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  • Chandler Smith nabs eight races with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Chandler Smith nabs eight races with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Announced today via Kyle Busch Motorsports, Chandler Smith will drive the famed No. 51 Toyota Tundra in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with sponsorship from JBL. The Georgia native made a lot of noise early on in his Truck Series career by having outstanding performances.

    Last year Smith competed in four races and will add four more in 2020 for a total of eight races with KBM. Those eight races include Richmond International Raceway on April 18 and Dover International Speedway on May 1. During those two races, he will be a part of the annual “Triple Truck Challenge.” Then the next time Smith will be on-track in the truck will be August 8 at Michigan International Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on August 21, Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 25, Talladega Superspeedway on October 3 and his final race of the year will be at Phoenix International Raceway on November 6.

    While some of these tracks may be new to Smith, he competed in four races last year and had stellar performances by achieving three top fives and four top-10 finishes with a best finish of second at Bristol last August. The KBM driver made his first start at Iowa Speedway last June and led 55 laps. During that time, the Georgia native was able to learn quickly in those four races.

    “I learned a lot about racing in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series last season in my four races and I’m thankful to everyone at KBM, JBL, Toyota and TRD for the opportunity to have an expanded schedule this year,” Smith said. “Danny Stockman (crew chief) and all the guys on the No. 51 team are already off to a great start getting a win with Kyle (Busch) at Las Vegas and having a strong run with Riley (Herbst) at Daytona. I know they are going to provide me with fast JBL Tundras every week. If I do my job and we execute as a team, I’m confident that we’ll be able to rack up a few wins and put ourselves in position to bring home another owner’s championship for KBM.”

    Team-Owner Kyle Busch says Smith reminds him a lot of former drivers Erik Jones and most recently driver Christian Eckes.

    “Chandler is one of those young drivers that come along and are able to produce speed and run up front at every level as they progress up the ladder and it was no different for him last year in the Truck Series,” owner Kyle Busch said. “He was fastest in practice for his first truck race and went out and led a bunch of laps. Although he had just four races on his schedule, he was in the mix for the win a couple of times and we feel that his first of many wins at KBM is just around the corner.

    While running a part-time schedule this year, Busch says it’s intended to prepare Smith for running full-time in 2021.

    “Much like some of the younger guys before him, Erik Jones and most recently Christian Eckes, we feel that the schedule he is running for his second year in trucks is a mix of different types of tracks and with a good portion of his races coming during the Playoffs it will help to prepare him for running for rookie of the year and competing for a championship next season.”

  • Busch set for five-race schedule in the Truck Series

    Busch set for five-race schedule in the Truck Series

    Kyle Busch Motorsports announced today that the all-time winningest driver in the Truck Series, Kyle Busch, will once again be back in the Truck Series field for 2020. The Las Vegas, Nevada native is set to do a five-race stint in his famed No. 51 Toyota Tundra. That’s the most Busch can do due to the five-race rule limit set by NASCAR.

    Busch is scheduled to compete at the following races. His first race will be February 21 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 14 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Homestead Miami Speedway on March 20, Texas Motor Speedway March 27 and his final Truck Series race will be at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night May 30.

    Last season, Busch was able to go five for five, winning in all five of his starts including three tracks that are on his schedule this year as well, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Texas. However, you’ll have to go back to 2014 almost six years ago when Busch last competed at Homestead. In that race, he started fifth and finished fourth after six laps led. As for Kansas Speedway, it will be the first time in over two years since Busch last raced in the Truck Series there. He came up just shy of winning the race that night, finishing second to then KBM teammate, Noah Gragson.

  • Kyle Busch Motorsports announces driver lineup for 2020

    Kyle Busch Motorsports announces driver lineup for 2020

    Kyle Busch Motorsports announced its driver lineup for the 2020 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season late Thursday afternoon.

    Canadian superstar, Raphael Lessard will replace Todd Gilliland in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, competing full-time in the Truck Series next season. The Quebec native has just three race starts this year for KBM earning a best finish of 11th at Dover this past spring. Lessard is excited to contend for Rookie of The Year in 2020.

    “I’ve been working really hard the last few years to put myself in position to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series so this opportunity is a dream come true,” Lessard said. “I can’t thank Kyle and everyone at KBM, Toyota and TRD enough for having the confidence to put me in their truck and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of my parents and everyone that has invested in getting me to this point. Being able to drive for such a great organization in one of NASCAR’s top three series is going to be awesome and I’m going to work hard on and off the race track to learn as much as I can to get better every race.”

    Team owner Kyle Busch commented about Lessard’s move to full-time.

    “We’ve watched Raphael grow as both a driver and a person since joining our Super Late Model program in 2018 and we’re looking forward to being a part of his continued progression as he graduates to a full-time role in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series next year,” owner Kyle Busch said. “Similar to Erik Jones and Christopher Bell before him, Raphael joined our Super Late Model program and immediately won some big races. Then, when given a part-time Truck Series schedule, they all proved capable of running up front and earned the right to compete full time. Erik and Christopher went on to win races and a championship in trucks, now Raphael has the opportunity to continue to follow their blueprint.”

    The 2018 ARCA Menards Series Champion, Christian Eckes, will also join Kyle Busch Motorsports full-time. Eckes will take over the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, as Harrison Burton jumps to the Xfinity Series to compete with the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

    “Returning to KBM to compete full-time for a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship with the support of Safelite AutoGlass and Toyota is an opportunity that I’ve worked my whole life for and I’m ready to take advantage of it,” Eckes said. “Being around the Truck Series the last few seasons, I’ve been able to see firsthand how much effort Safelite puts into their racing program and I’m excited to represent them not only on the track but in the communities that we race in.”

    Busch also commented on Eckes’ move to driving full-time in the Truck Series.

    “Christian has won races and a championship in the ARCA Series and we feel like he’s capable of doing the same driving for us full-time in the Truck Series next year,” owner Kyle Busch said. “He’s shown speed while running a part-time schedule for us the past couple of seasons — he’s won poles, led laps and been in a position to win a few races. We feel like it’s just a matter of time before he puts everything together and starts winning at this level.”

    In his short career, the Middletown, New York native has made 11 starts in the past two years for KBM. Eckes has four poles with a best finish of third this past fall at Las Vegas. The new KBM driver also achieved two top fives and three top-10 finishes. Eckes previously competed full-time with Venturini Motorsports this season and won the ARCA Menards Series Championship at Kansas last month in October.

  • Four Takeaways: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series-Chicago

    Four Takeaways: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series-Chicago

    Chicagoland Speedway hosted the 12th race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season Friday night and saw a familiar winner back in victory lane.

    The Camping World 225 was a relatively quick, and for the most part, a caution free race. The race lasted about one hour and 49 minutes with five cautions for 27 laps. There were three incidents during the race; Jordan Anderson spun off Turn 4, Natalie Decker was nudged by Todd Gilliland off Turn 4 and Austin Wayne Self, Spencer Davis and Grant Enfinger were involved in an accident off Turn 4 as well.

    The percentage under caution and green flag were about equal, with 18 percent run under caution, as race fans saw 20.5 laps under the green flag. There were seven leaders that made 12 lead changes among Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Brandon Jones, Camden Murphy, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed and Spencer Boyd.

    Despite those lead changes, Moffitt was able to pick up his second win of the 2019 Truck Series season and the ninth win of his career.

    With that said, here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the Camping World 225.

    1. Moffitt Wins In Unsponsored Truck – Quite possibly one of the more newsworthy items following the race was Moffitt winning in an unsponsored truck at Chicago. It’s the first time this season that Moffitt was not sponsored. While there may or may not be concerns in the GMS Racing camp about sponsorship, Spencer Gallagher noted on Friday night, “the statement is that the winning race truck is available for sponsorship to those organizations that want to be a member of a winning team and a future championship team, I believe.” Hopefully, it’s the only time Moffitt is not sponsored in a race and the team picks up more sponsors for the rest of the season. Nonetheless, it will be an interesting story to follow throughout the season.

    2. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Solid Outing – KBM was able to place all their trucks in the top-10 in Friday night’s race. Brandon Jones was the highest finisher placing second, Harrison Burton was fourth and Todd Gilliland rounded out the KBM team finishing order in sixth. Jones and Burton were able to place themselves in the top-10 during the stages, while Gilliland did not. However, it was just what Burton and Gilliland needed after facing some criticism this season. Although, both will need a win soon as the Playoffs are on the horizon as Burton sits sixth in the standings while Gilliland is eighth and neither have any wins. They could race their way in on points. However, as it stands right now, Sauter, Hill and Moffitt all have wins, while Enfinger, Friesen, Crafton and Rhodes do not. When the points reset for the Playoffs, Sauter, Hill and Moffitt will be on top of the points standings and everyone else will move down a spot. This will more than likely leave someone that is highly competitive out of the Playoffs.

    3. ThorSport Racing Struggles – While one team enjoyed success, another team struggled to place their trucks in the top-10. After having such a solid season early on and leading up to Chicago’s race Friday night, it was a forgettable night for the Sandusky, Ohio based team. The night went from bad to worse when Ben Rhodes, who qualified 17th, blew up on the first lap of the race before getting into the turn. Due to the engine issue, Rhodes wound up with a last-place finish. It was the first last-place finish of his career for the Louisville, Kentucky native. More issues arose for his teammate Johnny Sauter. Sauter began experiencing the same thing in both of the stages. The No. 13 team believed it was a spark plug wire issue but never could figure out the exact cause. This left Sauter with a disappointing 18th place finish after qualifying second. For Enfinger, it looked like he was going to earn his first race win of the season. He qualified fifth, finished second in Stage 1 after getting passed on the last lap and won the second stage. The Alabama native led 49 laps only to finish 16th. Matt Crafton was the only ThorSport driver in the top-10 finishing eighth. It was a forgettable night for ThorSport Racing who will probably use the off week to reset and start fresh again.

    4. Off Week – After completing 12 races of the 2019 Truck Series season, the regulars will be taking a week off. Many drivers will probably be celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, while others will use it as a reset before heading to Kentucky next week. Believe it or not, there are only five races left until the Playoffs. Those five tracks are Kentucky, Pocono, Eldora, Michigan and Bristol (the cutoff race before the Playoffs begin). There are some drivers that could sneak into the playoffs like Sheldon Creed, Tyler Dippel and possibly Spencer Boyd, who could surprise the field. Nonetheless, there are some other drivers like Enfinger and Friesen, among others, who have not won yet. The 2019 Truck Series season will only heat up from here in what has been one of the most exciting seasons to date.
  • Four Takeaways-Gander Outdoors Truck Series- Kansas

    Four Takeaways-Gander Outdoors Truck Series- Kansas

    The Digital Ally 250 took place this past weekend at Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City, Kansas in a thrilling race that saw a fan favorite win, while others were left disappointed and wanting more.

    Here’s a look at this week’s four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Digital Ally 250.

    Niece Motorsports Gets First Team Win – Al Niece, the owner of Niece Motorsports, has been waiting for this moment since he started the team nearly four years ago in 2016 with driver Casey Smith. Smith ran two races for them with a best finish of 22nd that year at Iowa but did qualify at Martinsville.

    Since then, they have gone through drivers like Jeffrey Abbey, T.J. Bell, Justin Fontaine, Travis Pastrana, Victor Gonzalez Jr., Austin Wayne Self, Landon Huffman and Max McLaughlin. However, Ross Chastain caught their eye in 2018 and was picked up for three races. Despite a best finish of 12th at Bristol, they finished 26th and 16th at Homestead. Then a new year dawned with new goals and challenges. Chastain faced similar circumstances when he lost his Xfinity Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing over sponsorship issues. In 2019, Chastain returned to Niece Motorsports with hopes of going to victory lane at some point in the season. The team almost did that at Daytona earning a third-place finish. During the time span before the Kansas victory, Chastain and the No. 45 team finished sixth at Atlanta, 10th at Las Vegas, fourth at Martinsville, seventh at Fort Worth, and 10th at Dover. The team could smell victory after top-10 finishes and having some of their best performances ever since Niece Motorsports started their truck team in 2016. In fact, Chastain felt they had the truck to win at Texas back in March but they fell short.

    Then came Kansas, where the team was looking to continue their top-10 streak. The No. 45 Niece Motorsports team qualified sixth and once again, ran up front in the stages. And then the opportunity arose when, with three to go, the race leader ran out of gas. Chastain held off a hard-charging Ben Rhodes for a popular win in the NASCAR community.

    Some say, it was Chastain’s biggest win yet and you could tell that it meant so much to him as he excitedly climbed out of his truck, jumping up and down with the crowd cheering him on. Most importantly, lost in all of this, was Al Niece’s first win as a team owner in the Truck Series. The team could be considered an underdog favorite. But Chastain and Niece don’t like the term and want to be considered along with everyone else, to have a shot at the win, week-in and week-out. With this victory, the team will become more of a threat to the field every week. While Chastain can’t compete for the Truck Series championship, the team can focus on the owners’ championship and at the end of the season, the team could very well accomplish just that. Keep an eye on Niece Motorsports, especially the No. 45 team, as they start to come into their own going into the summer months.

    Natalie Decker Has Forgettable Night Kansas – The No. 54 DGR-Crosley team was looking to turn their luck around coming into Kansas Speedway after having some miserable finishes to start the season. After granting a little girl her birthday wish on Friday, it might’ve been a good omen for Decker and the No. 54 team. However, their night and bad luck continued as Decker went sliding off Turn 4 into the grass, getting all four wheels off the ground and winding up 25th. Here’s hoping the team can turn their luck around this week at Charlotte.

    Austin Hill Quietly Shines In Top Five – Lost in the finishing order was likely Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team. Hill and company flew under the radar finishing fourth after starting seventh. He finished fifth and eighth in both stages and wound up earning his second top five of the 2019 season.

    Kyle Busch Motorsports Places Trucks In Top-10 – The Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a great night in the heartland placing all of their trucks in the top-10 running order. Todd Gilliland, who needed a decent finish coming into Kansas, started fifth and finished third. He finished seventh in both stages and was up front late in the race for a shot at the win. Ultimately, Gilliland was happy with the finish he needed. Brandon Jones continued the No. 51 fame finishing fifth, Riley Herbst finished ninth and Harrison Burton was 10th. All in all, the Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a strong night in Kansas.

  • Gragson Starting Out Front in Lucas Oil 150

    Gragson Starting Out Front in Lucas Oil 150

    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.

  • Noah Gragson Claims Pole for the World of Westgate 200

    Noah Gragson Claims Pole for the World of Westgate 200

    With a dominating time of 30.331 seconds at 178.036 mph, Noah Gragson will start in the top spot for this evening’s World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He was only 0.005 seconds shy of the qualifying record.

    Stewart Friesen will start to his outside in the second position. Grant Enfinger, Chris Eggleston and Riley Herbst rounds out the top five. The other drivers to make the final round of qualifying include Johnny Sauter, Brandon Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Brett Moffit, Todd Gilliland, Tanner Thorson and Justin Haley. All drivers will start in that respective order.

    “We were fast there earlier on in the spring with my Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra,” stated Gragson as he reflected on his race earlier this year. “We restarted the final restart in second place, but the left-rear tire was chorded, so we didn’t get the result that we showed all throughout the race, but we ran in the top three the whole time. It’s another opportunity to chase a checkered flag.”

    Gragson was fastest in the first round of qualifying at his hometrack, with Stewart Friesen and Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Brandon Jones rounding out the top three starting positions. Gragson was fifth fastest in final practice, but only 16th during first practice; however, he set the fastest 10 consecutive lap average over Matt Crafton. All four KBM trucks made the final round of qualifying.

    Two playoff contenders did not make the second round of qualifying. Ben Rhodes was only able to place himself in the 18th starting position in his No. 41 The Carolina Nut Co. Ford. The other was Matt Crafton, who starts 30th with an unusual qualifying run, and puts him in an uphill battle being one of the playoff contenders. Earlier in the day, the No. 88 Ideal Door / Menards Ford was fourth and third fastest in both practices respectively.

    Some trucks were required to qualify on speed, but the unfortunate three that did not make the field included Tate Fogleman, JJ Yeley and Norm Benning.

    Tune into the only September Truck race of 2018 by listening live on radio with MRN (Motor Racing Network) or watch on television with FS1 later this evening at 9:00pm ET.

     

    Time Trial Results
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    22nd Annual World of Westgate 200
    Qualifying Round: 2

    Pos Car Driver Team Make
    1 18 Noah Gragson (P) Safelite AutoGlass Toyota
    2 52 Stewart Friesen (P) We Build America Chevrolet
    3 98 Grant Enfinger (P) Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford
    4 54 Chris Eggleston H2O Fire Protection Toyota
    5 46 Riley Herbst Advance Auto Parts Toyota
    6 21 Johnny Sauter (P) Allegiant Chevrolet
    7 51 Brandon Jones(i) Delta Faucet/Menards Toyota
    8 8 John H. Nemechek(i) Berry’s Manufacturing Chevrolet
    9 16 Brett Moffit (P) TZ Toyota
    10 4 Todd Gilliland # JBL/SiriusXM Toyota
    11 20 Tanner Thorson GO Share Chevrolet
    12 24 Justin Haley (P) Fraternal Order Of Eagles Chevrolet

     

    Qualifying Round: 1

    Pos Car Driver Team Make
    1 18 Noah Gragson (P) Safelite AutoGlass Toyota
    2 52 Stewart Friesen (P) We Build America Chevrolet
    3 51 Brandon Jones(i) Delta Faucet/Menards Toyota
    4 54 Chris Eggleston H2O Fire Protection Toyota
    5 8 John Hunter Berry’s Manufacturing Chevrolet
    6 4 Todd Gilliland # JBL/SiriusXM Toyota
    7 46 Riley Herbst Advance Auto Parts Toyota
    8 21 Johnny Sauter (P) Allegiant Chevrolet
    9 98 Grant Enfinger (P) Champion Power Equipment/Curb Records Ford
    10 16 Brett Moffit (P) TZ Toyota
    11 20 Tanner Thorson GO Share Chevrolet
    12 24 Justin Haley (P) Fraternal Order Of Eagles Chevrolet
    13 13 Myatt Snider # Century Container Ford
    14 25 Timothy Peters Kingman Chevrolet
    15 2 Cody Coughlin GOD FALSE
    16 02 Austin Hill Young’s Building Systems/Randco Chevrolet
    17 17 Bo LeMastus # Crosley Brands Toyota
    18 41 Ben Rhodes (P) The Carolina Nut Co. Ford
    19 04 Cory Roper Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc. Ford
    20 7 Korbin Forrister TruClear Toyota
    21 30 Austin Theriault Cross Insurance Toyota
    22 87 Joe Nemechek Harrah’s Chevrolet
    23 38 TJ Bell Niece Equipment Chevrolet
    24 15 Ross Chastain(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
    25 22 Austin Wayne Self GO TEXAN Chevrolet
    26 97 Jesse Little JJL Motorsports Ford
    27 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Waldo’s Painting Company Chevrolet
    28 OP 83 Bayley Currey Chevrolet
    29 OP 88 Matt Crafton (P) Ideal Door/Menards Ford
    30 OP 45 Justin Fontaine # ProMATIC Automation/Superior Essex Chevrolet
    31 OP 49 Wendell Chavous Sobriety Nation Chevrolet
    32 OP 3 Jordan Anderson Commercial Property Services Chevrolet
    33 12 Tate Fogleman Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet
    34 33 JJ Yeley(i) Reaume Brothers Racing Inc. Toyota
    35 6 Norm Benning H&H Transport Chevrolet
  • 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.
  • Chase Briscoe Wins Season Finale; Christopher Bell Captures 2017 Truck Series Championship

    Chase Briscoe Wins Season Finale; Christopher Bell Captures 2017 Truck Series Championship

    The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale was decided in Homestead-Miami tonight. It was the site where the 22-year-old, Christopher Bell, won his first ever championship, with five wins this season for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe collected his first ever Truck Series win for Brad Keselowski Racing.

    Chase Briscoe and Ben Rhodes started on the pole after qualifying early Friday afternoon. The stages were broken into 40/80/134 laps.

    The first stage was run cleanly without any problems. It was apparent that Christopher Bell had the truck to beat, as he wound up winning Stage 1 easily.  Austin Cindric finished sixth, Matt Crafton seventh and Johnny Sauter eighth.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 48, where this time it was Rhodes who had the dominant truck for about 35 laps. This was enough for him to win the second stage, with the Championship 4 contenders finishing second, fifth, sixth and eighth. It was a clean and green Stage 2 without any incidents, similar to Stage 1.

    The final stage went back underway on Lap 88 and was run to the finish without any yellow flags. Rhodes led for about five laps until he had to pit with issues, which then gave the lead back to Chase Briscoe. From there, Briscoe was able to hold on and win his first ever career series win.

    As soon as Briscoe took the checkered flag, Christopher Bell followed closely and finished second, which was enough to win the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship.

    “Such an awesome night to go out on top to cap off the season,” Briscoe said. “For it to be our last race at Brad Keselowski Racing, it was an awesome way to send Brad (Keselowski) out. Hopefully, he (Brad Keselowski) gets a championship on Sunday.”

    Briscoe led four times for 81 laps and placed second, and third, in the first two stages, respectively. This was Brad Keselowski Racing’s 11th win in 305 starts and Briscoe’s first in 23 starts.

    For Christopher Bell’s 2017 season, he ended with five wins, 15 top fives and 21 top-10 finishes, with 875 laps led. His second-place finish at Homestead was also good enough for him to earn KBM the fifth consecutive owner’s championship.

    “He’s the best boss you could have,” Bell said. “It’s something that, I’m just really thankful for the opportunity to be here. I remember the first time, I went to Kyle Busch Motorsports, I was so star struck by him whenever I was driving late models for him, to be around him and to win a championship for him. I’m just speechless.”

    Johnny Sauter finished third, Austin Cindric fourth and Matt Crafton sixth to round out the Championship 4.

    There were two cautions for 12 laps during the race and six lead changes among three drivers.

    The season starts all over again in 2018 at Daytona International Speedway Friday night on February 16, where a new crop of drivers and the same veterans will be competing for the championship all season long.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Homestead-NCWTS-results-2017-T1723_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”Homestead NCWTS results 2017 T1723_UNOFFRES”]

     

  • KBM Drivers Gilliland and Burton Earn Top Five Finishes at Martinsville

    KBM Drivers Gilliland and Burton Earn Top Five Finishes at Martinsville

    Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton both had a great day in the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway and even had some fun racing with each other, as well.

    First off, Burton qualified in 10th place, his best career starting position, for the second time. By having a strong truck contending for the win, he finished 10th in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2. After various pit strategies and stops, the Huntersville, North Carolina scored a career-best finish of fourth.

    ““I just want to say how proud I am of my whole team,” Burton said. “We unloaded on Friday with a fast truck, we qualified well and we raced even better. Martinsville has given me trouble in the past, but I think I learned a lot from my previous races here and it showed today. Everyone at KBM worked hard to bring me a fast No. 51 DEX Imaging Tundra for my final race of the season and I’m happy with my fourth-place finish.”

    In just his fifth race, Gilliland had scored his second career-best finish. He fell behind in Stage 1 when he made a pit stop to allow the crew to fix his truck and finished 15th in the first stage.

    Stage 2 was much better for the 17-year-old. After restarting ninth, he would quietly finish in the seventh position. When all was said and done, the scoring pylon showed Gilliland fifth right behind his teammate, Burton. It was Gilliland’s second-best career finish.

    “It was a good day for our Pedigree Toyota Kyle Busch Motorsports team,” Gilliland said. “We struggled really bad in the beginning and then made some really good changes to be able to battle up there into the top five. I’m really proud of this whole KBM team – Pedigree, Toyota coming on board and helping to get us here. It’s fun racing teammates up there. I just wish we were a little further ahead but really happy to get a fifth-place finish here at Martinsville.”