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  • Rhodes and Crafton trade tense words at Mid-Ohio

    Rhodes and Crafton trade tense words at Mid-Ohio

    LEXINGTON, Ohio — Casey Campbell, Taylor Kitchen, Michael Kristi and I stood on pit road, waiting to talk to the top-five finishers of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ second trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Suddenly, I hear Mike Bagley of MRN Radio say Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes are fighting. I gazed at Rhodes’ truck and see a frustrated Crafton walk away, right past us.

    When Rhodes joined us in the media bullpen, we all had one thing on our minds.

    What happened?

    “My conversation went like this: ‘Calm down, calm down, Matt. Please calm down! We’ll talk later,’” he said.

    What was Crafton angry about?

    Well with two laps to go in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150, as Corey Heim pulled away to victory, Rhodes and Crafton made contact in the keyhole.

    “He broke early,” he said. “I guess he was just riding. I broke late because I’m still on a charge from the rear and I got to about side by side with him in the braking zone and I don’t think he knew I was there.”

    Crafton moved down to apex Turn 2 while Rhodes checked up and the latter’s nose hit the former’s tail. Crafton got loose and Rhodes overtook him to finish fifth. While Crafton came home sixth.

    “I don’t know if he was just frustrated from other stuff in the race,” he said.

    “Other stuff in the race” includes staying out on wet tires under the first stage break, while everyone else pitted for dry tires. Unsurprisingly, the slicks prevailed over the wets.

    “I’m sure there was something else there in the race going on and I’m just a familiar face to vent to. So it is what it is.”

    After the bullpen session, I walked to Crafton’s hauler to get his side of the story, but he declined my request for comment.

    Regardless, Crafton leaves Mid-Ohio with a one point lead over Stewart Friesen for the final playoff spot. Meanwhile, Rhodes’ one win locked him into the playoffs, with two races left in the regular season.

  • Ankrum rallies from off-track excursion to win at Mid-Ohio

    Ankrum rallies from off-track excursion to win at Mid-Ohio

    LEXINGTON, Ohio — Tyler Ankrum led 20 of the 42 laps to score his maiden ARCA Menards Series victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

    Now if you read that lede without watching the SmartCoat 150, Friday, you’d think he all but put on a clinic.

    Except he ran off-course.

    With 18 laps to go, Ankrum out-braked himself and veered off into the gravel trap in Turn 1. Which he thought would work, because he did the same thing on the first restart.

    Tyler Ankrum (02:46):

    “So I’m thinking, ‘OK, I got more grip because I’ll be on the bottom, I’ll be in the rubber,’” he said. “And the further you can get close to the curb, the less uncambered the pavement is.”

    Instinctively, he throttled up and escaped the kitty litter. If he didn’t, it was game over.

    “I was probably going to lose a lap or two and my race would be done.”

    He trailed the leader, however, by seven seconds. So barring a late caution, Ankrum needed the drive of a lifetime to win.

    “I mean, in order to do that, you have to be not only really good on brakes, but you also have to be turning really good and have drive off,” he said.

    Fortunately for Ankrum, he worked on doing just that over the “past couple of years,” and cut the deficit by seven seconds over the course of 12 laps.

    Then with five laps to go, he made his move on Dean Thompson in the keyhole.

    Ankrum drove away from the field and crossed the line to win.

    And with a car he thought didn’t have the speed to reel in the leaders.

    “It wasn’t until about a lap or two later, I passed one or two cars already and I could still see the leader when we’re coming out in Turn 2,” he said. “And I was thinking to myself, ‘I’ve got the car to do this. I can do this myself. At the least, I’ll make it back to the top-three.”

    Of course, as one-off, this probably won’t have major championship implications. Jessie Love leaves Mid-Ohio with a 43-point lead.

  • Weekend schedule for Atlanta and Mid-Ohio

    Weekend schedule for Atlanta and Mid-Ohio

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway while the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series compete at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

    Eleven Cup Series drivers have won races this season and earned a spot in the Playoffs – Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. That leaves five spots with only eight more races in the regular season.

    Drivers above the cutoff without wins are Kevin Harvick (+151 points above the cutoff), Chris Buescher (+104), Brad Keselowski (+91), Bubba Wallace (+15) and rookie Ty Gibbs (+6).

    There are also five spots remaining in the Xfinity Series playoff field. Justin Allgaier, Jeb Burton, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith and have already secured spots in the Playoffs via wins.

    Six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers have made their way into the 2023 Playoffs with only three races remaining in the regular season – Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith.

    NASCAR Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend after qualifying and post-race.

    All times are Eastern

    Friday, July 7 – Mid-Ohio

    1:45 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV
    3 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying – No TV
    4 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    4: 30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    6 p.m.: ARCA Zinsser SmartCoat 150 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, July 8

    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 (Mid-Ohio)
    Stages 20/40/67 Laps = 151.28 miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $671,050

    4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Atlanta)
    Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds
    USA

    5:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Atlanta)
    Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM

    8 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 (Atlanta)
    Stages 40/80/163 Laps = 251.02 Miles
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,654,863

    Sunday, July 9

    7 p.m.: Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart (Atlanta)
    Stages 60/160/260 Laps = 400.4 Miles
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,449,067

  • Kligerman fends off Zane Smith for wild Truck Series victory at Mid-Ohio

    Kligerman fends off Zane Smith for wild Truck Series victory at Mid-Ohio

    Parker Kligerman capitalized in a three-lap shootout and fended off several fierce challenges from Zane Smith to win the inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9. The 31-year-old Kligerman from Stamford, Connecticut, led three times for a race-high 56 of 67 laps, including the final three, as he assumed the lead from Zane Smith at the start of a three-lap dash to the finish.

    Once he assumed the lead, Kligerman managed to fend off and remain in front of Smith through the 13-turn circuit three times before etching his name as the winner of the inaugural Truck event at Mid-Ohio and return to Victory Lane in the series for the first time in four seasons.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, which was also shortened due to rain, rookie Corey Heim started on the pole position after posting a time at 69.181 mph in 117.500 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Parker Kligerman, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 68.869 mph in 118.032 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Derek Kraus, Austin Wayne Self and Kris Wright dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made toothier respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim launched his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro clear of the field entering the first turn followed by Kligerman and Carson Hocevar as the field fanned out and jostled for early positions. With the competitors navigating their way through the 13-turn circuit for the first time, Heim, who was engaged in an early battle with Kligerman for the lead, led the first lap as John Hunter Nemechek moved up to third place. Meanwhile, Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto battled for fourth in front of Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum.

    Two laps later, Kligerman, who intimidated Heim for the lead since the start, made his move in Turn 4 to assume the lead while Heim kept Kligerman within his sights.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Kligerman was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Nemechek, DiBenedetto and Hocevar while Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Justin Marks were in the top 10. Behind, Dylan Lupton was in 11th ahead of Connor Mosack, Christian Eckes, Kaz Grala and Taylor Gray while Tanner Gray, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Trey Burke III and rookie Jack Wood occupied the top 20. Ty Majeski was in 21st and Chandler Smith was in 23rd ahead of Hailie Deegan and Derek Kraus.

    Three laps later, the first caution flew when Mason Filippi stopped on the track. During the caution period, some like Dean Thompson and Taylor Gray pitted while the rest led by Kligerman remained on the track.

    When the event restarted on Lap 10, Kligerman and Heim battled for the lead as the former retained the top spot through the first two turns and entering Turns 3 and 4. Meanwhile, Nemechek retained third ahead of DiBenedetto, Ankrum, Hocevar and the field.

    By Lap 15, Kligerman extended his advantage over Heim followed by Nemechek, Zane Smith and Ankrum while Enfinger, Hocevar, Justin Marks, Crafton and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. Behind, Frisen was in 11th followed by Rhodes, who was reporting engine issues to his truck. Lupton, Grala and Tanner Tray occupied the top 15 while Connor Mosack, Majeski, Chandler Smith, Deegan and Chase Purdy were in the top 20. Meanwhile, DiBenedetto, who fell off the pace on Lap 13 when the power in his No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet Silverado RST shut off before re-firing entering Turn 2, was mired back in 28th.

    During the following lap, the caution returned when Trey Burke III, who earlier went off the course in Turn 2, came to a stop while trying to exit pit road. 

    With a single lap remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Kligerman retained the lead ahead of Heim, who was challenged by teammate Nemechek for the runner-up spot as Zane Smith joined the battle. In the midst of the three-truck battle, Zane Smith overtook both Kyle Busch Motorsports competitors to move into the runner-up spot as the field fanned out. Despite Smith’s late charge to the front, Kligerman managed to fend off Smith to remain the leader as he went on to claim the first stage victory on Lap 20. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Nemechek, Heim and Enfinger while Eckes, Ankrum, Hocevar, Marks and Friesen were scored in the top 10.

    Following a three-minute break period, where the teams were allowed to change tires, add fuel and make adjustments to their respective trucks while the field retained their sports, the second stage started under green on Lap 21. At the start, Kligerman and Zane Smith dueled for the lead from Turn 2 to Turn 4 until Kligerman managed to fend off Smith again as he remained with the lead. Behind, teammates Nemechek and Heim battled for third in front of Enfinger while Eckes made his way to sixth in front of Majeski.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Kligerman remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Heim and Eckes were in the top five. Friesen was in sixth while Grant Enfinger, Hocevar, Ankrum and Grala were in the top 10. A lap earlier, Rhodes made an unscheduled pit stop as his pit crew went to work on the fuel cell amid his power issues to his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. The situation for Rhodes went from bad to worse when he was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    By Lap 30, Kligerman continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Heim and Eckes remained in the top five.

    Nearing the Lap 35 mark, Nemechek, who had smoke coming out of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, pitted before he made the turn to the garage. By then, Rhodes, who was two laps behind the leaders amid his mechanical issue, went off the course, though he continued as the race remained under green.

    At the start of the final lap of the second stage, the battle for the lead between Kligerman and Zane Smith ignited as Smith, who had slowly been pressuring Kligerman for the lead, made his move for the top spot and dueled for the lead through the first two turns. When the leaders returned to the start/finish line, Smith, who managed to overtake and clear Kligerman for the lead through the Esses, claimed his seventh stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 40. Kligerman settled in second followed by Heim, Eckes and Hocevar while Enfinger, Friesen, Ankrum, Grala and Majeski. 

    Following another three-minute break period for pit stops and adjustments, the final stage commenced under green with 25 laps remaining. At the start, Zane Smith received a strong start to hold the lead before Kligerman launched his challenge for the lead exiting Turn 2. Then in Turn 4, Kligerman gained a strong run as he managed to reassume the lead.

    With 20 laps remaining, Kligerman was leading by three-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Hocevar, Eckes, Enfinger, Friesen, Ankrum, Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. In the midst of the on-track action, Dylan Lupton backed his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST into the tire barriers in Turn 7. Two laps earlier, Justin Marks, who was running in 13th, spun by himself in Turn 10 as he dropped out of the top 20.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Marks, who darted to the left while trying to avoid Lawless Alan, lost his brakes and slid his No. 41 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST backward into the gravel trap in Turn 4 as he pounded the tire barriers on his right side, thus ending his one-race return as a driver in the infield care center. By then, Tyler Ankrum, who was running in the top 10, dropped off the pace after sustaining damage and a right-rear tire.

    Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kligerman retained the lead in front of Zane Smith while Heim and Hoover battled for third place in front of the field. Shortly after, however, the caution returned for a multi-truck incident that started when Austin Wayne Self, who got loose while battling Chase Purdy and Colby Howard in a three-wide battle entering the first turn, spun and was hit by rookie Jack Wood’s No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST while Blaine Perkins and Timmy Hill sustained damage amid the carnage.

    With eight laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Zane Smith overtook Kligerman to reassume the lead exiting the first turn. At the same time, Hocevar briefly took over the runner-up spot over Kligerman before he went wide entering Turn 2 and fell back to fourth. In the midst of the on-track battles, Heim moved up to second followed by Kligerman and Hocevar. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Chase Purdy spun in Turn 12 following contact with DiBenedetto, but the race proceeded under green. 

    During the following lap, however, the caution flew when Heim fell off the pace due to a mechanical failure and came to a stop between Turns 6 and 7 as his hopes of winning a second Triple Truck Challenge bonus came to an end.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith held a brief advantage before Kligerman made his move and reassumed the top spot exiting the fourth turn while Hocevar was up in third place. Behind, Crafton and Kris Wright spun, but the race proceeded under green. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Zane Smith launched another challenge on Kligerman for the lead, but he could not execute the move as Kligerman retained the top spot in his No. 75 Food Country USA/Tide Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kligerman received another challenge from Zane Smith’s No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150 entering the first turn, though Kligerman retained the lead. Through Turns 3 to 12, Kligerman managed to hold a reasonable gap between himself and Smith. Then entering Turn 13, Smith launched his final attack by bumping and trying to move Kligerman up the track. The move, however, did not execute to the end as Kligerman managed to claim the checkered flag and cap off his dominant run with a narrow victory. 

    With the victory, Kligerman earned his third career win in the Camping World Truck Series and his first since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2017, which also marked the final victory to date for Henderson Motorsports. He also claimed the third and final $50,000 bonus from the Triple Truck Challenge.

    “[The win]’s hard to put into words,” Kligerman said on FS1. “I was really emotional on the cooldown lap because this whole team, it’s like a team of second chances. Two years ago, I thought my driving days were done. This team gave me a call, wanted to get back racing and it’s just been a steady improvement throughout. [Owners] Charlie Henderson, Don Henderson, the whole Henderson family. All the employees at Food Country USA who give us this opportunity to come out here and do this. It’s unbelievable when you put a talented group of humans together, what they can achieve. We were doing this on an absolute fraction of what the trucks are up against. And to win on Mid-Ohio road course, finally! A road course win! I started in road courses, I came in NASCAR thinking that would be all easy. It’s taken me more than a decade to get a win, but finally, we’re here…This is a small team that could, but we’re not a small team that doesn’t win. We win. ”

    Zane Smith, who trailed Kligerman to the finish line by more than a tenth of a second, claimed his third runner-up result of the season while Hocevar, Friesen and Eckes finished in the top five. Chandler Smith, Kaz Grala, Derek Kraus, Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 15 laps.

    Down to the final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season event of the 2022 season, Zane Smith leads the regular-season standings by 58 points over both John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith, 69 over Stewart Friesen and 70 over Ben Rhodes as he closes in towards the regular-season championship. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar have secured spots for the Playoffs based on points. Grant Enfinger remains above the top-10 cutline in ninth place by 47 points while Matt Crafton holds the 10th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by 19 points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline by 19 points, Tyler Ankrum trails by 46, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 63, Tanner Gray trails by 72, Chase Purdy trails by 104 and Colby Howard trails by 139.

    Results.

    1. Parker Kligerman, 56 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Zane Smith, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Carson Hocevar

    4. Stewart Friesen

    5. Christian Eckes

    6. Chandler Smith

    7. Kaz Grala

    8. Derek Kraus

    9. Colby Howard

    10. Hailie Deegan

    11. Grant Enfinger

    12. Ty Majeski

    13. Chase Purdy

    14. Austin Wayne Self

    15. Taylor Gray

    16. Spencer Boyd

    17. Timmy Hill

    18. Matt Crafton

    19. Matt DiBenedetto

    20. Tanner Gray

    21. Tyler Ankrum

    22. Stephen Mallozzi

    23. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

    24. Lawless Alan, one lap down

    25. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    26. Corey Heim – OUT, Transmission, three laps down

    27. Dean Thompson, seven laps down

    28. John Hunter Nemechek, 10 laps down

    29. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    30. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

    31. Justin Marks – OUT, Accident

    32. Dylan Lupton – OUT, Accident

    33. Kenko Miura, 25 laps down

    34. Connor Mosack – OUT, Brakes

    35. Trey Burke III – OUT, Rear gear

    36. Mason Filippi – OUT, Engine

    The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude at Pocono Raceway on July 23, where the 10-truck Playoff field will be determined. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at noon ET on FOX.

  • Kyle Busch Motorsports to surpass 750 combined Truck Series starts at Mid-Ohio

    Kyle Busch Motorsports to surpass 750 combined Truck Series starts at Mid-Ohio

    With the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch reaching its conclusion, Kyle Busch Motorsports is set to surpass a milestone start in the team’s 13th season in Truck competition. When KBM drivers Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith compete in this weekend’s inaugural event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, KBM will surpass a combined 750 career starts in the Truck Series.

    Kyle Busch Motorsports debuted in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2010 with trucks purchased from Roush Fenway Racing and assets acquired from Xpress Motorsports as the team headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. By then, Busch had campaigned in seven part-time seasons in the series while accumulating 16 victories, all occurring with Billy Ballew Motorsports.

    For the 2010 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports planned on fielding three trucks: one that would be split between Busch and Brian Ickler, another that would be driven on a full-time basis by Taylor Malsam and a third that would be piloted by former champion Johnny Benson Jr. pending additional sponsorships. Prior to the start of the season, however, Miccosukee Resorts, one of Busch’s key Truck sponsors that initially followed him to KBM from Billy Ballew Motorsports, terminated its partnership with NASCAR and left Busch without a full-time sponsor throughout his part-time campaign. In addition, Benson’s role was limited to a part-time status as he shared the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry with Busch, Ickler and Kasey Kahne while the second KBM entry, the No. 56 Toyota Tundra that was piloted by Malsam, was terminated following the first seven events. Despite the rocky start, it only took the first four events of the season for Kyle Busch to record the first victory for KBM at Nashville Superspeedway in April 2010. Busch went on to achieve victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Bristol Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway in August, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, Talladega Superspeedway in October and at Texas Motor Speedway in November, all occurring in the No. 18 entry. After winning the season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November following a four-lap shootout, Busch captured the 2010 Truck Series owners’ championship on the strength of eight victories in 16 starts throughout the 25-race schedule. In total, KBM achieved eight victories, six poles, 16 top-five results and 21 top-10 results in its first season in NASCAR competition.

    For the team’s second season in 2011, Busch fielded the No. 18 Toyota Tundra as the primary, “all-star” entry that was split between himself, Kasey Kahne, Brian Ickler, Josh Richards and Denny Hamlin. Busch also fielded the Nos. 15 and 51 entries that both campaigned in limited events and was shared between Kimi Räikkönen, German Quiroga and Richards. Throughout the 2011 Truck season, Busch notched six victories in 16 starts, Kahne won at Darlington Raceway in March and Hamlin notched his first Truck victory at Martinsville Speedway in October, all occurring in KBM’s No. 18 entry. Despite accumulating a total of eight victories, two poles, 16 top-five results and 18 top-10 results throughout the 25-race schedule, the No. 18 entry settled in second place in the final owners’ standings behind the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. entry.

    Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR.

    The 2012 Truck season was a difficult season for Kyle Busch Motorsports despite the team fielding the No. 18 Toyota Tundra on a full-time basis for a third consecutive season while the No. 51 Toyota Tundra competed the final five scheduled events with Quiroga and Hamlin behind the wheel. At the start of the season, veteran Jason Leffler piloted the No. 18 Toyota as the team’s primary competitor, but was released in August after only recording six top-10 results through the first 10 events. For the remainder of the season, the No. 18 entry was split between Busch, Hamlin, Brian Scott, Kurt Busch, Drew Herring and David Mayhew. After going winless for the majority of the season, Hamlin recorded the first victory of 2012 for KBM when he piloted the No. 51 Toyota to a win at Martinsville in October. Two races later, Scott overtook rookie Kyle Larson during a two-lap shootout to wheel the No. 18 Toyota to a late victory at Phoenix Raceway in November. In the end, KBM capped off the season with Busch being edged by Cale Gale in a photo finish at Homestead as Busch concluded a Truck season winless for the first time since 2004.

    In 2013, Kyle Busch Motorsports fielded three full-time entries for the first time in the team’s history with the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry becoming the team’s “all-star” entry that was piloted between Busch, Erik Jones, Chad Hackenbracht, Scott Bloomquist and Hamlin throughout the 22-race schedule. For the new season, the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry was taken sole possession by full-time competitor Joey Coulter while KBM’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra entry debuted for newcomer Bubba Wallace. Through the first 20 events, the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane four times, all with Busch. At Phoenix in November, Jones became the youngest winner in the series at age 17 years, five months and nine days after recording his first career victory in KBM’s No. 51 truck. During the following weekend at Homestead, Busch survived three late-race restarts to capture his fifth win of the 2013 season and clinch the owners’ title for his No. 51 entry in a tie-breaker against ThorSport Racing’s No. 88 entry piloted by the 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton. Meanwhile, the No. 18 entry that was piloted by Coulter achieved a total of five top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the final drivers’ standings while the No. 54 entry managed to earn a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville in October as Wallace became the first African-American competitor to win in the Truck Series. To go along with his first Truck career victory, Wallace capped off his first full-time campaign in the series with a pole, five top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an eighth-place result in the drivers’ standings.

    Photo by Kala Perkins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
    Photo by Gary Buchanan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The 2014 season was a breakout year for Kyle Busch Motorsports, which featured Busch and Erik Jones splitting driving responsibilities of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra while Bubba Wallace returned as the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. In total, KBM won 14 of the 22 races to the schedule as Busch and Jones, both of whom earned a combined 10 victories, guided the No. 51 entry to the team’s third owners’ championship. Wallace piloted the No. 54 truck to four victories, two poles, nine top-five results and 14 top-10 results as he finished in third place in the final drivers’ standings. 

    A month following the conclusion of the 2014 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports unveiled its driver lineup for the 2015 season with Erik Jones headlining the lineup as he was promoted to a full-time Truck Series campaign in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while newcomer Justin Boston replaced Bubba Wallace, who graduated to the Xfinity Series with Roush Fenway Racing, in the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, KBM’s No. 51 Toyota Tundra team remained as an “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Daniel Suarez, Matt Tifft and Christopher Bell. Early in the season, Suarez and Tifft served as the primary competitors of the No. 51 entry with Busch recovering from injuries sustained in a late multi-car wreck during the Xfinity season-opening event at Daytona in February. Boston, however, was released by KBM nine races into the new season due to a breech of contract involving the driver and his sponsor Zloop. With Boston out, the No. 54 entry was split between Tifft, Cody Coughlin, Gray Gaulding, Bell and Busch, who returned to full-time competition in May. Despite the early season drama for KBM, Bell captured his first career victory at Eldora Speedway in July following a two-lap shootout while Busch piloted the No. 51 truck to two victories at Pocono Raceway and at Michigan International Speedway between July and August. Meanwhile, Jones earned victories at Iowa Speedway in June, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August and at Texas Motor Speedway in November. To go along with five poles, 11 top-five results and 20 top-10 results, Jones claimed the 2015 Truck Series championship following a sixth-place result at Homestead and by 15 points over Tyler Reddick and 22 over Matt Crafton. With Jones’ accomplishment, Kyle Busch Motorsports achieved its first drivers’ championship along with its fourth owners’ title in NASCAR.

    Photo by Don Dunn for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The 2016 Truck Series season featured another new driver lineup for Kyle Busch Motorsports as Bell, coming off his first career victory at Eldora, replaced Erik Jones, who moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while William Byron, the reigning ARCA Menards Series East champion who made his Truck debut with KBM at Phoenix in November during the previous season, piloted the No. 9 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry was split between Daniel Suarez, Cody Coughlin, Jones and Gary Klutt throughout the season while the No. 18 KBM entry made a total of five starts between Busch, Coughlin and Harrison Burton. Throughout the season, Busch wheeled the No. 18 truck to victories at Martinsville in April and at Chicagoland Speedway in September while Suarez drove the No. 51 Toyota to his first Truck career victory at Phoenix in November. The No. 9 Toyota team piloted by Byron achieved great success throughout the season with the Charlotte native earning his first career victory at Kansas Speedway in May after dodging a final lap incident involving Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes. He went on to win at Texas and Iowa Speedway in June followed by Kentucky Speedway in July as KBM became the winningest team in the Truck Series with 51 victories. After Byron won at Pocono in July, he established a new record for achieving the most victories by a rookie Truck competitor with five. After qualifying for the inaugural 2016 Truck Playoffs, he won the first postseason event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September and utilized consistency to transfer all the way to the Playoff’s Round of 6. Byron’s title hopes, however, came to an end at Phoenix in November after his No. 9 entry suffered an engine failure with 10 laps remaining while he was leading, which prevented him from earning a ticket to the Championship Round at Homestead. Nonetheless, he went on to win the season-finale event at Homestead for his unprecedented seventh victory of the season as he wrapped up both the 2016 Rookie-of-the-Year title and the fifth career owners’ title for KBM. In comparison to Byron and the No. 9 team, Bell and the No. 4 team rallied from a rocky start to generate a consistent regular season run, including a victory at Gateway in June, to qualify for the Playoffs. Bell remained consistent throughout the Playoffs to make it all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead and contend for the drivers’ title. During the finale, however, Bell finished in eighth place on the track and in third place in the final drivers’ standings.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    For the 2017 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained Bell as driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while welcoming Noah Gragson as a full-time competitor of KBM’s No. 18 Toyota Tundra. Busch remained as a part-time competitor of his No. 51 Toyota Tundra as he split the ride with rookies Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Myatt Snider while also debuting the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for a total of four events, with himself and Gilliland earning two events apiece. Busch earned a total of three victories throughout the 2017 Truck season: two in the No. 51 entry at Kansas and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and one in the No. 46 entry at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. In addition, the No. 51 team earned a total of nine top-10 results and settled in fourth place in the final owners’ standings. For the No. 18 entry, Gragson earned his first career victory at Martinsville in October following a late duel with former champions Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter. To go along with three poles, four top-five results and 13 top-10 results, Gragson finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings and in his first full-time Truck campaign. For Bell, who entered the season as a potential title favorite, he achieved five victories along with five poles, 15 top-five results and 21 top-10 results as he made his second consecutive appearance both in the Playoffs and in the Championship Round at Homestead. During the finale, Bell finished in the runner-up spot on the track and captured the 2017 Truck Series drivers’ championship over Sauter, Austin Cindric and Crafton. With his first championship in NASCAR, Bell recorded the second drivers’ championship and the sixth owners’ title overall for KBM.

    Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

    During the following season, Busch retained Gragson in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland contended for the 2018 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, thus replacing Bell as Bell became a full-time Xfinity competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gilliland, however, missed four of the first six events due to age restrictions and spent the early portions of the season splitting the No. 4 Toyota with his father David, Busch and newcomer Spencer Davis while Davis, Busch, David Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Logan Seavey and Christopher Bell took turns piloting the No. 51 Toyota Tundra. The No. 46 KBM Toyota Tundra also returned for a total of six events that was split between Brandon Jones, Herbst and newcomer Christian Eckes. Throughout the season, the No. 46 entry’s best on-track result was third at Charlotte in May made by Jones while the No. 4 entry achieved a season-best result of second place at Gateway in June with Todd Gilliland, who finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings. The No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane twice during the season with Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and at Pocono in July while Gragson wheeled the No. 18 entry to a dominant win at Kansas in May. Despite being absent at Pocono due to illness, where he was replaced by Erik Jones, Gragson utilized consistency to qualify for the 2018 Truck Playoffs and transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead, where he settled in the runner-up spot in the final drivers’ standings.  

    The 2019 season featured Harrison Burton replacing Noah Gragson, who graduated to the Xfinity Series, as the driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland remained as a full-time driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry returned as the “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Eckes, Brandon Jones, Greg Biffle, Chandler Smith, Alex Tagliani and Riley Herbst. The No. 46 Toyota Tundra entry returned for a total of seven events that was split between Herbst, Smith and Raphaël Lessard. In comparison to recent seasons, KBM endured a difficult 2019 season as both Burton and Gilliland did not make the Playoffs. While Burton finished in 12th place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results, Gilliland managed to record his first Truck career victory at Martinsville in October along with 14 top-10 results before settling in 11th place in the final standings. With the No. 46 entry finishing no higher than fourth at Gateway in June made by Chandler Smith, the No. 51 entry won six of the 23-scheduled events: five with Busch and one with Biffle. To go along with a total of 15 top-five results and 17 top-10 results throughout the 23-race schedule, the No. 51 entry managed to capture the 2019 Truck owners’ title as KBM achieved its seventh owners’ championship in NASCAR.

    Photo by Brad Keppel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    For the following season, Kyle Busch Motorsports introduced new drivers to the Nos. 4 and 18 entries as Harrison Burton moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing while Todd Gilliland moved over to Front Row Motorsports. The No. 18 Toyota was taken over by Christian Eckes while Raphaël Lessard took over the No. 4 Toyota. The No. 51 Toyota also returned as Busch, Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith, Riley Herbst and Alex Tagliani took turns to drive the truck throughout the season. In his first full-time campaign in the series, Eckes qualified for the 2020 Truck Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 10 as he ended up in eighth place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results. Lessard, on the other hand, did not make the Playoffs, but he managed to capture his first career victory at Talladega in October along with a total of seven top-10 results before finishing in 12th place in the final standings. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane four times: three with Busch and once with Brandon Jones, who captured his first elusive series win at Pocono in June. To go along with a total of 10 results in the top five, the No. 51 entry settled in sixth place in the final owners’ standings.

    This past season, Kyle Busch Motorsports welcomed John Hunter Nemechek as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, where he replaced Lessard, while Chandler Smith replaced Christian Eckes as a full-time competitor of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra remained as the “all-star” entry for a ninth consecutive season as the truck was piloted between Busch, Drew Dollar, Parker Chase, Martin Truex Jr., Corey Heim, Brian Brown, Derek Griffith and Dylan Lupton throughout the 22-race schedule. Three races into the new season, Nemechek recorded his first win with KBM at Las Vegas in March before the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane during the following two events: the first with Busch at Atlanta and the second at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course with Truex, who claimed his first Truck career victory. Not long after, Nemechek fended off Busch to win at Richmond Raceway before Busch capitalized on a late restart to win at Kansas. Those five victories followed by three additional victories by Nemechek capped off a strong regular season stretch as Nemechek, who claimed the regular season championship, and Chandler Smith qualified for the 2021 Truck Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Smith claimed his first Truck career victory at Bristol in September to advance from the Round of 10 to 8 along with Nemechek. During the Round of 8, Smith’s title hopes evaporated while Nemechek was able to earn enough points through consistency to secure a spot in the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway. An early tire issued, however, derailed Nemechek’s title hopes as he ended up in third place in the final drivers’ standings while Smith won the finale and captured the 2021 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry settled in 10th place in the owners’ standings.

    This season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith as drivers of the Nos. 4 and 18 entries, respectively. In addition, Corey Heim returned with an expanded part-time Truck schedule as he split the No. 51 entry with Kyle Busch and Buddy Kofoid. Through the first 14 scheduled events, all three KBM entries have visited Victory Lane at least once, with Smith winning at Las Vegas in March, Nemechek winning at Darlington in May, Busch winning at Sonoma Raceway in June and Heim recording his first two career victories in the series at Atlanta in March followed by Gateway in June. Heim is scheduled to take over the No. 51 entry for the remainder of the season as he contends for the 2022 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title while Nemechek and Smith, both of whom are pursuing their first championship in NASCAR, are guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
    Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Through a combined 749 Truck starts, Kyle Busch Motorsports has achieved two drivers’ championships, a record seven owners’ championships, 95 victories, 63 poles, 276 top-five results, 439 top-10 results and 13,196 laps led with 51 different competitors making at least one start for the organization.

    Kyle Busch Motorsports is primed to surpass 750 career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9, with coverage to occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin capitalized from a late-race misfortune that knocked Pato O’Ward out of contention to dominate and fend off Alex Palou to win the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, July 3.

    The 29-year-old McLaughlin from Hamilton, New Zealand, led a race-high 45 of 80 laps in his No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet and managed to pull away from the field during an 18-lap dash to the finish, including a late charge from Palou, to notch his second career victory in the NTT IndyCar Series.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Pato O’Ward became the ninth different pole winner through the first nine scheduled events after establishing a pole-winning lap at 121.861 mph in 1:06.7054. Joining him on the front row was Scott McLaughlin, who clocked in his best lap at 121.619 mph in 1:06.8382.

    Following a delayed, cautious start, the green flag waved on Lap 3 of 80. At the start, O’Ward took off with the lead as teammate Felix Rosenqvist mad an early bid on McLaughlin for the runner-up spot, with the latter retaining the spot. As the field jostled for positions early, Will Power spun his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet in Turn 9, but the event remained under green.  

    Through the first five scheduled laps, O’Ward was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over McLaughlin followed by Rosenqvist, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon while Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, rookie Kyle Kirkwood, rookie David Malukas and Alenxader Rossi.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Rosenqvist, who was in third place and was coming off a new multi-year deal with McLaren Racing, pulled his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet off the course in Turn 4 due to a mechanical issue and with smoke billowing out of his car.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 13, O’Ward retained the lead ahead of McLaughlin while Dixon and Herta battled for third place ahead of Pagenaud. With Dixon moving into third place, Herta just managed to fend off Pagenaud for fourth place as Palou started to close in for his bid for a top-five spot.

    Twenty laps into the event, O’Ward continued to lead by more than a second over McLaughlin followed by Dixon, Herta and Pagenaud while Palou, Malukas, Kirkwood, Rossi and rookie Callum Ilott were in the top 10. By then, Josef Newgarden was in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson and Takuma Sato while Conor Daly, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Will Power and Christian Lundgaard occupied the top 20. Graham Rahal, who was making his 250th IndyCar career start, was mired in 23rd while Jimmie Johnson was back in 25th ahead of Jack Harvey.

    Four laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Newgarden pitted his No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet along with VeeKay, Grosjean and Lundgaard. Palou would soon pit along with Castroneves and Malukas, Rossi, Ilott, Simona De Silverstro, Kirkwood, Conor Daly, Dalton Kellett, Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco and rookie Tatiana Calderon.

    Then on Lap 30, O’Ward, who was radioing power issues, surrendered the lead to pit followed by Dixon as McLaughlin took over the lead. Shortly after, the caution flew when Kirkwood got loose entering Turn 9, went off the course and wrecked his No. 14 AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Chevrolet against the tire barriers.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 36, McLaughlin fended off Palou to retain the lead through the first two corners and entering Turn 3. Then as Palou challenged McLaughlin for the lead, the caution returned when Dalton Kellett got hit by Jack Harvey in Turn 2, spun and stalled his car.

    As the race restarted under green at the halfway mark on Lap 40, McLaughlin retained the lead for a second time ahead of Palou as Herta, O’Ward and Dixon occupied the top five. 

    With 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin was leading by a second over Palou while Herta, VeeKay and Dixon were in the top five. Newgarden, who started 14th, was up in sixth place followed by Ericsson, Power, Rossi and Grosjean while O’Ward was back to 12th after being overtaken by Pagenaud.

    Three laps later, names like Newgarden, Malukas, Ilott, Castronevs, Lundgaard, Graham Rahal, Conor Day, DeFrancesco, Sato, Simona de Silvestro and O’Ward pitted under green. Then, disaster struck for O’Ward, who stalled his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet while trying to exit his pit stall and retired due to a mechanical issue. At the time of O’Ward’s issue, the leader McLaughlin along with Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Ericsson, Power, Rossi, Grosjean and Pagenaud pitted. Not long after, the caution flew when Tatiana Calderon pulled her car off the course in between Turns 4 and 5 due to a mechanical issue. 

    When the race restarted under green with 23 laps remaining, Herta, who did not pit during the previous pit cycle, took off with the lead followed by McLaughlin while Palou, Power, VeeKay and Dixon occupied the top six. By then, Ilott limped his car back to pit road after he fell off the pace prior to the start and eventually retired due to a mechanical issue to his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet.

    During the following lap, however, the caution flew when teammates Grosjean and Rossi, both of whom made contact with one another earlier, made contact for a second time and went off the course in Turn 2, with Grosjean’s No. 28 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda ending up in the tire barriers while Rossi continued. During the caution period, Herta surrendered the lead to McLaughlin to pit.

    Down to the final 18 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin took off with the lead while teammate Power challenged Palou for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out and scrambled for late positions.

    During the following lap, Herta, who was mired towards the rear of the field, received the slightest of contact from teammate Grosjean, who earlier voiced his frustration in being hit by teammate Rossi prior to the previous restart, as Herta went off the course, spun his No. 26 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda and continued.

    With 10 laps remaining, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than a second over Palou followed by Power, VeeKay and Dixon while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Jack Harvey were in the top 10. By then, the drama within the Andretti Autosport camp continued as Rossi made contact with teammate Devlin DeFrancesco in Turn 6. In addition, Rossi and Grosjean were assessed pass-through penalties through pit road following their run-in on the track.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, McLaughlin remained as the leader by six-tenths of a seconds over Palou while Power, VeeKay and Dixon stabilized themselves in the top five. Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud were scored in the top 10 while Lundgaard, Rahal, Daly, Sato and Jimmie Johnson were in the top 15.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Palou, who had the Australian within his sights but was not close enough to ignite a bid for the lead. Having a clear circuit in front of him for a final time and through the 13-turn circuit, McLaughlin was able to cycle his way back to the finish line and claim his second career checkered flag in the IndyCar circuit by more than half a second over Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Dallara-Honda.

    With the victory, McLaughlin became the second IndyCar competitor to achieve multiple victories this season as he recorded the sixth IndyCar victory of the season for Team Penske along with the 12th for the organization at Mid-Ohio. The Mid-Ohio victory also marked his first podium result in IndyCar since he claimed his maiden IndyCar victory at the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida followed by a runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in March.

    “Amazing,” McLaughlin said on NBC. “I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad. Our first time with Odyssey Battery on the car. It was awesome, as well, to have them onboard, but to have mom and dad here is super special. America’s weekend! Last night, I was dressed up as a bald eagle, so maybe, I need to do that every July 4th weekend. [The race] was tough. You’re thinking about your fuel, but thankfully, Chevy gave us the great fuel mileage and drive ability off the restarts. That allowed to get a little bit of a gap from Palou and Honda there, so I’m really proud of the guys [with] the car they gave me. It was a little hard to drive towards the end. I would’ve loved to make it a little bit easier for myself, but yeah, super proud of everyone. Great pit stops from this car No. 3 team…We’re going to the moon!”

    Palou claimed his third runner-up result of the season after being half a second shy of claiming his first IndyCar victory of the season while Power rallied from his opening lap spin to finish in third place and round out the podium.

    VeeKay and Dixon finished in the top five while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Herta finished 15th ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Rossi ended up 19th and Grosjean settled in 21st, a lap down.

    There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 17 laps.

    With his sixth-place result, Marcus Ericsson continues to lead the championship standings by 20 points over Will Power, 34 over Josef Newgarden, 35 over Alex Palou, 65 over Pato O’Ward, 67 over Scott Dixon and 69 over Scott McLaughlin.

    Results.

    1. Scott McLaughlin, 45 laps led

    2. Alex Palou

    3. Will Power

    4. Rinus VeeKay

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Marcus Ericsson

    7. Josef Newgarden

    8. Helio Castroneves

    9. David Malukas

    10. Simon Pagenaud

    11. Christian Lundgaard

    12. Graham Rahal

    13. Conor Daly

    14. Takuma Sato

    15. Colton Herta, seven laps led

    16. Jimmie Johnson

    17. Devlin DeFrancesco

    18. Simona De Silvestro

    19. Alexander Rossi

    20. Jack Harvey

    21. Romain Grosjean, one lap down

    22. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

    23. Callum Ilott – OUT, Mechanical

    24. Pato O’Ward – OUT, Mechanical, 28 laps led

    25. Tatiana Calderon – OUT, Mechanical

    26. Kyle Kirkwood – OUT, Contact

    27. Felix Rosenqvist – OUT, Mechanical

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the series’ return to the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto following a two-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on July 17 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Peacock.

  • 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.

  • Newgarden dominates Mid-Ohio for first win of the season

    Newgarden dominates Mid-Ohio for first win of the season

    Starting from the pole and leading all but eight laps, Josef Newgarden became the winningest American in the NTT IndyCar Series on a special holiday weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as he claimed his first win of the season.

    However, the victory wasn’t all that easy as he had to fend off a hard-charging Marcus Ericsson who closed the gap lap by lap inside the last 10 laps. Despite being challenged by the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Newgarden secured the victory on the weekend of Roger Penske’s very first win as a car owner that came 50 years ago Saturday at Pocono.

    “Mainly focused on my pace,” Newgarden said about winning the Mid-Ohio race. “We were struggling with 10 laps to go. Super fast at the beginning of the stint. Felt like we could pull a gap on Marcus right off the bat out of a pit stop. Those last 10 laps, I was losing pace. I was just kind of calculating the pace loss, looking at where he was, looking at overtaking, all that. That kept me busy. That’s pretty much what I was focusing on. It’s not the thing you want to be kept busy with. You’d rather be busy looking at the gap growing and taking it easy. That was not the case.

    “It was a hard-fought win. I think we definitely had the car to win the race, but it didn’t come easy. These guys made us push for it and work. Yeah, very happy to get the win.”

    Ericsson erased a 10-second gap that was held by Newgarden in the remaining laps, only to come 0.8790 seconds short of overtaking Newgarden. The second place finish was Ericsson’s second podium finish since his win at the first Belle Isle race a few weeks ago.

    “Yeah, exactly,” Ericsson said about running out of time catching Newgarden. “We were hunting him down there. The Honda felt really good on the black tires especially. We lost a little bit too much time on the first stint on the reds. Gap was sort of too big. Another lap I think we could have really been challenging him. He was really struggling with his tires the last five laps. Just catching him quickly.

    “Anyway, I think it was a great day, great day for the team, to have me, Alex and Scott, P2, P3 and P4. It’s a strong result. Shows how strong we are at the moment. Me jumping up to fifth in the championship feels pretty good. Very happy with my day. Like I said, another lap or two would be even better, but I’ll take second today.”

    Newgarden’s dominant Mid-Ohio weekend started Saturday afternoon after qualifying on the pole for the 14th time of his career. The Team Penske driver got a good start on the initial start but had to keep patient as two yellow flags flew early in the race.

    The first yellow came on Lap 1 when the No. 28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay was turned by James Hinchcliffe and the No. 7 of Felix Rosenqvist was turned by Romain Grosjean causing a major lockup in Turn 4. The second yellow flew on the Lap 3 restart when the No. 12 of Will Power made slight contact with the left-rear of the No. 9 of Scott Dixon. Power appeared he was going to keep his car clean, but with the blinding Turn 5 hill, Power was pounded by the No. 18 of Ed Jones which saw both cars get major damage.

    Jones’s front was nearly destroyed as his left-front wheel was loose. Power’s car sat idle and received damage as well. Fortunately for both drivers, they were medically cleared from the incident, but neither returned to the race and finished 25th and 26th, respectively. Power however stated on the NBC broadcast that he had a bruised right wrist which was sore.

    The restart came on Lap 8 and once again, Newgarden continued to set the pace leading Colton Herta by 1.0 seconds. Meanwhile, the No. 14 of Sebastien Bourdais was penalized on Lap 12 for blocking the No. 51 of Grosjean. As a result, Bourdais had to give up two positions for the penalty.

    The first round of green-flag pit stops came as soon as Lap 22 when the No. 3 of Scott McLaughlin pit. But, the leaders, Dixon, Rossi and O’Ward, and eventually race leader Newgarden, didn’t make their stops until Lap 29 and 30. Herta used a different strategy and pitted one lap later on Lap 31 hoping to gain a sizable gap over Newgarden. Unfortunately for Herta, he did not beat Newgarden as Herta’s team had a fueling issue and had a 25-second stop with the Andretti team.

    The long pit stop saw Herta drop to seventh in the running order and 20 seconds back from the lead. The fueling issue was, as later reported by NBC, an issue with the fuel hose and not a human error made by the team.

    Halfway on Lap 40, Newgarden held Ericsson by 7.2 seconds, a comfortable lead heading into the final stops with 27 laps to go as Newgarden pit for the final time. Herta grabbed the lead momentarily, hoping to gap Newgarden. But the Andretti driver’s plan didn’t work as they had yet another longer stop.

    Eventually, Newgarden cycled out to the lead with 22 laps to go and led second place, Ericsson, by 6.7 seconds. From there, Ericsson closed the gap to where the lead was 4.814 seconds with 10 laps to go and then, cut the gap to 2.6 seconds with five to go.

    As Newgarden started to approach lap traffic toward the white flag, Ericsson needed another strong lap or a mistake by Newgarden to allow him to pass the leader to have any chance of winning. Despite Ericsson erasing a six-second difference, Newgarden held on and won for the 19th time of his NTT IndyCar Series career. Ericsson, Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five finishers.

    Alex Palou increased his championship points lead to 39 points over Pato O’Ward.

    “Yeah, we’re going to win this championship just by being here every weekend, getting some more wins,” Palou said on his Mid-Ohio run. “We always look at the championship. It’s good to have three cars now in the top five in the championship. Like Marcus said, that shows how strong we are as a team, how the team is working together. Yeah, super happy. But still, a long way to go. I mean, I would stop the count now, but I don’t think they allow me to do that (smiling). We’ll try to win some more races and be at the podium.”

    There were two cautions for six laps and five lead changes among three different leaders.

    Official Results following the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

    1. Josef Newgarden, led 73 laps
    2. Marcus Ericsson, led two laps
    3. Alex Palou
    4. Scott Dixon
    5. Alexander Rossi
    6. Graham Rahal
    7. Romain Grosjean
    8. Pato O’Ward
    9. Santino Ferrucci
    10. Takuma Sato
    11. Sebastien Bourdais
    12. Scott McLaughlin
    13. Colton Herta
    14. Simon Pagenaud
    15. Conor Daly
    16. Rinus VeeKay
    17. James Hinchcliffe
    18. Max Chilton
    19. Jack Harvey
    20. Ryan Norman, 1 lap down
    21. Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
    22. Jimmie Johnson, 1 lap down
    23. Felix Rosenqvist, 2 laps down
    24. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2 laps down
    25. Will Power, OUT, Contact
    26. Ed Jones, OUT, Contact

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will take a month off before resuming their 2021 season Sunday August 8 for the inaugural streets of Nashville live on NBCSN at 5:30 p.m./ET.

  • Josef Newgarden edges out Colton Herta for Mid-Ohio Pole

    Josef Newgarden edges out Colton Herta for Mid-Ohio Pole

    Within the last few minutes of Fast Six qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden outperformed Colton Herta by 0.0031 of a second to win his third pole of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season after laying down a lap of 1:06.6739.

    The pole position is much needed for Newgarden after a frustrating result of 21st after dominating the Road America race a few weeks ago.

    “That was a little tighter than I wanted it to be,” Newgarden said about the pole run. “I about fell apart the second half of that lap. I opened the lap really well. The car has been on rails right out of the box. I am really proud of the team.

    “Obviously thanks to this whole group here. Everyone at Team Penske has been on it. We’ve had some troubles the last couple weeks securing a win, but I can’t ask much different. They are doing everything they need to do to win these races. Excited to have another chance with a really great car. Team Chevy keeps doing a great job for us.

    “It’s good to have XPEL on the car. They’ve been a great partner for us the last couple of years. There is an anniversary. I didn’t know this coming into it. This is the 50th year today for Team Penske and Roger Penske scoring the first win for the organization with Mark Donohue. I was thinking of how cool it is to be in the car here racing today. Every now and then you have moments where you reflect that you are actually doing this. It’s so cool It’s a dream to drive for Roger and this entire group. So proud of everybody. Hopefully, we can seal one off tomorrow—that’s what we need to do.”

    Colton Herta appeared to be in a good position to secure the pole before he was knocked off the top spot. Nevertheless, the Andretti Autosport driver will have a good starting spot for Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio after he qualified on the outside pole with a time of 1:06.6770. The front row start is Herta’s fourth of the season with the exception of his pole run at St. Petersburg.

    “You have to think that there’s 3/1000ths in it somewhere,” Herta said. “It’s a little disappointing when you lose by
    that much. I think it’s like the third straight weekend I finished second during qualifying. In the Detroit race, too.
    Road America. And now here. So I’m getting tired of it. I gotta get around it. It’s always fun to battle with Josef, and especially for the race. He’s one of the guys that’s extremely clean in the series and always races hard. I’m looking forward to that now.”

    There were numerous incidents of note that occurred during the first session of qualifying.

    During the session, the No. 60 of Jack Harvey came to a stop in Turn 9 bringing out a local yellow. As Harvey’s car was stopped on track, the No. 27 of Alexander Rossi and the No. 22 of Simon Pagenaud went flying by the No. 60 without slowing down.

    As a result, both Rossi’s and Pagenaud’s current lap was deleted for failing to reduce speed. The same penalty was handed to Harvey as well.

    Despite Rossi receiving the early penalty, he was able to bounce back and be a part of the Fast Six and qualified sixth, setting a pace of 1:07.2181.

    “Qualifying was dramatic,” Rossi said. “The yellow flag in the first round really hurt us, but fortunately with INDYCAR rules if you cause another car to slow down your lap gets deleted, so we were able to transfer in. From there, we were able to show the pace of the car. Round 2 was quite good for us, but ultimately we didn’t have the pace in the (Firestone) Fast 6 round. Not quite what we wanted, but we have one more practice to get the NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda dialed in for the race.”

    IndyCar will have one more practice session Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET lasting approximately 30 minutes, live on Peacock (with a subscription).

    The Honda Indy 200 is scheduled to go green Sunday at 12:05 p.m. ET live on NBC for the 80-lap race.

    Official Starting Line Up for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:
    1. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:06.6739 (121.919)
    2. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:06.6770 (121.913)
    3. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:07.0723 (121.195)
    4. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:07.1161 (121.115)
    5. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:07.1358 (121.080)
    6. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:07.2181 (120.932)
    7. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:06.4883 (122.259)
    8. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:06.5946 (122.064)
    9. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:06.6134 (122.030)
    10. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:06.7517 (121.777)
    11. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:06.7671 (121.749)
    12. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 01:06.9232 (121.465)
    13. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:06.7898 (121.707)
    14. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:06.7313 (121.814)
    15. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:06.8437 (121.609)
    16. (18) Ed Jones, Honda, 01:06.7882 (121.710)
    17. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 01:06.8473 (121.603)
    18. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:06.8642 (121.572)
    19. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:07.0951 (121.153)
    20. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:06.8679 (121.565)
    21. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:07.5866 (120.272)
    22. (45) Santino Ferrucci, Honda, 01:06.9254 (121.461)
    23. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:07.6740 (120.117)
    24. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:07.0704 (121.198)
    25. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:08.4077 (118.829)
    26. (52) Ryan Norman, Honda, 01:07.4714 (120.478)

  • Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    From a late penalty to victory, AJ Allmendinger became the first repeat winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the Los Gatos, California, native fended off teammate Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and the field in overtime to win the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, June 5, as he also claimed his second victory of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Ty Gibbs, winner of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at Mid-Ohio and last weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Prior to the event, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns.

    It did not take long, however, for the first caution of the event to fly when Noah Gragson drove off the track and through the grass, where he destroyed the front nose from his car that was also leaking fluid and smoke. Behind, Cody Ware spun in Turn 2. While Ware continued, Gragson parked his battered car between Turns 2 and 3 as his race came to an early end.

    Following the incident, the race restarted on the fifth lap. At the start, Cindric maintained the lead followed by Gibbs, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier and the field.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Tommy Joe Martins due to fluid on the course when the engine from Tommy Joe Martins’ machine expired.

    Another four laps later, the race restarted, with Cindric and Gibbs retaining the front row. At the start, Gibbs made his move beneath Cindric’s No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang to take the lead. Cindric, though, was quick to reassume the advantage in Turn 4, where he continued to fend off Gibbs and lead when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    On Lap 15, AJ Allmendinger muscled his No. 16 Ramco Specialties Chevrolet Camaro into the lead over Cindric. 

    Three laps later and with Allmendinger still leading, Harrison Burton damaged the front nose and splitter from his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra after going off-course in Turn 1. Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green.

    In the final laps of the first stage, names like Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Andy Lally and Myatt Snider pitted for fuel. Back on the track, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Cindric. 

    In Turn 9, Miguel Paludo spun in the gravel trap, but the race continued to run under green. With a healthy advantage over the field, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way back to the start/finish line and win the first stage on Lap 25. Cindric was scored in second place followed by Haley, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gibbs, Snider, Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Lally remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 30 with Gibbs and Hemric on the front row. At the start, Gibbs maintained the lead over Hemric, Snider and the field. Cindric, meanwhile, was back in seventh while Allmendinger was in fifth behind Andy Lally. By then, Justin Allgaier took his car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark and with Gibbs still leading, the caution flew due to Jeremy Clements stalling his car in the Acura Bridge.

    Four laps later, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger, who restarted alongside Gibbs, made his move to take the lead in Turn 2. By Turn 5, teammate Justin Haley moved into the runner-up spot while Gibbs was shuffled back in third in front of Brandon Jones, Hemric and Jeb Burton.

    On Lap 46, trouble ignited for Daniel Hemric, who limped back to pit road after he blew a left-rear tire, which damaged the left-rear side of Hemric’s No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. He was able to limp back to pit road and keep the race running under green.

    Not long after, Allmendinger pitted along with Gibbs, Lally, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Miguel Paludo. During the pit stops, however, Allmendinger was penalized for failing to meet minimum pit stop time and was required to start at the rear of the field for the final stage.

    Back on the track, Haley assumed the lead in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. With the clean air, Haley was able to claim the second stage victory on Lap 50 by nearly two seconds over Brandon Jones. Jones settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Herbst, Cindric, Labbe, Snider, Brandon Brown, Annett and Ryan Ellis.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for tires with some opting to pit again for fuel. During the stops, Andy Lally was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 20 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ryan Sieg and Cindric started on the front row. At the start, Cindric muscled to the lead on the outside lane in Turn 1 while the field behind scrambled for positions.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, Cindric was leading by nearly 11 seconds over Gibbs while Allmendinger, following his penalty, was in third place, trailing by 13 seconds. Moffitt was in fourth followed by Michael Annett and Haley.

    Then, the caution flew when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 4 and was stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, the leaders remained on the track.

    With five laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger quickly made his move beneath Gibbs and Cindric entering Turn 1. With all three competitors making contact against one another in a three-wide battle, Allmendinger returned to the lead past the first turn. As Brett Moffitt moved into the runner-up spot, contact from Gibbs Annett and Haley resulted with Cindric getting hit and spinning in the grass, which ended Cindric’s hopes of winning.

    Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green as Allmendinger retained the lead. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to a multi-car incident in Turn 6 that involved Kris Wright, Alex Labbe and Kyle Weatherman with everyone else scattering around the circuit to avoid the incident.

    Under caution, Moffitt, who was running in the runner-up spot, lost power as a result of a fuel pump issue and stalled on the track, effectively ending his hopes of battling for the win.

    With the race sent into overtime, Allmendinger received a strong start through the first turn to maintain the lead over teammate Haley and Gibbs while everyone else scattered and scrambled for positions through the first two turns.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger maintained a decent advantage over Haley and Gibbs. With the leaders clearly out in front, chaos ensued behind, starting with Riley Herbst getting into Miguel Paludo in Turn 1 as Paludo spun. Shortly after, Andy Lally bumped into Herbst and sent Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang spinning in Turn 2.

    Back to the front, Allmendinger continued to lead Haley and Gibbs through Turns 4 and 5. Having the lead in his sole possession, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way through the 13-turn circuit for a final time to claim the checkered flag and win.

    With his second victory of the season, Allmendinger became the first multi-winner of the Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio since its inception in 2013. He also claimed his seventh Xfinity career victory, his fifth on a road course and the 10th career win for Kaulig Racing.

    “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little upset,” Allmendinger said on FS1 when mentioning about the penalty. “But we win and lose as a team so I was gonna fight until the checkered flag flew. I knew we had the best car…This Ramco Specialties Chevrolet had some massive rear grip. I lost the restart, [Gibbs] opened up a gap and I know these guys will do it to me, so I barreled in there when I saw a gap and I was gonna come out on the other side clean. That’s all I got there.”

    Haley settled in second place for his first top-five result of the season while Ty Gibbs came home in third place and notched his sixth top-five result in seven Xfinity starts this season.

    “First of all, congrats to AJ,” Haley said. “That’s amazing. This is LeafFilter’s home, this is [team owner] Matt Kaulig’s home. To finish one-two here is really special. Obviously, you want the LeafFilter car to go to Victory Lane, but I thought we were a little better than AJ there at the end, but I had so much damage. I was just on the splitter so hard…Really, really special day here.”

    Brandon Jones finished in fourth place followed by Andy Lally. Brandon Brown finished in sixth place followed by Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams.

    Hemric settled in 12th while Cindric ended his race in 14th after leading a race-high 30 laps. Riley Herbst and Paludo finished 21st and 27th following their spins on the final lap.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 23 laps.

    Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 96 points over Allmendinger.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Justin Haley, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Ty Gibbs, 16 laps led

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Andy Lally

    6. Brandon Brown

    7. Michael Annett

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    10. Josh Williams

    11. Alex Labbe

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Jade Buford

    14. Austin Cindric, 30 laps led

    15. Cody Ware

    16. Jeb Burton

    17. Gray Gaulding

    18. Ryan Vargas

    19. Matt Jaskol

    20. Landon Cassill

    21. Riley Herbst

    22. Colby Howard

    23. Matt Mills

    24. Jesse Little

    25. Preston Pardus

    26. Kyle Weatherman

    27. Miguel Paludo

    28. Ryan Ellis

    29. Myatt Snider

    30. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    31. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Fuel pump

    32. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    33. Jeremy Clements, 10 laps down

    34. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 10 laps down

    35. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps down

    36. David Starr, 12 laps down

    37. Bayley Currey – OUT, Electrical

    38. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    39. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Engine 

    40. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident 

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a trip to the Lone Star state for a 250-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.