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  • Tanner Gray to make 100th Truck career start at Martinsville

    Tanner Gray to make 100th Truck career start at Martinsville

    Tanner Gray is set to achieve a milestone start when he competes in his fifth full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. By competing in this weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 15 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro will reach 100 career starts in the Truck Series. 

    A native of Artesia, New Mexico, and the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion, Gray made his inaugural start in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in October 2019. By then, he had completed his first full-time campaign in the ARCA Menards Series East for DGR-Crosley, where he had notched a victory in South Boston Speedway, finished third in the final standings, and had made seven career starts in the ARCA Menards Series.

    Driving the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for DGR-Crosley, Gray started 15th and finished 20th in his Truck debut despite being involved in a final lap incident. He returned in November to compete in the final two Truck Series events of the season for DGR-Crosley at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway where he piloted the team’s No. 7 entry to finishes of 17th and 16th, respectively.

    The following season, Gray graduated to a full-time racing role in the No. 15 Ford F-150 for DGR-Crosley in the Truck Series, where he contended for the rookie title. Commencing the season with a 23rd-place finish at Daytona International Speedway despite being collected in a late multi-truck wreck, Gray would rally the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and collect his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He would then finish in the top 12 in four of his next five starts.

    After retiring at Texas Motor Speedway due to a transmission issue and finishing 18th in the first of a Kansas Speedway doubleheader feature during his next two starts, Gray notched two consecutive top-five results: a fourth-place finish in the second Kansas doubleheader event and a third-place run at Michigan International Speedway.

    Despite managing four top-20 results in the final five regular-season events, Gray did not qualify for the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs. He would commence the Playoffs by posting back-to-back third-place finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After managing only a single top-10 result during the final five events on the schedule, Gray capped off his first full-time Truck season in 14th place in the final standings and in fifth place in the rookie standings. By then, he had notched a total of four top-five results, eight top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.1. 

    In 2021, when DGR-Crosley changed names to David Gilliland Racing, Gray began the season with a 35th-place result at Daytona due to a drivetrain issue. He would finish no higher than 10th during his next nine starts before posting his first top-10 result of the season in ninth place at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Finishing no higher than 14th during the final four regular-season events, Gray did not make the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs. Despite managing a third-place result at Martinsville in October, Gray concluded his sophomore Truck season in 18th place in the final standings with an average-finishing result of 22.3. 

    Gray commenced the 2022 Truck season on a high note with a fourth-place finish at Daytona. He finished fifth during the following event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway before finishing no higher than 15th in the next six consecutive events. Managing only two additional top-10 results during his next seven events, Gray fell short of making the Truck Series Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, he finished no higher than 16th twice before capping off the season in third place during the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway and in 15th place in the final standings. By then, he had improved his average-finishing result to 18.0 compared to the 2021 season. 

    This past season, when David Gilliland Racing was rebranded to TRICON Garage and returned to fielding Toyotas, Gray started the season by notching a career-best runner-up result at Daytona amid a rain-shortened event. He then posted four top-10 results during his next eight starts, including a third-place result at Darlington Raceway in May. After finishing 18th at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Gray notched his first Truck career pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, where he would end up 27th.

    Managing only one top-11 finish during the final four regular-season events, Gray fell short of making the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. With a ninth-place result in the season-finale event at Phoenix, Gray ended up in 14th place in the final standings. By then, he tied the number of top-10 results from his previous season to six, claimed an extra top-five result from his previous season to three, led a career-high 26 laps and posted an average-finishing result of 16.7. 

    Through 99 previous Truck starts, Gray has achieved one pole, 10 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 51 laps led and an average finishing result of 18.1. He recently recorded his first top-10 result of the season at Circuit of the Americas in late March by finishing in 10th place and is currently ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings as he continues his pursuit for both his first series victory and Playoff berth. 

    Tanner Gray is scheduled to make his 100th Craftsman Truck Series career start at Martinsville Speedway for the Long John Silver’s 200. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 5, and will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Alfredo to make 100th NASCAR national touring series career start at Martinsville

    Alfredo to make 100th NASCAR national touring series career start at Martinsville

    While Anthony Alfredo is nearing the conclusion of his first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Our Motorsports, he is also within reach of achieving a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Xfinity Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway, Alfredo will achieve 100 career starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

    A native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Alfredo, whose racing career started with go-karts before moving up to Legends cars, made his inaugural presence within NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he drove for David Gilliland Racing on a part-time basis in the Camping World Truck Series. By then, Alfredo was coming off his first season in the ARCA Menards Series East, where he achieved his first career victory at South Boston Speedway before finishing in fifth place in the final standings. In his debut at Atlanta, Alfredo started 27th and finished 17th in his Truck debut. Throughout the 2019 season, Alfredo competed in 13 of 23-scheduled Truck events for David Gilliland Racing while swapping between the Nos. 15, 17 and 54 Toyota Tundras. He recorded a total of eight top-20 results, two of which were in the top 10, as his highest on-track result was an eighth-place run at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    In December 2019, Alfredo joined forces with Richard Childress Racing to pilot the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro on a part-time basis for the 2020 Xfinity Series season, which marked his first start in the series. Making his debut at Auto Club Speedway in February, Alfredo notched an impressive sixth-place result in his debut. He backed up his strong debut by notching five additional top-10 results during his next eight scheduled starts, which included his first top-five result after finishing fourth during a Homestead-Miami Speedway doubleheader feature in June. During his final 10 scheduled events, he recorded a total of three top-10 results and achieved a new career-best result of third place at Texas Motor Speedway in October. In total, Alfredo competed in 19 of 33-scheduled Xfinity events for RCR as he achieved two top-five results, nine top-10 results, 15 total laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.6. He also contributed to RCR’s No. 21 entry finishing in 11th place in the final Xfinity owners’ standings.

    A month prior to the 2021 NASCAR season, Alfredo was named a full-time competitor of the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports for the upcoming Cup Series season, where he contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. His debut in NASCAR’s premier series, however, started off on a rough note after being involved in a multi-car wreck 13 laps into the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. The Connecticut native proceeded to record a total of three top-20 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were not enough for him to qualify for the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs. During the final 10 Playoff events on the schedule, Alfredo managed to record his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit after finishing 10th at Talladega Superspeedway in October before settling in 30th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot in the Rookie-of-the-Year battle against Chase Briscoe. His overall average-finishing result in his first Cup season was 27.5. 

    A month following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Alfredo was named a full-time Xfinity Series competitor of the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. He commenced the season with a seventh-place result at Daytona followed by a fifth-place run at Auto Club Speedway in February. He went on to finish sixth at Talladega in April before achieving his first career pole for the inaugural Xfinity event at Portland International Raceway, but he did not accumulate enough points to qualify for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs. Coming off five consecutive top-20 results throughout the Playoffs, he is currently ranked in 15th place in the drivers’ standings with two races remaining to this season.

    Through 99 previous starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series, Alfredo has achieved one pole, three top-five results, 16 top-10 results and 38 laps led while competing for four different organizations.

    Alfredo is scheduled to make his 100th NASCAR national touring series career start at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 29, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Ryan Preece scores second consecutive Truck Series victory at Nashville

    Ryan Preece scores second consecutive Truck Series victory at Nashville

    A year after achieving his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Nashville Superspeedway, Ryan Preece shined under the lights at Music City for a second consecutive season after surviving the late chaos while on worn tires to win the Rackley Roofing 200 on Friday, June 24.

    The 31-year-old Preece from Berlin, Connecticut, led three times for a race-high 74 of 150-scheduled laps, including the final 49, as he had enough horsepower through three restarts to survive the chaos and fend off late challenges from both Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar under the final five laps to collect his second career victory in the series and in his sixth Truck start of the 2022 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ryan Preece, who won last year’s Truck event at Nashville, claimed his first pole position in the series after posting a pole-winning lap at 160.925 mph in 29.753 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who posted his best qualifying lap at 160.386 mph in 29.853 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Zane Smith and Preece dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Smith gained the advantage on the inside line entering the backstretch to assume the lead as he went on to lead the first lap. With Smith leading ahead of Preece, Corey Heim was in third ahead of Carson Hocevar and Stewart Friesen, who had Chandler Smith, Matt DiBenedetto and Derek Kraus pursuing him. By then, Tanner Gray, who made an unscheduled pit stop, was penalized for fueling prior to the green flag, where he was pinned a lap behind the field.

    Seven laps into the event and with Zane Smith still leading, the first caution of the event flew when Matt Crafton made contact with rookie Jack Wood and sent Wood’s No. 24 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado RST into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4 before he slid below the apron and forced the field to scatter to avoid being hit.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 13, the field fanned out entering the first two turns as Zane Smith retained the lead followed by Preece, Hocevar, Heim, Friesen and Chandler Smith. 

    Nearing the Lap 20 mark, the second caution of the event flew when Camden Murphy spun and wrecked his No. 30 Rowdy Energy Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Turn 2. At the time of caution, Zane Smith was leading ahead of Preece followed by Heim, Hocevar and Friesen while Chandler Smith, Derek Kraus, Matt DiBenedetto, Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes were in the top 10.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 24, Zane Smith gained another strong advantage on the outside lane to retain the lead as Preece, Heim and Friesen engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot with Preece prevailing in his No. 17 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford F-150. Soon after, Heim moved his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into third place while Friesen settled in fourth place in front of Chandler Smith, Kraus, Hocevar and DiBenedetto.

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second-and-a-half over Preece while Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Kraus, Hocevar, Ty Majeski, DiBenedetto and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. By then, John Hunter Nemechek was in 11th ahead of Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Crafton while Hailie Deegan, Todd Bodine, Chase Purdy, Parker Kligerman and Colby Howard were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Preece while Heim Friesen and Chandler Smith remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Kraus and Hocevar battled for sixth place with the latter prevailing.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Zane Smith cruised his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 to his sixth stage victory of the season. Preece settled in second followed by Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Hocevar, Kraus, Majeski, DiBenedetto and Eckes were scored in the top 10. Behind, Colby Howard spun while in 18th place, but he was able to nurse his truck back to pit road under caution.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Zane Smith pitted and Majeski emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Smith, Preece, Friesen, Heim and Hocevar. Following the pit stops, Jesse Little was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 as Majeski and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes entering the first turn, Zane Smith used the inside lane and four fresh tires to his advantage as he reassumed the lead followed by Preece while Majeski fell back to fourth behind Heim.

    Nearing the Lap 60 mark, Colby Howard got into the outside wall entering Turn 3 after he cut a tire. Despite the incident, Howard was able to nurse his truck back to pit road and the race proceeded under green. By then, Zane Smith was leading by three-tenths of a second over Preece followed by Heim, Eckes and Chandler Smith while Majeski fell back to sixth ahead of Nemechek, Friesen, Hocevar and Kraus.

    Then on Lap 69, the caution flew when Hocevar and Nemechek made contact entering the backstretch, which sent Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro spinning through the backstretch grass. The incident occurred while both were battling for eighth place. During the caution period, some like Hocevar, Hailie Deegan, DiBenedetto, Kris Wright, Jesse Little, Stefan Parsons, Kligerman, Tyler Ankrum, Rhodes and Majeski pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hocevar was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 73, Preece received a push from Eckes on the inside lane to move into the lead ahead of Zane Smith as the field behind jumbled for positions. As Preece maintained the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Heim and Eckes battled for third in front of Friesen while Bodine battled Kraus for sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger and Rhodes.

    By Lap 80, Preece was leading by six-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Eckes, Friesen, Kraus, Bodine, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Enfinger were in the top 10. Behind, Majeski was in 11th ahead of Crafton, Max Gutierrez, Ankrum, Chase Purdy, Nemechek, Hocevar, DiBenedetto, Kligerman and Dean Thompson.

    Ten laps later, Preece remained as the leader by more than a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Eckes, and Friesen remained in the top five. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 95, Preece, who encountered lapped traffic, claimed his third stage victory of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Heim, Eckes, Friesen, Kraus, Rhodes, Majeski, Bodine and Enfinger. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Preece pitted and Parker Kligerman exited with the top spot following a two-tire pit stop followed by Preece, Eckes, Friesen, Stef Parsons and Rhodes. Following the pit stops, Chandler Smith was penalized for removing equipment out of his pit stall.

    With 48 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Preece took off with the lead on the inside lane and on four fresh tires followed by Eckes and Friesen while the field fanned out and stacked up around Kligerman, who was struggling to keep pace, entering the first two turns.

    Eight laps later, Preece was leading by more than a second over Eckes while Friesen, Enfinger, and Zane Smith were in the top five. Rhodes was in sixth ahead of teammate Majeski, Hocevar, Heim and Kligerman while Crafton, Kraus, DiBenedetto, Max Gutierrez and Hailie Deegan were in the top 15. 

    Then with 31 laps remaining, the caution flew when Bodine spun his No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro through the frontstretch. During the caution period, some led by Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Preece remained on the track.

    With 26 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Preece and Eckes dueled for the lead and the field fanned out entering the first two turns as both Rhodes and Chandler Smith nearly got turned sideways through the frontstretch grass. 

    Three laps later and with the field jostling and scrambling for positions amid those with fresh tires compared to those on old tires, the caution returned when a four-wide action between Majeski, Heim, Enfinger and DiBenedetto that resulted in the latter three colliding and wrecking hard against one another and into the Turn 3 outside wall, leaving DiBenedetto, Enfinger and Heim with demolished trucks.

    When the field attempted to restart with 15 laps remaining, the caution quickly returned when Deegan spun into Howard through the frontstretch as the field fanned out to avoid hitting Deegan. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Preece took off with the lead followed by Eckes and a hard-charging Zane Smith as the field fanned out and battled behind. Behind, Bodine scrapped the wall as sparks flew out of his truck, but the race remained under green as Zane Smith started his bid to challenge Preece for the win. Behind, Hocevar moved up to third while Majeski and Eckes were in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Preece remained as the leader by nearly a second over Zane Smith followed by Hocevar, Majeski and Eckes while Friesen, Max Gutierrez, Ankrum, Crafton and Kligerman were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Preece, who was being pressured by both Zane Smith and Hocevar under the final five laps, retained the lead by two-tenths of a second with Hocevar trailing close behind. In Turn 1, Zane Smith attempted to make his move beneath Preece, but Preece threw a block and Hocevar was able to draw himself alongside Smith’s truck, which lost momentum entering the backstretch, in a bid for the runner-up spot. While Hocevar battled Smith, Preece was able to run away from his challengers and cycle back to the finish line for his first checkered flag of the 2022 season and for his second consecutive Gibson guitar trophy.

    In addition to claiming his second consecutive victory at Nashville, Preece claimed his second Camping World Truck Series career win in his eighth series start, the fourth career victory for David Gilliland Racing and the second consecutive victory for DGR’s No. 17 Ford F-150 team. As an added bonus, Preece claimed the second of three $50,000 bonuses from the Triple Truck Challenge.

    “I don’t ever like [the battle] to be that close,” Smith said on FS1. “My hats off to [David Gilliland Racing] and this Hunt Brothers Ford F-150. We’re getting a second guitar! I might have to start a band! I like it. That sounds good. I just want you guys to know [that] a lot of this is built in the shop. The speed is built in the shop and these guys work their tails off, and I know what it takes to win races. They gave me a phenomenal race car, so just proud to be the one holding the steering wheel. The biggest thing I had was clean air and to put as much dirty air on [Zane Smith] as possible. I wasn’t giving up.”

    Behind, Zane Smith edged Hocevar to claim the runner-up spot while Majeski and Friesen finished in the top five.

    “Clean air [was what I needed,” Smith said. “Ryan just did a really good job of shutting my air off there. Just really, really though to pass. Once we had that really bad [pit] stop, [I] lost 10 spots, I was worried. To battle back there and contend for a win says a lot about my SpeedCo Ford F-150 and my Front Row [Motorsports] team. Just man, another fast Ford. Just not quite enough.”

    “I thought it was just gonna be like our year,” Hocevar said. “We run really good and have something happen, but I’m tired. I’m actually wore out. I haven’t really got to work out or do anything, so I’m a little winded, but the No. 42 truck was pretty good. We struggled to find the balance there and finally hit it almost too late. It’s tough. It is so hard to win these races and hard to get passed. Clean air is so important. I had twenty-something lap better tires than [the leaders]…My best chance was to push [Smith] and let him take the shot. I didn’t have enough momentum built up when [Smith and Preece] got close and lost their momentum. Finally, we finished, probably, where we deserved to finish.”

    Ecks, Ankrum, Max  Gutierrez, Nemechek and Crafton completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Rhodes finished 12th behind Kraus, Chandler Smith settled in 15th, Kligerman ended up in 20th and Bodine concluded his night in 27th, one spot ahead of Deegan.

    There were seven lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 43 laps.

    With two races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, Zane Smith leads the regular-season standings by 21 points over John Hunter Nemechek, 30 over Ben Rhodes, 35 over Chandler Smith and 53 over both Stewart Friesen and Ty Majeski. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into 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. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 29 points, Tyler Ankrum trails by 50, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 62, Tanner Gray trails by 70 and Chase Purdy trails by 109.

    Results.

    1. Ryan Preece, 74 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Zane Smith, 70 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Carson Hocevar

    4. Ty Majeski, four laps led

    5. Stewart Friesen

    6. Christian Eckes

    7. Tyler Ankrum

    8. Max Gutierrez

    9. John Hunter Nemechek

    10. Matt Crafton

    11. Derek Kraus

    12. Ben Rhodes

    13. Chase Purdy

    14. Dean Thompson

    15. Chandler Smith

    16. Colby Howard

    17. Kris Wright

    18. Blaine Perkins

    19. Jesse Little

    20. Parker Kligerman, two laps led

    21. Kaden Honeycutt

    22. Stefan Parsons

    23. Timmy Hill

    24. Lawless Alan

    25. Spencer Boyd

    26. Nick Leitz

    27. Todd Bodine, two laps down

    28. Hailie Deegan, six laps down

    29. Chris Hacker, six laps down

    30. Tanner Gray, seven laps down

    31. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Accident

    32. Grant Enfinger – OUT, Accident

    33. Corey Heim – OUT, Accident

    34. Camden Murphy – OUT, Accident

    35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    36. Chase Janes – OUT, Rear gear

    The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will next continue to Lexington, Ohio, to compete for the first time at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which will also mark the third and final Triple Truck Challenge event of the season. The event is scheduled to occur on July 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland made the most of his final off-weekend period from the NASCAR Cup Series and his one-race return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by winning the second annual Clean Harbors 150 at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, June 18.

    The 22-year-old Gilliland from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, who competes as a full-time rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 58 of 150-scheduled laps, including the final 11, as he muscled away from John Hunter Nemechek and the field during a four-lap shootout to claim his first NASCAR national touring series victory on dirt and his first series win in more than a season.

    The starting lineup for the main event was determined through a formula that evaluated the results and number of positions each competitor gained through four heat events that occurred two hours prior to the main event. When the dust settled and the four heat events concluded, Derek Kraus, who finished second behind John Hunter Nemechek in the first heat event but earned 15 qualifying points, claimed the pole position for a second consecutive season at Knoxville. Joining him on the front row was Carson Hocevar, who won the second heat event and earned a total of 14 qualifying points. Braden Mitchell and Norm Benning were the two competitors who did not qualify for the main event.

    Prior to the event, rookie Jack Wood and Spencer Boyd started at the rear of the field due to both missing driver’s introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hocevar battled with Kraus through the first two turns until he pulled ahead on the outside lane and went on to lead the first lap. Stewart Friesen challenged Kraus for the runner-up spot ahead of Ben Rhodes, Buddy Kofoid and John Hunter Nemechek as the field scrambled for early positions.

    Four laps into the event, the first caution flew when Christian Eckes made contact and turned Dean Thompson in Turn 1 as Thompson limped back to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Another four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Rhodes muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Friesen.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Friesen, Nemechek and Ty Majeski while Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, Kraus, Buddy Kofoid and Grant Enfinger were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than two seconds over both Rhodes and Stewart Friesen while John Hunter Nemechek and Gilliland were scored in the top five. Majeski slipped back to sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Kraus, Enfinger and Kofoid while Tanner Gray, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton, Eckes, Hailie Deegan, Tyler Ankrum, Jessica Friesen and Kaz Grala were scored in the top 20.

    Another 10 laps later, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Friesen while Nemechek, Gilliland and Kraus were in the top five. Meanwhile, Rhodes had fallen back to seventh behind teammate Majeski while Chandler Smith, Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top 10. 

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Tanner Gray made contact with Kofoid’s No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro on the inside lane and spun as he was hit by a sliding Spencer Boyd in Turn 3. During the caution period, Rhodes pitted from seventh place to have the front nose of his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro repaired along with having an overheating issue addressed.

    With one lap remaining in the first stage and as the field fanned out when the race restarted under green, Hocevar pulled ahead once again and went on to claim the first stage victory on Lap 40, which marked his second stage victory of the season. Todd Gilliland settled in second followed by Nemechek, Kraus, Ty Majeski, Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Moffitt, Matt DiBenedetto and Zane Smith. Meanwhile, Friesen, who was running in the top five, lost momentum entering Turn 3 after his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro suffered a flat right-rear tire, though he remained on the lead lap.

    Following a three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the second stage started under green on Lap 41 as Hocevar and Gilliland occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead while Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot ahead of Gilliland while Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top five.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Kraus followed by Gilliland, Moffitt and Enfinger while Nemechek, Majeski, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton and Hailie Deegan were in the top 10. Chandler Smith and Eckes battled for 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen and DiBenedetto while Kofoid was in 15th ahead of Colby Howard, Kaz Grala, Tyler Ankrum, Tyler Carpenter and Jessica Friesen.

    Seven laps later, the caution flew when Jessica Friesen flipped and got her No. 62 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro stuck on the inside burn curb in Turn 3. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 65, Gilliland pulled a bold slid job on Hocevar to assume the lead. During the following lap, however, disaster struck for Hocevar, whose No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST fell off the pace entering the fronstretch before he came to a stop towards the outside wall in Turn 1 and retired due to an engine failure as the caution returned. By then, his teammate Tyler Carpenter, a 30-year-old racer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, who earned a one-race ride with Niece Motorsports for Knoxville after winning the Gateway Dirt Nationals in December 2021, also retired due to a driveshaft issue.

    “[The truck] done blown up,” Hocevar said. “That’s it. I thought Sonoma [Raceway] was gonna be the hardest one to watch and now, this one’s gonna be harder to watch. I’ll probably just sit and think about it for a while…Just sucks. It is what it is. We can’t control. We can’t do anything. It’s fitting this would be our luck.”

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 72, Gilliland retained the lead followed by Kraus as Nemechek issued his challenge for the spot ahead of Moffitt and Zane Smith. As the race reached its halfway mark on Lap 75, Gilliland was leading by more than a second over Nemechek while Zane Smith, Kraus, Moffitt, Stewart Friesen, Enfinger, Grala, Eckes and Deegan were in the top 10.

    By Laps 85, Gilliland continued to lead by more than four seconds over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Moffitt and Stewart Friesen were battling in the top five.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Todd Gilliland captured his first stage victory in his first Truck start of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Nemechek, Moffitt, Kraus, Enfinger, Grala, Stewart Friesen, Crafton and Tyler Ankrum.

    Following a second three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the final stage started under green with 59 laps remaining. At the start, Moffitt, who was one of four competitors who remained on the track without pitting, rocketed with the lead in his No. 22 Concrete SupplyDestiny Homes Chevrolet Silverado RST on the outside lane while Enfinger and Kofoid battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Zane Smith and Gilliland. Soon after, Moffitt was black-flagged by NASCAR for a restart violation after NASCAR deemed that he jumped the initial restart. With Moffit serving his penalty by driving through pit road under green, Enfinger assumed the lead with 54 laps remaining followed by Gilliland, Zane Smith, Kofoid and Kraus.

    With 50 laps remaining, Enfinger was leading by three-tenths of a second over Gilliland followed by Zane Smith, Nemechek and Kraus while Stewart Friesen, Kofoid, Eckes, Majeski and Crafton were in the top 10. Not long after, Gilliland reassumed the lead over Enfinger.

    Ten laps later, Gilliland was leading by nearly a second over Nemechek while Enfinger settled back in third ahead of Zane Smith and Stewart Friesen. Another three laps later, the caution flew due to Bryson Mitchell falling off the pace and becoming slow on the track.

    Down to the final 28 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek moved his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front ahead of Gilliland and the field. Three laps later, however, the caution returned for an incident involving Moffitt and Tanner Gray, both of whom made contact with one another in Turn 4, where Moffitt nearly flipped before both collided again in Turn 1, and sustained damage to their respective machines. At the same time, Grala and Colby Howard slid and collided against one another with Moffitt retiring in the garage.

    With 18 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead while Stewart Friesen and Gilliland battled for the runner-up spot, with the former pulling ahead. Behind, Zane Smith and Kraus were in the top five ahead of Enfinger and the field.

    A few laps later, Gilliland muscled his way back into the runner-up spot and Friesen was left battling with Kraus for third place while Nemechek continued to lead by a narrow margin.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gilliland slid his No. 17 Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150 back into the lead while remaining in a tight battle with Nemechek for the lead while Kraus, Scored in the top 10 were Zane Smith and Friesen occupied the top five. Majeski, Enfinger, Kofoid, Crafton and Eckes.

    Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when rookie Jack Wood spun in Turn 1. The caution stacked up the field for a late shootout to the finish.

    With four laps remaining, the race proceeded under green and Gilliland managed to retain the lead while Nemechek and Zane Smith battled for the runner-up spot as the former retained the spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gilliland was ahead by more than a second over Nemechek as the field jostled for late positions. Having a clear racetrack in front of him, Gilliland was able to slip, slide and cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by nearly a second over Nemechek for his first NASCAR victory of the 2022 season.

    By winning the second annual Truck event at Knoxville, Gilliland claimed his third career victory in the Truck Series, his first while driving for David Gilliland Racing and his first since winning at Circuit of the Americas in May 2021. The victory was also the first for David Gilliland Racing since Ryan Preece won at Nashville Superspeedway a year ago.

    “Just so amazing, man,” Gilliland said on FS1. “The Cup Series is tough. Just racing every single week, I’ve had like a million people ask me, ‘Is this really what you wanna do on your off weekend?’ Absolutely, man. Nothing beats racing. I tell everyone I’m young. I wish I could do this every single weekend of the year. Just so happy for [crew chief] Seth Smith, my whole team, David Gilliland Racing, Ford, especially…Really, really cool. Just so thankful. I love the Truck Series. I ran here forever, it felt like, so to be able to come back and to get one, man, it’s so special.” 

    “I just had an amazing truck,” Gilliland added. “These [David Gilliland Racing] guys prepared me a really good one. We got fitted in the seat on Tuesday afternoon. Just an amazing truck. These guys work so hard. The No. 17 truck’s been really fast a lot this year, so finally to get it a win. I think they’re close to the owners’ Playoff deal, so hopefully, [the win] helped them a little bit and I’ll be anxiously watching the rest of the year now. I feel like a little part of me’s gonna stay on this truck.”

    Nemechek settled in the runner-up spot for the second time of the season and for his fifth top-five result while Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen finished in the top five. Kraus, Crafton, Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum and Ben Rhodes completed the top 10.

    There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 45 laps.

    With three races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by five points over Zane Smith, 10 over Ben Rhodes, 14 over Chandler Smith, 43 over Ty Majeski and 49 over Stewart Friesen. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into 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. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline by 27 points, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 43, Tanner Gray trails by 50, Tyler Ankrum trails by 53 and Chase Purdy trails by 106.

    Results.

    1. Todd Gilliland, 58 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek, 17 laps led

    3. Zane Smith

    4. Ty Majeski

    5. Stewart Friesen

    6. Derek Kraus

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Grant Enfinger, 10 laps led

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Ben Rhodes 

    11. Buddy Kofoid

    12. Christian Eckes

    13. Chandler Smith

    14. Matt DiBenedetto

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Colby Howard

    17. Dylan Westbrook

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Timmy Hill

    20. Chase Purdy

    21. Jack Wood, one lap down

    22. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    23. Dean Thompson, two laps down

    24. Joey Gase, two laps down

    25. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    26. Kaz Grala, two laps down

    27. Brayton Laster, three laps down

    28. Kris Wright, five laps down

    29. Spencer Boyd, eight laps down

    30. Devon Rouse, 10 laps down

    31. Thad Moffitt, 11 laps down

    32. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    33. Bryson Mitchell – OUT, Throttle

    34. Jessica Friesen – OUT, Brakes

    35. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Engine, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    36. Tyler Carpenter – OUT, Driveshaft

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway for the second of three Triple Truck Challenge events, which will occur on Friday, June 24, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Logano to make Truck return with David Gilliland Racing at Bristol Dirt Course

    Logano to make Truck return with David Gilliland Racing at Bristol Dirt Course

    The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will be making a one-race return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the upcoming Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on April 16.

    In a news release through social media from David Gilliland Racing, Logano, who currently competes as a full-time Cup Series competitor for Team Penske, will be joining the organization and pilot the No. 54 Ford F-150 sponsored by Planet Fitness as he seeks his second victory on the Bristol Dirt Course one year after winning the inaugural Cup event on Bristol’s dirt layout.

    Logano, who won the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this past February, is embarking in his 10th full-time Cup season for Team Penske, where he has recorded one top-five result and three top-10 results through the first seven scheduled events. He is ranked in fifth place in the regular season standings.

    The Bristol Dirt event will mark Logano’s first event on a dirt course in the Truck Series and first appearance in the Truck circuit since he last competed at Martinsville Speedway in March 2015, where he notched his lone Truck career victory from pole position while competing for Brad Keselowski Racing. He made his Truck debut at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2008 for HT Motorsports, where he finished 26th, before competing in six additional Truck events between 2013 and 2015 for Brad Keselowski Racing.

    In seven Truck career starts, Logano has recorded one victory, one pole, four top-five results, 191 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.1.

    The news comes nearly two weeks after Logano took to social media to unveil his plans of competing in the event. It also comes a day after David Gilliland Racing announced that Harrison Burton, a 2022 NASCAR Cup Series rookie candidate, will be making a one-race Truck return in the team’s No. 17 Ford F-150 entry for the event. Both Logano and Burton will compete alongside David Gilliland Racing’s full-time competitors Hailie Deegan and Tanner Gray

    https://twitter.com/dgr_racing/status/1511735846180986880?cxt=HHwWgIC9ncPv4fopAAAA

    Logano is scheduled to compete in the Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on April 16 with coverage to occur at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Harrison Burton joins David Gilliland Racing for Truck return at Bristol Dirt Course

    Harrison Burton joins David Gilliland Racing for Truck return at Bristol Dirt Course

    David Gilliland Racing took to social media to announce that Harrison Burton will be driving for the team in the upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on April 16.

    The 21-year-old Burton from Huntersville, North Carolina, will be piloting the No. 17 Ford F-150 with sponsorship support from Hunt Brother’s Pizza, where he will compete alongside David Gilliland Racing’s full-time competitors Hailie Deegan and Tanner Gray.

    Burton is currently embarking in his first full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor, where he is piloting the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing. Through the first seven Cup events, he has achieved an average-finishing result of 25.3 with a best on-track result of 16th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. He sits in 29th place in the regular season standings.

    The Bristol Dirt event will mark Burton’s first start in the Truck Series since competing as a full-time competitor in the series in 2019 for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Making his Truck debut at Martinsville Speedway in October 2016 through his latest start at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2019, Burton has recorded one pole, 11 top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 88 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.3 in 38 Truck career starts, all with KBM.

    The Bristol Dirt event will also mark Burton’s first Truck start with David Gilliland Racing, in a Ford and on a dirt course since competing at Eldora Speedway in August 2019.

    Burton is scheduled to compete in the Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on April 16 with coverage to occur at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Todd Gilliland, Thirteen Year Old Son of David Gilliland, Continues to Impress

    Todd Gilliland, Thirteen Year Old Son of David Gilliland, Continues to Impress

    In spite of being an eighth grader and just thirteen years old, Todd Gilliland, son of NASCAR driver David Gilliland and grandson of Winston West champion Butch Gilliland, continues to impress with his skills behind the wheel of a race car.

    In fact, the youngster most recently finished in the runner up position in the Southeast Limited Late Model race at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.

    “It was really good for us,” the young Gilliland said. “The car was really good.”

    “We started in fifth but I dropped back to thirteenth because I was saving my tires for the end,” Gilliland continued. “I started to work my way back up and I got up to second with five laps to go and then there was a caution.”

    “That was the green, white, checkered and I just couldn’t pass the guy,” Gilliland said. “I didn’t win but I got second.”

    “I was really excited,” Gilliland continued. “I knew we were fast the whole time but didn’t know if I could get a top five.”

    “But I did.”

    David Gilliland, proud papa, was also most impressed with his progeny, especially at a challenging track like Myrtle Beach.

    “It’s a very tough race track, concrete like Darlington,” Gilliland said. “The fall off throughout a run is like two seconds so it’s all about tire management.”

    “I thought this would be a real challenge for Todd because he really doesn’t understand what it’s like to be running on tires with no grip,” Gilliland continued. “Dang, if we didn’t go down there and he was fastest in every practice, qualified fifth and then the race started.”

    “I told him to really watch his tires and on lap five he had dropped back to ninth,” Gilliland said. “I wasn’t sure if he was doing what I told him or if there was something wrong.”

    “He got all the way back to about 15th and I told him not to go any further back than that,” Gilliland continued. “We rode for about 50 laps and then with about 40 laps to go, I told him it was time to go.”

    “And boom, boom, boom he drove all the way up to second,” Gilliland said. “He was actually underneath the leader with three laps to go and the caution came out.”

    “The rules for this race were that all restarts in the last 20 laps were single file,’ Gilliland continued. “So, it put the leader in front of him and in the last few laps, he got back to the leader’s bumper but didn’t have enough to get past him so we finished second.”

    “It was an amazing race,” Gilliland said. “He’s thirteen years old, he’s in eighth grade and it’s amazing to me that he does things on the race track that it took me 500 races and 15 years to figure out.”

    “I’ve had numerous amount of people come up at the race track and tell me how unbelievably good he is.”

    The Myrtle Beach race was only Todd Gilliland’s third in a late model. Prior to that, Gilliland raced quarter midgets and even won the 2013 National USAC Quarter Midget Championship, World Formula Division.

    “So, that was over in July and from there, we actually sold the cars in Indianapolis at the last national event,” David Gilliland said. “I thought we would get some late models and go testing because you can’t run any NASCAR races until you are fourteen years old.”

    “I thought we would get ahead of the curve and practice this year and get ready to race next year,” Gilliland continued. “We went out and tested the first time and had the owner of Performance Racing Warehouse and some big names in late model racing went with us.”

    “After Todd’s first day of testing, I got in the car and shook it down and made sure it was good for Todd,” Gilliland said. “Then he got in and by the end of the day, he was as fast as I was.”

    “It was incredible.”

    “The next time we tested, we had two cars, so I got in one and told Todd we were going to work on restarts and passing each other,” Gilliland said. “So, he followed me for a little bit and then I told him on the radio that I was going to try to pass him.”

    “But I couldn’t get within a car length of him.”

    Todd Gilliland’s first late model race was at Hickory, which was supposed to be short fifty-lapper with a limited number of cars. Unfortunately, that race ended up being cancelled.

    “On the same day, they were having their end of the year, big race of the year called the Fall Classic,” David Gilliland said. “It was scheduled to be a hundred green flag lap race and like thirty cars.”

    “My wife said ‘You’re not going to put him in that for his first race are you?’ and I told her he would get a lot of experience,” Gilliland continued. “Todd was fastest in both practices in his first race ever.”

    “He qualified ninth and finished sixth,” Gilliland said. “If there were ten more laps he would have won the race.”

    “It was incredible,” Gilliland continued. “He saved his tires and just had a great feel for the race car.”

    In Todd’s second late model race, he was fastest in practice but with just two minutes to go, his motor broke. He went to a backup car but got caught up in an accident after driving from 20th to 5th.

    Before the youngster was competing in late models, Todd Gilliland had a passion for going fast.

    “I started when I was five,” Todd Gilliland said. “I like going fast and competing with everybody and trying to be the best you can be.”

    “Todd raced his first race on his fifth birthday,” David Gilliland said. “He was out across the street when he was three years old, he drove a quarter midget in the dirt field and would run every day until he ran it out of gas.”

    “It’s always been his passion.”

    Todd Gilliland currently balances his racing with his school work. In fact, the eighth grader has to keep his grades up in order to even be allowed by his parents to hit the race track.

    “I work on the car after school,” Gilliland said. “I like to play soccer and basketball.”

    “Math is my favorite and science is my least favorite.”

    “I’m pretty busy,” Gilliland said. “We stay up all the time and work on the weekends too.”

    “Todd works on the car too,” proud papa Gilliland said. “My deal with Todd is that we will go racing if he gets straight A’s in school.”

    “He’s done that and is on the honor roll at school,” Gilliland continued. “I’m pushing for his education first and racing second.”

    “He does like working on the race car and every day he wants to learn more.”

    Both father and son have a mutual admiration, especially when it comes to racing.

    “I want to be like my dad because he is really good,” Todd Gilliland said. “I hope to race in the Cup Series someday like my dad.”

    “The weirdest feeling was when we went to the race track for his first start, watching him back out of the pits, pushing the clutch on the car, put it in gear and drive away,” David Gilliland said. “That was a feeling and a time and a moment that I’ll never forget.”

    “I remember him being born and he was two weeks old when I won my first asphalt late model race and he’s been around the track his whole life,” Gilliland continued. “I know he’s good enough to go as far as he wants and I want him to do that.”

    “It’s been fun watching Todd grow as a person,” Gilliland said. “Racing has helped him with his confidence and to mature as a person.”

    “He’s a very kind, quiet young man and people like being around him,” Gilliland continued. “Those are the things that are most important in life to me.”

    “And those are the lessons that I’m enjoying seeing him learn and grow.”

    Todd Gilliland races out of the shop in his home and for the team that bears his father’s name, David Gilliland Racing. His sponsors are Performance Racing Warehouse and Superior Logistic Services.

    While the Gilliland family is taking a break from the race season to celebrate the holidays, both father and son are both anxious to start the New Year at the track.

    “I’m loving racing these cars,” Todd Gilliland said. “It’s still new to me but I’m having a lot of fun.”

    “I can’t wait for next year to run more tracks and get more experience.”

    “Todd loves racing and he has a passion for it,” David Gilliland said. “Stay tuned, he has a bright future ahead of him.”

    For more information about Todd Gilliland as he continues to impress in the racing world, follow the team at ToddGilliland.com and on Twitter @ToddGilliland_.