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  • John Hunter Nemechek Edges Benjamin for Truck Series Win at Martinsville

    John Hunter Nemechek Edges Benjamin for Truck Series Win at Martinsville

    Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — In a race delayed for two days by a freak snowstorm in southern Virginia, John Hunter Nemechek charged to the front on a restart with 31 laps left on Monday and held off Kyle Benjamin to win the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race by a mere .106 seconds.

    The victory was the first at Martinsville for Nemechek, who had two previous runner-up finishes at the .526-mile short track. This time, despite Benjamin pounding his rear bumper in the final corner, Nemechek earned the grandfather clock trophy that goes to the race winner.

    “I’ve finished second here multiple times so, tick, tock – we finally got a clock,” Nemechek said. “It’s going to be awesome to take that thing home.”

    Nemechek picked up his sixth career win in the Truck Series in his third start of the season, and he did it with a skeleton staff at the race shop owned by his father, Joe Nemechek.

    “I can’t thank everyone on our staff enough – everyone who pours their heart and soul into this deal,” Nemechek said. “There’s only four guys in our shop this year, so it’s really cool to be able to come back over here to the Truck Series …

    “Congrats to all these guys – these guys deserve it.”

    After Nemechek grabbed the top spot on Lap 220 of 250, he held it through three subsequent cautions. Nemechek cleared Benjamin after the final restart on Lap 244, and though Benjamin closed on the No. 8 Chevrolet over the last seven laps, finally getting to the bumper in the final corner, he needed a few more laps to make a concerted run at the victory.

    “We had a really good truck, mostly for long runs, and unfortunately, it came down to a short run,” said Benjamin, who was making his Martinsville debut. “It’s Martinsville, so I figured I had to give him a run for his money in the last corner.”

    Benjamin had a lead of more than one second over Todd Gilliland when a debris caution slowed the race on Lap 214 and gave Nemechek the chance he needed on the subsequent restart. The shuffling of the order, at least, alleviated one case of divided loyalties.

    David Gilliland was co-owner of the No. 54 Toyota Benjamin was driving, and his son Todd was behind the wheel of the No. 4 Toyota of Kyle Busch Motorsports. After the restart on Lap 220, Todd Gilliland brushed the wall and lost track position with a pit stop under caution on Lap 234. He finished 14th.

    Pole winner Ben Rhodes led the first 23 laps on Saturday before rain and snow halted the race. With heavy snow falling Saturday night and early Sunday morning, NASCAR was forced to postpone the finish until Monday.

    Rhodes won both the first and second stages of the race, collecting two playoff points, but severe trouble with his right front tire on a Lap 145 pit stop after the second stage dropped him to 15th in the running order.

    Rhodes never recovered from the loss of track position and came home 12th.

    Johnny Sauter lost two laps changing a battery after losing power on Lap 224 and getting rear-ended by Matt Crafton. Sauter finished 19th but retained the series lead by 29 points over Grant Enfinger, who ran fourth on Monday.

    Brett Moffitt, who pitted late for new tires, fought his way up to third at the finish and is third in points, 31 behind Sauter.

    Noah Gragson, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters, Harrison Burton, Austin Hill and Justin Haley completed the top 10 in Monday’s race. 

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville

    After two weeks off, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at the famous “Half-Mile Paperclip,” Martinsville Speedway. The 2018 truck series has been action packed so far with three races and three different winners. And there’s a good possibility there could be a fourth different winner in 2018.

    Currently, there are 36 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list. Here’s a look at who to watch for this weekend at Martinsville.

      1. Johnny Sauter – In three races, Sauter is the highest active driver leading the way in stats. He won this race in 2016 and has three top fives and three top 10 finishes, along with 145 laps led. He also has an average start of 3.7 and an average finish of 2.0, not bad for the 2016 truck series champion. In the spring race, Sauter finished second to his teammate and race winner Chase Elliott. Expect Sauter to be up front and challenging for the win.
      2. Noah Gragson – Gragson has made two starts at Martinsville and is the defending race winner the last time trucks visited at Martinsville. The other finish the No. 18 Switch Tundra driver has is ninth after starting fourth in the spring race. He has also led 10 laps.
      3. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek’s 2018 truck season hasn’t been great so far for the Mooresville, North Carolina native. In two starts, he has finishes of 25th and 21st respectively, at Daytona and Las Vegas. Even though his recent Martinsville outings haven’t been too stellar, Nemechek does have a finish of third in 2016 after starting 12th. He’ll be looking to turn around his season this weekend at Martinsville by possibly finishing in the top 10 or collecting a win.
      4. Matt Crafton – Just like Sauter, Crafton is expected to be challenging for the win week in and week out. He has two victories at Martinsville which came in 2014 and 2015. However, in the last three races, he has finishes of second, ninth and 17th, respectively. Crafton’s recent finish was second in the fall race and he finished ninth in last year’s springs race. He has led 102 laps with an average start of 5.7 and an average finish of 9.3. After a disappointing finish at Las Vegas due to brakes and losing the lead and the eventual race win last fall, Crafton will be hungry and be searching for his first checkered flag of the season.
      5. Timothy Peters – Peters returns this weekend to drive the No. 92 truck of Ricky Benton Racing Enterprises. It will be his first race of the 2018 season. He made his first ever Martinsville start back in 2005 driving the No. 4 Dodge of Bobby Hamilton Racing and finished 18th after starting 25th. Since then, his Martinsville finishes have varied but Peters does have one win that came back in 2009 after starting 11th and led 84 laps. Peters did attempt the spring race last year and finished eighth after starting third.

    Live coverage of the Truck Series starts Friday afternoon with two practice sessions live on Fox Sports 1. The first practice is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET with the final practice at 1:05 p.m. ET. Qualifying is slated for 11:05 a.m. ET on FS1 with race coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET live on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • Christopher Bell Starts in Front for Roseanne 300

    Christopher Bell Starts in Front for Roseanne 300

    Although Joey Logano was fastest in the first round, Christopher Bell starts on pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway. This is Bell’s third pole in the last four races.

    “Qualifying’s about speed, and this No. 20 team has had speed,” Bell said. “When we unloaded yesterday, we were really good. I was just little bit loose, and anytime we’d tighten it up and make it more comfortable for me to drive, we’d slow down. We learned something there, and I’m going to have to man up and drive this thing in the race.”

    Bell (181.059 mph) was the only driver in the 181 mph bracket. Joey Logano (180.923 mph) will start second, as the two drivers were the only ones to break into a 39 second lap time. John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric round out the top five positions. Christopher Bell was fastest in first practice, but was only able to clock a 40.299 second lap time, roughly half a second slower than his qualifying time.

    Qualifying was split into two rounds. During the first round, all 40 teams made an attempt but Dylan Lupton spun and crashed into the wall right after he took the green flag for his lap. While drivers have been splitting the seam in the corners to gain maximum grip, Lupton couldn’t get into the right position entering the corner, which resulted in the car stepping out from underneath him. He spun in Turn 1 and crashed in Turn 2, settling into the infield grass. The team had to pull out a backup car and will only have three hours to prepare the backup car.

    Cole Custer held the top spot in the first round, but was also the last car to qualify with cloud cover. The remainder of the first round and all of the second round of qualifying had clear skies with sun all around the track.

    Justin Allgaier, Ryan Reed, Ryan Preece, Brandon Jones, Ryan Truex, Elliott Sadler and Kaz Grala finished out the qualifying results for positions 6-12 from the second round. All three manufacturers are represented across the top three starting positions (only one Dodge qualified, Timmy Hill, and will start in the 35th position). NASCAR’s top three touring series are also represented with the top three starters: Christopher Bell on pole running the NASCAR Xfinity Series primarily, Joey Logano starting second from the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, and John Hunter Nemechek who runs primarily in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will start in the third position.

    The green flag for the Roseanne 300 will wave later today at 2:18 p.m. local time.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Las Vegas Race 1

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Las Vegas Race 1

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend but with a different twist. They will now have two races this year, one in the spring and of course, the annual event in the fall during the Playoffs.

    There are 31 trucks on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s Stratosphere 250. During the last 21 races, there have been 19 different winners and only two repeat winners. Jack Sprague won the first event held in 1996 and then won two years later in 1998.

    In the three past fall races, there have been three different winners ranging from Ben Rhodes to Tyler Reddick and John Wes Townley.

    Here’s a look at who might end up in victory lane in Friday’s race.

    1.  Johnny Sauter – You can never count out the 2016 champion at any race track where he competes. Sauter is a regular contender for the win every week and this week is no exception. In fact, he has won the fall event way back in 2009, his only Las Vegas win. During the span of nine starts, Sauter has one win, four top fives and six top 10 finishes, along with an average start of 9.1 and an average finish of 8.1, including 100 laps led and one DNF which took place in 2012. Another nugget to add, Sauter finished ninth in Stage 2 last year and finished 10th. He was also fastest in Thursdays’ final practice session. Keep an eye for Sauter Friday night.

    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes is the defending race winner of the fall race and has made two career starts. In a thriller last lap run in last year’s race, he held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell by .066 seconds. He led 20 laps en route to his victory while finishing sixth in Stage 1 and first in Stage 2. Rhodes’ stats show one top five and one top 15 finish at Vegas. He placed sixth in the first practice and ninth in final practice.

    3. Kyle Busch – Busch will be out for redemption in Friday’s race after last week’s pit road miscue. However, the last time Busch competed in a truck race at Las Vegas was in 2001 driving for Jack Roush where he finished ninth. But knowing Busch, it will be hard to count him out of victory lane, just like Sauter. He will have his Kyle Busch Motorsports notes from the previous races to lean on. Busch placed fifth in both practice sessions on Thursday.

    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton will be itching at the bit to check Las Vegas Motor Speedway off his win list this weekend. It’s hard to imagine that he has zero wins in 17 starts. However, Crafton has been runner-up in 2009, 2011, 2012 and finished third in 2014. He has also led 136 laps. Crafton showed some speed in Thursday’s practice sessions placing 11th and 7th, respectively. Be sure to watch for the two-time Truck Series champion to finally end up in victory lane at the 1.5-mile race track.

    5. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek will be back in the No. 8 family owned truck this weekend. In three starts, he has a best finish of fourth in 2015 and he finished eighth in last year’s race. This adds up to one top five and two top 10 finishes with eight laps led. He will have some work to do as he placed 13th in the first practice and eighth in the final practice.

    Where you qualify will be very critical if you want to win this race. In 2017, Rhodes started sixth, Reddick won in 2016 after starting 16th and John Wes Townley started second when he won in 2015. As you can see track position is important at this race track, but with a little bit of Sin City luck you could end up in victory lane if you play your cards right.

    Qualifying is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET Friday with no live coverage. Race coverage is slated for 9:00 p.m. ET with the green flag dropping at 9:16 p.m. ET, all on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • John Hunter Nemechek Places 4th in Xfinity Series Debut

    John Hunter Nemechek Places 4th in Xfinity Series Debut

    After a flat tire during Stage 1, John Hunter Nemechek battled back to finish fourth in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Rinnai 250.

    Chip Ganassi Racing announced back in December that Nemechek would make his debut in the stock car series. His performance, however, made it seem as if he was a veteran in the series. His first qualifying attempt for a Xfinity race placed him in the third overall position to start Saturday’s race with a speed of 180.769, one of only six drivers to break the 180 mph barrier.

    As for the race, the first 35 laps were eventful for Nemechek to say the least. On Lap 10, Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler and John Hunter Nemechek bumped through Turns 3 and 4. The unfortunate victim was Cole Custer, who would crash into the wall with heavy damage and end his day early. On Lap 33, Nemechek would blow a right front tire. Miraculously, he saved the car from crashing, which allowed his team to change tires and get him back to racing action. Even though he fell a lap down early in the event, he would battle back to put himself in the Lucky Dog position and place himself back on the lead lap. His and the team’s hard work paid off as they finished in the fourth position, claiming the highest finish of any Chevrolet in the field.

    Nemechek shared his perspective of his weekend during a post-race interview.

    “I’m happy with the outcome that we had, finishing fourth there. My goal was to come here and run all the laps, learning as much as I could and hopefully bring home a top-five run. After we unloaded yesterday [Friday], my first ever lap in an Xfinity car was lap one of practice. I have definitely learned a lot from both practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

    “We blew a right front at the end of the first stage. It seemed like tire wear was really big today, and we were victim to circumstances. Luckily, we were able to get the Lucky Dog, get back on the lead lap and rebound from the back to come back to the front. At that last pit stop, we were able to get by Elliott [Sadler] to bring it home fourth.

    “I’m looking forward to getting in more races as the year goes on.”

    When asked about his performance during the final run of the race, Nemechek credited his spotter for his guidance and his crew chief for their relationship.

    “Listening to Mike Shiplett and Derek Kneeland. Derek up on the spotter’s stand just telling me to be patient. I feel like myself and Mike Shiplett have created a good communicational bond so far this year, being able to make adjustments on the race car and trying to fix what we need to fix to make it faster at the end.”

    Nemechek does come from a racing family. His father, Joe who is nicknamed “Front Row Joe,” made a solid career in the Monster Energy Cup Series with four wins and 10 poles across 23 years. He also gathered over a dozen victories in the Xfinity series. His uncle, John Nemechek, was also a NASCAR competitor, primarily in what is now the Camping World Truck Series. He competed in 43 events over three years until 1997 when he suffered a fatal crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway during a Truck race.

    John Hunter shared his excitement on his official Twitter account shortly after the race.

    Nemechek will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet in multiple Xfinity Series races throughout the year, sharing the ride with Kyle Larson.

    “I feel like going over to Chip Ganassi Racing, an established team who have won races, has helped as well,” declared Nemechek. “I feel like going over there, being able to talk with the guys and create relationships definitely helps. Any lap that you’re on the track, you’re gaining experience, and experience is key. Nothing can outweigh that.”

    Chase Briscoe also made his debut in the Xfinity Series, finishing in the 15th position.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race next at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3 for the Boyd Gaming 300. You can order race tickets on the speedway’s website at http://www.lvms.com/tickets/pennzoil_400/.

  • Kevin Harvick dominates the Xfinity Series to win at Atlanta

    Kevin Harvick dominates the Xfinity Series to win at Atlanta

    Veteran driver Kevin Harvick schooled the field to bring home the trophy in the Rinnai 250 Friday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Once he got his No. 98 Stewart-Haas Ford up front, there was no looking back for Harvick. He led the most laps, 141-of-163, to capture the checkered flag at Atlanta.

    It was Harvick’s 47th win of his Xfinity career and his fifth victory at Atlanta. He also tied Tony Stewart for winning at Atlanta with four different teams. Harvick, age 42, is also the second oldest winner at Atlanta with Harry Gant being the oldest at age 54.

    Harvick commented on his domination of the race saying, “It’s just been a really good place for me obviously getting my first win here, and being able to run good cars here throughout the years.” He added, “The racetrack has stayed very similar to what it’s been for a number of years, it’s been a great racetrack for us.”

    Stage 1 would be the only stage for the caution to come out, one for Cole Custer hitting the wall and the other for debris on the track. Stages 2 and 3 would both go caution free. Harvick won all three stages.

    Joey Logano brought his No.22 Penske Ford home in second, 4.183 seconds behind Harvick. Logano did all he could do to try and catch Harvick to no avail. This was his third consecutive second-place finish at Atlanta.

    “I don’t think we were even close. Kevin played with us all day long, we just kinda rode out there,” Logano said after the race.

    Christopher Bell, who started on the pole, had a great run going in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Toyota today, finishing in third place.

    Bell stated, “Our Ruud Camry was really fast, it just wasn’t quite good enough to get up there and run with the No. 98.”

    John Hunter Nemechek and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, Kyle Benjamin, Ryan Truex and Ryan Reed finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading next to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Boyd Gaming 300, on March 3.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NXS-Atlanta-unofficial-results-Feb.-2018.pdf” title=”NXS Atlanta unofficial results Feb. 2018″]

     

  • Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicked-off its 23rd year of competition and its eighth year racing at Daytona International Speedway. Some drivers left Daytona happy, but others like Matt Crafton (still searching for his first win at Daytona) left unhappy. Others included Noah Gragson, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Stewart Friesen, Cody Coughlin and Brett Moffit.

    Thorsport Racing – Two of its entries were involved in multiple incidents at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. On Lap 74, Snider was collected in a six-truck crash. He barely made it through the crash but was caught at the last second by Nemechek. After finishing seventh in Stage 1, Snider’s night was done early and he was relegated to a 24th place finish after finishing in the top 10 last year.

    “I almost got through the wreck, but John (Hunter Nemechek) ended up coming down the track and we made contact,” Snider said.  “Then, I was in the grass and dug the splitter in and tore the nose off. We had a really good truck – the guys at ThorSport brought me a really good Liberty Tax Ford F-150, and I’m really proud of the work they’ve all done, especially for how quick we had to get things turned around before the season started. It’s a great group of guys, I just hate that all of their hard work ended up getting torn up like that.”

    Matt Crafton was involved in a five-truck crash late in the race on Lap 83. With the incident, Crafton is still searching for his first Daytona win and it will have to wait another year, as he wound up finishing 19th. Despite not getting the finish he wanted, Crafton is looking forward to Atlanta next weekend.

    “Tonight just wasn’t our night,” he said.  “We had the pit road issue early, and then we had an issue with something under the hood – never could quite figure that out. Then, there at the end, we got turned and had to make multiple trips down pit road to repair the damage on the rear. Overall though, this Menards Ford F-150 was good. Even after the pit road penalty, I knew we could make our way back to the front whenever we wanted, we just had to play it smart. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get to make that move. We will regroup and head to Atlanta next week – hands down one of my favorite tracks.”

    Cody Coughlin found himself in a new team this season driving the No. 2 JEGS Chevy for GMS Racing. Things started off well as he started 10th and finished there in Stage 1 while finishing fourth in Stage 2. However, at Daytona, you have to some luck in order to be there at the end to capitalize on it. Unfortunately, Coughlin was collected in the first wreck of the night off Turn 4. At the end of the night, the scoring pylon showed the No. 2 in 17th.

    “Well, we had a good run going tonight and a really fast JEGS.com Chevrolet Silverado,” Coughlin said. “We just had terrible luck. It’s hard to overcome two flat left rear tires and having to start at the tail of the field a lot due to those issues. Hopefully, we can get this luck turned around for next weekend at Atlanta (Motor Speedway).”

    Noah Gragson who is now in his second year at Kyle Busch Motorsports also had unfortunate luck after having a strong run. Gragson posted a fifth place qualifying effort Friday afternoon giving him a good starting position. But at Daytona, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. The first two stages saw him finish ninth and 14th, respectively. On Lap 56, the No. 18 Safelite Tundra was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck which thus ended their night early with a 23rd place finish.

    “In Daytona, a lot of the luck is not in the drivers’ hands — it is what it is. We qualified really good — Rudy Fugle and the guys on this No. 18 team built a really fast Safelite AutoGlass/Switch Toyota Tundra during the offseason,” Gragson said.  “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be driving for this team. This is not the way we wanted to start our season, but we can go to Atlanta next week with our heads held high that we had a lot of speed and I’m confident that we’ll have speed again next weekend in our first mile-and-a-half race of the year.”

    Hunter Nemechek finished 25th after being taken out on Lap 74, Stewart Friesen (27th) on the same lap and Brett Moffit was shown 26th.

    While some teams are already ahead and look forward to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend, other teams are behind and will be playing catch up.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Daytona

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Daytona

    The NASCAR off-season is officially over for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with the first practice kicking off Thursday morning 11:35 a.m. ET on FS1.

    Currently, there are 36 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list.

    With a new year, comes new faces in new places. Here are some notables.

    Jordan Anderson will be fielding his own team in 2018 by driving the No. 3. An interesting twist for Daytona, David Gilliland will be driving the No. 4 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Korbin Forrister in his teams owned No. 7, Myatt Snider takes over the No. 13 for Thorsport Racing, Dalton Sargeant in the 25 for GMS Racing. Ben Rhodes is now the 41, not the 27 as in previous years. To round out the unique entry list, Bo Le Mastus will be competing in the new David Gilliland Racing team driving the No. 54. Got that? Good. Now let’s take a look at who will be hot at Daytona International Speedway this Friday night.

    In the last three races, there have been three different winners ranging from Tyler Reddick, Johnny Sauter and last year’s winner, Kaz Grala. Reddick and Grala will not be competing in this year’s event as they have moved on to the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

      1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the highest active driver stat wise at Daytona. In the past three races, he owns one win, one top five and two top 10 finishes, with 64 laps led. However, in last year’s race, he was involved in the infamous big one at Daytona on the last lap. Unless you’re a stat nerd, then they really don’t mean anything at Daytona but you have to be there at the end to win the race. Nonetheless, never count Sauter out at plate tracks.
      2. Matt Crafton – Crafton will be back competing in his 19th year for the Truck Series. It’s hard to believe that in the last 17 races at Daytona, the No. 88 Thorsport driver does not have a win at Daytona. His best finish came eight years ago in 2010, where Crafton finished fifth. In the past three races, he has put up only two top 10 finishes and has led seven laps, with an average finishing position of 10.7. Despite going up and over on the last lap in last year’s race, he wound up 14th. In 2015 and ’16, Crafton finished eighth and 10th, respectively. Crafton and Sauter are realistically the only highly experienced drivers in the field.
      3. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek will be back behind the wheel of his family’s team-owned No. 8 Fleetwing Corporation Chevy. He only has two career starts at Daytona that came in 2017 and ’16. During those two race spans, Nemechek has completed 99.5 percent of the laps, scored one top five and one top 10 finish, and has an average finish of 10.5. Nemechek’s best finish came in last year’s race, where he placed fourth.
      4. Myatt Snider – New Year, New Look, New Team for the young 23-year old Myatt Snider. After competing for Kyle Busch Motorsports last year, Snider will adorn the No. 13 Liberty Tax Toyota for Thorsport Racing. It will be interesting to see how Snider does with his new team in 2018. Regarding stats, he only has one start that came last year where Snider finished 10th. He finished eighth in Stage 2.
      5. Parker Kligerman – Kligerman has become quite the restrictor plate racer as of late. In fact, the last time the Truck Series competed on a superspeedway, Kligerman was the winner at Talladega last fall. In four races, he has finishes of 15th, 11th, 29th in 2014 and third in 2016. Kligerman could very well be an upset winner once again Friday night in Daytona.

    There are three practice sessions scheduled for Thursday. First practice takes place at 11:35 a.m. ET, with the second practice slated for 2:25 p.m. ET and the final practice at 4:35 p.m. ET. All taking place on Fox Sports 1.Qualifying is Friday afternoon at 4:45 p.m. ET with the green flag scheduled for 7:52 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Five Drivers to be Excited for in the 2018 XFINITY Series

    Five Drivers to be Excited for in the 2018 XFINITY Series

    With the 2018 NASCAR XFINITY Series right around the corner, several changes in the driver roster have been made, many of which bring the promise of success for several drivers. The season promises to be one for the series regulars as the talent that these five drivers bring will be sure to bring much-needed change to the division.

    Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing

    One year after scoring the 2017 Camping World Truck Series title for Kyle Busch Motorsports as well as his first XFINITY Series win at Kansas, the 23-year-old Oklahoman is shaping up to be the next big thing in the XFINITY Series. Bell has got the world on a string; backing from Toyota Racing Development and Joe Gibbs Racing, the best equipment in his hands, and all the talent afforded to young racers.

    He’s garnered a lot of success over his young racing career, scoring trophies on dirt and asphalt, and he will earn more wins in ’18. His path mirrors that of his predecessor, 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Erik Jones, so it’s a safe bet that like his predecessor, Bell is only getting started.

    Elliott Sadler – JR Motorsports

    To put it out there, Sadler is angry. He is sick and tired of being a bridesmaid. After rejoining the XFINITY ranks in 2011, he’s achieved a great deal of success, but he’s managed to lose the championship in more ways than Dale Sr. lost the Daytona 500.

    His incident with Ryan Preece at Homestead could mark a change in the veteran; one that’s more determined and aggressive than ever before. It’s no question Sadler can take his JRM Chevy to the front. But can he keep it there long enough to finally seal the deal and score his first-ever NASCAR championship? It’ll be fun to watch.

    Jeremy Clements – Jeremy Clements Racing

    Winning at Road America in 2017 was the shot in the arm this program needed. Sure, they were among the first eliminated in the Playoffs, but they scored a career-best 12th-place in the points, which isn’t bad for any stretch for an underdog owner/driver combination.

    Considering that JCR is still among the underfunded teams in the garage, Clements can’t afford to be as aggressive as other drivers. He didn’t match his average finish from 2016 (20th to 2017’s 22.1) or his 2016 top-10 total (three to 2017’s two), but look for this program to continue its growth on the track and put itself in position for a banner season.

    John Hunter Nemechek – Chip Ganassi Racing

    Finally. That’s what the rest of the NASCAR garage was thinking when CGR announced that they had signed Nemechek to a partial schedule in the flagship No. 42 Chevrolet. Considering his performance in his father’s truck since 2013, it’s a wonder why he wasn’t signed sooner. Nemechek put the NEMCO truck into Victory Lane five times, finishing a career-high eighth in points in 2016 and 2017.

    Nemechek isn’t a particularly aggressive driver and manages to take care of his equipment better than most, which has led to his quiet consistency on track. Considering that NEMCO isn’t the cream of the crop in terms of equipment, the fact that Nemechek won and was a contender on a regular basis should bode well for his time with CGR.

    Tyler Reddick – JR Motorsports

    Reddick will be taking over the No. 9, piloted to the 2017 series championship by William Byron, who will be a Cup Series rookie in 2018. Reddick’s first venture into the XFINITY Series did prove fruitful in 2017, where he scored two poles, six top-10s, four top-fives, and a win at Kentucky.

    Reddick is strong and has won on various disciplines of tracks such as superspeedways, one-mile speedways, and mile-and-a-half tracks. He’s also fared well on road courses and short tracks, having finished sixth at Mosport in 2016 and scoring multiple top-fives and top-10s on short tracks in his truck and XFINITY career.

    Several other storylines will develop as the season progresses toward Homestead-Miami, with many surprises and busts bound to happen. But with all that aside, these are the five drivers to watch in the 2018 NASCAR XFINITY Series.

  • Driver Analysis: John Hunter Nemechek

    Driver Analysis: John Hunter Nemechek

    The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was an interesting one, to say the least, for John Hunter Nemechek. He hadn’t scored a win since his first one at Atlanta in 2016. Come to find out, Gateway could have been his last race of the season if sponsorship did not continue. Before that, however, Nemechek had a career-best finish of fourth at Daytona. He then had a couple of rocky weeks at Atlanta, Martinsville, Charlotte, Dover and Fort Worth. Nemechek did not finish in three of those races due to a crash.

    Although Nemechek had a finish of fourth at Daytona, he scored a top-five finish at Kansas during those slump weeks. However, an emotional moment came for him and the NEMCO Motorsports team, when it was the eighth and quite possibly, the last race of the season for Nemechek. During that race, he was having a career-best night winning Stage 1 after starting second and finishing third in Stage 2.

    A late race caution came out on lap 149 with 11 laps to go. Nemechek passed Matt Crafton for the lead on lap 155 and held on for the final six laps to win his second career victory.

    In an interview with Nemechek in late October, Nemechek said the following, “Gateway was definitely a huge relief for us (NEMCO Motorsports),” he said. “We didn’t know exactly how many races we would be able to get to for the rest of the year at that time. Sponsorship wasn’t there and we didn’t have all the races sold. Had we not won Gateway, Iowa would have been our last race.”

    As luck would have it, he went on to win at Iowa the following week scoring consecutive victories.

    “Luckily, we were able to get to victory lane there,” he said. “It was certainly emotional from the fact that we didn’t know what the future was going to hold for us. Iowa was proof that we could win back to back and it was a relief as well, but not as big as Gateway. I think Iowa was more of a statement.”

    With those two wins and having consistent finishes in the summer months despite a Michigan crash, Nemechek would qualify and be playoff eligible. Unfortunately, the playoffs did not go as intended for the Mooresville, North Carolin native. He finished 20th at Loudon (-36 laps down), leaving him last in the playoff point standings. Nemechek had two brighter races ahead finishing eighth at Las Vegas and sixth at Talladega.

    Ultimately, his hunt for the championship race ended at Martinsville by crashing out on lap 37 and being eliminated from championship contention. With the 30th place finish, Nemechek wound up finishing last in the playoff points standings.

    When the checkered flag flew at Homestead, the 2017 season saw Nemechek picking up two wins, eight top fives and 11 top-10 finishes, including 108 laps led and five DNF’s.

    The young 20-year-old will not be driving in the Truck Series next year, as he will be moving up to the NASCAR XFINITY Series driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy.

    For more on Nemechek’s racing or his life adventures follow him on Twitter @JHNemechek and on Instagram @JHNemechek.