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Tag: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

  • Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in Trucks in the Windy City

    Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in Trucks in the Windy City

    Kyle Busch put on a dominant show in the Windy City as he scored the victory in the Truck Series regular season finale.

    Spencer Gallagher led the field to the green flag at 8:45 p.m. It only took until the third lap for William Byron to slam the wall and bring out the first caution of the race.

    After the race restarted on the ninth lap, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez spent time in the lead before the caution clock expired and brought out the second caution on lap 46.

    After this, the caution started coming out more frequently without the aid of the caution clock. The third caution flew on lap 67 for William Byron slamming the wall a second time in Turn 3 and the fourth flew with 45 laps to go for Josh Berry going for a spin through the frontstretch grass.

    Ben Kennedy led the field to the restart with 41 laps to go but immediately lost the lead to Suarez. Busch took the lead with 39 laps to go before a multi-truck wreck brought out the fifth caution and a red flag. Kennedy got loose in Turn 2, came down the track, hit Ben Rhodes, bounced off Matt Crafton, turned back up the track and slammed the wall.

    The race restarted with 33 laps to go with Suarez retaking the lead as Grant Enfinger was sent spinning through the frontstretch grass.

    Busch controlled the rest of the race through Rhodes slamming the wall in Turn 2 with 26 to go, Tommy Joe Martins hitting the wall with 14 to go and John Wes Townley getting turned into the wall with six to go, to score the victory in Chicago.

    Busch, however, failed post-race inspection after measurements showed his No. 18 Toyota was too low in the rear. Any penalties will be announced next week.

    Daniel Hemric finished second in his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Cameron Hayley overcame being penalized for removing equipment from his pit box near the beginning of the race to round out the podium in his No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota.

    Christopher Bell finished fourth in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

    Enfinger overcame spinning out with just over 30 laps remaining to finish sixth in his No. 24 GMSR Chevrolet. Gallagher led eight laps on his way to a seventh-place finish in his No. 23 GMSR Chevrolet. Timothy Peters finished eighth in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Cole Custer overcame an early speeding penalty to finish ninth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-10 in his No. 29 BKR Ford.

    The race lasted two hours, five minutes and five seconds at an average speed of 108.648 mph. There were 10 lead changes among five different drivers and 10 cautions for 41 laps.

    With the points reset, Byron will start the Truck Series Chase next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the points leader.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/T1616_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”t1616_unoffres”]

  • Four Gears: Post-Race Inspection, Cole Custer, Ryan Newman and RCR

    Four Gears: Post-Race Inspection, Cole Custer, Ryan Newman and RCR

    Time to cycle through the transmission for another edition of Four Gears.

    This week, our crack NASCAR analysts are asked if the recent changes made to post-race inspection are a good or bad thing and discuss whether Cole Custer can make his way into the Truck Series Chase with a win this weekend. We also discuss if Ryan Newman was out of line with his comments about Tony Stewart at Richmond and what the driver lineup will be next season at Richard Childress Racing.

    FIRST GEAR: NASCAR on Wednesday made some updates to its rule book just in time for The Chase. As per Kenny Bruce on NASCAR.com this week, “The updates allow NASCAR officials to strip race-winning teams of the benefits associated with a Chase victory, which include the automatic advancement into the next elimination round and any tiebreaker implications, should those teams fail the post-race lug-nut check or the post-race Laser Inspection Station (LIS) platform.” Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the sport?

    I think there need to be punishments for breaking the rules. These new rules are fair in my book. — Michael Finley

    I’m totally fine with the changes because now the rule actually has teeth with which to do damage. Just look at this past week with Martin Truex Jr. getting “docked” 10 points from his regular season total and not his Chase total. It made no difference that NASCAR might as well not have bothered even handing out the penalty. — Tucker White

    This is overkill. They should have left the lug nuts alone in the first place instead of making them the absolute most mundane story of 2016. Now they’re talking about stripping win benefits if the lug nuts are messed with again. The cheek of it all. — Joseph Shelton

    SECOND GEAR: Cole Custer enters Chicagoland needing a win to get into the Camping World Truck Series Chase. Can he throw the Hail Mary and win to get in after being so close at Mosport?

    No. The No. 00 truck just hasn’t shown a lot of speed this season overall. Don’t think that’s going to change this weekend. — Michael Finley

    Can he? Yes. Will he? No. It will probably be one of the KBM trucks winning tonight. — Tucker White

    Custer’s niche circles smaller or flatter tracks. Take his two wins (Loudon 2014, Gateway 2015) into consideration, along with Mosport. He’s proved he can win, and he’s had a few close calls this season. That said, he’s had a sub-par 2016 that’s put him in a hole, and he’s going to have to dig deep to put that JR Motorsports truck in Victory Lane. I’m doubtful, but at the same time, I think his chances are pretty high. — Joseph Shelton

    THIRD GEAR: Ryan Newman, after being effectively taken out by Tony Stewart at Richmond, called Stewart “bipolar” and said that “(Stewart) thought he was in a sprint car”. Assuming Newman’s sprint car comment was referring to the Kevin Ward Jr. incident as some have speculated, did Newman take a step too far in his comments?

    He probably did, and he made a mistake, to begin with by talking to the media ASAP. Stewart was angry as well but he took the higher road and calmed down in  his hauler rather than say something so stupid. — Michael Finley

    It was heat of the moment. Don’t read too much into it. — Tucker White

    Folks were quick to jump the gun in associating Newman’s comments with the Kevin Ward accident. By referring to Stewart as a guy who gets angry easily, and by noting that Googling Stewart would prove his point, he’s just pointing out that many of his accidents and rage-outs are well documented online. Heat of the moment from both drivers, and I wouldn’t read too much into this. — Joseph Shelton

    FOURTH GEAR: Speaking of RCR, one interesting exchange on this week’s Radioactive was an angry Paul Menard complaining about how teammate Austin Dillon was racing him. It led to Richard Childress himself getting on the radio to attempt to calm the typically mild-mannered Wisconsin driver. With Ty Dillon repeatedly saying that he will be racing full-time next season in Cup, Newman’s contract running out, and the occasional rumors of Menard jumping to another team (i.e. Penske), what do you think their driver lineup will be next season?

    The No. 3 is going to probably stay the exact same. I think Ty Dillon jumps into the No. 31 and Menard will hint at leaving but end up staying at the end. — Michael Finley

    I’ll keep it short with this one: Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon and Paul Menard. — Tucker White

    You ask me what do I think their driver lineup will be in 2017. Simply put, inadequate. Sure, Newman made the Chase in 2014 and 2015, and almost won the 2014 championship. But when has he won? Never. Not winning puts added stress on a team and 2014 was just a lucky draw for the 31. I don’t think he’s going anywhere, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he left.

    I feel bad for Menard. I wouldn’t blame him for going elsewhere considering he’s not getting what he needs to contend as often, and honestly, I think he should. Childress has already pooled his resources into his grandboys, and I don’t think that’s changing.

    That said, in 2016 I’ve tried hard to work on my objectivity to the Dillon brothers. If this were the WWE they’d be getting the Roman Reigns push, underwhelming performance despite being crammed down everyone’s throats. Austin has worked for some good runs this season and has earned some decent, consistent results. He earned his spot in the Chase, I will concede that. But however, he needs to realize that nobody is going to give him an inch out there on the track, and that includes his teammates. Ergo, he needs to man up and take his bumps, maybe work harder to prove that he can get a win.

    As for Ty joining the Cup ranks? I laugh. He’s got quite the little ego on him despite the fact that he’s only earned one XFINITY win in three full-time seasons. He’s never been a serious championship contender, yet he thinks he’s good enough for a Cup ride? What a joke. He constantly shifts blame on other drivers (Regan Smith cleared that up at Watkins Glen in 2015, if only briefly) for his own mistakes and very, very rarely accepts blame for his own mistakes (MoSport 2013, Phoenix 2015, et al.). He needs to mature a lot before he sets foot in a Cup car because let’s be honest…he can’t hang. — Joseph Shelton

  • Four Gears: Kevin Harvick, John Hunter Nemechek, Winston Millon/No Bull 5 and Toyota

    Four Gears: Kevin Harvick, John Hunter Nemechek, Winston Millon/No Bull 5 and Toyota

    It’s time to cycle through the transmission for another edition of Four Gears.

    This week, our resident NASCAR journalists were asked if other drivers should be as up front as Kevin Harvick was about his pit crew to affect change. They also considered whether John Hunter Nemechek deserves all the flak he’s gotten for his last lap move at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and if he could’ve handled his last turn differently.  Another topic up for discussion was what programs like the old Winston Million and the No Bull 5 NASCAR could do to put emphasis on the crown jewel events and the odds of another Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota title victory at Homestead.

    FIRST GEAR: Kevin Harvick was blunt in his criticism of his pit crew at Darlington. Now there’s going to be a big change in the pit crew of the No. 4. In order to affect proper change, should more drivers be as up front and critical as Harvick was?

    Yes. Too much “toeing the line” in the sport, and to speak up and affect change on any level in NASCAR is a must. — Joseph Shelton

    It all depends on the situation. When it happens once, there’s no need to make a stink about it. After a couple of times, maybe it’s time to talk to the team in private. When it’s a constant thing, it needs to be addressed in public. Harvick has thrown away at least two wins this year because of terrible pit stops and didn’t get a major change until he made it public. — Michael Finley

    I would say yes, but I don’t think anyone could match Kevin Harvick’s bluntness from this past week. Sitting in the media center at Darlington Raceway, I had a front-row seat for the show or one question show. When he was asked if he would considering swapping pit crews with another one of his teammates, he got up and left.

    But in all seriousness, sometimes you need to chastise someone to get results. If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call to his crew, then they need to be replaced. — Tucker White

    SECOND GEAR: John Hunter Nemechek was subjected to a ton of hate on social media following his MoSport win. Was it justified? Could he really help what happened in that final corner?

    Nemechek drove in over his head a bit, but he aggressively went for a win and got it. That’s what a driver is supposed to do, and considering NEMCO doesn’t have the financial cushion of JR Motorsports he’s fighting to keep the team competitive.

    As for the hate he was subjected to, it was ridiculous. It was a double-standard among peers and fans for sure. — Joseph Shelton

    When you are a young, hungry driver, you do anything to win. Nemechek didn’t just straight up dump Custer like he could have. And unlike a lot of kids coming up today, Nemechek knew when and where to be aggressive like that. It’s smarter when it’s for the win and dumber when it’s for 11th. — Michael Finley

    I’m not going to be hypocritical and say the hate wasn’t justified. I also took John Hunter Nemechek to task for his move on the final lap.

    But being just two years older than him, I also understand that he’s young and he’s going to make mistakes. I believe it was a heat of the moment decision that he’ll learn from and not be as over the line going for the win again. — Tucker White

    THIRD GEAR: With Martin Truex Jr.’s win Sunday, he now has two wins in 2016, both in two of the sport’s crown jewel events. What could NASCAR do to resurrect the Winston Million/No Bull 5 programs of the ’90s and 2000s?

    It’d be neat to have a similar program make its return, especially something like the No Bull 5, where a fan also won a cool million. Let’s see what the next series title sponsor has in mind. — Joseph Shelton

    A better title sponsor next season could be awesome. The No Bull was dumb to me (Although I did like the fan component of it) but the Winston Million was amazing. Just make the tracks Daytona, Charlotte, Indy, and Darlington and you’ve made important races even more so. — Michael Finley

    I’ve always wanted NASCAR to reboot the Winston Million and put more emphasis on the crown jewel races. Other than the Daytona 500, the other three crown jewel events are usually just another race.

    Other than a name change, just bring back the Winston Million as it was with the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400 (although it’s hard to consider it a crown jewel event when only 30-50,000 people are in attendance at a track that sits over 200,000) and the Bojangles’ Southern 500. — Tucker White

    FOURTH GEAR: What are the odds of another JGR Toyota winning the championship at Homestead?

    92 percent. Stewart-Haas Racing has been in the picture, and Team Penske is still right on JGR’s bumper, but as successful as Toyota has been this year I could see a JGR championship again at Homestead. — Joseph Shelton

    50/50. Yeah, they have run great all season. But Brad Keselowski has been strong, Joey Logano has been tough. After Dover last season, you cannot count out Kevin Harvick at any time. And all three are higher in driver points right now than any one Gibbs driver. — Michael Finley

    According to Las Vegas, Kyle Busch is 5/1, Carl Edwards is 10/1, Denny Hamlin is 10/1 and Matt Kenseth is 12/1 (odds are from Vegas Insider).

    What odds I’d give JGR to win? I’d say they’re pretty good. But I’m not going to rule out Team Penske or Stewart-Haas Racing. — Tucker White

  • Four Gears: Lower Downforce, Young Guns, XFINITY Series and Darlington

    Four Gears: Lower Downforce, Young Guns, XFINITY Series and Darlington

    It’s time to cycle through the transmission for another edition of Four Gears.

    This week, our resident NASCAR analysts rate the three races that used the lower downforce package and  give their takeaways from it. We also consider what three first-time winners this past weekend says about the level of talent with the young guns in the Truck, XFINITY and Cup Series as well as rate the quality of racing in the XFINITY Series over the last five races given the mix of tracks in those five races. Finally, we discuss whether the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is still among the crown jewel events of NASCAR.

    FIRST GEAR: How would you rate each of the three races – Michigan 1, Kentucky and Michigan 2 – that were run with the lower downforce package on a scale of 1-10 and what are your takeaways from the package?

    Michigan 1, I’d rank it 7/10. Although the racing at times was decent, the race itself was average for Michigan. Joey Logano just had the field in check that day, although Chase Elliott had the lead going into the final quarter of the race. He botched the restart, however, and Logano retook the lead and won the race.

    Kentucky, 7/10: Having been on assignment for this entire race weekend, the lower downforce package saved this race. Hard as rock tires and a freshly paved surface made passing extra difficult. But even with the new surface, the lower downforce made these cars a handful to drive. I remember watching a whole mess of cars spinning out and slamming the wall because of the lack of downforce.

    Michigan 2, 7/10: It was another average race for Michigan. Kind of like the first time around, the racing could be decent at times, but it was so hard to pass too. It seemed like clean air proved real key for the race leader on the long green runs. In the end, it had a nice finish that saw Kyle Larson finally earn his first trip to victory lane. Or in his case, burnout through victory lane. — Tucker White

    Michigan 1, I’d rank a 6/10 because although the racing was decent at best, this package is normally supposed to host good racing. Logano dominated that show and although it was good for him, ultimately, the race wasn’t fun to watch.

    Kentucky, 7/10. Racing was a little bit more fun to watch and the best car won the race.

    Michigan 2 was 8/10. There were multiple race leaders, close racing, and it does help that Larson finally got that first win. — Joseph Shelton

    Michigan 1: 6

    Kentucky: 7

    Michigan 2: 8

    It seems like the more this package is run, the better the racing gets. That’s a pretty good deal there. — Michael Finley

    SECOND GEAR: This past weekend, all three national series had first-time winners. What does a weekend like this say about the level of talent with the young guns, be it in the Truck, XFINITY or Sprint Cup Series?

    It says two things: This sport is in no danger of talent saturation when the elder statesmen hang up the helmet for at least the next 25 years and corporate America should really consider attaching themselves to one of the available young guns who’s looking for a sponsor. — Tucker White

    NASCAR has gotten a lot of grief for being a playground for rich kids with connections in recent years, but considering these winners it’s clear to see that you have to have a modicum of talent in order to succeed in this sport. Moffitt, McDowell, and Larson are all talented drivers whose persistence paid off. That tends to happen when drivers are doing something right. — Joseph Shelton

    There is so much young talent in this sport, but sponsors really do need to start taking chances for the good of the industry. After a decent rookie campaign in Cup last season (for the level of equipment he was in), Brett Moffitt has struggled to find work since and was well on his way to becoming just another promising driver that flamed out before this last weekend. I think Brett Moffitt deserves a big shot in the XFINITY or Truck series more than certain ride buyers who only have big team rides because Daddy wrote a check. — Michael Finley

    THIRD GEAR: Since the last weekend of July, the XFINITY Series has raced a standalone event at Iowa, a companion event with the Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen, a standalone at Mid-Ohio, a companion event with the Sprint Cup Series at Bristol and a standalone event at Road America. What’s been your take on the quality of racing from this five-race stretch and should NASCAR make the XFINITY schedule more like this?

    I’ve given the XFINITY Series so much grief this season and for good reason. This season has showcased some abysmal, lackluster racing. It’s often been Sprint Cup Lite. That’s nothing compared to making the schedule more and more a mirror image of the Sprint Cup Series schedule instead of making it more unique to the XFINITY Series itself, which illustrates my biggest problem with the XFINITY Series today.

    But with that said, this five-race stretch has been quite awesome to watch. The only lackluster race during the stretch was Watkins Glen, and even that was more meh than bad.

    The best race of that stretch was Bristol. Watching the race from the press box, the first half anyway, I was blown away seeing guys run the bottom groove at Bristol again. It was also fun to see these guys try and run around the entire turn through the night to see what groove was faster. I was even outside the media center in Turn 4 to photograph the finish when Kyle Busch and Larson wrecked right in front of me.

    To answer the last part of the question, not just yes, but Hell Yes! NASCAR should make the schedule more like this five-race stretch. — Tucker White

    This stretch has held some of the best racing in the series. I hope NASCAR sees this stretch as something that defines what the fans want in the XFINITY Series, not the same song, different dance. It has been an enjoyable month for the division, so not looking forward to it going back to the Kyle Busch show. — Joseph Shelton

    I’ve always thought that going to a more balanced, half road course, half oval series, would do the XFINITY Series wonders. It would make a niche for the series that isn’t there now and would deter Cup teams from putting huge budgets into full-time rides because there wouldn’t be nearly as big a technical advantage. Part of the reason Gibbs has been great the last couple of seasons is because it’s much easier to transfer data from the XFINITY Series to Cup after the Cup cars reduced their horsepower a couple of seasons ago. — Michael Finley

    FOURTH GEAR: The Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is this weekend. Is it still among the crown jewel events of NASCAR? If so, where would you rank it?

    To put it simply, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is still a crown jewel event in NASCAR. If you had asked me a few years ago, I would’ve put the Coca-Cola 600 ahead of the Southern 500. But it’s prestige, to a degree, has been tarnished by lackluster racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the last few years. The combination of returning Darlington Raceway to its rightful place on Labor Day weekend and the low downforce package not only produced the best race of the 2015 season but shot the prestige of the Southern 500 back up a few notches. The biggest race in NASCAR will always be the Daytona 500, but the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is a clear second. — Tucker White

    The Southern 500 at Darlington will always be a crown jewel in NASCAR. Before Daytona and the 500, Darlington was the be-all, end-all of the sport. It has the history and the levity; it’ll always be a sacred place for stock car racing. — Joseph Shelton

    It’s the second biggest race in the sport. Daytona is Daytona and the Coca-Cola 600 has had some boring-to-bad races the past few years that has hurt the prestige of the race just a little bit. Meanwhile, only people actively working in the industry think Indianapolis is still a special race for the most part, as evidenced by all the empty grandstands every year. Finally, Homestead puts on some great races, is in a great location, and crowns the Sprint Cup champion but just doesn’t have the history yet of the other four tracks I talked about. The Southern 500 is almost always a great race, has a great theme, and has more history than any other race on the calendar. — Michael Finley

  • Descendant of NASCAR Royalty Wins in Thunder Valley

    Descendant of NASCAR Royalty Wins in Thunder Valley

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Just four months after parting company with Red Horse Racing, Ben Kennedy, great-grandson of Bill France Sr., capitalized on a late race mistake by William Byron to score the Camping World Truck Series victory at Thunder Valley.

    It’s the first career Truck Series victory for the driver of the No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

    “I can’t put it into words,” said Kennedy. “Someone asked me earlier today what it’s like going to Bristol for your first time and to win here is just so cool. I’m speechless. The guys gave me an awesome truck. Everyone at GMS Racing, Jacob Companies, the fans in the stands, everybody watching on TV, gosh this is just the coolest day of my life.”

    With the victory, Kennedy has claimed a spot in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.

    “We put this deal together (with GMS Racing) a couple months ago and I never imagined, I never would have imagined going into this race, that we would be here today,” he said. “I thought we were a top-15 truck or a top-10 truck, but to actually be here in Victory Lane means the world to me.”

    Brett Moffitt came home runner-up in his No. 11 RHR Toyota, a career-best finish.

    “We had a good truck, a strong truck all day. We ran top-five, top-10 most of it. He had just enough to get away from us on that last restart,” Moffitt explained. “After that, we got to him once but couldn’t get around.”

    Daniel Hemric rounded out the podium in his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Byron led one lap and brought his No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota home to a fourth-place finish. Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 GMSR Chevrolet.

    Cole Custer finished sixth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after overcoming spinning out past the first quarter mark of the race. Christopher Bell, who led a race-high of 101 laps and spun out of the lead just prior to the three-quarter mark, rallied back to a seventh-place finish in his No. 4 KBM Toyota. John Hunter Nemechek finished eighth in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet. Brandon Jones finished ninth in his No. 71 Ranier Racing Chevrolet. John Wes Townley rounded out the top-10 in his No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet.

    The race lasted one hour, 25 minutes and 59 seconds at an average speed of 74.387 mph. There were seven lead changes among five different drivers and nine cautions for 55 laps.

    Byron leaves Bristol with a 37-point lead over Hemric in the points standings.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Unofficial-Results-NCWTS-at-Bristol-8-17-16.pdf” title=”Unofficial Results NCWTS at Bristol 8-17-16″]

  • Reddick on Truck Pole at Bristol

    Reddick on Truck Pole at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Tyler Reddick will lead the field to the green flag for tonight’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford scored the pole for the UNOH 200 after posting a new track record time of 14.884 and a speed of 128.917 mph. It’s his third career pole in 53 career Camping World Truck Series starts, first of 2016 and first at Bristol.

    Daniel Suarez will start second in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota after posting a time of 14.963 and a speed of 128.236 mph. Cameron Hayley will start third in his No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota after posting a time of 15.018 and a speed of 127.767 mph. Ben Rhodes will start fourth in his No. 41 TSR Toyota after posting a time of 15.034 and a speed of 127.631 mph. Christopher Bell will round out the top-five starters in his No. 4 KBM Toyota after posting a time of 15.059 and a speed of 127.419 mph.

    William Byron will start sixth in his No. 9 KBM Toyota. Johnny Sauter will start seventh in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Brett Moffitt will start eighth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Cole Custer will start ninth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Katz Grala will round out the top-10 starters in his No. 24 GMSR Chevrolet.

    Jesse Little and Daniel Hemric will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Rico Abreu damaged his truck during qualifying and switched to his backup. As a result, he’ll start from the rear of the field.

    Thirty-five cars were entered. With 32 making the field, Jake Griffin, Clay Greenfield and Cody McMahan failed to make the race.

    Fifteen Chevrolet’s, five Ford’s and 12 Toyota’s will comprise the field for tonight’s race at Bristol.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/T1613_STARTROW.pdf”]

  • Suarez Fastest at Bristol in Final Truck Practice

    Suarez Fastest at Bristol in Final Truck Practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Daniel Suarez topped the chart in final Camping World Truck Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 14.820 and a speed of 129.474 mph. Brett Moffitt was second in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota with a time of 14.860 and a speed of 129.125 mph. William Byron was third in his No. 9 KBM Toyota with a time of 14.861 and a speed of 129.116 mph. Christopher Bell was fourth in his No. 4 KBM Toyota with a time of 14.894 and a speed of 128.830 mph. Cameron Hayley rounded out the top-five in his No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 14.917 and a speed of 128.632 mph.

    Tyler Reddick was sixth in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Austin Cindric was seventh in his No. 2 BKR Ford. Rico Abreu was eighth in his No. 98 TSR Toyota. Ben Rhodes was ninth in his No. 41 TSR Toyota. Matt Crafton rounded out the top-10 in his No. 88 TSR Toyota.

    Reddick posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 124.571 mph.

    The top-12 drivers in final practice posted a time faster than the current track record of 15.118 and a speed of 126.922 mph. It came in large part from the trucks running the bottom groove that they avoided running in the first practice session.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/T1613_PRACFINAL.pdf”]

  • Bell fastest in first Truck practice

    Bell fastest in first Truck practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Christopher Bell topped the chart in first Camping World Truck Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 15.535 and a speed of 123.515 mph. Timothy Peters was second in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota with a time of 15.600 and a speed of 123.000 mph. Rico Abreu was third in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 15.600 and a speed of 123.000 mph. Daniel Suarez was fourth in his No. 51 KBM Toyota with a time of 15.601 and a speed of 122.992 mph. Cole Custer rounded out the top-five in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 15.621 and a speed of 122.835 mph.

    Tyler Reddick was sixth in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Ben Rhodes was seventh in his No. 41 TSR Toyota. Matt Crafton was eighth in his No. 88 TSR Toyota. John Hunter Nemechek was ninth in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet. Cameron Hayley rounded out the top-10 in his No. 13 TSR Toyota.

    Ben Kennedy, who was 20th in his No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 119.103 mph.

    The trucks ran the middle groove for most of the session rather than use the recently “polished” bottom groove.

    The trucks are back on track at 11:30 for final practice.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/T1613_PRAC1.pdf”]

  • No Timing Zone Increase for Bristol

    No Timing Zone Increase for Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — The trend of increased timing zones won’t include this weekend’s events at Thunder Valley.

    As first reported by Dustin Long of NBC Sports, NASCAR will not increase the number of timing zones for this week’s events at Bristol Motor Speedway. The number will remain at 14 instead of 18. NASCAR decided not to increase them because it’s comfortable with the number of zones in place.

    NASCAR has experimented with increased timing zones since the Brickyard 400 race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The additional timing lines were also used at Pocono Raceway and Watkins Glen International for the Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Truck Series races.

    Speeding penalties in the last three races are up 375 percent compared to the previous three races of Daytona, Kentucky and New Hampshire.

    In spite of the decision to not increase the timing zones, Bristol is notorious for speeding penalties. The last four Sprint Cup races have averaged roughly 11 speeding penalties issued. The Food City 500 this past April had 17 speeding penalties issued, which remains the highest number of speeding penalties issued in one race this season.

  • Larson Slides to Victory at Eldora

    Larson Slides to Victory at Eldora

    While he didn’t have the dominant truck all night and was at one point trapped down a lap, Kyle Larson regained his lost lap, passed the dominant truck late in the going and scored the victory on the dirt of Eldora.

    After being penalized a lap for “intentionally bringing out a caution” early at Eldora Speedway, the driver of the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet rallied back to take the lead from Bobby Pierce late in the race to win the Aspen Dental Dirt Derby. It’s his second victory in 12 Camping World Truck Series starts, his second top-10 finish of the season and the second in three starts at Eldora.

    Christopher Bell came home runner-up in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. It’s his seventh top-10 finish of the season and second top-10 in two starts. Rico Abreu rounded out the podium in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Jake Griffin finished fourth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota while Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford.

    Cole Custer came home sixth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet followed by Cameron Hayley who finished seventh in his No. 13 TSR Toyota. Daniel Hemric finished eighth in his No. 19 BKR Ford. Austin Wayne Self finished ninth in his No. 22 AM Racing Toyota as Matt Crafton rounded out the top-10 in his No. 88 TSR Toyota.

    Pierce, who led 102 laps, found his car stuck in fourth gear just as he was leading the race late in the going, finished 25th and exited the race after crashing out.

    Fifteen trucks finished the race on the lead lap and 27 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted one hour, 47 minutes and 13 seconds at an average speed of 41.971 mph. There were three lead changes among two different drivers and nine cautions for 52 laps.

    William Byron leaves Rossburg, Ohio with a nine-point lead over Crafton in the points standings.

    The next race for the Camping World Truck Series is July 30 at Pocono Raceway.

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