Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

  • Now a winner, Austin Hill is thinking championship

    Now a winner, Austin Hill is thinking championship

    Austin Hill joined the Gander Outdoors Truck Series with the goal of just winning a race.

    Hill, 24, who won last week’s season-opening race at Daytona for his first career win, now knows how incredible it feels to stand triumphant in victory lane.

    Hill had just one previous top-five finish when he was hired by Hattori Racing Enterprises to drive its No. 16 Toyota this season, replacing defending series champion Brett Moffitt, who could not secure sponsorship to remain with HTE.

    “I had a lot of people throughout the off‑season and even when I got to the race track asking if a lot of weight was on my shoulders, you know, coming into a team that won the championship,” Hill said.

    “You know, I kind of embraced that. I felt like they went out and won the championship last year, so I felt like they should at least get a shot at it. Now we are.

    “To come here and get my first win at Daytona, it’s an amazing feeling. I don’t know if it’s really set in yet completely with me. I’m so, so excited going forward with these guys. I think that there’s a lot of good things ahead of us and on the horizon.”

    With a spot in the playoffs all but solidified, Hill has removed points racing from the equation. Now, it’s all about winning races and competing for a championship at Homestead.

    “The number one goal is to win the championship, so we’re locked in now. Kind of takes a weight off of your shoulders going into Atlanta,” Hill said. “We get to go have fun now.

    “We’re not chasing points. We’re not chasing anything but wins. That’s going to be really cool. It’s going to be a lot more relaxed, I think, going forward. It comes down to going to try to win some more races, get as much bonus points as we can.”

  • Shoutout of the week-Daytona

    Shoutout of the week-Daytona

    In a new column at Speedway Media, I will be giving shoutouts of the week to feature memorable drivers, teams and events.

    Here’s the first shoutout of the week and a bonus one as well.

    In this week’s shoutout of the week, we’ll highlight Josh Reaume who is the owner of his own team in the Truck Series, Reaume Brothers Racing, that fields the No. 33. Reaume might be the one that got lost in the shuffle when the race was all said and done at Daytona.

    While there were only nine trucks that finished the race, Reaume played his cards right and earned a career-best finish of sixth and the first ever top-10 finish of his career. During the span of Reaume career, he’s made 28 starts throughout five years.

    Last year, Reaume only made 12 starts with a best finish of 18th at Gateway last summer. He missed the field last year at Daytona, but got redemption this past weekend to finish sixth. It really says, anyone can win given the right opportunity.

    Reaume came close last Friday night but was happy with his finish. Daytona is where careers are made or broken and his sixth-place finish may help get more publicity for him and his team.

    The bonus shoutout of the week is DraftKings who have added the Truck Series to their fantasy lineup.

    The Truck Series, in most cases, has been the most exciting series in the past few years. And, while some of the finishes are remembered, most of them are forgotten unless you attended the event yourself or an especially memorable moment happened during the race.

    Using DraftKings could help bring in more fans to the Truck Series and more people to the races. The series is already off to a good start, where Kids 12 and under get in free to the Xfinity and Truck Series races. Perhaps, DraftKings will add more excitement from a series perspective.

    Last year, the Truck Series literally had exciting races all year round, but the races only get talked about in that day’s event and maybe a couple of days after for press material. Take, for example, Natalie Decker whose truck caught on fire on Lap 1 when she came down pit road after running over something. The Twitter machine exploded with memes and all sorts of other happenings.

    Or let’s go back two years ago at Gateway, where John Wes Townley and Spencer Gallagher got into a fight. On that weekend and for a couple of weeks, it was the most talked about topic in the world of NASCAR, as well as appearing on national sports shows. The fight is brought up every now and then, but that’s it.

    The Truck Series isn’t your typical water cooler talk at work on Mondays, unless you were there for one of the races and someone asks you about it, or something major happens as I listed above, but the Truck Series does have a decent fan base and a great following.

    However, DraftKings is a good place to start to bring more attention to the series, possibly bring in more fans and gain more popularity. It will take a couple of years, but perhaps one day, the Truck Series might be watercooler talk on Mondays.

  • Four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series at Daytona

    Four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series at Daytona

    The Truck Series returned to Daytona International Speedway this past weekend for its annual running of the NextEra  Energy Resources 250. As usual, the action didn’t disappoint and it was quite possibl, the best race of the whole week.

    1. Hattori Continues Truck Series Dominance/Starts Season On Right Track – Many people wondered what Hattori Racing would look like this season when the defending champion from that team didn’t have a ride for 2019 and wasn’t coming back. Insert Austin Hill who previously drove for Young’s Motorsports in previous races and had just 52 starts before he entered victory lane Friday night for the first time in the Truck Series. It seemed Hattori has made the right choice so far and it’ll be interesting to keep track if they continue their winning ways in 2019.
    2. Truck Series Best Race Of The Week – While it certainly was a wreckfest, the Truck Series was the best race of the week, as it had multiple lead changes and some exciting moves to increase your heart rate. There was side-by-side racing throughout the majority of the race. While only nine trucks finished on the lead lap and we had multiple big ones, it was still a great race aside from what we saw in the other series this past week.
    3. Angela Ruch Gets Top 10 Finish In Truck Series Return – While only nine trucks finished the race and she may get some backlash from fans that she got lucky, you should give credit where credit is due. Ruch avoided every wreck and found herself at the end for contention. However, handling issues with the truck prevented her from getting up there and challenging for the win. But what ifs come to mind. What if she didn’t have those handling issues? If she didn’t, then maybe we would be talking about a different story. But as the old saying goes, if wishes were fishes, the world would be an ocean.
    4. Drivers Get Career Night In Daytona – Daytona and yes Talladega is always the place for upsets, excitement, and good finishes. As a result, many drivers had a career night. Ross Chastain got his first top five after almost five years in the Truck Series, Josh Reaume got his first ever top-five finish, and Spencer Boyd earned his first top-five finish as well. Among the others was Bobby Gerhart despite a wrecked truck, Clay Greenfield, and Cory Roper who was running in the top five and was the underdog story before, unfortunately wrecking by himself .
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Power Rankings-Daytona

    NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Power Rankings-Daytona

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series returned to action at the famous Daytona International Speedway this past Friday night for its 24th year in the running since their inception in 1995. As it did last season, the Truck Series did not disappoint and was, quite possibly, the most wildest truck race ever at Daytona.

    For the first time this season, here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Grant Enfinger – A valiant effort set by Enfinger on Friday night, who came from two laps down and almost won the race. Enfinger was looking for his third career win, his second at a Superspeedway since 2016 at Talladega. He had a decent showing in the stages, as Enfinger finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Enfinger ultimately wound up second on the scoring pylon after finishing .278 seconds behind the race winner, Austin Hill. It was Enfinger’s 19th top five of his career.
    2. Matt Crafton – Crafton was oh so close to breaking his winless streak, but he’ll have to wait until Atlanta to earn it. It didn’t come without hard work though and dodging crazy accidents. He missed the first big wreck on Lap 55 and somehow, Crafton barely skidded by on another big wreck toward the end of the race. He had a shot at the win on the first overtime, but after a second overtime, it killed any momentum, as Crafton was shuffled back and got hung up on the outside and fell back to ultimately finish fifth for his second top five at Daytona.
    3. Ross Chastain – After finding himself out of a ride at Chip Ganassi Racing in the off-season this winter, it was Al Niece of Niece Motorsports to give him a shot at the wheel and an opportunity for the win. Chastain avoided the majority of the wrecks aside from spinning himself out to avoid an accident. He had a shot to win the race when he was pushing Enfinger, but due to an ill-handling truck, Chastain had to settle for a third-place finish. It was the sixth top-five finish of his career, Chastain’s first since 2013 at Phoenix for the defunct Brad Keselowski Racing.
    4. Austin Hill – Some fans may say that Hill is another Cinderella story, as Hill earned his first career Truck Series win Friday night. It didn’t come without avoiding the major accidents, however. Hill barely missed the big one on Lap 100 and it was the one that gave him a chance at the win, as he came out of it unscathed. After being close on fuel with two overtimes, Hill managed to fend off veteran race drivers for the win. He led 39 laps and finished second in Stage 1. He also came back from a couple of penalties as well. It’ll be interesting to see if Hattori Racing can defend their title in 2019.
    5. Spencer Boyd – Not a bad return for the former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver after not competing in the Truck Series for two years, especially not having any Daytona truck starts. Even though he did not finish in the top 10 in either stage, Boyd was there when it counted and maybe if he had a little bit more luck, he might have won. However, Boyd settled for a fourth place finish for his first top five of his career in the Truck Series.

    The Truck Series continues their 23-race schedule for the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where NASCAR will play host to the Xfinity/Truck Series doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

  • Austin Hill Survives wild Daytona race/gets first career Truck Series win

    Austin Hill Survives wild Daytona race/gets first career Truck Series win

    The action never disappoints at Daytona International Speedway and never disappoints for the Truck Series either. After a record high 11 caution flags, two overtimes, the longest Truck Series race ever at Daytona and several big ones, Austin Hill comes out on top with his first career win in the series after 52 starts.

    “We got a little separation from us (Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger) and my spotter Mike Herman Jr. did an awesome job, just telling me when and where the run was coming, what lines to chose,” Hill told MRN Radio. “The 98 (Enfinger) got to me in the center of 3 and 4, and kind of jacked me up pretty good. I didn’t think I was going to be able to hold on to that, but man, we were saving fuel there at the end, so coming off of (Turn) 4, I was pretty scared. I didn’t think we were going to make it to the finish. “

    Christian Eckes and David Gilliland sat on the front row as the race began with the stages set for 20/20/60 laps.

    The first few laps of Stage 1 set the mood for the night and it all started when Gilliland had a flat left front tire. After that, teammate Natalie Decker received damage as well from debris and cut a left front. She suffered more damage than Gilliland and the truck actually caught on fire. Decker was pulled out of the truck and was alert.

    ARCA race winner, Harrison Burton fell a lap down during the stage. Sheldon Creed, with his new GMS Racing team, took the win in Stage 1.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 26 and was a bit more tame but with a wild finish.

    At Lap 27, a three-truck incident took place in Turn 3, which involved Chris Fontaine, Ray Ciccarelli, and Tyler Dippel. Eckes also received some damage as well.

    With six to go in Stage 2, Brett Moffitt and Creed were black flagged for tandem drafting which is not allowed.

    Coming to the checkered, Todd Gilliland took the lead in Turn 3 and 4, but Johnny Sauter made a move on the outside and Gilliland got shuffled back, while Sauter and Stewart Friesen battled side-by-side at the finish line. But it was Sauter who came out on top with the Stage 2 victory.

    During the caution, Hill had to go to the rear as he was caught speeding. The 24 of Moffitt was also busted for a crew member being over the wall too soon.

    With 54 to go, the field went back to green for the final stage of the race and quite possibly, the wildest stage in Truck Series history.

    The first incident came with 46 to go when Jordan Anderson got turned from the back and set off a multi-vehicle accident. Sauter, Gus Dean, Myatt Snider, Grant Enfinger, Moffitt, Eckes, Austin Wayne Self, Creed, Brennan Poole, Friesen, and Todd Gilliland were all involved.

    Burton and David Gilliland were hit with a one lap penalty for passing the pace truck while coming down for stops.

    One lap after the restart, Christian Eckes machine caught on fire and brought out another caution.

    After the restart with 31 to go, Sauter’s race was over as he came down to the garage area for a motormount problem.

    Rookie Cory Roper went spinning off of Turn 4 and hit the inside wall. Roper’s night was done. Another issue came about when Todd Gilliland came in to the pits under caution as he thought he had rear end issues.

    Five laps after the restart with 17 to go, a wreck on the backstretch occurred when Burton got clipped to the outside and came back down collecting Todd Gilliland and Gus Dean.

    For Angela Ruch, a possible upset of the night, things got a little tougher for the Joe Nemecheck driver, as she had engine issues.

    On the restart with seven to go, another caution came out as Timothy Peters and Clay Greenfield made contact with each other.

    With this incident, it set up a three lap finish to the checkered. Well, sort of. Another big wreck broke out as Dean moved up in front of Creed and collected many others. The 52, 2, 99, 12, 88, 87, 16, 17, 45, and 68 were all involved. This would set up NASCAR overtime, meaning once the leader takes the white flag, the next one ends it.

    You know the term, cautions breed cautions and that came into effect tonight, as Bobby Gerheart, Self, and Friesen wrecked.

    Another overtime was set up, but this time they were able to finish the race. Hill threw a big block on Enfinger on the final lap and it was all Hill needed, as he went on to score his first ever Truck Series career win.

    “I had a big run on the 99 (Ben Rhodes), went to get under him and he came to block, when he did we touched and we both got it back together, but we lost our momentum, the outside lane got a big run and I turned while it clipped the 99,” Hill told MRN Radio in victory lane.

    “Luckily, I don’t know how, but we made it through. That was really the key moment for us. Getting that lead and just being able to protect it. That whole last lap, my heart was pounding and I thought they were going to get to my outside, and it was going to be a drag race. The fuel situation was really big. I was just glad to make it to the start finish line.”

    There was a record high of 11 caution flags for 55 laps and 15 lead changes.

    Austin Hill became the sixth driver to get his first win at Daytona.

  • Ross Chastain and Spencer Boyd earn top-five finish

    Ross Chastain and Spencer Boyd earn top-five finish

    With a little bit of luck and maybe if Austin Hill had run out of gas, Ross Chastain would have been an upset tonight for the small funded Niece Motorsports team at Daytona International Speedway.

    However, Chastain had to settle for a third-place finish in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 .

    “We didn’t qualify where we wanted too,” Chastain said to MRN Radio. “Just played it safe and we did all right, I did get in that one wreck there in (Turn) 3. That was my fault for spinning out. The truck held up and had plenty of speed at the end, and tried to push Grant (Enfinger), just wanted to give him a shot.”

    “I didn’t feel like I had a shot from third, so just tried to bump draft him up there and the move didn’t quite work out.”

    Another driver that could have been an upset in the race tonight was Spencer Boyd making his first Truck Series start at Daytona.

    “This is something you dream of forever,” Boyd told MRN Radio. “You just always ask for that shot. Put me in a good truck, give me the opportunity to be up front. There was a big wreck there at the end, we knocked the nose in and it was unfortunate and once I got out to second, it was like a parachute. It was going to be tough. I needed to be tucked up behind someone.”

    “I was behind Matt Crafton all night and took a lot of notes. Just to come away with a top five, first race of the year, being new to the trucks, being new to Young’s Motorsports is just a dream come true for me.”

  • Matt Crafton survives Daytona melee/still winless

    Matt Crafton survives Daytona melee/still winless

    After all the carnage tonight at Daytona International Speedway, even after getting caught up late in an accident, Matt Crafton found himself with a shot to snap his long winless streak in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

    Unfortunately, he will have to wait until Atlanta next Saturday afternoon as he finished fifth after starting 15th.

    “Just didn’t have anybody there at the end,” Crafton told MRN Radio. Grant (Enfinger) gave me this huge push, where I wished we would have stayed together, but he did everything he had to do to get me up there to have a shot.”

    “The restart before that, I was the best one where I fell in behind the 16 (Austin Hill) and this was the spot we needed to be. All in all, we finished top five. Usually, I’m upside down or crashed real early at these places. As aggravating as it is, we got here and got a bunch of points. It is my favorite racetrack now.”

    This was Crafton’s 110th top five finish of his career and his second at Daytona. His last Truck Series victory was at Eldora Speedway on July 19, 2017.

  • Grant Enfinger comes up one spot short at Daytona

    Grant Enfinger comes up one spot short at Daytona

    Coming from two laps down, Grant Enfinger almost found himself in contention to win the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway Friday night.

    “We had a check of a Ford F-150 down here,” Enfinger told MRN Radio.”(Crew Chief) Jeff Hensley and all these boys worked really, really hard before they got here, but worked even harder once we got caught up in that wreck.”

    “I had good speed, worked my butt off to get back on the lead lap and just thought we were in position to push (Matt) Crafton, and we just got blocked too much right there and I was going to wreck him if I kept with him. So, that’s when we got shuffled around and just couldn’t get a good run coming to the checkered.”

    Enfinger finished fifth and sixth in both stages. It is the 19th top-five finish of his career.

  • Austin Hill survives carnage to win season-opener at Daytona

    Austin Hill survives carnage to win season-opener at Daytona

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The defending NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship team returned and won their third consecutive race, but this time they had a new man behind the wheel of their hot rod.

    Austin Hill took over the No. 16 Toyota from reigning series champion Brett Moffitt, who was unable to secure sponsorship to remain in the seat, and held off Grant Enfinger in Friday night’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

    On the restart of the second overtime, Hill got ahead of the field and threw a huge block to prevent Matt Crafton from getting to the point. Throughout the race, Hill would get out to sizeable leads but somehow managed to keep the pack behind him. It was the same story in the end as he held off Enfinger to win his first Truck race in his 52nd career start.

    “Man, this truck was fast, it really was. I knew we had a truck that could compete,” Hill said in Victory Lane. “I got a little scared there at the end. I thought (Enfinger) was going to get me, he had a big run.

    “I can’t believe my first win came at Daytona. It’s so surreal. I can’t wait to party with these guys.”

    Hill was constantly reminded by his crew to save fuel, but he was still nervous that he might run out.

    “We pitted really early, and we already knew it was going to be close and then when we went overtime, I was so scared,” he said. “I just knew I was going to run out off (Turn) 4 and not make it to the line.

    “So much stuff was going through my head, but – hey – we’re in Victory Lane.”

    Ross Chastain finished third, Spencer Boyd was fourth, and Crafton slipped to fifth.

    The first big wreck occurred on Lap 53 of the scheduled 100 lap race when Jordan Anderson got tapped by Sheldon Creed, which collected nearly a dozen trucks. Among those who were taken out of contention included Moffitt, Johnny Sauter, Brennan Poole, Myatt Snider, and Christian Eckes.

    Eckes’ truck erupted in flames on Lap 63 coming down the frontstretch to bring out the caution. He was uninjured.

    The race resumed on Lap 70, with Hill leading the pack.

    On Lap 77, Cory Roper, who was making just his seventh Trucks start, got out of the groove and made contact with Ben Rhodes, causing him to spin and slam the inside wall to bring out another caution. Rhodes ended up taking the lead.

    With 13 laps to go, Rhodes remained in front of the field followed by Stewart Friesen and Gus Dean.

    The caution came out again on Lap 89 when Todd Gilliland got into his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Harrison Burton on the backstretch, sending them both wrecking into the wall off Turn 2.

    The race returned to green with seven laps left, but Clay Greenfield and Timothy Peters wrecked on the restart lap.

    The race restarted with three laps to go with Rhodes at the point, followed by Hill, and Dean. However, Creed got into Dean, which triggered another massive wreck to send the race into the first overtime. Rhodes did not make it out unscathed, ending his evening.

    Sauter held off Friesen to win Stage 2, and Creed won Stage 1 with Hill behind him in second.

    Angela Ruch, the niece of 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope finished in eighth, the best finish of her career in any major series.

    Billy Rock, a crewmember for the FDNY Racing team and driver Bryan Dauzat, was injured earlier in the race in a pit-road incident.

    Rock, the team’s jackman, was struck by Dauzat’s No. 28 Chevrolet, which had lost its brakes. Rock was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center for further evaluation, and NASCAR officials said he was “awake and alert.” The nature of any injuries to Rock, however, were not disclosed.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Preview-Daytona

    NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Preview-Daytona

    The Truck Series finally gets back on track this Friday night for the first race of the 2019 season. And with the series getting on track, it’ll be the 20th time, every year since 2000, when the first race at Daytona features the Trucks.

    It has been quite the off-season for the Gander Outdoor Truck Series which is the new name for the series. With a new sponsor, dawns a new era. There are familiar faces who return but in new places.

    Here’s a look at who might just end up in victory lane Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

    Currently, there are 40 Trucks on the entry list for 32 spots.

    1. Johnny Sauter – Surprise, surprise. Well not really, but he’s a guy who you expect to be up front. Sauter returns to Thorsport this season for the first time since 2009. It has been quite the off-season for Sauter, when in January, he was out of a ride at GMS Racing where he recorded six wins last year and was in the championship race at Homestead. He’ll be driving the No. 13 entry where he has found success and which was previously driven by Myatt Snider. In 10 races at Daytona, Sauter has three wins and is the defending race winner. He also won in 2016 both with GMS. However, Sauter got his first Daytona win in 2013 driving for Thorsport. It is also the site of his first Daytona start in 2009 for Thorsport. He has three DNFs four top fives and five top 10 finishes with 127 laps led. Sauter’s average start is 10.7 with an average finish of 13.4. Sauter has a driver rating of 88.6. Expect Sauter to be contending for the win Friday night at Daytona.
    2. Harrison Burton – Unlike the first one, this one could be somewhat of a surprise, but maybe not. Burton will be competing full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports taking over Noah Gragson’s ride in the No. 18. He will be making his first superspeedway start in a Truck, however, Burton has already visited victory lane at Daytona. As a matter of fact, it came this past weekend when Burton took the checkered flag in the Arca Racing Series. He dominated by leading 48 of 86 laps.
    3. David Gilliland – At Daytona, Gilliland has two starts with a best finish of sixth for Ricky Benton Racing in 2015. He started on the pole last year but finished 21st after leading 30 laps, finishing five laps down. Gilliland also competed in Talladega last fall where he started on the pole again, but this time with a better finish of third. He’s been a strong contender as of late at the superspeedways, so expect him to be at the front. Gilliland will also have his son, Todd, to work with him.
    4. Brett Moffitt – New year, new team for the defending champion Moffitt who is taking over Sauter’s ride, which now becomes the No. 24. Moffitt only has two starts at Daytona, neither a top five or 10. However, Sauter’s team won last year and in 2016. Given the equipment and the right opportunity, he could be at the front in the end. And it shouldn’t be a surprise, as Moffitt tied with Sauter for wins last year. He looks to start off 2019 with a bang by winning.
    5. Matt Crafton – Crafton is looking to put the dismal 2018 season behind him after going winless and Daytona could just be the place to do it and snap his winless streak. He has one top five and seven top 10 finishes with eight laps led. Crafton’s average start is 16.2 with a average finish of 14.9 along with three DNFs. His best finish is fifth in 2010, nine years ago. If Crafton wins, it’ll be the first superspeedway win of any kind. Crafton has also ended upside down on the last lap.

    In 19 races, there have been 16 different winners with Johnny Sauter being the only one to win three times. Todd Bodine is the only back-to-back winner from 2008-2009.

    The lowest a winner has come from to win was 36th set by Bobby Hamilton in 2005. The highest a winner has come from was first, four times with Joe Ruttman, Mark Martin, Jack Sprague and Kaz Grala accomplishing the feat.

    There have been three different winners in the past five races with Sauter being the only repeat winner.

    On-track activity begins Thursday afternoon with two practices, the first at 2:35 p.m. ET and final practice at 4:35 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 2.

    Qualifying will take place Friday afternoon at 4:40 p.m. ET with single vehicle qualifying and two rounds on Fox Sports 1.

    The NextEra Energy Resources 250 is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages will be 20/40/100 to equal the 250 mile race distance.