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Tag: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

  • Corey Heim claims 2023 Truck Series Regular Season Championship

    Corey Heim claims 2023 Truck Series Regular Season Championship

    With a sixth-place finish in the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway, Corey Heim was named the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Championship recipient on Saturday, July 29.

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, entered Saturday’s event at Richmond, the final regular-season event on the schedule, with a 42-point advantage over reigning series champion Zane Smith. Needing 19 points to clinch the regular-season title, he accomplished the feat early in a night where he rolled off the grid starting alongside pole-sitter Ty Majeski on the front row. Despite being overtaken by Ben Rhodes during the opening lap, Heim would retain third place throughout the first stage period spanning 70 laps and clinch the title with his top-three result.

    After clinching the regular-season title, Heim proceeded to lead nine laps in the second stage amid more battles involving ThorSport Racing’s Majeski and Rhodes before he recorded another top-three result and additional stage points at the second stage’s conclusion. At the start of the final stage period, Heim fell back to fourth as Carson Hocevar, the eventual winner of the event, joined the battle at the front. By then, Majeski was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. After pitting under green with select others with less than 40 laps remaining, Heim found himself mired outside of the top 10, but he was able to methodically cycle his way back into the top 10 before finishing the event in sixth place, which marked his 13th top-10 result in 15 regular-season starts. The result was enough for him to remain in first place in the regular-season standings by 51 points over Ty Majeski and 55 over Zane Smith, both of whom finished second and third, respectively.

    With his accomplishment, Heim became the seventh different competitor to win a Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Championship title, joining a list that includes Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Zane Smith. By capturing this year’s regular-season title, Heim was awarded the top seed to start the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs with 2,030 points and 30 Playoff points and enters as one of 10 competitors who will embark on a seven-race stretch to battle for the 2023 Truck Series title, beginning at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana, on August 11.

    “Yeah, tough night tonight, for sure,” Heim said on FS1. “Definitely not letting [the finish] overshadow the phenomenal regular season we had as a team. We came from a long way to start the year. I feel like we needed a lot the first couple of weeks, but made so much progress within our TRICON Garage team with Toyota Racing. Our Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, throughout the year, was really good. [Tonight’s] JBL Tundra TRD Pro needed some work tonight, but definitely, just a lot of progress made. Just super proud of everyone that’s involved.”

    Heim is campaigning in his first full-time season in the Truck Series a year after competing in 16 of 23 events in 2022 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he notched his first two career victories in the series and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Piloting the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, a team that was rebranded from David Gilliland Racing prior to this season, and led by former championship-winning crew chief Scott Zipadelli, Heim commenced this season with an eighth-place result in the series’ rain-shortened opener at Daytona International Speedway in February. Six races and three additional top-10 results later, the Georgian notched his first victory of the season and the first for TRICON at Martinsville Speedway in April after sweeping both stages and fending off former owner Kyle Busch to retain the lead when the event was shortened 76 laps of its scheduled distance due to precipitation.

    After finishing in the runner-up spot at Kansas Speedway before finishing eighth at Darlington Raceway in eighth, both occurring after the Martinsville victory, Heim assumed the lead in the series standings for the first time in his career. Despite being absent for the series’ event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June due to an illness, where he was granted a waiver to still make this year’s Playoffs, he managed to remain in the points lead and he responded back with vengeance in early July by notching his second victory of the season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he led a race-high 30 of 67-scheduled laps. Prior to Richmond, Heim was coming off a runner-up result at Pocono Raceway after being overtaken by Kyle Busch on the final lap.

    Through 34 career starts in the Truck Series, Heim has achieved four victories, five poles, 13 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 479 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.3. His current average-finishing result of this season is 7.1 on the strength of his two race victories, five stage victories, three poles, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results.

    In addition to his full-time Truck campaign, Heim has made his first three career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Sam Hunt Racing, where his best on-track result is a 10th-place finish at Darlington in May. He is also a nine-time race winner in the ARCA Menards Series, with two of his victories occurring in back-to-back series season openers at Daytona in 2021 and 2022.

    Corey Heim’s pursuit for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship commences at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 11. The event’s coverage is scheduled to commence at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Hocevar outduels Majeski to win the Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond

    Hocevar outduels Majeski to win the Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond

    From starting at the rear of the field to methodically carving his way to the front and executing a late pit strategy to his favor, Carson Hocevar made an emphatic statement about his quest for a NASCAR championship by winning the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, July 29.

    The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led twice for 64 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he was set to start in 17th place before a flat tire derailed his event early and he was forced to have the tire changed and start at the rear of the field. Amid a steady gain, while carving his way through the field, Hocevar cracked the top 20 prior to the first stage’s conclusion and would proceed to finish in the top five at the conclusion of the second stage.

    Then after dominant pole-sitter Ty Majeski was penalized for speeding on pit road during the second stage’s break period, Hocevar assumed the lead to start the final stage, where he would lead 60 laps. After pitting with select others under green with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar spent the remainder of the event tracking Majeski, who attempted to remain on the track and pilot his way to victory on the exact tires used since the start of the final stage. Hocevar, though, managed to catch and overtake Majeski for the lead with four laps remaining. From there, the Michigan native muscled away with the advantage and cruised to his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of this season and of his career with the regular-season stretch concluding and the 2023 Playoff field set.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 28, Ty Majeski claimed his second Truck pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 119 mph in 22.689 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Corey Heim, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 118.728 mph in 22.741 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Justin Carroll dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. Carson Hocevar would also drop to the rear of the field after he pitted to have a flat tire on his truck changed.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delay that spanned nearly an hour due to a lightning strike, Majeski rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With the field continuing to jostle for early spots while fanning out to three lanes entering the frontstretch, Majeski proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of teammate Ben Rhodes, who navigated his No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 around Heim for second place.

    During the second lap, Majeksi was out in front by three-tenths of a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton were in the top five. Behind, William Sawalich, who started third, was back in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle involving rookie Jake Garcia and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom were vying for spots for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Majeski was leading by half a second over teammate Rhodes followed by Heim, Eckes and Crafton while Tanner Gray was in sixth ahead of William Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Jake Garcia and Chase Purdy. Behind, Matt Mills, making his first start in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry, was in 11th ahead of Grant Enfinger, rookie Nick Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Zane Smith while Tanner Gray, rookie Rajah Caruth, rookie Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen and Dean Thompson occupied the top 20.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Majeski continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim trailed by nearly two seconds. Behind, Eckes and Crafton remained in the top five while Tanner Gray, another competitor vying for a spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, retained sixth ahead of Sawalich, Garcia, DiBenedetto and Purdy.

    Fifteen laps later, Majeski extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Eckes and Crafton followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Hocevar was in 18th after overtaking rookie Daniel Dye and Friesen on the track.

    Another 10 laps later, Majeski continued to extend his advantage to nearly three seconds over teammate Rhodes while third-place Heim trailed by more than five seconds. With Eckes and Crafton retaining fourth and fifth on the track, Jake Garcia was in sixth while Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Purdy and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Zane Smith while Hocevar was up to 16th on the track.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Majeski, who lapped 23rd-place Friesen, a competitor who came into the event nine points below the top-10 cutline to make the Playoffs, a lap earlier, retained the lead by nearly four seconds over teammate Rhodes as third-place Heim trailed by nearly six seconds while Eckes and Crafton occupied the top five ahead of Garcia, Sawalich and DiBenedetto. Despite being marred into more lapped traffic while lapping 19th-place Zane Smith, Majeski continued to lead ahead of teammate Rhodes by Lap 60.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Majeski captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season, having led every scheduled lap thus far. Teammate Rhodes followed suit in second while Heim, Eckes, Crafton, Sawalich, Garcia, Purdy, Matt Mills and DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10. By then, 16 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson, Zane Smith, Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye and Friesen were pinned a lap down. In addition, Corey Heim, who ended up in third place during the first stage’s break period, clinched the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season championship.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Heim, Rhodes, Eckes, Crafton and Sawalich.

    The second stage started on Lap 79 as Majeski and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski rocketed ahead with a strong start on the outside lane and entering Turn 1 while Rhodes battled Heim for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. With Rhodes claiming the runner-up spot, teammate Crafton, who came into the event nine points above the Playoff cutline, made it a ThorSport Racing 1-2-3 on the track as he moved his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 to third place over Heim. Heim, however, fought back on Lap 81 as he reclaimed third place before challenging Rhodes for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles, Majeski ran away from the field as he was ahead by eight-tenths of a second.

    Soon after, Purdy, who was in sixth and trying to race his way into the Playoff cutline, was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road for a restart violation as he did not remain in his lane prior to the start/finish line during the second stage’s start. Meanwhile, Majeski extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes followed suit at the Lap 90 mark.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Majeski was leading by more than four seconds over Heim followed by Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes while Garcia, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Sawalich and Enfinger were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Ankrum and Matt Mills while Bayley Currey, the final competitor on the lead lap, was in 16th. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, the first competitor a lap down, was mired in 17th ahead of Thompson, Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan while Caruth, Connor Jones, Daniel Dye, Lawless Alan and Friesen were mired in the top 25. In addition, Purdy was in 32nd while two laps behind the leaders.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Dean Thompson, who was running 18th in front of Deegan, spun in Turn 2 as he would be overtaken by the lead lap field while trying to re-fire his truck.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 116, Heim gained a strong start on the inside lane as he muscled his No. 11 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead through Turn 1 and the backstretch. With Heim leading, teammate Rhodes proceeded to challenge Majeski for second while Eckes followed suit in fourth. On Lap 118, however, the caution quickly returned when Justin Carroll spun in Turn 4. At the moment of caution, Deegan had managed to emerge as the first competitor scored a lap down ahead of Friesen and thus, receive the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 124, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Heim fended off a three-wide attempt from Majeski to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then during the following lap, which marked the halfway mark of the event, Rhodes muscled his way to the lead through the frontstretch and from the outside lane over Heim. Majeski would follow suit during the next lap as he was locked in a tight side-by-side battle with Heim. As the three-truck battle for the lead involving Rhodes, Majeski and Heim continued to ensue, Majeski reassumed the lead on Lap 129 after overtaking teammate Rhodes through the first two turns. With Majeski out in front over teammate Rhodes and Heim, Eckes settled in fourth followed by Hocevar while Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were in the top 10.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 140, Majeski, who extended his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Rhodes, claimed his second Truck stage victory of the night and fourth of the 2023 season. Teammate Rhodes settled in second while Heim fended off Eckes to claim third. Hocevar, Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were scored in the top 10. By then, 18 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while Connor Jones had managed to remain ahead of Friesen to be scored the first competitor a lap down and receive the free pass during the stage’s break period to cycle back on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for another round of service. Following the pit stops, Majeski initially retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of his teammate Rhodes, Hocevar, Heim, Eckes, Crafton and Garcia. Amid the pit stops, however, Majeski was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding while entering pit road.

    With 101 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Rhodes and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar gained a strong start from the inside lane as he launched his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead while Eckes and Heim took Rhodes three wide in a battle for the runner-up spot. With Rhodes and Eckes battling dead even for the spot entering Turns 3 and 4, Heim settled in fourth while Garcia, Crafton and Zane Smith followed suit as the event reached its final 100-lap mark.

    Five laps later, Hocevar was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Eckes trailed by more than a second. With Heim retaining fourth, Zane Smith moved up to fifth after overtaking Crafton and Garcia earlier while Majeski was mired back in 18th.

    Another 10 laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Heim and Zane Smith while Crafton, Garcia, Matt Mills, Tanner Gray and Sawalich were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Tyler Ankrum while Deegan, Currey, Connor Jones, Taylor Gray and Daniel Dye were in the top 20. By then, Friesen was mired in 22nd, the final competitor scored on the lead lap.

    Then with 78 laps remaining, late troubles occurred for Josh Reaume, who smacked the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 due to a flat right-front tire. As Reaume attempted to turn his truck left to enter pit road, he was nearly T-boned by an oncoming DiBenedetto, though Reaume managed to steer his damaged truck to his pit stall and the race remained under green flag conditions. By then, Hocevar retained the lead by more than a second over runner-up Rhodes and more than four seconds over third-place Heim.

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Rhodes while Heim retained third place. By then, Zane Smith was in fourth while Majeski, who re-entered the top five three laps earlier after overtaking Eckes, was in fifth.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than four seconds over a hard-charging Majeski, who overtook Heim and Rhodes during the five previous laps. In addition, Jake Garcia and Matt Mills both made a pit stop a few laps earlier under green.

    Two laps later, more green flag pit stops ensued as Zane Smith pitted his No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150. Then with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar surrendered the lead to pit under green as Majeski cycled his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 back into the lead. Heim would then pit from the runner-up spot along with Crafton and Sanchez with 36 laps remaining while Rhodes would pit during the following lap. Rhodes would eventually be penalized for a commitment line violation as seven of 36 starters led by Majeski were scored on the lead lap. Currey and Dye would also be penalized for a commitment line violation.

    With 25 laps remaining, Majeski was leading by more than 16 seconds over Eckes and more than 19 over Sawalich. Zane Smith, the first competitor who pitted, was in fourth followed by Garcia, who is placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs while Tanner Gray, DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Heim was mired in 11th, Crafton was in 13th, Sanchez was in 15th behind Enfinger and Rhodes had fallen back to 16th.

    Five laps later, Hocevar, who overtook Zane Smith to be the first competitor running on the track on four fresh tires, was up to second place as he trailed race leader Majeski, who has decided to roll the dice and remain on the track while on worn tires, by more than 15 seconds. By then, Garcia was mired in fourth ahead of teammate Eckes and Sawalich.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Majeski, who started to lose ground on his advantage over Hocevar amid his worn tires, retained the lead by more than nine seconds over a hard-charging Hocevar. Majeski would continue to lead by more than five seconds over Hocevar with 10 laps remaining while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than nine seconds as Garcia and Matt Mills followed pursuit in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Majeski, who was trying to navigate his way through lapped traffic and lost more ground on his advantage, retained the lead by a second over Hocevar, who was also navigating through lapped traffic but had Majeski close within his sights.

    Then with four laps remaining, Hocevar gained massive ground on Majeski through the backstretch and overtook him through Turns 3 and 4 to reassume the lead through the frontstretch and with just three laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Majeski. Having the four fresh tires to his advantage and with Majeski unable to mount a late rally on his worn tires, Hocevar was able to smoothly navigate his way around the circuit for a final time and streak across the finish line on four fresh tires to claim his third checkered flag of the 2023 season.

    With his third career victory in the series and third of the season, Hocevar became the first competitor to achieve three victories in this year’s Truck season as he also recorded the third victory of the season and the seventh overall for Niece Motorsports. The victory was also a monumental moment for Hocevar, who piloted a Worldwide Express-sponsored truck to the victory in a Worldwide Express-sponsored event as he is one of 10 competitors who will contend for the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series title throughout a seven-race Playoff stretch.

    “Man, I suck at this place and Niece Motorsports, ourselves, we’ve sucked terrible,” Hocevar said on FS1. “That [truck’s] splitter’s gone because we had a flat tire before we even went. We passed every single truck here. [Majeski] was class of the field, but I thought we were second, and when we won with (the) second best truck because I had the first best pit crew and first best crew chief [Phil Gould] on the [pit] box. I just love it. We’ve won two of our competitors’ title races and it sucks seeing our Worldwide Express trophy get handed to a Toyota [competitor]. We had to take it home and there’s gonna be a lot of happy faces. We’re gonna celebrate.”

    While Hocevar was left victorious in Victory Lane, Majeski, who had already secured his spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs prior to tonight’s event at Richmond, was left disappointed on pit road after leading a race-high 168 laps and falling short of notching his first victory of the season.

    “[I was] Helpless,” Majeski said. “I just didn’t have enough there. Obviously, [I] made a mistake speeding on pit road. If I don’t speed on pit road, I feel like that strategy still wins. But regardless, we had a chance to win even with the penalty. I don’t know. It’s just disappointing. What an unbelievable race truck. That thing was so fast tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a dominant vehicle that much better than the rest of the field. To not win with it, it is incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s working really hard at ThorSport [Racing] to get these trucks where they need to be for us for these Playoffs. This one’s gonna sting. Man, I’m so disappointed in myself, but we win and lose as a team. We can go make another run at the Playoffs.”

    Zane Smith came home in third place while rookie Jake Garcia and Matt Mills earned strong top-five results. Heim, the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season champion, ended up sixth while Crafton, Sanchez, Enfinger and William Sawalich finished in the top 10.

    With their respective results of seventh, eighth and 17th, Matt Crafton, Nick Sanchez and Matt DiBenedetto secured the final three vacant spots in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, with Crafton claiming the final transfer spot by 39 points over Stewart Friesen, who concluded his long night in 27th place.

    “We live to fight another day,” Crafton said. “[We got to] Kick [the competition’s] teeth in.”

    “[We] Brought a dull knife to a gunfight tonight,” Friesen said. “It is what it is.”

    Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, rookie Nick Sanchez, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have made the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs and will embark on a seven-race Playoff stretch to contend for this year’s series title. Stewart Friesen, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy, Tyler Ankrum, Hailie Deegan, Colby Howard, Dean Thompson, Lawless Alan and Spencer Boyd along with a bevy of rookies that included Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth and Bret Holmes were among the remaining full-time competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

    There were nine lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps. While all 36 starters finished the event, seven finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Carson Hocevar, 64 laps led

    2. Ty Majeski, 168 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Zane Smith

    4. Jake Garcia

    5. Matt Mills

    6. Corey Heim, nine laps led

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

    9. Grant Enfinger, one lap down

    10. William Sawalich, one lap down

    11. Christian Eckes, one lap down

    12. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

    13. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    14. Taylor Gray, one lap down

    15. Hailie Deegan, one lap down

    16. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    18. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    19. Rajah Caruth, two laps down

    20. Connor Jones, two laps down

    21. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    22. Chase Purdy, two laps down

    23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    24. Colby Howard, three laps down

    25. Dean Thompson, three laps down

    26. Will Rodgers, three laps down

    27. Stewart Friesen, three laps down

    28. Lawless Alan, three laps down

    29. Bret Holmes, three laps down

    30. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

    31. Justin Carroll, five laps down

    32. Christian Rose, six laps down

    33. Derek Lemke, seven laps down

    34. Mason Massey, eight laps down

    35. Spencer Boyd, 10 laps down

    36. Josh Reaume, 11 laps down

    The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs are set to start at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana, on August 11, with the event’s coverage to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Richmond-2 and Road America

    Weekend schedule for Richmond-2 and Road America

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series head to Richmond Raceway while the Xfinity Series competes at Road America. There are only five races remaining in the Cup Series regular season and eight of the active drivers have previously won at the 0.75-mile track.

    Kyle Busch leads with six victories while Kevin Harvick (the defending race winner) and Denny Hamlin have four victories each. Martin Truex Jr. has collected 3 checkered flags while Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano have each won twice and Alex Bowman has claimed one win.

    Eleven Cup Series drivers (Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, William Byron, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney) have already earned a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of wins, leaving five open spots in the 16-driver post-season field.

    As the Xfinity Series heads to Road America, seven drivers have secured a spot in the 12-driver playoffs – John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, and Jeb Burton. This leaves five open spots in the Xfinity Series Playoffs with seven races to go.

    There are seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers who have clinched a spot in the 10-driver Playoff field – Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar. Richmond is the last race of the regular season.

    NASCAR Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 28

    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – Road America – USA
    6 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Road America – USA
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice at Richmond (All entries) No TV
    5:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying at Richmond (Impound) No TV
    Single Vehicle/2 Laps/All Entries

    Saturday, July 29

    12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice at Richmond
    Groups A & B
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying at Richmond (Impound)
    Groups A & B – Single Vehicle/2 Laps/2 Rounds
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Road America 180 at Road America
    45 Laps = 182.16 Miles
    Stages end on Laps 22/34/45
    NBC/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $1,347,310

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond
    250 Laps = 187.5 Miles
    Stages end on Laps 70/140/250
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $808,354

    Sunday, July 30

    3 p.m.: Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond
    400 Laps = 300 Miles
    Stages end on Laps 70/230/400 LAPS
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $7,565,800

  • Kyle Busch outduels Heim for final lap victory at Pocono; delivers 100th Truck victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Kyle Busch outduels Heim for final lap victory at Pocono; delivers 100th Truck victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports

    After spending the majority of the late stages being schooled by a former Kyle Busch Motorsports competitor Corey Heim, the bossman Kyle Busch had an extra trick saved up his sleeves to execute a final lap pass on Heim and record a monumental NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 22.

    The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led twice for seven of 60 scheduled laps in an event marred with late chaos and battles amongst series regulars battling for the final handful of spots to make the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs. All that was on the mindset for Kyle Busch, though, was recording the 100th Truck Series victory for his organization, Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    To accomplish the feat, Busch had to navigate his way around Heim for the lead. Heim, however, did not relinquish the lead to Busch without a fight as he retained the spot since Lap 33 and through a series of on-track battles. Then amid a five-lap dash to the finish and after appearing to settle in second behind Heim, Busch seized upon an opportunity on the final lap to gain a run on Heim and execute a final lap pass on him with two corners remaining to rocket away and record the elusive 100th victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 21, rookie Nick Sanchez notched his fourth Truck Series pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning speed at 168.966 mph in 53.265 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Jake Garcia, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 168.306 mph in 53.474 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Ben Rhodes, Josh Reaume, Dean Thompson, Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a stacked start that caused some competitors running towards the rear of the field to fan out and sustain damage to their trucks, Sanchez received a push from Carson Hocevar on the outside lane to rocket ahead with the lead entering Turn 1. As Hocevar tried to make a move beneath Sanchez, the latter rocketed ahead through the first turn and entering Long Pond Straight while Hocevar moved in front of Garcia to retain second as Grant Enfinger joined the battle. As the field battled amid two lanes through the Tunnel Curve and entering Turn 3, Sanchez managed to retain the lead when he returned to the frontstretch and lead the first lap while Garcia and Hocevar battled for second.

    Through the second lap, Zane Smith made a three-wide move on Garcia and Hocevar through the frontstretch to move his No. 38 Birch Gold Group Ford F-150 into the runner-up spot. Soon after, Matt DiBenedetto and Enfinger rocketed past Hocevar along with Austin Hill through Long Pond Straight as Chase Purdy and Corey Heim trailed closely behind in eighth and ninth. By then, however, Sanchez stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Zane Smith.

    On the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Tanner Gray, who was running 15th, snapped sideways underneath teammate Kaz Grala and was barely clipped by Tyler Ankrum in the front end before he spun below the track and collided head-on into the inside wall in Turn 1. With the damage to his No. 15 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro deemed terminal and leaking fluid, the wreck also took a significant hit towards Gray’s efforts to make the 2023 Truck Playoffs as he initially came into the event 24 points below the top-10 cutline.

    During the caution period, select names that included Tyler Ankrum, Deegan, Lawless Alan, Cory Roper, Stephen Mallozzi, Josh Reaume and Kaden Honeycutt pitted while the rest led by Sanchez remained on the track. Among those who pitted included Crafton, who pitted for repairs to his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 following the contact at the start of the race.

    As the race restarted under green on the eighth lap, Zane Smith rocketed into the lead while running on the inside lane after receiving a push from DiBenedetto, who overtook Sanchez for the runner-up spot in the process. Through Turn 1 and across Long Pond Straight, Smith started to place a gap between himself and DiBenedetto as he retained the lead while the field behind jostled for positions.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Zane Smith was leading by nine-tenths of a second over DiBenedetto followed by Sanchez, Austin Hill and Garcia while Enfinger, Kyle Busch, Taylor Gray, Stewart Friesen and Hocevar were in the top 10. Behind, Corey Heim was in 11th ahead of a battle between Purdy, Christopher Bell, rookie Rajah Caruth and Christian Eckes while Dean Thompson, Parker Kligerman, Ross Chastain, Kaz Grala and Ben Rhodes were scored in the top 20.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, Zane Smith claimed his third stage victory of the 2023 Truck season. Sanchez settled in second after navigating his way around DiBenedetto the lap prior, with DiBenedetto settled in third as Kyle Busch, Austin Hill, Garcia, Heim, Enfinger, Friesen and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, select names that included Rhodes, Chastain, Grala, Kaden Honeycutt, DiBenedetto, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Colby Howard, Grala, Stefan Parsons, Ankrum, Hocevar, Kligerman and Austin Hill pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 20 as Zane Smith and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Busch received a strong push from Heim on the inside lane to rocket ahead of Smith with the lead exiting the frontstretch. Heim then ducked his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro beneath Busch’s No. 51 Zariz Transport Chevrolet Silverado RST in a bid to take the lead entering Turn 1. Though Heim succeeded through Turn 1 and entering Long Pond Straight, Busch responded back through the Long Pond Straight by rocketing past Heim to assume the lead as Friesen tried to overtake Heim for second, with the latter retaining the spot. As the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for spots, Busch started to stretch his advantage as he was leading by more than six-tenths of a second when he returned to the frontstretch.

    By Lap 22, Busch was leading by more than eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Friesen, Zane Smith and Garcia while Eckes, Sanchez, Bell, Purdy and Hocevar were in the top 10.

    Three laps later, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Heim while Friesen, Zane Smith and Eckes remained in the top five. As Garcia, Sanchez, Bell, Purdy and Hocevar remained in the top 10, Ty Majeski was in 11th followed by Taylor Gray, Dean Thompson, DiBenedetto and Kligerman while Enfinger, Rhodes, Ankrum, Chastain and Austin Hill occupied the top 20 with Crafton running in 21st ahead of Caruth, Grala, Colby Howard and Stefan Parsons trailing behind.

    Then on Lap 27, a bevy of names that included race leader Kyle Busch, Heim, Eckes, Garcia, Hocevar, Purdy, Taylor Gray, Majeski, Thompson, Kligerman, Grala, Chastain, Bell and Austin Hill pitted under green. Amid the pit stops, Zane Smith reassumed the lead while Friesen, who missed the opportunity to pit with the front-runners, and Sanchez were in second and third.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Zane Smith collected his second stage victory of the season and the fourth of this year’s Truck season. Friesen settled in second while Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Enfinger, Rhodes, Ankrum, Rajah Caruth, Colby Howard and Crafton were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of lead lap competitors led by Zane Smith and including Rhodes, Friesen, Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Enfinger, Ankrum, rookie Daniel Dye, Stefan Parsons, Tyler Hill, Lawless Alan, Caruth, Cory Roper, Spencer Boyd, Crafton, Kaden Honeycutt, Bret Holmes and Hailie Deegan pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

    With 25 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Heim and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Heim and Busch dueled for the lead exiting the frontstretch until Heim managed to rocket ahead from the outside lane and with a push from teammate Taylor Gray to lead Busch and the field through the first turn. As the field fanned out through the Long Pond Straight, Heim was out in front of the pack with Busch trailing by two-tenths of a second.

    The following lap, the battle for the lead intensified as Busch tried to gain a run beneath Heim entering Turn 1. Heim, however, was quick to rocket ahead and move back in front of Busch entering Long Pond Straight to retain the lead. As Taylor Gray tried to close in on the two leaders amid the draft in his No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Busch tried to gain another run beneath Heim entering the first turn during the following lap, but history repeated itself as Heim rocketed ahead from the outside lane and with the lead within his grasp. Behind, Chastain briefly lost his momentum after making contact with Eckes that caused him to slip out of the top 10 through Turn 1.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, Heim was leading by more than two-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch, who closed in and started to intimidate Heim for the top spot once again, while third-place Taylor Gray trailed by more than a second. As both continued to battle fiercely for the lead amid the draft, Heim continued to retain the top spot by a narrow margin over Busch, who could not execute his runs to overtake his former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver.

    Then with 15 laps remaining, the caution flew for a two-truck incident involving the front row starters after Sanchez, the pole-sitter, slid underneath Garcia in Turn 1 and sent Garcia into the outside wall and with significant damage to the No. 35 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST, thus terminating Garcia’s race, while Sanchez spun sideways below the track and amid a cloud of smoke as he emerged with right-side damage to his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST. At the time of the caution period, Heim was still leading by three-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch.

    During the caution period, some that included Crafton, Deegan, Colby Howard, Ankrum, Lawless Alan, Tyler Hill, Roper, Reaume, Spencer Boyd, Chastain and Honeycutt pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

    Down to the final nine laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Heim received another shove from teammate Taylor Gray on the outside lane to rocket ahead and retain the lead entering the first turn with Kyle Busch following pursuit through the first turn as Bell and Majeski were in the top five. As the field fanned out through the first turn and entering Long Pond Straight, the caution quickly returned when Hocevar slid up the track and made contact with Grala while battling for seventh. The contact caused Grala to slide sideways as he clipped and sent Kligerman’s No. 75 Tide Chevrolet Silverado RST scraping into the outside wall through Long Pond Straight while Friesen collided into Grala before he was T-boned by Austin Hill’s No. 7 ARCO Chevrolet Silverado RST as more competitors that included Stefan Parsons, Chastain, Lawless Alan and Zane Smith, whose truck erupted in flames, were all collected.

    The incident proved costly for Friesen, who was unable to continue with a damaged No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and was scored above the Playoff cutline prior to the incident, while Crafton, who pitted during the previous caution period and was below the cutline, was able to methodically navigate his way through the incident without any damage. The incident was also enough for the event to be placed in a red flag period.

    When the red flag lifted amid a 13-minute delay period, the race restarted under green with five laps remaining as Heim and Kyle Busch retained the front row. At the start, Heim, who received another push from teammate Taylor Gray on the outside lane, retained the lead over Kyle Busch, who was receiving a shove from Christopher Bell, entering Turn 1. As the field returned to the frontstretch with four laps remaining, Heim was leading by three-tenths of a second over Busch while Taylor Gray, Bell and Enfinger followed pursuit in the top five.

    With three laps remaining, Heim continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch, who nearly executed a move and pass on Heim for the lead before relenting and settling in second. By then, however, Taylor Gray started to close in on the two leaders as he was trailing by only six-tenths of a second. Heim would retain the lead by four-tenths of a second over runner-up Busch and seven-tenths of a second over third-place Taylor Gray with two laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch and seven-tenths of a second over Taylor Gray. Then after trailing Heim through the first turn, Busch executed a final lap charge and got to Heim’s rear bumper through the Long Pond Straight. He then made his move beneath Heim through the Tunnel Turn and rocketed away with the lead without making contact with Heim. With Busch pulling away and Heim unable to return the favor, Busch was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and record both his second Truck victory of the 2023 season and the 100th victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    With the victory, Busch, who was making his fifth and final Truck Series start of the 2023 season and whose latest series victory occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, notched his series-leading 64th Craftsman Truck Series career victory as a driver, his second of the season piloting a Chevrolet Silverado RST and with veteran crew chief Brian Pattie and his third in the series at Pocono.

    Overall, Kyle Busch Motorsports, which first won at Nashville Superspeedway in 2010 with Busch and is the winningest team in the Craftsman Truck Series, has now accumulated 100 Truck victories between 18 different competitors, with Busch achieving 48 for his organization. The Pocono victory also marked KBM’s eighth overall victory in nine seasons at the Tricky Triangle.

    Photo by Kirk Schroll for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Yeah, I mean [the win]’s pretty cool,” Busch said on FS1. “We’ve been around for a long time. Not as long as others [teams], obviously. They’ve withstood a little bit longer, but it’s been fun. A great ride. This Silverado today was really, really fast. [I was] Just mired in traffic. Couldn’t find a way to make a clean move, so had to make little bit of a dicey one there at the end getting into [Turn] 2. Heim ran a great race. We needed this 100th win to get it over with.”

    “It’s a monumental day,” Busch added. “It’s a century mark of being able to win 100 Truck races. We’re, granted, a small team and just one that performs in the Truck Series. We ventured away once upon a time and didn’t quite work, but we found a home in the Trucks. It’s cool to always score a victory and another nice one here at Pocono.”

    Heim, coming off a victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course two weeks ago, was left disappointed on pit road after falling one lap shy of notching his third victory of the season at the Tricky Triangle. Despite the disappointment, Heim, who extended his lead in the regular-season standings to 42 points over Zane Smith, commended the battle and final overtake from Busch, whom Heim competed for, won two Truck races and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title a year ago.

    “Just unreal,” Heim said. “I felt like I did everything right. It seemed like we had about five laps in the truck before it started tightening up really bad on me. [I] Didn’t really get the run I wanted out of [Turn] 1 and I knew [Busch]’s straightaway speed was really good. I was a little upset initially, but realistically, I would’ve done the exact same thing. A heat of the moment deal there, but looking back on it, I’ve just got a lot of respect for Kyle. I’ve raced for him for two years. He was really good to me, and he raced me with respect today. Hard racer. He didn’t wreck us to win, and I would’ve probably done the same thing. Just really sucks. I really thought we had it there, especially with seeming that he couldn’t really form up a run good enough to pass me and he sends it in on the last lap. All the blame goes on me for not doing what I should’ve done.”

    Rookie Taylor Gray notched a career-best third-place result after crossing the finish line nine-tenths of a behind Kyle Busch while Christopher Bell and Enfinger finished in the top five.

    Ty Majeski, Eckes, Dean Thompson, Ben Rhodes and DiBenedetto completed the top 10. Notably, Hocevar ended up 11th in front of Ankrum, Crafton came home 14th behind Hailie Deegan, Caruth ended up 16th in front of teammate Daniel Dye and Sanchez ended up 19th behind Chase Purdy.

    There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 20 laps. In addition, 29 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With one regular-season event remaining on the schedule, Corey Heim continues to lead the regular-season standings by 42 points over Zane Smith and 59 over Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski.

    Currently, Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar are guaranteed spots for the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. In addition, Ty Majeski, who finished sixth at Pocono, has clinched a Playoff spot despite being winless through 15 regular-season events. That leaves Matt DiBenedetto, rookie Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton holding sole possessions of the final three transfer spots to make the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs entering next weekend’s regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway that will set the 10-truck Playoff field. Crafton holds the 10th and final transfer spot by nine points over Stewart Friesen, 47 over Tanner Gray, 54 over Chase Purdy, 71 over Tyler Ankrum and 94 over rookie Jake Garcia.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, seven laps led

    2. Corey Heim, 27 laps led

    3. Taylor Gray

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Grant Enfinger

    6. Ty Majeski

    7. Christian Eckes

    8. Dean Thompson

    9. Ben Rhodes

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Carson Hocevar

    12. Tyler Ankrum

    13. Hailie Deegan

    14. Matt Crafton

    15. Colby Howard

    16. Rajah Caruth

    17. Daniel Dye

    18. Chase Purdy

    19. Nick Sanchez, seven laps led

    20. Kaden Honeycutt

    21. Tyler Hill

    22. Parker Kligerman

    23. Cory Roper

    24. Stephen Mallozzi

    25. Spencer Boyd

    26. Josh Reaume

    27. Lawless Alan

    28. Stefan Parsons

    29. Bret Holmes

    30. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

    31. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    32. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Accident

    33. Austin Hill – OUT, Accident

    34. Zane Smith – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    35. Jake Garcia – OUT, Accident

    36. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

    The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude next Saturday, July 29, at Richmond Raceway, where the 2023 Truck Series Playoff field will be determined. The event’s coverage is set to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Pocono

    Weekend schedule for Pocono

    NASCAR travels to Pocono Raceway this weekend for another full schedule of competition. The ARCA Menards Series will jump-start the on-track action Friday evening in the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150.

    Chase Elliott is the defending Cup Series race winner. His road to victory lane last year was unusual with the top two finishers, Denny Hamlin (first) and Kyle Busch (second) both being disqualified after failing post-race inspection. However, a victory would propel Elliott, who is 60 points behind the cutoff, to the Playoffs. There are six races remaining in the regular season with eight open spots.

    The Xfinity Series has only competed at the Tricky Triangle seven times and has produced seven different winners. Cole Custer, who won from the pole in 2019, is the only previous race winner entered in this weekend’s race. There are eight upcoming regular season races and five open spots available in the series Playoffs.

    There are two races left in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regular season. Corey Heim, with two wins his year, currently leads the driver standings by 26 points.

    Six Truck Series drivers are locked into the Playoffs by virtue of wins – Zane Smith (Daytona, COTA), Christian Eckes (Atlanta, Darlington), Carson Hocevar (Texas, Nashville), Corey Heim (Martinsville, Mid-Ohio), Grant Enfinger (Kansas, WWTR), and Ben Rhodes (Charlotte).

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 21

    11:30 a.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV
    12:30 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying – No TV

    1:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – All Entries – FS1
    2:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound)
    Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries – FS1
    Post Truck Series Qualifying on Press Pass

    3:35 p.m.: Xfinity Practice – All Entries
    4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying (Impound)
    Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries
    USA/NBC Sports App
    Post Xfinity Series Qualifying on Press Pass

    6 p.m.: ARCA Menard Series Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150
    60 laps = 150 miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, July 22

    Noon: Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150
    Stages end on Laps 15/30/60 Laps = 150 Miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $757,274
    Post Truck Series Race on Press Pass

    2:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (3 p.m. ET on USA)
    Groups A & B
    NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM

    3:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying
    (Impound) Group A & B/Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    Post-Cup Qualifying on Press Pass

    5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Pocono 225
    Stages end on Laps 20/40/90 Laps = 225 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    Purse: $1,411,027
    Post Xfinity Race on Press Pass

    Sunday, July 23

    2:30 p.m.: HighPoint.com 400
    Stages end on Laps 30/95/160 = 400 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    The Purse: $7,243,361
    Post Cup Race on Press Pass

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Hocevar scores second Truck career triumph at Nashville

    Hocevar scores second Truck career triumph at Nashville

    In a season where he silenced his doubters and became a NASCAR race winner for the first time in his career, Carson Hocevar doubled down with another reason to celebrate after scoring a late victory in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, June 23.

    The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led the final 40 of 150-scheduled laps in an event where he rolled off the starting grid in seventh place before keeping pace with the front-runners as the event proceeded under the lights. He assumed the lead for the first time during a restart with 40 laps remaining and Hocevar appeared to be heading toward a potential victory when a late two-truck incident with 10 laps remaining stalled his momentum momentarily. After being one of select competitors to remain on the track instead of pitting for fresh tires, Hocevar then managed to fend off a late charge from reigning series champion Zane Smith during a three-lap shootout to claim the second checkered flag of this season and of his youthful career.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, rookie Nick Sanchez notched his third career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 161.915 mph in 29.571 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Bayley Currey, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 161.844 mph in 29.584 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Toni Breidinger and Dean Thompson dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Sanchez and Currey briefly dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Sanchez rocketed ahead on the inside lane through the first turn. With Sanchez out in front through the backstretch, rookie Rajah Caruth, who qualified third, battled Currey for second. Corey Heim, the series points leader who returned from a one-race absence due to illness that caused him to miss the previous event at World Wide Technology Raceway in early June, joined the battle entering the third turn. Caruth would muscle ahead and acquire the runner-up spot as Sanchez proceeded to lead the first lap.

    Three laps later and amid a series of early on-track battles while Sanchez continued to lead ahead of Caruth, the first caution of the event. Hailie Deegan, who was battling Lawless Alan for a spot within the top 20, got loose underneath Alan in Turn 3 as both competitors slipped sideways up the groove, with Deegan barely clipping the No. 51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Jack Wood. While Deegan backed her No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 into Turn 3’s outside wall, Alan, who was trying to save his sideways truck, ended up darting back towards the wall as he was hit by Wood before both competitors hit the wall and emerged with damaged trucks.

    When the race restarted under green on the ninth lap, Sanchez fended off Caruth entering the first turn to retain the lead while Zane Smith, who restarted within the top six, got loose entering the first turn, but managed to continue without losing ground of the leaders. Shortly after, however, the caution returned when Alan blew a right-side tire and smacked the outside wall in Turn 1, his second incident of the night, and became the first retiree of the event.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 16, Sanchez and Caruth battled for the lead until Sanchez managed to pull ahead of Caruth to retain the lead during the following lap. With Sanchez leading the field, Carson Hocevar, who started seventh, battled and overtook teammate Currey for third as Corey Heim, Zane Smith and rookie Taylor Gray battled for fifth.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Sanchez was leading by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Caruth while third-place Hocevar trailed by more than a second. Behind, Zane Smith and Currey battled for fourth while Heim, Tyler Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Grant Enfinger and Tanner Gray were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Matt DiBenedetto was in 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Chase Purdy while rookie Daniel Dye, rookie Jake Garcia, Matt Crafton, Ty Majeski and Colby Howard occupied the top 20.

    Five laps later, Sanchez continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Caruth, who continued to intimidate and challenge Sanchez for the lead through every turn and corner. Behind, Zane Smith muscled his Speedco Ford F-150 into third place over Hocevar and Currey while Heim trailed in sixth place.

    During the proceeding five laps, the battle for the lead continued to ignite between Sanchez and Caruth. With both competitors encountering lapped traffic, Caruth made several side-by-side challenges on Sanchez to acquire the lead, but Sanchez would manage to fend off Caruth’s attacks by the time both returned to the start/finish line.

    On Lap 36, Caruth managed to lead a lap for himself over Sanchez. A lap later, however, Caruth was quickly overtaken by Sanchez as Zane Smith followed suit. Zane Smith would then become the new race leader on Lap 39 after assuming the top spot over Sanchez while Caruth, who was off the pace, made an unscheduled pit stop to address a loss of fuel pressure to his No. 24 Born Driven Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Zane Smith, who stretched his advantage to more than two seconds after acquiring the lead on Lap 39, captured his second stage victory of the 2023 season. Sanchez settled in second as he trailed Smith by more than two seconds while Currey, Hocevar, Heim, Ankrum, Tanner Gray, Enfinger, DiBenedetto and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Zane Smith pitted. Following the pit stops, Heim managed to squeak ahead and exit first with the lead followed by Sanchez, Currey, Zane Smith, Ankrum and Taylor Gray.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 as Heim and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Heim retained the lead followed by Currey, who overtook Sanchez for second after pushing Heim into the lead at the restart mark. Taylor Gray would then challenge Sanchez for third entering the backstretch before Sanchez retained the spot followed by Zane Smith. Gray would then get dropkicked to eighth as Rhodes, Hocevar and Ankrum overtook him for spots within the top seven. Soon after, Gray would be challenged by Matt DiBenedetto, Eckes and a steaming pack of competitors for eighth during the proceeding laps as Heim retained the lead over Currey and a hard-charging Zane Smith.

    By Lap 60, Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was leading by two-tenths of a second over Currey’s No. 41 Unishippers Chevrolet Silverado RST while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than a second. Sanchez, meanwhile, was in fourth ahead of Hocevar while Rhodes, Ankrum, DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and Christian Eckes were in the top 10.

    Two laps later, Currey led a lap for himself amid a fierce battle with Heim. Both competitors would then duel for the lead before Heim reassumed the top spot during the proceeding lap. With both competitors continuing to battle for the lead by Lap 65, Heim fended off Currey’s repeated attacks to retain the lead as Zane Smith narrowed his deficit to six-tenths of a second as he started to join the battle for the lead.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 75, Heim was leading by two-tenths of a second over Currey followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar and Sanchez while Rhodes, Ankrum, DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray and Taylor Gray were in the top 10. Behind, Eckes was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Chase Purdy and Daniel Dye while newcomer Jake Drew, Jake Garcia, Dean Thompson, Matt Crafton and Colby Howard were running in the top 20. Meanwhile, Ty Majeski, who was slow on the track three laps earlier due to an electrical issue, had pulled his truck off the course without drawing a caution.

    Then on Lap 84, the fourth caution of the event flew when Stewart Friesen spun his No. 52 Ferris Commercial Mowers Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entering Turn 4. During the caution period, DiBenedetto remained on the track to assume the race lead in his No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet Silverado RST while the rest of the lead lap field led by Heim pitted. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar, Rhodes and Currey. Amid the pit stops, Crafton was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Layne Riggs was also penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, DiBenedetto maintained the lead through the first two turns as Rhodes, Heim and Zane Smith battled behind while fanned out to three lanes. Through the backstretch, however, Heim made his move beneath DiBenedetto and reassumed the lead. Amid the on-track jostles for spots, DiBenedetto was left to battle Hocevar and Zane Smith to retain second amid competing on worn tires while Heim started to pull away with the lead.

    Then with three laps remaining in the second stage, the caution returned when Daniel Dye, who was running outside the top 10, got loose as his truck washed up the track through Turns 1 and 2. Dye then clipped Layne Riggs as his truck started to turn down towards the track’s banking as Riggs was sent spinning through the backstretch. Riggs was then T-boned by an oncoming Bret Holmes as both competitors came to a rest with wrecked trucks.

    The recent caution period for the multi-truck wreck was enough for the second stage scheduled to conclude on Lap 95 to finish under caution as Heim captured his fifth stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar trailed in second followed by DiBenedetto while Zane Smith, Rhodes, Ankrum, Currey, Tanner Gray, Jake Drew and Eckes were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, select names that included DiBenedetto pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track. Among those who pitted included Grant Enfinger, the series’ recent winner at World Wide Technology Raceway who pitted for repairs to his left front after making contact with Dean Thompson on pit road during the previous caution period.

    With 48 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Heim and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Heim rocketed away from Hocevar and the field to retain the lead, though Hocevar kept Heim close within his sights. Behind, Zane Smith and Ben Rhodes battled for third while Currey trailed in fifth ahead of Ankrum, Tanner Gray, Jake Drew, Eckes and Sanchez.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Thompson, who was battling Eckes for ninth, got loose beneath Eckes and started to wash up the track as he barely clipped Eckes’ No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST before he spun and backed his No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the outside wall, thus damaging his rear deck lid, in Turn 3. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Heim remained on the track while select names that included Enfinger, Eckes, Friesen and Layne Riggs pitted.

    During the following restart with 40 laps remaining, Heim and Hocevar dueled dead even for the lead entering the first two turns until Hocevar rocketed his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead. With Hocevar emerging as the new leader of the event, Heim fell back to second while Zane Smith and Currey battled for third in front of Ankrum and Rhodes.

    With 35 laps remaining, Hocevar was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Heim while Currey and Zane Smith, both of whom trailed the leader by more than a second, continued to battle for third as Ankrum was trying to fend off Rhodes and Sanchez for fifth. Hocevar would proceed to extend his advantage to more than a second over the new runner-up competitor Zane Smith with 30 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Zane Smith while third-place Heim trailed by more than three seconds. Currey and Rhodes were running in the top five while Sanchez, Ankrum, Purdy, Drew and Tanner Gray were battling in the top 10.

    Then with 10 laps remaining, the caution flew when Friesen, who was running 22nd, got loose and slipped sideways entering Turn 4 as he clipped Enfinger before colliding into Eckes and sending both to spin across the frontstretch grass. At the moment of caution, Hocevar was leading by more than a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Currey and Sanchez were scored in the top five.

    During the caution period, names that included Hocevar, Zane Smith, Heim, Chase Purdy, Tanner Gray and Jake Garcia remained on the track while the rest led by Currey and Sanchez pitted amid a mixed strategy.

    Down to a three-lap shootout, as Hocevar and Zane Smith occupied the front row, Hocevar received a big push from Chase Purdy to rocket ahead with the lead at the restart zone. As the field fanned out entering the first turn, Hocevar retained the lead while Zane Smith and Heim pursued the leader. Hocevar would continue to lead throughout the circuit while the field behind jostled for late positions.

    With two laps remaining, Sanchez, racing on fresh tires in his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST, overtook Heim for third while Hocevar stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Smith.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Zane Smith. Smith then tried to gain ground on Hocevar entering Turn 1, but he went wide and lost his momentum as Hocevar muscled away on the inside lane. Then through the backstretch, Smith and Sanchez set their final lap moves on Hocevar, but neither prevailed approaching Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Hocevar to pull away and beat both within three-tenths of a second to grab his second checkered flag of this season and of his career.

    With the victory, Hocevar joined Zane Smith, Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger as the only competitors to achieve multiple Craftsman Truck Series victories this season while also recording the sixth career victory for Niece Motorsports. The Nashville victory occurred more than two months after the Michigan native claimed his first Truck triumph at Texas Motor Speedway amid a wild last-lap battle involving Nick Sanchez and Zane Smith.

    In addition, Hocevar, who is coming off four consecutive top-five results in recent weeks, claimed the third and final $50,000 bonus as part of this year’s Craftsman Triple Truck Challenge bonus.

    “I would say I enjoy [this ride] a lot right now,” Hocevar said on FS1. “I led [a race] to the [start/finish] line after the white [flag] and carried it around, so I could finally get that out of the rest. Hopefully, that puts together any doubters. [Team owner] Al Niece, I hope he lets me drive a truck for a long time because I wanna win a lot of races for him. In the meantime, hopefully, I can win a lot more races everywhere else, under the sun or any car I get in. [Crew chief] Phil Gould’s a magician with these things and just glad I’m finally being able to put a fraction together of what he deserves.”

    Meanwhile, Zane Smith, who is coming off four consecutive weeks of finishing 20th or worse, rallied by finishing in second place at Nashville for a second consecutive season while Nick Sanchez claimed his second top-three result of his career by finishing in third place.

    “Yeah, definitely frustrating,” Smith said. “I wanna win here really bad. I love this place. Just needed to be better on restarts. [I] Struggled really bad all night from first to second [gear], but third to fourth, that was really good. [The leaders] would just be too far ahead and then, that final restart, [Heim] had just jumped outside of us and just pulled us back even more. I was catching [Hocevar]. I feel like we were better than him, but he just had the track position and he had the clean air. We did not.”

    “At the end of the day, it was a good points night,” Sanchez added. “That’s what we needed, but I’d kind of be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed. Third’s good, but I think we had the fastest truck. Just got to get better on my end. Got to execute a little better. I lost a little bit on pit road, so that hurt us. [I] Felt like we were always fighting behind, but can’t say enough about this No. 2 Rev Racing, Gainbridge Chevrolet crew. Every week, fast truck, so just go to Mid-Ohio and try again.”

    Heim ended up in fourth place despite leading a race-high 57 laps, but he managed to retain the lead in the regular-season standings, while Bayley Currey notched his second top-five career result by finishing fifth.

    Chase Purdy, Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Ankrum, Ben Rhodes and rookie Jake Garcia completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    Notably, Jake Drew, the reigning ARCA Menards Series West champion, finished 12th in his Truck Series debut while Toni Breidinger finished 17th in her third Truck career start. Enfinger ended up 13th while Friesen and Eckes settled in 18th and 23rd, respectively, following their late wreck.

    There were nine lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 43 laps. In addition, 18 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the 13th event of the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by 16 points over Zane Smith, 31 over Grant Enfinger, 44 over Ty Majeski and 47 over Ben Rhodes.

    With three regular-season events remaining on the schedule, Christian Eckes, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim and Ben Rhodes are currently locked into the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ty Majeski, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez are above the top-10 cutline based on points, with Sanchez occupying the final transfer spot by six points over both Stewart Friesen and Tanner Gray, 39 over Chase Purdy and 63 over Jake Garcia.

    Results.

    1. Carson Hocevar, 40 laps led

    2. Zane Smith, 11 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Nick Sanchez, 38 laps led

    4. Corey Heim, 57 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Bayley Currey, one lap led

    6. Chase Purdy

    7. Matt DiBenedetto, three laps led

    8. Tyler Ankrum

    9. Ben Rhodes

    10. Jake Garcia

    11. Tanner Gray

    12. Jake Drew

    13. Grant Enfinger

    14. Taylor Gray

    15. Matt Crafton

    16. Timmy Hill

    17. Toni Breidinger

    18. Stewart Friesen

    19. Nick Leitz, one lap down

    20. Mason Maggio, one lap down

    21. Cory Roper, two laps down

     22. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    23. Christian Eckes, two laps down

    24. Jonathan Shafer, three laps down

    25. Spencer Boyd, three laps down

    26. Chase Janes, three laps down

    27. Layne Riggs, three laps down

    28. Hailie Deegan, four laps down

    29. Colby Howard, six laps down

    30. Jack Wood, six laps down

    31. Ty Majeski, 17 laps down

    32. Rajah Caruth, 31 laps down, one lap led

    33. Dean Thompson – OUT, Dvp

    34. Bret Holmes – OUT, Accident

    35. Memphis Villarreal – OUT, Electrical

    36. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is the series’ second annual visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The event is scheduled to occur on July 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Dominant trucks hand Enfinger Gateway victory in late wreck

    Dominant trucks hand Enfinger Gateway victory in late wreck

    MADISON, Ill. — It was Zane Smith’s race to lose.

    He stayed out to take the lead in the final 30 laps of the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Even with four new tires, Grant Enfinger wasn’t eating into his lead. Smith’s car was just too strong on medium to long runs.

    But then Lawless Alan threw a monkey wrench into the runaway operation with a spin with 10 laps to go.

    Now it’s anyone’s race.

    With six to go, Ty Majeski powers off Turn 2 and pulls inside of Smith.

    Even down the backstretch.

    Even entering Turn 3.

    Disaster.

    “Low air pressures and we had the splitter bent, got into Turn 3 obviously trying to get ahead of the No. 38, hit the splitter, had to check up, and went up the racetrack,” Majeski said. “Obviously when you go up the racetrack, his side took the air from mine, and I went around and wrecked us both.”

    As a result, Enfinger passed underneath the wreck to retake the lead and drove onto victory.

    “I don’t know if we were just on the limit right there on the end, but I think Ty just did what I did last year to Zane,” Enfinger said.

    Smith spoke to Majeski after the race, both to see if someone got into him and just what his plan was.

    “I saw an interview earlier where at this track he has more experience here than any others,” he said. “He still races like it’s his first time here. We see time and time again that the guy on the bottom has to be a little conservative, and that’s why the leaders always choose the top.”

    Ultimately, it doesn’t hurt either Smith or Majeski, points-wise. Majeski leaves Gateway second, one point behind Corey Heim (who missed Saturday’s race with an illness). Meanwhile, Smith remains fourth, with two wins to book his ticket to the playoffs.

    It doesn’t ease the heartbreaking loss for Smith, however.

    “I mean, I kind of did it to myself staying in this series,” he said. “It is pretty unbelievable how scary some of these guys are. We’ve just had, now, four bad weeks – some self-inflicted, but our day obviously snowballed once we get around some of these guys. It’s just frustrating.”

  • Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams head to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West travel to Portland International Raceway for a full weekend of racing.

    The battle for the Cup Series Playoffs is heating up as 10 different drivers have already secured a spot in the postseason. The list of winners includes Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.

    This will be the second time the Xfinity Series will compete at the Portland road course. AJ Allmendinger won the inaugural event but is not entered in this year’s race. Of the current eligible drivers, Austin Hill leads the series with three wins while John Hunter Nemechek (the points leader) has been to victory lane twice. The remaining eligible drivers, with one win each, are Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton and Justin Allgaier.

    Six Truck Series drivers have won this season and are locked into the Playoffs – Zane Smith (Daytona, COTA), Christian Eckes (Atlanta, Darlington), Carson Hocevar (Texas), Corey Heim (Martinsville), Grant Enfinger (Kansas), and Ben Rhodes (Charlotte).

    NASCAR PressPass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 2
    5 p.m.: ARCA Practice (Portland) No TV
    6:10 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying (Portland) No TV
    8 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112 – FloRacing/MRN

    6 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (Gateway) FS1
    6:30 p.m. Truck Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1

    Saturday, June 3
    10 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    10:45 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (Portland-No TV)
    12 Noon: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Portland) FS1

    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Toyota 200 (Gateway)
    Distance: 200 miles (160 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 35, Lap 70, Lap 160
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $738,514

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 (Portland)
    Distance: 147.75 miles (75 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 25, Lap 50, Lap 75
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,376,231

    Sunday, June 4
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 (Gateway)
    Distance: 300 miles (240 laps)
    Stages end on Lap 45, Lap 140, Lap 240)
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,425,976