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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Talladega
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend and it’s the final race in the Round of 8. Two drivers will be eliminated in competing for the playoffs after the race is over.

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

Surprisingly, there have only been 11 races dating back to the first race in 2006, when NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin earned the win.

In the past five races, there were three different winners, while Timothy Peters, who will not be competing this weekend, has repeated in the past two races. The lowest a winner has come from is 24th back in 2013 set by Johnny Sauter and the highest starting spot winner was from the pole at least three times in 2006, 2007 and 2015, respectively.

Here’s a look at who we can expect to be a strong contender for the win this weekend.
1. 1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the best active driver statistically at Talladega. In five races, he has one win (2013), two top five and four top 10 finishes, but has one DNF in 2014. His average starting position is 14.0, while his average finishing position is 9.0. Anything can happen at Talladega, but Sauter might just pull off a win.
  2. Christopher Bell – Bell won’t have anything to worry about as he already is locked into the next round, but he’ll be fighting for some extra playoff points. In two races, he has a finish of 13th and sixth, respectively. Bell has an average finishing position of 9.5. Look for him to be up front on Saturday.
  3. Kaz Grala – No career starts for Grala at Talladega, but he has high expectations after becoming the youngest-ever winner at Daytona earlier this season. A win will certainly help him to move on to the next round as he sits below the cut line.
  4. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger just might be the spoiler in the playoffs Saturday afternoon. In last year’s race, he pulled off the win after leading for 45 laps. So if he ends up in victory lane at the end of the day, don’t find it surprising that the Alabama driver plays as the spoiler.
  5. Ben Rhodes – While his result from last year’s race may not look pretty, he is carrying momentum after his first career win at Las Vegas two weekends ago. He, along with others, will be fighting for stage points throughout the race.
There will be two practices scheduled for Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. ET both on FS1. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1.Race coverage begins on FS1 and MRN Radio at noon ET, with the green flag dropping at 1:22 p.m. ET.
October 10, 2017
Four Takeaways from the Camping World Truck Series Race-Las Vegas
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series went to the wild west this past Saturday night in Las Vegas. The trucks are known for their exciting races and this one sure didn’t disappoint. Here are four takeaways from the Las Vegas 350.
1. Ben Rhodes Gets First Career Win – After coming close at Kansas earlier in the year and only coming up short due to an engine failure, Rhodes finally broke through and scored his first win on Saturday night in a last-lap thriller. Rhodes did a solid job of driving and racing his own race until the last lap came where he held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell off Turn 4 right at the finish line. With this win, Rhodes is now locked into the Round of 6 and will not have to worry about the pressures/wild card of Talladega.
2. Christopher Bell Has Another Strong Finish – If Bell does not end up in victory lane, then he is for sure close to it. He recorded his 12th top five of the year Saturday night. This will only help Bell further his championship chances. Surely, he will be a championship lock for the final four, if nothing goes sour for the rest of the season.
3. Brad Keselowski Racing Earns Top Five Finish – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric both had strong runs Saturday night. But, it shouldn’t be surprising, since both of the BKR trucks swept the top spots in last year’s race. Both of them, however, needed the strong runs to help continue their championship chances.
4. Kaz Grala and John Hunter Nemechek Need Great Finish At Talladega – Two playoffs drivers are in danger of being eliminated from the Round of 8 next weekend at Talladega, but anything can happen. Grala could earn two stage wins and be safe as long as he doesn’t get collected in a wreck. Nemechek will most likely need a win in order to move on. However, there are still two drivers who will have to go home and be eliminated after all is said and done. Although, no one can predict the unpredictability of Talladega, which makes the race fun to watch for the fans.
October 5, 2017
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Las Vegas
The second race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took place in Sin City at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday night. The race did not disappoint as it ended in a last-lap thriller and a first-time winner.
1. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes did everything right when he scored his first win Saturday night. In the first stage, he finished sixth. However, after some varying pit strategies, Rhodes went on to win the second stage, thus earning Playoff points. Rhodes lost the lead for a little while until the last caution came out with 15 to go. The final restart came with seven to go. Rhodes took advantage of it as he went on to lead the last seven laps of the race and held off Christopher Bell in a last-lap thriller. He beat Bell by 0.066 seconds.
2. Christopher Bell – Bell came oh so close to earning another win in the 2017 season. He dominated most of the race by leading three times for 64 laps, and finished third in Stage 1, while he finished second in Stage 2. The last time Bell led was from lap 133-138. After the final caution, Bell tried all he could to chase down and pass Rhodes, but was unable to do so and had to settle for second. Nonetheless, still a dominating night in Las Vegas for the JBL Tundra driver, who turned 52 points.
3. Kaz Grala – Even though Grala finished inside the top 10 at New Hampshire, he needed to continue his strong run if he wanted to advance to the next round. Grala did that Saturday night despite being involved in an incident on Lap 43. He came through in Stage 1 by finishing seventh but fell outside the top 10 in Stage 2. Grala eventually rebounded and scored a fifth-place finish. Still, he sits seventh, eight points below the cut line. He’ll have to either win a stage or a race at Talladega, in order to advance to the Round of 6.
4. Chase Briscoe – It shouldn’t be a surprise that a Brad Keselowski Racing driver finished in the top five at Las Vegas as they finished 1-2 last year. Briscoe put on a dominating performance in Stage 1 by leading all 35 laps and won the stage. In a strong run for Stage 2, the No. 29 BKR driver finished sixth. Even though Briscoe did not lead for the rest of the night, he finished strong by placing third. He’ll still need a good finish, possibly a stage win, at Talladega to advance on to the Round of 6.
5. Cody Coughlin – Coughlin has had an up and down 2017 season. Statistically, he has three DNF’s and before Vegas, his best finish was eighth at Pocono. He didn’t place in any of the stages but when it counted, Coughlin rallied to a sixth-place finish.
October 1, 2017
Ben Rhodes Holds Off Christopher Bell to Win in Last Lap Thriller at Las Vegas

Ben Rhodes claimed his first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series race Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, holding off Christopher Bell in the final laps to win by a margin of 0.066 seconds.

The ThorSport Racing driver took the lead on the final restart with seven laps to go in his No. 27 Toyota, leading twice for a total of 20 laps, on his way to Victory Lane. With this win, Rhodes is locked into the Round of 6.

“I used every play in my playbook,” said Rhodes said after the race. “I knew if I could keep him (Bell) close to me, he couldn’t break the (air) bubble. This is the biggest high of my life.

“So many things have gone wrong and now here I am in Victory Lane.”

Chase Briscoe finished third in his No. 29 Ford while Austin Cindric and Kaz Grala rounded out the top five.

On Saturday afternoon, Ryan Truex and Johnny Sauter set the front row spots in qualifying for the Las Vegas 350 Truck Series race. Stage 1 and 2 were 35 laps each with a final stage of 76 laps.

The first stage got off to a wild start. There was a pack of trucks that were three wide down the backstretch and unfortunately, Myatt Snider was bumped from behind by Stewart Friesen and was sent sideways in Turn 3.

After that, the action calmed a bit as Briscoe jumped out to the lead and was able to go on to win Stage 1. Sauter, Bell, Truex, Matt Crafton, Rhodes, Grala, Cindric, Friesen and Noah Gragson rounded out the top 10.

Stage 2 began on Lap 41 and just like the beginning of the race, there was tons of action on the first lap of the stage. Sauter missed a shift and got tapped from behind by Cindric which caused a chain reaction crash that involved Grala, Friesen, Austin Wayne Self and Justin Haley. Grala and Sauter were the only ones with major cosmetic damage.

On Lap 47, Bell went to the lead. The action didn’t stop there as Briscoe, Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, Rhodes and Truex had a tight battle for the lead. However, on Lap 55, Cindric went sideways through the grass after a side-draft gone wrong with Grant Enfinger.

With a restart on Lap 61, Rhodes took the lead and never looked backed as he went to take Stage 2.

The third final stage went underway on Lap 77. After varying pit strategies, Cindric, who pitted for fuel only and Gragson, who stayed out, were marked as the leaders for a short while.

On Lap 81, playoff contenders, Crafton, Sauter and Cindric made contact with each other on the backstretch. Due to the contact, Sauter had a flat tire. As he went to pit, Sauter was deemed too fast entering pit road and again was caught for speeding.

Bell regained the lead on Lap 87. With 40 to go, Gragson began to pit for his scheduled pit stop but was caught speeding twice and ended up doing a stop-and-go penalty.

Green flag pit stops began with 25 laps to go. This saw most of the leaders pit, except for Playoff contender John Hunter Nemechek who was trying to stretch it to the finish on fuel. The final caution came out with 15 to go as Austin Wayne Self had a tire go down and slammed the outside wall hard. Unfortunately, Nemechek ran out of fuel and stalled his truck on pit road, ending his hopes at a shot for the win.

There were six cautions for 32 laps and seven leaders among 11 lead changes.

Playoffs Points
1. Christopher Bell (W)
2. Ben Rhodes (W)
3. Matt Crafton -51
4 . Johnny Sauter -54
5. Chase Briscoe -68
6. Austin Cindric -70
Below the cut line
7. Kaz Grala -78
8. John Hunter Nemechek -84

Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes a week off before heading to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 12, for the Fred’s 250, the final race in the Round of 8.

September 30, 2017
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Las Vegas
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their Round of 8 playoffs run this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Currently, there are 28 trucks on the preliminary entry list for this weekend.

If past history repeats and it does, Las Vegas Motor Speedway can except a new winner at the track. Which one that will be is yet to be determined.

In the past five races, there have been five different winners. And with a little bit of luck, you can win from the back. Tyler Reddick did that last year after starting 16th.
1. Matt Crafton – Despite having a run that Crafton didn’t want last weekend at New Hampshire, he could back that up with a win this weekend at Las Vegas. In the past five starts, Crafton has two top fives and four top 10 finishes, along with one pole position. His average finishing position is 6.4 and he has led 118 laps. Crafton could finally cross Las Vegas off the tracks he has not won yet.
2. Christopher Bell – Even though Bell has only one start here, don’t let that fool you as he’s carrying momentum after his win last weekend. In last year’s race, Bell finished sixth in his first race at Las Vegas. He could certainly make things interesting if he wins Saturday night.
3. Austin Cindric – Cindric could be a surprise on Saturday. While he does not have any career starts at the 1.5-mile track, Brad Keselowski Racing has a great track record. In the 2016 race, the team drivers swept the top two spots in the finishing order. Cindric could definitely use a strong run this weekend to help him move up the charts in the playoff point standings, as he sits fifth, 57 points behind.
4. Timothy Peters – Peters return to the Truck Series Saturday night after a hiatus since Texas Motor Speedway. He could spoil the playoff party by winning and it wouldn’t be a surprise. In terms of stats at Las Vegas, Peters sits first. He has one win, three top fives and five top 10 finishes, along with 73 laps led. It’ll be great to see the 10-time winner back in the series. Peters will be driving the No. 02 truck, replacing Tyler Young, who normally drives.
5. Johnny Sauter – Among the experienced, Sauter is expected to run well at Las Vegas. In the past five races, Sauter has one top five and two top 10 finishes. He has led 13 laps with the best finish of second coming in 2013.
Worthy of mention – Travis Pastrana also returns to NASCAR racing for a one-off, driving Al Niece’s No. 45 Chevrolet.

The stages will be broken into 35 laps, 70 laps and the final stage making up the 146 lap race. This will be a one-day event as two practices will take place at 11:30 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET. Qualifying will begin at 6:10 p.m. ET on FS2, but will then switch to FS1.

The green flag drops at 8:19 p.m. ET both on FS1 and MRN Radio. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.
September 28, 2017
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-New Hampshire
The Round of 8 began this past weekend for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While there were some surprises in the top 10 results, most of it saw the normal faces up front. Here are this week’s power rankings.
1. 1. Christopher Bell – Bell continued his dominant season and starts the Playoffs off with the win going into the next round. He led three times for 73 laps and won both stages. Bell also gained seven playoff points after his fifth career victory of 2017. He certainly dominated this weekend at New Hampshire and is safe for at least the next two races in this round.
    
    Noah Gragson – Despite not getting the finish he wanted and missing out on the playoffs, Gragson dominated most of Stage 1 until Bell passed him late in the stage. However, the second stage did not go as well as the first stage did for the Las Vegas driver. On lap 65, Gragson was involved in a multi-truck accident involving a tap by Ben Rhodes. Playoff contender, Johnny Sauter, was also collected as he had right side damage to his truck. Gragson could not rebound after this wreck and wound up 15th on the scoring charts.
    
    Todd Gilliland – The young 17-year-old was not to be denied at the “Magic Mile” on Saturday afternoon. In Stage 1, he finished eighth. However, during the pit stops after the stage was over, Gilliland was nabbed with a pit road penalty for running over equipment. This sent him to the back before Stage 2 started, although, Gilliland charged through the front late and ended up finishing third. Nice rebound after getting tabbed with a penalty early on.
    
    Stewart Friesen – Friesen has been a solid 2017 season so far, despite not competing in the full schedule. Prior to New Hampshire, Pocono in July was the site that saw the best finish of his career by finishing 12th. However, he upped that this past Saturday by finishing fifth, scoring his second top five of the year.
    
    Grant Enfinger – Enfinger is another driver who missed the playoffs this year but had a solid outing at New Hampshire. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. At the end of the day, when all was settled and done with, Enfinger earned a fourth-place finish.
Next Up: The Round of 8 continues this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While one driver is locked in, seven others will look to lock themselves in as well and punch their ticket to the next round.
September 25, 2017
Christopher Bell Hopes to Turn Strong Run into Championship at End of the Year

Christopher Bell has had a great 2017 season so far. The No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra driver has four wins, 10 top fives and 14 top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 6.6 and 592 laps led. If Bell carries this kind of consistency into the postseason playoffs, he’ll for sure be a lock into the final four. Bell was among the final four drivers last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he ended up finishing eighth, third in the playoff standings. He believes that this is an important factor in capturing his first championship.

“Well last year I felt like we were able to really capitalize on consistency,” Bell said. “We got a win in the middle part of the year at Gateway last year, but overall we just weren’t able to consistently compete for wins, but we were able to knock down those top-fives, those top-eights and that’s essentially what got us all the way to Homestead.”

However, the 2017 season has been a night and day difference for Bell.

“This year it’s been a little bit different progress,” Bell said. “We’ve been able to compete for wins a lot more often and win a lot more races and hopefully we can continue that and win our way to Homestead.”

A new addition to the 2017 NASCAR season was added back in January, which is called playoff points. Any driver finishing in the top 10 during a stage or winning stage, race, earns a different amount of points. But Bell has a different mindset about how the playoff points will affect how this year’s champion will be decided.

“Well, that’s going back to what I said earlier, I don’t think it changes our mind at all,” Bell said. “We’re going to go out there and try and compete for wins and know that we’ve got those bonus points in our back pocket, but don’t rely on them. The biggest thing is just no mistakes. If you get through with no mistakes, especially where I’m at and where Johnny (Sauter) is at, we’re in pretty good shape through this first round and assuming some of these guys back here don’t win, we should be okay through the second round too. But we want to win races. All of us want to win races and so that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

September 21, 2017
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-New Hampshire
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues the on-track action this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not only do they continue the on-track action, but the Round of 8 begins and it starts the championship run to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Here’s a look at who will be hot this weekend in Loudon.

Loudon is an interesting place for the Camping World Truck Series. The series raced there consecutively from 1996-2011. However, the series recently made its return to the track in 2014. Here’s a look at who’s hot at New Hampshire.

There are currently 30 drivers on the preliminary entry list.

Since its return in 2014, there have been three different winners in the past three races. Only a few drivers have experience here, while there will be rookies making their first start.
1. 1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is carrying momentum after his win last week at Chicago. In the past three races, he has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 5.7. With the momentum, it won’t be surprising if Sauter ends up winning at New Hampshire. Sauter is also hungry as he does not have a win at this track. Look for him to be a contender on Saturday afternoon.
  2. Christopher Bell – In one start at New Hampshire, which came last year, Bell finished a solid second. During that race, he even led 11 laps in his track debut.
  3. Matt Crafton – Crafton will look to put his dismal Chicagoland weekend behind him and it could happen this weekend at New Hampshire. In the past three races, Crafton finished third, second and third, respectively. Not to mention, he leads all active drivers with three top fives and top 10 finishes, and an average finish of 2.7.
  4. John Hunter Nemechek – If there is a track similar to New Hampshire, it’s Gateway Motorsports Park. Gateway was the site of his first win of the season. Nemechek may be the fourth best driver to compete this weekend. He has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 6.3. New Hampshire just might be the place where Nemechek could once again set the Truck Series on fire.
  5. Kaz Grala – Grala has one start in the Truck Series at New Hampshire. In the 2016 race, he finished seventh. Something Grala once again has to do this weekend.
On track action begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET with first practice and final practice taking place at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET and the green flag is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, all on FS1 and MRN Radio.
September 20, 2017
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago
The final regular season race took place last Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and set the final playoff point standings. Here’s a look at who thrived in Chicago.
1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter seemed to have found his rhythm back after having several weeks of disappointment and losing his championship lead in the summer months. This past Friday night, he changed that as he won for the first time since Dover International Speedway. Sauter finished second and fourth, respectively, in both stages and didn’t take the lead until 27 laps to go. He might be heating up at the right time as he cut the Christopher Bell’s point lead down to 15.
2. Christopher Bell – In the past three races, Bell has been up and down, and it has shown that in the points differential. At Bristol, Candian Tire Motorsports Park and Chicagoland, Bell finished seventh, 26th and third, respectively. This past Friday night, he finished eighth in Stage 1 and won the second stage. But at Bristol, Bell had a 42 point lead over Sauter, however, due to the engine failure at Canada and Sauter’s win on Friday night, the points lead was cut down to 15. Bell did lead 18 laps but needs to have his momentum back that he had during the summer months. Still no doubt, he will be a strong championship challenger throughout the playoffs, but he needs no mistakes.
3. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe had a strong night at Chicago. Throughout the race, he led twice for 18 laps and finished in the top 10 in both stages. He’ll need to keep up the momentum and perhaps win a race if he wants to be in the final four at Homestead. Nonetheless, another solid run for the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Cooper Standard Ford.
4. Ryan Truex – The other Truex is maybe showing shades of his older brother Martin, here lately, in the Camping World Truck Series. In the past two races, he has won at least one stage. In Canada, it was the second stage and he wound up finishing fifth, while this past weekend in Chicago, Truex won the first stage and finished fourth. Unfortunately, Truex missed the 2017 playoffs by a tie-breaker.
5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had a quiet but decent night at Chicago. The 32-year-old scored his seventh top five of the year but missed the playoffs by not having enough points/wins. Not finishing in the top 10 in any stages hurt Enfinger’s chances of making the playoffs. The only task Enfinger can do now is finish the year out strong by winning a couple of races and look forward to the 2018 NASCAR season.Next up: The “Round of 8” begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Saturday. Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Crafton, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Ben Rhodes and Kaz Grala will be competing for the championship. It will be interesting to see how these eight drivers will compete throughout the playoffs. These drivers cannot afford any mistakes if they want to have any chance making it to the final four.
September 19, 2017
Four Takeaways From Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
1. Austin Cindric gets first career win – Cindric had a dominant race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He led twice for 32 laps. After the various pit stop strategies, Cindric caught Kaz Grala on the last lap and bumped him out of the way on the last lap for his first ever career win and is locked into the 2017 playoffs.
2. Noah Gragson comes up short – Gragson scored his career best finish of the season at Canada this past weekend. He made a daring four-wide move late in the going and moved up to third. He eventually settled for second after Grala’s spin on the last lap. He sits ninth in the playoff standings but will most likely need a win to get into the playoffs.
3. Championship contenders Christopher Bell and Matt Crafton have engine woes – Bell and Crafton had a forgettable day at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after finishing 26th and 25th, respectively. Bell finished once in the top 10 during Stage 1 but never could rebound after that. On lap 44, he missed a shift and caused the engine to blow. During the same caution, Crafton’s engine also expired and was done for the day. Needless to say, both drivers can forget that this ever happened.
4. Ryan Truex continues his strong season – Truex made some noise at Canada this past weekend. In Stage 1 he finished seventh and won the second stage after staying out. Truex was able to capitalize on staying out by finishing fifth. He now has five top fives and nine top 10s of the season and sits somewhat comfortably sixth in the playoffs picture.
September 6, 2017