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Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Corey Heim, 20 laps led

2. Christian Eckes, nine laps led

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

4. Stewart Friesen, 13 laps led

5. Johnny Sauter

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Derek Kraus, 12 laps led

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

9. Zane Smith, 16 laps led

10. Chase Purdy

11. Rajah Caruth

12. Matt Crafton

13. Tyler Ankrum

14. Dean Thompson

15. Hailie Deegan

16. Jordan Anderson

17. Timmy Hill

18. Lawless Alan

19. Jack Wood

20. Jesse Little

21. Tate Fogleman

22. Blaine Perkins

23. Colby Howard

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

25. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

26. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Accident

27. Mason Maggio, one lap down

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

29. Jake Garcia, four laps led

30. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

31. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

32. Ty Majeski, 29 laps down

33. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

34. Brennan Poole – OUT, Rear gear

35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Dvp

36. Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Ross Chastain, four laps led

2. Grant Enfinger

3. John Hunter Nemechek

4. Christian Eckes, five laps led

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

6. Tanner Gray

7. Kyle Busch

8. Chandler Smith

9. Stewart Friesen

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

11. Ryan Preece, nine laps led

12. Derek Kraus, two laps led

13. Ty Majeski, four laps led

14. Colby Howard

15. Chase Purdy

16. Carson Hocevar, 57 laps led

17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

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

19. Kris Wright, one lap down

20. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

21. Timmy Hill, two laps down

22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

23. Jack Wood, two laps down

24. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

25. Austin Wayne Self, two laps down

26. Max Gutierrez, three laps down

27. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

28. Dean Thompson, four laps down

29. Tate Fogleman, four laps down

30. Blaine Perkins, four łaps down

31. Josh Reaume, five laps down

32. Jesse Little – OUT, Accident

33. Keith McGee – OUT, Suspension

34. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

35. Brennan Poole – OUT, Driveshaft

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Stewart Friesen, 60 laps led

2. Christian Eckes, 40 laps led

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

4. Carson Hocevar, four laps led

5. Ty Majeski

6. John Hunter Nemechek, 14 laps led

7. Corey Heim, one lap led

8. Chandler Smith

9. Matt Crafton

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Grant Enfinger

12. Ross Chastain

13. Todd Bodine

14. Jordan Anderson

15. Bret Holmes

16. Jack Wood

17. Hailie Deegan

18. Austin Wayne Self

19. Jesse Little

20. Timmy Hill

21. Chase Purdy, three laps led

22. Tate Fogleman

23. Brennan Poole

24. Tanner Gray

25. Tyler Hill

26. Blaine Perkins

27. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

28. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

29. Dean Thompson, three laps down

30. Lawless Alan, four laps down

31. Chris Hacker, six laps down

32. Zane Smith, six laps down

33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Overheating

34. Colby Howard, 10 laps down

35. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

36. Derek Kraus – OUT, Accident

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

May 21, 2022
Rhodes earns dominant Truck victory at Bristol Dirt Course

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

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

2. Carson Hocevar, 55 laps led

3. John Hunter Nemechek

4. Parker Kligerman

5. Christian Eckes

6. Joey Logano

7. Chase Elliott

8. Grant Enfinger

9. Matt Crafton

10. Zane Smith

11. Stewart Friesen

12. Colby Howard

13. Chase Purdy

14. Austin Dillon

15. Tanner Gray

16. Dean Thompson

17. Mike Marlar

18. Hailie Deegan

19. Chandler Smith

20. Harrison Burton

21. Ty Majeski

22. Jack Wood

23. Timmy Hill

24. Spencer Boyd

25. Blaine Perkins

26. Kaz Grala

27. Buddy Kofoid

28. Tate Fogleman, one lap down

29. Derek Kraus, one lap down

30. Lawless Alan, one lap down

31. Tyler Ankrum, three laps down

32. Andrew Gordon, four laps down

33. Kris Wright, four laps down

34. Keith McGee, four laps down

35. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down

36. Austin Wayne Self, seven laps down

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. William Byron, 94 laps led

2. Johnny Sauter

3. Kyle Busch, one lap led

4. John Hunter Nemechek

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

6. Chandler Smith, two laps led

7. Matt Crafton

8. Grant Enfinger

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

10. Tyler Ankrum

11. Ty Majeski

12. Christian Eckes

13. Stewart Friesen

14. Derek Kraus

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Parker Kligerman

17. Carson Hocevar

18. Colby Howard

19. Hailie Deegan

20. Lawless Alan

21. Tanner Gray

22. Tate Fogleman

23. Timmy Hill

24. Bret Holmes, one lap down

25. Chase Janes, one lap down

26. Taylor Gray, two laps down

27. Jesse Little, two laps down

28. Blake Lothian, two laps down

29. Chase Purdy, three laps down

30. Kris Wright, five laps down

31. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Brakes

32. Dillon Steuer – OUT, Accident

33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

34. Kaden Honeycutt – OUT, Accident

35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

36. Dean Thompson – OUT, Electrical

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

April 8, 2022
Chandler Smith claims a dramatic Truck Series victory at Las Vegas

Executing a three-lap dash to the finish and a final lap crossover move on Zane Smith to his advantage, Chandler Smith raced his way to his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, March 4.

Smith, a 19-year-old Georgia native who is currently in his second season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, led four times for a race-high 32 of 134-scheduled laps as he dueled with Zane Smith prior to the final lap before executing a final crossover move over Smith to muscle away with the victory ahead of Smith and Kyle Busch, thus becoming the second regular season winner two races into the 2022 Truck Series season.

Qualifying earlier on Friday determined the starting lineup and John Hunter Nemechek, winner of the spring Vegas event, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.583 mph at 30.238 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Kyle Busch, Nemechek’s owner who was making his first of five scheduled Truck Series starts of this season and turned in a qualifying lap at 178.000 mph, while teammate Chandler Smith made it a Kyle Busch Motorsports’ 1-2-3 sweep by qualifying in third place.

Prior to the event, Matt Jaskol dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change along with Jordan Anderson and Blaine Perkins, both of whom due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Nemechek rocketed with an early advantage ahead of teammate and owner Kyle Busch as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the first two turns and through the backstretch.

Following the first lap that was led by Nemechek, Kyle Busch moved into the lead. Soon after, Nemechek slipped to fourth place as Zane Smith and Ben Rhodes moved up towards the front.

Through the first 10 laps of the event, Busch and Zane Smith battled dead even for the lead followed by Rhodes while Nemechek and Chandler Smith were in the top five.

A lap later, Zane Smith, winner of the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February, overtook Busch to move into the lead as Rhodes also moved into the runner-up spot.

Five laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Rhodes while Chandler Smith was in third place in his No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Behind, Kyle Busch fell back to fourth place followed by Carson Hocevar and Tanner Gray while John Hunter Nemechek was back in seventh place ahead of Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton and Ryan Preece.

Through the first 20 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by nearly a second over Chandler Smith while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than a second in his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Hocevar was in fourth followed by Tanner Gray while Rhodes was back in sixth ahead of Nemechek.

A lap later, the first caution of the event flew when Blaine Perkins spun and made contact with the outside wall on the backstretch. Under caution, some led by Zane Smith pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Todd Bodine, a two-time Truck Series champion who was making his first NASCAR national touring series start since 2017, was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Stewart Friesen was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

Just as the field restarted under green on Lap 27, the caution immediately returned when Zane Smith made contact with Colby Howard in Turn 1, which sent Howard’s No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST bouncing off of Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro as he then spun in Turn 1 while Chase Purdy and Hailie Deegan also sustained damage while trying to avoid Howard. At the moment of caution, Rhodes had managed to overtake Chandler Smith for the lead. Then, NASCAR ruled that the first stage would conclude under caution. As the green and white checkered flag flew to conclude the first stage on Lap 30, Rhodes claimed his first stage victory of the season followed by Chandler Smith, Tanner Gray, rookie Jack Wood, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton, Kyle Busch, Nemechek, Ty Majeski and Zane Smith.

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

The second stage started on Lap 37 as Gray and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start and as the field fanned out, Hocevar passed Gray to take the lead while Nemechek, Kyle Busch, Majeski and Eckes battled for third place. Then in Turn 3, Majeski, Eckes and Nemechek made contact, but all three competitors managed to keep their trucks running straight as Nemechek moved up to third followed by Majeksi, Kyle Busch and Eckes while Hocevar continued to lead,

By Lap 40, Hocevar was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Gray as Kyle Busch challenged Gray for the runner-up spot.

Five laps later, Hocevar continued to retain a narrow advantage over Kyle Busch while Nemechek was in third. Behind, Gray was in fourth ahead of Ty Majeski and Rhodes.

During the following laps, however, Kyle Busch reassumed the lead. By Lap 50, Busch was leading by half a second over teammate Nemechek while Hocevar was back in third place. Gray and Majeski were in the top five followed by Rhodes, Eckes, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen and Derek Kraus.

Five laps later, the caution flew when Bodine got loose and spun his No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Turn 4. Under caution, some led by Busch pitted while the rest led by Gray remained on the track.

With the field restarting for a one-lap dash to the conclusion of the second stage, Rhodes managed to overtake Gray for the top spot and fend off the field to claim the second stage victory on Lap 60 and sweep the stages. Busch settled in second place followed by Majeski, Nemechek, Gray, Chandler Smith, Crafton, Eckes, Friesen and Derek Kraus.

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

With 68 laps remaining, the final stage started as Kyle Busch Motorsports’ competitors occupied the top-three spots. At the start, Busch received a push from teammate Nemechek to retain the lead as he brought Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro with him. Behind, Zane Smith overtook Hocevar to move into fourth place as Stewart Friesen and Ryan Preece joined the party.

Four laps later, Nemechek ignited a side-by-side battle against owner Kyle Busch for the lead. While teammates Nemechek and Busch battled for the lead, Friesen and Zane Smith started to challenge Chandler Smith for third place.

A few laps later, the caution returned for an incident involving Chase Purdy and Jack Wood. At the moment of caution, Nemechek emerged with the lead ahead of his two KBM teammates. Under caution, Crafton and Spencer Boyd pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track.

With 57 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek received a push from teammate Chandler Smith to retain the lead. Behind, Zane Smith moved up to third while Kyle Busch was left in a battle with Hocevar for fourth.

Seven laps later, Nemechek was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Chandler Smith while bossman Kyle Busch trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Zane Smith was in fourth followed by Derek Kraus while Friesen, Preece, Eckes, Rhodes and Hocevar were in the top 10. Grant Enfinger was in 11th followed by Gray, Tyler Antrum, Matt DiBenedetto and Majeski while Crafton was mired back in 23rd. In between Matt Mills and Kaz Grala. Meanwhile, Todd Bodine was in 26th.

With 45 laps remaining, the caution returned when Bodine spun in Turn 4 and across pit road as his rear deck lid came loose despite making significant contact with any obstacles.

Under caution, the leaders except for Timmy Hill peeled to pit road and Nemechek retained the lead followed by teammates Busch and Chandler Smith. Following the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Hill dropped to the rear of the field and yielded the lead to the KBM competitors.

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Nemechek and Chandler Smith battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns before Smith peaked ahead through the backstretch. As Smith took the lead, Eckes challenged Nemechek for the runner-up spot while Rhodes, Kyle Busch, Hocevar and Nemechek battled.

Two laps later, the caution returned when Hocevar, who was overtaken by Rhodes and Busch in Turn 3, got loose and was hit by Preece’s No. 17 United Rentals Ford F-150 before spinning his No. 42 Premier Security Solutions Chevrolet Silverado RST through the frontstretch grass.

Then as the field restarted with 32 laps remaining, the caution returned during the following lap when Ty Majeski got loose entering Turn 4 and turned his teammate Ben Rhodes, sending Rhodes’ No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro hard into the outside wall and out of the race as his truck briefly came off the ground.

Down to the final 23 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as teammates Chandler Smith and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Smith rocketed ahead with the lead as Eckes made his way into second place ahead of Busch.

Three laps remaining, Chandler Smith was leading by a narrow margin over teammate Busch while Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Nemechek were in the top five. By then, Carson Hocevar was posted for changing lanes prior to the restart.

Then with 16 laps remaining, Kris Wright drew the caution when he spun his No. 44 iHeartRadio Chevrolet Silverado RST in Turn 2.

Five laps later, the race resumed to green flag competition as teammates Chandler Smith and Eckes occupied the front row once again. At the start, Eckes received a strong push from Preece to take the lead as Kyle Busch made a move to the outside lane to rocket pass teammate Smith, who was falling out of the lead pack. Shortly after, Busch overtook Preece for the runner-up spot as he pursued Eckes for the lead.

Then with nine laps remaining, Eckes, who was challenged by Busch for the lead, spun after making contact with Busch, which sent Eckes’ No, 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sliding below the banking and pounding the infield wall drivers’ side before coming back across the track with significant damage despite being dodged by the field. While Busch proceeded with the lead, Eckes’ strong run concluded in the garage.

Down to the final three laps of the event, the field restarted under green. At the start, Zane Smith emerged with the top spot following a strong start over Kyle Busch as the field fanned out entering the backstretch. Behind, Preece and Chandler Smith placed Kyle Busch in a three-wide situation as Smith moved into second place followed by Busch while Preece slipped in Turn 3.

During the following lap, Zane Smith continued to lead ahead of a hard-charging Chandler Smith while Kyle Busch remained in third. Then through the backstretch, Derek Kraus, who got loose during the initial lap, made contact with Grant Enfinger, which sent Kraus’ No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST bouncing off of Nemechek’s No. 4 Toyota before slipping sideways below the banking. In spite of the incident, Kraus continued as the race proceeded under green.

Back at the front, Chandler Smith drew himself alongside Zane Smith’s No. 38 Michael Roberts Construction Ford F-150 through Turns 3 and 4 while Kyle Busch lurked behind the two leaders.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith dueled for the lead as Chandler peaked ahead on the outside lane. Then in Turn 1, Chandler Smith remained on the outside lane in front of teammate Kyle Busch while Zane Smith tried to clear the two Kyle Busch Motorsports competitors from the bottom lane entering Turn 2. Chandler Smith, however, pulled a crossover move against Zane Smith’s slide job process, which gave Chandler’s No. 18 Toyota the inside lane as he rocketed back to the lead entering Turn 3. As Zane Smith was unable to mount another challenge for the lead, Chandler Smith was able to able to pull away and cross the finish line in first place by less than three-tenths of a second over Zane Smith followed by the field.

As the field took the checkered flag, Grant Enfinger crossed the finish line on fire and with damage to his No. 23 Champion Chevrolet Silverado RST after making contact with the outside wall in Turn 3. Behind, Nemechek, who was losing ground following the contact with Kraus, was involved in a vicious accident after spinning before being t-boned by Jordan Anderson in Turn 3. Also involved was Spencer Boyd, who dislocated his shoulder and announced plans to check in to a hospital for get x-rays.

With the victory, Chandler Smith notched his third Camping World Truck Series career win in his 40th series start. He also recorded the first victory of the season for Kyle Busch Motorsports and the first NASCAR win for the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro stock car.

“When you guys tune into me halfway through the race, ‘how did he get up there?”’ Smith, who motioned towards the sky, said on FS1. “It’s the good Lord, man. He performs miracles all day. He’s given me this talent, this opportunity to drive this truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports and for [sponsor] Safelite. I’m just beyond thankful for this whole opportunity. All the glory goes to Him, all my guys, my wife, everybody’s that’s a part of this deal that deals with me, honestly, every single day. I’m just super thankful right now. Man, I’m just another guy that’s just trying to race cars for a living. I’ll do whatever the good Lord lets me do.”

Zane Smith, who was trying to claim back-to-back victories after winning the season-opening event at Daytona, settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, who led 31 of 134-scheduled laps.

“[Chandler Smith’s truck] was, definitely, the best truck tonight,” Busch said. “They did a great job being able to execute there. We split him on that second-to-last restart and there on that last restart, he split us. Kind of a little payback, I guess, but then I was worried that [Zane Smith] was gonna win. Overall, [Chandler Smith] was able to get a good run and get cleared down the backstretch here. Really proud of those guys. [Crew chief] Danny [Stockman Jr.] and Chandler both just executed very well tonight. Cool to see [sponsor] Safelite in Victory Lane with them. Our JBL Tundra was just not quite as good as theirs…Overall, a really good night. First and third.”

Following the event, however, Zane Smith was disqualified and stripped of his runner-up result when his truck failed post-race inspection because his lug nuts did not conform to the rule book.

With Busch promoted to second place behind teammate Chandler Smith, Friesen was credited with third place followed by Ryan Preece and Tanner Gray. Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton, Bret Holmes, Austin Wayne Self and Ty Majeski finished in the top 10. The seventh-place result for Crafton occurred in his 500th Truck Series consecutive career start.

Dean Thompson was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 11th behind Ty Majeski, Todd Bodine finished 21st, Enfinger finished 23rd and Nemechek managed to finish 25th on the lead lap.

There were 21 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 52 laps.

Following his victory, Chandler Smith leads the regular-season standings by five points over Tanner Gray, 15 over Ty Majeski, 17 over Ben Rhodes and 22 over Stewart Friesen.

Results.

1. Chandler Smith, 32 laps led

2. Kyle Busch, 31 laps led

3. Stewart Friesen

4. Ryan Preece, three laps led

5. Tanner Gray, seven laps led

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Matt Crafton

8. Bret Holmes

9. Austin Wayne Self

10. Ty Majeski

11. Dean Thompson

12. Tate Fogleman

13. Carson Hocevar, nine laps led

14. Chase Purdy

15. Matt Mills

16. Tyler Ankrum

17. Kris Wright

18. Timmy Hill

19. Lawless Alan

20. Loris Hezemans

21. Todd Bodine

22. Matt Jaskol

23. Grant Enfinger

24. Derek Kraus

25. John Hunter Nemechek, 23 laps led

26. Jordan Anderson – OUT, Accident

27. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident

28. Christian Eckes – OUT, Accident, four laps led

29. Thad Moffitt, 20 laps down

30. Kaz Grala – OUT, Engine

31. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident, nine laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

32. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

33. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Accident

34. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

35. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Dvp

36. Zane Smith – Disqualified, 15 laps led

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitors and teams will return to action at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

March 5, 2022
Eckes inks full-time Camping World Truck Series ride with ThorSport Racing

ThorSport Racing announced that Christian Eckes will be returning to the organization and campaign as a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor for the upcoming racing season.

Eckes, a 21-year-old native from Middletown, New York, and the 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion, will be piloting the No. 98 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and carry sponsorship support from AHI Facility Services, Inc. for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. He will be a teammate to three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton and the reigning Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes.

Eckes is coming off a part-time season with ThorSport Racing, where he drove the No. 98 Toyota in nine of the 23-race schedule while sharing the ride with Grant Enfinger. During his stint, Eckes scored his first Truck Series career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September during the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs and recorded an additional four top-10 results.

“I am extremely excited to be back with ThorSport Racing and ready to kick the year off at Daytona with AHI Facility Services on the No. 98 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro,” Eckes said. “This is an amazing opportunity and I’m more than ready to show that I belong.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ThorSport Racing this season,” Todd Haddock, President of AHI Facility Services, Inc., added, “I am excited to see the AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra TRD Pro hit the track at Daytona with Christian Eckes.”

Prior to ThorSport Racing, Eckes made 35 Truck career starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports from 2018 to 2020. He competed for KBM on a full-time basis in 2020, where he made the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs and finished in eighth place in the final standings.

Through 2021, Eckes has recorded one victory, three poles, 12 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.2 in 45 career starts in the Truck Series.

Eckes’ full-time campaign with ThorSport Racing is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 with coverage to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

February 3, 2022
Christian Eckes secures first Truck Series win at Las Vegas
Former ARCA Menards Series champion Christian Eckes took home his first-ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night. He did so with help from his ThorSport Racing teammates and after passing Todd Gilliland on a late-race restart.

“I knew we had a shot on that restart,” Eckes said about the victory. “For whatever reason, our restarts have been stellar. The last one all we had to do was go forward one spot and we were able to do that. The 16 (Austin Hill) was able to give me a great push and my teammate (Ben Rhodes) gave me a good push too. My Curb Records Tundra was really damn good.

“Just proud of my whole team, this is a brand new truck we brought here. Our team did well finishing 1-2-3-4. My crew chief’s (Jeriod Prince) first win and my first win, it was a great night.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series headed west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to begin the Round of 6 in the Truck Series Playoffs, a race that took an interesting turn Friday night. Stages of 30/30/74 laps made up the 134-lap event. John Hunter Nemechek was on the pole by virtue of NASCAR’s metric system.

There was only one caution in Stage 1 and it happened only three laps into the event. The No. 45 of Chris Hacker crashed off Turn 4 and brought out the only yellow of the stage. Nemechek had a dominant truck early and led every lap of Stage 1 to take the stage victory. Gilliland, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Zane Smith, Eckes, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum were the top 10 finishers.

During Stage 2, the action picked up with two cautions and a major incident that impacted two of the playoff drivers, John Hunter Nemechek and Zane Smith. On Lap 38, Zane Smith went three-wide with Nemechek and Friesen, only to cut down a left-rear tire and bring out the yellow. Under the yellow, his No. 21 truck eventually lost power, but the team replaced the battery with a new one.

Nemechek’s issues began on Lap 48. The Mooresville, North Carolina native slowed on the backstretch and brought out the yellow on Lap 52 as he had no ignition fire. He did, however, get the truck refired.

Meanwhile, Todd Gilliland turned the page and scored the stage victory. Rhodes, Carson Hocevar, Friesen, Creed, Tanner Gray, Austin Hill, Matt Crafton, Eckes, and Chandler Smith rounded out the top 10.

Stage 3 was even more intriguing. A major crash occurred on Lap 70 with multiple trucks involved, including playoff drivers Chandler Smith and Creed. Creed’s teammate, Ankrum, spun off Turn 2 which caused a chain of events. Creed went to the bottom to miss the accident but was not clear and he plowed into the back of Smith’s truck. The accident ended the night for both drivers. Creed and Smith were treated and released from the infield care center following the incident.

Later on in the stage, Nemechek’s problems continued to worsen. He once again brought out the yellow flag with 54 to go after stalling on the backstretch. Due to his mechanical problems, Nemechek was relegated to 33rd place finish, 49 laps down.

The final caution of the night came inside 10 laps to go when the No. 42 of Carson Hocevar spun prior to pit road. The Niece Motorsports driver was penalized one lap for bringing out the yellow intentionally.

With a four-lap restart, Gilliland hoped to gain his second win since Circuit of Americus back in May. However, Eckes powered right on by and eventually grabbed his first Truck Series victory with his ThorSport teammates Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and Johnny Sauter taking the top four spots. It was the first time in series history that one team has accomplished the feat.

“It’s tough to begin with but at this track it’s even crazier,” Rhodes said about finishing second. “We all saw at this track the restarts were wild all night long. I think I’m just happy with the night. Come in from Bristol, barely getting in, and now I hear we are the points leader. But I couldn’t be more proud of ThorSport Racing. Heck, we were one-through-four. I heard that was the first time in series history.”

“I’m super proud of Christian Eckes. I gave him as big of a shove as I could down the backstretch and when that happened, he got the lead. I thought I could challenge him. We needed one more corner before that caution came out and maybe I could have challenged him for the win, but super proud of him. He deserves it. He’s been working hard on it, and with his part-time schedule, it’s really good to see. ThorSport Racing is on fire tonight.”

Meanwhile, playoff driver Matt Crafton continued his consistency by finishing third. With the exception of Watkins Glen (finishing 22nd), Crafton has finished inside the Top 10 or five since Nashville back in June.

“These guys behind pit wall. Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) and them making all of the right adjustments,” Crafton said. “We’ve never ever made as many adjustments as we did tonight. The Menards Toyota Tundra was good on long runs, but our short run speed – we were pathetic. We weren’t wanting that last restart but we did. I thought I had a good run off turn four and was going to try to do something with the 98 (Christian Eckes) and then the 99 (Ben Rhodes) turned underneath me and drove on by me. All-in-all, I’m really happy for Duke and Rhonda Thorson. 1-2-3-4, I don’t think that has ever been done. Thanks to Menards and everybody.”

Eckes led once for four laps en route to victory.

There were 10 cautions for 39 laps and 14 lead changes among 11 different leaders.

Updated Truck Series Playoff standings following Race 1 in the Round of 6:
1. Ben Rhodes, +34
2. John Hunter Nemechek, +28
3. Stewart Friesen, +9
4. Matt Crafton, +5
  Below the cut line
5. Sheldon Creed, -5
6. Carson Hocevar, -16
7. Zane Smith, -19
8. Chandler Smith, -24
Official Results following Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1. Christian Eckes, led four laps
2. Ben Rhodes, led five laps
3. Matt Crafton
4. Johnny Sauter, led two laps
5. Todd Gilliland, won Stage 2, led 66 laps
6. Stewart Friesen, led one lap
7. Grant Enfinger
8. Austin Wayne Self
9. Ryan Truex
10. Austin Hill, led 12 laps
11. Bret Holmes, led one lap
12. Derek Kraus
13. Chase Purdy
14. Tate Fogleman, led one lap
15. Spencer Davis
16. Kris Wright
17. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
18. Danny Bohn, 1 lap down
19. Spencer Boyd, 1 lap down
20. CJ McLaughlin, 1 lap down
21. Dylan Lupton, 1 lap down
22. Carson Hocevar, 2 laps down, led 8 laps
23. Tanner Gray, 2 laps down
24. Drew Dollar, 2 laps down
25. Brett Moffitt, 3 laps down, led one lap
26. Howie DiSavino III, 4 laps down
27. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 5 laps down
28. Cory Roper, 13 laps down
29. Zane Smith, 19 laps down
30. Jack Wood, OUT, Accident
31. Hailie Deegan, OUT, Accident
32. Keith McGee, OUT, Too slow
33. John Hunter Nemechek, 49 laps down, won Stage 1, led 33 laps
34. Tyler Ankrum, OUT, Accident
35. Chandler Smith, OUT, Accident
36. Sheldon Creed, OUT, Accident
37. Chris Hacker, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
Up Next: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head back east to Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, October 2, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 1 p.m. ET.
September 25, 2021
Todd Gilliland tops final Truck Series practice at Martinsville

Kyle Busch Motorsports dominated the two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practices Friday at Martinsville Speedway as Todd Gilliland posted the fasted lap in his No. 4 Toyota with a speed of 95.694 mph.

Harrison Burton was second fastest (95.247) followed by defending Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt (95.170), Johnny Sauter (95.141) and rookie Sam Mayer who rounded out the top-five with a 95.036 mph.

Kyle Busch Motorsports also topped the leader board during the first Truck Series practice with driver Christian Eckes who had the fastest lap in his No. 51 Toyota at a speed of 95.391 mph. Ross Chastain, Sheldon Creed, Ben Rhodes and Gilliland rounded out the top five in the first practice.

Matt Crafton had the best 10 consecutive lap average with a speed of 94.054 mph followed by Sheldon Creed, Grant Enfinger, Sam Mayer and Tyler Ankrum.

Mayer, in only his second series start, was the fastest driver in the 30-minute rookie practice session held Friday morning with a speed of 93.604 mph. Tanner Grey who will be making his first Truck Series start was second-fastest (92.969) and Codie Rohrbaugh was third (92.751 mph). Danny Bohn, also making his first series start, was fourth (92.466 mph) and Natalie Decker, in her first Truck Series race at Martinsville, was fifth fastest with a 90.833 mph lap.

Truck Series qualifying is Saturday at 10:05 a.m. ET followed by the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 race at 1:30 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1. This is the second race in the Playoffs Round of 6.

Moffitt is the current leader in the points standings. Stewart Friesen, Austin Hill, Crafton, Ankrum and Ross Chastain make up the remaining championship contenders in this round.

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

October 25, 2019
Christian Eckes dominates to win the race and ARCA championship at Kansas
It was a dominating race by the Venturini Motorsports team at Kansas Speedway and a battle between two championship contenders, Michael Self and Christian Eckes, that was decided by one position on the race track. Even an engine change would not stop Eckes from winning. The New York native took the lead on Lap 58, never looked back and went on to win the race and the ARCA Menards Series championship.

“The day didn’t go smoothly at all,” Eckes said. “We had an engine problem in qualifying and the guys had to change it an hour before the race. We started at the back and we were in the top 10 in five laps. The car was on a rail all night.”

When the Kansas 150 started, it was all Michael Self who was trying to hunt down Eckes for the championship as Eckes held the championship by 15 points. In the first half of the race, Self had the dominating car and it was his race to lose at that point.

There were only two cautions in the season finale. On Lap 39 the first caution flew for the No. 4 of Drew Dollar who was in the wall off Turn 4. During the first caution a round of pit stops was seen and a couple of drivers had issues. The No. 54 of Tanner Gray overshot his pit box and the No. 55 of Hailie Deegan was too fast entering pit road. The second yellow flew on Lap 52 for Tim Richmond in the No. 06 after he spun off Turn 2.

The Lap 52 caution was a pivotal moment in the race. After Self dominated the first half, it was Eckes turn to take the lead. And so he did. Eckes took the lead on Lap 58 and from there the Middletown, New York native held on and went on to win the championship and race.

It was Eckes’ first ARCA Menards Series championship of his career at age 18 and his fourth win of the season.

“It’s huge,” Eckes added, saying that winning the championship helped his confidence immensely. “It hasn’t been the smoothest of years but the fact we were able to win really boosted my confidence. We came back from missing a race and came back today from qualifying in the back. I can’t stress this enough of how good this team is coming back from these situations and we proved that today. I told them in the race, we can’t have what happened in qualifying define us. Everybody did a great job and that’s why we’re in victory lane.”

Self, Eckes’ teammate, finished second in the race.

“Second sucks,” Self said after visiting Eckes in victory lane. “I am thankful to have the opportunity to come and race for a championship. We won four times but we had a lot of ups and downs. I wish it would have turned out differently but I am really happy for Christian and the Venturini team. I just wish it played out in our favor tonight.”

Only one lead change took place between only two drivers. Two cautions slowed the pace for 12 laps. Eckes won the ARCA Menards Series championship by 25 points over Self.

Official Results
1. Christian Eckes, led 43 laps
2. Michael Self, led 58 laps
3. Ty Majeski
4. Bret Holmes
5. Travis Braden
6. Tanner Gray
7. Drew Dollar
8. Hailie Deegan
9. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down
10. Gus Dean, one lap down
11. Sheldon Creed, two laps down
12. Harrison Burton, three laps down
13. Carson Ware, three laps down
14. Scott Melton, four laps down
15. Ed Pompa, five laps down
16. Riley Herbst, five laps down
17. Tim Richmond, 10 laps down
18. Eric Caudell, OUT, Electrical
19. Tommy Vigh Jr., OUT, Vibration
20. Brad Smith, OUT, Vibration
21. Dick Doheny, OUT, Electrical
22. Wayne Peterson, OUT, Brakes
October 19, 2019