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  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    After two postponements due to rain and snow, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumed action on Monday morning after completing just 23 laps before being red-flagged Saturday afternoon. There are some new names on top of the power list rankings and some who fell out, while others get honorable mentions. Here’s a look at this week’s truck series power rankings.

      1. John Hunter Nemechek: After having a dismal start to 2018 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nemechek sure turned that around Monday by collecting his first ever grandfather clock. After starting eighth, he finished sixth and fifth in both stages, respectively. Nemechek didn’t take the lead until the final 31 laps of the race and held off a hard-charging Kyle Benjamin by .106 seconds. However, Nemechek didn’t collect truck points as he is collecting NASCAR Xfinity Series points this year.
        Previous Rankings: Not Ranked
      2. Brett Moffitt: Moffitt continues to impress in the Truck Series. In the previous race outing at Las Vegas, he finished third after starting sixth.  This week at Martinsville, Moffitt finished third once more after starting seventh. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and finished sixth in Stage 2. Hattori Racing and Brett Moffitt continue their momentum from their Atlanta win a few weeks ago. The No. 16 driver sits third in the point standings, 31 behind leader Johnny Sauter.
        Previous Ranking: 2nd
      3. Ben Rhodes: After earning his first pole of the season, Rhodes led 23 laps until the red flag came out Saturday afternoon. Once the race resumed Monday, he was the dominant truck to beat. Rhodes won Stages 1 and 2 after leading most of the laps in those stages and collecting 10 playoff points each. Unfortunately, losing positions on pit road was the issue that ultimately cost Rhodes the race win. The scoring pylon at the end of the race showed the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford 12th.
        Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
      4. Kyle Benjamin: Benjamin and the No. 54 David Gilliland Racing team almost scored an upset victory Monday at Martinsville. Benjamin started fourth and stayed in the top 10 for Stage 1 to finish fifth. In Stage 2, he, unfortunately, did not place in the top 10.  After Stage 2, however, Benjamin took the lead on lap 146 and led for 74 laps until Nemechek took the lead on lap 220. The No. 54 driver stayed up there with Nemechek especially in the remaining laps and gave everything he could for the race win. He came up .106 sec short, finishing second in his first ever career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
        Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
      5. Grant Enfinger: Enfinger earned another top-five finish of his career at Martinsville. A strong qualifying effort placed the No. 98 Tundra third. Enfinger finished third and ninth, respectively in Stages 1 and 2.  Ultimately, he wound up fourth for his second top-five of the year.
        Previous Ranking: 4th

    Honorable Mentions

    1. Noah Gragson: Fall winner Noah Gragson finished fifth after starting 11th.
    2. Timothy Peters: Peters was back in a truck for the first time this year driving the No. 92 Ricky Benton Racing Ford. He would come home inside the top 10 finishing seventh.
    3. Cory Roper: Roper competed for the first time ever in the Truck Series driving for his team Roper Racing. The No. 04 Ford finished 13th in his first ever NASCAR start. Not bad for a place like Martinsville.

    Fell out of the Power Rankings
    1.  Johnny Sauter: Sauter was looking for his second win of the season at Martinsville on Monday. However, he brought out the caution on lap 225 and collected competitor, Matt Crafton. Sauter collected a disappointing 19th place finish.
    2. Dalton Sargeant: While not a dismal day, Sargeant battled a difficult truck as he did not place in the top 10 in either stage. He wound up finishing 11th.
    3. Stewart Friesen: Friesen looked like he had the truck to beat early on. He qualified fifth and finished seventh in Stage 1. Unfortunately, Friesen was collected in two incidents. One on Lap 87, which was an accident that involved others in Turn 2 and again was involved in an incident on Lap 117. This ultimately placed him 20th.

  • 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.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race From Las Vegas

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race From Las Vegas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series normally visits Las Vegas in the fall during the Playoffs, but this time they visited Vegas in the spring for the first time ever. As always, the trucks did not disappoint. Here are four takeaways from the Stratosphere 200.

    1. Busch Gets 50th Career Win – After starting on the pole, leading 55 laps and retaking the lead on lap 120, Kyle Busch never looked back as he scored his 50th career truck series win. With this win, he is now one win away from tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. If Busch keeps his winning ways up, he’ll more than likely surpass Hornaday’s record this year and make him the all-time wins leader.
    2. Brake Problems Leaves Crafton With Poor Finish – Two-time champ Matt Crafton was winless in 17 starts prior to entering the event and was looking to earn that first elusive win at Las Vegas. However, early on in the race on Lap 40, brake problems left him with a 29th place finish. Crafton will have to wait until the fall event in hopes of scratching Vegas off the tracks he has not won yet.
    3. Justin Marks Shines With 11th Place Finish – Marks made his 2018 racing season debut Friday night driving the No. 54 David Gilliland Racing machine. It was the first ever truck race for Marks since 2016 at Atlanta. He even was fastest in first practice beating guys like Brett Moffitt and Noah Gragson. While Marks didn’t place in the top 10 in either stage, it was still a decent finish for the No. 54 Tundra.
    4. Sauter Remains One To Beat Early In 2018 – With a second place finish at Vegas, it still shows he is the one to beat. It’s far too early to place any bets on who the 2018 champion will be and who will be challenging for the championship, but with a second at Daytona, third at Atlanta and second at Las Vegas, Sauter will for sure be a strong contender and challenger for the 2018 championship.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Las Vegas

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Las Vegas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series headed out west last Friday night for the first inaugural spring race held at the 1.5-mile speedway.  It was a familiar face on top of the scoring pylon at the end of the day. Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Johnny Sauter: Sauter continues the GMS Racing momentum after finishing second in the Stratosphere 200. After starting third, he remained in the top 10 in both stages while finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Sauter was up front for the win at the end, but just fell one sport short and finished behind race winner Kyle Busch .437 seconds. This gave Sauter his third top five of the season and he is the series points leader over Brett Moffitt by 39 points.
      Previous Week Ranked: 2nd
    2. Brett Moffitt: Moffitt added another strong finish for Hattori Racing after visiting victory lane last weekend in Atlanta. The No. 16 AISIN Group driver started third and finished eighth in Stage 1, and fifth in Stage 2. Moffitt also led twice for 27 laps throughout the race. He is second in the standings behind 2016 champion Johnny Sauter.
      Previous Week Ranked: 1st
    3. Stewart Friesen: Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing continue to shine with another top-five finish in the 2018 season. He started second alongside pole winner and eventual race winner Kyle Busch. That was his best starting spot since winning the pole at Eldora last year. The team worked hard to stay in the top 10 during both stages. In Stage 1 he finished fourth. Friesen ended up winning the second stage, which could help him out later in the season should he make the Playoffs. Ultimately, the No. 52 driver ended the day fifth, leaving him with his third top five of his career and the first of the season.
      Previous Week Ranked: N/R
    4. Grant Enfinger: While it shouldn’t be a surprise, Enfinger had a nice solid top-five finish outing at Las Vegas. While working a challenging truck early on in the race, he worked hard to get to the front. He didn’t place at all in Stage 1 but did earn some points in Stage 2 finishing ninth. When the checkered flag flew, the Curb Records driver finished fourth, giving him his first top five of the year and the 12th of his career.  Enfinger sits third in the standings, 40 points behind Sauter.
      Previous Week Ranked: N/R
    5. Dalton Sargeant: Sargeant, in just the ninth race of his career, earned a career-best sixth place finish at Vegas. As the race started, he worked his way up to the middle half of the field from the rear. After a couple of adjustments to the truck, Sargeant finished 14th just four spots short outside the top 10. The No. 25 truck continued to struggle for most of the night with handling issues and wound up 13th in Stage 2. In the final stage, the GMS Racing team continued to work on the truck to get it to Dalton’s liking and he finished sixth for the best finish of his career.
      Previous Week Ranked: N/A

    Honorable Mentions
    1. Ben Rhodes: Rhodes came home with another top 10 finish by placing seventh.
    2. Justin Fontaine: Fontaine stood out in the top 10 finishing ninth with the Niece Motorsports entry. He gave the team their second top 10 finish of the year with the first one coming at Daytona.

    Fell out of the Power Rankings
    1. Matt Crafton: Brake issues limited the No. 88 team for a good finish to a 29th place finish.
    2. Noah Gragson: Gragson and the No. 18 Switch Tundra finished 12th after finishing second last week at Atlanta.
    3. Jesse Little: Did not compete in this week’s race.

  • 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.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Atlanta Motor Speedway

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Atlanta Motor Speedway

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came to Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend following the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the only doubleheader of the season. The Active Pest Control 200 sure didn’t disappoint as it came down to the wire and the last restart of the race.

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Brett Moffit – Moffit surprised the field Saturday night by taking home his second career Truck Series victory. A late race caution came out on Lap 126 when Dalton Sargeant and Josh Reaume got collected to send the race into overtime. Moffit led the most important two laps of the race and won for the first time since 2016 at Michigan. With this win, Hattori Racing and Moffit are now locked into the Playoffs.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter came into a track where he had no wins in the previous seven races. It looked like that streak could have ended Saturday, but he scored another third-place finish. This was Sauter’s second consecutive third-place finish at Atlanta. He will have to wait another year to check this track off. Sauter started ninth and finished seventh and second respectively in both stages, along with leading three times for 12 laps.
    3. Noah Gragson – Gragson scored his career-best track finish this past weekend. In last year’s race, he finished 14th after starting 10th. This year, Gragson started third, won the first stage and finished fifth in Stage 2. Gragson only led 43 laps before ultimately finishing second after restarting ninth with two laps to go.
    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton headed to one of his favorite tracks on the truck series circuit, Atlanta, in hopes of locking himself into the Playoffs early. After starting second, he took the lead on lap 44 and led for seven laps. This would be the only time Crafton led in the race. He finished second in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. However, the No. 88 Menards driver ultimately finished fifth at the end of the day. Crafton sits second in the point standings, 31 points behind Daytona winner Johnny Sauter.
    5. Jesse Little – Little competed in his first race of the 2018 season this past Saturday. The last time the No. 97 driver raced was at Phoenix where he started 24th and finished 18th due to a crash on lap 134. Atlanta saw Little make his track debut. After starting 12th, he finished fifth in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. After a late race restart, the scoring pylon showed the No. 97 team eighth. It was a solid outing for Little’s first start at Atlanta.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Atlanta

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Atlanta

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads north of Daytona this weekend for the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be the second race of the 2018 season for what has already been an exciting start for the Truck Series. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at who will be hot and might end up in victory lane.

    There are 34 trucks currently entered on the preliminary entry list.

    In the last three races, there have been three different winners. And there is a high possibility that there could be a fourth different winner this Saturday.

    1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be competing in his first truck race of the season this weekend. It will be the first of five races on the schedule for the Las Vegas native. However, the last time Busch went to victory lane was eight years ago in 2010. Since the truck series returned to Atlanta in 2015, he has competed in one race which came in last year’s Active Pest Control 200. During the race, Busch ran second in both stages. Unfortunately, issues arose late in the race and relegated him to a 26th place finish. Although, you can never really count him out in any race that Busch races in. Be sure to keep an eye on him all weekend long. He also scored wins in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
    2. Matt Crafton – After a somewhat forgettable Daytona finish last weekend, Crafton is heading to one of his favorite race tracks statistically. In 16 races, he has one win (2015), five top fives and nine top 10 finishes, along with one pole and 173 laps led. Crafton also has an average starting position of 13.7 and an average finish of 12.0. He also will be using a truck that has three wins, especially at Atlanta. Crafton is the highest active driver statistically. In 2017, he finished runner-up. The previous year, Crafton was taken out in a multi-vehicle accident late in the race which put him 30th and he won the year before that. The No. 88 Menards driver will be up in contention for victory this weekend at Atlanta.
    3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is carrying momentum to Atlanta after scoring the victory last weekend at Daytona. In two of the past three races, he has a finish of third and sixth respectively. In 2016, he was caught with issues late in the race thus relegating him to a 28th place finish. Surprisingly enough, Sauter does not have a win in the past seven races at Atlanta. He has collected one top five and three top 10 finishes, with no laps led. His average starting position is 11.1 and he has an average finishing position of 14.7. Regardless of what the stats say, Sauter could use the momentum from Daytona and catapult for his first ever track win at the 1.5-mile speedway.
    4. Joe Nemechek – Nemechek will be back once again competing for the Nemco Motorsports team. This time, however, he will adorn the No. 8 Chevy. In two races, he has one top 10 finish which came in 2015 when Nemechek finished 10th. In his only other start that came last year, he ended up finishing 24th, two laps down. However, Joe’s son, John Hunter, took the truck to victory lane two years ago for his first ever victory. Joe finished third in the truck race last Friday night at Daytona.
    5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger could be a surprise winner this weekend. In two races, he has one top five and two top 10 finishes, and four laps led. The No. 98 Tundra driver finished ninth in Stage 1 before coming home eighth in the final running order.

    Last year’s winner Christopher Bell, who will not be competing, started first and finished first, and also led 99 of the scheduled 130 laps. In the past three races, the lowest a driver has ever won from a starting spot was John Hunter Nemechek who started 18th when he went to victory lane in 2016.

    Live coverage for the truck series starts Friday afternoon with two practice sessions scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET and final practice slated for 4:05 p.m. ET all on FS1. Qualifying will be held early Saturday morning at 10:35 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, with race coverage starting at 4:30 p.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 4:49 p.m. ET.

     

  • Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series started the 2018 season last Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Here are four takeaways from the event itself.

    1. GMS Racing Look To Recapture Championship – GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter started off the season with a win, followed by the No. 24 of Justin Haley. If history repeats itself, Sauter would wind up winning his second championship this year as he won the season opener a few years ago and won the championship in that year. It could happen again, but there are a lot of hungry and new drivers looking to knock off the seasoned veterans for the championship.
    2. Scott Lagasse Jr. Gets A For Effort – Lagasse Jr earned a fifth-place finish Friday night at Daytona. It was his best finish at the historic 2.5-mile superspeedway since the 2015 race where he finished third. Regardless of where he finished in the stages, he gets an A for effort while earning his second top five of his career.
    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Star-Studded Lineup – The driver lineup will look different this year for Kyle Busch Motorsports than it did in past years. Noah Gragson returns for his second full-time season driving the famed No. 18. Todd and David Gilliland will split the rides until Todd turns 18 at Charlotte in May. Spencer Davis and Kyle Busch will also spit the No. 51 Truck. While at Charlotte, KBM will field four entries with Todd in the No. 4, Gragson in the No. 18, Busch in the No. 51 and Brandon Jones in the No. 46. As you can see, the KBM entries are fielded with bright stars looking to make an impact and headlines in 2018.
    4. Jordan Anderson Fields Own Entry In 2018 – It will be interesting to see how Anderson does competing in his own team this year. He will be fielding the No. 3 Toyota Tundra in 2018. He was there at the end challenging for the win despite not finishing in the top 10 in both stages. However, just like Spencer Davis, Anderson went spinning around at the start-finish line to earn the first top 10 of his career. If Anderson can keep this up, he will have a solid 2018 season.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings – Daytona

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings – Daytona

    The first race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season kicked-off this past Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Of course, there were intense moments as always when racing at superspeedways with the possibility of an upset winner. However, it was a familiar foe back on top of the scoring pylon for his first win of the season. Here’s a look at the top five power rankings leaving Daytona.

    1. Johnny Sauter – The last time Sauter left Daytona as the winner was in 2016. Later on that year, he would clinch and collect his first ever NASCAR Truck Series championship. So could that be a sign for Sauter in 2018? Only time will tell, but expect him to run up front and be in contention for stage wins and race wins. Sauter started second, led for 39 laps and finished second, and first respectively in both stages. His season is off to the right start as he carries momentum to Atlanta this weekend. However, he will have to continue his strong runs for the next 22 races if he wants to be champion again.
    2. Justin Haley – Haley scored his career-best finish in the Truck Series since Kentucky of last year (third). This also carried a 1-2 finish for GMS Racing this past weekend. GMS Racing is off to a strong start in 2018 and will be tough to challenge for the championship as the season goes on.
    3. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes also earned a career-best at track finish of fourth. His best Daytona finish prior to the race was seventh in 2016. After starting 24th, he worked his way up and avoided all the melee to earn his first top-five finish of the year and his 10th of his career.
    4. Joe Nemechek – When in Daytona, you can expect a unique top five or top 10 finish. Nemechek did just that after the carnage was all said and done as he posted third on the scoring pylon. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as he came in fifth in last year’s race. This was Nemechek’s fourth top-five finish of his career. Not bad for someone who doesn’t regularly compete.
    5. Spencer Davis – Davis competed in his first ever truck series race this past weekend at Daytona driving the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra. Stage 1 started off well for Davis as he would finish 11th. Just one spot outside the top 10 to earn playoff points. In Stage 2, he upped that position by finishing 10th. Davis was there at the end and if something had happened, he could have capitalized on it and possibly become the upset winner. However, he would end up sliding around across the finish line to earn a seventh-place finish.
  • 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.