Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

  • The Kyle Busch Show reigns supreme at Charlotte

    The Kyle Busch Show reigns supreme at Charlotte

    Kyle Busch returned to the Truck Series after a short hiatus to race in the fifth and final event in which he is allowed to compete and went straight to victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It wasn’t easy for Busch, however, as he had to hold off the field in a late race restart with three to go including a hard-charging Brennan Poole for the 56th win of his career.

    “Our truck was really, really good,” Busch told MRN Radio. “These guys prepared such a fast Tundra for me and I wanna thank Cessna Beechcraft, Toyota TRD, Rowdy Manufacturing. You know, it takes a whole group effort. Rudy (Fugle) and these guys are awesome at what they do, give me great pieces each and every time we come out here. We have not ever this year not unloaded great, but we really work on our stuff and improved it through practice and even into the race. You know there at the end, I didn’t want to have that last restart at the end. I knew being on older tires were going to be a handful for me. It looked liked it was for a couple of the other guys. Not a very good restart, but I was still able to hold them off thankfully.”

    The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 got underway shortly after 8:30 p.m./ET. Matt Crafton qualified on the pole for the second straight week in a row and the 15th of his career.

    There were three stages of 30/30/74 laps to equal the 134 lap race. Todd Gilliland took the lead after the start, but Ben Rhodes took the lead from Gilliland on Lap 2.

    The first incident of the night happened early with Natalie Decker who had right side damage after making contact with the wall. Matters only got worse for the No. 54 DGR-Crosley team as they would bring out the first caution of the night on Lap 23 when Decker wrecked off Turn 2. During the pit stops, Angela Ruch was penalized a lap for pitting outside the box.

    The restart for Stage 1 came with two to go and featured a thrilling finish. Pole sitter, Crafton, was able to rocket back to the front and pass Todd Gilliland off Turn 2 to win Stage 1.

    Stage 2 began on lap 36 and went to lap 60. It was a relatively clean stage and saw no cautions. Eventual race winner, Busch took the lead on Lap 40.

    There was a minor incident that involved Dover winner Johnny Sauter, as he barely wrecked off Turn 4. However, there were no issues for the all-time wins leader Busch, as he would go on to win Stage 2 which ended on Lap 60.

    There was an issue with Chad Finley who slowed and was way off the pace. It was later reported that Finley was out of gas at the end of the stage, which eventually cost him a top-10 stage finish. Grant Enfinger also stalled on pit road as well during pit stops.

    Stage 3 was restarted with 67 to go with two Truck Series veterans Kyle Busch and Matt Crafton.

    With 62 to go, Codie Rohrbaugh smacked the wall off Turn 2 to bring out the fourth caution. Another caution took place with 57 to go, as rookie Gus Dean hit the wall off Turn 2 as well. Korbin Forrister and Ruch were also involved. During the caution, Ross Chastain, Enfinger and Gilliland, among others, went in to pit while Busch and the front half of the field stayed out.

    The sixth caution came out for the No. 49 of Stefan Parsons who hit the wall. Parsons would wind up 24th.

    After the restart with 44 to go, there was a wide variety of leaders. Sauter, who had issues earlier with his truck found himself in the lead for a short while before Busch would take the lead once again with 39 to go.

    The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 would go on a long green flag run of 37 laps until the final caution broke out with eight to go for last year’s champion Brett Moffitt, who had a right rear tire come apart.

    This would eventually set up a late race restart with three to go. Two-time champion, Sauter could not get going on the restart and jacked up the field who was behind him. Busch did not get a great restart either as he found Poole chasing him down for the upset win. However, Busch would continue his winning streak by going five for five this year.

    “No, no I don’t think so,” Busch told MRN in regards to having such a dominating streak in 2019. “You know, a couple of years ago, I shot for it and wanted to have it, but only got two or three (races). Overall, I wish I could do more. It’s frustrating that you’re limited because you’re too good at what you do. I would love to be able to come out here some more and be able to win with this team, and all my guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports and for our partners here at Toyota, Cessna Beechcraft and everybody else.”

    There were seven cautions for 31 laps with nine leaders among 19 lead changes during the race. Busch led five times for 102 laps and collected his eighth Truck Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway and his fifth of 2019.

    This will be Busch’s last Truck Series race of the 2019 season.

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will take two-weeks off before returning to on-track action on Friday, June 7.

    Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race Number 8
    Race Results for the 17th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200 – Friday, May 17, 2019
    Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, NC – 1.5 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 134 Laps – 201. Miles

    Fin Str No Driver Team Laps S1Pos S2Pos Pts Status
    1 8 51 Kyle Busch(i) Cessna Toyota 134 7 1 0 Running
    2 17 30 Brennan Poole Madvapes Toyota 134 0 0 35 Running
    3 2 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar International Chevrolet 134 6 6 44 Running
    4 5 99 Ben Rhodes Carolina Nut Ford 134 4 8 43 Running
    5 1 88 Matt Crafton Ideal Door/Menards Ford 134 1 4 49 Running
    6 20 16 Austin Hill United Rentals Toyota 134 0 0 31 Running
    7 3 4 Todd Gilliland Mobil 1 Toyota 134 2 10 40 Running
    8 15 15 Anthony Alfredo # STEELSMITH/Friends of Jacelyn Toyota 134 0 0 29 Running
    9 9 98 Grant Enfinger Protect the Harvest/Curb Records Ford 134 3 3 44 Running
    10 13 45 Ross Chastain(i) TruNorth/Paul Jr. Designs Chevrolet 134 5 2 0 Running
    11 4 18 Harrison Burton # Safelite AutoGlass Toyota 134 9 9 30 Running
    12 10 2 Sheldon Creed # Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 134 8 7 32 Running
    13 25 2 Tyler Dippel # Jersey Filmmaker Chevrolet 134 0 0 24 Running
    14 22 97 Jesse Little JJL Motorsports Ford 134 0 0 23 Running
    15 28 3 Jordan Anderson Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet 134 0 0 22 Running
    16 23 56 Timmy Hill(i) Southern Freight Services Chevrolet 134 0 0 0 Running
    17 12 13 Johnny Sauter Tenda Heal Ford 134 10 0 21 Running
    18 18 42 Chad Finley Strutmasters.com/Air Lift Chevrolet 134 0 0 19 Running
    19 6 24 Brett Moffitt JuniorJohnsonMidnightMoonMoonshine Chev 133 0 5 24 Running
    20 7 4 Cory Roper Preferred industrial Contractors Inc Ford 133 0 0 17 Running
    21 29 22 Austin Wayne Self GO TEXAN/AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet 133 0 0 16 Running
    22 30 20 Spencer Boyd 1A Auto Chevrolet 133 0 0 15 Running
    23 31 44 Angela Ruch FOX Nation/The Ruch Life Chevrolet 132 0 0 14 Running
    24 16 49 Stefan Parsons Charlotte Strong Chevrolet 132 0 0 13 Running
    25 27 7 Korbin Forrister All Out Toyota 129 0 0 12 Running
    26 19 12 Gus Dean # LG Air Conditioning Technologies Chevrolet 123 0 0 11 Running
    27 11 17 Tyler Ankrum # May’s Hawaii Toyota 111 0 0 10 Vibration
    28 32 33 Josh Reaume HertzKompressoren/P&BCompressor Chev 98 0 0 9 Running
    29 14 9 Codie Rohrbaugh Grant County Mulch Chevrolet 72 0 0 8 Accident
    30 26 8 Camden Murphy Chevrolet 40 0 0 7 Suspension
    31 21 54 Natalie Decker # N29 Technologies LLC Toyota 32 0 0 6 Accident
    32 24 87 Joe Nemechek ROMCO/TMS Titanium Chevrolet 19 0 0 5 Rear Gear
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Charlotte

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Charlotte

    After visiting the heartland this past weekend in Kansas, the NASCAR Truck Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway, home for most of the teams, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    The Digital Ally 250 presented another exciting race last week at Kansas Speedway with fan favorite Ross Chastain winning the event last Friday night. Chastain took the lead with three to go and never looked back to earn his first Truck Series win and quite possibly, Chastain’s biggest win of his career.

    While Chastain’s win was certainly popular, one thing that caught the eye of racing fans was that the entry list was noticeably smaller. Just 28 Trucks were entered in the race, one of the smallest fields in the Truck Series season thus far. Only 11 trucks finished on the lead lap for the Digital Ally 250.

    This week, however, the Truck Series preliminary entry list is quite large with 37 trucks entered so far and it sees the return of the all-time wins leader Kyle Busch who is slated for his final Truck Series race of the season.

    While Busch will be making his 150th Truck Series start, some will be making one of their limited start of the season.

    Some of these include Camden Murphy in the No. 8 Nemco Motorsports Truck and Trey Hutchens who will try to make his first Truck start since 2017 at Iowa where he finished 16th. After announcing the team would be cutting back their races due to sponsorship, Cory Roper returns to the track with his No. 04 Roper Racing team. Anthony Alfredo will pilot the No. 15 DGR-Crosley machine as Chad Finley Racing returns to the track with Chad Finley behind the wheel in the No. 42. Stefan Parsons will carry a UNC Charlotte Tribute and will try to make the field in the No. 49 truck owned by Ray Ciccarelli, Timmy Hill will be in the No. 56, Timothy Peters returns in the No. 92 Ricky Benton truck and Jesse Little will compete in the No. 97.

    Update- It was announced Wednesday that the No. 1 Truck team of Mark Beaver has withdrawn from the race. Bayley Currey was originally slated to be behind the wheel.

    With that in mind, here’s a look at who might pull into victory lane Friday night in the annual running of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

    1. Kyle Busch – Surprise, surprise. It’s hard to count out the all-time wins leader of the Truck Series who is looking to go five for five. The last time someone went five straight in the Truck Series was NASCAR Hall Of Famer Ron Hornaday who accomplished the feat in 2009. Hornaday won at Milwaukee, Memphis, Kentucky, IRP and Nashville. However, those were five consecutive races in a row. So despite the fact that Busch may win on Friday night, Hornaday’s record of five straight wins will remain intact should Busch win. Nonetheless, Busch’s stats at Charlotte in the Truck Series are impressive. He has won seven times in 12 starts which is 58.3 percent of the time. Busch has won every time he has entered a Truck Series race at Charlotte. But the last time he won was two years ago in 2017. However, the Charlotte track has been kind to the polarizing driver who won in his first time out in 2005. The lowest Busch has ever finished was 11th in 2007. Other than that, it’s a win or second place for the KBM owner. His average finish is 2.7 with 662 laps led along with 10 top fives and 11 top-10 finishes. When he won in 2017, Busch led 90 laps of the scheduled 134-lap race. It’s hard to imagine counting Busch out of having a shot at the win.

    2. Ben Rhodes – After falling short of the win last week at Kansas and finishing second, Rhodes and the No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 will look to carry their momentum to Charlotte Motor Speedway in hopes of a win this Friday night at the 1.5-mile track. He has just three starts here, all in a ThorSport truck with a best finish coming in last year’s race, where Rhodes finished fifth after starting seventh. His other finishes include an eighth in 2017 and 17th in his first time out in 2016. Rhodes has been strong this season with three top fives and five top-10s with 46 laps led. He has been winless well over a year and he is hungry to get back to victory lane soon.

    3. Ross Chastain – Chastain has been riding high since his famous victory last week in Kansas. He’ll be looking to carry that momentum over this coming week. But, Chastain only has three starts at Charlotte, his last coming two years ago in 2017 where he finished 19th. The only top-10 finish Chastain received was way back in 2013 driving for Brad Keselowski Racing entry and finishing ninth. In that race, he started seventh and led three laps. That’s the only race he has finished on the lead lap. Chastain also came here in 2012 for his first start and wound up 35th. However, Chastain and the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team have been a strong contender this year finishing in the top-10 in all the races he has entered before winning at Kansas last week. At 1.5-mile tracks thus far, Chastain has finished sixth at Atlanta, 10th at Las Vegas, seventh at Texas and of course, the win last week at Kansas. Look for Chastain and the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team to continue their race winning high this week at Charlotte.

      4. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland has made strides toward a turn around for the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team after finishing third last weekend in Kansas. Gilliland has one start here at Charlotte coming in 2018 where he finished 10th. However, if you ask him, he would probably tell you that he should have finished higher. Gilliland was involved in an incident on Lap 119 that ultimately cost him a better finishing position. Looking at the loop data, the No. 4 KBM team ran as high as third, ran sixth mid-race and finished eighth, and fourth in both stages in last year’s race. To note, Gilliland will use chassis KBM-057 which has had one outing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this year with Gilliland behind the wheel. He started 13th and finished seventh. The Sherrills Ford, North Carolina native turned 19-years-old this week and what a birthday present it would be if Gilliland could get the No. 4 truck to victory lane Friday night.


      5. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt has two starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a best finish of fourth in last year’s race after starting in the sixth position and leading 28 laps. He even won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. His other start came with the Red Horse Racing team in 2017, where Moffitt finished 18th after starting seventh.

      Who To Watch:

      1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the defending race winner but is coming off a poor finish at Kansas after a mechanical issue. He has three top fives and five top-10 finishes. Don’t be surprised, however, if Sauter and the ThorSport team race their way into victory lane Friday night.

      2. Matt Crafton – Charlotte could be the place Crafton breaks his long winless streak. He has the most active starts of any driver with 16 and even has two wins with the last coming in 2016 and his first in 2008. Crafton has six top fives and 12 top-10 finishes.

      3. Timothy Peters – Peters returns to the Truck Series piloting the No. 92 Ricky Benton Racing machine. It will be his first Truck start since Las Vegas driving for Al Niece where Peters finish 12th. He has 12 starts with a best finish of fifth (twice, 2014 and his last outing in 2017.) The Providence, North Carolina native has 58 laps led and three DNFs with an average finish of 17.7.

      The Truck Series has competed here since 2003 and has seen 16 races since then. Kyle Busch has the most wins here with seven coming in 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017. Ted Musgrave was the first winner in 2003. Since then the names of Dennis Setzer, Ron Hornaday, Crafton, Justin Lofton, Kasey Kahne and Sauter have all visited victory lane. To note, Crafton scored his very first Truck Series win here in 2008. Since then, he has won 14 races and has amassed two championships.

      Thrilling Finish – The track has seen a number of thrilling finishes including the race in 2015 when Kasey Kahne barely edged out Erik Jones by half a second for the win. It is most likely one of the most underrated finishes in recent Truck Series history.

      The Toyota-Chevy show – There has been a trend growing since 2009, where it is either a Chevy or Toyota going to victory lane. Toyota currently leads the way with six manufacturer victories while Chevy only has four.

      Qualifying is important at Charlotte Motor Speedway where the winner has come inside the top-10 13 times with the pole sitter winning three times in 2010, 2014 and 2018. The lowest a race winner has come from was 20th in 2006 set by none other than Kyle Busch. The most recent to ever come from a low starting spot was Matt Crafton in 2016 where he started 17th.

      It will be an all-day show once again for the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. There will be two Truck Series practice sessions with the first at 9:05 a.m. ET and the final practice at 10:35 a.m. ET. Both sessions will be live streamed at nascar.com. Qualifying for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

      The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 will be broken up into three stages of 40/80/134 laps. Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio will broadcast the action with the green flag flying shortly after at 8:30 p.m. ET.

      This will be the last Truck Series race before the series goes on a short hiatus. The next time they’re on track will be at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, June 7.





  • Four Takeaways-Gander Outdoors Truck Series- Kansas

    Four Takeaways-Gander Outdoors Truck Series- Kansas

    The Digital Ally 250 took place this past weekend at Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City, Kansas in a thrilling race that saw a fan favorite win, while others were left disappointed and wanting more.

    Here’s a look at this week’s four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Digital Ally 250.

    Niece Motorsports Gets First Team Win – Al Niece, the owner of Niece Motorsports, has been waiting for this moment since he started the team nearly four years ago in 2016 with driver Casey Smith. Smith ran two races for them with a best finish of 22nd that year at Iowa but did qualify at Martinsville.

    Since then, they have gone through drivers like Jeffrey Abbey, T.J. Bell, Justin Fontaine, Travis Pastrana, Victor Gonzalez Jr., Austin Wayne Self, Landon Huffman and Max McLaughlin. However, Ross Chastain caught their eye in 2018 and was picked up for three races. Despite a best finish of 12th at Bristol, they finished 26th and 16th at Homestead. Then a new year dawned with new goals and challenges. Chastain faced similar circumstances when he lost his Xfinity Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing over sponsorship issues. In 2019, Chastain returned to Niece Motorsports with hopes of going to victory lane at some point in the season. The team almost did that at Daytona earning a third-place finish. During the time span before the Kansas victory, Chastain and the No. 45 team finished sixth at Atlanta, 10th at Las Vegas, fourth at Martinsville, seventh at Fort Worth, and 10th at Dover. The team could smell victory after top-10 finishes and having some of their best performances ever since Niece Motorsports started their truck team in 2016. In fact, Chastain felt they had the truck to win at Texas back in March but they fell short.

    Then came Kansas, where the team was looking to continue their top-10 streak. The No. 45 Niece Motorsports team qualified sixth and once again, ran up front in the stages. And then the opportunity arose when, with three to go, the race leader ran out of gas. Chastain held off a hard-charging Ben Rhodes for a popular win in the NASCAR community.

    Some say, it was Chastain’s biggest win yet and you could tell that it meant so much to him as he excitedly climbed out of his truck, jumping up and down with the crowd cheering him on. Most importantly, lost in all of this, was Al Niece’s first win as a team owner in the Truck Series. The team could be considered an underdog favorite. But Chastain and Niece don’t like the term and want to be considered along with everyone else, to have a shot at the win, week-in and week-out. With this victory, the team will become more of a threat to the field every week. While Chastain can’t compete for the Truck Series championship, the team can focus on the owners’ championship and at the end of the season, the team could very well accomplish just that. Keep an eye on Niece Motorsports, especially the No. 45 team, as they start to come into their own going into the summer months.

    Natalie Decker Has Forgettable Night Kansas – The No. 54 DGR-Crosley team was looking to turn their luck around coming into Kansas Speedway after having some miserable finishes to start the season. After granting a little girl her birthday wish on Friday, it might’ve been a good omen for Decker and the No. 54 team. However, their night and bad luck continued as Decker went sliding off Turn 4 into the grass, getting all four wheels off the ground and winding up 25th. Here’s hoping the team can turn their luck around this week at Charlotte.

    Austin Hill Quietly Shines In Top Five – Lost in the finishing order was likely Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team. Hill and company flew under the radar finishing fourth after starting seventh. He finished fifth and eighth in both stages and wound up earning his second top five of the 2019 season.

    Kyle Busch Motorsports Places Trucks In Top-10 – The Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a great night in the heartland placing all of their trucks in the top-10 running order. Todd Gilliland, who needed a decent finish coming into Kansas, started fifth and finished third. He finished seventh in both stages and was up front late in the race for a shot at the win. Ultimately, Gilliland was happy with the finish he needed. Brandon Jones continued the No. 51 fame finishing fifth, Riley Herbst finished ninth and Harrison Burton was 10th. All in all, the Kyle Busch Motorsports team had a strong night in Kansas.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Kansas

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Kansas

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series headed west this past weekend to the heartland and the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway and as usual, the Truck Series didn’t disappoint.

    Some were worried that it was going to be a single file race. But, in the end, a crowd favorite won the race with a late race thriller while others were left disappointed and still searching for a win.

    There are some fresh new names that popped up in the power rankings, while some were able to keep their position. Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

    1. Ross Chastain – Chastain finally broke through this past weekend by winning at Kansas Speedway. Chastain and the Niece Motorsports team had been running and finishing inside the top-10 all season and have been close many times, especially with a third place finish at Daytona to open the season. Some fans since then have considered the Niece Motorsports a fan favorite and quite possibly, an underdog team in NASCAR. They continued week by week to strive toward their goal in hopes of winning in the Truck Series, or NASCAR overall. That moment came Friday night when Chastain passed Stewart Friesen with three laps to go, as Friesen ran out of gas and Chastain went on by. Chastain and the No. 45 team were hoping for no cautions for the rest of the way while Ben Rhodes was trying to chase him down in hopes of redemption from a couple of years ago, but couldn’t do it. In the end, Chastain and team owner Al Niece won their first Truck Series win. Chastain led three times for five laps and finished fourth in both stages. It was his first Truck Series victory in just 66 starts and Chastain’s first top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway. The Niece Motorsports team will look to carry this momentum throughout the rest of the season in hopes of fighting for the owners’ championship in which they currently sit third, 33 points behind Kyle Busch’s No. 51 team.

      Previous Week Ranking – 5th

    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a strong No. 99 Carolina Nut Co. Ford F-150 on Friday night at Kansas and came oh so close to capturing the Digital Ally 250 checkered flag. Despite looking at practice speeds after practice was over with where Rhodes slated 12th and 14th fastest in both practices, some probably thought, he may not have the truck to win Friday night. Rhodes and the No. 99 Thorsport team proved them wrong where he finished tenth in Stage 2 and found himself with a shot at the win late in the race. Rhodes was chasing down eventual race winner Ross Chastain, but ran out of time and fell .483 seconds short. It was his third top five of the 2019 season.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked

    3. Grant Enfinger – After qualifying 13th, Enfinger and the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment Ford F-150 quickly moved up into the top-10 and led 47 laps until a late race incident with 27 to go when he and Brett Moffitt made contact, bringing out the fifth caution of the race. The team was doing well before then by finishing third in both stages but eventually finished seventh. If things had gone their way, they probably could have finished inside the top five or top three. Nonetheless, Enfinger still holds the points lead over Brett Moffitt by 13 points.

      Previous Week Ranking – 1st

    4. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland and the No. 4 KBM team improved on their finish from Dover by finishing third in Friday night’s race at Kansas. He started fifth and remained consistent, running in the top-10 and finishing seventh in both stages. In an exciting late-race battle for the win, Gilliland and company wound up in the top five. It was a much needed top five after finishing 15th at Dover and his first top five of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    5. Matt Crafton – Crafton was looking to snap the long winless streak this past weekend in the heartland, but once again, fell short of doing so, not without effort, however. The No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 driver showed speed in early morning practice sessions on Friday by placing third and fourth fastest, respectively, in both practices. The No. 88 Thorsport team followed that up by qualifying on the pole, Crafton’s 14th of his career and his first at Kansas. Crafton led early but only led eight laps and was not really seen up front after leading early. He finished sixth in both stages to ultimately finish a disappointing sixth after having such a fast truck in practice and qualifying.

      Previous Week Ranking – 4th

      Fell Out

      1. Johnny Sauter – A forgettable night for Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport team who previously won at Dover before heading to Kansas Speedway. Mechanical issues plagued Sauter early on and he was sent to the garage to fix the problem. He could never really rebound and wound up 22nd after starting 12th.

      Previous Week Ranking – 3rd

      2. Brett Moffitt – Much like Sauter, Moffit and the No. 24 GMS team had a disappointing night and were ready to move on to Charlotte after the race ended. The team started well by qualifying fourth earlier in the day. He even finished second in both stages and led three times for four laps. But troubles came late in the race when Moffitt and Enfinger collided with each other off Turn 2 and spun out. Both would escape without major damage, but the incident more than likely ended Moffit’s chance at the win and he had to settle for finishing eighth. The No. 24 GMS team will look to rebound this week at Charlotte.

      Previous Week Ranking – 2nd

  • Ross Chastain wins in late race thriller at Kansas

    Ross Chastain wins in late race thriller at Kansas

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited the Midwest Friday night at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

    Ross Chastain passed Stewart Friesen with three laps to go, as Friesen ran out of gas and went on by to score his first career Truck Series win.

    “Every win is huge,” Chastain said. “These guys, Al’s (Niece) first Trucks Series win. We each have won a Xfinity Series race, but you can’t rank one above the other. It is so hard to win in NASCAR. I know Kyle Busch has won, winning 200. Like that is incredible, I won two NASCAR races now. I can’t even put it in to words. I know Kyle (Busch) is like, gets up here and he’s mopy and oh well, I only won a Trucks race, but this means so much to all of us. There are so many people in this world that are working toward this goal and I know that, because we went through it. So yeah, I don’t rank one above the other, they all have their place, it only fuels us to win more.”

    The Digital Ally 250 saw Matt Crafton on the pole and he led laps early.

    The first stage was 40 laps and there were some major incidents. On Lap 23, last week’s Dover winner Johnny Sauter suffered a mechanical issue which saw the truck fall off the pace. He eventually had to take it to the garage for a short while. On Lap 25, Brandon Jones spun out off Turn 4.

    After that caution, however, there were no major incidents but some thrilling battles for the lead with Brett Moffitt and Stewart Friesen on Lap 28 with Friesen eventually taking the lead for good on lap 32 and winning the first stage.

    Stage 2 began with Moffitt and Sheldon Creed on the front row for the restart. The next caution came out on Lap 52 for Natalie Decker who went sliding coming off Turn 4, getting all four tires off the ground and into the grass. Decker was not injured but her night was done early.

    After the incident, there were six laps of racing and Friesen went on to win the second stage.

    The fifth caution came out with 24 to go, as Moffitt and Grant Enfinger made contact with each other off the exit of Turn 2. The final incident of the day came with 20 to go for Josh Reaume’s No. 33 Truck, which stalled off the exit of Turn 4.

    When the race started to wind down, the battle for the lead started to heat up with Chastain, Austin Hill and Todd Gilliland.

    While some were questioning Friesen’s fuel mileage, his crew chief thought they would have enough gas to make it to the finish. But Chastain began to close in and eventually caught him as Friesen ran out of gas with three to go. Chastain went on by and captured the first Truck Series win of his career.

    “You always want to win, but you saw Johnny (Sauter) won last week, drove away from Brett (Moffitt) at the end and had perfect handling truck and tonight, I never saw him. I don’t know if something happened to Johnny. Oh did it? I was gonna say, I never saw him. Different trucks come and go each week, and last week we had a terrible week and still finished 10th. I got out of the truck and stretched my back out because it was locking up, and my arms were jello. This week my arms were jello because I was fist bumping so hard. I dented in the roof because I was jumping up and down on it on the frontstretch.”

    “Yeah, I mean you just show up each week. This Truck Series is so fun and any racing is fun when you have a team like this, and you show up and have speed. We showed up with this exact race truck in Texas. We walked in that morning of the garage for practice and our chest was out, and we walked out that night our tails were tucked in-between our legs because we were so bad. He (crew chief) was about to cut the dang cross bend out of it, raise it up and cut the frame apart. I wished he (crew chief) would have. You know, it’s like the highest of highs tonight and the lowest of lows in the same truck at Texas, where Al (Niece) had so much invested in that race and we were gonna fifth and we ended up finishing seventh, as the right rear tire ended up going flat at the end, but still a good night saw some promise. Just show up every week, get through practice, try not to have some big moments like I had, you know getting loose and show up and fight.”

    Chastain led twice for five laps.

    Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, Riley Herbst and Harrison Burton rounded out the top-10.

    Enfinger still leads the points standings by 13 points over Brett Moffitt.

    There were six cautions for 29 laps with 22 lead changes and a margin of Victory of .483 seconds.

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads east next weekend to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 17.

  • Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    With the Xfinity teams off this week, the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams head to the Midwest for a two day show at Kansas Motor Speedway. Here is how you can keep up on all of the action.

    Note: All times are ET

    Friday, May 10
    9:35 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series first practice – NASCAR.com/live
    11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice – NASCAR.com/live
    12:35 p.m. – 1:25 p.m: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice – NASCAR.com/live
    2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice – FS1/MRN
    5:05 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1
    7:05 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying – (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1/MRN 
    8:30 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Digital Ally 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 MILES) – FS1/MRN

    Saturday, May 11
    7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Digital Ally 400 (Stages 80/160/267 laps, 400.5 miles) – FS1/MRN

  • Four Takeaways-NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race-Dover

    Four Takeaways-NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race-Dover

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Dover International Speedway for their six race of the 2019 Truck Series season. While a season-veteran and champion return to victory lane, what did we learn from the race? Here are four takeaways from the JEGS 200 at Dover.

    1. Johnny Sauter Finally Gets Win – If you would have told someone before Dover that two-time Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter would not have a win yet at this point in the season, some would have shaken their heads in disbelief. Despite it taking this long, if you look at last year, he won the season opener at Daytona but wouldn’t win again until Dover. Friday was his first win of the season and his third consecutive Dover win. Now we have to wait and see if Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport team will set the world on fire or not.
    2. Track Position- Dover is not known to have the best races and that’s been seen here recently in the Truck Series. There wasn’t that much excitement that happened throughout the race. While yes, it was somewhat determined as a short track, it didn’t provide much passing for the lead. Also, Brett Moffitt wasn’t able to catch Sauter for the win late. Sauter even said in a post-race press conference, that track position was very important. And you could see why. It seemed like the only way you could pass was either on the restart or on pit road under caution. In last year’s race, there were only nine leaders among seven lead changes. This years race saw a little bit more lead changes with 11, but still, there wasn’t much excitement. There were only six cautions for 35 laps with two of them coming for stage breaks, and four of them coming for actual incidents. Maybe the Truck Series shouldn’t come to Dover or maybe they should but something needs to change.
    3. Start Time – There was an odd start time to Friday’s race at Dover with a 5 p.m. ET start on the East coast. It’s hard for someone to who works a 9-5 job to take off early to catch a Truck Series race with a start time like that. Imagine living on the West coast, where the start time would be 3:00 p.m. Pacific. Barely anyone would be able to catch the race live. Thank goodness for DVRs. Still, something needs to change about the race start times. Maybe it’s time for a doubleheader with the Xfinity Series.
    4. Derek Kraus Earns Top-10 Finish – Flying under the radar after Friday’s race was rookie Derek Kraus, who currently drives part-time for Bill McAnally Racing in the Truck Series. It was Derek’s third career Truck Series race in his young NASCAR career. He tied his best finish of eighth. Kraus also finished eighth in his first Truck Series race at ISM.
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Dover

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Dover

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returned to on-track action this past weekend at Dover International Speedway, famously known as the Monster Mile.

    While it’s known to reach out and bite drivers, the drivers, for the most part, able to tame it. One, in particular, Johnny Sauter, took the lead with 30 to go and went on to win the JEGS 200. It didn’t come without some controversy, however, as Sauter fought an ignition issue early on but he rebounded nicely for the win.

    While it was Sauter’s third consecutive win at Dover, how did everyone else fair? Was Stewart Friesen able to keep the points lead?

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment team had a good day at Dover, finishing fourth after starting sixth and running inside the top-10 all day. Enfinger even finished fourth in both stages and led three laps. Nonetheless, Enfinger had something to smile about after the race was over, as he took over the points lead by four points over teammate Johnny Sauter. It was Enfinger’s fourth top five of the year thus far.

      Previous Week Ranking- 2nd
    2. Brett Moffitt – Some say Moffitt should have won this race. The No. 24 team got off to a great start Friday by qualifying on the pole. As the race started, Moffitt completely dominated and won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. He consistently stayed up front, led 81 laps and finished second.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked

    3. Johnny Sauter – You could say Sauter got the monkey off his back by winning at one of his favorite racetracks. He showed speed in qualifying by starting on the outside pole. Sauter won Stage 2 but faced an ignition issue afterward. The No. 13 team was able to get it fixed and ultimately Sauter went on to win. Believe it or not, it was his first win of the season. Keep an eye on Sauter and company as they just might start to go on a tear this summer.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton and the No. 88 Menards team were able to salvage a top-five finish at Dover this past weekend, but not without a tough start. The two-time champion had to drop to the rear after an engine change before the race. Problems only got worse for Crafton as they started to face plug wire issues. Crafton came back to finish fifth. However, the No. 88 team had seen better days and were looking forward to getting out of Dover. Nice rebound, however, for the veteran driver.

      Previous Week Ranking – 3rd

    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain had an eventful day at the Monster Mile. He didn’t have nearly as strong a truck as in past races this year but still managed a top 10 finish, even after some close calls. There was a moment late in the race, where he almost lost control of his truck which would have brought out a caution. A late race caution helped the team get a decent finish to continue their great run in the 2019 season.

      Previous Week Ranking – 4th

      Fell Out

      1. Stewart Friesen – After qualifying fourth and finishing fifth in Stage 2, the No. 52 team was really nowhere to be seen throughout the race. Friesen wound up 12th and lost the points lead to Grant Enfinger, and now sits third in the standings, 11 points behind.

      Previous Week Ranking – 1st

      2. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum quietly finished ninth at Dover but didn’t make too much noise, as he has had in previous races, such as his sixth-place finish in March at Texas.

      Previous Week Ranking – 5th

  • Harrison Burton quietly finishes third at Dover

    Harrison Burton quietly finishes third at Dover

    In previous years at Dover, Harrison Burton has driven the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck to finishes of 13th in his first outing in 2017 and fifth in last year’s outing.

    Burton was looking to improve upon those results coming into the 2019 race and hoping that perhaps a win could solidify those finishes.

    “I love Bristol and Dover and fast, high-banked tracks — they fit my style very well,” he said before the race. “I enjoy it and hopefully we can continue that success and build on that. Last year, we didn’t have the best truck at the beginning, but we kept working on it and made it pretty good. We just need to start the weekend of better than we did last time, get a good qualifying spot and we’ll be there for the win — hopefully.”

    Burton qualified ninth and when it was all said and done, he came up three spots short, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

    After finishing fifth in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2, Burton made everyone hold their breath, as he made a heart-stopping move for the lead after the restart with 83 to go. He couldn’t make it stick and had to fall back to third.

    Evidently, the No. 18 Team had to work their way back up after some various strategies on the late-race pit stop. In the end, the scoring pylon showed Burton and the No. 18 Safelite Autoglass Toyota Tundra winding up third for his second top five of the year.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Burton said to MRN Radio. “The truck came in for the second half of the race. We had a shot at it and then we got clear of everyone, except for Ben Rhodes. I got trapped in the idea of running the bottom. I don’t know, I got tight behind him. That’s when we lost the race. I’m upset with myself about that, but we had a good day. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun, and had some big moments. We were able to rebound from that and had a good points day, and we’ll go win the next one.”

  • ThorSport teammates Enfinger and Crafton collect top-five finishes at Dover

    ThorSport teammates Enfinger and Crafton collect top-five finishes at Dover

    Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton each had to settle for a top-five finish as their teammate Johnny Sauter went on to win Saturday’s Jegs 200 at Dover International Speedway.

    For Enfinger and the No. 98 team, he would quietly end up finishing fourth after also finishing fourth in both stages.

    “Overall a great day for ThorSport racing and for Duke and Rhonda Thorson to be able to come out here and do this,” Enfinger told MRN Radio. “Locked in the Playoffs, so that’s good. Overall, we had a solid Champion Power Equipment F-150 all weekend really. Just not a race winning truck, but I think if we could have had some track position, we could have held him off. That’s about all we had.”

    Matt Crafton, who is also a two-time champion, had a difficult day having to deal with a plug wire issue that came off after Stage 2 was done. However, the No. 88 Menards team was able to rebound to fifth. It was Crafton’s fourth top-five of the season but he was looking for a little more and was not satisfied with a top five.

    “No not at all,” Crafton told MRN Radio describing his finish. “Just very aggravated with it, to be honest. It’s a damn shame that a plug wire came off, motor problems two races in a row in these things. Just keep digging us out of a hole. It’s good for these guys who work so hard, but I know this Menards Ford F-150 is better than that. I’m super excited for Johnny Sauter and everybody there, everybody at ThorSport. But at the end of the day, I know we could have been racing for the win.”