hard to put into words,” Kligerman said on FS1. “I was really emotional on the cooldown lap because this whole team, it’s like a team of second chances. Two years ago, I thought my driving days were done. This team gave me a call, wanted to get back racing and it’s just been a steady improvement throughout. [Owners] Charlie Henderson, Don Henderson, the whole Henderson family. All the employees at Food Country USA who give us this opportunity to come out here and do this. It’s unbelievable when you put a talented group of humans together, what they can achieve. We were doing this on an absolute fraction of what the trucks are up against. And to win on Mid-Ohio road course, finally! A road course win! I started in road courses, I came in NASCAR thinking that would be all easy. It’s taken me more than a decade to get a win, but finally, we’re here…This is a small team that could, but we’re not a small team that doesn’t win. We win. ”

Zane Smith, who trailed Kligerman to the finish line by more than a tenth of a second, claimed his third runner-up result of the season while Hocevar, Friesen and Eckes finished in the top five. Chandler Smith, Kaz Grala, Derek Kraus, Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan completed the top 10 on the track.

There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 15 laps.

Down to the final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season event of the 2022 season, Zane Smith leads the regular-season standings by 58 points over both John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith, 69 over Stewart Friesen and 70 over Ben Rhodes as he closes in towards the regular-season championship.

Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar have secured spots for the Playoffs based on points. Grant Enfinger remains above the top-10 cutline in ninth place by 47 points while Matt Crafton holds the 10th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by 19 points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline by 19 points, Tyler Ankrum trails by 46, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 63, Tanner Gray trails by 72, Chase Purdy trails by 104 and Colby Howard trails by 139.

Results.

1. Parker Kligerman, 56 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Zane Smith, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Carson Hocevar

4. Stewart Friesen

5. Christian Eckes

6. Chandler Smith

7. Kaz Grala

8. Derek Kraus

9. Colby Howard

10. Hailie Deegan

11. Grant Enfinger

12. Ty Majeski

13. Chase Purdy

14. Austin Wayne Self

15. Taylor Gray

16. Spencer Boyd

17. Timmy Hill

18. Matt Crafton

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Tanner Gray

21. Tyler Ankrum

22. Stephen Mallozzi

23. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

24. Lawless Alan, one lap down

25. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

26. Corey Heim – OUT, Transmission, three laps down

27. Dean Thompson, seven laps down

28. John Hunter Nemechek, 10 laps down

29. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

30. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

31. Justin Marks – OUT, Accident

32. Dylan Lupton – OUT, Accident

33. Kenko Miura, 25 laps down

34. Connor Mosack – OUT, Brakes

35. Trey Burke III – OUT, Rear gear

36. Mason Filippi – OUT, Engine

The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude at Pocono Raceway on July 23, where the 10-truck Playoff field will be determined. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at noon ET on FOX.

July 9, 2022
Kyle Busch capitalizes in final Truck Series start with a victory at Sonoma

Kyle Busch made the most of his final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the season by winning the inaugural DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 11, following a two-lap shootout to the finish.

The two-time Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led four times for a race-high 45 of 75 laps and was able to pull away from teammate Chandler Smith at the start of a two-lap shootout to the finish and beating Zane Smith by more than a second to record his first Truck Series victory of the 2022 season at Sonoma, California.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Carson Hocevar, who was still recovering from his final lap accident at Gateway from a week ago, notched his first pole position after clocking in a fast lap at 91.135 mph in 78.609 seconds. During his pole-winning lap, however, Hocevar got loose and smacked the wall in Turn 10. The incident along with unapproved adjustments forced Hocevar to start the event at the rear of the field in a backup truck along with Stefan Parsons. With Hocevar dropping to the rear of the field, teammate Ross Chastain, who was making his 100th Truck Series career start, and Kyle Busch occupied the front row, with Chastain’s qualifying time occurring at 90.492 mph in 79.167 seconds while Busch’s was at 90.428 mph in 79.223 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chastain rocketed with the lead follows by Kyle Busch as the field battled dead even through the first three turns and entering the return of the Chute corner through Turns 4 to 7. Through Turns 8 through 11 and when the field returned to the start/finish line, Chastain led the first lap while Ty Majeski challenged Busch for the runner-up spot ahead of Tyler Ankrum and Alex Bowman.

Through the first five laps of the event, Chastain was leading by nearly three seconds over Kyle Busch followed by Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum while John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, Parker Kligerman and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10. Austin Dillon was in 11th followed by Zane Smith, Hailie Deegan, Christian Eckes and Derek Kraus while Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Kaz Grala, Lawless Alan and Timmy Hill occupied the top 20.

On the following lap, Friesen spun after locking up his front tires and slipping sideways while battling Kligerman in the top 10 in Turn 7. The race, however, proceeded under green as Chastain continued to lead by two seconds over Kyle Busch.

At the Lap 10 mark, Chastain remained as the leader by less than two seconds over Kyle Busch while Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, who started at the rear of the field while battling a broken right tibia, was up in 23rd place as he had Daniel Suarez on standby to relieve him.

The following lap, Hocevar pitted and the driver swap occurred as Suarez hopped into the No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST. By then, Stefan Parsons took his truck to the garage after he was trailing smoke. The switch, however, cost the No. 42 team two laps while Chastain retained the lead by one-and-a-half seconds over Busch.

Just past the Lap 15 mark, Chastain stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Kyle Busch followed by Majeski, Bowman and Ankrum while Nemechek, Enfinger, Kligerman, DiBenedetto and Zane Smith were in the top 10.

Shortly after, Friesen pitted his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro followed by the leader Chastain as Kyle Busch moved into the lead. Harrison Burton also pitted. Then with the field approaching the final two laps of the first stage, Kyle Busch pitted his No. 51 Yahoo! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro along with Bowman while Majeski moved into the lead.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Majeski claimed his first stage victory of the season after fending off a last-lap challenge from Ankrum. Nemechek settled in third place followed by Enfinger, Kligerman, DiBenedetto, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith, Austin Dillon and Hailie Deegan.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Majeski pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. During the pit stops, Harrison Burton reported being down a cylinder despite continuing. Following the pit stops, Deegan was penalized for an equipment going over the wall early along with Kris Wright and DiBenedetto, both of whom were penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Tanner Gray was also penalized for equipment being thrown from his pit box while Todd Bodine was penalized for speeding on pit road. Meanwhile, Suarez cycled his way to be only a lap behind the leaders.

The second stage started on Lap 25 as Chastain and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain cleared Busch and the field from the outside lane to retain the lead entering the first two turns. Then in Turn 7, Enfinger, who was in the top 10, locked up his front tires, ran over the curb and spun in the middle of the field. With the field scrambling to avoid hitting Enfinger, the race proceeded under green as Enfinger continued without sustaining any damage.

Back at the front, Kyle Busch moved into the lead after overtaking Chastain in Turn 11 while Bowman was in third place ahead of Ankrum and Friesen. During the following lap, the caution returned when Christian Eckes, who was the fastest during Friday’s practice session, made contact with Nemechek as he spun and hit the wall in Turn 8. The caution cycled Suarez to the lead lap.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 30, Kyle Busch pulled ahead of Chastain and the field to lead through the first two turns and entering Turns 3 and 3A. Through the 11-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Busch remained the leader despite having Chastain close behind in his rearview mirror. Behind, Ankrum was in third ahead of Bowman and Majeski while Friesen and Ben Rhodes battled for sixth place. Kligerman was in eighth while Kraus and Nemechek were in the top 10.

By Lap 35, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Chastain followed by Ankrum, Bowman and Majeski while Friesen, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Kraus were in the top 10. Not long after, Kraus surrendered his spot in 10th place to pit as Zane Smith moved into the top 10.

Two laps later, Matt Crafton spun his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Turn 8 after getting hit by Todd Bodine, who locked up his front tires prior to entering the corner.

Through Lap 40 and with the event surpassing its halfway mark, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Chastain, who had Ankrum pressuring him for the runner-up spot while Bowman and Majeski were scored in the top five.

Two laps later, a handful of competitors led by Zane Smith pitted under green while Kyle Busch continued to lead. Another lap later, however, Busch surrendered the lead to pit followed by Ankrum, Bowman, Chastain, Majeski and Kligerman while Ben Rhodes moved into the lead.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 45, Rhodes claimed his eighth stage victory of the season. Chandler Smith settled in second followed by Chase Purdy, Kaz Grala, Austin Dillon, Suarez, Timmy Hill, Dean Thompson, Deegan and Bodine.

Under the stage break, some led by Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

With 26 laps remaining, the final stage started as Kyle Busch and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch fended off Chastain to lead through the first two turns while the field scrambled and jostled for positions entering Turns 3, 4 and 7. Back to the start/finish line, Busch was leading by a tenth of a second over Chastain while Majeski, Bowman, Friesen, Kligerman, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Tanner Gray and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

Five laps later, Bodine spun his No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front of Dean Thompsons entering Turn 3. The race, however, continued under green as Kyle Busch remained the leader by less than a second over Chastain.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Chastain while Majeski, Bowman and Kligerman were in the top five. Way behind the leaders, Crafton pitted as smoke was lightly billowing out of his No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, an issue that started through the esses and was enough to have his truck pushed behind the wall.

With 15 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was leading by less than two seconds over Chastain. Behind, Bowman was in third place, trailing by more than three seconds, while Majeski and Kligerman were in the top five. Just then, the caution flew when DiBenedetto, who was making a move beneath Friesen for 10th place entering Turn 11, ran into the tire barrier and into Friesen with both spinning in the turn as a tire barrier was knocked on its side.

During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Kyle Busch pitted as Busch exited first followed by Chastain, Majeski, Bowman, Chandler Smith and Nemechek. Back on the track, however, Rhodes, who did not pit, remained on the track and assumed the lead along with Kraus and Chase Purdy, both of whom did not pit. Following the pit stops, Bowman was penalized for equipment interference.

Down to the final 11 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes took off with the lead through the first two turns while Kyle Busch battled and overtook Kraus for the runner-up spot while on fresh tires. As the field jostled for positions, Rhodes locked up his front tires and Kraus got turned and spun in Turn 7 as Kyle Busch reassumed the lead.

Then during the following lap, the caution returned when Deegan blew a right-rear tire, slipped sideways and smacked the wall entering Turn 1, thus sustaining significant right-side and rear-end damage to her No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150.

With seven laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Kyle Busch rocketed with the lead as teammate Chandler Smith moved his No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Through Turns 3 and 3A, Rhodes went off the course and reported a flat tire as the field continued to jostle for positions under green.

Two laps later, Kyle Busch was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Chandler Smith. Behind, Zane Smith overtook Majeski to move into third while Chastain was in fifth ahead of Kligerman and Suarez. Shortly after, the caution flew for a heavy wreck entering Turn 1 that started when Friesen got Josh Bilicki sideways as Bilicki clipped the inside wall before he smacked the outside wall hard along with Friesen. In the process, Bowman and Lawless Alan sustained damage to their respective trucks after getting into Bilicki. The incident was enough for the event to be drawn into a red flag period for nearly 13 minutes.

When the red flag lifted and the race restarted for a two-lap shootout, Kyle Busch cleared the field and retained the lead while teammate Chandler Smith fended off Zane Smith to retain second place. Through Turn 7, Zane Smith move his No. 38 CMR Ford F-150 into the runner-up spot ahead of Chandler Smith while Busch continued to lead.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Zane Smith and more than two seconds over teammate Chandler Smith as the field jostled for positions. Behind, Dean Thompson spun, but the race remained under green flag conditions. With Zane Smith unable to mount a challenge for the final time through the 11-turn circuit, Kyle Busch navigated his way back to the finish line for his first checkered flag of the season.

With the victory, Kyle Busch, who is a two-time Cup winner at Sonoma, notched his 62nd career win in the Camping World Truck Series and his first victory on a road course circuit in the Truck Series. The victory also extended Busch’s current winning streak in the Truck Series to 10 consecutive seasons with this season marking his 17th Truck season with at least one victory.

“I appreciate Yahoo! and everybody that has made this partnership possible with Toyota and [Toyota Racing Development],” Busch said on FS1. “This Tundra TRD Pro was awesome today. I’m really proud to drive it. We had a struggle at Charlotte a couple weeks ago, but today was really good. Awesome adjustments by [crew chief] Mardy [Lindley] and all the guys here to get us in position to be able to win today. Yesterday was ugly. I wasn’t sure about it. I didn’t feel good about the truck, but they worked on it all night long and we made some brake changes. We made some chassis changes and these guys never stop. As hard as it might seem sometimes, I know the efforts there. Super effort here. Ready to go celebrate.”

Zane Smith settled in second place for his sixth top-five result of the season followed by Ty Majeski, who notched his fifth top-five result of the 2022 season. Chastain came home in fourth place while Chandler Smith fell back to fifth place.

“[The day] didn’t start out too good,” Zane Smith said. “Took a huge swing at our MRC Ford Performance F-150. Luckily, it went the right way. It’s really hard to do in a racing situation, so props to my team, but I hate finishing second. Especially to [Kyle Busch]. I feel like just racing with [Chandler Smith], he got out too far out front and I think that last lap was the fastest lap of the race for me. I just wished I was a little closer so I had a shot at him.”

Suarez earned a strong sixth-place effort while subbing for the injured Carson Hocevar while Kligerman, Nemechek, Ankrum and DiBenedetto finished in the top 10. Jack Wood was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 16th place.

“[Today] was busy, man,” Suarez said. “It was very busy. I was hoping to go one lap down, but when we went two laps down, I was like, ‘Man, it’s gonna be a long recovery’. I was hoping to recover quicker on that, but the truck had speed. I was hoping for long runs so I can be able to make some ground, but overall, the team did a very good job. Very thankful I was able to help. We were able to get some stage points in stage number 2 and then finish in the top six. That was a pretty decent day. I wished we could have won. The truck was capable of winning the race, but we just ran out of time.”

There were 10 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 17 laps. A total of 26 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

With four races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by five points over Chandler Smith, 12 over Zane Smith, 14 over John Hunter Nemechek. 45 over Ty Majeski and 47 over Stewart Friesen.

Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 33 points, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 36, Derek Kraus trails by 39, Tyler Ankrum trails by 50 and Chase Purdy trails by 91.

Results.

1. Kyle Busch, 45 laps led

2. Zane Smith

3. Ty Majeski, four laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Ross Chastain, 19 laps led

5. Chandler Smith

6. Carson Hocevar (*subbed by Daniel Suarez)

7. Parker Kligerman

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Tyler Ankrum

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Grant Enfinger, one lap led

12. Harrison Burton

13. Tanner Gray

14. Kaz Grala

15. Chase Purdy

16. Jack Wood

17. Austin Dillon

18. Ben Rhodes, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

19. Colby Howard

20. Todd Bodine

21. Blaine Perkins

22. Brad Perez

23. Spencer Boyd

24. Dean Thompson

25. Lawless Alan

26. Kris Wright

27. Derek Kraus, one lap down

28. Timmy Hill, two laps down

29. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

30. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

31. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Accident

32. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Accident

33. Jade Buford – OUT, Transmission

34. Matt Crafton – OUT, Transmission

35. Christian Eckes – OUT, Accident

36. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Oil cooler

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway for the second annual running of the Clean Harbor 150. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 18, at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 11, 2022
Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

A late caution, a given lane choice to restart on the bottom lane on the front row and a well-executed launch during an overtime shootout fell into the hands of Corey Heim as he fended off Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith to win the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, June 4.

The 19-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for 20 of 165 over-scheduled laps as he benefitted through the overtime shootout and retaining the lead at the moment of caution due to a multi-truck wreck on the final lap to achieve his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career victory in his ninth series start.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, rookie Corey Heim secured his first pole position after recording a pole-winning lap at 138.232 mph in 32.554 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 137.978 in 32.614 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim pulled ahead on the outside lane followed by teammate Chandler Smith while teammate John Hunter Nemechek also made his way into the top three ahead of Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. With the field settling in a long single-file line, Heim led the first lap followed by his two Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Heim retained the lead ahead of Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Zane Smith and Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Colby Howard and Matt Crafton were in the top 10.

By Lap 10, Heim continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while Nemechek, Zane Smith and Eckes remained in the top five.

Ten laps later, Chandler Smith, who took over the lead two laps earlier, was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Nemechek, Zane Smith, Eckes, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Crafton and Colby Howard.

At the Lap 30 mark, Chandler Smith extended his advantage by more than two seconds over Heim. Behind, Nemechek remained in third followed by Zane Smith and Friesen while Eckes was back in sixth.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Chandler Smith notched his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Heim settled in second followed by teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes, Crafton and Colby Howard.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Enfinger, who opted for a two-tire pit stop, exited in first place followed by Chandler Smith, Heim, Nemechek, Eckes, Friesen and Zane Smith.

The second stage started on Lap 43 as Enfinger and Chandler Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith gained the advantage on the outside lane to reassume the lead while Enfinger settled in second in front of Heim, Nemechek and Eckes.

Three laps later, the caution flew when Majeski turned Taylor Gray and sent Gray into the outside wall in Turn 2. At the same time, Rajah Caruth, a full-time ARCA Menards Series competitor who was making his Truck debut for Spire Motorsports, spun while avoiding Gray’s truck.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 52, Chandler Smith pulled ahead and retained the lead ahead of Enfinger while Heim challenged Enfinger for the runner-up spot. Behind, Friesen battled and overtook Nemechek for fourth place as the field behind jostled for positions.

A lap later, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck that erupted when Nemechek made contact with Friesen entering Turns 3 and 4, which sent Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sideways in the middle of oncoming traffic. Nemechek’s spin ignited a chain reaction wreck that collected Majeski, Colby Howard, Jesse Little and Blaine Perkins, with Nemechek sustaining damage after hitting the wall before getting hit by both Perkins and Howard. The damage was enough to terminate Nemechek’s following a seven-race span of finishing no lower than sixth place.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 59, Chandler Smith and Enfinger engaged in a heated duel for the lead for two laps until Enfinger got loose beneath Smith, which sent both competitors into the Turn 1 outside wall on Lap 61 with Enfinger sustaining significant damage to his No. 23 Champion Chevrolet Silverado RST while Smith emerged with minimal damage to his No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

Under caution, names like Rhodes, Crafton, Chase Purdy, Derek Kraus, Austin Wayne Self, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Hill, Brennan Poole, Dean Thompson, Hailie Deign and Rajah Caruth remained on the track while the rest pitted.

With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes, who had taken the lead following Enfinger and Smith’s wreck, managed to fend off teammate Crafton and the field to retain the lead. With a series of battles occurring behind him, Rhodes remained out in front during the shootout as he claimed his seventh stage victory of the season on Lap 70. Teammate Crafton settled in second ahead of Kraus, Purdy, Self, Hocevar, Deegan, Friesen, Heim and Zane Smith. During the stage break, Friesen ran into the side of Deegan’s truck to his displeasure for being squeezed into the outside wall by Deegan during the shootout.

Under the stage break, some like Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Carson Hocevar remained on the track.

With 83 laps remaining, the final stage started as Hocevar and Hailie Deegan occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar pulled ahead of Deegan to lead entering the first turn until Heim challenged Hocevar for the top spot. Hocevar, however, received a push from Zane Smith through Turn 2 to retain the lead for a lap until Smith challenged Hocevar in a side-by-side battle for the lead for a full lap.

At the halfway mark on Lap 80, Zane Smith managed to clear Hocevar for the lead entering the first turn as he started to pull away while Heim, Eckes, Deegan and Caruth battled behind. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter was in seventh ahead of Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray.

Ten laps later, Zane Smith extended his advantage to two seconds over Eckes followed by Hocevar, Heim and Sauter while Caruth, Chandler Smith, DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray and Deegan were in the top 10.

Another three laps later, the caution flew when Kris Wright got loose beneath Jordan Anderson and backed his truck into the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Friesen pitted as Friesen inherited the lead while Hocevar exited pit road first. Following the pit stops, Caruth was penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 62 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Friesen and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Rhodes while Hocevar was being pressured by Kraus for third place. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar, who made contact with Kraus in Turn 3 during the previous lap and was losing spots, rubbed fenders with Zane Smith as Smith fell off the pace with a flat right-front tire.

As the field scrambled and jostled for positions, Friesen continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray while Heim, DiBenedetto, Sauter, Jordan Anderson and rookie Jack Wood were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hocevar was back in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith.

Then with 53 laps remaining, the caution returned when Crafton made contact and sent Hocevar for a spin through Turn 2. Under caution, some like Friesen pitted while the rest led by Rhodes remained on the track.

With 46 laps remaining, teammates Rhodes and Eckes led the field back to green flag racing as Rhodes retained the lead. Not long after, Kraus moved into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes.

Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the caution flew when Colby Howard got loose, spun and got into the wall between Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, Rhodes was leading by nearly a second over Kraus followed by Eckes, Heim and Sauter.

When the race restarted under green four laps later, Rhodes rocketed away with the lead followed by teammate Eckes while Kraus and Heim battled for third place in front of DiBenedetto, Sauter and Chase Purdy. The caution, however, was quick to return with 29 laps remaining due to debris on the track and when Rajah Caruth got into the outside wall.

With 24 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes retained the lead while Kraus overtook Eckes for the runner-up spot in front of the field.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Rhodes was leading by two-tenths of a second over Kraus while Eckes, Heim and DiBenedetto occupied the top five. Sauter was in sixth ahead of Purdy, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Friesen while Hocevar, Anderson, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum and Tanner Gray were in the top 15.

Two laps later, Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead over Rhodes followed by Eckes while Sauter intimidated Heim for fourth place.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Kraus extended his advantage to more than a second over Eckes while Rhodes, who fell back to third, radioed power issues to his truck.

Then with the laps dwindling, Eckes started to erase Kraus’ advantage with the former closing in on the latter. With six laps remaining and following a tight battle with Kraus, Eckes moved his No. 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead in Turn 1. Though Kraus kept Eckes close within his sights, Eckes then started to pull away by nearly half a second under the final five laps.

Then with the field approaching the final two laps, the caution flew when Tanner Gray spun and wrecked in Turn 3. By then, Eckes had pulled away by more than a second over Kraus as the field was sent into overtime.

Prior to the start of the first overtime attempt, Kraus surrendered the runner-up spot to restart on the outside lane behind Eckes, thus giving Heim and Chandler Smith the top-two starting spots on the inside lane with Heim restarting on the front row next to Eckes and with an opportunity to win.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Heim received a push from teammate Chandler Smith that launched Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead ahead of Eckes as he maintained the lead through the backstretch. By then, the restart was under review for Heim potentially jumping the start.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim was still out in front ahead of Eckes and Chandler Smith while Friesen was in fourth ahead of Hocevar and Kraus. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar spun after getting hit by Kraus before he was T-boned by Tyler Hill as Lawless Alan and Austin Wayne Self also wrecked.

The carnage involving Hocevar was enough for the event to conclude under caution as Heim cycled his way back to the finish line and claim the victory under caution. By then, NASCAR deemed the final restart that was reviewed towards Heim to be clear with no penaltie and with Heim officially handed the victory.

With the victory, Heim claimed the first of three Triple Truck Challenge $50,000 bonuses and his second career win in the Camping World Truck Series after notching his first win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“Yeah, I can’t believe I got the bottom [lane] right there [on the overtime restart],” Heim said on FS1. “That’s unbelievable. A great push by my teammate Chandler Smith right there. All the dedication to my team. These couple of weeks has been just everything. I’ve been putting in so much time and effort to improve my craft. Man, I’m out of breath right now. That was awesome. Anytime we can get the extra seat time is super important. I feel like I’m getting better every week, but like I said, everyone back at the shop, just phenomenal job.”

Eckes settled in second place while Chandler Smith, Friesen and Sauter finished in the top five.

“[I] Spun the tires a little bit and [Kraus] picked my rear wheels off the ground,” Eckes said. “Just didn’t get a good launch. Man, it’s just two of the last three races, we’ve been leading and the caution comes out late. It just sucks, but very proud of my ThorSport Racing team. Just really frustrating. The past three weeks, we should’ve won and we didn’t. We gotta go back to the drawing board and try to fix some stuff out.”

“To be honest with you, if [Enfinger] didn’t run out of talent there in Stage 2, we’d probably lapped half the field easily,” Chandler Smith said. “Our truck was stupid, stupid good. Hats off to [crew chief] Danny [Stockman Jr.], everybody at [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. They gave me a really fast Safelite/Charge Me Toyota Tundra. I honestly probably should’ve won the race, but got drove all the way into the fence once again. It is what it is. Glad to get a top three out of it, but definitely sucks.”

Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Rhodes, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy completed the top 10 while Rajah Caruth finished 11th in his Truck Series debut.

Following the event, Hocevar was airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation following his hard wreck on the final lap.

There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 54 laps.

The second of three Triple Truck Challenge events of 2022 is next scheduled to occur at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24.

With five races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch, Ben Rhodes leads the regular season standings by 17 points over Chandler Smith, 21 over Zane Smith, 22 over John Hunter Nemechek and 24 over Stewart Friesen.

Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 44 points, Tanner Gray trails by 48, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 59, Tyler Ankrum trails by 78 and Chase Purdy trails by 112.

Results.

1. Corey Heim, 20 laps led

2. Christian Eckes, nine laps led

3. Chandler Smith, 40 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Stewart Friesen, 13 laps led

5. Johnny Sauter

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Derek Kraus, 12 laps led

8. Ben Rhodes, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

9. Zane Smith, 16 laps led

10. Chase Purdy

11. Rajah Caruth

12. Matt Crafton

13. Tyler Ankrum

14. Dean Thompson

15. Hailie Deegan

16. Jordan Anderson

17. Timmy Hill

18. Lawless Alan

19. Jack Wood

20. Jesse Little

21. Tate Fogleman

22. Blaine Perkins

23. Colby Howard

24. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

25. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

26. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Accident

27. Mason Maggio, one lap down

28. Grant Enfinger, two laps led, four laps led

29. Jake Garcia, four laps led

30. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

31. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

32. Ty Majeski, 29 laps down

33. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

34. Brennan Poole – OUT, Rear gear

35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Dvp

36. Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ return to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the first time in 24 years. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 4, 2022
Chastain survives double overtime for a Truck Series victory at Charlotte

Ross Chastain capitalized through two overtime attempts and a late incident involving teammate Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece to fend off the field and win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 27.

The 29-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, led twice for four out of 143 over-scheduled laps as he overtook Christian Eckes on the final lap during the second of two overtime attempts before fending off Grant Enfinger to win in his fourth scheduled NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the season with Niece Motorsports as he also claimed his first triumph at Charlotte.

With on-track qualifying to determine the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Majeski earned his second career pole after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.312 mph in 30.284 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 178.277 mph in 30.290 seconds.

Prior to the event, Hailie Deegan and Austin Wayne Self started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Majeski received a huge push from Kyle Busch to assume command ahead of Zane Smith before being locked in a side-by-side battle against Busch for a full lap. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Majeski edged Kyle Busch to lead the first lap before Busch pulled ahead entering the backstretch. Not long after, Kyle Busch came under pressure from Zane Smith through Turns 3 and 4 as he challenged Busch for the lead, which he prevailed as the field behind jostled for positions.

By the fifth lap, Zane Smith was leading by four-tenths of a second over Majeski and Kyle Busch while teammates Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain battled in the top five.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the top-five competitors were separated by a second as Zane Smith continued to lead ahead of Majeski, Kyle Busch, Hocevar and Chastain. Ryan Preece was in sixth place, trailing by nearly two seconds, followed by Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto, and Tanner Gray while Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ben Rhodes were in the top 15.

Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by nearly a second over Majeski while Kyle Busch, Hocevar, and Chastain remained in the top five.

Five laps later and as the leaders approached lapped traffic, Majeski narrowed his deficit to Zane Smith to three-tenths of a second. Smith, however, was able to navigate his way through the traffic that included Hailie Deegan to maintain the lead. Behind, Ryan Preece, Hocevar, and Chastain overtook Kyle Busch for positions as Busch was back in sixth in front of Christian Eckes.

Despite being pressured by Majeski in the closing laps of the first stage, Zane Smith was able to fend off Majeski to claim his fifth stage victory on Lap 30. Majeski settled in second followed by Preece, Hocevar, Chastain, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto, Eckes, Matt Crafton, and Enfinger.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for adjustments and Zane Smith managed to retain the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Majeski, Preece, Hocevar, Eckes, and DiBenedetto. During the pit stops, Stewart Friesen and Brennan Poole were penalized for speeding on pit road along with Dean Thompson and Kyle Busch, both of whom were penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon.

When the second stage started on Lap 36, Zane Smith managed to retain the lead while Preece made his move into the runner-up spot as the field jostled for positions. Behind, Chastain got loose while battling DiBenedetto entering Turns 3 and 4, but he managed to straighten his truck as he remained in seventh ahead of Chandler Smith.

By Lap 40, Zane Smith was ahead by more than three-tenths of a second over Majeski, who moved back into the runner-up spot a lap prior, followed by Preece, Eckes, and Hocevar while DiBenedetto, Chastain, Nemechek, Tanner Gray, and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10.

Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Majeski, who continued to pressure the former for the top spot. Preece, Hocevar, and Eckes were in the top five followed by Nemechek, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Gray, and Enfinger while Chandler Smith, Colby Howard, Derek Kraus, Crafton, Kyle Busch, Tyler Ankrum, rookie Jack Wood, Chase Purdy, Kris Wright, and Ben Rhodes were in the top 20.

Another two laps later, the caution flew when Tate Fogleman made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 before sliding his truck down towards the pit road entrance. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Zane Smith pitted while Derek Kraus, Rhodes, and Timmy Hill remained on the track.

With three laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes took off with the lead on the inside lane followed by Preece and Eckes while Kraus spun the tires on the outside lane. As the field stacked up and fanned out entering Turn 1, the caution returned when Jack Wood and Matt Mills collided against the outside wall in Turn 1.

The incident involving Wood and Mills concluded the second stage scheduled for Lap 60 under caution and at the moment of caution, Rhodes was scored the leader and he managed to claim his sixth stage victory of the season. Teammate Eckes settled in second followed by Preece, Hocevar, Nemechek, Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Majeski, and Kraus.

Under the stage break, some like Rhodes, Kraus, Timmy Hill, and Spencer Boyd pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track.

With 69 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Eckes retained the lead through the backstretch until Preece received a push from John Hunter Nemechek to muscle his Ford F-150 on the outside lane to take the lead through Turns 3 and 4.

Then with 62 laps remaining, Hocevar, who spent the previous five laps overtaking Eckes and Nemechek, overtook Preece, who got loose, to assume the lead while Nemechek was in third.

With 55 laps remaining, Hocevar was out in front by more than a second over Preece followed by Nemechek, Eckes, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Majeski, Kyle Busch, Zane Smith, and Chandler Smith while Enfinger, Friesen, Gray, Kraus, Purdy, Crafton, Rhodes, Colby Howard, Ankrum, and Kris Wright occupied the top 20.

Fifteen laps later, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Preece while Nemechek, Eckes, and Majeski were in the top five.

Not long after, green flag pit stops commenced as Chandler Smith, who dealt with power issues throughout the event, pitted. Soon after, names like Chastain, Rhodes, Preece, Nemechek, DiBenedetto, Eckes, Friesen, and the race leader Hocevar also went in to pit.

As the cycles of green-flag pit stops ensued, names like Majeski, Kyle Busch, and Kraus pitted while Crafton, who had yet to pit, assumed the lead.

When the green flag pit stops concluded, Hocevar, who despite enduring a slow pit stop under green, cycled his way back to the lead with 27 laps remaining. Trailing Hocevar by more than three seconds was Preece along with Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Preece while Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes remained in the top five. Chandler Smith was up in sixth followed by Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Zane Smith, and Majeski while Rhodes, Kraus, Kyle Busch, Friesen, and Tanner Gray were in the top 15.

Soon after, DiBenedetto surrendered eighth place to pit due to a flat tire as the race remained under green.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to lead by nearly six seconds over Preece followed by Chastain, Nemechek, and Eckes. By then, Majeski carved his way back to sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Enfinger, Zane Smith, and Kraus while Kyle Busch was mired in 11th.

With five laps remaining, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than six seconds over Preece while third-place Nemechek trailed by nearly 11 seconds.

Then a lap later, the caution flew when Jesse Little and Ankrum collided entering Turn 3, sending Little against the outside wall while Ankrum was slipping sideways towards the wall. The caution and the incident all but evaporated Hocevar’s advantage over Preece and the field.

Under caution, some like Rhodes, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Tanner Gray, and Colby Howard pitted while the rest led by Hocevar remained on the track.

With the event sent into overtime, Hocevar and Preece led the field to the start of the first overtime attempt. At the start, Hocevar and Preece engaged in a heated side-by-side battle for the lead through the backstretch while Chastain, Eckes, and Nemechek battled for third place. Entering the backstretch, Hocevar and Preece made contact with one another as Hocevar squeezed Preece into the outside wall. Despite the contact, both competitors continued to duel for the lead. Then in Turn 3, Hocevar’s truck slipped up the track against Preece’s and the contact sent Hocevar’s truck around as he backed his truck against the outside wall and damaged the rear deck lid while Preece scraped the wall after getting hit by Hocevar. The incident spoiled Hocevar’s opportunity of winning his first NASCAR race as the field was sent into a second overtime attempt. During the caution period, Preece, who was briefly out in front, pitted to have the damage to his truck repaired as Chastain assumed the lead.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, Chastain and Eckes dueled for the lead entering Turn 1 through the backstretch before the former received a push from Nemechek to briefly move ahead of the field. Eckes, however, fought back on the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was out in front by a narrow margin over Chastain while Nemechek made a bold three-wide move on both to try and take the lead through Turn 1. Nemechek briefly gained an advantage entering the backstretch until Chastain gained a draft from Enfinger to pull ahead entering Turn 3. Having the clean air and the advantage to his favor through the final two turns, Chastain was able to fend off Enfinger by a tenth of a second to grab the victory amid the late turn of events.

With the victory, Chastain recorded his fourth career victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and his first in the series since winning at Pocono Raceway in July 2019, which also marked the last scheduled victory for Niece Motorsports. The victory was also a first for crew chief Cody Efaw.

During his post-race interview on the frontstretch, Chastain took the time to acknowledge teammate Hocevar’s dominant run and sympathize with Hocevar’s late incident that cost him the victory.

“You know, Carson Hocevar and that No. 42 team, they dominated tonight,” Chastain said on FS1. “[Team owner] Al Niece has given us trucks to come out here and fight for wins. I hate it so much for Carson. If I had chosen the bottom [lane] right there [during the first overtime attempt] like he did, I would’ve done the same thing. It’s just you’re in a bad spot. I didn’t give him the push he needed to win. Man, I’m so proud of Carson Hocevar. I just want to say that over and over. That guy’s a future star. He’s such a goofy kid and I love him. He learns so quick and he’s in the program all of us Chevy guys are in. We learn together and we lose together.”

Enfinger came home in second place followed by Nemechek and Eckes while Zane Smith finished in the top five. Tanner Gray, Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith, Friesen, and Rhodes completed the top 10 on the track.

Meanwhile, Preece settled in 11th while Hocevar, who led a race-high 57 laps compared to Chastain’s four, concluded his night in a disappointing 16th place. While Hocevar was left heartbroken and in tears of frustration, Preece was left fuming at Hocevar over the contact and the incident

“A dumbass move by myself,” Hocevar said. “That’s it. It sucks. I tried really hard and tried too hard. I didn’t get a good restart and just tried too hard. I tried to wash [Preece] up and I just crashed myself. I feel like a sis crying, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

“All you kids watching right now, wanting to get to this level, don’t do that,” Preece said. “Race with respect, don’t wreck the guy on the outside of you trying to win your first race. It doesn’t get you anywhere…I’m pissed right now. We got two more races to try and go have some good runs, but that’s just stupid. Just really stupid. Don’t be like that.”

There were 15 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 25 laps.

With six races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season, John Hunter Nemechek leads the standings by seven points over Ben Rhodes, 25 over Zane Smith, 29 over Chandler Smith, 33 over Stewart Friesen 38 over Ty Majeski, and 40 over Christian Eckes.

Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek. Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, and Stewart Friesen are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 25 points, Derek Kraus trails by 52, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 60, and Tyler Ankrum trails by 72.

Results.

1. Ross Chastain, four laps led

2. Grant Enfinger

3. John Hunter Nemechek

4. Christian Eckes, five laps led

5. Zane Smith, 52 laps led, Stage 1 winner

6. Tanner Gray

7. Kyle Busch

8. Chandler Smith

9. Stewart Friesen

10. Ben Rhodes, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

11. Ryan Preece, nine laps led

12. Derek Kraus, two laps led

13. Ty Majeski, four laps led

14. Colby Howard

15. Chase Purdy

16. Carson Hocevar, 57 laps led

17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

18. Matt Crafton, one lap down, five laps led

19. Kris Wright, one lap down

20. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

21. Timmy Hill, two laps down

22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

23. Jack Wood, two laps down

24. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

25. Austin Wayne Self, two laps down

26. Max Gutierrez, three laps down

27. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

28. Dean Thompson, four laps down

29. Tate Fogleman, four laps down

30. Blaine Perkins, four łaps down

31. Josh Reaume, five laps down

32. Jesse Little – OUT, Accident

33. Keith McGee – OUT, Suspension

34. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

35. Brennan Poole – OUT, Driveshaft

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual event at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, which will mark the series’ first of three Triple Truck Challenge events. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 4, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 28, 2022
Friesen snaps two-year winless drought with an overtime Truck Series victory at Texas

The 54-race winless drought for Stewart Friesen came to an end under the lights in the Lone Star state Saturday night. The 38-year-old Friesen from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, outlasted an overtime restart and a fierce duel against Christian Eckes to win the SpeedwayCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20.

Friesen, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap but led the field to the start, led a race-high 60 of 149 laps as he made his long-awaited return to Victory Lane for the first time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since winning at Phoenix Raceway in November 2019.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his fourth Truck pole position of the season after a pole-winning lap at 182.359 mph in 29.612 seconds. Nemechek, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. As a result, Stewart Friesen, who qualified in third place with a qualifying lap at 181,056 mph in 29.825 seconds, and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified in second place with a lap at 182.192 mph in 29.639 seconds, occupied the front row.

Jordan Anderson, Austin Wayne Self, Grant Enfinger, Bret Holmes and Chris Hacker joined Nemechek at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Colby Howard also started at the rear of the field in a backup truck after he wrecked his primary truck during Friday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim and Friesen were locked in a side-by-side battle for the top spot before Heim led the first lap by a hair on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, Friesen managed to clear the field and move into the lead as the field scrambled and jostled for positions early.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Friesen was leading over Ryan Preece followed by Christian Eckes, Heim and Derek Kraus while Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Hailie Deegan and Ross Chastain, rounded out the top-10.

Nearing the Lap 10 mark, the first caution of the event flew when Chris Hacker spun in Turn 2. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Carson Hocevar, pitted while the rest, led by Friesen, remained on the track.

On Lap 14, the race restarted under green as the field locked in a heated, side-by-side battle. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Ryan Preece led the following lap before being challenged in another side-by-side battle with Friesen for the lead, with the latter reassuming the top spot. Behind, Eckes and Kraus battled for third ahead of Heim, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and the field.

At the Lap 20 mark, Preece reassumed the lead over Friesen while Eckes, Majeski, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Kraus, Heim, Rhodes and Matt Crafton were in the top 10. By then, Nemechek, who started at the rear of the field, was challenging for a top-10 spot.

Ten laps later, Preece stabilized his advantage to more than two-tenths of a second over Friesen while Eckes, Zane Smith and Majeski battled in the top five. By then, Nemechek was up to seventh behind teammate Chandler Smith while Kraus, Rhodes and Heim were in the top 10.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Preece captured his first stage victory of the season while Friesen, Zane Smith, Eckes, Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Kraus and Heim were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field, led by Preece, pitted and Friesen retained the top spot after exiting first ahead of Preece, Eckes, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Nemechek. During the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized for equipment interference while Blaine Perkins and Todd Bodine were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Chandler Smith pitted for a second time to address a loose left-rear wheel on his No. 18 iBuyPower Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

The second stage started on Lap 42 as Friesen and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen and Preece were locked in another side-by-side battle for the lead with the latter managing to lead ahead of Eckes and Nemechek, who cracked the top five.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Preece’s No. 17 Morton Buildings Ford F-150 while Nemechek’s No. 4 Tom Thumb/Albertson’s Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was up in third place. ThorSport Racing’s Eckes and Rhodes were in the top five followed by Tyler Ankrum, Corey Heim, Kraus, Grant Enfinger and Majeski while Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto and Chandler Smith occupied the top 15. Behind, Hailie Deegan and Zane Smith battled for 16th while Tanner Gray, rookie Jack Wood and Chase Purdy were in the top 20.

Ten laps later, Friesen extended his advantage to more than six-tenths of a second over Preece while Nemechek, Eckes and Rhodes remained in the top five.

Another six laps later, Preece seized the opportunity when Friesen was stuck in lapped traffic to take the lead while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than four-tenths of a second. By then, fourth-place Ben Rhodes trailed by more than five seconds along with teammate, Eckes.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 70, Preece, who managed to slowly pull away from Friesen, captured his second consecutive stage victory of the season. Friesen settled in second followed by Nemechek, Rhodes, Eckes, Derek Kraus, Heim, Majeski, Chastain and Ankrum.

Under the stage break, the field, led by Friesen, returned to pit road for service and Nemechek emerged at the top of the leaderboard after exiting with the lead followed by Friesen, Preece, Eckes and Chastain. During the pit stops, Zane Smith, Ankrum and Heim made contact, which sent Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro around on pit road. Following the pit stops, Rhodes was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

With 70 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Nemechek and Preece briefly dueled for the lead until Nemechek pulled away as the field fanned out through the backstretch. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Preece had fallen back to fourth while Friesen and Eckes were in second and third.

With 62 laps remaining, the caution flew when Majeski got loose beneath Kraus entering Turn 1 and sent Kraus into the outside wall. During the caution period, some drivers, including Nemechek, Preece and Crafton pitted, while the rest, led by Friesen remained on the track.

Six laps later, the race proceeded under green as Friesen and Eckes occupied the front row. After Friesen led the first few laps during the restart, Eckes muscled his No. 98 AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front.

With 50 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Friesen while Chandler Smith, Chastain and Ankrum were in the top five. Enfinger was in sixth followed by Zane Smith, Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto.

Two laps later, Friesen regained the lead over Eckes. Another six laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Tyler Hill and Kris Wright in Turn 2 that cut Wright’s tire and sent him into the Turn 3 wall. During the caution period, nearly the entire field, except for Chase Purdy, pitted. Following the pit stops, Austin Wayne Self was penalized for improper fueling along with Jesse Little for an uncontrolled tire.

Down to the final 36 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green as Purdy and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, the field shuffled for positions entering the backstretch as Hocevar retained the lead followed by Eckes and Chastain.

Three laps later, Eckes took the lead over Hocevar while Chastain, Friesen and Grant Enfinger occupied the top five. Meanwhile, Nemechek was in seventh behind Tanner Gray while Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and Preece were scored in the top 10.

Under the final 30 laps of the event, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Friesen, Chastain and Enfinger while Nemechek moved up to sixth place. Behind, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith made contact entering Turn 1, but both competitors managed to proceed forward. However, Zane Smith ended up pitting under green due to cutting a right-front tire.

With 20 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Nemechek was up in fourth behind Friesen. By then, Zane Smith had dropped off the pace as he made another pit stop under green to address the right-front fender on his truck.

Just then, the caution flew as Ankrum spun due to on-track contact with Enfinger while both were battling for a top-10 spot. During the caution period, none of the front competitors toward the front chose to pit.

Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race continued under green. At the start, Hocevar led briefly until Eckes carved his way back to the lead when he returned to the start/finish line. Behind, Friesen moved into the runner-up spot while Preece and Nemechek were in the top five.

Down to the final 10 scheduled laps, Eckes, Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek were separated by less than eight-tenths of a second as Eckes continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Friesen and less than three-tenths over Hocevar.

Then with five laps remaining, the caution flew when Rhodes spun and hit the backstretch wall following contact with Tanner Gray. At the moment of caution, Eckes was still out in front by a narrow margin over Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek, all of whom battled intensely in the closing laps of the event.

With the event sent into overtime, Eckes and Friesen battled for the top spot for a full lap as the field jostled for last-minute positions behind.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Friesen and Eckes remained dead even for the lead through the frontstretch until Friesen managed to clear and pull ahead of Eckes entering the backstretch. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Friesen went from the top to the bottom lane to block Eckes and stall his progress. This was enough for Friesen to cross the finish line by 0.122 seconds over Eckes to grab his first series victory in over two seasons.

In addition to snapping a two-year winless drought, Friesen notched his third career victory in the Camping World Truck Series, his first at Texas and his first driving a Toyota. With the victory, Friesen became the fifth Truck regular competitor to grab a win and be guaranteed a spot for the 2022 Truck Playoffs. He also recorded the first NASCAR victory for crew chief Jon Leonard.

“Man, I made all the mistakes I needed to make in the first two segments,” Friesen said on FS1. “We had an awesome truck. Thanks so much to [owner] Chris Larsen, everybody at Halmar International, the whole group. There’s a huge office there that pulls for us every week. Finally, we got something to celebrate. Thank you, guys. You have no idea the work that’s went into this race team over the past three years to build this up. It’s an awesome group. We’re in the Playoffs. How about that?! Whoo!”

“I’m terrible on restarts, and that was probably the best one on old tires,” Friesen added. “Just didn’t spin the tires, got a jump and then, thew a slider into [Turns] 1 and 2, and it stuck.”

Eckes, who led 40 laps, settled in second place for his best result of the season thus far while Preece came home in third place.

“[I] Just didn’t have lane position,” Eckes said. “It is what it is. Just super proud of these AHI Facility Services team. It’s been a rough stretch here for a little bit. I’m glad to show that we can actually be here and win races. This is just a taste to come and we’re more hungrier than ever.”

“We just need to clean up a few things,” Preece said. “When you gain control of the race, you can’t give it up, especially here. It was, really top lane, dominant there, basically in the middle part of the race and to the end. Proud of the speed this Morton Buildings Ford F-150 really had. It’s a pleasure to race trucks like that and to work with [crew chief] Chad Johnston and this entire group. It stings that much more watching [the end] right now, but we got to third. I hate losing more than I love winning, but we’ll try to go get them the next time we’re in this [series].”

Carson Hocevar, who is still pursuing his first career victory in NASCAR, finished in fourth place while Ty Majeski finished in the top five.

Nemechek, Heim, Chandler Smith, Crafton and DiBenedetto completed the top 10.

There were 17 lead changes among seven different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.

With seven races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the standings by four points over Ben Rhodes, 18 over Chandler Smith, 21 over Stewart Friesen, 32 over Zane Smith and 33 over Ty Majeski.

Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith are currently guaranteed spots in the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the cutline by 35 points with Derek Kraus trailing by 57, Matt DiBenedetto by 67 and Tyler Ankrum by 68.

Results.

1. Stewart Friesen, 60 laps led

2. Christian Eckes, 40 laps led

3. Ryan Preece, 27 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

4. Carson Hocevar, four laps led

5. Ty Majeski

6. John Hunter Nemechek, 14 laps led

7. Corey Heim, one lap led

8. Chandler Smith

9. Matt Crafton

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Grant Enfinger

12. Ross Chastain

13. Todd Bodine

14. Jordan Anderson

15. Bret Holmes

16. Jack Wood

17. Hailie Deegan

18. Austin Wayne Self

19. Jesse Little

20. Timmy Hill

21. Chase Purdy, three laps led

22. Tate Fogleman

23. Brennan Poole

24. Tanner Gray

25. Tyler Hill

26. Blaine Perkins

27. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

28. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

29. Dean Thompson, three laps down

30. Lawless Alan, four laps down

31. Chris Hacker, six laps down

32. Zane Smith, six laps down

33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Overheating

34. Colby Howard, 10 laps down

35. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

36. Derek Kraus – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 21, 2022
Rhodes to make 150th Truck career start at Texas

A significant milestone start is in the making for Ben Rhodes, the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. By competing in this weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway, Rhodes will make his 150th career start in the Truck circuit.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Rhodes made his inaugural presence in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in March 2014. By then, he was contending for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title for Turner Scott Motorsports. Driving the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado for TSM, Rhodes started 12th and finished eighth in his series debut. He returned for three additional events throughout the 2014 season (Dover International Speedway in May, Bristol Motor Speedway in August, and Phoenix Raceway in November). During this span, he earned a season-best fifth-place result at Phoenix.

After winning the 2014 K&N Pro Series title before campaigning on a part-time basis for JR Motorsports during the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Rhodes earned a full-time ride in the Truck Series with ThorSport Racing for the 2016 season, where he campaigned for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Piloting the No. 41 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport, he commenced his rookie Truck season with a seventh-place result at Daytona International Speedway in February followed by a sixth-place run at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After starting on pole position for the first time in his career at Martinsville Speedway in April, where he finished 16th after spinning late, Rhodes was placed in the prime position of winning his first Truck event at Kansas Speedway in May. Running in second place behind veteran Johnny Sauter on the final lap, he made a bold move beneath Sauter in Turn 3 and ended up turning Sauter’s truck as both competitors veered into the outside wall with the finish in sight. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane, Rhodes settled in 18th place, a lap down.

As the 2016 Truck Series progressed, Rhodes received two more opportunities of winning his first Truck event: Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway in June. At Iowa, he settled in fourth place following a two-lap dash to the finish. At the World Wide Technology Raceway, he settled in second place behind Christopher Bell following another two-lap dash. The strong results, however, were mingled with inconsistent results throughout the summer as Rhodes failed to make the 2016 Truck Playoffs. He managed to record four top-15 results during the seven-race Playoff stretch before concluding his first NASCAR Truck season in 14th place in the final standings.

Remaining at ThorSport Racing for the 2017 truck season while sporting the number 27 alongside his Toyota Tundra, Rhodes was battling for the victory on the final lap at Daytona in February until a bump from teammate Grant Enfinger entering the backstretch sent Rhodes sideways and triggered a multi-truck wreck that sent his other championship teammate Matt Crafton barrel-rolling in the air. Despite the accident, Rhodes limped home to a 12th-place result. He rallied during the second event of the season at Atlanta by finishing fourth, but fell back to 20th during the third event of the season at Martinsville.

Then at Kansas in May, Rhodes led 25 laps and was running away with the lead over Kyle Busch when his engine blew up with eight laps remaining, which forced the Kentucky native to retire his truck in the garage. He rebounded during the following four events by finishing in the top 10 before finishing outside of the top 10 during the ensuing three. After finishing in the top 10 in three of the following four events, which includes a second-place result at Pocono Raceway in July, Rhodes was still in contention to earn a spot for the 2017 Playoffs. By finishing sixth at Chicagoland Speedway in September, which marked the conclusion of the 2017 regular season stretch, he secured the eighth and final transfer spot to the Playoffs in a tie-breaker over Ryan Truex, who finished fourth despite starting on pole.

Following a seventh-place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September to commence his Playoff run, Rhodes earned his first elusive Truck Series career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after storming to the lead with eight laps remaining and fending off Bell by 0.066 seconds. The victory earned Rhodes and his No. 27 ThorSport Racing Toyota team a spot in the Playoff’s Round of 6. After finishing ninth and 18th during the first two Round of 6 events, his title hopes evaporated at Phoenix Raceway in November after he was turned by Playoff rival Austin Cindric during a restart with 22 laps remaining and wrecked along with teammate Matt Crafton. Rhodes went on to conclude the 2017 season in 19th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway after running out of fuel in the closing laps and in fifth place in the final standings. By then, he doubled his overall top-10 results to 12 compared to five in 2016.

Rhodes returned to ThorSport Racing for a third full-time season in 2018 as he also reunited with the number 41 alongside his truck. By then, ThorSport swapped manufacturers from Toyota to Ford. Despite finishing fourth at Daytona in February, Rhodes’ crew chief, Eddie Troconis, was suspended for one event and fined $5,000 after Rhodes’ No. 41 Ford was found to be too low during the post-race inspection process, which also resulted with a 10-point dock in the driver’s and owner’s standings.

Through the first 11 events of the 2018 Truck season, Rhodes had collected a total of four top-five results and was coming off a runner-up result at Chicagoland Speedway. Then at Kentucky Speedway in July, he claimed his second career victory after leading the final 24 laps and beating Stewart Friesen by nearly a second. The victory guaranteed Rhodes a spot in the 2018 Truck Playoffs, who capped off the regular season stretch with back-to-back top-10 results. During the Round of 8, however, he finished 14th, fourth and 16th respectively, which were enough to eliminate him from title contention early. Managing two additional top-five results during the final four scheduled events, Rhodes settled in eighth place in the final standings as he led a career-best 232 laps throughout the season and earned an average-finishing result of 9.9.

Remaining at ThorSport Racing for a fourth full-time season in 2019 with his number changed to 99, Rhodes was battling for the win at Daytona when he got clipped by Gus Dean with two laps remaining and was collected in a multi-truck wreck, which left him with a 14th-place result in the final running order. He rebounded during the following 10 events by posting three runner-up results, five top-five results and eight top-10 results. Rhodes, however, earned only one top-10 result during the final five regular-season events and failed to return to the Playoffs. He managed to record four top-10 results during the postseason by settling in ninth place in the final standings.

In a similar fashion to 2019, Rhodes’ 2020 season started with being involved in a late multi-truck wreck while contending for victory. At Atlanta Motor Speedway in June, he made his 100th Truck Series career start, where he went on to finish ninth. Three months later at Darlington Raceway, Rhodes persevered over an overtime battle with rookie Derek Kraus to snap a one-year winless drought and score his fourth Truck Series career victory. Returning to the Playoffs, he transferred from the Round of 10 to 8 despite posting a single top-five result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. Rhodes’ 2020 title hopes, however, came to an end after finishing 20th, 20th and second respectively in the Round of 8. He went on to cap the season in seventh place in the final standings with a career-high nine top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.0.

Prior to the 2021 season, ThorSport Racing returned to fielding Toyotas following a three-year partnership with Ford while Rhodes remained as the driver of the No. 99 truck. In his return to piloting a Toyota, Rhodes overtook Corey Roper on the final lap and edged Jordan Anderson by 0.036 seconds to win at Daytona. He then backed it up by winning at the Daytona Road Course event over Sheldon Creed. From there, Rhodes utilized consistency that included three additional top-five results and nine additional top-10 results before making his fourth appearance in the Truck Series Playoffs.

Respective finishes of third, 34th and ninth allowed the Kentucky native to transfer from the Round of 10 to 8. After finishing second, 13th and seventh respectively in the Round of 8, Rhodes emerged as one of four competitors to transfer to the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November and battle for the title. During the finale, Rhodes overtook title rival Zane Smith with nine laps remaining and was able to finish in third place, but claim the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship over Smith, John Hunter Nemechek and teammate Matt Crafton. With the accomplishment, Rhodes became the 19th different competitor to win the Truck title as he delivered the fourth drivers’ championship and first owners’ title to ThorSport Racing. His championship season was one to remember as he recorded two victories, eight top-five results, a career-high 16 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 9.3.

Through 149 previous starts, Rhodes has achieved one championship, six victories, five poles, 46 top-five results, 82 top-10 results, 1,005 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.4. He currently leads the 2022 Truck Series regular-season standings on the strength of winning the Bristol Dirt Course in April along with achieving six top-10 results through the first eight scheduled events.

Rhodes is set to make his 150th career start in the Camping World Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 18, 2022
Rhodes earns dominant Truck victory at Bristol Dirt Course

A year after finishing in the runner-up spot during the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, Ben Rhodes was not going to be denied. On Saturday night, April 16, during Easter weekend, Rhodes rose to the occasion and persevered over a five-lap shootout against Carson Hocevar to win the Pinty’s Truck Race on Bristol’s dirt course.

The reigning Truck Series champion from Louisville, Kentucky, led a race-high 95 of 150-scheduled laps and captured both stages before losing the lead and having to methodically carve his way to the front throughout the final stage. Then during a restart with five laps remaining, Rhodes was able to utilize the outside lane and his fast truck to his advantage as he rocketed to the lead and muscled away from Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek for the remainder of the event to capture his first victory of the 2022 season as he pursues his quest to defend his series championship.

The starting lineup for the main event was determined through four 15-lap heat events on Saturday, where the competitors accumulate points for their finishing results and passing by improving from their original starting spots.

By winning the third heat event and earning a total of 15 points, 10 for winning the heat event and five for improving from his sixth-place starting spot, Joey Logano started on pole position for the main event. Joining him on the front row was Ben Rhodes, who finished in the runner-up spot behind Logano but earned 14 points, nine for finishing second and five for improving from his seventh-place starting spot.

Jessica Friesen, wife of driver Stewart Friesen, and veteran Norm Benning were the two competitors who failed to qualify for the main event.

Prior to the event, Hailie Deegan dropped to the rear of the field due to starting the event in a backup truck along with Andrew Gordon, who received unapproved adjustments to his truck.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Rhodes launched his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to an early challenge for the lead beneath Logano’s No. 54 Planet Fitness Ford F-150 through the first two turns. Rhodes would then prevail entering the third turn and come back around to lead the first lap.

Behind Rhodes and Logano, Stewart Friesen was in third place ahead of Chandler Smith, who had Parker Kligerman and Carson Hocevar engaged in a side-by-side battle for a spot in the top five.

By the fifth lap, Rhodes stretched his advantage to half a second over Logano. Friesen and Chandler Smith retained their respective spots of third and fourth while Chase Elliott, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, was up in the top five.

Through the first 20 laps of the event, Rhodes was leading by more than a second over Logano followed by Friesen, Elliott and Ty Majeski while Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar, Matt DiBenedetto and Colby Howard were in the top 10. Matt Crafton was in 11th ahead of Austin Wayne Self, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon while Christian Eckes, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith, Tate Fogleman and rookie Jack Wood were in the top 20. Tyler Ankrum was in 21st ahead of Buddy Kofoid, Kaz Grala, Harrison Burton and Andrew Gordon while Hailie Deegan was mired inside the top 30.

Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Andrew Gordon spun in Turn 4.

When the race restarted on Lap 31, Rhodes retained the lead following a strong start while Majeski overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Soon after, Majeski challenged teammate Rhodes for the lead, but the latter prevailed as Stewart Friesen, who also passed Logano, joined the battle.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 40, Rhodes, who led all the laps in the first stage, captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammate Majeski settled in second followed by Friesen, Logano, Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Elliott, Crafton, Carson Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto.

Under the stage break, names like Rhodes, Majeski and Austin Wayne Self remained on the track while the rest led by Friesen pitted. It was soon revealed that Rhodes, who did not pit, meant to, though he retained the lead.

The second stage started on Lap 41 as teammates Rhodes and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes rocketed with another strong start to retain the lead ahead of teammate Majeski and Austin Wayne Self while Friesen and Logano battled for fourth place ahead of a pack of competitors that included Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Elliott, Nemechek and Crafton.

At the Lap 50 mark, Rhodes was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over teammate Majeski while Self, Logano and Kligerman were in the top five. Elliott was in sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Friesen and Hocevar while Buddy Kofoid was in 11th ahead of Crafton, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith.

Five laps later, the caution returned when Dean Thompson spun and backed his No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST against the outside wall between Turns 2 and 3. In the midst of the incident, Blaine Perkins got turned below the apron, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage.

By Lap 61, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Rhodes retained the lead on the outside lane while Majeski fended off Logano for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Nemechek challenged Self for fourth place.

At the halfway mark on Lap 75, a battle for the lead ignited between teammates Rhodes and Majeski as Majeski launched repeated attacks on Rhodes for the top spot. Meanwhile, Logano trailed by more than two seconds in third place while Nemechek and Kligerman were in the top five. Elliott was in sixth ahead of Self, Hocevar, Buddy Kofoid and Chandler Smith while Derek Kraus, Eckes, Zane Smith, Friesen and Austin Dillon were in the top 15. By then, Crafton, Enfinger and DiBenedetto were mired in the top 10 while Hailie Deegan was in 26th behind Harrison Burton.

Ten laps later, Rhodes continued to lead ahead of teammate Majeski while Nemechek muscled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to third place ahead of Logano and Kligerman, though Nemechek and Logano bumped against one another in Turn 3. With Elliott in sixth, Kofoid was up in seventh place ahead of Hocevar.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Rhodes, who swept both stages of the event, captured his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Majeski settled in second followed by Nemechek, Kligerman, Logano, Elliott, Kofoid, Hocevar, Chandler Smith and Derek Kraus.

Under the stage break, names like Nemechek, Kligerman, Kofoid, Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Enfinger, Eckes, Zane Smith, Tate Fogleman, Mike Marlar, Chase Purdy and Deegan remained on the track while the rest led by Rhodes pitted.

With 58 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead through the first two turns until Hocevar launched his No. 42 Premier Security Solutions Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead approaching Turn 4. Despite being pressured by Nemechek, Hocevar retained the lead while Kligerman, Enfinger and Kofoid were in the top five. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith, Elliott and Majeski were in the top 10 while Rhodes and Logano were mired in the top 15.

Four laps later, the caution flew when Self got the front nose of his No. 22 AM Chevrolet Silverado RST dead-locked and stuck to the rear bumper of DiBenedetto’s No. 25 TW Frierson Chevrolet Silverado RST entering Turn 4. With both competitors trying to shake one another off of each other, they eventually came to a stop in Turn 2 while still stuck to one another. The incident was enough for NASCAR to pause the event to allow the safety crew to separate the competitors.

Following a delay of nearly six minutes as the red flag was lifted, the race restarted under green with 45 laps remaining. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead ahead of Nemechek, who was soon overtaken by Enfinger.

Five laps later, Hocevar was leading by more than half a second over Nemechek while Kligerman, Enfinger and Kofoid were in the top five. Meanwhile, Rhodes, who was in the top 10, was trying to march his way back into the top five.

A few laps later, the caution flew due to a single-truck incident between Turns 2 and 3 that involved Keith McGee.

Down to the final 32 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar prevailed on the outside lane to retain the lead while Nemechek tried to launch another attack on Hocevar for the lead. Behind, Buddy Kofoid muscled his way into third place ahead of Kligerman, Enfinger and Rhodes.

Six laps later, the caution returned when Chandler Smith spun his No. 18 Charge Me Toyota Tundra TRD Pro after being bumped by Eckes through Turns 2 and 3. The contact caused Smith’s truck to spin in a looped circle and he spun it again while trying to straighten his truck, though he was dodged by the field.

Another seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead following another strong start while Nemechek fended off Kligerman to remain in second place. Behind, Majeski and Kofoid battled for fourth place while Rhodes was in sixth.

With 15 laps remaining, Rhodes muscled his way into the top five as he went to pursue Kofoid for fourth place. Meanwhile, Hocevar retained a narrow advantage over Nemechek.

Then with 11 laps remaining, the caution flew when Rhodes, who was battling Kofoid for fourth place, pulled a slide job on Kofoid through Turns 1 and 2, which caused Kofoid to step out of the gas and spin his No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Behind, Majeski also spun as both competitors came to a sliding halt on the bottom lane. Both competitors, however, were unable to escape damage as Kraus, who was unable to slow his truck below the apron, collided with them. The incident spoiled Kofoid and Majeski’s run towards the front.

Down to the final five laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead while Rhodes used the outside lane to rocket past Nemechek and Kligerman for the runner-up spot. Just as the field returned to the start/finish line, Rhodes challenged and quickly overtook Hocevar for the lead. Hocevar then tried to mount a challenge beneath Rhodes in Turn 3, but the latter remained on the outside lane to muscle away with the lead.

With two laps remaining, Rhodes was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Nemechek retained third ahead of Kligerman, Eckes and Elliott.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Rhodes was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than a second. Having no challengers put the pressure to him for a final lap, Rhodes was able to pull away, slide back around to the frontstretch and claim the victory by more than eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar.

In addition to claiming his first victory of the season, first at Bristol and first on dirt, Rhodes claimed his sixth career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in his 147th series start. The victory was enough for Rhodes to add 34 points to his lead in the regular season standings as he became the third series regular to be guaranteed a spot in this year’s Truck Playoffs.

Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“I thought we gave it away for a moment,” Rhodes, who led a race-high 95 of 150 laps, said on FS1. “Michael Waltrip asked me on the radio, ‘Did you mean to stay out [after the first stage]?’ The real answer was no. Driving back through the pack like that was really, really tough. Not something we wanted to do. My crew gave me such an awesome Tenda Toyota Tundra this weekend. I wasn’t gonna let them down. I had to go back up there and earn the spot back. Really, really proud of all their effort. It looked like I had really fast teammates today, too. Thanks, everybody, for coming out. Happy Easter!”

Hocevar, who led 55 laps, notched the second runner-up result of his career while Nemechek notched his third consecutive top-five result in recent weeks by finishing in third place.

“[I could have] Either ripped the top or crashed [Rhodes],” Hocevar said. “I hate saying that, but that’s part of this racing, right? I just really couldn’t compete with him. He just had better tires. He was the fastest truck all day, so I was just trying really hard and hoping I could hold off. I kept looking up in the mirror. I was like, ‘Man, he’s fifth. He can’t really go anywhere.’ Once I knew he was in fourth, I was like, “Oh, I’m in trouble here.’ He slide-jobbed me and I should’ve prepared for it. crossed him over and then, raced him really hard. Second just sucks. It does. It’s terrible, especially being that close…Just close, but [the late Bryan Clauson] was definitely with me tonight, running that thing as hard as we were”

“Just didn’t quite have it tonight,” Nemechek said. “We struggled with some forward drive, just couldn’t get it off the corner kind of like [Rhodes] could. He was definitely the dominant truck tonight. Congrats to those guys. Thank you to everyone at [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. After the first string of races, I feel like we’re kind of on a roll here with top fives.”

Kligerman brought the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports entry to a fourth-place result while Eckes recorded his second top-five result of the season by finishing fifth. Logano, Elliott, Enfinger, Crafton and Zane Smith finished in the top 10.

Notably, Friesen finished 11th, Austin Dillon came home in 14th and Deegan settled in 18th ahead of Chandler Smith and Harrison Burton. Majeski fell back to 21st while Buddy Kofoid ended up in 27th place behind Kaz Grala.

There were three lead changes for two different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 43 laps. All 36 starters finished the event, with 27 finishing on the lead lap.

With his first victory of the season, Ben Rhodes continues to lead the regular-season standings by 38 points over Chandler Smith, 51 over Stewart Friesen, 54 over Zane Smith and 62 over John Hunter Nemechek.

Results.

1. Ben Rhodes, 95 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Carson Hocevar, 55 laps led

3. John Hunter Nemechek

4. Parker Kligerman

5. Christian Eckes

6. Joey Logano

7. Chase Elliott

8. Grant Enfinger

9. Matt Crafton

10. Zane Smith

11. Stewart Friesen

12. Colby Howard

13. Chase Purdy

14. Austin Dillon

15. Tanner Gray

16. Dean Thompson

17. Mike Marlar

18. Hailie Deegan

19. Chandler Smith

20. Harrison Burton

21. Ty Majeski

22. Jack Wood

23. Timmy Hill

24. Spencer Boyd

25. Blaine Perkins

26. Kaz Grala

27. Buddy Kofoid

28. Tate Fogleman, one lap down

29. Derek Kraus, one lap down

30. Lawless Alan, one lap down

31. Tyler Ankrum, three laps down

32. Andrew Gordon, four laps down

33. Kris Wright, four laps down

34. Keith McGee, four laps down

35. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down

36. Austin Wayne Self, seven laps down

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ first of two visits of this season at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 16, 2022
Byron scores a dominant victory in Truck return at Martinsville

From the rear of the field to the front and straight to Victory Lane, William Byron made a triumphant return to the winner’s stage in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series after surviving a carnage-filled event to dominate and win the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday, April 7.

The 24-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for a race-high 94 of 200 laps, including the final 84, as he fended off Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch and the field through the final 36 laps to claim his first Truck victory in six years while piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, which recorded its first victory in the Truck circuit.

With on-track qualifying initially scheduled for Thursday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup was determined through a calculated formula factoring in the results from the previous event along with the fastest laps and points positions. With that, Zane Smith, winner of the previous Truck event at Circuit of the Americas, started on pole position as he shared the front row with Kyle Busch, who was making his third of five scheduled Truck starts.

Prior to the event, Modified competitor Dillon Steuer dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Zane Smith fended off Ben Rhodes and Kyle Busch to retain the lead for a full lap as he led the opening lap. Behind, Rhodes, who attempted a three-wide move at the start, moved in front of Busch for the runner-up spot while Chandler Smith and John Hunter Nemechek settled in the top five.

Seven laps into the event, the first caution flew when Kris Wright and rookie Jack Wood collided on the frontstretch, with the latter ramming into the former that was spinning.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 13, Zane Smith and Rhodes briefly dueled through the first two turns until Smith cleared the field through the backstretch while Stewart Friesen moved up to third place. Just then, the caution returned when the No. 40 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Dean Thompson came to a stop on the frontstretch, which soon after came on fire inside the cockpit as the driver hopped out. Eventually, the fire situation was enough to terminate Thompson’s run early.

Ten laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith retained the lead while Friesen and Rhodes battled for second in front of Kyle Busch and Chandler Smith. Behind, Christian Eckes was up in sixth place followed by Grant Enfinger and John Hunter Nemechek, who was losing spots on the track.

Through the first 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second over Friesen followed by Rhodes, Kyle Busch and Chandler Smith while Eckes, Enfinger, Nemechek, Derek Kraus and Matt Crafton were in the top 10.

Three laps later, Johnny Sauter and Hailie Deegan made contact while battling for 22nd place entering the frontstretch, which resulted in Deegan sustaining a tire rub, but the race proceeded under green.

Nearing the Lap 40 mark, the caution returned when Spencer Boyd stalled his No. 12 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST near the exit of the backstretch due to a loss of fuel pressure.

Under caution, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track. During the pit stops, Matt Crafton was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Tate Fogleman was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

With six laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Zane Smith retained the lead once again while Rhodes challenged Friesen for the runner-up spot. As the field scrambled for positions behind, Smith continued to lead.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 50, Zane Smith claimed his third Truck stage victory of the season. Friesen fended off Rhodes to retain the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Enfinger, Eckes, Kraus, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy and Tyler Ankrum were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, some led by Zane Smith pitted while the rest led by Ben Rhodes remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 60 as teammates Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes, competing on worn tires, cleared the field on the inside lane through the backstretch and retained the lead while Kyle Busch and Eckes battled for second. Just as Busch prevailed, Carson Hocevar went to work on Eckes for more followed by Ty Majeski, Matt DiBenedetto, Johnny Sauter and William Byron.

By Lap 70, the caution returned when Boyd stalled his truck for a second time in the event, this time between Turns 1 and 2.

At the Lap 75 mark, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes fended off Kyle Busch to retain the lead once again while Byron, who moved into the top five, battled and overtook Hocevar for third place in front of Eckes.

On Lap 78, the caution returned when Lawless Alan spun following contact with Tate Fogleman in Turn 2. Under caution, some led by Busch and Byron pitted while the rest led by Rhodes remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 85, Rhodes fended off Hocevar to retain the lead while Eckes, Ty Majeski and Matt DiBenedetto battled in the top five and in front of sixth-place Zane Smith.

At the Lap 90 mark, Rhodes extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Eckes while Hocevar, Majeski, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Matt DiBenedetto, Parker Kligerman, Enfinger and Colby Howard were in the top 10. By then, Byron was in 13th while Busch was mired outside of the top 20.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 100, which marked the halfway point of the event, Rhodes, who managed to complete the event’s first half without pitting once, claimed his third stage victory of the season. Teammate Eckes settled in second ahead of Hocevar, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Majeski, DiBenedetto, Kligerman, Enfinger and Taylor Gray.

Under the stage break, some led by teammates Rhodes and Eckes pitted while the rest led by Byron and Chandler Smith remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hocevar overshot his truck while pitting. Following the pit stops, Zane Smith, who led the first 55 laps, was penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 92 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead ahead of Chandler Smith and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when Kaden Honeycutt, who replaced Matt Jaskol in the No. 46 G2G Racing Toyota, got sideways after making contact with Austin Wayne Self. He then made contact against the trucks of Tanner Gray and Blake Lothian before getting hit by Dillon Steuer and coming to rest sideways in Turn 2.

Eight laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron fended off Chandler Smith to retain the lead while the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch.

Another five laps later, the caution flew again when Kris Wright and Dillon Steuer wrecked in Turn 4.

With 73 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron rocketed away with another strong restart while Chandler Smith and Johnny Sauter dueled and battled for second, with the latter prevailing. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in fourth while Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen battled for a spot in the top five.

Six laps later, the caution flew again when Rhodes, who was racing in the top 10, attempted to make a bold move on teammate Eckes for position, and then made contact that sent Eckes into Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. As a result, Friesen, who was in seventh place, spun in Turn 3, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage.

When the race restarted with 62 laps remaining, Byron launched ahead with another strong start to retain the lead while Sauter settled in second ahead of Chandler Smith, Kyle Busch, Crafton, and Nemechek.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron was leading by nearly a second over Sauter followed by Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith and Crafton while Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Rhodes, Enfinger and Kraus were in the top 10. Zane Smith was up in 11th place followed by Eckes, Ankrum, Kligerman, DiBenedetto, Chase Purdy, Carson Hocevar, Friesen, Hailie Deegan and Lawless Alan.

Six laps later, the caution flew when Jesse Little spun entering Turn 2 off the front nose of Tate Fogleman, which he was then hit by Bret Holmes as Kris Wright rammed into the side of Little in a billow of smoke. Under caution, some like Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, Hocevar, Colby Howard and Deegan pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

With 36 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead followed by Sauter and Kyle Busch while Nemechek battled and overtook teammate Chandler Smith to move into fourth place on fresh tires. Behind, Crafton was in sixth ahead of Rhodes, Enfinger, Kraus and Majeski.

Six laps later, Byron stabilized his advantage to less than a second over Sauter while Busch, Nemechek and Chandler Smith trailed by less than two seconds. Shortly after, Chase Purdy limped to pit road with a flat tire.

With 20 laps remaining, Byron extended his advantage to more than a second over Sauter while Busch, Nemechek and Chandler Smith remained in the top five. Rhodes was in sixth ahead of Crafton, Enfinger, Majeski and Zane Smith while Kraus, Ankrum, Eckes, Friesen and DiBenedetto were in the top 15.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Byron, who carved his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by more than a second over Sauter followed by Kyle Busch and Nemechek while Rhodes was in fifth in front of Chandler Smith.

With five laps remaining, Byron remained the leader by more than a second over Sauter while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by two seconds. Behind, Nemechek and Rhodes trailed by less than three seconds while Chandler Smith trailed by more than four seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Sauter. Remaining uncontested at the front, Byron was able to navigate his way around the paperclip-shaped short circuit for a final time and claim the checkered flag for his first grandfather clock trophy.

In addition to claiming his first NASCAR national touring series victory at Martinsville, Byron recorded his eighth career victory in the Truck Series and first since winning the 2016 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Byron also recorded the first Truck victory of the season for Chevrolet.

“It was a lot of fun,” Byron said on FS1. “Great crowd here at Martinsville. I’ve never won a race at Martinsville. [I] Struggled here when I was in late models. Just awesome to get the win tonight. Great truck. HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet. Thanks to Spire [Motorsports]. All the guys back at their shop, they don’t have a lot of guys, but they do alright. It was fun to work with [crew chief] Bono [Manion]. [I] Had a little help from [Cup crew chief] Rudy [Fugle]. He knows the truck really well. Yeah, just awesome. Thanks to Mr. [Hendrick] for letting me come do it. Pretty awesome. I’m excited.”

Sauter, the 2016 Truck Series champion who competes on a part-time basis between ThorSport Racing and G2G Racing, settled in second place for his highest on-track result since finishing second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February 2020.

“It was fun,” Sauter said. “It’s been a while. Just so proud of everybody at ThorSport. This is our first in-house chassis, in-house body complete. I called for an adjustment early in the race to just tighten it up a little bit and at the end it was just too much. This is the way it’s supposed to be. This is what this whole deal is about: to go for wins. To start shotgun on the field and finish second, that’s a solid day. I knew it was gonna be good. I knew on Lap 2, we had something we could race with. I’ve been doing this long enough to know. I wish I didn’t call for that adjustment. Who knows, you think that’s enough but all in all a solid night. The goal was to win and we just came up one spot short.”

Kyle Busch came home in third place in his third of five Truck starts this season while Nemechek and Rhodes finished in the top five.

Chandler Smith, Crafton, Enfinger, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10 on the track. Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Stewart Friesen, Derek Kraus and Matt DiBenedetto finished in the top 15 wile Hocevar and Hailie Deegan, who confronted Lawless Alan following the event, finished 17th and 19th.

There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 71 laps.

With his fifth-place result, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by four points over Chandler Smith, 21 over Zane Smith, 25 over Stewart Friesen and 44 over both John Hunter Nemechek and Christian Eckes.

Results.

1. William Byron, 94 laps led

2. Johnny Sauter

3. Kyle Busch, one lap led

4. John Hunter Nemechek

5. Ben Rhodes, 47 laps led, Stage 2 winner

6. Chandler Smith, two laps led

7. Matt Crafton

8. Grant Enfinger

9. Zane Smith, 55 laps led, Stage 1 winner

10. Tyler Ankrum

11. Ty Majeski

12. Christian Eckes

13. Stewart Friesen

14. Derek Kraus

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Parker Kligerman

17. Carson Hocevar

18. Colby Howard

19. Hailie Deegan

20. Lawless Alan

21. Tanner Gray

22. Tate Fogleman

23. Timmy Hill

24. Bret Holmes, one lap down

25. Chase Janes, one lap down

26. Taylor Gray, two laps down

27. Jesse Little, two laps down

28. Blake Lothian, two laps down

29. Chase Purdy, three laps down

30. Kris Wright, five laps down

31. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Brakes

32. Dillon Steuer – OUT, Accident

33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

34. Kaden Honeycutt – OUT, Accident

35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

36. Dean Thompson – OUT, Electrical

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ second annual running of the Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, which will occur on April 16 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 8, 2022
Corey Heim scores first Truck Series career win at Atlanta

Rookie Corey Heim executed a bold final lap pass over teammate Chandler Smith and fended off the field to win the Fr8 208 at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 19, for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in his fifth series start.

The 19-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports and in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, led four times for 22 of 150-scheduled laps as he received a boost from teammate John Hunter Nemechek, who was two laps behind, to overtake teammate Chandler Smith at the start of the final lap. Then for a single lap, Heim fended off a pack of storming trucks to notch his first career victory in his second series start of the season.

The starting lineup for the event was determined through the Performance Metrics formula based on four statistics: drivers’ results, owners’ race and points results and the fastest lap from the previous Cup event. With that, Chandler Smith, winner of the previous scheduled Truck event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, started on pole position. Joining him on the front row was Stewart Friesen.

The use of the Performance Metrics formula occurred after rain cancelled all on-track activities on Friday, which resulted with the Truck competitors receiving a single practice session earlier on Saturday in place of on-track qualifying.

Prior to the event, Jordan Anderson, John Hunter Nemechek, Thad Moffitt, Chase Purdy and Ty Majeski dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustment to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chandler Smith peaked ahead with an early advantage until Friesen received a strong push from Matt DiBenedetto to take the lead. Then in Turn 3, DiBenedetto got into the outside wall in Turn 3 as the field overtook DiBenedetto’s slow truck through the turn. Meanwhile, Friesen led the first lap ahead of the field as the race continued to run under green.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Friesen was leading followed by Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Derek Kraus and Matt Crafton while Chandler Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Christian Eckes, Austin Wayne Self and Tanner Gray were in the top 10.

By Lap 20, Friesen continued to lead ahead of the field with the competitors mired in a tight, side-by-side battle for positions.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Friesen captured his first Truck stage victory of the season. Enfinger settled in second followed by Kraus, Eckes, Matt Crafton, Gray, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek and Ankrum. Meanwhile, Hailie Deegan pulled her No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 to pit road as her left-rear tire was on fire. The incident was enough to terminate her event on pit road.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Eckes emerged out in front with the lead. During the pit stops, Tyler Ankrum and Rhodes overshot their pit stalls. Chase Purdy and Brennan Poole were busted for speeding while Jesse Little and Chris Hacker were penalized for having a crew member over the pit wall too soon.

The second stage started on Lap 37 as Friesen and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, the leaders battled dead even through the backstretch until Friesen stormed to the lead on the outside lane.

At the Lap 40 mark, Friesen was leading by a tenth of a second over Nemechek followed by Eckes, Crafton, Majeski, Kraus, Chandler Smith, Preece, Zane Smith and Enfinger.

Nearing the Lap 50 mark, the caution flew due to debris on the frontstretch that came off of the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Matt Mills. Under caution, some led by Friesen pitted while the rest of the field led by Nemechek remained on the track.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek received a push from Eckes on the outside lane to peak ahead of Majeski for the lead. A few laps later, Majeski received a push from Chandler Smith to move in front of Nemechek for the lead.

Then prior to the final lap of the second stage, Nemechek bolted to the inside lane to reassume the lead over Majeski followed by teammate Chandler Smith. Shortly after, the caution flew due to a tire tread that came off of Ross Chastain’s No. 41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST. The caution was enough for the second stage scheduled for Lap 60 to conclude under caution as Nemechek captured the stage victory. Majeski settled in second followed by Chandler Smith, Eckes, Ankrum, Crafton, Dean Thompson, Gray, Hocevar and Preece were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, names like Friesen, Rhodes, Enfinger and Jack Wood remained on the track while the rest of the field remained on the track.

The third and final stage restarted under green on Lap 66. At the start, Grant Enfinger muscled his GMS Racing machine to the top spot over Friesen.

Then on Lap 68, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck in Turn 3 that consumed Eckes, Jack Wood, Dean Thompson and Lawless Allen. Under caution, some including Preece remained on the track while the rest led by Enfinger pitted.

Seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Heim received a push from teammate Chandler Smith to retain the lead over Preece while the field jostled for positions.

The caution returned, however, on Lap 80 when Tate Fogleman spun on the frontstretch. Four laps later, the race proceeded under green as Heim moved into the lead over Preece. By then, Enfinger, who pitted, was penalized for running over his air hose on pit road.

Then on Lap 91, the caution once again flew when Jordan Anderson and Tanner Gray made contact entering Turn 1, which got Anderson loose as he came down across the track and hit Tate Fogleman, which then sent Fogleman hard against the Turn 1 outside wall.

With 38 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Majeski shoved teammates Rhodes to the lead over Heim as the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch.

With the majority of the field settling in a long single file line, Rhodes was ahead of teammate Majeski, Heim, Preece and Zane Smith while Chandler Smith, Kraus, Nemechek, Chastain and Friesen were in the top 10.

Following an incident involving Kris Wright with 35 laps remaining, the race restarted under green six laps later. At the start, the field locked in a side-by-side battle for the top spot until Rhodes managed to retain the lead by a narrow margin. Shortly after, Heim challenged Rhodes for the lead as he led the following lap. With Heim and Rhodes running the outside lane along with Preece, Chandler Smith challenged on the inside lane followed by Kraus.

Not long after, the battle for the lead intensified between Heim and Chandler Smith, both of whom representing Kyle Busch Motorsports and as Georgia natives competing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, teammate Nemechek, who was running near the top 10, was off the pace after making contact with Crafton through the backstretch.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the battle for the lead fanning out to two lanes as the top-20 competitors were mired in a tight pack towards the front, Chandler Smith was ahead over teammate Heim followed by Tanner Gray, Friesen and Tyler Ankrum.

Five laps later, Chandler Smith settled with an advantage of more than a tenth of a second over teammate Heim while Friesen, Zane Smith and Rhodes were in the top five. Majeski was in sixth followed by Gray, Austin Wayne Self, Kraus and Ankrum.

With 10 laps remaining, Chandler Smith continued to lead followed by teammate Heim, Friesen, Zane Smith, Rhodes and the field.

Down to the final five laps of the event, the front-runners continued to run in a single file line with the top-11 trucks separated by more than a second as Chandler Smith remained in the lead ahead of teammate Heim, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Majeski. By then, Nemechek, who was two laps down, blended in with the leaders.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim made his move beneath teammate Chandler Smith followed by teammate Nemechek, Rhodes and the field while Chandler Smith was trapped on the outside lane. Through the backstretch and Turn 3, Heim continued to lead as Rhodes tried to make a final lap charge for the top spot. With the field fanning out approach the finish line, Heim managed to streak across the finish line in first place to claim his first checkered flag by 0.173 seconds over Rhodes.

With the victory, Heim became the 119th different competitor to achieve a Truck Series victory and the 12th to do so while competing for Kyle Busch Motorsports as KBM notched its fourth Truck victory at Atlanta. Heim is scheduled to compete in 13 of the remaining 21 Truck events in KBM’s No. 51 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

“That was awesome!” Heim said on FS1. “I can’t believe it. We just put ourselves in the right place at the right time. Our JBL Tundra TRD Pro was amazing today. Just can’t thank everyone enough back at the shop. Toyota Racing helped so much to get here and this truck looks awesome in Victory Lane. So glad to be here.”

“[There were] No team orders there [for the finish],” Heim added. “As long as one [Kyle Busch Motorsports] truck won, that’s all that matters. [Teammate Chandler Smith] did an awesome job defending for most of the race there and [teammate John Hunter Nemechek] stuck with me when it mattered the most. [I] Got to give all the credit to John Hunter Nemechek for helping out there. It’s surreal. Awesome.”

Rhodes settled in second place followed by Majeski while Chandler Smith fell back to fourth place in front of Zane Smith.

“I would’ve liked to duke it out with [Heim], just us and not have anyone else in the middle of it,” Chandler Smith said. “It is what it is. I’m happy for [the 51 team]. That’s their first win of the year and first win for Corey. That’s exciting, I remember how it was to get my first and it was a really cool moment. Happy for him and happy for that whole group. [Crew chief Danny] Stockman and everybody back at KBM. They give me a really fast Safelite/Charge Me/NGE Roofing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro today. It just sucks that it had to end like that. I wish we could’ve duked it out.

Friesen, Preece, Gray, Kraus and Austin Wayne Self came home in the top 10. Notably, Enfinger finished 14th, Eckes finished 17th, Nemechek and Crafton finished 24th and 25th and DiBenedetto settled in 30th.

There were 18 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

With his fourth-place result, Chandler Smith continues to lead the regular season standings by 13 points over Tanner Gray, 17 over Ty Majeski, 26 over Stewart Friesen and 27 over Ben Rhodes.

Results.

1. Corey Heim, 22 laps led,

2. Ben Rhodes, nine laps led

3. Ty Majeski, one lap led

4. Chandler Smith, 21 laps led

5. Zane Smith

6. Stewart Friesen, 49 laps led, Stage 1 winner

7. Ryan Preece, four laps led

8. Tanner Gray

9. Derek Kraus

10. Austin Wayne Self

11. Tyler Ankrum

12. Grant Enfinger, 14 laps led

13. Jack Wood

14. Chase Purdy

15. Jesse Little

16. Christian Eckes, three laps led

17. Chris Hacker

18. Jordan Anderson

19. Matt Jaskol

20. Spencer Boyd, one lap down

21. Kris Wright, one lap down

22. Timmy Hill, one lap down

23. Ross Chastain, two laps down

24. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down, 11 laps led, Stage 2 winner

25. Matt Crafton, two laps down, one lap led

26. Colby Howard, two laps down

27. Carson Hocevar, three laps down

28. Brennan Poole, five laps down

29. Blaine Perkins, nine laps down

30. Matt DiBenedetto, 12 laps down

31. Tate Fogleman – OUT, Accident

32. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Engine

33. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident

34. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

35. Matt Mills – OUT, Suspension

36. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Tire

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ second annual event at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which will occur on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

March 19, 2022