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Tag: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

  • Chip Ganassi Racing’s Van der Zande and Bourdais win Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP

    Chip Ganassi Racing’s Van der Zande and Bourdais win Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP

    Renger van der Zande drove his No. 1 Cadillac to the lead in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with 10 minutes to go, cruising to a decisive victory in the seventh round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

    He won by a margin of 3.509 seconds after passing Oliver Jarvis’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura with 10 minutes to go to claim the third win of the season for the No. 1 Cadillac.

    The victory was unexpected and was not without its struggles.

    “This race wasn’t going to be ours,” he said, “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.

    “I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”

    Teammate Sebastien Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, but he gave all the credit to van der Zande for expertly navigating the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course.

    “That was all him,” Bourdais remarked. “With the massive power steering issues, I was barely hanging on and I have no idea how he put that thing up there to fight those guys. He obviously reads traffic super-well, and when he gets all wound up with emotions, he uses that anger in a positive way. He really made it work today, and it was very impressive.”

    It was van der Zande’s 17th victory in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and the 10th for Bourdais.

    Tom Blomqvist, who set a record qualifying lap to capture the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, and co-driver, Oliver Jarvis, finished second. Pipo Derani and Olivier Pla completed the podium after finishing third in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.

    CORE Autosport’s Colin Braun and Jon Bennett won the LMP3 Class finishing ahead of Andretti Autosport’s Jarrett Andretti and Gabby Chaves. Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist placed third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier.

    The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is August 4-7 at Road America for prototype classes DPi, LMP2 and LMP3.

  • Murillo Racing wins Michelin Pilot Challenge at CTMP; Wickens and Wilkins claim TCR victory

    Murillo Racing wins Michelin Pilot Challenge at CTMP; Wickens and Wilkins claim TCR victory

    Murillo Racing scored the top two spots in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). They were dominant throughout the race as the No. 56 and No. 72 cars combined to lead all but two laps.

    Co-drivers Eric Foss and Marc Miller claimed the victory in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, .338 of a second ahead of their teammates, Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak, who finished second in the No. 72 Mercedes. It was the team’s second victory in the last three races.

    Foss, who led the final 33 laps, said, “The Murillo Racing team has always been on top of things and a great communicating team,” Foss said. “Having Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak come into the team this year has given us another push and added an incredible amount of additional data with two more talented drivers on the team.

    “Christian was very generous today. I made a couple of mistakes toward the end of the race, and he had the opportunity to pounce, but we definitely wanted to make sure we stayed clean. It’s just amazing to bring both Mercedes-AMG GT4s home one-two like that and get the great result here. The biggest strength the Mercedes-AMG GT4 has is its balance. It is very driver-friendly.”

    Szymczak was pleased with the team’s performance and optimistic about the future.

    “It is awesome for the team,” he said. “Since we rolled the cars off the truck, they have been great, and we knew we were going to be in for a good finish for the weekend. I came out of the pits and Eric had already cycled through the pits. He was on warm tires, I was on cold, and he was just able to get by me for the lead. I would have tried to make a move if I could have, but there was just no viable place to make a move. It was just great to bring home the one-two finish. We just need to keep showing up, doing what we do, and hopefully, good results will keep coming our way.”

    Marc Miller was eager to help out the team and fill in for the injured Jeff Mosing.

    “I have known the Murillo guys and Jeff Mosing for years and when Eric called me, and I could do it, I didn’t hesitate. I called my wife and said ‘hey, we are going to Canada.’ It was our weekend off, but I really wanted to fill in for Jeff and do this for Eric.”

    Murillo, who won his first career pole Friday and led a race-high 42 laps, said, “Christian and I both worked hard coming into this event. Anything less than a podium was not going to feel good. If we were going to get beat, it was going to be by our teammates. I am really happy for the team. They have been working really hard all weekend long. Canada always brings some logistical challenges, so we were working with just half the crew, it was especially hard on the crew, so to bring them a one-two finish just feels really good.”

    Wickens and Wilkins score TCR class victory

    Photo by Ray MacAloney for SpeedwayMedia.com

    To say it’s been an exciting week for Robert Wickens is an understatement.

    Last week, he was in victory lane at Watkins Glen International, celebrating his first win since he returned to competition this year after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2018 during an IndyCar race.

    Then, fast forward to Saturday when Wickens and Mark Wilkins earned the Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Class victory. But it’s what came in between that put the biggest smile on his face.

    Wickens was at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Thursday when his wife call called to say the baby they were expecting was going to arrive early. Wickens immediately drove home for the anticipated birth of his first child, On Friday, he and his wife welcomed their son, Wesley Joseph Wickens, into the world.

    Who says, you can’t have it all.

  • Blomqvist earns the pole for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    Blomqvist earns the pole for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    Tom Blomqvist won the pole Saturday afternoon in his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 and will lead the field when the green flag drops for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Round 7 of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

    The 1:04.394-lap was Blomqvist’s second consecutive IMSA pole and a DPi track record.

    “It was an absolute wild ride,” he said. “I was over my limit; I’m not going to lie. That session was a case of putting your brain to one side.”

    Ricky Taylor qualified second in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing car and Tristan Vautier was third fastest in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Alex Lynn’s No. 02 will start in fourth place with Olivier Pla in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac starting fifth and Sebastien Bourdais rounding out the top six.

    Andretti Autosports’ Jarrett Andretti won the pole in LMP3 with a 1:13.102 lap time followed by Gar Robinson (Riley Motorsports) in second, Ari Balogh (Jr III Racing) in third and CORE Autosport’s Jon Bennett in fourth.

    Pfaff Motorsports’ Mathieu Jaminet earned the pole in GTD Pro, and Frankie Montecalvo had the best time in GTD in his Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

    Jaminet was tops in GT3 R, 0.165 seconds ahead of the GTD pole-sitter Montecalvo.

    Alex Riberas was third among the GTD cars and second in GTD pro in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, followed by the No. 25 Team GT3 team of John Edwards. Jordan Taylor was fifth in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.

    You can tune into the Chevrolet Grand Prix Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with television coverage on NBC and Peacock.

    Complete Qualifying Results:

  • Kenny Murillo captures pole for Michelin Pilot Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120

    Kenny Murillo captures pole for Michelin Pilot Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120

    Kenny Murillo was fastest during qualifying Friday afternoon, topping the leaderboard in his No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with a track record lap at 106.997 mph.

    He will start on the pole for Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 for the sixth round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge season.

    Argentinian driver, Damian Fineschi, made the most of his debut in the series, qualifying his Toyota FR Supra GT4 in second, only 074 seconds behind Murillo.

    Marc Miller, Murillo’s teammate, will start third, followed by VOLT Racing’s Alan Brynjolfsson while Murillo Racing’s Tim Probert will round out the top five in the No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4.

    The qualifying session ended early after a crash involving Turner Motorsports’ Dillon Machavern, who had unofficially been credited as fifth fastest. As a result, he lost his two best laps for causing the red flag which dropped him to seventh place.   

    Hugh Plumb will start his Team TGM Porsche in sixth, followed by Machavern. Michael McCann Jr. will start in eighth place as PF Racing’s James Pesek and Sheena Monk round out the top 10.

    In the Touring Class (TCR) Bryan Herta Autosports’ Tyler Maxson bested JDC-Miller Motorsports’ driver Chris Miller for the pole with a 104.988 mph lap. It was Maxson’s second pole of the year and the eighth-fastest qualifying lap overall. Miller posted the second-fastest overall lap and will start 10th, followed by Parker Chase (11th), Travis Hill (13th) and AJ Muss in 15th.

    There are 33 cars on the entry list but only 28 posted qualifying laps. Robert Wickens, who was shown as the driver for the Bryan Herta Autosport No. 33 car, was notably absent.

    The reason became quickly apparent when he announced the birth of his first child on his Twitter account.

    “For those of you wondering why I wasn’t at the track today, I would like everyone to meet Wesley Joseph Wickens. Born two weeks early but we could not be happier. Baby and Mom are doing great! I am so grateful to be married to such a strong woman! Let’s start the next chapter!

    You can tune in to watch the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET with broadcast coverage on Peacock.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Canada

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Canada

    Canadian Tire Motorsport Park hosted the seventh race since its inception in 2013 for the Truck Series. In some cases, it’s the only chance Canadians get the chance to catch the Truck Series on their home turf. While it was not as exciting as it normally has been the past few years, there were still some interesting moments in the race. However, there were also some special stories going on behind the scenes that some fans may not know about. 

    With that said, here are this week’s four takeaways from the Chevy Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. 

    1. Moffitt Makes Statement With Win – It was almost a perfect batting average for Moffitt and the No. 24 GMS Racing team who won their second consecutive race after previously winning at Bristol. It was a statement win by Moffitt that he is a serious challenger for another possible championship in his career. He was dominant in the stages, gained track position when he needed to, outsmarted the competition and went on to win in Canada. His luck continued as he ran out of gas doing burnouts. If you’re going to heat up and start winning, now is the time to do it and the No. 24 team is doing just that.
    2. Teamwork makes the dream work – There was quite the story going in the garage this past weekend with Jordan Anderson. Anderson was gaining some social media exposure as he fielded two trucks, the 56 of Bobby Reuse and the 04 of Roger Reuse. The team owner/driver also had challenges of his own after crashing his primary truck in practice. However, unlike other teams, Anderson did not have a backup truck. His team went to work and was able to rally and had the truck ready for the race. The No. 3 team finished 16th while his other two trucks finished 22nd and 25th. It is amazing to see how far Anderson has come since starting his own team last year at Daytona.
    3. Clean Race – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is mostly known for the thrilling and fantastic finishes that we’ve seen for its five out of six races prior to Sunday’s race, especially last year’s finish between the two Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates, Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland. However, the 2019 race was unusually quiet and was a clean race for the most part. There were some notable incidents to speak of but nothing too major like we have seen in years past. There was really only one caution for an accident which was brought out by Dan Corcoran on Lap 31. Other than that, we saw pit strategy being played and the importance of track position was. One has to wonder with Canada being a playoff race if drivers were playing it safe in order to make it on to the next round

    4. Crunch Time For Playoff Drivers – It’s hard to believe but we have gone through two races and we are already heading to the conclusion of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a couple of weeks. With one race left to decide the Round of 6, many of the drivers are facing possible elimination from championship contention. Names like Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum could be eliminated after the Round of 8. The only driver that has a comfortable points lead above the cut line is Ross Chastain, who is currently second, +28 above sixth. It is likely Chastain could clinch a spot at Vegas. However, the other six will have their work cut out for them when they arrive at Vegas and will likely need some help in order to continue on in the Playoffs.
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Canada

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Canada

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday afternoon for race No. 18 of the season and the second race in the 2019 Playoffs. To no surprise, Brett Moffitt once again reigned supreme north of the border and earned his second consecutive win in dominating fashion. 

    Moffitt earned the dominant win at Canada and several other playoff drivers took top spots. Some are still on the bubble including Tyler Ankrum who won at Kentucky, two-time champion Johnny Sauter who won at Dover, regular-season champion Grant Enfinger and Austin Hill. All face possible elimination before heading to the next round. 

    However, we have a couple of weeks to get there yet, so before we do, let’s take a look at this week’s Power Rankings. 

    1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt followed up his dominant Bristol performance with another one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Grimes, Iowa native started his day off strong early Sunday morning by qualifying on the pole, his third of the season. Because he has already won and will move on to the next round of the Playoffs, Moffitt played strategy from the get-go. He stated in the post-race press conference that his goal was to win Stage 1 for a point, then win the race for the most points. He was able to do that, leading all the laps in the first stage and winning the stage. After the stage, the GMS team made some pit stops in order to get track position for the final stage. Moffitt was able to start on the front row for the final restart. There were no cautions throughout the final stage and Moffitt went on to win the race. To make things wilder, Moffitt ran out of gas doing burnouts. Still, it was after the checkered flag and Moffitt, at this point, has dominated the opening round.

      Previous Week Ranking – First


    2. Sheldon Creed – Creed had a great outing in Canada but not without a little bit of luck. The No. 2 GMS Racing team had to play pit strategy just like his teammate Moffitt to get the track position needed for a possible win. He was up front for the final stage and remained in the top five but all Creed could do was manage a top-five finish. Still, not bad for a backup truck after he wrecked his primary during practice on Saturday.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth


    3. Stewart Friesen – Like Creed, Friesen was also in a backup truck after crashing during practice Saturday. The hometown favorite qualified 12th, finished seventh in Stage 1 but was not able to record a top-10 finish in Stage 2. He was able to lead one lap but that’s all Friesen could do as he would wind up seventh in the overall running order. With the top-10 finish, the Canadian was able to add to his impressive list of top-10s this season and now has 13 top-10 finishes. While it may not be the finish he had at Bristol, Friesen still remains in good standing in the Playoffs, currently seeded third, +6 above the cut line.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third


    4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes followed up on his Bristol finish with a third-place at CTMP.  He played pit strategy as most other drivers did throughout the race. The ThorSport driver was able to do anything he wanted in the race, as Rhodes is not in the Playoffs contending for the championship. Therefore, the team did all they could to get the No. 99 driver out front. The Kentucky native was up front for nine laps, finishing 12th in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2. In the end, Rhodes wound up third for a decent outing in Canada.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked


    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain and his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team had a great run going until the final stage when pit strategy shook up the running order. Chastain was racing hard with others, almost going off course with a driver. Before somewhat struggling in the third stage, the Florida native had a great first two stages, finishing second in Stage 1 and winning the second stage, earning stage points. Chastain only led twice for nine laps until the final stage. Overall, the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team earned an eighth-place finish after being dominant in the first half of the race.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth

      Fell Out

      1. Grant Enfinger – It was a struggle for Enfinger and the No. 98 ThorSport team who finished 13th after starting 14th. He was able to manage stage finishes of eighth and fourth in both stages, respectively. However, during one point in the race, Enfinger was accidentally taken out by his teammate Johnny Sauter, which cost him a great finish. Now, Enfinger sits on the bubble, +2 heading into the final round at Las Vegas, possibly facing elimination from the championship after having such a strong regular season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second 
  • Moffitt dominates to win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    Moffitt dominates to win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    It was an easy and clean win for defending series champion Brett Moffitt who won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and dominated much of the race after starting on the pole.

    “Anytime you have a comfortable lead, it’s all about praying for no cautions and then no mistakes on our behalf,” Moffitt said to MRN Radio. “We got a new sponsor, CMR, on the truck this weekend; we were able to pull this Chevy Silverado into victory lane. It was all about execution. It’s really cool when you can make a plan at the beginning of the week. Try to win Stage 1 at that point and try to win the race for five points, executed as a team and had a fast Silverado.”

    “That’s all thanks to the people at GMS. We unloaded fast and tuned on it, and got better. Just everyone on this team today, we executed fully and that’s all I can ask. I’m very confident in our race team right now.”

    Moffitt and his No. 24 GMS Racing team started on the pole after qualifying early Sunday morning. The stages were broken into 20/20/24 laps to make up the 64-lap race distance.

    To note, Stewart Friesen wrecked in practice which forced him to go to a backup. Jordan Anderson crashed in practice as well. Sheldon Creed also crashed as well in practice, forcing him to a back up. Gary Klutt of Niece Motorsports also started in the back.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 20

    A few minor incidents happened during the first stage with no yellows. The No. 54 of Raphael Lessard went off track but he saved the truck from major damage. The No. 56 of Bobby Reuse also spun on the front stretch. Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a left front tire go down and made contact with the tire barrier and Gilliland received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire during the pit stop.

    The No. 34 of Jason White spun around on the final lap in Stage 1 after contact with Tyler Ankrum. Teammates Johnny Sauter and Grant Enfinger made contact with each other, as Sauter accidentally spun Enfinger around in Turn 10. Despite the incidents that took place, there would be no yellows flown.

    Moffitt went on to win Stage 1. Ross Chastain, Austin Hill, Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Sauter, Friesen, Austin Wayne Self, D.J. Kennington and Dylan Lupton rounded out the top-10 finishers in the first stage.

    During the stage break, the race leaders made their way to pit road for their scheduled pit stops. Crafton was penalized after his pit stop for running over his air hose, which sent him to the back for the Stage 2 restart.

    Stage 2: Lap 24 – Lap 40

    The restart order for Stage 2 saw drivers Ben Rhodes, Alex Tagliani, Harrison Burton, Sheldon Creed and Gilliland make up the top five.

    The first caution other than the stage break came out on Lap 31. It was for the No. 33 of Dan Corcoran hitting the wall. Under the caution, Rhodes, Moffitt and the top front runners all made their pit stops.

    Chastain would stay out and assume the lead with seven to go in Stage 2. By staying out, the Niece Motorsports driver went on to win the second stage. Hill, Ankrum, Gilliland, Enfinger, Sauter, Crafton, Gus Dean, Lupton and Rhodes were the top-10 finishers in Stage 2.

    Stage 3: Lap 44 – Lap 64

    With Chastain, among others, pitting under the stage break, Moffitt cycled out as the leader for the third and final stage.

    For the most part, there were no major incidents. Lupton went spinning off the restart. A long green flag occurred until the finish. Gilliland brought his truck down pit road and the hood was up with 12 to go but he was able to finish the race. The action started to heat up in the back with Burton and Friesen slightly going off track with four to go. One lap later, it was Ankrum and Chastain in an aggressive battle. With two to go, Burton’s engine expired and he went out of the race. D.J. Kennington also went around on the last lap in the last turn after contact with Wayne Self.

    With the incidents taking place behind race leader Moffitt, he had a sizable lead over Tagliani who was in second. Despite what we’ve seen in previous years at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, there was no major drama on the last lap and Moffitt went on to win his second playoff race of the season.

    During the burnouts, the GMS driver ran out of fuel but it didn’t matter at that point for Moffitt as he was excited to win for the first time on a road course.

    “It was close, I took a right-hand corner in the last two laps and started dropping in fuel pressure,” Moffitt said to MRN Radio. “So, I was extremely worried and once we got to the backstretch on the last lap, I knew we would have enough momentum to get to the finish line. It was a little stressful on my behalf, but it is what it is and we made it, ran out of fuel doing donuts. So that’s all good.”

    Moffitt led twice for 44 of 64 laps and earned his fourth win of the 2019 season.

    There were three cautions for nine laps and seven lead changes among six leaders.

    Up Next: The Truck Series takes two weeks off before returning on-track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night, September 13th, to conclude the Round of 8.

    Playoff Standings with one race to go in Round of 8:

    1. Brett Moffitt, Two wins
    2. Ross Chastain, +28
    3. Stewart Friesen, +6
    4. Matt Crafton, +5
    5. Austin Hill, +5
    6. Grant Enfinger, +2
      Below the cut line
    7. Johnny Sauter, -2
    8. Tyler Ankrum, -14

    Official Results

    1. Brett Moffitt, led 44 laps, won Stage 1
    2. Alex Tagliani
    3. Ben Rhodes, led nine laps
    4. Sheldon Creed
    5. Austin Hill, led one lap
    6. Johnny Sauter
    7. Stewart Friesen, led one lap
    8. Ross Chastain, led nine laps, won Stage 2
    9. Tyler Ankrum
    10. Raphel Lessard
    11. Matt Crafton
    12. Gary Klutt
    13. Grant Enfinger
    14. Austin Wayne Self
    15. D.J. Kennington
    16. Jordan Anderson
    17. Gus Dean
    18. Todd Gilliland
    19. Dylan Lupton, One lap down
    20. Jason White, One lap down
    21. Harrison Burton, OUT, Engine
    22. Bobby Reuse, Two laps down
    23. Jennifer Jo Cobb, Four laps down
    24. Norm Benning, Four laps down
    25. Roger Reuse, Six laps down
    26. Josh Reaume, OUT, Suspension
    27. Dan Corcoran, OUT, Crash
    28. Greg Rayl, OUT, Transmission
    29. Ray Ciccarelli, OUT, Engine
  • Tagliani and Rhodes round out top three finishers in Canada

    Tagliani and Rhodes round out top three finishers in Canada

    In what has been a strong weekend for Alex Tagliani in the NASCAR Pinty Series, he was ready to test his skills in quite possibly his best shot to win the Truck Series race driving the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra.

    The Canadian had a decent qualifying starting spot of fourth and remained consistent throughout the race. He finished 13th in Stage 1 after making a pit stop late for track position and finished eighth in Stage 2. While Tagliani did not get to lead a lap, he was up front on the final restart with Brett Moffitt. The KBM driver tried to catch Moffitt but he ran out of time. He would wind up second, Tagliani’s best Truck Series finish ever.

    “It’s difficult because you never know if it’s going to go green all the way, as you give up too much distance and there’s no way with the level of competition you can make it up,” Tagliani said to MRN Radio. “It was a pleasure to work with KBM, the whole 51 crew. Thanks to CanTORQUE/Spectra Premium/Rona. The engine was running cool, our RAD in the trucks today.”

    “We had a lot of fun, we were just missing a little bit on the front end. It was a bit tight everywhere. So we made some really good changes and increase the competition on the truck, but not enough for the 24 (Moffitt) today.”

    Ben Rhodes and his No. 99 ThorSport Racing team used pit strategy during the Chevy Silverado 250 to finish third.

    “We had a solid F-150 but we were just lacking in some areas,” Rhodes told MRN Radio. “You know, Tagliani was really, really fast. Moffitt had the best of us today so we’ll go back and do our homework, but really happy to give our Havoline Ford a third-place finish. I think this would be their fifth race coming back and really excited to have them on board.”

    With Rhodes not being in the playoffs, he can now focus on winning and perhaps learning something for next years Playoffs.

    “It’s pretty much going after wins,” Rhodes added to MRN Radio. “It’s just trying to outdo people on strategy, trying to get ourselves track position the best we can and make it easiest on me as possible. So far, my crew has been doing an awesome job, the crew chief and engineer have been calling awesome races. Really proud of our efforts on that.”

    The top-five finish was Rhodes sixth of the season. He also led once for nine laps.

  • Creed and Hill have Top Five outing at Canada

    Creed and Hill have Top Five outing at Canada

    Starting 17th, Sheldon Creed had a lot of ground to make up at the road course in Canada. It wasn’t easy for him in the first Stage as he finished 15th. However, the team had him stay out for Stage 2 in order to gain track position. Creed restarted the second stage in fourth.

    Under a Lap 31 yellow, the team elected for him to come down pit road for tires and fuel. While this would put him in the back for Stage 2, Creed is out of the Playoffs. Stage points do not matter at this point in the season but pit strategy is everything.

    By staying out under the Stage 2 break, he was able to have another good starting position for the final stage by restarting sixth. Creed quietly remained in the top five until the checkered flag flew, where he finished fourth.

    “Just focus on the windshield, I had cars behind us, I think 16 (Hill) and the 45 (Chastain) started battling,” Creed told MRN Radio. “Good finish for how our weekend started. I wrecked the primary in second practice. These guys worked hard putting the back up together last night and started in the back, and try to learn as much as I could. I’m just happy with our finish here, fourth place. Battled with our teammate pretty good there at the end, he ended up locking it and kind of handed me the pass, but want to thank my guys.”

    “Chevy, GMS, everyone that helps me out and can’t wait to come back next year.”

    The fourth-place finish was Creed’s third top five of the year.

    While Creed isn’t in the Playoffs, Austin Hill is and he was looking for a good points day coming into Canada below the cut line.

    Hill qualified sixth Sunday morning and started out consistent. He finished the No. 16 HRE truck in third place in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. For the final stage, he had his work cut out for him, restarting 10th after making a pit stop under the stage break.

    However, the Georgia native was able to come back and finish fifth, rounding out the top five finishers at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in what seemed like a quiet race by Hill.

    “Our Don Valley North Toyota Tundra was really good all day,” Hill said to MRN Radio. “We struggled a little bit on center turn, getting it pinched and being able to put the throttle down with the steering wheel straight. but all in all, it was a good points day for us. I think if we were going to win, we were going to have to short pit and we wanted to go for stage points instead of short-pit because who knows if you would have won the race.”

    “All in all, to come home with the top five, that’s what we needed to do and going to Las Vegas, we’re going for another win.”

    Hill sits fifth in the playoff points standings, +5 with one race to go in the Round of 8.

  • Weekend Schedule for Road America and Canada

    Weekend Schedule for Road America and Canada

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series competes at Road America this weekend with JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier as the 2018 defending race winner. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park where Justin Haley won the event last year.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is off this week but will return next weekend at Darlington Raceway.

    Please check below for the complete schedule.

    All times are Eastern.

    Road America

    Friday, Aug. 23

    1:35 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC Sports App

    3:35 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App

    Saturday, Aug. 24

    11:40 a.m. – Xfinity Series Qualifying – Multi-car/Two rounds – NBC Sports App Live/NBCSN Tape Delay at 1:30 p.m.

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series CTECH Manufacturing 180 (45 laps/182.16 miles) – NBCSN/ MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

    Saturday, Aug. 24

    9:35 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.: Truck Series First Practice – No TV

    11:35 – 12:55 p.m.: Truck Series Final Practice – No TV

    Sunday, Aug. 25 

    9:35 a.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Multi-truck/Two rounds – FS2

    2:30 p.m. – Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 (64 laps/157.37 miles) – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

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