Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Camping World Truck Series

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead Championship Weekend

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead Championship Weekend

    All three series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend to crown their champions. The Camping World Truck Series finale will air on FS1 Friday evening, followed by the XFINITY Series race Saturday afternoon on NBCSN. Sunday the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track for the title event at 3 p.m. on NBC to determine its 2017 champion.

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Nov. 17

    On-Track:
    8:30-9:25 a.m.: World Truck S.ies Practice – FS1
    10-10:55 a.m.: World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
    12:30-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN
    2:30-3:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    5-5:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    6:15 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    8 p.m.: Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FS1

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    Noon: Cup Series
    2 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:20 a.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    11:30 a.m.: Joe Gibbs (Owner, Joe Gibbs Racing), Joe Garone (President, Furniture Row Racing), Tony Stewart (Owner, Stewart-Haas Racing) and Walt Czarnecki (Executive Vice President, Penske Corporation)
    4:30 p.m.: Ron Hornaday Jr.
    7:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series qualifying, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski
    10:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Camping World Truck Series Race/Champion

    Saturday, Nov. 18

    On-Track
    10-10:55 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC
    11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – CNBC
    1-1:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    9:15 a.m.: NASCAR Partnership Announcement
    12:20 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports), Dave Pericak (Global Director of Ford Performance) and Ed Laukes (Group Vice President, Marketing for Toyota Motor North America)
    6 p.m. (approx.): Post-XFINITY Series Race/Champion

    Sunday, Nov. 19
     
    On-Track
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBC

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    11 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and NASCAR President Brent Dewar
    6:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series Race/Champion

    Complete TV Schedule

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: Ford EcoBoost 200
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Friday, Nov. 17
    Time: 8 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 201 miles (134 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 134)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Ford EcoBoost 300
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Saturday, Nov. 18
    Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Race: Ford EcoBoost 400
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Sunday, Nov. 19
    Time: 3 p.m. ET
    TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   
    Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Phoenix

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Phoenix

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series raced in the mid-west this past Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway. It was an action-packed race that did not disappoint.

    Here are four takeaways from the Lucas Oil 150.

    1. Chase Briscoe Earns A Top Five Finish – With a strong F-150, Briscoe was able to earn a top-five finish at Phoenix International Raceway. He did not place in the top 10 at all in both stages, but, after all the melee was over and adjustments made to the truck by the pit crew, he wound up fourth on the pylon at the end of the night. It was his ninth top-five finish of the year.
    2. Todd Gilliland Has Another Strong Finish – In his rookie season in the truck series, Gilliland has been finishing inside the top 10 for the most part. Despite not finishing at Dover and Gateway, he seems to have found his groove. Before Phoenix, Gilliland placed 11th at Bowmanville, third at Loudon, fifth at Martinsville and recently finished seventh at Phoenix. He started fifth and placed eighth in both stages. When the night was all said and done, Gilliland finished seventh thus earning a spot in the truck series owner’s championship that will conclude Friday night at Homestead-Miami.
    3. Bayley Currey and Jason Hathaway Have Strong Runs – Expect the unexpected was used this past weekend at Phoenix. Currey and Hathaway only made one previous start, placing 25th and 15th, respectively. But after all the carnage was over with, these two rookies earned the best finish of their career thus far.
    4. Robby Lyons Gets 12th Place Finish In Debut – The Seminole, Florida driver made his first Truck Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway. Previously, Lyons only made starts in the CARS Super Late Model Tour making only four starts in two years. He collected a 12th place finish in his career debut. Not bad in your first career start.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Phoenix

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Phoenix

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came to the Arizona desert last Friday night to settle the Championship 4. As always, the truck series action did not disappoint. Here’s a look at who topped the top five power rankings this week.

    1. Johnny Sauter – When there is a truck race, you can always expect Sauter to be up front and challenging for the win, however, it came with a little luck. In both stages, he placed sixth, but his luck turned around when the two leaders had contact and were involved in a racing incident. Sauter did not take the lead until Lap 146 and held off a hard-charging John Hunter Nemechek, scoring back to back wins.
    2. John Hunter Nemechek – Could have, would have, should have, was the title for Nemechek on Friday night. He started sixth and stayed in the top 10 for both stages, placing fourth and seventh, respectively. Like Sauter, however, he got a little bit of luck in the remaining laps and tried to challenge for the win late but unfortunately came up one spot short.
    3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen continued his 2017 success by coming home sixth at Phoenix this past weekend. Even though he did not place in the top 10 in Stage 1, Friesen placed 10th in Stage 2. After all the melee was over, the No. 52 Halmar Racing team came home sixth for his fourth top 10 finish of the year.
    4. Cody Coughlin – Coughlin placed third Friday night at the 1-mile race track. It was the best finish of his three-year career in the Truck Series, despite not finishing in the top 10 in both stages. Coughlin will look to end the season on a high note by either winning or scoring another top three finish.
    5. Kaz Grala – If Grala was not knocked out of the championship hunt, who knows where he would have been now. In the past three races, he has finished inside the top 10. In fact, Grala’s whole round has been solid, but wrecking at Talladega and finishing 29th was the ultimate blow to his championship hopes. He will be hoping to end the season winning at Homestead after winning the first race of the season at Daytona.
  • Christopher Bell Looks To Secure First Truck Series Championship

    Christopher Bell Looks To Secure First Truck Series Championship

    The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season has been very kind to the driver of the No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra, Christopher Bell.

    The young 23-year-old in his second season is, so far, so good, but now the toughest challenge of the season comes this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Bell looks to collect his first ever championship before he moves to the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

    However, it was a close one Friday night, as he and teammate Noah Gragson, were battling hard for the win in the remaining laps until both made contact and wrecked. Bell’s Tundra was not as bad as Gragson’s but cost him a chance at the win and he finished eighth. With five wins, 14 top fives and 20 top 10 finishes, only two DNF’s and 865 laps led, it was enough for him to lock himself into the Championship 4 for the second consecutive year. Bell talks about the wreck.

    “It was really intense and we were both doing everything we could to go for the win,” Bell said. “It’s a big advantage to be on the outside because you have all the side force and whenever you crowd him like that you take all the air off the side of his truck. I knew that I was playing with fire there and that there was a good possibility that I was going to get us both in trouble. He (Noah Gragson) was doing a really good job down there of hanging onto it and keeping it up – we were just racing really hard and it didn’t work out.”

  • Johnny Sauter Searching For Second Consecutive Championship

    Johnny Sauter Searching For Second Consecutive Championship

    With wins at Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway, last year’s champion, Johnny Sauter will be looking for his second consecutive championship Friday night at Homestead-Miami. His 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign has been nothing short of spectacular.

    In 2017, Sauter has collected four wins, 12 top fives, and 18 top 10 finishes in the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Meanwhile, he has posted an average start of 4.9 and an average finish of 6.5, with 455 laps led. None of that will matter though, when the season finale takes place Friday night at Homestead-Miami, as it’s every person for themselves and the highest finishing order of the Championship 4.

    Despite high expectations, Sauter is being cautious about his trip for the second consecutive year.

    “That track is really tricky,” the 14-year Truck Series veteran said. “We go down there and we get one set of tires for practice and that place eats tires like a cheese grater. Your first couple of laps you’re going to feel like King Kong and then you’re going to think ‘what is wrong with this truck?’ I suspect you’re going to see everything next week. Unload decent, struggle a little then be good in the race. We’ve just got to be smart and make smart decisions and we’ll be okay.”

    “It’s been a good place for me. I wouldn’t say it’s been great, but a good place. I’ve got a lot of experience. I hope that helps.”

     

  • Matt Crafton Looking For Third Championship

    Matt Crafton Looking For Third Championship

    At the end of Stage 2 Friday night at Phoenix Raceway, the two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, was able to clinch his way into his second consecutive Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami. He will now be seeking his third career championship.

    Before he got there, though, Crafton had to fight his way in despite an uncharacteristic-like year for the No.88 Menards Toyota Tundra.

    At Daytona, he was involved in wild last lap ride, where he went up in the air and landed on the ground. Even with that wreck, Crafton was relegated to a 14th place finish. Throughout the rest of the season, it was up and down for Crafton. However, it wasn’t until Eldora in July, where he scored his first victory of 2017 season, locking himself into the Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

    When the Playoffs started in Loudon, Crafton only finished outside the top 10 once, which took place recently at Phoenix Raceway this past weekend due to a crash. finishing 21st.  With the accident at Phoenix, he is still just a bit bitter, even though he will be searching for the third championship of his career.

    “The 19 just hooked the 27 (Ben Rhodes),” Crafton said.  “No racing about that – but I just said, I told Ben (Rhodes), ‘That ain’t fair, but next week.”

  • Austin Cindric Punches Ticket Into Championship 4

    Austin Cindric Punches Ticket Into Championship 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Johnny Sauter Goes Back To Back After Wild Race In Phoenix

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix