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  • Christian Eckes chimes in for dominant Truck victory at Martinsville

    Christian Eckes chimes in for dominant Truck victory at Martinsville

    Christian Eckes capped off a wild night that commenced by dominating the first half of the Craftsman Truck Series race, then dropping to the mid-pack region before the second half. But he methodically carved his way back to the front while dodging a series of late caution periods to win the Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, April 5. 

    The 23-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, led twice for a race-high 133 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he snatched the lead from pole-sitter Ty Majeski from the first lap and stretched his fuel tank to the distance of the event’s first two stage periods, He won and led throughout before he relinquished the lead to pit for fresh tires and fuel before the start of the second stage period.

    Despite restarting in the top 20 at the start of the final stage period, Eckes wove his way back to the front amid multiple on-track chaos, repetitive cautions and restart periods before outlasting a late battle with Majeski during a restart period with 28 laps remaining to return to the lead. Amid two late-race restarts, Eckes then muscled away from Majeski and Nick Sanchez during a three-lap shootout to clinch his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Majeski notched his second Truck pole position of the 2024 season and the seventh of his career after posting a new track record lap at 97.523 mph in 19.417 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Christian Eckes, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 97.422 mph in 19.437 seconds. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started following an extensive pace lap session due to Blake Lothian leaking fluid on the circuit, Christian Eckes gained a strong launch from the outside lane to muscle ahead of Ty Majeski and assume the race lead entering the first turn. Eckes would then fend off Majeski for a full lap in his No. 19 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST to lead the first lap. 

    Through the second to fifth lap marks, Eckes stretched his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Majeski while rookie Layne Riggs moved his Front Row Motorsports entry into third place. As a result, Corey Heim dropped to fourth ahead of Ben Rhodes. Behind, Nick Sanchez and Jake Garcia trailed in sixth and seventh while Dean Thompson and Tyler Ankrum battled for eighth place in front of Chase Purdy and Sammy Smith. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by three-tenths of a second over Majeski followed by Riggs, Heim and Sanchez while Rhodes, Garcia, Thompson, Ankrum and Purdy were running in the top 10. Behind, Sammy Smith trailed in 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth and Jack Wood while Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Dillon, Bayley Currey, Grant Enfinger and Tanner Gray occupied the top 20 ahead of Matt Crafton, Daniel Dye, William Sawalich, Matt Mills and newcomer Cam Waters. 

    Ten laps later and with the leaders starting to lap the rear of the field, Eckes continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Majeski while third-place Riggs trailed by a second. Behind, Heim and Sanchez retained fourth and fifth, respectively, while Rhodes, Garcia, Thompson, Ankrum and Purdy also remained in the top 10. 

    Another nine laps later, the event’s first caution period flew after rookie Thad Moffitt went for a spin in Turn 3. During the event’s first caution period, some including Thompson, Currey, Sawalich and Cam Waters pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 36, Eckes muscled ahead of Majeski, who struggled to start on the outside lane, and Riggs to retain the lead through the first two turns. With the event remaining under green flag conditions as Jack Wood spun in Turn 2, Eckes retained the lead ahead of Majeski and the field. Eckes would continue to lead through the Lap 40 mark. 

    By Lap 45, Eckes stretched his advantage to more than a second over Majeski followed by Riggs, Heim and Sanchez while Rhodes, Ankrum, Sammy Smith, Garcia and Honeycutt trailed in the top 10, with 29 of 34 starters scored on the lead lap. 

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 50, Eckes captured his second Truck stage victory of the 2024 season as he continued to lead by more than a second. Majeski trailed in second while Riggs, Heim, Sanchez, Rhodes, Ankrum, Garcia, Honeycutt and Purdy were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Majeski pitted while the rest led by Eckes and including Sanchez, Ankrum, Garicia, Honeycutt, Purdy, Caruth and Matt Mills remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road. Stephen Mallozzi was also penalized due to his pit crew jumping over the pit wall too soon. 

    The second stage period started on Lap 60 as Eckes and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes rocketed away from the field to retain the lead through the first turn as Sanchez and Ankrum battled for the runner-up spot. With Eckes leading the race, teammate Ankrum would overtake Sanchez for the runner-up spot followed by Purdy, Honeycutt, Garcia, Currey and Caruth while Mills and Sawalich were racing in the top 10 ahead of Thompson, Timmy Hill, Majeski, Waters and Wood. 

    On Lap 64, the caution returned after Matt Crafton, who was running in the middle of the pack, bumped and sent Tanner Gray for a spin through the first two turns, with Crafton, Justin Carroll and Mason Massey slamming on the brake to avoid Gray’s TRICON Garage entry. During the caution period, Sanchez and Caruth pitted while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track.  

    During the following restart period on Lap 73, Eckes fended off Chase Purdy and teammate Tyler Ankrum to retain the lead through the first two turns. Shortly after, however, the caution returned on Lap 75 after Riggs, who was mired in 16th, spun his No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford F-150 through the first two turns after getting hit by Jack Wood. 

    The following restart period on Lap 83 featured Eckes fending off Purdy for nearly a lap to maintain the lead as the field behind jostled for positions. As Ankrum and Purdy battled for second place in front of Kaden Honeycutt and Jake Garcia, Eckes was leading by two-tenths of a second just past the Lap 85 mark. 

    Then with two laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew after Daniel Dye, who was running in 24th place, bumped and sent Spencer Boyd for a spin along with Riggs, who was sent for a second spin of the night, in Turn 1. The incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 100 to conclude under caution as Eckes captured his second consecutive Truck stage victory of the night and the third of the 2024 season. Teammate Ankrum settled in second followed by Purdy, Majeski and Honeycutt while Garcia, Thompson, Currey, Taylor Gray and Sawalich were scored in the top 10. 

    During the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Eckes, pitted while the rest, led by Majeski, remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for a safety violation. 

    With 91 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Majeski and Sawalich occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski muscled his No. 98 Soda Sense Ford F-150 away from Taylor Gray and Sawalich to retain the lead through the first two turns. As Majeski started to motor away from the field, Gray occupied second followed by Sanchez while Sawalich was trying to fend off Stewart Friesen amid on-track contact and in front of the field. 

    With 80 laps remaining, Majeski stretched his advantage to more than a second over Taylor Gray followed by Sanchez, Friesen and Sawalich while Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Heim, Caruth and Grant Enfinger trailed in the top 10 as Eckes, who restarted 18th, was up to 11th. 

    Ten laps later, Majeski stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Taylor Gray while Sanchez, Friesen and Sawalich trailed in the top five. Meanwhile, Eckes carved his way to sixth place after making contact with Heim to assume the spot while Rhodes, Tanner Gray and Caruth followed suit in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger trailed in 11th ahead of Ankrum, Crafton, Matt Mills and Cam Waters while Dye, Honeycutt, Wood, Sammy Smith and Purdy were scored in the top 20. 

    Another three laps later, the caution flew when Honeycutt, who was battling Daniel Dye for 16th place, made contact with Dye and then got sideways and sent Honeycutt’s No. 45 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado RST spinning toward the bottom of the backstretch’s inside wall. During the caution period, some including Rhodes, Garcia, Waters, Sammy Smith and Crafton pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track. 

    During the ensuing restart with 60 laps remaining, Majeski and Sanchez battled dead even for the lead until Majeski muscled ahead through the first two turn as Taylor Gray assumed the runner-up spot from Sanchez. Behind, Eckes battled Friesen for fourth place while Majeski was trying to drive away from the field.     

    A few laps later, Enfinger, who was running in the top 15, hit the outside wall exiting Turn 4, but the event remained under green flag conditions. The caution, however, returned with 55 laps remaining after Enfinger, who lost a few spots in the process, was hit by Rhodes entering the first turn, which resulted with Enfinger bumping into Dean Thompson and sending Thompson’s No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro straight into the outside wall hard in Turn 1 as Thompson’s strong run came to a late end. 

    With the event restarting with 46 laps remaining, Sanchez tried to use the outside lane to muscle ahead of Majeski, but Majeski managed to fight back and reassume the top spot during the following lap while the field behind bumped and jostled for late positions. Shortly after, however, the caution returned with 43 laps remaining after Bret Holmes was hit by Honeycutt entering Turn 1. Holmes then collected Justin Carroll as they both spun and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. 

    The start of the following restart period with 36 laps remaining did not last long after the caution returned a lap later when Jack Wood, who was caught up in a chain reaction incident and got Caruth sideways in Turn 3, was bumped and sent for a spin by Dye as Waters, Garcia, Lawless Alan and Bret Holmes all wrecked behind Wood. By then, Majeski was leading while Eckes drew himself back into race-winning contention after he had just overtaken Sanchez’s No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST for the runner-up spot.

    With the race restarting with 28 laps remaining, Eckes and Majeski battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns amid contact. They continued to battle for the top spot for a full lap until Eckes managed to use the four fresh tires to his advantage along with more on-track contact to return to the lead over Majeski. As Eckes continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Majeski with 25 laps remaining, Sanchez followed suit in third while Taylor Gray and Ankrum were running in the top five. A lap later, however, the caution flew after Riggs, who was running 17th, got bumped and sent for a spin by Enfinger in Turn 2. With Bayley Currey sustaining cosmetic damage after making contact with Riggs’ spinning truck, Cam Waters T-boned into the rear of teammate Garcia amid a chain reaction, which ended Waters’ Truck Series debut with a crunched No. 66 TRADIE Ford F-150. 

    As the event restarted with 17 laps remaining, Eckes muscled away from Majeski, who spun the tires on the launch, to retain the lead while Sanchez quickly assumed the runner-up spot. Majeski was then left to fend off Ankrum, Taylor Gray and a bevy of competitors to retain third place while Eckes retained the lead by nearly half a second with 15 laps remaining. 

    Four laps later and with Eckes leading by more than a second over Sanchez, the caution flew after Friesen, who was running in the top 15, got bumped and sent for a spin by Enfinger in Turn 2 as Enfinger also spun after getting rammed by Matt Mills, whose roof flew up amid the front nose damage. 

    With the event restarting with three laps remaining, Eckes retained the lead from Sanchez and Majeski while the field attempted to fan out to three lanes through the first two turns. While Majeski managed to grab second place from Sanchez through Turns 3 and 4, Eckes stretched his advantage to two-tenths of a second with two laps remaining. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes remained as the leader by half a second over Majeski. With a flurry of battles ensuing within the field and with Majeski trying to narrow the deficit between himself and Eckes, Eckes hit his marks on all cylinders and smoothly navigated his way around the Martinsville circuit for a final time before cycling back to the frontstretch victorious with his second checkered flag of the 2024 Truck season. 

    With the victory, Eckes, who won two races ago at Bristol Motor Speedway, notched his seventh career win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and his first at Martinsville as he also became the first repeat winner of the 2024 Truck season. The victory was the second of the season for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and the fifth time in six events of the 2024 season where the Chevrolet nameplate achieved a victory.

    “[My team and I are putting together] Something really special,” Eckes said on FS1. “It hasn’t been an easy regular season so far, to say the least. We came here and we weren’t that great last year. We worked really hard on it and here we are in Victory Lane. Just super proud of this team. It’s a good day to be in Victory Lane. Can’t wait for that [grandfather] clock [trophy].” 

    Majeski, who led 66 laps compared to Eckes’ 133, settled in the runner-up spot for the second time of the 2024 season as he also notched his third top-three result through this season’s first six events. Amid the disappointment of settling in the runner-up spot, Majeski assumed the lead in the regular-season standings.

    “We came here with a little bit of a different setup, stepped outside our comfort zone a little bit, trying to try something for the Playoffs, that’s the one that matters,” Majeski said. “I think we’ve gotten better. [Eckes] was stellar tonight. He was just a little bit better than us, and he had better tires. I just could not launch on restarts. Really solid day. Obviously, you want to win. I wanted that grandfather clock, but super proud of this No. 98 Soda Sense team. We’ve been working hard to get our trucks better. Just a little bit short tonight.” 

    Chase Purdy, who finished no higher than 15th during the first five events on the schedule, posted his first top-five result of the season by finishing third while Nick Sanchez and Tyler Ankrum settled in the top five. 

    Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Sammy Smith, Kaden Honeycutt and Corey Heim finished in the top 10. 

    There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 81 laps. In addition, 27 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the sixth event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Ty Majeski leads the regular-season standings by seven points over Corey Heim and Tyler Ankrum, with Christian Eckes trailing by 11 and Taylor Gray trailing by 36. 

    Results. 

    1. Christian Eckes, 133 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

    2. Ty Majeski, 66 laps led

    3. Chase Purdy 

    4. Nick Sanchez, one lap led

    5. Tyler Ankrum 

    6. Taylor Gray 

    7. Rajah Caruth 

    8. Sammy Smith 

    9. Kaden Honeycutt 

    10. Corey Heim 

    11. Mason Massey 

    12. Matt Crafton 

    13. Daniel Dye 

    14. Ben Rhodes 

    15. Layne Riggs 

    16. Tanner Gray 

    17. Bayley Currey 

    18. Jack Wood 

    19. Stewart Friesen 

    20. Timmy Hill 

    21. Jake Garcia 

    22. Grant Enfinger 

    23. Ty Dillon 

    24. Bret Holmes 

    25. Spencer Boyd 

    26. William Sawalich 

    27. Thad Moffitt 

    28. Stephen Mallozzi, two laps down 

    29. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    30. Cam Waters – OUT, Accident

    31. Lawless Alan – OUT, DVP

    32. Justin Carroll – OUT, Accident

    33. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident 

    34. Blake Lothian – OUT, Overheating

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, April 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Eckes fends off Busch to capture his first Truck Series victory at Bristol

    Eckes fends off Busch to capture his first Truck Series victory at Bristol

    Six months after having a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway slip from within his grasp after a dominant performance, Christian Eckes settled his score with the Last Great Coliseum with a redemptive victoryWeather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 16, following a late battle against former team owner Kyle Busch. 

    It was his first win of the season, his first at Bristol, and his sixth career victory.

    “Oh, man, it’s so sweet,” Eckes said. “There’s just so much behind this win from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with (six) to go.

    “To come back and redeem ourselves was our number one goal, and not only that, but the first three races (of this season), how terribly they’ve gone. We had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good just shows the resilience of the team.”

    The 23-year-old Eckes from Middletown, New York, led twice for a race-high 144 of 250-scheduled laps in his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Silverado after starting on the pole and leading the first 52 laps before Busch overtook him. After spending most of the event trailing Busch, Eckes seized an opportunity during a restart period with 98 laps remaining to make contact with Busch. A heated battle for the lead ensued and two laps later Eckes overtook Busch to reclaim the lead.

    Then during a late caution period with 32 laps remaining, Eckes, who retained the lead over Busch and Matt Crafton amid lapped traffic, capitalized on the final restart period. With 24 laps remaining, he drove away from the field and beat Busch to the finish line by a tenth of a second to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season. 

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Saturday, Eckes captured his first Truck pole position of the 2024 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 126.888 mph in 15.122 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 126.212 mph in 15.203 seconds. 

    Prior to the event, Mason Maggio dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments on his entry. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Eckes rocketed ahead of Sanchez and Kyle Busch for the lead through the first two turns. With Sanchez getting loose in Turn 3 and nearly stacking up the field, Eckes led the first lap over Busch. Eckes would retain the lead over Sanchez and Busch through the first five scheduled laps. l

    On the sixth lap, the event’s first caution period occurred after Matt Mills spun on the frontstretch, though he proceeded without sustaining any significant damage to his Niece Motorsports entry. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 12, Eckes used the outside lane to his advantage for a second time as he muscled away from Sanchez through the first two turns while Taylor Gray tried to follow suit. Gray overtook Sanchez for the runner-up spot during the following lap as Busch, Rajah Caruth and Ty Majeski followed suit. Amid the early battles, Eckes stretched his advantage to six-tenths of a second by the Lap 15 mark and to a second by the Lap 20 mark, over Gray. 

    Through the first 30 scheduled laps, Eckes led by nearly a second over Gray with Sanchez, Busch and Majeski completing the top five. Zane Smith was in sixth place followed by Tyler Ankrum, Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth and Ben Rhodes while Grant Enfinger, Chase Purdy, Corey Heim, Daniel Dye and Connor Jones were running in the top 15 ahead of Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton, Bayley Currey and William Sawalich. 

    Fourteen laps later, the caution flew after Stefan Parsons made contact with Keith McGee entering the backstretch resulting in McGee making contact with runner-up Taylor Gray before he spun toward the bottom of the track. The incident occurred as both McGee and Parsons were lapped by Eckes. During the caution period, some of the drivers pitted, including Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Bayley Currey, Layne Riggs, Sawalich and Ty Dillon while the rest of the field, led by Eckes remained on the track. 

    During the following restart period on Lap 52, Kyle Busch used the inside lane to his advantage as he managed to overtake Eckes through the backstretch to assume the lead. Then, Eckes was challenged by Sanchez for second place. Busch retained the lead during the Lap 55 mark and the Lap 60 mark. 

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 65, Busch captured his second stage victory of the 2024 Truck season. Eckes settled in second followed by Sanchez, Majeski and Zane Smith while Taylor Gray, Ankrum, Rhodes, Honeycutt and Enfinger were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, some including Taylor Gray, Caruth, Corey Heim, Connor Jones and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Busch remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Caruth, who slid through his pit box, was issued an improper driver assist. 

    The second stage period started on Lap 76 as Busch and Eckes occupied the front row. Busch retained the lead as Eckes was being pressured from behind by Sanchez and Majeski. As teammates Ankrum and Zane Smith battled for fifth place in front of Ben Rhodes, Busch slowly started to stretch his advantage just past the Lap 80 mark. 

    Just past the Lap 100 mark, Busch was leading by two-tenths of a second over Eckes followed by Sanchez, Majeski, Ankrum, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Crafton and Riggs as Honeycutt, Enfinger, Purdy, Daniel Dye and Sawalich pursued in the top 15. 

    Ten laps later, Busch retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Eckes while Sanchez, Majeski and Zane Smith were running in the top five. Busch would continue to lead by four-tenths of a second over Eckes by the Lap 120 mark. 

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 130, Busch, who was mired in lapped traffic, captured his second stage victory of the night and the third of his part-time Truck campaign. Sanchez prevailed in a late battle over Eckes for second while Majeski, Zane Smith, Ankrum, Friesen, Crafton, Rhodes and Riggs were scored in the top 10. 

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Busch pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Busch retained the lead over the field after he exited pit road first. Amid the pit stops, Sawalich was penalized for speeding on pit road while Caruth was deemed to have pitted outside of his pit box. In addition, Sanchez would pit his Rev Racing entry for a second time as he was mired towards the rear of the field. 

    With 108 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Busch and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Busch moved in front of Eckes as he transitioned from the outside to the inside lane to retain the lead. Eckes fended off teammate Ankrum as he pursued Busch for the lead. Another lap later, however, the caution returned. Majeski, who was battling Ankrum for third place, got loose and spun entering the backstretch before he was hit by teammate Ben Rhodes, with both ThorSport Racing competitors making contact with the inside wall while the rest of the field scattered and slammed on the brakes to avoid the chaos. 

    The next restart period came with 98 laps remaining and featured Busch and Eckes briefly battling for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Busch cleared Eckes entering the frontstretch. Eckes, however, fought back on the inside lane and attempted to overtake Busch through Turns 3 and 4. Then, Eckes slipped sideways and made contact with Busch, sending Busch nearly sideways entering the frontstretch. Busch, however, recovered and kept the lead.  

    With 92 laps remaining, however, Eckes drove his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST past Busch’s No. 7 Group 1001 Chevrolet Silverado RST entering the backstretch, to regain the lead. Shortly after, Matt Crafton would draw his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 close to Busch’s entry in a battle for the runner-up spot, all while Eckes stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second with 85 laps remaining.  

    With 75 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Busch as Crafton, Zane Smith and Ankrum were running within less than five seconds of one another in the top five. Behind, Enfinger was in sixth place while Heim, Riggs, Friesen and Taylor Gray were in the top 10. 

    Fifteen laps later, Eckes stretched his advantage to more than a second over Busch while Crafton trailed in third place by less than two seconds. Eckes’ advantage, however, shrank to half a second over Busch with less than 45 laps remaining.  

    Then with 32 laps remaining, the caution flew after Sanchez and Friesen, who were running in the top 10, made contact entering the frontstretch amid pressure by Busch and Crafton for the lead.    

    With 24 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Eckes drove away from Busch on the outside lane to retain the lead. Amid the late battles ensuing behind, Eckes would maintain his advantage with 20 laps remaining and with 10 laps remaining.  

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Eckes continued to lead by less than seven-tenths of a second over Busch, who was trying to narrow the gap. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes, who was mired in lapped traffic, remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Busch. Despite Busch cutting the deficit to a tenth of a second for a final circuit around Bristol, the late momentum was not enough as Eckes was able to fend off Busch at the finish line to claim the checkered flag. 

    With the victory, Eckes, who conquered his first victory at Bristol, achieved his sixth career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series and his first since winning the 2023 finale at Phoenix Raceway as he became the fourth winner through the series’ first four events of the 2024 schedule. He also recorded the first victory of the season for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. 

    “It’s so sweet,” Eckes said on FS1. “There’s just so much behind this win, from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with five [laps] to go. To come back and redeem ourselves is our number one goal. Not only that, but the first three races, how terribly they’ve gone. We’ve had a lot of issues and to come back and run really good, it shows the resilience of this team. Just super pumped. Ready for the next 19 races.” 

    Busch, who led 105 laps, settled in second place in his third Truck event of the 2024 season. His next series’ start of the season will occur at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12 followed by Darlington Raceway on May 10. 

    “We tightened [the truck] all day and obviously, I don’t think we were as tight as [Eckes] at the end, but, you know, just track position,” Busch said. “I let [Eckes] go early in that run to just go burn his stuff off and track position at the end, just aero effects. [I] Didn’t have enough rubber on the road to outduel him.” 

    Zane Smith came home in third place in his second Truck start of the 2024 season as Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum finished in the top five. Corey Heim, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger and rookie Layne Riggs settled in the top 10 in the final running order. 

    There were four lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 50 laps. In addition, 17 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap. 

    Following the fourth event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Tyler Ankrum continues to lead the regular-season standings by 17 points over Corey Heim, 22 over Rajah Caruth, 29 over Ty Majeski and 32 over Christian Eckes. 

    Results. 

    1. Christian Eckes, 144 laps led 

    2. Kyle Busch, 105 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner 

    3. Zane Smith, one lap led 

    4. Matt Crafton  

    5. Tyler Ankrum 

    6. Corey Heim 

    7. Taylor Gray 

    8. Rajah Caruth 

    9. Grant Enfinger 

    10. Layne Riggs 

    11. Bayley Currey 

    12. Kaden Honeycutt 

    13. Daniel Dye 

    14. Jake Garcia 

    15. Tanner Gray 

    16. Ben Rhodes 

    17. Nick Sanchez 

    18. Stefan Parsons, one lap down 

    19. Connor Jones, one lap down 

    20. Ty Dillon, one lap down 

    21. William Sawalich, two laps down 

    22. Stewart Friesen, two laps down 

    23. Dean Thompson, three laps down 

    24. Timmy Hill, three laps down 

    25. Matt Mills, three laps down 

    26. Thad Moffitt, four laps down 

    27. Lawless Alan, four laps down 

    28. Mason Massey, five laps down 

    29. Mason Maggio, six laps down 

    30. Spencer Boyd, eight laps down 

    31. Bret Holmes, eight laps down  

    32. Keith McGee, 12 laps down 

    33. Chase Purdy, 22 laps down 

    34. Ty Majeski – OUT, Engine 

    35. Trey Hutchens – OUT, Suspension 

    36. Justin Carroll – OUT, Brakes 

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the fourth annual running of the XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, March 23, and air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Ankrum added to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing lineup for 2024 Truck Series season

    Ankrum added to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing lineup for 2024 Truck Series season

    Tyler Ankrum will be joining McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to pilot the team’s fourth entry, the No. 18 Chevrolet Silverado RST, for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The news comes as the 22-year-old Ankrum from San Bernardino, California, is coming off his fifth full-time campaign in the Truck Series and second with Hattori Racing Enterprises. Throughout the 2023 season, he recorded a single top-five result, six top-10 finishes, 15 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.2 before settling in 17th place in the final driver’s standings.

    For the 2024 season, Ankrum’s No. 18 entry, which has been renumbered from 35 during the previous season, will be sponsored by LiUNA! for 21 of 23-scheduled events while veteran Mark Hillman will be serving as the crew chief. Ankrum will also compete alongside full-time competitors Christian Eckes and Daniel Dye, with Jack Wood also joining the team on a part-time basis.

    “Joining [McAnally-Hilgemann Racing] for 2024 is an exciting next step for me and a great opportunity,” Ankrum said. “Both teams showed a ton of speed and versatility in 2023, and the results were there to show for it. I’m looking forward to working with Mark [Hillman] and his team and looking forward to being teammates with Christian [Eckes], Jack [Wood], and Daniel [Dye]. I want to get back to the playoffs and I know the potential is there at MHR to accomplish that next year.”

    Ankrum, who grew up competing in quarter midgets and late models, is a former champion of the ARCA Menards Series East, which he achieved in 2018 while competing for DGR-Crosley. During the season, he made his first two Truck Series career starts with DGR-Crosley, where he finished 18th and sixth, respectively.

    The following season, Ankrum competed with DGR-Crosley in the Truck Series on a full-time basis, minus the first three events due to age restrictions. Despite competing in two events for NEMCO Motorsports in June due to sponsorship issues pertaining to Ankrum’s DGR-Crosley ride, he returned to the latter organization by late June before notching his first career victory at Kentucky Speedway in July. The victory allowed the Californian to make the 2019 Truck Series Playoffs, where he would be eliminated from title contention after the Round of 8 and settle in eighth place in the final standings. By then, he had achieved the 2019 Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Ankrum would proceed to compete the 2020 and 2021 Truck seasons with GMS Racing, where he made the Playoffs for a second time in 2020 and settled in ninth place in the final standings. He then spent the following two seasons driving for Hattori Racing Enterprises, where his best points result was a 12th-place result in the 2022 final standings.

    Through 113 career starts in the Truck Series, Ankrum has achieved one victory, one pole, 10 top-five results, 38 top-10 results, 144 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.4 as he strives to return both to Victory Lane and the Playoffs for the upcoming season.

    “We’re really glad to have Tyler join the team as we continue to grow in 2024,” Bill McAnally, team owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “Tyler has shown he can get the job done at this level, and we want to get him back in the playoffs and be a strong contender this year. Surrounding him with Mark [Hillman] and the No. 35 team from last season will be a great fit for Tyler and we’re excited he’s joining our expanding program.”

    With his plans for next season set, Ankrum’s first Truck Series campaign with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway for the Fresh From Florida 250. The event is scheduled to occur on February 16, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Jack Wood inks full-time ARCA West, part-time Truck schedule with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2024

    Jack Wood inks full-time ARCA West, part-time Truck schedule with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2024

    Jack Wood will be joining McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in a double-duty role for the 2024 NASCAR season. The double-duty effort will feature Wood piloting the No. 16 NAPA Auto Care/Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet SS on a full-time basis in the ARCA Menards Series West, where he will compete for the series’ championship, and the No. 91 MHR Chevrolet Silverado RST in 14 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Serise events.

    As part of Wood’s double-duty effort, Kevin Bellicourt will serve as his crew chief in both series and Eric Holmes, a three-time ARCA West champion, will serve as both his spotter and driver coach. Wood’s first Truck Series start with MHR in 2024 is set to occur at Daytona International Speedway on February 16 followed by Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24 as the rest of his schedule remains to be determined. His first ARCA Menards Series West start of the 2024 season also remains to be determined with the series’ schedule not yet revealed.

    The news comes as the 23-year-old Wood from Loomis, California, is coming off a part-time Truck campaign with Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he competed in 13 of the 23-race schedule and recorded two top-10 results.

    “The opportunity to race for a championship with BMR and NAPA Auto Care is definitely exciting,” Wood said. “It’s a great chance to reestablish myself in the West series, focus on racing for a title and continuing to compete on the Truck side also. Having Kevin [Bellicourt] with me in both series is going to be a huge help to build consistency and I’m looking forward to balancing both programs next season.”

    Prior to the Truck Series, Wood formely competed in the ARCA Menards Series West, where he has tallied four top-five results and 11 top-10 results in 19 starts (2019-23). He has also made three career starts in the ARCA East region and 17 career starts in the ARCA Menards Series, where he has collected three top-five results and 10 top-10 results in 17 starts (2021-23).

    During the 2021 season, Wood made his Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas, where he finished 28th while piloting GMS Racing’s No. 24 Chevrolet entry. The Californian would compete in 11 additional events before competing on a full-time basis in the Truck circuit with GMS in 2022. Despite finishing no higher than 13th on the track in a season where he recorded an average-finishing result of 25.2 and a 24th-place result in the final standings, Wood was selected to anchor Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 51 Chevrolet entry for the majority of the 2023 season, where he shared the ride with team owner Kyle Busch, William Byron and Matt Mills.

    Through 48 career starts in the Truck Series, Wood has achieved three top-10 results, five laps led and an average-finishing result of 24.4. Currently, his best on-track result is a ninth-place run at Texas Motor Speedway in April as he continues his pursuit for his first series’ victory.

    Wood’s 2024 plans reunites himself with Bill McAnally Racing, which he competed for at Sonoma Raceway in the ARCA West and at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the ARCA Menards Series during the 2022 season. It will also mark his first full-time campaign in the ARCA West region as he replaces Tanner Reif in the No. 16 BMR entry, an entry that last won the ARCA West title in 2021 with Jesse Love. Over on the Truck Series region, Wood will compete alongside Christian Eckes and Daniel Dye, both of whom will compete for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing on a full-time basis.

    “Having Jack join our Truck Series program is a big addition, and I’m excited to see him compete for a championship in the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet out west,” Bill McAnally, team owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “We want to get back to victory lane in the ARCA West Series and Jack will give us a great chance to chase our 12th championship. He never got to compete for a regional title, and I think the opportunity for him to do that will help him gain confidence and experience. It will also help grow the No. 91 team with Kevin [Bellicourt] into a contender in the Truck Series.”

    With his plans for next season set, Wood’s part-time 2024 Craftsman Truck Series campaign with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway for the Fresh From Florida 250. The event is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Eckes returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2024 Truck Series season

    Eckes returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2024 Truck Series season

    Christian Eckes will retain full-time driving responsibilities of the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the 2024 season.

    The news comes as the 22-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, is currently embarking in his third full-time campaign in the Truck circuit and first with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Embarking on a career year, he has notched a career-high three victories, three poles, nine top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 315 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.2 through 21-scheduled starts. He is also one of eight competitors currently contending for one of four Championship 4 round spots in this year’s Truck Series Playoffs as he is nine points above the top-four cutline approaching this weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    In addition to Eckes, Charles Denike, who joined McAnally-Hilgemann Racing midway into the 2022 season, will remain as the crew chief of the No. 19 entry that will continue to be sponsored by NAPA Auto Care.

    “I’m very excited to return to the No. 19 Silverado next season with Charles [Denike] and our entire NAPA Auto Care team,” Eckes said. “Our current main priority is trying to cap 2023 off with a championship, but having the opportunity to build upon our successes and continue growing MHR is something I’m really looking forward to in 2024. It’s been a pleasure to work with the NAPA store owners, NAPA shop owners, suppliers, and everyone in the NAPA Network. I’m thrilled to continue that relationship, and ready for another great year with all our amazing partners.”

    Eckes, the 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion and winners of the 2016 Snowball Derby and Myrtle Beach 400 events, made his inaugural presence in the Truck Series at Iowa Speedway in June 2018, where he piloted the No. 46 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra to an impressive eighth-place finish in his debut. He proceeded to make three additional Truck starts for KBM throughout the 2018 season, where he earned two additional top-10 results, before making eight starts in the No. 51 KBM entry in 2019. After notching three poles, three top-five results, four top-10 results and playing a key hand in delivering the owner’s championship for KBM in 2019, Eckes graduated to a full-time Truck role in KBM’s No. 18 entry for the 2020 season.

    Despite making the 2020 Truck Playoffs and finishing in eighth place in the final standings in a season where he accumulated seven top-five results, 11 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.3, Eckes was released by KBM at season’s end. He ended up joining ThorSport Racing on a part-time basis in 2021, where he recorded two top-10 results in his first eight starts. Then at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September 2021, Eckes led the final four laps en route to his first Truck Series career victory as part of a historic 1-2-3-4 finish for ThorSport Racing. He remained with ThorSport as a full-time competitor in 2022, where he achieved eight top-five results, 15 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.9. He also made the 2022 Truck Playoffs before settling in eighth place in the final standings.

    This season, Eckes, who transitioned from ThorSport to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, claimed his first Truck victory of 2023 and the second of his career at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. He proceeded to win at Darlington Raceway in May before achieving his third and latest victory to date at Kansas Speedway in September. He is coming off a runner-up result at Bristol Motor Speedway and a 19th-place run at Talladega Superspeedway throughout the Playoffs Round of 8 as he aims to make the Championship 4 round and contend for his first Truck Series title.

    Through 89 current starts in the Truck Series, Eckes has achieved four victories, six poles, 29 top-five results, 50 top-10 results, 735 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.7.

    “Christian coming in has been a major boost to elevate our race team to another level,” Bill McAnally, owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, added. “To have the success we’ve had this season is even sweeter when you can share it with long-time partners like NAPA and all the owners, customers, and suppliers nationwide. We’re excited and looking forward to keeping the No. 19 group together next season, but we want to finish the job this season in Phoenix for everyone in the NAPA Network.”

    Eckes’ confirmation of returning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing completes another missing piece to the team’s lineup for the 2024 season and it comes nearly a month after Daniel Dye announced his move to the team for the upcoming Truck season. It also comes two days after current competitor Jake Garcia took to social media to announce his plans of leaving the team at this season’s conclusion.

    With his plans for the 2024 season set, Eckes’ next Truck Series scheduled start is set to occur this Saturday, October 21, at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Round of 8 finale. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at noon ET on FS1.

  • Daniel Dye joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2024 Truck Series season

    Daniel Dye joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2024 Truck Series season

    Daniel Dye will be joining McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to pilot a Chevrolet Silverado RST with sponsorship support from Race to Stop Suicide for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The news comes as the 19-year-old Dye from DeLand, Florida, is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in the Truck Series for GMS Racing, which is set to cease operations at this year’s conclusion. Through 20 scheduled starts, Dye has recorded four top-15 results, 10 top-20 results and an average-finishing result of 20.3 as he is currently ranked in 18th place in the driver’s standings.

    “I am excited to finally announce we’ll be racing with McAnally–Hilgemann Racing in 2024,” Dye said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside everyone at MHR and go run up front and compete. I learned so much this year at GMS Racing and looking forward to using that knowledge next season and beyond in my career. I can’t wait to get to Daytona in February and get the new season underway.”

    Dye, who grew up competing in quarter midgets and late models, made various starts across the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA East and West from 2020 to 2021 for organizations that include Ben Kennedy Racing and GMS Racing. Achieving his first ARCA career victory at Berlin Raceway in 2021 during a part-time season, Dye competed on a full-time basis for GMS during the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season, where he notched a pole, 13 top-five results, 17 top-10 results, 226 laps led and an average-finishing result of 6.4 through 20-scheduled starts before finishing in the runner-up spot in the championship standings. During the 2022 season, Dye made a single ARCA West start for Bill McAnally Racing at Portland International Raceway, where he finished fourth after starting in the pole position.

    Currently, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, which is expected to field three entries in 2024, fields two full-time entries in the Craftsman Truck Series: the No. 19 for Christian Eckes and the No. 35 for rookie Jake Garcia. Eckes, a three-time race winner for MHR this season, is a Playoff contender and currently ranked in the runner-up spot in the Playoff standings while Garcia is in 13th place in the standings on the strength of eight top-10 results.

    “We are excited to have Daniel join MHR and be part of our continued growth forward,” Bill McAnally, team owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, added. “We have worked with Daniel in the ARCA Series at Portland where we won the pole and had a great top-five finish. We’re all committed to putting in the efforts and see the same results for our No. 43 team starting in 2024 and beyond.”

    Despite McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s intention for Dye to continue to sport the No. 43, additional details regarding Dye’s official number, crew chief, extra partners and the team’s full driver lineup for next season remains to be determined.

    With his future plans set, Dye’s next scheduled Craftsman Truck Series event is set to occur at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, September 30. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Eckes wins Playoff’s Round of 10 finale at Kansas in wild two-lap shootout

    Eckes wins Playoff’s Round of 10 finale at Kansas in wild two-lap shootout

    After spending a majority of the evening trailing the front-runners, Christian Eckes benefitted through a pair of late-race cautions and a two-lap shootout to overtake Playoff rivals Corey Heim and Zane Smith on the final lap to win the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 8.

    The 22-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, led the final two of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified eighth, notched stage points during the event’s two stage periods and kept pace with the leaders with a locked-up berth to the Round of 8 in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs already sealed prior to the event.

    Then amid two late-race caution periods, starting with 17 laps remaining and a proceeding one with eight laps remaining that sent the event into a two-lap shootout, Eckes, who was running in the top five amid the late chaos, drew himself into a battle for the lead and win against Heim and Zane Smith prior to the final lap. Despite leading the final lap mark, Eckes briefly lost the lead to both Heim and Zane Smith. With the latter two dueling for the lead through the backstretch, Eckes seized an opportunity and crossed his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet beneath Heim and Zane Smith before bolting past both through the backstretch and nearly sliding up the track in Turn 3 before muscling away and claiming his third Truck Series victory of the 2023 season as the Playoff’s Round of 10 came to a thrilling conclusion.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chase Purdy notched his first Truck career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.292 mph in 30.631 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor and rookie Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 176.200 mph in 30.647 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Chase Janes, Spencer Davis Timy Hill and Lawless Alan dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. Playoff contender Matt Crafton and Colby Howard also dropped to the rear of the field as they started the main event in backup trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Purdy and Sanchez dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn until Sanchez muscled his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Purdy on the inside lane and into the lead entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Sanchez rocketed away from the competition as he proceeded to lead the first lap. With Sanchez leading, Ben Rhodes challenged Purdy for the runner-up spot followed by Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, who got loose and nearly clipped Purdy through the third turn, was back in fifth ahead of rookie Jake Garcia.

    Through the second lap, Sanchez stretched his advantage to half a second over a side-by-side duel between Rhodes and Purdy while Eckes retained fourth. Behind, Majeski got loose again in Turn 3 as he nearly clipped Garcia while battling for fifth place. The mishap dropped Majeski to seventh as Garcia and Jake Drew moved up to fifth and sixth.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Sanchez was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Purdy, Garcia and Eckes while Jake Drew, Majeski, Jack Wood, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith were in the top 10. Behind, Corey Heim was in 11th ahead of rookie Taylor Gray, Hailie Deegan, Matt DiBenedetto and Tanner Gray while Carson Hocevar, Stewart Friesen, rookie Rajah Caruth, Dean Thompson and Jesse Love occupied the top 20 on the track. Meanwhile, Matt Crafton was the lowest-running Playoff contender on the track as he was in 22nd.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Sanchez continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Garcia trailed by more than a second. By then, Purdy fell back to fourth ahead of Eckes and Majeski while Drew, Heim, Zane Smith and Wood were mired in the top 10. Meanwhile, Enfinger, Hocevar, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the four Playoff competitors currently running outside the top 10 on the track.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Bayley Currey, who was running 23rd, spun his No. 41 Unishippers Chevrolet Silverado RST entering Turn 2. During the first caution period, some including Enfinger, Ankrum, Colby Howard, Spencer Boyd, Justin Carroll, Lawless Alan, Mason Maggio, Deegan and Chase Janes pitted while the rest led by Sanchez remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 20, Sanchez, who spun the tires at the start, retained the lead as the field fanned out through the first turn. In the midst of Sanchez leading, Rhodes was being challenged by Purdy and Eckes for the runner-up spot as Heim and Zane Smith battled for fifth in front of Hocevar and Garcia, who slipped out of the top five.

    Five laps later, Sanchez retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Purdy followed by Rhodes, Heim and Eckes while Zane Smith settled in sixth in front of Hocevar. Shortly after, Enfinger, who restarted outside the top 20, had carved his way back into the top 10 on fresh tires as he was in eighth behind Zane Smith and Jake Drew while Hocevar fell back to ninth.

    Then on Lap 26, the second caution of the event flew when Kaden Honeycutt spun in between Turns 3 and 4 as his truck looped sideways from the top lane to the bottom lane with the leaders approaching and missing Honeycutt. Honeycutt’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 30 to officially conclude under caution.

    As a result, Sanchez, who came into the event three points above the top-eight cutline to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8, captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Purdy settled in second while Rhodes, Heim, Eckes, Zane Smith, Drew, Enfinger, Hocevar and Majeski were scored in the top 10. By then, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the two Playoff contenders who failed to collect a first round of stage points as they were scored in 11th and 13th on the track while Hocevar managed to clinch his way into the Round of 8 by points for the first time in his career.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Sanchez pitted while Enfinger, who pitted during the first caution period, remained on the track to inherit the lead.

    The second stage started on Lap 35 as Enfinger and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez managed to rocket ahead of Enfinger to reassume the lead on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With Rhodes challenging and overtaking Enfinger for the runner-up spot, he then proceeded to challenge Sanchez for the lead during the proceeding lap. Despite leading Laps 37 and 38 by a hair over Sanchez amid a heated duel, Sanchez would manage to slide in front of Rhodes’ No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 through Turns 3 and 4 as he retained the lead with a clear racetrack by Lap 39. By then, Purdy made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to reports of a loose wheel to his pole-winning No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    At the Lap 40 mark, Sanchez was leading by three-tenths of a second over a tight seven-truck battle for the lead that involved Hocevar, Rhodes, Eckes, Zane Smith, Enfinger and Heim, all of whom were separated by a second and were contending in the Playoffs, while DiBenedetto and Crafton trailed in the top nine. With nine of 10 Playoff contenders running first through ninth, Majeski, the 10th Playoff contender, was mired back in 20th while Taylor Gray was the highest-running non-playoff competitor running in 10th place on the track.

    By Lap 50, Hocevar, who overtook Sanchez for the lead two laps earlier, was leading in his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST by nine-tenths of a second over Sanchez while Zane Smith, Heim and Rhodes were in the top five ahead of Eckes, Enfinger and DiBenedetto. By then, Crafton fell back to 12th while teammate Majeski was still mired in 19th in between Jack Wood and Jesse Love.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Hocevar notched his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season after muscling away from the field by more than two seconds. Sanchez trailed in second followed by Heim, Zane Smith and Enfinger while Eckes, Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, DiBenedetto and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. By then, the remaining Playoff competitors, Crafton and Majeski, were mired back in 12th and 17th, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hocevar returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first while Sanchez, Zane Smith, Hocevar and Eckes followed suit.

    With 66 laps remaining, the final stage started as Heim and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Heim took off with the lead from the inside lane as Sanchez engaged in a three-wide battle with Hocevar and Zane Smith for the runner-up spot through Turn 1. Smith and Hocevar then went three-wide on Heim for the lead through the backstretch as nearly the entire front-runners also fanned out in three tight-packed lanes. With Hocevar receiving no drafting help through the backstretch, however, Heim, who had Sanchez drafting help, managed to rocket his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead of Smith through Turns 3 and 4 to clear the field and retain the lead during the following lap.

    Then with 63 laps remaining, Crafton’s Playoff hopes took a hit when he fell off the pace as a result of hitting the backstretch’s outside wall two laps earlier while battling in the top 12. Not long after, trouble struck for his teammate Rhodes, whom Crafton was battling for the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, as he was losing spots on the track amid reports of having a tire going down and making contact with the wall, but he continued to remain on the track as he plummeted to 26th while Crafton pitted his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 and dropped out of the lead lap category. Amid the issues for both ThorSport Racing Playoff contenders, Heim retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar and four-tenths of a second over Zane Smith with 60 laps remaining.

    Then with 52 laps remaining, Hocevar, who spent the last few laps engaged in a fierce battle with Heim for the lead, overtook him to reassume the top spot. With Hocevar retaining the lead over Heim and Eckes with less than 50 laps remaining, the night went from bad to worse for Crafton, who pitted for a second time under green for repairs to his truck amid his late incident with the wall as he lost more laps from the leaders. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running eighth, was within close distance of racing his way into the Round of 8 over Rhodes, who still retained the final transfer spot to the next round but was mired back in 27th on the track.

    As Rhodes, who went a lap down earlier, pitted for four fresh tires with 43 laps remaining, Hocevar found himself being intimidated for the lead by Heim, who trailed by two-tenths of a second, while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Eckes and Sanchez were in the top five while Taylor Gray, Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Garcia were running in the top 10.

    With 39 laps remaining, Heim pitted under green from the runner-up spot. A bevy of names that included the leader Hocevar, Taylor Gray, Stewart Friesen, Jake Drew, rookie Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Hailie Deegan and Majeski pitted during the proceeding laps while Zane Smith, Sanchez, Eckes and Enfinger would pit during the next lap as DiBenedetto, who drew himself back into contention to still transfer to the Round of 8 but is still needing to make a pit stop, assumed the lead. DiBenedetto would then pit with 35 laps remaining as Tanner Gray assumed the lead.

    Once the last wave of lead lap competitors pitted, among which included late leaders Tanner Gray, Jack Wood and Bret Holmes, Heim, who slid through his pit box during his green flag pit stop but managed to run ahead of Hocevar on the track, cycled back into the lead with 27 laps remaining. By then, Heim was leading by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Zane Smith, Eckes and Sanchez while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto, Friesen, Caruth and Jake Drew were in the top 10. By then, Enfinger, who was penalized for speeding during his green flag pit stop, was back in 17th in front of Majeski while Rhodes and Crafton were mired in 26th and 35th, respectively.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Heim continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar while Zane Smith, Sanchez and Eckes continued to run in the top five. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running seventh, was still scored eight points below the top-eight cutline behind Rhodes, who was still mired in 26th on the track while teammate Crafton was running 35th on the track and scored 12 points below the cutline.

    Three laps later, the caution flew due to an accident involving Mason Maggio in Turn 3. During the caution period, the front-runners led by Heim remained on the track. With the event reaching its final 10-lap mark with the caution flag still displayed, some running in the middle of the pack, including Enfinger, Majeski and Rhodes, pitted for service while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green with eight laps remaining, Heim received a strong push from Zane Smith’s No. 38 RTA Ford F-150 to boost ahead of Hocevar and retain the lead. Smith then made his move to Heim’s outside in a bid for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Hocevar tried to make it a three-way battle for the lead. Shortly after and amid the tight battle for the lead, the caution returned after Caruth and Tanner Gray wrecked across the frontstretch, with Caruth spinning across the frontstretch grass after getting turned by Gray while Gray spun back across the track and pounded the outside wall. At the moment of caution, Heim managed to retain the lead ahead of Zane Smith and Hocevar.

    Down to the final two laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Eckes gained a massive run on the leaders as he bolted his No. 19 PEAK/NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST to the outside of Smith entering Turn 3. Eckes, Zane Smith and Heim then went three wide entering the frontstretch, with Heim nearly getting loose, as they battled for the lead and potential win.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was out in front by a hair over both Zane Smith and Heim while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto and Hocevar battled for fourth place behind. Through the first two turns, Heim and Zane Smith muscled ahead of Eckes to make it a tight two-truck battle for the lead between them entering the backstretch. Then through the backstretch, Eckes crossed over to the inside lane and managed to overtake both Zane Smith and Heim for the lead entering Turn 3 before he slid up the track and stalled Smith’s momentum, which caused Smith to get loose. With Smith losing his momentum, Eckes managed to keep his foot on the gas pedal and muscle away from the field to cross the checkered flag with the victory in dramatic fashion and by three-tenths of a second.

    With the victory, Eckes, who had secured a spot for the Round of 8 in the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs based on points prior to Friday night’s event at Kansas, scored his fourth career victory in the series, his third of the season and his first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May. Ironically, all three of Eckes’ Truck victories this season have occurred in two-lap shootouts, but tonight was the first where Eckes won under green flag conditions, as the New York native and his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team proceeded toward their quest to win this year’s Truck Series championship.

    “That was wild,” Eckes said on FS1. “I didn’t know if I was gonna win it or not. We had like a sixth-place truck all day, but that caution coming out, I knew we’d have a shot at it. Here we are. We haven’t won in a really long time, so [I] wanted to kind of set the tone and went a hell of a way to the Round of 10. [Finishes of] Second, third and first. Can’t beat that. Proud of all of these guys. Man, it’s awesome to be back in Victory Lane, for sure.”

    Behind Eckes, Taylor Gray notched a career-best runner-up result in his 29th Truck career start followed by Matt DiBenedetto, who made a strong rally to finish third for his second top-five result of the season. The result, however, was not enough for DiBenedetto and the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. team to advance to the Round of 8 as their Playoff run came to an end.

    “Honestly this team fought so hard, worked their tail off to give me a good-looking truck and a good-handling truck all night,” DiBenedetto, who will be departing Rackley W.A.R. at the conclusion of the 2023 season, said. “Man, we made the most of it, for sure. Just so thankful for these guys, Rackley Roofing…I hate we missed [advancing to the Round of 8], man. It stinks we had an issue at Milwaukee and it took us out of it. We could be in that next round, but this team, they deserve to hold their heads high, for sure.”

    Like DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton’s hopes for a fourth championship came to an end amid his late contact with the wall and series of unscheduled pit stops that resulted in him finishing in 33rd in the final running order and below the top-eight cutline. This season marks the second in a row where Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford team have failed to transfer past the Round of 10.

    “It is what it is,” Crafton said. “The cards were dealt. It folded really crappy for us, but at the end of the day, we had some speed. When [the truck] jumped sideways off of [Turn] 2, it hadn’t done that all night. Just caught me off guard. I gotta thank [my crew]. They worked their butts off today just from practice, wrecking that truck in practice and then, wrecking during the race. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go on and do it again next year.”

    Amid the disappointment for DiBenedetto and Crafton, good fortune came for Ben Rhodes, who ended up 25th and managed to secure the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by a mere margin. As a result, he and his No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford team will continue their quest for a second Truck Series title.

    “We were edgy all day long ever since we unloaded,” Rhodes said. “We kind of were predicting that it was gonna come to us in the race and it kind of went the opposite way. We ended up having a tire going down that caused me to hit the wall, it was just a mistake on myself. Mixed emotions tonight for this Kubota Ford F-150 team. The expectation is to make it to the next round, so just meeting the expectation isn’t necessarily a cause for celebration. We’re happy to advance, but at the same time, we’ve got to smoothen out some rough edges and make sure that bringing less mistakes and faster, more comfortable trucks.”

    Heim, who led 40 laps, finished fourth while Zane Smtih fell back to fifth. Hocevar, Friesen, Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Jake Drew completed the top 10 on the track.

    Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes and rookie Nick Sanchez have officially transferred to the Round of 8 and will continue their quests to win this year’s Truck Series championship while Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have been eliminated from the Playoffs.

    There were 18 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 13 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Christian Eckes, two laps led

    2. Taylor Gray

    3. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps led

    4. Corey Heim, 40 laps led

    5. Zane Smith, one lap led

    6. Carson Hocevar, 32 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. Stewart Friesen

    8. Nick Sanchez, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Jake Drew

    11. Jake Garcia

    12. Rajah Caruth

    13. Jesse Love

    14. Chase Purdy, one lap down

    15. Dean Thompson, one lap down

    16. Jack Wood, one lap down, two laps led

    17. Grant Enfinger, one lap down, four laps led

    18. Ty Majeski, one lap down

    19. Colby Howard, one lap down

    20. Bret Holmes, one lap down, two laps led

    21. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

    23. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    24. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    25. Ben Rhodes, two laps down, two laps led

    26. Tanner Gray, three laps down, four laps led

    27. Kaden Honeycutt, three laps down

    28. Chase Janes, three laps down

    29. Justin Carroll, four laps down

    30. Hailie Deegan, four laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, five laps down

    32. Greg Van Alst, five laps down

    33. Matt Crafton, nine laps down

    34. Jennifer Jo Cobb, nine laps down

    35. Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident

    36. Spencer Davis – OUT, Suspension

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes – Advanced

    3. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    4. Carson Hocevar – Advanced

    5. Zane Smith – Advanced

    6. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    7. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

    8. Nick Sanchez – Advanced

    9. Matt DiBenedetto – Eliminated

    10. Matt Crafton – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence next Thursday, September 14, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage of the event is set to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Charles Denike joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to crew chief Derek Kraus

    Charles Denike joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to crew chief Derek Kraus

    McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced that Charles Denike will be joining the organization to serve as a new crew chief for Derek Kraus and the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST team for the remainder of this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

    Denike, who served as a crew chief in 26 ARCA Menards Series East events from 2012 to 2016, joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing after nearly three seasons at GMS Racing, where he commenced this season as crew chief for Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RST team. With Denike transitioning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, veteran Jeff Hensley was recently announced as Enfinger’s new crew chief for the remainder of this season. Denike, meanwhile, replaces veteran Shane Wilson, who was suspended from last weekend’s Truck event at Nashville Superspeedway due to an improperly installed ballast that was found on Kraus’ truck. Th infraction that was discovered prior to the event resulted with the team being assessed an L1-level penalty and a 10-point dock in both the driver and owner standings.

    “I am excited to join MHR and to work with Derek Kraus on the 19 team,” Denike said. “Derek is highly talented and we are looking forward to our first race together at Mid-Ohio. Over the next two races we will push hard to make the playoffs. MHR has built a great team with a strong foundation and I am thankful for the opportunity to help continue to advance their program.”

    Denike made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in 2020 and for GMS Racing’s No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado team that competed in all but the first two events of the 23-race schedule. Throughout the season, the ride was shared between Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Chase Purdy, David Kravel, Kris Wright, Sam Mayer and Greg Biffle. With the team making its first start of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Denike went to Victory Lane in his crew chief debut when Elliott claimed a dominant victory over Kyle Busch. Fourteen races later, Denike guided Mayer to his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway during the 2020 Truck Playoffs in September. To go along with a total of four top-five results and seven top-10 results, Denike led the No. 24 GMS Racing team to a 16th-place result in the 2020 Truck owners’ standings.

    This past season, Denike served as a full-time crew chief for Tyler Ankrum and the No. 26 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado team. Together, Denike and Ankrum achieved a pole, three top-five results, five top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 19.8 and a 15th-place result in the 2021 drivers’ standings. Having started this year’s Truck season as a crew chief for Enfinger, the duo have achieved three top-five results and seven top-10 results through the first 14-scheduled events.

    Through 57 previous appearances as a crew chief, Denike has achieved two victories, one pole, 10 top-five results and 19 top-10 results while working with nine different competitors.

    “We’re excited to have Charles join our team,” Bill McAnally, Co-owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “We’re confident that he will strengthen our overall team as we move ahead and help us take full advantage of the opportunities we have available through our alliance with GMS Racing.”

    Kraus is currently campaigning in his third full-time season in the Truck Series, where he has achieved a total of three poles, four top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.6 in 64 previous Truck starts. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ standings on the strength of four top-10 results and trails the top-10 cutline to qualify for the 2022 Truck Playoffs by 29 points with two regular season races remaining to the schedule: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 9 and Pocono Raceway on July 23.

    Denike will be making his first appearance as a crew chief for Kraus and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST team at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.