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Tag: NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series

  • Brett Moffitt punches ticket into Championship 4 following Kansas victory

    Brett Moffitt punches ticket into Championship 4 following Kansas victory

    Despite an overtime restart and making contact with his teammate Zane Smith, Grimes, Iowa native Brett Moffitt held on to win his first race of the 2020 season at Kansas Speedway and is now one of four drivers eligible for the Championship 4.

    “Definitely relief, Moffitt said following the Kansas victory. “It’s go time in the season, and we’ve had a pretty rough one on our No. 23 (GMS) team, so it’s a lot of relief to get back to victory lane to do it in a such high-pressure situation and knowing now we have a shot to win the championship.”

    Kansas Speedway was the opening round for the Round of 8 Playoffs for the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, which began on Saturday afternoon on a windy day in Kansas City, KS. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith was on the pole with Hailie Deegan making her first Truck Series appearance starting 34th in the No. 17 DGR-Crosley Ford F-150. Stages 30-30-74 laps made up the 134-lap race but an overtime restart caused the race to go three laps longer than the advertised distance.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

    The action was intense from the get-go with playoff driver Ben Rhodes brushing the Turn 2 wall early on. The Kentucky native fell in the running order as far back as 20th when the first stage ended.

    Meanwhile, GMS Racing’s Sheldon Creed swiped the lead at the start of the race and held on to win the first stage. Following Creed were Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Johnny Sauter, Moffitt, and Todd Gilliland completing the Top 10.

    Stage 2: Lap 37 – Lap 60

    After the restart on Lap 37, a major wreck occurred off Turn 4 causing a seven-minute red flag. Multiple drivers were involved in the accident including some playoff drivers. Tyler Ankrum’s truck caught on fire after breaking a fuel line and we saw his No. 26 truck go up in flames. Other involved were Talladega winner Raphael Lessard, David Gravel, Parker Kligerman, Tanner Gray, Clay Greenfield, Ben Rhodes, Dawson Cram, and Trevor Bayne.

    During the red flag, Rhodes’ team was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall as they were repairing the truck during the damaged vehicle policy. The penalty ultimately ended Rhodes’s shot of winning the race, and he eventually wound up 20th, three laps down. With just two races left before the championship race at Phoenix, the Kentucky native faces a must-win situation moving forward at Texas and Martinsville.

    Following the red flag, a few battles for the lead ensued. Zane Smith grabbed the lead from Austin Hill on Lap 48 but Creed was back out front (Lap 54) for the Stage 2 victory, sweeping both of the stages. Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Eckes, Crafton, Gilliland, Sauter, Moffitt, and Enfinger rounded out the Top 10.

    Prior to the conclusion of Stage 2, playoff drivers Christian Eckes and Austin Hill made major contact after Eckes tried avoiding the lap truck of Jennifer Jo Cobb on the frontstretch which caused Hill’s team to have a long pit stop to fix the damage during the Stage 2 break.

    Stage 3: Lap 67 – Lap 139

    With 52 laps to go, Zane Smith passed teammate Sheldon Creed for the lead. Smith maintained the lead for the longest time until the final round of the green-flag pit stops occurred with 34 laps to go. Following Smith’s, and Moffitt’s pit stops, both GMS Racing teammates battled each other on the apron. Smith held Moffitt briefly before Moffitt had the top spot.

    However, during the initial cycle, Moffitt was unable to check out which allowed Smith to close back in and take the lead again with 10 laps to go. Smith looked as though he had the race in the bag but Moffitt came back and challenged again. Unfortunately for Smith, Moffitt came down to block for the lead, but it was a little too much as Smith ended up sliding sideways into Turn(s) 3 and 4 causing an overtime restart.

    Even with the overtime restart, Moffitt scored his 12th career victory and is now locked into the Championship 4 for the third consecutive year since 2018. Zane Smith finished in the 11th position after the contact.

    “I think that was our ticket to Phoenix right there,” Smith said after the contact with Moffitt. “I felt like, I’ve really been stepping it up at the track for sure. I don’t know if that showed at the track today, but it was just whoever could work through lap traffic at the end. I got him (Moffitt) and pulled away a little bit, then he (Moffitt) got to me and did a slider. I had a big run down the hill and he (Moffitt) hit my right-front pretty hard. Luckily, I was able to save the truck off the fence.”

    There were four cautions for 24 laps and 13 lead changes among nine different drivers.

    Moffitt led twice for 15 laps en route to victory.

    Updated Playoffs standings

    1. Brett Moffitt, Locked into the Championship 4
    2. Sheldon Creed, +26 above the cut line
    3. Austin Hill, +19 above the cut line
    4. Zane Smith, +7 above the cut line
      Below the cut line
    5. Grant Enfinger, -7
    6. Matt Crafton, -15
    7. Ben Rhodes, -33
    8. Tyler Ankrum, -56

    Official Results following the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway.

    1. Brett Moffitt, led 15 laps, locked into Championship 4
    2. Sheldon Creed, (Playoff driver) led 61 laps, won both stages
    3. Austin Hill, (Playoff driver), led 13 laps
    4. Grant Enfinger, (Playoff driver), led one lap
    5. Chandler Smith, led one lap
    6. Christian Eckes, led seven laps
    7. Timothy Peters
    8. Matt Crafton, (Playoff driver)
    9. Derek Kraus
    10. Trevor Bayne
    11. Zane Smith, (Playoff driver), led 37 laps
    12. Ryan Truex, 1 lap down
    13. Todd Gilliland, 1 lap down
    14. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
    15. Parker Kligerman, 1 lap down
    16. Hailie Deegan, 1 lap down
    17. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
    18. Johnny Sauter, 1 lap down, led one lap
    19. Austin Wayne Self, 2 laps down
    20. Ben Rhodes, (Playoff driver), 3 laps down
    21. Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
    22. Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
    23. Dawson Cram, 4 laps down
    24. Colin Garrett, 4 laps down
    25. Clay Greenfield, 5 laps down
    26. Ray Ciccarelli, 6 laps down
    27. Josh Bilicki, 7 laps down
    28. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 9 laps down
    29. Jordan Anderson, 12 laps down
    30. Norm Benning, OUT, Vibration
    31. Tim Viens, OUT, Fuel Pump
    32. Raphael Lessard, OUT, Crash
    33. Tyler Ankrum, (Playoff driver) OUT, Crash
    34. David Gravel, OUT, Crash
    35. Tanner Gray, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will visit Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 25 scheduled for noon ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series race at Talladega

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series race at Talladega

    Talladega Superspeedway was the third race in the Round of 10 for the Truck Series Playoffs Saturday afternoon in Talladega, Alabama. 

    While there were 10 drivers vying for eight playoff spots for the Round of 8, 28 other Truck Series drivers were also trying to make a name for themselves, knowing that it’s one of the few races for the year where they also have a shot at winning with the draft playing as an equalizer. 

    You could say Raphael Lessard was somewhat of an “upset winner” but Lessard has had his moments this year. He shined at the Daytona Road Course where he finished third and led three laps. Other notable finishes for Lessard include a seventh at Michigan the week prior to the Road Course and sixth at Gateway. The Canadian broke through at Talladega after Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers formed a plan after Stage 2 to ride around in the back of the field and wait for their moment. Unfortunately for Eckes who crashed on the last lap, the team’s plan somewhat came to fruition with Lessard getting the win and his teammate Chandler Smith finishing third in the running. 

    With Kyle Busch Motorsports somewhat enjoying their Talladega success, we’ll take a look at other stories you might have missed from the Chevrolet Silverado 250. 

    1. Two Crew Chiefs Ejected – Quite possibly one of the most newsworthy stories prior to the race getting underway, two Truck Series crew chiefs were ejected for violating vent holes in the prerace inspection. Those crew chiefs were Trip Bruce for the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen and Doug George for the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh. Both crew chiefs were fined and replaced by personnel within the race team.

    2. Trevor Bayne Close To Victory – Had the caution not come out for the crash occurring behind the race leaders, we most likely would have been talking about a different race winner which could have been Trevor Bayne. Bayne was close to victory but missed out by .006 seconds to Lessard once the caution had flown. However, if the Niece Motorsports driver had won the race, the victory would have been Bayne’s first since 2013 in the Xfinity Series at Iowa, the site of his last NASCAR career victory. The second-place finish was Bayne’s best since the Chicago Xfinity Series race back in 2014. Nonetheless, Bayne also had news of his own, as he will pilot the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevy for the remainder of the 2020 Truck Series season.
    3. Rohrbaugh and Anderson Continue Superspeedway Success – It seems as though we keep seeing the names of Jordan Anderson and Codie Rohrbaugh at the end of the superspeedway races this season. That continued on Saturday afternoon when Rohrbaugh scored a fifth-place finish, his second top-five of his career, while Anderson finished sixth, his second Top 10 finish of the year. Both Rohrbaugh and Anderson finished second and third, respectively, earlier this year at the season opener at Daytona.
    4. Other Drivers Have Career Best Day At Talladega – With the focus on the Truck Series playoff drivers, there were numerous other Truck Series regulars who enjoyed their best finish of the season to date. Chandler Smith placed third, his best finish of the year, while Clay Greenfield finished 14th in the running order where his former best was 21st at Darlington. Norm Benning earned a 22nd place in his outing and Josh Reaume matched a 23rd place finish.
  • Weekend schedule for Talladega

    Weekend schedule for Talladega

    NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend as the 2020 season winds down. Anything is possible at the unpredictable 2.66-mile track as drivers compete for a chance to win it all at the championship finale in November at Phoenix Raceway.

    The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the Xfinity Series hit the track Saturday, at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. The Talladega race will determine who moves forward into the Round of 8 in the Truck Series. This will be the second race in the Round of 12 for the Xfinity Series.

    Sunday afternoon the action continues as the Cup Series closes out the weekend at 2 p.m. with the second race in the series Round of 12.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, Oct. 3

    1 p.m.: Truck Series Chevy Silverado 250 (Stages 20/40/94 Laps = 250.04 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Sheldon Creed

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 (Stages 25/50/113 Laps = 300.58 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Chase Briscoe

    Sunday, Oct. 4

    2 p.m.: Cup Series YellaWood 500 (Stages 60/120/188 Laps = 500 Miles ) NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Denny Hamlin

  • NASCAR Truck Series Power Rankings – Las Vegas II

    NASCAR Truck Series Power Rankings – Las Vegas II

    With just one race left in the Round of 10 for the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, the action is starting to heat up as they head to Talladega Superspeedway this Saturday. 

    After a poor run of 25th at Bristol last week, Austin Hill returned to victory lane for the first time in nine races since his last victory at Kansas in July. Hill is slowly but surely becoming a championship favorite week in and week out by having consistent top-five and top-10 finishes. In fact, Hill has only finished outside the top 10 just three times this year with those coming at Texas due to engine problems, Michigan, and most recently, at Bristol. 

    If Hill can keep this momentum going through the entirety of the 2020 Playoffs, then it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise if he’ll is crowned champion at the end of the season in Phoenix. 

    Though, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, as there are five races remaining in 2020 and a lot can and will happen before the checkered flag falls at Phoenix in November. 

    For now, let’s take a look at this week’s Power Rankings following Race No. 18 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

    1. Grant Enfinger – A Top 10 was all she had in Grant Enfinger’s No. 98 camp after Enfinger finished in the sixth position for his 11th top 10 of the year. The Alabaman navigated his No. 98 Ford F-150 to a finish of fourth in Stage 1 and barely missed earning a top-10 stage finish in Stage 2 with 11th. Heading to his home track this weekend at Talladega, Enfinger sits fifth in the standings, +31 above the cut line.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
    2. Matt Crafton – A valiant effort of ninth last Friday night for Crafton after scrubbing the wall early due to Sheldon Creed making him check up on the backstretch. The Californian led no laps but did get stage finishes of ninth and eighth. Considering last week’s disappointment of 10th at Bristol, Las Vegas was a nice rebound for the No. 88 team. In addition, Crafton also picked up his 11th top 10 of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    3. Austin Hill – Hill rebounded from a forgettable Bristol outing of 25th to a win at Las Vegas Friday night. Even though he was nowhere to be seen throughout the first two stages, Hill grabbed the lead off a Lap 95 restart and held on for the final 39 laps before he took the checkered flag for the second time this season. As far as stages go, Hill did place in the Top 10 for Stage 2 with an effort of finishing ninth.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    4. Christian Eckes – A solid, much needed night of Christian Eckes and the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team who came home in the eighth position after leading laps early. In fact, if and when Eckes looks back on the Las Vegas race, it’s probably one of the few ones that got away from the New York native who showed promise in the early portions of the race. Before finishing eighth, Eckes led just five laps and placed seventh in both stages. The Top 10 finish marked his eighth of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Tanner Gray – Tanner Gray has been picking up steam over the last two weeks in his No. 15 DGR-Crosley Ford F-150. Gray has finished in the third position at Bristol and Las Vegas, gaining some of his best career finishes. The top-five at Vegas marks Gray’s fourth of the 2020 season and matched his career-best of third at Michigan in August.

    Fell Out 

    1. Brett Moffitt – A disappointing 15th place run by Moffitt who showed promise early by finishing second and third in Stage 1 and 2, respectively, but ultimately fell outside the Top 10 once the 134 lap event concluded. It was not the run the Iowan needed as he currently leads the championship playoff standings.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Tyler Ankrum – A quiet Top 10 finish from Ankrum who finished 10th, somewhat of a disappointment after finishing seventh at Bristol the week before. Top 10’s are nice in the early opening rounds of the playoffs, but it’s ultimately winning that gets you further and potentially the opportunity to battle for the championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    3. Ben Rhodes – Smoke and oil troubles plagued the No. 99 ThorSport team before a crash eventually ended any hopes of securing a top-five finish Friday night. It was not ideal for the Kentucky native who now sits below the cut line heading into the final round of the playoffs at Talladega this Saturday. It would be disappointing for Rhodes, who made a last chance effort to make the playoffs with his win at Darlington, to get eliminated (if that is the case come Saturday).

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth 

  • Four Takeaways from the Truck Series race at Las Vegas

    Four Takeaways from the Truck Series race at Las Vegas

    The World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Friday night, marked the second race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs. After coming up short at Bristol the week prior, Brett Moffitt had hopes of bouncing back and potentially increasing his championship points lead over the rest of the playoff field.

    However, Moffitt’s race was unfortunately forgettable for the most part, as the GMS Racing driver continued his winless streak, finishing 15th, after starting on the pole. Moffitt could only manage to lead one lap as Sheldon Creed passed his teammate on Lap 2. While the Las Vegas race looked like it was going to be dominated by Creed, he was eventually challenged by Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra, when Hill made the pass on Creed with 39 laps to go.

    Hill was unchallenged during the final remaining laps and held on to score his second victory of the 2020 Truck Series season and advance to the Round of 8. Fortunately for Hill, he won’t have to worry about Talladega Superspeedway this Saturday afternoon after already winning at Las Vegas. However, the other playoff drivers will be hoping they won’t get collected in the “Big One.”

    While the main focus is on the playoff drivers for the rest of the season, we’ll also take a look at what we might have missed in Friday night’s race at Las Vegas

    1. Chandler Smith Sees Back to Back Top Five Finishes – The 2020 Truck Series season hasn’t been too kind to the highly regarded NASCAR prospect of Chandler Smith. Thus far, Smith has not had the luck he’s needed to finish inside the Top 10. He finished 22nd at Kentucky and 38th at Michigan due to a crash, 20th at Dover and 23rd at Gateway and Darlington. However, over the last three weeks, Smith has been picking up momentum since finishing 12th at Richmond. At Bristol, Smith finally cracked the top five for the first time since Phoenix of last fall. This past week at Vegas, the Georgian earned another fifth-place finish, resulting in back-to-back top-fives. Smith now has five Top 10 finishes in his Truck Series career.

    2. Ryan Truex Earns Best Finish of 2020 – Ryan Truex has only competed in five Truck Series races this year but the New Jersey native has made the most of those opportunities. Aside from his finishes of 27th at Kentucky and 19th at Michigan, Truex has finished inside the Top 15 three times this season. On Friday night at Vegas, Truex earned his best finish of the year finishing 12th to go with his most recent best finish of 13th coming at Atlanta and Texas.

    3. Dylan Lupton Returns – The Las Vegas race was sort of a “home sweet home” type of feeling for Dylan Lupton. Lupton made his first Truck Series start of the year last Friday night, competing in the No. 17 DGR-Crosley machine. Lupton’s last Truck Series start came last year at Phoenix, where he started 16th and finished 16th. He originally attempted Homestead but failed to qualify. However, Lupton was back in the series Friday night and had a respectable run by finishing 13th on the lead lap.

    4. Get Well Soon Natalie – Before the 134 lapper got underway, Niece Motorsports driver Natalie Decker was unable to compete due to medical reasons. It was later reported by NASCAR in an official race report that she was facing fatigue issues. As the race was over, the Wisconsin driver was eventually cleared by NASCAR and released from the infield medical center. Decker later commented on Twitter that she would have some testing done to figure out what is wrong with her. Whatever that may be, here’s wishing Decker a speedy recovery. Unfortunately for Decker, she was credited with a last-place finish.
  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Bristol

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Bristol

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Bristol Motor Speedway this past Thursday night for race No. 1 of the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs, and for the most part, the racing didn’t disappoint. 

    Surprisingly, the UNOH 200 was run mainly under caution-free conditions and provided a new series winner. Sam Mayer, one of the up and coming rising stars in the stock world, broke through and won for the first time in the NASCAR Truck Series after passing teammate and playoff driver, Brett Moffitt, with less than 30 to go. The Wisconsin native became the second-youngest winner in Truck Series history at the age of 17.

    While Mayer got the victory in the series, there were other drivers who also enjoyed their most recent best runs of the night. But most of the playoff grid struggled with Moffitt being the highest of the 10 in the point standings, finishing second in the running order. 

    Let’s take a look at some of the highlights and stories you may have missed in this week’s Takeaways following the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

    1. Tanner Gray Matches Career-Best – Tanner Gray in the No. 15 DGR-Crosley Ford enjoyed another career-best of third Thursday night at Bristol. Gray’s 2020 rookie season has been a learning curve for the most part since coming over from the NHRA Pro Stock division the year prior. The third-place finish was his second of the year since he finished third at Michigan earlier in the summer. It was a great run that was needed after having recent finishes outside the Top 15.
    2. Chandler Smith and Parker Kligerman Grab Top Five Finishes – Speaking of much needed runs, Chandler Smith grabbed a top-five finish at Bristol. Smith has not had a kind 2020 so far with most of his finishes coming in either 20th or 23rd place. In fact, his last top-five finish in the Truck Series came last year at Phoenix where the Georgia native finished third for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Meanwhile, Parker Kligerman was back in the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports Chevrolet for his sixth start of the season. Kligerman used strategy to his advantage and ran a clean race to bring home the No. 75 for a fourth-place result, his best finish at Bristol since 2018.
    3. Trevor Bayne Disqualified – Trevor Bayne was entered in only his third Truck start of his career and season last Thursday for Niece Motorsports. The Nashville, Tennessee driver originally finished fifth in the running order, in what would have been his best career Truck Series finish. Unfortunately for Bayne, he was disqualified and relegated to a last-place finish for failing post-race tech due to ride heights.
    4. Camping World Returns In 2021 – Announced late last week, previous title sponsor Camping World, will return to sponsoring the Truck Series next year for 2021. Camping World last sponsored the series in 2018, before Gander RV and Outdoors took over in 2019 and through the end of this year.
  • Sam Mayer scores first career Truck Series victory at Bristol

    Sam Mayer scores first career Truck Series victory at Bristol

    In just seven Truck Series starts, 17-year-old Sam Mayer played spoiler for the playoff Truck Series drivers as he became the second-youngest winner in series history after passing GMS Racing teammate Brett Moffitt with less than 30 to go to achieve his first Truck Series victory.

    “What? Oh my gosh, Bristol dude. I love this place,” Mayer said after the race. “This is win No. 3 for me here and man, I don’t know what to say. I can’t thank the guys back at the shop enough.

    “They work their tails off. We fired off so good. We only made like one trackbar adjustment all day, that’s it. That feels so good.”

    Despite heavy rain showers earlier in the day due to the remnants of Hurricane Sally, NASCAR officials were able to get the half-mile track dried just in time for the 200-lap event which marked the first of seven playoff races for the Truck Series. Stages of 55-55-90 laps made up the three stages. And only one driver, Jennifer Jo Cobb, had to drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 55

    The action was quick from the start and as early as Lap 5 when playoff driver Austin Hill found trouble after contact with the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen. The contact gave Hill right-rear bumper damage which hurt the handling of the No. 16 Toyota. Eventually, the yellow would fly on Lap 8 when the debris flew off the No. 16.

    Throughout the rest of the stage, there were no cautions but a few notable incidents among other playoff drivers. It was reported after the Lap 13 restart that Grant Enfinger faced potential issues as he reported the engine kept shutting off and on. Fast forward to Lap 34, when Friesen had handling problems with his No. 52 truck. Although the issue was never diagnosed throughout the race, the Halmar Friesen Racing team reported the truck could have had an ignition problem.

    From there, Brett Moffitt took the stage victory with Tyler Ankrum, Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Mayer, Derek Kraus, Johnny Sauter, and Christian Eckes completing the Top 10.

    Stage 2: Lap 67 – Lap 110

    Just one caution slowed the second stage after the No. 30 of Danny Bohn spun off Turn 4 when contact was made with the No. 20 of Spencer Boyd. However, during the caution, playoff driver Creed came to pit road to take fresh tires and adjustments for the No. 2 Chevy but was penalized for being too fast on pit road.

    The rest of the stage remained green, only this time Ankrum took the top spot for the Stage 2 victory. Sauter, Moffitt, Zane Smith, Mayer, Kraus, Crafton, Carson Hocevar, Parker Kligerman, and Eckes rounded out the Top 10 finishers.

    During the stage break caution, Sauter and Friesen were penalized for being too fast entering pit road and were sent to the rear prior to the Stage 3 restart. Meanwhile, Stage 2 winner Ankrum, missed his pit box the first time coming to pit road as he and the No. 26 team had a miscommunication and Ankrum was forced to come down pit road a second time to finally make his pit stop.

    Stage 3: Lap 119 – Lap 200

    Like Stage 2, the final stage was surprisingly clean with just a few minor incidents. On Lap 150, Creed and Kraus make notable contact on the backstretch. Despite the contact, both drivers were able to keep racing and no yellow was flown. Unfortunately, the night would only get worse for playoff contender Austin Hill who was involved in an incident seven laps later on Lap 157 when the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self came up the track and got turned by Hill going into Turn(s) 3 and 4. After the contact, Hill came to pit road to fix the damage but received a penalty for too many men over the pit wall and he also owed NASCAR two laps due to being under the damage vehicle policy from an earlier incident.

    The last restart of the night came with 33 to go with Moffitt leading the way. However, it was his GMS Racing teammate, Mayer, who shined under the lights after taking the lead with 29 to go on the backstretch. From there, Mayer had a rocket ship with his No. 24 Chevy and went on to claim his first Truck Series victory with Moffitt following in the second position.

    Mayer led just one time for 30 laps.

    There were five cautions for 41 laps and four lead changes among three different leaders.

    Updated Playoff Grid following Round 1 at Bristol Motor Speedway

    1. Brett Moffitt, +36
    2. Sheldon Creed, +28
    3. Zane Smith, +25
    4. Grant Enfinger, +24
    5. Tyler Ankrum, +19
    6. Matt Crafton, +13
    7. Ben Rhodes, +6
    8. Austin Hill, +2
    9. Christian Eckes, -2
    10. Todd Gilliland, -8

    Official Results following the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    1. Sam Mayer, led 30 laps
    2. Brett Moffitt, led 117 laps, won Stage 1
    3. Tanner Gray
    4. Parker Kligerman
    5. Chandler Smith
    6. Grant Enfinger
    7. Tyler Ankrum, led 53 laps, won Stage 2
    8. Ross Chastain
    9. Johnny Sauter
    10. Matt Crafton
    11. Sheldon Creed
    12. Christian Eckes
    13. Ben Rhodes
    14. Todd Gilliland
    15. Derek Kraus
    16. Zane Smith, 1 lap down
    17. Carson Hocevar, 1 lap down
    18. Raphael Lessard, 1 lap down
    19. Camden Murphy, 1 lap down
    20. Timmy Hill, 3 laps down
    21. Tate Fogleman, 3 laps down
    22. Clay Greenfield, 3 laps down
    23. Jordan Anderson, 3 laps down
    24. Danny Bohn, 4 laps down
    25. Austin Hill, 5 laps down
    26. Josh Bilicki, 8 laps down
    27. Spencer Boyd, 8 laps down
    28. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 10 laps down
    29. Natalie Decker, 14 laps down
    30. Cody Erickson, 17 laps down
    31. Codie Rohrbaugh, OUT, Brakes
    32. Stewart Friesen, 33 laps down
    33. Austin Wayne Self, OUT, Crash
    34. Norm Benning, OUT, Suspension
    35. Josh Reaume, OUT, Suspension
    36. Trevor Bayne, Originally finished fifth, but was disqualified for failing post-race tech.

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will continue its 2020 Playoff run next Friday, Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, live at 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Weekend schedule for Bristol

    Weekend schedule for Bristol

    This week NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway. The Cup Series will compete Saturday night as they close out the first round of their playoffs to narrow the field from 16 drivers to 12.

    Thursday evening will feature the opening round of the playoffs for the NASCAR Gander & RV Outdoors Truck Series. Friday night the Xfinity Series takes to the track for the last race of the regular season.

    There will also be a doubleheader for the ARCA Menards Series at Bristol. They will race Thursday night following the Truck Series and again on Saturday afternoon prior to the Cup Series event.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, Sept. 17

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (Stages 55/110/200 Laps = 106.6 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Grant Enfinger

    9:30 p.m.: ARCA Bush’s Beans 200 (200 Laps, 106.6 Miles) FS1/MRN

    Friday, Sept. 18

    7 p.m.: Xfinity Series Food City 300 (Stages 85/170/300 Laps = 159.9 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Justin Allgaier

    Saturday, Sept. 19

    3 p.m.: ARCA Toyota 200 presented by Crosley Brands (Winchester) Trackpass

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Stages 125/250/500 Laps = 266.5 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Brad Keselowski

    Cup Series Bubble Watch
    (Via NASCAR.com)
    RankDriverPoints to cutoff
     9Kyle Busch18
    10Aric Almirola 7
    11Kurt Busch 7
    12Clint Bowyer 3
    ——-Cut-Off Line———————
    13William Byron -3
    14Cole Custer -8
    15Matt DiBenedetto-25
    16Ryan Blaney-27
  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Richmond

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Richmond

    For the first time since 2005, the NASCAR Truck Series returned to Richmond International Raceway for the last race of the regular season, before the playoffs began. 

    Grant Enfinger was once again back on top with the checkered flag passing teammate Matt Crafton after Crafton dominated late in the race. By earning the victory, the Alabaman gained five playoff points headed to the first race for the Round of 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday. 

    However, there were also a few notables that happened throughout the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond, and we’ll take a look at them with this week’s Power Rankings. 

    1. Ben Rhodes – While it wasn’t another win as he had hoped, Ben Rhodes had a solid outing at Richmond, but one he might look back on as the playoffs start to get down to the wire. The Kentucky native started second, led 25 laps, and won Stage 2 before coming home to a third-place finish. The top five finish marked Rhodes’s seventh of the season and placed him sixth on the playoff grid, 12 points back from first.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Austin Hill – An atta boy effort in Hill’s camp as they clinched the regular-season title after Hill’s Stage 2 efforts and gained an additional 15 points for the playoffs. Before clinching the title, Hill led early on and seemingly had the truck to beat. Though as the night wore on, his truck somewhat fell off the pace and never could contend for the win after being strong through the first 65 laps. Despite the uncharacteristic-like finish, Hill finished third in both stages and continued his streak of top 10 finishes.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    3. Grant Enfinger – Right place, right time for Enfinger when his teammate and then race leader Crafton caught lap traffic at the wrong time with five laps to go. Enfinger made the pass for the eventual win and took home his third checkered flag of the season. Enfinger led three times for 18 laps and finished second in both stages respectively.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    4. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt led 32 laps before coming home in the fourth position. Had he not been passed by Crafton for the lead late, there’s no telling if the Iowan would have held on for the win in what would have been his first victory of the year. With the top-five finish, Moffitt is fifth on the playoff grid, 11 points back from first. Though I’m sure Moffitt wishes he could have the race back in terms of a victory.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    5. Todd Gilliland – After the unfortunate circumstance the week prior at Gateway after contact with Sheldon Creed that took him out of the win, Gilliland bounced back for a 17th place finish and locked himself into the playoffs for his efforts. The Front Row Motorsports driver is ninth on the grid, 23 points back from first.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth 

    Fell Out 
    Sheldon Creed – It was somewhat of a disappointing outing for Creed who never really contended for the victory and came home in the 13th position, one lap down, and could only salvage a Stage 2 finish of eighth. However, Creed will start the playoffs as the points leader with 2,026 points. It will be interesting to see if Creed can carry his mid-season momentum throughout the playoffs and if he makes the Championship 4 at Phoenix.

    Previous Week Ranking – Second

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Richmond

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Richmond

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Richmond International Raceway this past Thursday night for the first time in 15 years. 

    Race No. 16 of the season was the last race before the playoffs start this week at Bristol. While Grant Enfinger zipped on by teammate Matt Crafton for the race victory, there were some stories that you may have missed and we’d like to recall from the Toyota Care 250. 

    Here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the Truck Series race at Richmond. 

    1. ThorSport Scores 1-2-3 Finish – It’s the first time ever in Truck Series history that ThorSport Racing swept the top three spots with Enfinger, Crafton and Rhodes collecting the spots. Unfortunately for Sauter, his 2020 season struggles continued with an ill-handling truck and he was credited with a 27th place finish for his efforts, missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Despite the Sauter outing, it was still a special night by claiming the top three spots.
    2. Rohrbaugh Gets Best Finish Since Daytona – The 2020 season has been up and down for Codie Rohrbaugh and his No. 9 team, who took the last couple of weeks off to regroup and look forward to Richmond. When Richmond rolled back around, the team came back fresh with a sixth-place finish, Rohrbaugh’s third top 10 finish of his Truck Series career.
    3. David Ragan Scores Eighth Place Finish – Even though David Ragan last competed at Richmond in the Cup Series in 2019, it was 15-years since he last competed in a Truck Series at Richmond. But Thursday night Ragan had a respectable finish of fourth in Stage 2, before capturing a seventh-place finish, his first top 10 in the Truck Series since ‘06 at Texas when driving for Jack Roush.
    4. Jimmy Hensley Back In Victory Lane – While Grant Enfinger was back in victory lane, his crew chief Jimmy Hensley, was also in the winner’s circle again as well. When the Truck Series last visited Richmond, Hensley was celebrating in victory lane in 2005 with former Truck Series driver Mike Skinner who took home the checkered flag that night, which was also on a Thursday night.