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  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Championship 4 Homestead

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Championship 4 Homestead

    After waiting all season, it’s now time for the Championship 4 race in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. For the fourth time since 2016, the Truck Series will compete at Homestead-Miami Speedway to decide another champion, the 25th of the series. While the Championship 4 could be debated, it has the best drivers who have been solidly consistent all year round. Having some of the best racers competing for the title should create an exciting race. 

    Keeping the Championship 4 in mind, here’s a special preview of the final race of the season highlighting the four playoff drivers. 

    1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt only has one start which came in the Championship 4 race last year. He started fifth, won Stage 2 and won the race to capture his first-ever Truck Series championship. During the Ford 200, the GMS driver only ran as low as 11th and led 59 laps. Moffitt’s stats show he has been decent at best on 1.5-mile tracks this season. Aside from a 19th place finish at Texas and Charlotte, Moffitt has seen consistent finishes. At Atlanta, he finished fourth, second at Las Vegas, eighth at Kansas, 11th at Texas in June, winning at Chicago and seventh at Vegas in the fall. The Iowa native may very well be headed to his second Truck Series championship.

    2. Ross Chastain – Chastain has five starts at the 1.5-mile speedway in Southern Florida, with a best finish of eighth in 2013 driving for Brad Keselowski in the Truck Series. For four years, the Niece Motorsports driver was absent from racing in the Trucks before returning last year, finishing 16th for Niece. And what a difference a year makes. At this time last year, Chastain wasn’t even running for Truck points and was focused on his Xfinity program for JD Motorsports. While his Truck stats may not be much to count on, the Florida native has five starts in the Xfinity Series with a best finish of 16th in last year’s race. What a win it would be if Chastain wheels in the No. 45 Chevy Friday night into victory lane.

    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton is the most experienced driver of them all competing for the championship this weekend. He’s entered in every race he’s started since 2001 at Homestead with a win back in 2015 after starting on the pole and leading 93 laps. Since winning the title in 2015, Crafton has competed in the Playoffs two out of three times.  However, in those times, the California native finished seventh in 2016 and sixth (last of the Champ 4 contenders in 2017). During those races, he’s only been able to lead 10 laps. Counting 18 starts, Crafton has three top fives and 10 top-10 finishes with 145 laps led and zero DNFs, along with an average finish of 10.8.

    4. Stewart Friesen – Friesen, who also will be competing in his first-ever Championship 4 race at Homestead has three starts dating back to his first track start in 2016. The Canadian’s best finish was fourth in last year’s race after finishing seventh and sixth in both stages, respectively. Overall, the Halmar driver has his technical teammate Brett Moffitt to lean on and an average finish of 13.3. 

    During the last four years of the Championship 4 race, the champion has finished third in 2016, second in 2017 and first in last year’s race by Moffitt. 

    Homestead has seen 23 races since its first year back in 1996 and has a long list of winners. Dave Rezendes was the first winner in ‘96, followed by Kenny Irwin Jr., Rick Crawford, Mike Wallace, Andy Houston, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday, Bobby Hamilton, Kasey Kahne, Todd Bodine, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Johnny Sauter, Cale Gale, Bubba Wallace, Matt Crafton, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Brett Moffitt. 

    The highest a race winner has ever come from was the pole, four times – Hamilton in 2003, Crafton in 2015, Byron in 2016 and Briscoe in 2017. 

    On the manufacturer side of things, Toyota has nine wins, Ford and Chevy have five each while Dodge only scored one. 

    Six times the race was extended to overtime in 1999, 2007-2009, 2012 and the last time an overtime finish occurred was in 2013. 

    Kyle Busch Motorsports has the most wins in regards to teams. KBM has four (2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016), defunct team Ultra Motorsports (1999, 2001 and 2004), Germain Racing with two (2005 and 2008), while ThorSport also has two (2011, 2015). 
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    To up the ante, Gander Outdoors has offered an additional $100,000 to this year’s champion. 

    It will be a one day show for the Truck Series on Friday. First practice is at 9:05 a.m. ET and final practice is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. ET with no live TV coverage. Qualifying can be seen later in the afternoon at 4:35 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1. 

    The Ford Ecoboost 200 gets underway shortly after 8 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages are 40/40/54 laps to make up the 134-lap race. 

  • Championship Analysis: Stewart Friesen

    Championship Analysis: Stewart Friesen

    In our final piece of the four-part series analyzing the drivers competing in the Championship, Speedway Media takes a look at Stewart Friesen’s chances of winning his first-ever NASCAR Series championship. The Canadian native Truck Series driver’s career has really taken off after going full-time in 2018. Friesen has raced with Halmar Racing since their beginnings at Eldora in 2016 in what was then, supposed to be for fun. From that point on, the team has grown to become title contenders and find themselves in a prime position.

    Stewart Friesen – Friesen could be considered an underdog heading into the championship race at Homestead. Like Chastain, the Canadian will also be challenging for his first-ever Truck Series title.

    How He Got Here: You could very well say Friesen has started the hard way and earned his way up since 2016. In what started out as doing this for fun, things got serious in 2017 when he competed on a part-time basis but it wasn’t all that easy. The Halmar team raced in the first seven races, but challenges arose for the team. The team withdrew from the next two races at Gateway and Iowa, before racing off and on for the rest of the season. From 2018 on, Friesen and Halmar became connected with GMS for a technical alliance, which would also help his playoff chances. Many have come to know, it’s either been win or crash for the Canadian in 2019 and began to wonder if he would ever get his first win. Finally back in August, Friesen got that win crossed off by winning in his dirt backyard at the famed Eldora Speedway. Then came the playoff race at Bristol, where he finished fourth. The Halmar driver pointed his way through the next few rounds, keeping his championship chances alive. By being consistent, Friesen had built up a sizeable points lead to where no matter what happened, he would be locked in. But the Canadian was hungry to win another one. So he did and with that, clinched a spot in the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. 

    Championship Chances: Friesen has competed at Homestead for the past four years and secured a best finish of fourth in last year’s race. But, he’ll have to eliminate the problems that have plagued him from the start of his career. Statistically, this has been Friesen’s best career year to date, earning two wins, 12 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes with one pole.

    Final Analysis: Friesen will have the whole dirt world on his shoulders watching Friday night’s race at Homestead. When not racing Trucks, the Halmar driver can be found racing dirt cars almost every night of the week, even on an off-weekend. This may be his best shot at winning the title currently, as he has said that he doesn’t have any plans yet for next year. Winning a title could help those chances, but will it provide a distraction during the race? Only time will tell.

  • Championship Analysis: Matt Crafton

    Championship Analysis: Matt Crafton

    In Part 3 of the Championship Analysis series ahead of the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami, Speedway Media takes an in-depth look at the Truck Series veteran Matt Crafton. Crafton is competing in his third Championship 4 finale and seeks his third Truck Series title in a career that has spanned over 20 years.

    It’s been a strange season, to say the least, for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 ThorSport Racing team. The ThorSport driver will be chasing his third title for the third time in the Truck Series Playoffs. When looking at the stats for this season, Crafton has only earned six top fives and 17 top-10 finishes with only 35 laps led. He’s come close a couple of times to winning but has never been able to pull it off.

    How He Got Here: Luck. It’s been all luck this past season for the California native, who is chasing his third career Truck Series championship. If it wasn’t for three stage wins, I’m not really sure if we would be talking about Crafton right now. Sure, he’s been consistently finishing in the top-10 but the 2019 season hasn’t been a stellar year for him. Crafton has shined a couple of times, though, finishing second at Fort Worth in June plus earning three poles, at Kansas, Charlotte and Talladega. However, disarray arose when the Playoffs started at Las Vegas in September. Engine issues plagued Crafton to a 30th place finish. Even then, he was facing possible elimination, but somehow made it through to live on another day. Then came Martinsville, where once again electrical issues resulted in a 23rd place finish for Crafton. However, with a sixth-place finish and enough points, the California native will be competing in his third Championship 4 race Friday night.

    Championship Chances: If Crafton can avoid having electrical issues as he has faced in the Playoffs, then he most certainly has a shot like the other three contenders. The ThorSport driver knows how to get it done in situations like these. It wasn’t all that long ago that Crafton took a beat-up truck and won the championship before the playoff system was set in stone. However, I am concerned with the team not yet winning this season which may provide a challenge for Crafton. However, knowing the crafty veteran, he has seen the ins and outs of what it takes to win the title. Being hungry for that first win in two years, he may just pull a rabbit out of the hat and notch his third Truck Series championship.

    Final Analysis: If Crafton can get another championship, it would just be another list of accomplishments added to his Hall of Fame career. At 43-years-old, he has a couple more years left in hopes to get a few more championships to his name in a career that has spanned over 20 years dating back to 2000. However, it has been noted, Crafton hopes to be like Ron Hornaday and keep contending for wins before it’s time to call it a career. 

  • Championship Analysis: Ross Chastain

    Championship Analysis: Ross Chastain

    In the continuation of the four-part Championship Analysis, Speedway Media takes a look at Ross Chastain. Chastain switched to Truck Series points a few weeks after his big win at Kansas Speedway in May. That decision has worked out as the Niece Motorsports driver finds himself competing for his first-ever NASCAR championship after a long and rocky road.

    Ross Chastain – Chastain has a big day ahead of him when Friday comes around as the Niece Motorsports driver competes for the Truck Series title. But he is used to challenges.

    How He Got Here: Chastain was originally racing for NASCAR Xfinity Series points at the beginning of 2019. However, the Floridian found success early on in the Truck Series with a string of top-10 finishes. Chastain picked up his first Truck Series victory at Kansas back in May. Due to selecting to receive Xfinity points, the win did not make him eligible for the Playoffs at the time. But, right before the June race at Texas, Chastain declared he was switching points to the Truck Series, in hopes of challenging for the championship by years end.

    It has not gone smoothly as troubles arose at Iowa when Chastain won the race but failed the post-race inspection and his win was taken away. He did not let this get him down and two weeks later, Chastain went on to win at Gateway. By doing so, he was able to lock himself into the Playoffs. Quickly becoming a fan favorite, the Floridan continued his consistency, winning at Pocono and showing that he was ready for his first Truck Series playoff run. He hasn’t been able to win during the Playoffs but his top fives and 10s have allowed him to move through and he has built a manageable points lead. By securing a ninth-place finish at Phoenix, Chastain found himself with no voice as he was locked into the Championship 4 race for the first time in his career.

    Championship Chances: The Niece Motorsports driver will have to rise up to the pressure in chasing for the title. As noted, this will be the first time Chastain has the opportunity to collect his first NASCAR Series championship. However, that pressure is something the Floridan has experienced throughout his career. Chastain has competed at Homestead before but never for the championship so Friday morning’s practice sessions will have value for the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team. Having already announced his 2020 season plans, Chastain can focus solely on winning the championship. Don’t be at all surprised if he pulls off the victory in Friday night’s race, which most certainly would be the biggest win of his career yet.

    Final Analysis: Chastain has come a long way from his early beginnings in NASCAR. He has been through it all. He has gone from being fired in the Truck Series to racing for a competitive team to competing for an underdog team to literally having no ride at all. The Niece Motorsports driver has faced all kinds of circumstances in his life and nothing would be sweeter than to claim the ultimate prize. It could quite possibly be the most popular victory the Truck Series has seen in a couple of years.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at ISM

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at ISM

    The Truck Series visited ISM Raceway for the final race in the Round of 6 this past Friday night, prior to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The playoff drivers that were already in a Championship 4 spot, had to do what they needed to do in order to move on to Homestead.

    The battle was really for the fourth and final spot between Austin Hill, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum. Rookie Tyler Ankrum was in a must-win situation going in. It wasn’t impossible, but Ankrum fell short with a disappointing 26th place finish. With Ankrum out of the picture, the battle came down to Crafton and Hill. 

    Hill was above the cut line heading into Phoenix and Crafton was below. While both drivers weren’t in a must-win situation, they were in a must-do well situation. In the end, Crafton got the job done with a sixth-place finish, while Hill will have to wait another year to fight for the championship, as he wound up 13th after starting on the pole. 


    With the Championship 4 spots set, a few other notable comments and instances may have been overshadowed in the Lucas Oil 150 Friday night. 

    Here are this week’s four takeaways from Round 21 in the Truck Series race at ISM Raceway. 

    1. Friesen rebounds to win, 2020 not set – After an early penalty, Friesen came back to win and made a statement in Friday night’s race. He didn’t take the lead until Lap 107 but the Canadian proved that he belongs in the Championship 4 race at Homestead by winning. Many have probably thought Friesen had a lot to prove, considering he had not won yet on asphalt aside from his dirt win at Eldora this past summer. With the win, Friesen proved his doubters wrong and now he vies to fight for the title with a team that has pretty much started from the ground up. As Friesen focuses on the Truck Series championship, it was also noted that he does not have anything for the 2020 season right now. Though, winning the championship this weekend could certainly help those causes in a return at Halmar Racing next season.
    2. ThorSport Has Strong Night at ISM – Despite a frustrating playoff run that came to an early end for Johnny Sauter and Grant Enfinger, all four drivers had decent runs when the checkered flag flew. Ben Rhodes won the first stage and led 47 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, his seventh top five of the year. Enfinger qualified eighth and finished fifth with a finish of eighth in Stage 1. Crafton locked himself into the championship race with a sixth-place finish after having stages finishes of third and second, respectively. Sauter rounded out the ThorSport quartet with an eighth-place finish after finishing 10th in both stages.
    3. Ty Majeski Returns To NASCAR – Majeski returned to the NASCAR circuit Friday night in Phoenix for the first time since 2018, when he last competed in the Xfinity Series. The last time the Wisconsin native competed in NASCAR was Phoenix of last year for the now-defunct Roush Fenway Racing Xfinity team, where Majeski started 39th and finished 18th. This time around, Majeski returned to the Niece Motorsports team, piloting the No. 44 Chevy. He started fifth and finished 11th, not bad in his NASCAR return with a field stacked with talent.
    4. Championship 4 Set – It’s hard to believe that we are now one race away from closing the 2019 Truck Series season. It feels like yesterday when we were all in Daytona for the season opener, trying to figure out who would win this season and who would be fighting for the championship come season end. Now the time has come to settle it among the top four drivers who are going to be competing for the Truck Series championship Friday night. Brett Moffitt challenges for his second title in a row, while fan-favorite Ross Chastain competes for his Truck title. Matt Crafton returns for the third time in the playoff format since 2016 in hopes of a third Truck title. Should Crafton win, he would be the only driver winning his third championship but will join the likes of Ron Hornaday to have more than two. Finally, the most likely underdog coming into this race is Stewart Friesen. Friesen has been quietly consistent this season, earning 12 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 8.4. It certainly would be quite the story if Friesen could pull off the victory Friday night.
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- ISM

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- ISM

    ISM Raceway hosted the conclusion of the Round of 6 this past weekend for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The Lucas Oil 150 from Phoenix was quite a different race than the one we saw two weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway. Only five cautions slowed the pace for 30 laps, but in reality, there were only two if you remove the stage cautions. Not much action, but that was more than likely a welcome sight for the playoff drivers who were fighting for a spot in the Championship 4. 

    While one playoff driver rebounded from an early penalty, a couple of drivers who were not in the playoffs continued to shine and made their names known. 

    With that in mind, here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Lucas Oil 150. 

    1. Brett Moffitt – When you look at the results and see that Moffitt finished 10th, it might not seem too impressive but the No. 24 GMS Racing team got the job done. That job was to lock themselves into the Champ 4 at Homestead. By having such a large points lead at one point in the race, the Grimes, Iowa native clinched a spot early in the race. Even if something catastrophic happened, Moffitt would still be in the championship race. The 10th place finish is what might have been for the GMS driver, but the focus is now on Homestead as Moffitt chases his second Truck Series title. Don’t be shocked if the team is able to pull off another championship when the season closes Friday night.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Stewart Friesen- In what looked liked was going to be a troubling race for Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team, the Canadian rebounded to his second win of the season. Like his GMS technical teammate Moffitt, Friesen was solidly locked in barring any circumstances. It took most of the race to do it, but on Lap 107, the Halmar driver took the lead and led the last 44 laps en route to a Championship 4 spot this week. He may slide under the radar going into the race but Friesen just may be the spoiler in the championship race.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    3. Chandler Smith – The Talking Rock, Georgia rookie Chandler Smith continues to impress in his short Truck Series stint this season. Smith qualified the No. 46 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck in the sixth position and remained consistent in the top-10 throughout the night. In fact, the Georgia native was close to winning the first stage by finishing second. Smith followed Stage 2 up with a third place finish. In the end, the KBM driver ultimately finished third after leading just one lap. With most of his racing season wrapped up in the ARCA and Truck Series, Smith most likely is focusing on the 2020 season where he will continue to make starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The future NASCAR star doesn’t turn 18 until June 26. In retrospect, he may very well challenge for the title next year, should NASCAR grant him a waiver if Smith ends up winning a race in the second part of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    4. Ross Chastain – It was a valiant ninth-place effort for Chastain and his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team who now find themselves battling for their first ever championship. The Florida native didn’t have the best qualifying spot of 14th, but a stage finish of fourth in Stage 1 and avoiding trouble helped Chastain chase for the Truck Series title. Now the pressure is on Chastain to perform well in hopes of winning the championship before focusing on his Xfinity efforts in 2020 with Kaulig Racing.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    5. Grant Enfinger- It was a quiet fifth-place finish for Enfinger and the No. 98 ThorSport Racing team after starting eighth. The Alabama native didn’t lead any laps or win any stages but Enfinger notched his 10th top five of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

      Fell Out 
    1. Todd Gilliland – After breaking through for his first career Truck Series win a few weeks ago at Martinsville, Gilliland and the No. 4 team struggled to finish in the top-10 at Phoenix. While the North Carolina native had stage finishes of sixth and seventh in both stages, Gilliland wound up a disappointing 14th place finish. Not the night the KBM driver was looking for in hopes of following up Martinsville with a strong finish.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

    2. Timmy Hill – Hill did not compete in the Truck race as rookie Carson Hocevar piloted the No. 56 Hill Motorsports Chevy to a 23rd place finish, one lap down.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth 
  • Friesen wins at ISM, Truck Series Championship 4 set

    Friesen wins at ISM, Truck Series Championship 4 set

    AVONDALE, Ariz. — Stewart Friesen wins at ISM Raceway in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150, as the Championship 4 are now officially set for next weekend’s title-deciding race.

    “We’ve got a badass piece for next week, too,” stated a confident Friesen, as he locked himself into next Friday’s championship race.

    After facing an opening-lap penalty for beating polesitter Austin Hill to the line on the initial start, Friesen battled his way back to the front, leading 44 laps in the 150 lap event.

    “It was a great race car,” said Friesen, who was sent to the rear of the field after getting to the stripe ahead of Hill, who spun his tires on the initial start. “We were able to pass ‘em all, pass ‘em all clean.

    “Great race car, great race team. We’ll all celebrate tomorrow, and then it’s game on.”

    The other three drivers to join him will be Ross Chastain, Matt Crafton and last year’s champion, Brett Moffitt.

    “My main concern for the day was getting us locked into the owner points as well,” Moffitt said. “We got both jobs done today.”

    Chastain declared points for the Truck series partway through the season, and now finds his team as one of the four who will race for the 2019 title.

    “Man, this is crazy — a dream come true though,” Chastain said.

    Crafton was below the cutoff line, but was strong all day and earned many points from Stage 1 and 2 to earn his way into Miami.

    “I didn’t have anything to lose and everything to gain,” Crafton said. “And that’s the way I drove it from the green flag to the checkered flag.”

    Brandon Jones was the highest finishing non-Playoff driver in the runner-up position. With roughly 30 laps remaining, he radioed to his crew to ask about Friesen’s point status. When his crew chief responded that Friesen was essentially locked in, the No. 19 driver drove more aggressively after the leader. He, however, fell short when they battled through lapped traffic.

    At the end of the night, two drivers were eliminated: Hill and Tyler Ankrum. Ankrum missed the first three races of the year but was able to make it as far as the Round of 6 before missing the final round. Even he didn’t realize he would make it this far but looked back on the year with much to learn. As he reflected on his year, he felt some races were missed opportunities but was still proud of what he was able to accomplish as one of the bigger underdogs of the field.

    “For me, I think there’s one or two races we should have won, but didn’t win,” Ankrum stated when reviewing his first full-time season as a whole. “I think Pocono is one of those. I think I could have done a lot better at Canada finishing wise. Bristol could have been a lot better with electrical issues there and then Las Vegas, burning up two pistons. Stuff like that I look back on and those things are out of my control, and I think we could have had a really good race, then we didn’t.

    “In most people’s eyes, we’ve overachieved or exceeded our expectations, which I’m really proud of. For me, personally, I’m really proud of what we’ve done here this year. Not just based off of what we’ve done on the racetrack, but also between what we’ve done as a team working really well together and become a family.”

    As for Hill, he knew he needed to stay ahead of Ankrum and Crafton. He started strong by earning the pole in qualifying earlier in the day and was able to outrun Ankrum during the race, who finished six laps down. But Crafton beat Ankrum overall both in finishing position and with points collected with 15 more points. That gave Crafton the edge over Hill by just a handful of points to push Hill below the cutoff line.

    “We were getting eaten up on the restarts, and were put in the middle 3-wide sometimes,” Hill shared after the race. “When we had a really long run, we were okay. That last run, we tried to loosen it up but it was the tightest we ever were. We just didn’t perform; we didn’t execute like we were supposed to. We had high hopes after qualifying on the pole, and we just fell back like an anchor.”

    The last race of the season will be held next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

  • Weekend Schedule for ISM Raceway

    Weekend Schedule for ISM Raceway

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series will compete this weekend at ISM Raceway for the final races of the regular season. Kyle Busch (Cup), Christopher Bell (Xfinity) and Brett Moffitt (Truck) are the defending race winners.

    Next week the top four in each division will battle for the championship at  Homestead-Miami Speedway as NASCAR closes out the 2019 season.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Nov. 8

    10:05 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.: Truck Series First Practice (No TV)

    11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.: Truck Series Final Practice (No TV)

    3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice (NBC Sports App)

    4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice (NBC Sports App/MRN/NBCSN joins in-progress at 4:30)

    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions (FS1)

    6:05 p.m. – 6:55 p.m.: Final Xfinity Series Practice (NBCSN/NBC Sports App)

    7 p.m. – 7:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice (NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN)

    8:30 p.m.: Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 – (Stages 45/90/150 Laps = 150 Miles) (FS1/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    Saturday, Nov. 9

    12:35 p.m. – Xfinity Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) (NBCSN/NBC Sports App)

    2 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) (NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 – (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 200 Miles) (NBC/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    Sunday, Nov. 10

    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 (Stages 75/150/312 Laps = 312 Miles) (NBC/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    Playoff standings prior to ISM Raceway

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:

    1. Martin Truex Jr. – 4133 points

    2. Kevin Harvick – 4113 points

    3. Kyle Busch – 4113 points

    4. Joey Logano – 4111 points

    5. Denny Hamlin – 4091 points

    6. Ryan Blaney – 4088 points

    7. Kyle Larson – 4088 points

    8. Chase Elliott – 4033 points

    NASCAR Xfinity Series:

    1. Christopher Bell – 3166 points

    2. Cole Custer – 3135 points

    3. Tyler Reddick – 3119 points

    4. Justin Allgaier – 3101 points

    5. Chase Briscoe – 3083 points

    6.Michael Annett – 3073 points

    7. Austin Cindric – 3070 points

    8. Noah Gragson – 3054 points

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series:

    1.Brett Moffitt – 3107

    2. Stewart Friesen – 3097

    3. Ross Chastain – 3082

    4. Austin Hill – 3071

    5. Matt Crafton – 3062

    6. Tyler Ankrum – 3056

    7. Johnny Sauter – 2172

    8. Grant Enfinger – 2164

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

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-ISM Raceway

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-ISM Raceway

    After 21 races and six races in the Playoffs, it is time for the regular-season finale at ISM Raceway. With just one round to go for the Truck Series, six drivers still have a shot to punch their ticket to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Friday night. However, only one driver gets to win the race, while others will have to settle for pointing their way in with a lot of help.

    Bur first let’s take a look at the action when the Truck Series last raced a couple of weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway. In the end, Todd Gilliland broke through for his first-ever Truck Series career win. With Gilliland scoring his first win, several playoff drivers had their own troubles in the Hall of Fame 200.

    Current playoff series points leader Brett Moffitt had issues of his own. On Lap 124, Moffitt was involved in a big accident on the backstretch. As a result, the GMS Racing driver had to settle for a 29th place finish after leading 80 laps and winning Stage 1. Austin Hill was also involved in this wreck and finished 26th. The big incident also collected rookie playoff driver Tyler Ankrum, which gave the DGR-Crosley driver a 25th place finish. Finally, Matt Crafton had some electrical issues which prevented him from having a strong run and he had a disappointing 23rd place finish.

    Only two playoff drivers, Ross Chastain and Stewart Friesen, were able to survive the carnage. Chastain was the highest playoff driver, finishing in the runner-up spot with 68 laps led. On the other hand, Friesen wound up with a sixth-place finish after a quiet day.

    Moving forward, all four spots are still up for grabs heading into IMS Raceway. This means nothing is set in stone, though, should a driver win a stage, it could be beneficial in clinching a spot throughout the race. While nothing is guaranteed, the current top four need to bring their A-game if they want to be the ones heading to Homestead next week racing for the championship.

    With that in mind, let’s take a look at who just might pull off the victory in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150.

    There are 34 Trucks on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s race, meaning two will go home after qualifying is settled.

    1. Johnny Sauter – With two races to go in the 2019 Truck Series season, ThorSport driver Johnny Sauter would like to end it on a high note and Phoenix just might help him do that. The Wisconsin native has competed in every race since his first track start back in 2009. Since then, he’s collected one win (2017), five top-fives and eight top-10 finishes with 16 laps led and one pole. Barring a crash in 2015, Sauter has an average finish of 8.9. The 2019 season hasn’t been the best for Sauter, only collecting four top-fives and nine top-10 finishes compared to a year ago where he had six wins, 14 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes. By having a good track record at Phoenix, Sauter could very well pull off the victory Friday night.

    2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt only has one start at Phoenix, which dates back to last year. However, it was the most important start to his career as he wound up winning the race and punched the ticket to the Championship 4. Moffitt led 19 laps en route to victory and won the first stage. While one start at a track with a victory might not mean much, the Grimes, Iowa native could not have been racing this year if it wasn’t due to this victory. He still doesn’t have a spot yet in the Championship 4, but Moffitt is the current points leader over his technical teammate Stewart Friesen by 10 points.

    3. John Hunter Nemechek – Speaking of weird circumstances, it’s been a questionable season for Nemechek who entered back into the Truck Series at Bristol in August. It hasn’t been the best of starts with three of the four starts listed as DNFs. One of those DNFs came at Vegas, where the NEMCO driver didn’t get to start the race and was credited with a last-place finish. Though, with his recent start at Martinsville a few weeks ago, Nemechek broke through with a seventh-place finish. Looking at Phoenix, he has six starts and has competed in every race since 2013, earning a best finish of second twice (2015, 2017). Overall, Nemechek has scored two top-fives and four top-10 finishes with 31 laps led. If anything, Friday night might be a proving ground with the possibility of getting another Truck Series victory, since Martinsville of last year.

    4. Harrison Burton – Like his teammate Gilliland, Burton might continue the winning streak and get his first victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports in Friday night’s race. In just one start, the 19-year-old started third and finished third after leading 46 laps. Burton also gained top-10 finishes in both the stages, winning Stage 1 and finishing eighth in Stage 2. By announcing an Xfinity Series ride with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2020 a couple of weeks ago, Burton would like nothing better than to collect his first win with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    5. Stewart Friesen – Phoenix might provide a victory opportunity for playoff driver Stewart Friesen who currently sits second just 10 points behind his technical teammate Moffitt. In three starts, the Canadian has one top-five and top-10 finish at ISM, earning a best finish of fifth in last year’s race. On top of those finishes, Friesen has an average finish of 9.7.

    Playoff drivers

    Ross Chastain – Chastain has two starts at Phoenix, but the last one came six years ago for the defunct Brad Keselowski Racing team. In that race, the now Niece Motorsports driver started on the pole, led 63 laps and finished second. Chastain’s other finish was a DNF in 2012, finishing 33rd. The Florida native will have to use all the practice time he will get Friday morning in preparation for Friday night’s race.

    Austin Hill – Hill has two starts here at ISM, with a best finish of 23rd two years ago, though that was with his former team Young’s Motorsports. Even with the 23rd place finish, Hill has two DNFs in two of his starts. If this happens again, the Hattori Racing driver would be missing the Championship 4.

    Matt Crafton – Crafton currently is below the cut line as far as points go. However, his Phoenix starts have been up and down and are somewhat mind-boggling. The California native has no wins and a finish of second just once that occurred in 2014. Since then, it’s been crash or finish in the top-10. In 2015, he had a DNF, finishing 23rd, third in 2016, a DNF again in 2017, finishing 21st and he finished 11th in last year’s race. If Crafton wants to compete for another championship, he will have to eliminate mistakes and avoid any catastrophic failures.

    Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum has just one start which came in 2018. The DGR-Crosley driver finished sixth after starting 15th. If everything goes to plan, Ankrum just might be the one that surprises us all by heading to the Championship 4 as a rookie.

    Other drivers entered in the field include Dylan Lupton in the No. 5 DGR-Crosley Toyota, Tanner Gray in the No. 7 for DGR-Crosley, Anthony Alfredo in the No. 15 for DGR-Crosley, Derek Kraus in the No. 19 for Bill McAnally, Colby Howard making his Truck Series debut for the No. 20 of Young’s Motorsports, Danny Bohn continues his ride with the No. 30 of On Point Motorsports, Carson Ware attempts to make his Truck debut for Reaume Brothers Racing, while Kyle Plott also hopes to do the same with the same entry in the No. 34.

    Ty Majeski is back in the field, competing with Niece Motorsports in the No. 44. Rookie sensation Chandler Smith is back in the field for Kyle Busch Motorsports for the first time since Bristol in August. Kansas Xfinity Series winner, Brandon Jones, is slated to make his last Truck Series start of the season driving the No. 51 KBM entry. Portage, Michigan native Carson Hocevar hopes to make his second Truck start for the No. 56 of Hill Motorsports. Rounding out the entry list is the return of Jesse Little and the No. 97 team owned Ford. Little attempts his first start since Bristol in August.

    ISM Raceway has hosted 28 Truck Series races since its first race back in 1995. The list of winners is stacked with names like Mike Skinner, Jack Sprague, Joe Ruttman, Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Bliss, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, David Starr, Todd Bodine, Johnny Benson Jr., Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Brian Scott, Erik Jones, Timothy Peters, Daniel Suarez, Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt.

    On the manufacturer’s side, Chevrolet has the most career victories with 15, Toyota with nine wins, Ford with three wins and Dodge has one win.

    For stage wins, Christopher Bell swept the stages in 2017 before heading to Homestead the week after and winning his first NASCAR championship. In 2018, it was Moffit and Harrison Burton who collected the stage wins.

    The Truck Series drivers get on-track early Friday morning with first practice slated for 8:05 a.m Pacific time. The final practice is set for 9:35 a.m. Pacific time with no live TV coverage. Fox Sports 1 picks up qualifying Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. ET/3:05 p.m. Pacific time.

    The Lucas Oil 150 is scheduled to get underway shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. Pacific time live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages are 40/40/70 to make up the 150 lap race.

    Playoff standings

    1. Brett Moffitt
    2. Stewart Friesen, -10
    3. Ross Chastain, -25
    4. Austin Hill, -36
      Below the cut line
    5. Matt Crafton, -45
    6. Tyler Ankrum, -51
  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Martinsville II

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Martinsville II

    The Truck Series was back in action at Martinsville Speedway for the Round of 6. The Hall of Fame 200 saw many accidents and was quite possibly the most action-packed race since its season opener at Daytona back in February. While there were many drivers had a solid day, rebounded from troubles, race fans were left frustrated at the telecast missing the final two laps of Todd Gilliland’s first career win. 

    Here are four takeaways from the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway. 

    1. Gilliland Breaks Through -It was a long time coming for Todd Gilliland who has faced some criticism from team owner Kyle Busch throughout the season. 2019 has not been too kind to the youngster. Gilliland, so far this season, has collected six top fives and 13 top-10 finishes along with three DNFs. The win is an important victory in his career considering that Gilliland does not have anything for 2020. Hopefully, this win will boost some confidence in him and just might turn some heads in the garage area.
    2. Playoff Drivers Find Trouble at Martinsville – Several Playoff drivers found themselves in trouble following the playoff race at Martinsville with some of them collected in at least one incident throughout the afternoon. Brett Moffitt had the dominating truck, leading 84 laps, winning Stage 1 and finishing seventh in both stages before getting collected in a wreck on Lap 124, leaving him with a disappointing 29th place finish. Stewart Friesen was also involved in a wreck on Lap 150 off Turn 4 after a bump from behind which sent him spinning though, the Halmar driver rebounded to a sixth-place finish. Matt Crafton also had his share of troubles with engine issues. A 23rd place finish left the California native disappointed and frustrated following Martinsville. Rookie Tyler Ankrum saw himself involved in the same incident as Moffitt and sends him heading into Phoenix in a must-win situation.
    3. TV Coverage – Race fans and many people in the NASCAR community were left frustrated Saturday afternoon when the Fox Sports 1 feed cut off toward the very end of the race fans were only able to hear the audio as the race finished. Once the race ended the feed came back on and switched to another game event and we did not get to experience the excitement of Gilliland’s first career win. It was one of the worst things imaginable for Gilliland who has been trying so hard to get that win. I for one, have been frustrated with Fox Sports 1 coverage of the Truck Series in 2019. The coverage has not been the best and at times, we have missed restarts and cautions that take place during commercials. I understand the need for commercial breaks but after this Saturday, it could be the line for many race fans that might call it quits when it comes to watching Truck Series races on Fox Sports 1. Imagine if this happened in the championship race or in the final four races of the Cup season? Hopefully, whatever happened will not ever happen again.
    4. Small Teams Shine in Top 10 – Like Talladega, Martinsville is known to have some surprise finishes for the small underdog teams who call the track an equalizer. First, Timmy Hill brought home his No. 56 Hill Motorsports team truck to a fifth place finish, the best of the team’s career. NASCAR Whelen Modified driver, Danny Bohn, finished eighth in his first ever Truck Series race, competing in the No. 30 On Point Motorsports entry, not too bad in your first career Truck Series race but it might be expected when Bohn competes in the Modified tour on a couple of short tracks. Finally, Codie Rohrbaugh earned himself a career-best finish of 10th for his own No. 9 team. It’s his best finish in over 10 races of Rohrbaugh’s career where his previous best finish was 14th at Kentucky earlier this year.