The 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season is now four days over, and observers all agree that it was an ideal year for the sport’s number three division. No incessant talks of Cup drivers ruining the show, no extra nonsense with behind the scenes matters, and a series regular earned the title with an underdog team as Brett Moffitt used six season wins to score a championship.
The 2018 season was by the regulars, for the regulars, and not an ounce of hubris was in sight. Not only was there a strong storyline in Moffitt’s championship run, other drivers had their time in the sun. Justin Haley surprised many when he went from winner at Gateway and MoSport to championship threat with his Texas win in November. Johnny Sauter continued to be the best in the division with six wins. Noah Gragson was always at the front in his Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra while teammate Todd Gilliland contended for wins throughout the season. Even ThorSport driver Grant Enfinger put up some strong numbers, even scoring a win at Las Vegas in the Playoffs.
The 2018 Truck Series season was host to some of the best racing in NASCAR during the year, which lives up to the division’s reputation as a haven for good racing. That had been a difficult claim to boast in previous seasons as part-time dominance wrecked winning hopes for series regulars. Instead, in 2018 non-series regulars won five races, as Kyle Busch won two and John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, and Timothy Peters all won once. That left the season to be decided by who mattered the most–division regulars.
2018 was the season the Truck Series earned it’s identity back after years of just being viewed as a lesser division, a feeder/development series. Quite the opposite is true; any racing division should be recognized not as a feeder series but as it’s very own product. The Truck Series has been in this position before, producing some of the best product in NASCAR and standing on the strength of its own quality product.
The division isn’t out of the woods yet as several teams face the very real issue of finances. Season champion Moffitt and his Hattori Racing Enterprises are unsure they’ll be paired up next season despite this season’s successes. This is an ongoing problem across the board with successful drivers still going without rides as they’re not bringing in enough funding.
But if the Truck Series can have another season like 2018, and if drivers like Moffitt can secure funding for another championship run, the division might not become an equal to the Cup series, but it can come close.
Johnny Sauter, the 2016 NASCAR Truck Series Champion, was looking to become a two-time champion after making it to the Championship 4 for the third consecutive year in a row. Unfortunately, the team just missed it Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished a disappointing 12th after a record high six wins in 2018, the most he’s ever had in his career in one season.
“Yeah, you know, we just missed it,” Sauter told MRN Radio. “I never would have thought we would have been that bad, so I just apologize to all the guys at GMS and they deserve better than that for sure. We were just sideways loose, I don’t know, he was dropping the trackbar, putting runners in the left rear. The balance was just never there. Even if we could get it tight enough, it would chatter the front tires across the center and still snap loose off exit.”
“I have no idea,” he emphasized to MRN Radio. “Just not our night. You know the last few weeks have been tough and we kind of lost our step a little bit and finished 12th. Congratulations to (Brett) Moffitt, he did a good job and just wasn’t our night.”
Sauter finishes the 2018 season with six wins, 14 top fives and 17 top-10 finishes.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the desert this past weekend for the annual Lucas Oil 150 at the newly renamed and reconfigured ISM Raceway.
It wasn’t much of a change track wise, as the start/finish line was moved to the backstretch, while the pit road was extended. Mainly, it was the fan experience that was added in the infield where the fans could watch from the garage area and see the cars up front.
However, as always, the Truck Series provided an action-packed race and provided some playoff drama throughout the race, and toward the end of the race as well.
Here are four takeaways from the Lucas Oil 150 from ISM Raceway.
1. Championship 4 Set – The Championship 4 was set this past Friday night with two drivers already locked into the Playoffs. Two more, Brett Moffitt and Noah Gragson, were locked in at ISM Raceway. It’s a competitive Championship 4 this year with a champion in the series and the rest of the field that has run up front and won multiple races throughout the year. It’s been an exciting season for the Truck Series with plenty of thrilling finishes and familiar faces in victory lane. It all ends with the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Southern Florida.
2. Justin Haley Has No Plans For 2019 – During the post-race press conference following the Lucas Oil 150, Haley said that he currently has no plans for the 2019 racing season. He hopes winning a championship might solidify his chances and maybe bring more offers to the table. Either way, Haley is a great talent and should be able to find something for 2019, but nothing is guaranteed.
3. Johnny Sauter and Justin Haley Frustrated With Hattori Racing Using Toyota But Not So Fast Says Scott Zipadelli – During the post-race press conference, Sauter and Haley expressed their frustration with Hattori Racing using a Joe Gibbs Racing engine, which gives the team a slight advantage with shifting. Sauter was the biggest critic of them all and is concerned about the race this weekend at Homestead. If Hattori uses the same engine again, Sauter believes it’s not a fair shot for the other Championship 4 drivers and it might be game over. However, Scott Zipadelli believes it’s just an excuse for getting beat.
4. Derek Kraus Gets A For Effort In Truck Series Debut/Sheldon Creed Full Time With GMS Racing In 2019 – Derek Kraus made his Truck Series debut this past weekend at ISM Raceway and wound up finishing eighth with a 10th in Stage 2. Not bad for the Bill McAnally team. In other news, Sheldon Creed announced during qualifying that he has signed with the GMS Racing team for a full-time ride in 2019. Number and sponsor is to be announced at a later date.
In a wild set of final restarts, Brett Moffitt sneaks around Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton to grab the win at ISM Raceway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150.
On the final restart, Noah Gragson chose the outside, but collisions with Enfinger prevented him from getting a strong exit as Moffitt squeezed by to lead the final laps and secure the victory.
“We just had a badass Toyota Tundra,” said Moffitt. “We were focused (on Homestead) already and knew we just had to have a smooth night (tonight) but when the No. 98 (Enfinger) got up there we started worrying and knew we had to win.
“I can’t say enough about this group and all of our partners and HRE team.”
Gragson had to settle for second but dodged a bullet as the right driver won the race to allow him to secure the final Playoff spot for Homestead.
“Down there on that restart I spun the tires just a little bit in the restart zone and then in one and two I just got run up the race track,” said Gragson. “I guess I was top of three wide. We were beating and banging. I don’t know, that’s what you’ve got to do. I dish it, so I sure as hell have got to take it.
“I respect the 98 for what he did. He’s going for the win, I’m going for the win, but most importantly we’re going to be racing for a championship next weekend at Homestead.”
Harrison Burton, who won Stage 2 earlier in the night, finished third to match his best finish of the season. Grant Enfinger was in a must-win situation, but despite his valiant effort finished fourth. Stewart Friesen completed the top-five.
The other Playoff drivers were scattered across the field. Johnny Sauter finished seventh but had already secured a spot in the Championship 4 with his win at Martinsville. Matt Crafton finished 11th, but fell short on points and will not advance. Justin Haley had engine troubles late in the race and retired from the event. He finished 28th but with his win last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway will also participate for the 2018 Championship at Homestead.
Stage 1 Battles Between Gragson and Moffitt
Todd Gilliland visits pit road to get full service, including four tires and fuel, from his pit crew. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
As the green flag flew, Gragson wasted no time securing the lead and took off, gaining an extra few seconds on second place. Slightly past halfway through the first stage, yellow came out when Todd Gilliland was hit by Tyler Ankrum, who misjudged his middle line as the two were passing the lapped truck of Jason White. The two went spinning and made slight contact with the outside wall, but both trucks were able to continue in the race.
On the restart, Brett Moffitt was able to get around Gragson on the outside and lead the final laps of the stage. Gragson stayed within a few tenths of Moffitt all of these laps but wasn’t able to get a pass on Moffitt as he took the Stage 1 win.
However, pit stops would get the best of the front two. Gragson slid into his pit box and actually clipped the inside pit wall. The team would have to push the truck back to get started on the right side, and then have to move the truck again to get to the left side for a full-service pit stop. Moffitt was caught speeding, so both ended up toward the back of the field. While they had a somewhat comfortable gap with points, this put them at risk of losing the points they would gain if they couldn’t get into the top-10 for those stage points.
Penalties & Mistakes Shake Up Front for Stage 2
At the restart, many drivers got much more comfortable with the layout, giving them the confidence to run more aggressively. The middle of the pack went 3 and 4-wide with some trucks using the apron of the new Turns 1 and 2. However, most of the laps after were uneventful until the end, as the No. 13 Tenda Ford driven by Myatt Snider started to stall. As the stage ended with Harrison Burton winning over a hard-charging Matt Crafton, some gambling happened with pit road.
John Hunter Nemechek decided to take two tires on the stage ending pit stop. Matt Crafton lost about six positions on pit road. And the Playoff picture continued to shuffle as Gragson and Moffitt both cracked into the top-10 in the final laps of the second stage.
Final Stage Desperation Among Playoff Contenders
Most of the final stage was a strong battle between John Hunter Nemechek and Grant Enfinger. Nemechek was fighting hard to prove his two-tire stop would pay off, and Grant Enfinger, over 20 points below the cutoff line for the Playoffs, was in a must-win position. As both drivers were starting to feel the pressure, Nemechek’s tires eventually gave way with about 20 laps to go in the race. He spun coming out of Turn 4, right in front of Nemechek and Gragson, who had inched his way up into the third position.
During the yellow flag, Justin Haley suddenly started to drop fluid around the track. His lucky win last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway after Todd Gilliland ran out of fuel on the last lap already secures his position at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the championship race. His truck came down pit road, and as crew members surrounded the truck, many gave the nods that appeared to be terminal.
Riley Herbst spins and crashes to bring out the final caution of the Lucas Oil 150. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
The red flag came out while the ISM Raceway safety crew cleaned up fluid from Haley’s truck all around the raceway. The red flag was out for just over 10 minutes.
On the restart, it was a tricky decision for Enfinger. The inside line was shorter, especially with the dogleg right after the start-finish line, but it was now filled with speedy dry from the red flag incident, so he would run the risk of low grip going into the first turn. If he chose the outside, he would be clear of the speedy dry but would run the risk of Gragson slipping in the speedy dry and hitting him. The final verdict was choosing the bottom lane, forcing Gragson to restart on the outside. However, it was no contest on the restart. Gragson got a strong start and was able to clear Enfinger going into Turn 1, who was battling three-wide with trucks from the second row.
Gragson pulled out to a good lead and was on cruise control for the win, as the battle for second also calmed down. However, with a few laps to go, Riley Herbst lost control of his truck and spun to bring out the final yellow, setting up for one last restart. Gragson chose the outside once again, but as he and Enfinger were battling for the lead, Moffitt was able to make a three-wide move to get around both drivers and claim the top spot. He would hold onto that lead and take the win over Gragson.
The Camping World Trucks hold their championship race at Homestead Miami Speedway next Friday on November 16, as Johnny Sauter, Justin Haley, Brett Moffitt and Noah Gragson will battle in the Ford EcoBoost 200 to see who will claim the 2018 Championship.
Noah Gragson claimed his sixth pole of 2018 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and will start in front for tonight’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway.
Being only 18 points above the cutoff line for the final round of the 2018 Playoffs, Gragson was determined to take the best step forward, setting a pace of 26.456 seconds at 136.075 mph.
“I’m going full offense mode,” Gragson said earlier today before qualifying. “I’m going to Phoenix to win the race. We ran really good there last year with Marcus Richmond and the team at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Myself and Christopher Bell, two teammates, we led I think all but 10 laps of that race, so I feel really confident in the way that I’ll be able to work with my Toyota Tundra out in Phoenix. It’s going to be a really good race track for my team and I feel really comfortable about it.”
Gragson beat Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Stewart Friesen and Brett Moffitt, rounding out the top five.
While Gragson has started strong and raced well at Phoenix, he hasn’t finished better than 15th. Last year, a late-race crash with Justin Haley prevented him from getting a potential victory in the series. He has one DNF at the raceway, and during the 2018 Playoffs has only finished a best of seventh.
When asked about the new layout, Gragson gave his thoughts on moving the start-finish line.
“I guess it is kind of the same track with a different configuration — with the start-finish line. I don’t know if you’re going to be able to change your lap time — in theory, you shouldn’t. Coming off the corner you might be able to change it up a little in the old turn one –new turns three and four. It’ll be a little bit different — that’s for sure. Restarts are going to be sketchy — that’s for sure, but I feel like if we can stay up front in my Safelite AutoGlass Tundra it’ll be no problem. Just feel really confident going into this weekend and hopefully, we can pick up that win and move on to Homestead. Then it’s all hammer down from there.”
The rest of the Playoff contenders will start in the top 15 positions: Matt Crafton (ninth), Grant Enfinger (12th) and Johnny Sauter (14th). The green flag will wave at 8:40 ET later this evening.
After a week removed from being locked into the Championship 4 with his win at Martinsville Speedway, Johnny Sauter took on the Lone Star State at Texas Motor Speedway in hopes of carrying the momentum with him.
It started out well in qualifying as he ended up winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole for the seventh time in his career. Unfortunately, his night went sour as soon as the race started.
His truck was loose from the get-go and he slipped back several spots. Sauter ended up bringing out the caution on Lap 7 due to a right rear flat going down. Throughout Stage 1, he continued to report on his truck, saying it was “loose center off 1 and 2” and pitting for chassis adjustments.
Sauter continued to fight his truck as it continued to get loose and made his way up to 19th after a caution. Ultimately, this is where he would finish for Stage 1. Sauter made adjustments for his loose handling truck during the pit stop.
On Lap 40, he was involved in the multi-truck crash that occurred and Sauter collected damage. His night continued to go south as he had another tire go down, this time occurring with a flat left rear. He continued to battle an ill-handling truck for the rest of Stage 2, and wound up 17th.
Even with the truck Sauter had, he managed to make it into the top five and ran in the top 10 for part of the final stage. The No. 21 GMS Racing team and Johnny Sauter did the best they could, and he salvaged an 11th place finish.
After the race, Sauter told MRN Radio, “That’s why last week was so important. Just proud of everybody at GMS on our ISM Connect Chevy. I got a flat rear tire right there at the beginning of the race and got a lap down, and the lucky dog or whatever they call it nowadays.”
“We were getting ready to back to green again and I was like, hey the left rear tire is flat. So we came and changed left sides, and from there I don’t even know what happened. We didn’t have any tires left obviously because we were out of tires at that point. We ran the last however many of laps on 10 set of tires. A night like tonight and you still finish 11th, that’s just persevering.”
“All in all, not the day we wanted,” he said, “but that’s the way it goes in racing.”
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their Round of 6 playoff run in the Lone Star State in Fort Worth, Texas for the annual running of the Jags Metals 350. Three spots are still up for grabs in the Championship 4 and five drivers have just two more chances. There is a great chance of another driver locking himself into the Championship 4 race at Homestead Miami.
Here’s a look at who could punch their way into victory lane Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
Currently, there are 35 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list. There are also some familiar faces in different rides.
These include Reed Sorenson in the 49, Baley Currey in the 83, Bo LeMastus in the 54, Parker Kligerman in the 35, Timmy Hill in the 87, David Gilliland in the 17, Corey Roper in the 04, Mike Harmon in the 15, Reid Wilson in the 7, Codie Rohrbaugh in the 9, Tyler Young in the 12, Camden Murphy in the 0, and Ross Chastain in the 38.
1. Johnny Sauter – It’s hard to beat a man who is just on a roll this year in the Truck Series. That person just happens to be six-time winner and 2016 champion, Johnny Sauter. In the last five fall races, he has won twice, finished 13th in 2015, 16th in 2014, and second in 2013. The 2016 race saw him advance to the Championship 4, and he ultimately won the championship that year. Last fall Sauter finished second and ninth respectively and led 21 laps. He finished fifth here in the spring race. Sauter has won at Texas overall five times giving him 20 starts, 10 top five and 16 top 10 finishes, with 360 laps led, an average start of 8.0 and an average finish of 6.0. He’ll be tough to beat as he a man on a mission looking to collect his second championship.
2. Matt Crafton – It’s hard to believe that the two-time champ does not have a win this year and he could go winless. However, much more is on the line than just a win – a spot in the Championship 4. Crafton is currently 10 points below the cutline, but this weekend could be the site for his first win of the season. He has a best finish of second that came in the fall of 2016. In the previous fall race, Crafton finished ninth after finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, in both stages. Overall, he has 35 starts with two wins, 429 laps led, 14 top fives and 24 top 10 finishes, giving him three DNF’s and an average start of 12.5 with an average finish of 9.1. In the spring race, Crafton finished fifth after placing second and 10th in both stages. This weekend could be the site where Crafton once again locks himself into the Championship 4 at Homestead and looks to be a three-time champion.
3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen only has one start in the fall race which came last year where he finished 14th. In the spring race, Friesen finished third after winning Stage 1 and finishing second in Stage 2 but came up short of winning. Overall in his career, he has just three starts with 13 laps led, one top five and one top 10 finish, giving him an average start of 11.7 and an average finish of 12.7. He might be out of the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean it stops Friesen from winning. Look for Friesen to be a strong contender Friday night.
4. Grant Enfinger – Like Crafton, Enfinger is on the bubble with just two points to the good. He’ll need two more good runs if he wants a shot at the championship. He has three overall starts with eight laps led, two top fives and three top 10 finishes. This gives Enfinger an average start of 10.7 and an average finish of 4.7. He has just one fall start that came last year where he finished seventh and led one lap. In the spring race, Enfinger finished fourth after he won Stage 2.
5. Justin Haley – Haley could be the next GMS truck driver that makes the Championship 4. He has three overall starts that gave him 28 laps led, two top fives and three top 10 finishes. This gives Haley an average start of 7.0 and an average finish of 4.7. He won the pole last fall and wound up fifth. The spring race saw Haley third on the scoring pylon.
Other notables and stats – Johnny Sauter has won five times at Texas. If he wins this weekend, Sauter will tie Todd Bodine who has six wins at the 1.5-mile track in Fort Worth. Brendan Gaughan is the only one to have won four in a row. Ron Hornaday is a three-time winner.
Since 1997, the Truck Series has competed at Texas Motor Speedway 41 times with just 19 fall races. Jay Sauter won the first fall race in October 1999. Five drivers have won from the pole with the last time in 2007 by Todd Bodine. The lowest a race winner has come from to win was 22nd in 2004, also set by Bodine.
The truckers get on track Thursday afternoon with the first practice slated for 4:05 p.m. ET and the final practice scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET. Qualifying takes place Friday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports 2.
The JAGS Metal 350 race coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio with stages of 35/70/147 laps.
After a wild race with 5-wide passing, Grant Enfinger emerges on top to grab the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the World of Westgate 200 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“Unbelievable day,” Enfinger said with a big sigh of relief. “[David] Pepper over here is pretty dry is it comes, so it’s kinda happy to see him get choked up a bit. We’ve put together a couple individual performances that could’ve won a race throughout the year, and this was the first time we put the whole package together. It’s a testament to ThorSport Racing.”
Johnny Sauter was rarely in the top ten, but managed to get better throughout the night. The final stage and restarts had his truck fighting for the win.
“We were off a little bit,” Sauter shared in the media center after the race. “So hats off to Joe and all my guys for working it all over. We drove to the lead, and felt like we were in good shape, but caution after caution after caution. Struggled on the restarts tonight, so we have work to do there.”
Sauter explained more specific frustrations claiming some competitors had built motors.
“Restarts are crazy. You have built motors out there that can turn an additional 1500 RPMs going on the restarts, so you feel very vulnerable. The No. 16 and 88 had built motors, and you’re at a disadvantage especially late in the race, and it’s been that way all year. It’s starting to really piss me off.”
Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton completed the results of the top five finishers. The other three playoff contenders were Brett Moffit, Stewart Friesen and Noah Gragson, who finished 11th, 17th and 18th respectively.
“We didn’t start off the best,” Haley said as he addressed the media. “We didn’t qualify too well, and were running with Johnny [Sauter] there. I’m really tired since I’m still on east coast time, but it was a good night. I agree with Johnny on the built motor statement, and it definitely is a disadvantage. I think it’s going to be a bigger disadvantage going into Homestead where there’s tire fall off.”
As Haley made these statements, Sauter was nodding his head.
Noah Gragson Leads All Laps in Stage 1
While running the second lap of competition, Tanner Thorson in the No. 20 GO Share Chevrolet swerved in the entry of Turn 4 to avoid a collision, causing his truck to drift outside of the preferred racing line and smacked the outside wall. His truck started to smoke from the damage along the front stretch, but before he could complete the third lap and enter pit road, his truck caught fire at the entrance of pit road, bringing out the first yellow of the race. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
As the field took the green for the second time of the evening, Matt Crafton, who started from the back, made an exciting 5-wide move on the back stretch to fight his way up to the sixth position. Joe Nemechek was the only other truck that
At the end of the first stage, Noah Gragson not only led all 30 laps but ran in front to over a four second lead over John Hunter Nemechek, 52, 4, 51. This was Gragson’s 10th stage win of the season.
Grant Enfinger Claims the Stage 2 Victory
As the field took the green flag for the second stage, Grant Enfinger was the dominant truck leading the most laps. On Lap 46, Bo LeMastus spun in Turn 3 to bring out the third yellow flag of the night. The second stage also saw more lead changes.
Gragson started to lead the opening laps, but was quickly passed by Friesen. Grant Enfinger put his truck out in front for one lap before Friesen reclaimed the top spot. The last 11 laps were led by Enfinger. The only yellow flag in the second stage was for the No. 17 Toyota of LeMastus.
Strategies Unfold in the Final Stage
Todd Gilliland was running in the top 10 for most of the race, but on lap 82, was battling with Friesen. On the front stretch, Gilliland tried to tuck in behind Friesen entering Turn 1, but Jesse Little was too close behind Friesen. Gilliland and Little made contact, sending Gilliland into the outside wall.
During pit stops, the various strategies between the teams began to unfold. Enfinger was the only truck that elected for fuel only. A small handful of drivers got right-side tires, and the rest of the field, including Gragson and Sauter, received full service.
With almost thirty laps to go, a four-wide pass on the backstretch caused contact with the outer two drivers. Gragson, the furthest to the outside, receive right front damage and a lap later, blew the left front tire. While he was able to keep it off the wall and enter pit road, he also received a commitment line violation as he entered pit road too late.
Friesen slipped out of Turn 4 and slid through the grass. Because of all the debris that got tossed onto the track, NASCAR through the yellow flag, trapping Noah Gragson a lap down. Gragson visited pit road multiple times after the right rear tire started to go flat.
With 13 laps to go, Cory Roper’s truck stalled on the front stretch to bring out the yellow flag. Brandon Jones also brought his Toyota Tundra on pit road, and as the crew raised the hood, it appeared that his truck was done for the race.
Stewart Friesen spun again on lap 130 to bring out the caution with five laps to go.
Three Attempts to Finish the World of Westgate 200
The “Big One” erupts at Vegas during the second overtime finish attempt. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
On the first attempt to finish the race with a green-white-checkered, it all started on the restart. While Brett Moffit got a great start on the outside, Johnny Sauter slightly slipped on the restart, but was able to stay within a truck-length of Moffit. However, Ben Rhodes made a move to the inside on the apron going into Turn 1. That forced both drivers to back out of the throttle and cram the field behind them. Sauter played defense on the exit of Turn 2 and along the backstretch. Thinking he was clear, he tried to close the door on Enfinger, but contact between the two trucks caused Sauter to go sideways slightly on the backstretch, but towards the back of the field. Cody Caughlin ended up spinning out, making heavy contact with the inside wall. The yellow came out before the leaders took the white flag, forcing a second attempt to finish the race.
On this restart, the field seemed to have a better start as a whole. Moffit still had a strong restart, but as the field entered the backstretch, mayhem began to unfold. By the time they entered Turn 3, there were three different 3-wide battles, one 4-wide battle and one 5-wide battle. Before the leaders could get to the start/finish line, the No. 25 truck of Timothy Peters was sideways in the exit of Turn 4. Roughly nine trucks were involved, including John Hunter Nemechek, TJ Bell, Jordan Anderson and Austin Hill.
The race was red flagged for just over ten minutes to clean up debris and fluid from pit road entrance, in the grass and along the front stretch.
The final attempt was heartbreak for Moffit. When the green flag waved for the last restart, Moffit’s truck appeared to not pick up fuel in time, as he barely got out of Sauter’s way in the outside lane. Moffit would eventually get back up to speed, but not before most of the field got around him. He finished 11th.
“Just ran out of fuel,” Moffit shared “I didn’t put enough in the pick up.”
Enfinger to his inside took full advantage and cleared the field going into Turn 1. He never looked back, leading the final two laps to claim the victory over Johnny Sauter.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races again at Talladega Superspeedway on October 13. Visit the Talladega Superspeedway website to purchase tickets today!
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Unofficial Race Results for the 22Nd Annual World Of Westgate 200 – Friday, September 14, 2018 Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV – 1.5 Mile Paved Total Race Length – 144 Laps – 216 Miles
Pos
St
Trk
Driver
Team
Make
1
3
98
Grant Enfinger
(P) Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records
Ford
2
6
21
Johnny Sauter
(P) Allegiant
Chevrolet
3
12
24
Justin Haley
(P) Fraternal Order Of Eagles
Chevrolet
4
18
41
Ben Rhodes
(P) The Carolina Nut Co.
Ford
5
29
88
Matt Crafton
(P) Ideal Door/Menards
Ford
6
13
13
Myatt Snider #
Century Container
Ford
7
24
15
Ross Chastain(i)
Premium Motorsports
Chevrolet
8
21
30
Austin Theriault
Cross Insurance
Toyota
9
25
22
Austin Wayne
Self GO TEXAN
Chevrolet
10
4
54
Chris Eggleston
H2O Fire Protection
Toyota
11
9
16
Brett Moffitt
(P) TZ
Toyota
12
27
10
Jennifer Jo
Cobb Waldo’s Painting Company
Chevrolet
13
20
7
Korbin Forrister
TruClear
Toyota
14
30
45
Justin Fontaine #
ProMATIC Automation/Superior Essex
Chevrolet
15
26
97
Jesse Little
JJL Motorsports
Ford
16
28
83
Bayley Currey
Chevrolet
17
2
52
Stewart Friesen
(P) We Build America
Chevrolet
18
1
18
Noah Gragson
(P) Safelite AutoGlass
Toyota
19
14
25
Timothy Peters
Kingman
Chevrolet
20
32
3
Jordan Anderson
Commercial Property Services
Chevrolet
21
23
38
TJ Bell
Niece Equipment
Chevrolet
22
8
8
John Hunter
Nemechek(i) Berry’s Manufacturing
Chevrolet
23
16
02
Austin Hill
Young’s Building Systems/Randco
Chevrolet
24
15
2
Cody Coughlin
GOD BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD
Chevrolet
25
19
04
Cory Roper
Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc.
Ford
26
7
51
Brandon Jones(i)
Delta Faucet/Menards
Toyota
27
10
4
Todd Gilliland #
JBL/SiriusXM
Toyota
28
31
49
Wendell Chavous
Sobriety Nation
Chevrolet
29
5
46
Riley Herbst
Advance Auto Parts
Toyota
30
17
17
Bo LeMastus #
Crosley Brands
Toyota
31
22
87
Joe Nemechek
Harrah’s
Chevrolet
32
11
20
Tanner Thorson
GO Share
Chevrolet
(P) Playoff Contender
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
(#) Rookie
The Round of 8 and the third annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs began this past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Some drivers upped their A game, while others had a frustrating day in another thrilling finish.
Here’s a look at this week’s power ranking following Canada and the first race in the Playoffs.
Noah Gragson – Gragson dominated most of the race by starting second and winning both stages. He led three times for 35 laps and earned two playoff points. His day looked to be done after a restart in the final stage as he slipped back and was passed by Johnny Sauter for the lead. However, a late race caution with four to go, set up a NASCAR Overtime restart. Race leader, Todd Gilliland, got out in front and was able to pull away for the most part, until Gragson began to follow in his tire tracks. As noted in recent history, this place has been known for last lap passes and controversial finishes. Sunday proved that once more as Gragson went to make a move on the bottom on his teammate in the final turn. Unfortunately, his move didn’t work, ending up taking out his teammate for the win and he was relegated to a ninth-place finish. With his ninth-place finish and his two stage wins on Sunday, the No. 18 Safelite driver is now fourth in the standings, 24 points above the cut line. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
Todd Gilliland – Gilliland proves week in and week out that he has tons of talent and incredible driving ability. Especially since for most tracks, he is making his first starts at racetracks in a truck. Gilliland played strategy at the end of both stages by pitting with two to go in order to have track position for the next stage. His time to shine came on Lap 54 where he took the lead from Sauter. Unfortunately, a caution came out late with four to go, and his four-second lead was evaporated over Gragson who was trying to catch him. He continued to lead until the final lap where Gragson made the move and accidentally took him out in trying to win. With the incident, Gilliland finished in 11th place finish after leading 11 laps. Gilliland will look to rebound and race for the win in the final seven races. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
Johnny Sauter – Sauter had a quiet, but solid day at the road course in Canada. The regular season champion started sixth after qualifying in the rain Saturday evening. The No. 21 GMS Racing driver finished seventh in both stages. After a restart late in the race, Sauter took the lead and led once for nine laps and wound up finishing sixth for his 14th top-10 of the year. He leads the playoff points standings over Brett Moffitt by six points. Previous Week Ranking: 1st
Justin Haley – What becomes a misfortune for one becomes good fortune for another. This was the case for the No. 24 GMS Racing team with the driver that broke through the last lap melee and earned his second win of the season. Haley started in the eighth position and finished third in both stages. Haley was able to lead once on Lap 34 and of course, came out on top of the wreckage for the first playoff win of his career. With his win, he is now locked into the Round of 6. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
Matt Crafton – Crafton showed speed this weekend in qualifying and throughout the race. His day was almost similar to Sauter’s as he didn’t make much noise but got the job done and accomplished what he needed to do and that was to finish the race. Crafton had a decent qualifying effort by starting in the fourth position. He finished fifth in both stages and after the thrilling finish, Crafton finished fifth for his sixth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: Not RankedFell Out
1. Stewart Friesen – Friesen had an up and down day at CTMP. He spun around early on in the race but was able to rebound and finish seventh after starting 16th. He was able to finish sixth in the second stage but did not collect any stage points in the first stage. He sits sixth, one point above the cut line.
2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a good day at CTMP. He won the pole and finished second in Stage 1, but did not finish in the top-10 at all in Stage 2. Rhodes led six laps, but that was the most noise he made as he finished 14th after he had contact from Sauter on the last lap. He sits seventh, one point behind the cut line. He’ll need to win a couple of stages or win at Las Vegas or Talladega to advance to the next round.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs will begin this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It will be the first time a road course has ever started the Playoffs for the Truck Series.
This will be the third time the Playoffs take center stage for the Truck Series since the first year it was implemented in 2016. Eight drivers over seven races will round out the Playoffs for the remaining 2018 schedule.
These seven races consist of the opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, then heading off to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway concluding the Round of 8.
Then the Round of 6 begins with three consecutive races in a row beginning at Martinsville on October 27th. This round goes to Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, and with the finale at ISM Raceway on Friday, November 9th.
After all is said and done, and four drivers advance on to compete for the championship that will be held at the season finale in Southern Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway slated for November 16th.
However, let’s take a look at the eight drivers who will be running for the championship and who might have a shot to be in the final four at Homestead.
The eight drivers competing for the 2018 Truck Series championship are Johnny Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley, and Matt Crafton.
Johnny Sauter- Sauter will be competing in his third consecutive playoff since the first one in 2016. He has 42 bonus points and is seeded No. 1 in the playoff standings. You could say his 2018 season is almost relative to his 2016 championship season. It’s obvious that Sauter has the most experience in these situations. In his 2016 championship season, the Playoffs began at New Hampshire. Throughout the eight races that year, Sauter finished 10th, seventh at Las Vegas and seventh at Talladega. After solid finishes in the first couple of races, his time came as he won two consecutive races at Martinsville and Texas. With his win at Texas, he punched his ticket for his first Championship 4. While current Cup regular, William Byron may have won the finale, Sauter was the one who pulled through by being the highest finisher by finishing third and clinching his first ever title. In 2017, Sauter was the regular season champion and was crowned after winning the race at Chicago. He won two races again at Texas and Phoenix, allowing him to get a Championship 4 spot for the second consecutive year in a row. Sauter came up one spot short in hopes of securing his second championship to Christopher Bell who finished second. Sauter is on pace currently almost having a year comparable to 2016. This year so far, he has collected five wins, twelve top fives and 13 top-10 finishes. His wins at Daytona, Dover, Texas and Bristol locked him into the Playoffs for a third consecutive year. He was also the regular season champion. If everything goes according to plan and his season continues the way it has, it would be to no surprise to see him in Championship 4 again in 2018.
Brett Moffitt – Moffitt and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team will be competing in their first ever playoff. Their wins at Atlanta, Iowa, and Michigan put them in the Playoffs this year. It didn’t come without struggle though, as the team fought hard to secure sponsorship for the remaining races. They were almost done earlier in the summer as they didn’t have sponsorship for the following week. And with that, the Hattori team wouldn’t be competing in the Playoffs because they would not have been granted a waiver. The team is still in search of sponsorship for races at Talladega and Texas. If they can get sponsorship for those races and continue to win, they will have a shot at the championship in Southern Florida. Regardless of what is happening at the moment, Moffitt is the second seed with 27 bonus points. It’ll be interesting to see how the No. 16 team fares in the Playoffs after their best season to date and almost closing earlier in the year.
Noah Gragson – Like Moffitt, Gragson will be competing in his first playoff as well. 2018 has been a so-so year for the No. 18 Safelite Tundra driver. His 2018 season got off to a rocky start. He crashed at Daytona, finished second at Atlanta, 12th at Vegas, fifth at Martinsville, and almost had a shot to win at Dover until he and Sauter made contact in the remaining laps relegating him to a 20th place finish. He finally broke through at Kansas by earning a pole and winning the race. So far, this has been his only race win of the year. Gragson has been close multiple times by finishing second at Iowa in a thriller, fourth at Chicago after starting on the pole, and eighth at Kentucky, starting on the pole there as well. He’s led 475 laps and has an average start of 5.1 with an average finish of 8.3. But he has collected two DNF’s at Daytona and Dover. On the brighter side of things, he has seven stage wins with six top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He will be seeded third in the standings with 22 bonus points. Gragson did not qualify for the Playoffs last year, but he did earn a win at Martinsville.
Ben Rhodes – With his win at Kentucky, Rhodes solidified a playoff spot. He’s had an up and down 2018 season. He started off the season by finishing fourth at Daytona and Atlanta. Rhodes earned a pole at Martinsville but finished 12th. His struggles began at Kansas by finishing 18th, 16th at Texas, 17th at Iowa and 19th at Gateway, with the Playoffs being a little uncertain for the No. 41 ThorSport team. They collected a second place finish at Chicago and finally won at Kentucky in his home state. This won’t be his first Playoffs as he competed in the Playoffs last year. In one of the rounds, Rhodes won his first ever race at Las Vegas, advancing forward, but he suffered a crash at Talladega. Despite his win at Vegas, he couldn’t continue on to compete in the Championship 4 with a couple of bad finishes. In the end, Rhodes finished fifth in the standings. He’ll be seeded fourth with 14 playoff points to carry into the first round.
Stewart Friesen – Friesen is having his best season to date after running off and on for the first few years. This is his first full-time season competing in the No. 52 Halmar team with having a technical alliance with GMS Racing. He’s been close multiple times this year to earn his first ever win. Friesen finished third at Kansas and second at Texas after starting on the pole and leading 13 laps. He struggled a little bit mid-summer, finishing 13th at Gateway and 19th at Chicago. Since then, however, he’s rebounded to finish in the top-five four times including a second at Bristol, where he almost won the race. It’ll be the first time Friesen competes in the Playoffs and the first time competing in the Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He is seeded fifth with 12 playoff points.
Grant Enfinger – Enfinger could be a sleeper in the playoff run. He’s been steadily quiet but consistent this year. The No. 98 team collected four top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He’s had an average start of 7.7 and an average finish of 8.2. His best finish this year came at Eldora by finishing second, just .038 seconds behind of his first ever win. Enfinger has had some stage wins this year, especially at Michigan. At Bristol, he locked up his playoff spot during the second stage. In 2016, he won at Talladega which was in the Playoffs but he was was not a playoff contender. He missed out on the Playoffs last year but competed in the whole season. His best finishes came at New Hampshire and Talladega where he finished fourth. At Homestead last year, he finished eighth, ending the season in 11th place in the standings. Enfinger and the No. 98 team are slated as the sixth seed with 11 playoff points.
Justin Haley- Like Enfinger, Haley and the No. 24 GMS Racing team have also been quiet this year. With a win at Gateway, his first ever career win, he locked himself into the Playoffs. His season started out with a second place at Daytona but he had a couple of disappointing finishes at Atlanta and Vegas. He got right back on track with his win at Gateway and since then, Haley has collected five top-10 finishes. For 2018, the No. 24 team has collected five top fives and 12 top-10 finishes, along with an average start of 10.1 and an average finish of 9.6. With Martinsville and Texas being in the Playoffs, Haley finished 10th and third, respectively. As the regular season came to an end at Bristol, he finished sixth. In 2017, he finished 13th at New Hampshire, had engine issues at Vegas and finished 21st, collected a 16th at Talladega, an 11th at Martinsville, won the pole at Texas and finished fifth, finished 14th at Phoenix and ninth at Homestead. The No. 24 team is seeded seventh in the standings with nine playoff points. Haley can be seen as a dark horse and could punch his way into the Championship 4.
Matt Crafton – 2018 has been an uncharacteristic season for the No. 88 Menards ThorSport driver, almost similar to his 2012 season. This will be Crafton’s third consecutive playoff appearance since the inaugural year in 2016. Through the first two Playoffs, he qualified for the Championship 4 with his best finish of second in the standings in 2016. He was the second highest finisher to 2016 champion, Johnny Sauter. In 2016, Crafton won at Dover and Charlotte to lock himself in. In the 2016 playoff rounds, Crafton finished third at New Hampshire, eighth at Vegas, 22nd at Talladega, 17th at Martinsville, second at Texas, third at Phoenix, then finished seventh at Homestead in the championship race. In 2017, he won at Eldora just a few races prior to the Playoffs. Crafton finished fourth in the standings. He had finishes of sixth at New Hampshire, seventh at Vegas, ninth at Talladega, second at Martinsville, ninth at Texas, 21st at Phoenix and sixth at Homestead to finish fourth in the championship standings. In 2018 though, Crafton has had an up and down year. Stat wise, he collected five top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with two DNFs and 53 laps led. Crafton also has had an average start of 9.4 and an average finish of 11.4. His season got off to a disappointing start by finishing 19th at Daytona, brake issues which saw him finish 29th at Vegas, and at Martinsville, he finished 15th. Despite those finishes, his season started to turn around a little at Dover, where Crafton finished second. He went on to finish sixth at Kansas, 11th at Charlotte, fifth at Texas, but then had problems at Iowa and Gateway. But he had solid finishes at Kentucky, Eldora, Pocono, Michigan and Bristol. Things did seem a little uncertain about making the Playoffs this year, but Crafton and the No. 88 team pulled through with an eighth-place finish at Bristol and locked themselves in for a third consecutive year. He will be seeded in the eighth position with just three playoff points but believes the team will break through anytime.
