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Tag: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

  • Weekend schedule for Chicagoland

    Weekend schedule for Chicagoland

    This weekend NASCAR heads to Chicagoland Speedway. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts off the tripleheader on Friday night with the Camping World 225 followed by the Xfinity Series Camping World 300 Saturday afternoon.

    The Monster Energy Cup Series Camping World 400 will close out the weekend activities with the Camping World 400, Sunday at 3 p.m. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.

    Busch, along with Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active drivers with two wins each at the 1.5-mile track. Tony Stewart leads all drivers with three victories, in 2004, 2007 and 2011.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, June 27

    2:35 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series First Practice – No TV

    4:35 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Second Practice – No TV

    6:35 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Final Practice – No TV

    Friday, June 28

    4:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series First Practice – NBCSN

    5:05 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying – FS2

    7:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBCSN

    9 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Camping World 225 (Stages 35/70/150 Laps = 225 Miles ) – FS1/MRN

    Saturday, June 29

    11:05 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/MRN

    12:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – NBCSN

    2 P.M.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/MRN

    3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Camping World 300 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles) – NBCSN/MRN

    6:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – NBCSN/MRN

    Sunday, June 30

    3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 400 – (Stages 80/160/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles) – NBCSN/MRN

    Defending race winners:

    Gander Outdoors Truck Series – Brett Moffitt

    Xfinity Series – Kyle Larson

    Monster Energy Cup Series – Kyle Busch

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series At Gateway

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series At Gateway

    Gateway was the venue for the 11th race of the 2019 Truck Series season that took place late Saturday night.

    It was an uncharacteristic race, with only five cautions, three for actual incidents that took place on the track. There were 14 lead changes, but once someone was up front, the leader could pull away for a while and remain dominant. This was seen with Stewart Friesen who led for 19 laps, Grant Enfinger for 33 laps, Christian Eckes for 12 laps on his first stint out front and 45 laps on his final stint, and the eventual race winner Ross Chastain who led the final 19 laps.

    The CarShield 200 was one of those races, where if you had a great truck, you were out front. However, if you didn’t, you would struggle for most of the night.

    Ross Chastain took home his second win of the season and continues his climb to the top-20 in points for a shot at the championship. Other drivers like Friesen and Eckes, were left frustrated after making last-lap contact with each other. You could also make a case for Harrison Burton, who also got involved in an incident late relegating him to a 16th place finish when he was running in the top-10 prior to the contact.

    What else happened though in the CarShield 200? Here is a look at this week’s four takeaways from Gateway.

    1. ThorSport Class Of Field – Throughout the night, especially when the checkered flag flew, race fans saw ThorSport place all four of their trucks in the top-10. Enfinger was the highest finisher out of the camp, finishing sixth after winning both stages. Ben Rhodes and the No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 finished eighth, Matt Crafton was ninth and Myatt Snider (who did well under pressure replacing the suspended Johnny Sauter) finished 10th after finishing ninth and second in both stages. It really would have been quite something if Snider could have pulled off the upset victory.
    2. Sauter Has Impressive Showing At Dick Trickle 99 – While the Truck Series was running at Gateway, Sauter spent his weekend and suspension racing the Super Late Model classic in Wisconsin. He finished second behind short track star Ty Majeski. After the race, Sauter stayed to sign autographs for the fans and stated, that he has no regrets for his actions at Iowa. It will be interesting to watch this story unfold, as Sauter returns to the track this weekend at Chicagoland and if it affects his championship chances at all. He is currently 10th in the standings, two positions outside the top eight.
    3. Chandler Smith Continues Impressive Drive – In only two starts, the rising star continues to deliver on the track and is impressing the NASCAR world, gaining more popularity. Smith competed once again in a Kyle Busch Motorsports entry Saturday night, this time in the No. 46 entry. He again showcased his talent and finished 14th and ninth in both stages. When the checkered flag flew, Smith was in the fourth position in the final running order. He competed in the ARCA Menards Series race a few hours, but Smith’s chances of winning were cut short due to a broken axle.
    4. Too Late Of A Race – When race fans woke up Saturday morning, they more than likely saw an unusual start time for the race of 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. local. When all was said and done Saturday night, it was a little after midnight when the final word was given by NASCAR, stating that Chastain was the official winner. Night racing can be challenging time-wise and even though there were rain showers earlier in the day and that would have delayed the race start, it certainly doesn’t do much for overnight ratings. I hope next year NASCAR will consider an earlier start time for the race. One solution would be to schedule the practices and qualifying the day before and just go racing the next day. Hopefully, NASCAR will look at a different time slot next year.
  • Moffitt rebounds to fifth after engine issues at Gateway

    Moffitt rebounds to fifth after engine issues at Gateway

    Overlooked in the final running order of Saturday’s NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series race at Gateway was the winner at Iowa, Brett Moffitt. Moffitt’s fifth-place run wasn’t without difficulty, as they didn’t show up near the front until later in the race.

    Moffitt finished 10th at the end of Stage One, earning one playoff point toward his championship defense. During Stage Two, Moffitt continued to linger around the bottom half of the top-10, finishing 12th at the end of the stage.

    Due to some pit strategy and a late race caution, the No. 24 GMS Racing team was able to get their driver closer to the front of the field, where he managed to hang on to his sixth top-five of 2019.

    “It was a pretty good strategy call from where we were at,” Moffitt told MRN Radio after the race. “Jerry [Baxter, Crew Chief] and everyone did a good job. I thought we had a lot better truck then that when we practiced, so it’s pretty disappointing. I don’t know if it’s going from sunshine to nighttime or what, but really thought our [Chevy] Silverado was stronger then that. We salvaged a top five out of it, I didn’t think we were going to end up there. We were lucky to be in the top-10 for most of the race, so we’ll move on and do better.”

    Moffitt currently sits fifth in points, 69 back from the leader, with six races left until the Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on August 25.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Gateway

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Gateway

    After a crazy week in the NASCAR Truck Series, the series returned to Gateway this weekend. There were many newsworthy items going into the 11th race of the 2019 season:

    Johnny Sauter was suspended by his actions at Iowa and was replaced by part-time ThorSport driver Myatt Snider in the No. 13 Tenda Ford F-150. Sauter would, however, participate in the classic Dick Trickle 99 Super Late Model race in Wisconsin during the truck race. Snider would go on to finish 10th after being solid early in the night.

    The racing world had its eyes on Ross Chastain and the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team after failing post-race inspection last week at Iowa which led to them being stripped of a win. NASCAR fans watched late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, as Chastain claimed the win at Gateway.

    Where did everyone end up after all was said and done in the CarShield 200?

    1. Grant Enfinger – Another week, another solid finish for the No. 98 ThorSport team, who placed sixth after a strong run. Enfinger started second due to qualifying being rained out and was strong from the get-go, taking the lead on Lap 22 and never looking back for the majority of the stages. The Alabama native swept both stages but fell off late in the going when it mattered. But despite a sixth-place finish, Enfinger and the No. 98 team still leads the championship points standings by 54 points over Stewart Friesen. He dominated Saturday, leading 52 laps and earned his 10th top-10 of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third

    2. Ross Chastain – Chastain claimed redemption and got another popular win in the NASCAR world Saturday night. It was a statement sent by his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team that they are not backing down without a fight. Chastain took a gamble when the final round of pit stops began, taking fuel only while the other drivers took fuel and tires. Even with a late race restart with seven to go, the Floridian was able to hold off the field for his second win of the year. Chastain currently sits 28 points out of the top-20, in which he needs to make up in order to have a shot at the Playoffs later this year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt quietly finished in the top-five after struggling throughout most of the night. The team was nowhere to be found in the previous stages, but with some late race pit strategies and a late-race caution to help the No. 24 GMS Racing entry, they were able to come away with a fifth-place finish. It wasn’t what Moffitt was looking for after winning last week, but it was still a solid points day in his hunt for a second series championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    4. Sheldon Creed – Creed placed his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevy in seventh after the checkered flag flew Saturday night. He continues his consistent streak of top-10s since Texas earlier this month. The California native finished seventh and fifth in both stages, respectively, during Saturday’s event. With his seventh-place finish, it was Creed’s fourth top-10 finish of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
    5. Stewart Friesen – Friesen earned a third-place finish, but not without some controversy on the last lap of the race. The driver of the No. 52 accidentally spun out Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Christian Eckes. Despite the controversy, the team earned a much-needed strong finish after being up and down since Texas back in March, with finishes of 12th at Dover, 15th at Kansas, a third at Charlotte, 20th at Texas, and then a fifth at Iowa. If Friesen and his team continue the top-five runs and possibly win a couple of races, he’ll be sitting pretty in the Playoffs.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

      Unranked:

      1. Harrison Burton – Burton had a great night going for the No. 18 Safelite Tundra, finishing fourth in Stage 1. However, a late-race incident involving Sheldon Creed took him out of contention for a possible win. Burton was relegated to a 16th-place finish.

      2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes finished third and sixth in both stages, respectively, but finished eighth after having a strong truck earlier in the night.


  • Ross Chastain gets big win and redemption at Gateway

    Ross Chastain gets big win and redemption at Gateway

    After a whirlwind of a week, Chastain and his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team found redemption in Madison, Illinois Saturday night with a victory at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

    Chastain and his pit crew took a late race gamble by taking gas only with no tires, while everyone else took tires. He was able to cycle back out as the leader, but an unfortunate caution came out with 15 to go. This would set up a late race restart with seven to go. However, Chastain was able to hold everyone off and proved that, in the end, track position mattered most, to earn a big win at Gateway.

    “Of course, we thought we could,” Chastain said in his post-race interview with MRN Radio about his chances of winning. “If you don’t come to a racetrack expecting to win with an operation like this and people like this…man, you don’t need to be coming here. This is what racecar drivers live for with opportunities like this, you can’t let them slip away.”

    “We’re very fortunate tonight,” he added. “We did not have the fastest truck at times, we executed, Phil (Gould, Crew Chief), (Shannon) Rush and the whole brain trust behind me, Al Niece (Team Owner) he’s not here, ah he missed another one, but look at that splitter. That thing is off the ground tonight.”

    In what started as a gloomy and rainy day for the Truck Series, with rain showers being persistent across the St. Louis area, qualifying was once again canceled and set by owner points. The teams, however, were given one practice session to get their trucks ready for the race once the rain cleared away.

    It was a caution free race for the most part with barely any incidents.

    Stewart Friesen broke away early and Led for 19 laps until championship points leader Grant Enfinger took over the lead on Lap 22 in the first stage and never looked back. Enfinger would go on to win Stages 1 and 2, having a dominant truck early on in the race.

    There were a couple of minor incidents, as the No. 0 of Gregory Rayl brushed the wall and the No. 1 of Cody McMahan hit the wall off the backstretch on the final lap of Stage 1.

    Friesen somehow received back bumper damage to his truck after the restart for Stage 2. Last week’s winner Brett Moffitt experienced issues with his engine but got it fixed in the long run.

    After a couple of quiet stages, the intensity and action picked up for the third and final stage that began with 83 to go. It was where Chastain would first be seen battling up front for the lead along with, Harrison Burton and Enfinger as well.

    Chastain really began reeling in the race leader and pole sitter Christian Eckes for the top spot with 45 to go, although, everyone had to stop one more time to make it the rest of the way.

    The No. 45 crew placed their bet after a short-lived battle with Burton, pitting with 28 to go Eckes also pitted. Then, Chastain recycled back into the race lead with 20 laps to go hoping for no caution, as the team did not take tires, while everyone else did.

    However, an unfortunate caution came with 15 to go for Burton and Sheldon Creed who made contact with each other in Turn 4. This would eventually set up a late race restart with seven to go.

    Despite all the circumstances and challenges, Chastain and his fan favorite No. 45 Niece Motorsports team earned a popular victory tonight at the 1.250-mile paved track located near St. Louis, Missouri.

    “Yeah, I mean, less tires and less fuel, screaming at me to save fuel while I’m out running away from the leaders,” the Florida native described to MRN Radio. “When it’s your time, it’s your time, everything happens for a reason. If last weekend happened for a reason, I’m okay with it, the good Lord is good I believe and he came through for us tonight. My dad is here, came with my girlfriend, my Aunt and Uncle. We normally don’t have much family here. Got my late model crew chief here, man, we came a long way since those days, loving every minute.”

    This is Chastain’s second win of the season, his first since Kansas back in May. He also picks up the winning bonus from The Triple Truck Challenge of $50,000.

    Chastain led three times for 21 laps and currently sits 38 points outside the top 20. There were five cautions for 30 laps along with eight leaders among 14 lead changes.

    Grant Enfinger still holds the championship points standings over Stewart Friesen by 54 points.

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will head north to Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, June 28.

  • Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes tangle late at Gateway

    Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes tangle late at Gateway

    Christian Eckes had a great race truck all night long, started on the pole, finished fifth and fourth in both stages and led 57 laps. But he was accidentally taken out by Stewart Friesen on the last lap of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series while Eckes was running third.

    When the melee finally ended at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway settled, Eckes did not hit anything but wound up with a disappointing 14th place finish after having such a strong truck.

    “I’m really not sure what happened exactly, but probably just got turned again for the second year in a row by Stewart (Friesen),” Eckes described to MRN Radio in his post race interview. “It’s unfortunate. Had a really fast Sirius XM Tundra tonight. I made a mistake, kind of lost to second there, but we had a really fast truck and that’s all you could really ask for.”

    Friesen apologized for the late race incident with Eckes.

    “We had a good (Chevy) Silverado,” Friesen said in his post-race interview. “Got to apologize to that 51 or whoever is in that thing, I guess it’s Eckes. Drove down in there, tried to cross up. Hard racing, I feel bad for turning him around, I wasn’t trying to do that. Good hard racing, I know he’s from Middletown, New York. If he ever wants to come run a Modified, we’ll gladly bring one for him to repay the favor there. He’s a good hard racer.”

    Friesen finished third in the overall results, while finishing second in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. He sits second in the points standings, 54 points behind current championship leader Grant Enfinger.

  • Weekend Schedule for Sonoma and Gateway

    Weekend Schedule for Sonoma and Gateway

    This week the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway for some road course racing. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will compete at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the final race of the Triple Truck Challenge. The Xfinity Series is off this weekend.

    Please check below for the complete schedule.

    All times are Eastern.

    Sonoma Raceway

    Friday, June 21

    2:35 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Practice – FS1 (Tape delay at 3 p.m.)

    5:35 – 6:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – FS1

    Saturday, June 22

    3:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) – Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – Results

    Sunday, June 23

    3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Stages 20/40/90 Laps = 226.8 Miles) – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway

    Saturday, June 22

    11:35 p.m. – 12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series First Practice – No TV – Canceled due to rain

    5 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Final Practice – No TV – Results

    6:35 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying (Impound) – Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions – FS2 (Tape delay at 8:30 p.m.) – Canceled due to rain – Starting Lineup

    10 p.m.: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series CarShield 200 presented by CK Power (Stages 35/70/160 = 200 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Martin Truex Jr. is the defending race winner at Sonoma while Justin Haley claimed the victory last year at Gateway.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Gateway

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Gateway

    After a crazy week in NASCAR’s third division, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will head to the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

    The track was formerly known as Gateway Motorsports Park and is located in Madison, Illinois. Earlier in the season, World Wide Technology bought the track naming rights. There were 33 trucks on the preliminary entry list, however, the No. 30 of Brennan Poole has withdrawn from the race and the No. 0 of Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing has yet to be announced.

    After being suspended on Tuesday afternoon, ThorSport Racing has announced that part-time driver Myatt Snider will occupy the No. 13 for this weekend while Johnny Sauter is serving his suspension.

    Also, it appeared as if Greg Biffle, who won at Texas a couple of weeks ago, could be in the race, but he later found out that he was not eligible for The Triple Truck Challenge. Biffle had three starts at Gateway with one win and two top fives along with two poles at the track.

    Here’s a top five look at who might wheel it into victory lane Saturday night.

    1. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has had a strong couple of finishes in the past few weeks and is carrying that momentum right on through. Since Martinsville, Rhodes has finished second, 10th at Texas, sixth at Dover, second at Kansas and fourth at Charlotte He had a transmission failure at Texas and previously finished second at Iowa. At Gateway, Rhodes’ first outing was in 2016, three years ago. In his first start, he started on the pole and finished second after leading four laps. The second year, he finished eighth while Rhodes finished 19th last year. Despite the finish last year, he has been finishing better in recent races. Rhodes average finish at Gateway is 9.7.

    2. Todd Gilliland – Gateway could be the place where Gilliland might break through for a first career win. He did not fare well here in his first outing after starting fourth and finishing 21st. But he finished fourth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. Last year’s race was a better turnaround for the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team. Gilliland started eighth, finished third in Stage 2, and wound up second even after being involved in an incident mid-race. This time around, Gilliland will be piloting the “KBM-060, a brand-new chassis,” according to the KBM press release. Look for the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina driver to finish one spot better on Saturday night.

    3. Brett Moffitt – After a crazy turn of events following post-race inspection at Iowa, Moffitt was declared the new race winner. This happened after Ross Chastain who had been declared as the winner failed inspection. Last year’s champion could continue that winning streak at Gateway Saturday night. Moffitt has just one start, that came last year. Despite the finishing results not showing his strong efforts, the Grimes, Iowa native finished sixth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2, respectively. He even led 18 laps, but finished a disappointing 14th. Moffitt and his new GMS Racing team will look forward to continuing their winning ways this weekend.

    4. Myatt Snider – Snider will be back in a truck for the first time since Martinsville earlier this season. He has one other start that came at Daytona, where Snider finished 21st after crashing out on Lap 62. He only has one start at Gateway, coming last year where he finished fourth, despite not earning a stage finish in the top-10. This weekend, however, despite unfortunate circumstances, the Charlotte, North Carolina driver will try to make the best of his ability to shine and turn a negative into a positive.

    5. Chandler Smith – After impressing the NASCAR world last weekend at Iowa, Smith returns to the Kyle Busch Motorsports team this weekend at Gateway. However, he will be competing in the No. 46 Toyota Tundra instead of the famed No. 51. Smith will also be having extra track time and doing double duty on Saturday by also competing in the ARCA Menards Series prior to the Truck Series race.

    Also on the entry list, we see the return of Christian Eckes who will be back in the No. 51. Cody McMahan will drive the No. 1 of Beaver Motorsports and Bryant Barnhill will be in the No. 34 for Josh Reaume. Ross Chastain will also look to rebound from a disappointing Iowa weekend in the No. 45 and Lou Goss is entered in the No. 174.

    After a four year hiatus, the Truck Series returned to the 1.250-mile paved track in Madison, Illinois in 2014. Since then, the track has seen five different winners and will see their sixth on Saturday night. Before the four year hiatus, however, World Wide Technology Raceway has seen 18 races with its first race in 1998.

    There’s a who’s who of winners that have won here.

    Rick Carelli was the first winner in 1998 and Greg Biffle won in 1999. Other winners include Jack Sprague, Ted Musgrave, Terry Cook, Brendan Gaughan, David Starr, Todd Bodine, Johnny Benson, Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Haley. The last five winners have gone on to competitively compete in the Xfinity Series.

    Surprisingly enough, Ted Musgrave has been the only repeat winner at Gateway, winning in 2001 and 2005.

    Qualifying is also important, as the lowest a race winner has ever come from was 14th set by David Starr back in 2004. The highest a race winner has ever come from was the pole position, three times, Musgrave in ’01 and ’05, and Harvick in 2010 before the track went on a hiatus.

    It will be a one day and night show for the Truck Series at Gateway. The first practice will be live on Saturday at 10:35 a.m. CT while final practice is scheduled at 12:35 p.m. CT. Qualifying can be seen live on Fox Sports 2 at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET.

    The CarShield 200 is set to take the green flag shortly after 9 p.m. CT/10 p.m. ET, Saturday night, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Ross Chastain And Niece Motorsports Lose Appeal

    Ross Chastain And Niece Motorsports Lose Appeal

    On Sunday what would have appeared to be a big win for Chastain and the No. 44 Niece Motorsports team, who won every stage and led a dominating 141 of the scheduled 200 laps, Chastain’s truck was found too low following post-race inspection, thus his win was taken away along with the $50,000 courtesy of The Triple Truck Challenge.

    After the decision was made by NASCAR officials, Chastain and his team had until noon eastern to appeal the penalty. Thus, Niece Motorsports chose to appeal the penalty.

    Al Niece stated this on Sunday following the post race failure inspection.

    “Our Niece Motorsports team works hard to ensure that our race trucks are within the confines of NASCAR’s rules,” Niece said. “Both of our Chevrolets passed opening and pre-race inspections. We believe that the No. 44 Truck sustained minor damage during the event, which left the truck too low following the race. We will appeal NASCAR’s decision. Regardless of the outcome, this team will be prepared to go to Gateway and win again.”

    With that said, the penalty appeal hearing was held on Wednesday morning and a decision was made early afternoon. Despite all efforts by Chastain and Al Niece, they lost the appeal, therefore will not be able to get the win back and will receive a last-place finish along with five points.

    “Although our team disagrees with the decision, we have exhausted our options for recourse and must move on,” Al Niece (Team Owner) added following the appeal hearing. “Our sights will remain set on the obstacle in front of us which is making the playoffs. I firmly believe that Ross and this Niece Motorsports team are capable of rising to the challenge, no matter what gets in our way.”

    Cody Efaw, General Manager of Niece Motorsports also added to the statement.

    “I’m proud to work with every single member of this Niece Motorsports team,” Efaw said. “This team is all heart- we aren’t going to let anyone or anything get in our way. We have one goal. We’re incredibly thankful to our owner who continues to believe in us and invest in this team. We are looking forward to Gateway.”

    Chastain also chimed in on the statement and gave his side.

    “It’s actually very simple- Sunday is in the past,” Chastain added. “I’m focused on getting to Gateway and putting this Niece Motorsports Truck in Victory Lane for the third time this year.”

    Up until the post race failure at Iowa this past Sunday, Chastain and his No. 44 Niece Motorsports team had finished inside the top-10 in every race dating back to the season opener at Daytona.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Ganders Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Ganders Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returned to Iowa Speedway this weekend for their 10th race of the 2019 season.

    It was quite a newsworthy race with original winner Ross Chastain being disqualified and Brett Moffitt being declared the new winner, along with Johnny Sauter being parked by NASCAR officials for an incident with Austin Hill under caution. The Truck Series race was quite possibly one of the most talked about events in recent NASCAR memory this season.

    It was the first time in nearly 25 years that a race win has been taken away. What’s more amazing is that Moffitt became the first winner to not lead a single lap in 66 years.

    On the other hand, we had a young, up and coming phenomenon who is making a name for himself in the ARCA Menards Series and is considered a future NASCAR Cup Series star in the years to come.

    So what else happened in the event? Here’s a look at this week’s four takeaways.

    1. Chandler Smith Impressive In Rookie Debut – You’ve probably already heard a lot about Smith from this past weekend, but seriously, this kid is impressive and is the next real deal. Sure, qualifying was rained out which gave him the advantage of the pole position but he remained strong throughout the race. Smith led the first 55 laps of the event before a late stage caution forced him to come down pit road to fix his radio issues. Despite those radio issues, he continued to work his way back into the top-10 to finish fourth in Stage 2. However, another unfortunate circumstance took place at the end of the stage, as Smith was caught speeding on pit road which sent him to the back of the field. The highest position Smith was able to obtain after that was fifth, but he eventually had to settle for an eighth-place finish. Not bad for your first time out in a Truck Series start. Expect more big things to come from Smith in the future. He’s also setting the ARCA world on fire earning four career wins, 11 top fives and 14 top-10 finishes, along with seven poles over a span of 14 races. It’s quite impressive for a driver who is only 16-years-old.

    2. ThorSport Racing Continues Strong Championship Run – Despite Sauter being parked and finishing 28th, ThorSport Racing continued their run toward a championship this season. Both drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton each won a stage respectively. Crafton won the first stage and Rhodes the second. Grant Enfinger was up there as well finishing second in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 after post-race inspection. Before Sauter was parked, he was up there as well, finishing third in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. ThorSport has three of their four drivers in the top five point standings. Enfinger leads over Crafton by 47 points, with Rhodes in fifth. Sauter now sits on the cut off line in eighth, 103 points behind. He will be suspended for Gateway, but will still remain playoff eligible, despite the suspension. Now, Enfinger, Crafton and Rhodes all just need a win to help their chances even more.

    3. Johnny Sauter Suspended – Well, we’ve all been waiting for it and Sauter has been suspended for the upcoming race at Gateway this weekend but at what cost? I’ve always learned, while one is at fault for their actions, the other is too. I think it would have only been right for both drivers to be suspended this weekend to learn from their actions. Oh by the way, if you’re near Dells Raceway Park Saturday night, Sauter will be there as well, as he tweeted below.

    Change of plans…Dells Raceway Park Saturday night Dick Trickle 99! Ya know a Real Racer #DickTrickle #SupportYourLocalShortTrack pic.twitter.com/SIxEDeUIbv— Johnny Sauter (@JohnnySauter) June 18, 2019

    4. Stewart Friesen Gets Top Five Finish – Lost in all the controversy following Sunday’s race is Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team, who earned another top-five finish this season. Friesen and his team finished 10th, and sixth in both stages respectively. It was his six top-10 finish of the season and he currently sits third in the point standings, 49 points behind Grant Enfinger.