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  • Regular Season Champion Johnny Sauter Fends off Stewart Friesen in Closing Laps at Bristol

    Regular Season Champion Johnny Sauter Fends off Stewart Friesen in Closing Laps at Bristol

    All Johnny Sauter had to do was start the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway in order to become the regular series season champion. However, he wanted more and did more as he earned his fifth win of the season after fending off his GMS Racing ally, Stewart Friesen.

    “This is awesome,” Sauter said after the race, “the history of this place. I flew into Charlotte yesterday morning to stop by the shop real quick and then did my normal tour to Bristol. I stopped at North Wilkesboro and just walked around, and drove up through the countryside, just was like, maybe if I don’t overdrive it this year, I’ll have an opportunity to win, so just proud of everybody at GMS on this GMS fabrication. Sunseeker, ISM Connect, Allegiant Travel Chevrolet, just can’t thank everyone enough. This is so cool!”

    When the UNOH 200 began, Sauter was crowned the 2018 regular series season champion. Playoff bubble driver, Grant Enfinger, clinched a Playoff spot by starting the race as well.

    Stage 1 went to lap 55.

    Only two incidents took place during the first stage. On Lap 12, the No. 30 of Scott Lagasse Jr. spun around on the fronstretch to bring out the first caution. Then on Lap 25, the No. 04 of Cory Roper spun out after having a little bit of help in Turn 2.

    John Hunter Nemechek took the lead on Lap 32 after the restart on Lap 30. He was able to hang on and win the first stage followed by Sauter, Enfinger, Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes, Parker Kligerman, Stewart Friesen, Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, and Justin Haley.

    Race leader Nemechek and a couple of others stayed out to maintain their positions as leaders for the beginning of Stage 2 on Lap 66. It didn’t take long for a caution to come out, however, as Todd Gilliland spun around and had contact with Jesse Little. During that caution, the No. 52 of Friesen, clinched a spot in the Playoffs.

    With the restart on Lap 73, there were no more incidents for the rest of Stage 2 until after the checkered flag.  This saw Nemechek win Stage 2. As Nemechek took the win, Myatt Snider, who was on the outside looking in, had his night ruined, as he crashed and hit the wall on the frontstretch.

    The final stage and the race resumed with 77 to go with Sauter as the race leader.

    Sauter held on momentarily but Gragson passed him to lead for seven laps. Then, Stage 1 and 2 winner Nemechek, passed Sauter for the lead on Lap 177. During this long stretch of a green flag run, Bell lost the power steering and his night was over, finishing in the 28th position.

    With heavy lap traffic starting to come into play, Nemechek closed in on Sauter with 27  to go and Nemechek assumed the lead with 23 to go. Sauter and Friesen battled with each other side-by-side with 10 laps to go, allowing Nemechek to pull away.

    Unfortunately, something happened to the No. 8 of Nemechek and he slipped back to third, with Sauter taking the lead and Friesen close behind him. Sauter was able to breathe easy as he held off his GMS ally for his fifth win of the year and his first since Texas in June.

    With the race win tonight, Sauter picked up 20 points but is carrying over 42 Playoff points into the postseason.

    “Well yeah, he (Nemechek) had a problem,” Sauter said. “The 52 (Friesen) was racing me really hard there and not quite sure, can’t wait to watch that on how we got back by him. Just good hard racing, short track style. This is such a cool way to end the regular season with a win. Obviously, getting the championship in the regular season. Now hopefully this carries some momentum towards the end here. I just got too tight. I tried to get around those lap trucks running through the middle. Even in practice earlier today, I just couldn’t quite complete the corner, I couldn’t get it to cut. So, I knew the bottom was my only chance, but the lap traffic was just all over the place. Just can’t thank everybody enough. I’m so pumped right now, I’m going to let this one soak in for sure.”

    This was Sauter’s fifth win of the season. Sauter led three times for 58 laps. There were five cautions for 38 laps, along with six lead changes among four drivers.

    The Playoff card is now set with Sauter (2042 points), Brett Moffitt (2027 points), Gragson (2022 points), Rhodes (2014 points), Friesen (2012 points), Enfinger (2011 points), Haley (2009 points) and Matt Crafton (2003 points) all competing for the 2018 Truck Series championship.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    “It’s the final countdown!” as the band Europe would sing.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series makes their final stop at Bristol Motor Speedway before the playoffs begin next weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. While one driver will be crowned regular season champion, three other drivers currently sit on the bubble of making/not making the playoffs.

    Currently, there are 38 drivers entered on the preliminary entry list that will make up the 32 truck field Thursday night at Bristol.

    Here’s a look at what to expect and who might end up in the UNOH 200.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek has competed in the past four starts at Bristol. He and the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports team have collected two top fives and four top-10 finishes. Nemechek has an average start of 12.5 and an average finish of 5.0. In the past five races, he finished third twice, eighth, and sixth. He has competed in the Truck Series event since 2014 and has completed 100 percent of the laps. Nemechek scored the victory at Martinsville this past April which is another short track, somewhat similar to Bristol. He finished 10th in Stage 2 in the 2017 race.
    2. Christopher Bell – Last year’s Truck Series champion returns to the field Thursday night at Bristol driving the No. 51 Hunt Brothers Pizza Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Bell has competed in two races at Bristol earning a seventh-place finish twice after starting fifth and second. He finished fourth and fifth respectively in both stages last year. KBM, however, has won here three times with Kyle Busch, who will not be able to compete in this year’s race due to restrictions. Harrison Burton was scheduled to drive the No. 51 but had to withdraw due to illness. Bell will fill in for Burton and will be tough to beat Thursday night at Bristol driving the famed No. 51.
    3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter will be crowned regular season champion just by starting the race. Even though he knows he’ll be the regular season champion, he’ll still be hungry for that first Bristol win. It will be his first win since Texas in June if he can pull it off. Sauter has competed in 10 races at the famous Bristol Motor Speedway. His first start came back in 2003 driving the No. 9 for Christopher Beckington but failed to finish that year due to an engine issue. However, Sauter returned to a Truck back in 2009 driving for Mike Curb until 2015. In the past two races, he has competed for GMS Racing. For Sauter, however, it’s been a mixed bag of results at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” He has four top fives and six top-10 finishes, along with seven laps led and one DNF. With those stats, he has an average start of 12.4 and an average finish of 9.6. His best finish at Bristol was second back in 2011 after starting 12th. In the previous race, he finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages.
    4. Parker Kligerman – If someone could upset this weekend, it could very well be the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports team of Parker Kligerman. Kligerman has four starts at Bristol with a best finish of second coming in 2012 for Red Horse Motorsports. In last year’s race, however, driving the No. 75, he finished eighth. During the span of his four starts, Kligerman has earned one top five and three top-10 finishes. For Charlie Henderson’s team, the No. 75 has competed at Bristol every year since 2012 with Caleb Holman as the driver until 2016. Their best finish came with Kligerman last year by finishing eighth. They currently have one win in the series which came last fall at Talladega. Their other best finish came this year at Charlotte, where he finished seventh.
    5. Ben  Rhodes – Rhodes has three starts at Thunder Valley. His best finish came last year where he finished fifth. In total, Rhodes has one top five and two top-10 finishes with one lap led. He has an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 14.7. He finished seventh and fourth in both stages in 2017. Look for Rhodes to be up front and contend for the win.

    Playoff Bubble Drivers

    1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has one start which came in the 2017 race. He started seventh and finished fourth giving him his first top five at the track. If he continues to win stages or perhaps wins the race, he’ll be good to go for the Playoffs.
    2. Stewart Friesen- Like Enfinger, Friesen has been running somewhat consistently and is having his best year to date. He sits seventh in the Playoff standings with five Playoff points. He should be fine if there are no new winners. However, Friesen’s track stats don’t look all that great. He has two races, but no finishes inside the top 10. In 2017, he failed to finish due to an overheating problem and wound up 29th. In 2016, Friesen finished 16th. He can’t afford to have any of these issues during the race or he’ll be in jeopardy of missing the Playoffs.
    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton is the most experienced driver in the field. He’s competed at Bristol since 2003 and has 15 starts. During that span, he’s earned four top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with 129 laps led and one DNF. His best finish came in 2017 and 2009, where he finished second. In 2016, he failed to finish with an engine problem. If Crafton can avoid any issues in Thursday’s night race and have no mechanical problems, he’ll also be locked in on points and be able to chase for his third championship.

    Outside Looking In

    1. Myatt Snider- Snider will be making his first ever Bristol start in the Truck Series driving the No. 13 Carolina Nut Company Ford. However, he has competed at Bristol before driving in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Series. In fact, he won last year’s race at Bristol after starting on the pole and leading 80 laps. Snider also competed in this year’s Tour Series event at Bristol and finished third. He could very well end up in victory lane tomorrow night and solidify himself in the playoffs picture, possibly knocking out his teammate, Matt Crafton.
    2. Cody Coughlin – Coughlin has competed in one race here but did not finish in the top-10.
    3. Dalton Sargeant – It will be Sargeant’s first race back at Bristol since 2015, where he finished 10th after starting 18th. He has one NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start but finished 26th due to a crash.
    4. Todd Gilliland – Perhaps one driver who could spoil the spotlight is the No. 4 KBM driver, Todd Gilliland. He’ll be making his first Truck Series start at Bristol, but does have previous experience at the track. Gilliland has competed at Bristol in the K&N Pro Series East three times. During those three starts, he finished ninth, eighth, and won the event in 2018 after leading 64 laps.

    The Truck Series has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1995. In those twenty starts, there have been 15 different race winners. Those winners include Joe Ruttman, Rick Carelli, Ron Hornaday, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards, Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Ben Kennedy.

    Of those drivers, two have been able to repeat. These include Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday with Busch having the most wins at five, and he is also the previous race winner.

    The lowest a driver has ever started to win the race is 12th back in 2003 by Travis Kvapil. The highest a driver has ever come from to win was the pole and that has been done five times by Ron Hornaday (twice), Kyle Busch (twice) and Mark Martin.

    The field of 38 that will turn into a field of 32 will have an all-day event Thursday.

    Two practice sessions will start the day for the truckers. First practice is scheduled for 9:05 a.m. ET while final practice takes place at 11:05 a.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is slated later in the afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    Race coverage begins on FOX and MRN Radio at 8:30 p.m. ET with the approximate green flag at 8:45 p.m. ET.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their exciting season this week at the 2-mile racetrack, Michigan International Speedway, located in Brooklyn, Michigan and the competition gets even tighter with only two races left until the Playoffs begin. There are three drivers on the bubble; Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen.

    Currently, there are 34 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who might end up in victory lane this weekend.

    1. Matt Crafton – Crafton has been very hungry this year in trying to end up in victory lane. It’s been a whole year now since he has a won race in the Truck Series. Crafton needs to punch his ticket to make the Playoffs and that could happen this weekend at Michigan. He is the most experienced active driver having competed in the past 16 starts dating back to 2002, in his first track start that year. In those 16 races, Crafton has three top fives and seven top-10 finishes, along with 63 laps led, four DNFs, an average start of 9.9 and an average finish of 14.2. He has three poles at the racetrack, but is still searching for his first elusive victory at Michigan. In the past five races, Crafton has finished sixth, seventh, sixth, second, and ninth. He currently sits right on the cutoff line at eighth. But this weekend could be the place he breaks through and snaps his long winless streak.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the second most experienced veteran at the track. He has nine starts with one win, two top fives, three top-10 finishes, 47 laps led, an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 11.8. His only victory at the track came in 2014 after starting fifth. In the previous race, Sauter started second, but finished 18th, finishing one lap down. It’s been somewhat of a win drought as well for the No. 21 GMS Racing team. It’s been six races since Sauter and the team visited victory lane, which was at Fort Worth.
    3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has only two starts at Michigan. But in those two starts, he has finished in the top-10. In his first outing with GMS Racing, Enfinger started ninth and finished eighth. In last year’s race, he started sixth and finished eighth. Enfinger also finished 10th in Stage 2. Enfinger could sneak his way into victory lane this weekend after having solid consecutive finishes in the past few races, especially after almost winning Eldora last month. The team is capable of winning and it’s only a matter of time before Enfinger heads back to victory lane.
    4. Noah Gragson – After sitting out Pocono a couple of weeks ago due to illness, Gragson will be back in the No. 18 Safelite Tundra at Michigan this weekend. He was devastated that he couldn’t compete at Pocono and had to sit out. Since winning at Kansas, Gragson has been close to winning again. In the past five races, he finished sixth at Eldora, eighth at Kentucky, fourth at Chicago, 10th at Gateway, and second at Iowa after almost winning. Gragson’s only start at Michigan came last year, starting fifth and finishing seventh. He also finished seventh and eighth in both stages, respectively.
    5. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has just two starts at Michigan, all coming for ThorSport Racing since 2016. In those two starts, he finished sixth and 11th respectively. In the 2017 race, Rhodes started 14th and finished 11th, after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively in both stages. He has led four laps with an average finish of 8.5.

    The NASCAR Truck Series has competed in the past 18 races dating back to the 1999 season. In those 18 starts, there have only been two repeat winners, which came from Greg Biffle in 1999 and 2000, and Travis Kvapil in 2004 and 2007. Since then, however,  there have been  16 different race winners. Those include Robert Pressley, Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer, Johnny Benson, Erik Darnell, Colin Braun, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Nelson Piquet Jr, James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch, Brett Moffitt, and Darrell Wallace Jr. The lowest in the field a race winner has come from to win is 11th back in 1999. The highest a race winner has ever come from is the pole in 2007.

    There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon. The first practice at 1:05 p.m. ET with the final practice at 3:05 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1.

    Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with race coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The scheduled green flag is 1:15 p.m. ET.

    Stages will be broken up into 30/60/100 laps.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Pocono

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Pocono

    With just three races until the Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Aug. 26, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their exciting season this weekend at Pocono Raceway.

    With five drivers locked in by virtue of wins, three drivers find themselves on the bubble of not making it. From this weekend until Bristol could make the difference and provide the opportunity to lock themselves into the Playoffs.

    Currently, there are 32 trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who to expect that might end up in victory lane Saturday afternoon in The Tricky Triangle.

    1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be back in the series for the first time since Charlotte in May. He’ll be looking to make history on Saturday afternoon as he’ll be searching to tie Ron Hornaday’s all-time Truck Series wins list at 51. Busch has been close this season to tying or surpassing the record. Aside from the tire issue at Atlanta, Busch won at Las Vegas and finished second twice at Kansas and Charlotte. We could already be talking about a different story if he had won at those racetracks, but Busch will be more hungry than ever to get back to victory lane in the Truck Series. Pocono could be the track he could tie Hornaday’s records due to recent past success. He has only competed in three races at The Tricky Triangle and has had so-so finishes. In his first race in 2011, Busch finished second to race winner Kevin Harvick. He never competed again until 2015 where he won the race after starting second. In the previous race, Busch was involved in an accident on lap 36 thus ending his shot at a win. He’s led 85 laps and has an average finish of 9.3 with an average start of 2.0. He’ll be looking for the weekend sweep at Pocono this weekend.
    2. Johnny Sauter – After a dismal week at Eldora last week, Sauter is glad to be out of Ohio and back on the normal series circuit. Like Busch, Sauter is looking to get back to victory lane after a couple of bad finishes. Sauter hasn’t won since Texas in June and hasn’t had a top-five finish since Chicago where he finished third. Since then, however, he’s had finishes of 15th at Kentucky and 16th at Eldora. At Pocono, Sauter will try to find victory lane. In eight races, he has three top fives and five top-10 finishes, along with 16 laps led. En route to his 2016 championship, he started 11th and finished eighth. In the previous outing at Pocono, Sauter finished fifth after starting seventh. His best finish at the 1.5-mile raceway was second back in 2014. Whether it will be Saturday afternoon or later on in his career, Sauter will cross Pocono off the tracks where he hasn’t won. It’s only a matter of time for the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevy driver.
    3. Todd Gilliland – It will be a learning curve for Gilliland this weekend at Pocono, as he will be making his first ever Truck Series start. However, if past history has told us anything, nothing is new for the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver. In his first ever 1.5 mile start at Charlotte, he finished 10th after starting third but had late-race contact that settled him back a little bit in the finishing order. He’ll be competing in the ARCA Racing Series Friday afternoon to gain more practice and knowledge about Pocono. The truck Gilliland will be driving has finished second and ran at Texas and Chicago. This truck has led 62 laps.
    4. Ben Rhodes – After a tough outing at Eldora last week, Rhodes will be looking to get back in victory lane since Kentucky and this weekend could be his chance to do it. He only has two starts at the 1.5-mile racetrack dating back to 2016, where he finished 11th. His best finish was second in last years race after starting on the pole. He has an average start of 2.0 and an average finish of 6.5. In the two stages last year, Rhodes finished third and fourth respectively en route to his second-place finish.
    5. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt will be back racing at Pocono this weekend for the first time since 2016. In his only race here, he competed for Red Horse Racing driving the No. 11 where he finished third after starting 15th. Moffitt has had success at 1.5-mile tracks this year, however. His first success was back in February when he won at Atlanta. A third-place finish at Las Vegas, fourth at Charlotte and a win at Chicago were his best finishes at those 1.5-mile tracks this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Moffitt performs for the first time since 2016.

    Since the first event in 2010, there have been eight different winners in eight races. The winners include Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Joey Coulter, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Christopher Bell.

    The lowest a race winner has ever come was sixth back in 2013 and was won by Ryan Blaney. The race winner has won from the pole three times with Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, and William Byron.

    There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon with the first one taking place at noon ET with the final practice at 2 p.m. ET, with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET Saturday with an approximate green flag at 1:15 p.m. ET and will be live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The first stage ends on Lap 15, with the second stage ending on Lap 30 and the checkered flag flying on Lap 60.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    Eldora Speedway was home of the 13th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In one of the most anticipated races of the season, this standalone event certainly did not disappoint. The field included Truck Series regulars and dirt regulars but it was a not a dirt regular but a former series driver that stood atop the victory circle Wednesday night.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and Chase Briscoe certainly put on quite a show in the last remaining laps. Enfinger, who was looking for the second win of his career, his first since Talladega in 2016, had to settle for second by .038 seconds. The win would have locked him into the Playoffs, but with the consistency and strength that Enfinger has shown in the past remaining races, he sits sixth in the playoffs standings, 120 points. In Wednesday night’s race, he finished seventh and second, respectively in both stages. His second-place finish earned him his fourth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
      2. Stewart Friesen – Friesen came up short once again at Eldora, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from the No. 52 Canadian driver. He was in the fifth heat race and led all 10 laps to score the win, which led him to a third-place starting position. The race was somewhat of a struggle early on for Friesen, as he ran as low 31st but was able to advance with pit stop strategy and cautions helping out the team. But, it wasn’t until the end of Stage 2 when he placed inside the top-10 to finish 10th. Friesen found himself in competition for the win in the final five laps of the race with the multiple race cautions. On one of the restarts, he went four-wide with the top leaders until another caution came out. However, Friesen rallied after being a caution on Lap 29 and earned a third-place finish, giving him his fifth top-five of the year. He’ll have to be careful in the three remaining races until the Playoffs begin as he sits on the bubble in seventh per Playoff standings, 111 points behind, considering no new driver wins until then. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a good night at Eldora, considering this was his first time racing on dirt. Based on qualifying results, he was placed in heat race #2 and ended up finishing third, giving him a 12th place starting position. The three-time race winner in 2018 had to fight his way to the front after fighting in dirty air and heavy traffic. He wasn’t able to earn stage points which will hurt the team just a little bit, but Hattori Racing team already has three wins this year and is good for the Playoffs, if they continue to get sponsorship throughout the season. In the end, Moffitt was helped out with the cautions and race strategy to give him a third-place finish. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Matt Crafton – It has now been one year since Crafton has won a race in the Truck Series. After last night’s race, he has three more races remaining to earn a win to solidify himself into the Playoffs and compete for the championship. Crafton didn’t have a bad night, but it certainly didn’t come without troubles. On Lap 55, he and Tyler Dippel got collected with each other, and Crafton got tipped from behind by Ryan Newman who tore the back end off Crafton’s truck. However, not all was lost, as he and the No. 88 ThorSport team finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages, ultimately giving him a fourth-place finish. But Crafton and the team are hungry for a win as he sits right on the cut line for the playoffs. He may have to get in on points if he wants to be a championship contender. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
      5. Justin Haley – Like Briscoe and Crafton, Haley often competes in dirt racing when his schedule allows. It was second race at Eldora and it was almost the same identical finish for the No. 24 GMS Racing team. In last year’s race, he started 13th and finished eighth. Haley was placed in the fourth heat race and finished fourth after starting sixth. This gave him a 19th starting position, meaning it was going to be a long night for the series regular. But the No. 24 took the entire race to get to the front. He didn’t earn any stage points, but with his Gateway win, Haley is locked into the Playoffs. After a wild finish and race, he finished ninth for his ninth top-10 finish of the year. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Noah Gragson – Gragson had a quiet night at Eldora and didn’t make too much noise. He was placed in the last chance qualifier but had points to fall back on to make it into the race. He didn’t finish inside the top-10 at all for either stage after starting 27th, but Gragson did finish sixth after battling handling conditions all night long. He’ll look to Pocono and try to continue to close the gap on Johnny Sauter’s points lead.
    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes was having a good race going until a few laps after the Stage 2 restart. On Lap 45, he hit the wall and continued to slip all the way back in the field, ultimately having to bring the truck to pit road as the tow was knocked out of the truck. This gave the Kentucky winner a 29th place finish, but he is locked into the playoffs.

  • Four Takeways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Kentucky

    Four Takeways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Kentucky

    The NASCAR Truck Series visited Sparta, Kentucky for the 12th race of the scheduled 22 race season in a triple-header weekend.

    The series had a first-time winner while some familiar faces had their issues.

    Here are four takeaways from the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225.

    1. Ben Rhodes Captures Hometown Win – Rhodes was able to capture a win in his hometown Thursday night after winning Stage 1 and leading 38 laps after taking no tires on the final pit stop. They were finally able to have a mistake-free race for once and put all the pieces together. If the No. 41 ThorSport Racing team continues to do that for the rest of the season including the Playoffs, they could very well be the fourth driver for the Championship 4.
    2. Johnny Sauter Has Forgettable Weekend –  It was not the night the 2016 Truck Series champion wanted at Kentucky. He didn’t quite have the truck to contend for the win and didn’t do well in both stages, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively. His night was also hampered by two pit road penalties sending him back to finish 15th. It was a forgettable race, to say the least, but Sauter leaves Kentucky with the points lead by 42 over Noah Gragson.
    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Places All Trucks In The Top-10 – Kyle Busch Motorsports had a solid night at Kentucky placing all their trucks in the top-10. For starters, Noah Gragson claimed another pole this season and won the second stage for his seventh stage win of the year. After a bad pit stop under yellow prior to Stage 3, Gragson rallied back to finish eighth. Next up is Brandon Jones who piloted the famed No. 51 Truck finishing in the fourth spot after starting sixth. He finished fourth and second, respectively in both stages. Jones’ next and final race will be at Las Vegas in the Playoffs. Finally, Todd Gilliland made his first Truck Series start at Kentucky starting in the second spot alongside his teammate. He was able to finish one spot better than his teammate Gragson, which was seventh.
    4. Short Turnaround for the Truckers – By having a Thursday night race at Kentucky, the truckers will have a short turnaround and will have to put their focus on what will be the biggest show of the year for the Truck Series at Eldora. The Eldora Dirt Derby is one the most popular races on the Truck Series circuit and it could be a jump start for a young driver’s career should a rookie win the race. Millions of fans visit the track for the race or watch the race on TV. There’s a lot of pressure on the regular series drivers as there will be a mix of drivers from NASCAR Cup stars to dirt track stars. It’s a list of whos who on the entry list. It will be interesting to see how the young rookies are able to tackle the tough and rough .500 mile racetrack in Rossburg, Ohio.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Kentucky

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Kentucky

    The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway was the 12th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It was another race that didn’t disappoint this season and a race that saw a hometown hero win.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes finally got the monkey off his back this past weekend at Kentucky by collecting his first ever career win. Rhodes was always in contention for the win earlier this year, but it seemed like something always got in the way such as mechanical issues, engine problems and more. This weekend the No. 41 ThorSport team was finally able to put together a mistake-free race and parked it in victory lane. Although, it didn’t come without a little bit of chaos. On the last round of pit stops, Rhodes’s crew chief called him down to pit road and it surprised Rhodes as he had to slam on his brakes, and get to pit road speed. However, a quick fire erupted from Brett Moffitt’s pit and almost made Rhodes miss his pit stop, but he was able to find it just in time. He held off Stewart Friesen who was on two fresh tires and went on to win in his hometown. He won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. Previous Week Ranking: 4th
      2. Matt Crafton – Crafton was able to secure a third-place finish for his fourth top-five finish of the year. After having a somewhat dismal year so far it continued in qualifying when the two-time champion got loose and had to chase it up the track. This caused Crafton to start 30th. But, it didn’t take him long to make his way through the field. He finished sixth in Stage 1 but slipped back in Stage 2 to finish ninth. He was in position to win should his teammate Rhodes or Friesen make contact with each other, race each other, or if a late race caution were to come out. Ultimately, Crafton had to settle for third but will need to win as he is a bubble driver sitting seventh in the points standings. He could get it done on Wednesday night at Eldora as he is the previous race winner. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen has been a standout star this year in the Truck Series after only running part-time in 2017. So far in 2018, he has collected four top fives and seven top-10 finishes. Thursday night continued to prove that he is a challenger for the win and possibly the championship. After starting 14th, Friesen seventh in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2, respectively. Friesen took the lead a few laps later from Parker Kligerman on the restart and led 37 laps. He made 21 quality passes and ran an average position of fifth. Friesen had the lead on lap 88 and held on for 35 laps until the final pit stop, where he took two fresh tires in hopes of chasing down eventual race winner Rhodes. At the end of the day, Friesen finished second but the dirt track standout star heads to one of his favorite tracks Wednesday night at Eldora. In last year’s race, he qualified on the pole and led the majority of the race, leading 93 laps, but had to settle for second. It will be interesting to see how Friesen and Crafton do battle on the dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Noah Gragson – Gragson will have to wait another week to win, but he could make his way into the Playoffs. In Thursday’s race, Gragson started on the pole, his fourth of the year. He led the majority of Stage 1 until Gragson was held up by Bo LeMastus which eventually cost him the stage win. He finished second after leading 31 laps. The second stage proved better for Gragson as he retook the lead on Lap 43, led all of Stage 2 and went on to win his seventh stage of the year. During the pit stop before the final stage, however, the No. 18 Safelite team took a little extra time as needed and this sent him back to 13th on the restart. Gragson couldn’t recover from that and finished eighth to earn his ninth top-10 of the year. He sits second in points, 42 points behind Johnny Sauter. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has improved his finishes at the 1.5-mile racetrack in Sparta. His first ever Truck Series race here was in 2016 when he started 17th and finished 12th. Despite finishing 28th in last year’s race due to an accident, he was able to rebound in this year’s outing. Enfinger started fifth and ran fifth in Stage 1 as well as in Stage 2. After the cycle of pit stops and penalties handed down to several drivers, Enfinger finished sixth for his eighth top-10 of the year. He sits fifth in the standings -123 points behind. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked.

    Fell Out:

    1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt didn’t have the race outing he had hoped for despite winning at Chicago the previous week. He finished 18th and didn’t finish in the top 10 in any of the stages.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had a dismal and forgettable race at Kentucky. He finished ninth and 10th in both stages, respectively, but two pit road penalties late in the race cost him a shot for a reasonable finish. Ultimately this sets him back to 15th.
    3. Justin Haley – The Gateway winner struggled a little bit this past weekend. No stage points, but he quietly earned a top-10 finish. Haley is locked in the Playoffs and sits eighth in the regular season standings.

  • Ben Rhodes Gets Hometown Win at Kentucky

    Ben Rhodes Gets Hometown Win at Kentucky

    After almost missing his pit stall during the final pit stops due to a fire from Brett Moffitt’s pit, the Louisville, Kentucky native finally broke through to earn his first ever win in his hometown state of Kentucky at Kentucky Speedway.

    The stages were broken up into 35 for Stage 1 and 2, while the final stage was 80 laps.

    The first yellow of the night came on the very first lap for Tyler Matthews of the No. 83 who spun out and hit the wall in Turn 2. That was the only caution of the stage as it remained green throughout the stage. When the stage started to wind down with three to go, the No. 54 of Bo LeMastus held up race leader Noah Gragson, who eventually lost the stage win to Ben Rhodes. Rhodes ended up winning the stage.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 42 and went to Lap 70.

    Gragson got out front on the restart with help from his teammate, Brandon Jones. No incidents happened in Stage 2 as it was clean and green, and Gragson went on to win his seventh stage of the year. During the pit stop, the No. 18 crew had troubles and was sent back to 13th for the restart.

    The final stage was restarted with 74 laps to go and the action started to pick up.

    After taking two tires only, Parker Kligerman was the race leader. Stewart Friesen chased him down and passed him on Lap 88. Not much happened throughout those laps, but pit stops began with 30 to go.

    The race leaders started to pit with 26 to go and there were multiple penalties handed out. Myatt Snider was hit for driving through too many pit boxes, Bo LeMastus too fast entering, and Johnny Sauter had two penalties (too fast entering, commitment line violation) and Austin Hill was penalized for too fast entering.

    During this period, eventual race winner, Ben Rhodes came down to pit but almost missed his pit stall as a quick fire erupted from the No. 16 pit. Rhodes took no tires and just fuel only, while Friesen took two tires.

    These two ultimately battled for the race win, but at the end of the day, it was Kentucky native Ben Rhodes picking up his first career win and Ford’s first win of the season.

    “It caught me off guard honestly,” Rhodes said. “We got so behind on these restarts and they’re just so crazy here. You have to be on your game and unfortunately, depending on the circumstances and teammates working together, whatever it may be, we got behind.

    “I mean, excellent call by him (crew chief). He caught me a little off guard. I was slamming on the brakes as hard as I could through (Turns) 3 and 4 and got it slowed down in time. I was a little worried. But man, just a huge thank you to Ford Performance, Carolina Nut, Thorsport Racing, Alpha Energy Solutions, all my fans that came out here, all my supporters and friends, family. Unbelievable, I just don’t have any words.”

    “Maybe we can go to Eldora,” he said. “I’m on ice there though, so I’ll have to take some notes from (Matt) Crafton and see if we can get around there. I think we need to keep this Thorsport going.”

    Rhodes led four times for 38 laps, won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2.

    There were five leaders among twelve lead changes with three cautions for 14 laps.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    Friday nights Overton’s 225 at Chicagoland Speedway marked the halfway point of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It was the 11th race of the scheduled 22 race season.

    Once more, the Truck Series put on a thrilling battle for the race win and continued to show that it’s the best of the three national touring series right now. Little did anyone know, it would also set the stage for what would be an exciting weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Here’s a look at who topped this week’s power rankings.

    1. Brett Moffitt – After falling out of the power rankings last week due to a late-race incident at Gateway, none of his doing, Moffitt and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team was able to secure sponsorship from Fr8 Auctions and was able to continue at Chicagoland this past Friday night. Moffitt started sixth and slipped back in Stage 1, finishing fifth. In the second stage, he improved his finishing position after finishing second and led for one lap. As soon as the third and final stage began, Moffitt was up front battling and contending for the race win with John Hunter Nemechek. It all started on lap 74, where Nemechek took the lead and since then, the two swapped the lead seven times in the last remaining laps. It was quite an epic battle for the race win with two drivers not backing down. On the last lap of the race, Moffitt made a move to the inside in Turn 1 to pass Nemechek for the win after only, Nemechek’s truck ran out of gas coming off of Turn 2 and thus Moffitt drove away with the race win. It was his third win of the year. The team noted in the post-race media availability, that they do have some races secured later on in the season, but still need full-time funding in order to compete for the championship. Previous Week Ranking: Fell Out
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter once again continues to prove that consistency is key if you want to win the championship in any of NASCAR’s top three series. He continues to be one of the best trucks on racetrack week in and week out. Despite finishing seventh and fifth in both stages, respectively. Sauter and his No. 21 GMS Racing team fought hard with a tight-handling race truck which wasn’t great in the dirty air, but with a late race caution on lap 122, the team was able to make adjustments only to have the jack fall during the pit stop which sent him to the back. With years of racing experience and knowledge, Sauter fought his way to a third-place finish earning his tenth top-10 of the season. He continues to lead the point standings over second place Noah Gragson by 65 points. Previous Week Ranking: 1st
    3. Noah Gragson – Gragson stays in this week’s power rankings after finishing fourth. It was a quiet but strong night for the No. 18 Safelite Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra. After earning his third pole of the season, he consistently stayed inside the top-10 for most of the night. Early on in the first stage, Gragson led two times before being passed by John Hunter Nemechek on the last lap in Stage 1 and had to settle for second. The second stage, however, provided a much better opportunity for Gragson to earn stage points. When Korbin Forrister decided not to come in for tires, he restarted on the front row alongside Gragson. As soon as the restart happened, the No. 18 with four fresher tires passed Forrister for the lead and ultimately for the stage win. The third and final stage started to become a challenge for the 19-year-old youngster. It seemed as though his handling had started to go away just a tad before the last caution came out on Lap 122 when he came in for an adjustment like everyone. At the end of the day, the scoring pylon showed Gragson and his No. 18 Safelite Tundra in the fourth position. A decent Chicago outing for the KBM driver. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
    4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes finally gets a well deserved second place finish this past weekend. After not having the best of finishes and bad luck throughout the season, the cards and opportunity finally fell in his favor Friday night. He started ninth and finished sixth and 11th, respectively, in both stages. With the help of adjustments late in the going, Rhodes was there to capitalize on Nemechek’s misfortune on the last lap and earned his best finish of the season. This is exactly what the No. 41 ThorSport driver needs and it could be a chance to open the floodgates, where they could possibly begin to finish consistently inside the top-10 and peak at the right time of the season. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
    5. Justin Haley – Last week’s winner, Justin Haley, came home in the top-10 after starting 10th. It was a relatively quiet night for the No. 24 GMS Racing driver. It wasn’t the best night for him and his team, but he was able to secure finishes of ninth and seventh, respectively.  Haley is locked into the Playoffs with his win at Gateway and currently sits sixth in the standings. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Gateway

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Gateway

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their midwest swing this weekend by visiting Gateway Motorsports Park located in Madison, Illinois just outside of St. Louis, MO.

    Currently, there are 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    Of those 34, there are 11 drivers who have never made a start at Gateway. Those drivers include Myatt Snider, Bobby Reuse, Brett Moffitt, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Fontaine, Christian Eckes, Riley Herbst, Chad Finley, Stewart Friesen, Zane Smith and Jesse Little.

    Two of those drivers, Riley Herbst and Zane Smith will be making their Truck Series debut.

    Here’s a look at who just might be contending for the win in the Villa Lighting Delivers the Eaton 200.

      1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek will once again be piloting the No. 8 Chevy for Nemco Motorsports. He is the previous race winner at Gateway after scoring an emotional win in last year’s race. In four starts, he has one win, two top five and three top-10 finishes, along with 99 laps led. In last year’s race, Nemechek led just 46 laps en route to victory after starting in the second position. He won Stage 1 and finished third in the second stage. If he does get to victory lane, it shouldn’t be surprising as Nemechek has an average start of 7.5 and an average finish of 6.5. Look for the young Mooresville, North Carolina driver to be challenging for the win in Saturday night’s race.
      2. Noah Gragson – Gragson might be a little bit of a wildcard this weekend at Gateway, considering he only has one start here which came in last year’s race. He started seventh and finished ninth, but after almost collecting win number two last week in Iowa after a dive bomb move, Gragson will be hungry to go to victory lane for the second time this year. He’ll have tons of track time with three practice sessions scheduled to take place, but as seen this year, Gragson should be a prime contender for the win.
      3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt is coming off a momentum win at Iowa last weekend. It was his second win of 2018 and with the team still fighting to secure sponsorship for the rest of the season, the No. 16 Hattori Racing team will be wanting more and be up front challenging for the win. If he wins on Saturday night, it’ll be win number three and it could help him get more sponsorship for the season. In last year’s race, the No. 16 raced with Ryan Truex, who now competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. They started 11th, finished fifth and ninth, respectively, in both stages.
      4. Johnny Sauter – It’s hard to ever count out Sauter who is a four-time winner this year. At Gateway, he has competed in six races earning a best finish of second in 2009. Since then, Sauter has had finishes of third, fourth, third, fourth, and third in last year’s race. In addition, he has an average finish of 3.2 and has led 33 laps in total, including six top fives and six top-10 finishes. While he doesn’t have a win here at the 1.250-mile track, it will give him that much more motivation to get this track crossed off the list and continue his dominant season.
      5. Ben Rhodes – While Rhodes has had trouble as of late in terms of performance, Gateway could be the site of his first win and get him into the Playoffs this year. He only has two starts coming in 2017 and 2016, both for Thorsport. Both of those races have been solid races for him. In 2016, he started first and finished second. In last year’s race, Rhodes started 12th and finished eighth, giving him one top five and two top-10 finishes with an average finish of 5.0.

    There have been 17 races in total at Gateway Motorsports Park. Former Truck Series driver, Ted Musgrave, has been the only repeat winner, with victories coming in 2001 and 2005. In the past five races, there have been five different winners including John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, Bubba Wallace, and Kevin Harvick in 2010.

    The lowest a race winner has ever started was 14th which came back in 2004 and David Starr was the winner of that race. Qualifying will be important as the last five winners have started second, ninth, second, second, and first, respectively.

    Three practices are on tap Friday afternoon with the first practice scheduled for 3:35 p.m. ET. The second practice is at 5:35 p.m. ET, while final practice will be aired on FS2 at 7:35 p.m. ET.

    Qualifying is slated to take place at 5:25 p.m. ET and will be tape delayed on Fox Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET.

    Race coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio, with the approximate green flag taking place at 8:48 p.m. ET.