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Tag: NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series

  • Enfinger back in Victory Lane at Richmond

    Enfinger back in Victory Lane at Richmond

    Grant Enfinger took the checkered flag at Richmond International Raceway for the third time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series 2020 season. It was his first victory since Atlanta earlier this season. The Alabaman took the lead from his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton with seven laps to go when Crafton had to check up off Turn 4 and roll out of the throttle, which let Enfinger roll on by for the victory.

    “Can’t say enough about [crew chief] Jeff Hensley, we’ve both been beating our head against the wall lately, but we go into the Playoffs with some momentum now,” said Enfinger, who led 18 laps in the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150.

    Richmond International Raceway marked the first time since 2005 that the Truck Series has raced on the circuit, 15 years ago. And for many drivers, aside from veterans David Ragan, Crafton and Johnny Sauter, most of the drivers in the field did not have any racing experience on the .750-mile race track in Virginia. Race No. 16 of 2020 also marked the last race of the Truck Series regular season before the Playoffs begin at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 17.

    Austin Hill started on the pole as determined by the new qualifying format that is based on competition percentages. He was also eligible to secure the regular season championship and pick up an additional 15 points as the series heads into the Playoffs. Stages of 70-70-110 laps made up the 250-lap event.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 70

    Numerous drivers had issues from the get-go, while pole sitter Austin Hill checked out with the race lead.

    On Lap 5, the No. 44 of Natalie Decker was on pit road with the hood up on her Niece Motorsports truck. She would eventually rejoin the race but many laps down and out of contention for the a solid finish. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter’s season continued to get worse, as he was down on pit road just 10 laps into the race. Later on in the stage, the team reported that something had possibly broken on his No. 13 truck. Sauter continued to struggle throughout the night, before being credited with a 27th place finish.

    The first caution flag of the night flew on Lap 55 when CMI Motorsports drivers Tim Viens and Ray Ciccarelli had an accident off Turn 4.

    Under the caution, Enfinger came down pit road for four tires and fuel while David Ragan was penalized for a crew member over the wall too soon and Trevor Bayne went to the garage for mechanical issues.

    After the brief yellow, the rest of the stage remained green from the Lap 61 restart until the Stage 1 completion on Lap 70.

    Zane Smith took the stage win with Enfinger, Austin Hill, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Derek Kraus, Sam Mayer, Brett Moffitt, Tate Fogleman and Christian Eckes were the top 10 finishers of Stage 1.

    During the stage break, a few drivers received penalties while making their pit stops. The No. 15 of Tanner Gray was penalized for too many crew members over the wall and Ryan Huff was penalized for commitment line violation. Raphael Lessard received a penalty for pitting outside the box and was held a lap and Danny Bohn for a crew member over the wall too soon.

    Prior to the restart of Stage 2, Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith was penalized for hitting the choose cone and was sent to the rear of the field.

    Stage 2: Lap 82 – Lap 140

    Stage 2 saw 59 laps of green-flag racing and no caution flags. The only notable of the stage was when Ben Rhodes took the lead from Enfinger on Lap 120 and held on to take the stage victory. Enfinger, Hill, Ragan, Zane Smith, Moffitt, Crafton, Creed, Gilliland, and Timmy Hill completed the top 10.

    By virtue of finishing third in Stage 2, Austin Hill clinched the regular-season title and gained an additional 15 points for the Playoffs.

    Stage 3: Lap 153 – Lap 250

    Enfinger’s race almost went awry when the green flag flew for the restart. The Alabaman made contact with his teammate and race leader Rhodes. Due to the contact, Enfinger received left rear fender damage. The team elected to bring him down pit road and give up track position to fix the damage, which put Enfinger a lap down.

    However, thanks to a Lap 175 caution for contact with Ciccarelli and Austin Wayne Self, Enfinger was the beneficiary of the free pass and was back on the lead lap. Under the caution, Crafton and Moffitt came to pit road, changing up their strategy.

    The remainder of the stage was caution-free with Crafton dominating the race and passing Moffitt for the lead with 31 laps to go. Unfortunately for Crafton, lap traffic was starting to get in the way and began slowing him up.

    As Crafton was not able to get through lap traffic smoothly, it allowed Enfinger to catch him, slowly but surely. The defining moment came with five to go when Crafton caught the No. 6 of Norm Benning at an unlucky time off Turn 4. From that moment on, Enfinger fended off Crafton for the checkered flag to pick up the win and five playoff points.

    There were four cautions for 37 laps and eight lead changes among six different drivers. Enfinger led three times for 18 laps en route to victory.

    By virtue of their finishes, Todd Gilliland and Tyler Ankrum clinched the last remaining playoff spots of ninth and 10th. Unfortunately for Derek Kraus, Johnny Sauter and Stewart Friesen, among others, they finished outside the top 10 and will miss out on the Playoffs. It’s the first-time in Sauter’s career he will miss the Playoffs.

    Official Results following the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond International Raceway:

    1. Grant Enfinger, led 18 laps
    2. Matt Crafton, led 25 laps
    3. Ben Rhodes, won Stage 2. led 66 laps
    4. Brett Moffitt led 32 laps
    5. Tyler Ankrum
    6. Codie Rohrbaugh
    7. David Ragan, 1 lap down
    8. Austin Hill, led 65 laps, 1 lap down
    9. Timmy Hill, 1 lap down
    10. Stewart Friesen, 1 lap down
    11. Zane Smith, won Stage 1, led 44 laps, 1 lap down
    12. Chandler Smith, 1 lap down
    13. Sheldon Creed, 1 lap down
    14. Austin Wayne Self, 1 lap down
    15. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
    16. Tanner Gray, 1 lap down
    17. Todd Gilliland, 1 lap down
    18. Christian Eckes, 1 lap down
    19. Sam Mayer, 1 lap down
    20. Spencer Boyd, 3 laps down
    21. Clay Greenfield, 3 laps down
    22. Derek Kraus, 4 laps down
    23. Jordan Anderson, 4 laps down
    24. Josh Bilicki, 5 laps down
    25. Raphael Lessard, 5 laps down
    26. Johnny Sauter, 8 laps down
    27. Ryan Huff, 11 laps down
    28. Trevor Bayne, 13 laps down
    29. Norm Benning, 15 laps down
    30. Ray Ciccarelli, 19 laps down
    31. Josh Reaume 33 laps down
    32. Danny Bohn, OUT, Electrical
    33. Natalie Decker, 95 laps down
    34. Tim Viens, OUT, Crash
    35. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Clutch

    Playoff Standings starting at Bristol

    1. Sheldon Creed, 2,026 points
    2. Zane Smith, -4 from the lead
    3. Austin Hill, -4 from the lead
    4. Grant Enfinger, -7 from the lead
    5. Brett Moffitt, -11 from the lead
    6. Ben Rhodes, -12 from the lead
    7. Matt Crafton, -17 from the lead
    8. Christian Eckes, -21 from the lead
    9. Todd Gilliland, -23 from the lead
    10. Tyler Ankrum, -24 from the lead

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will begin their 2020 Truck Series Playoffs with the Round of 10 beginning next Thursday night, Sept. 17, at Bristol Motor Speedway, which will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Weekend schedule for Richmond

    Weekend schedule for Richmond

    NASCAR travels to Richmond Raceway this weekend. The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is first up Thursday night for their regular season finale while the Xfinity Series will feature a doubleheader, competing Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Saturday will mark the second race in the Playoffs for the Cup Series Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

    Kevin Harvick remains the points leader after earning his eighth win of the season last week at Darlington Raceway and will start from the pole.

    Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer will have substitute crew chiefs after both teams were penalized for missing two lug nuts in post-race inspection at Darlington Raceway, resulting in $20,000 fines for each team. Also, Adam Stevens, crew chief for Busch, and Johnny Klausmeier (Bowyer), were suspended for one race. Jacob Canter will fill in as interim crew chief for Busch and Greg Zipadelli will crew chief for Bowyer.  

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, Sept. 10

    8 p.m.: Truck Series ToyotaCare 250 (Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) FS1/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Austin Hill

    Friday, Sept. 11

    7 p.m.: Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Ross Chastain
    2019 Winner: Christopher Bell

    Saturday, Sept. 12

    2 p.m.: Xfinity Series Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Replaces race originally scheduled for Michigan)

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (Stages 80/235/400 Laps = 300 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Kevin Harvick
    2019 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Ranking – Darlington

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Ranking – Darlington

    The last time the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Darlington Raceway was 2011, nine-years ago. And the last driver to win the Truck race prior to Sunday was former Cup Series star Kasey Kahne, who piloted the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to victory lane that day. 

    Fast forward to nine years later and the Truck Series returned to Darlington amid the COVID-19 pandemic and state restrictions. The Darlington event was supposed to be the annual Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race. But, with strict travel restrictions to other countries or continents, NASCAR decided to return to Darlington to replace the CTMP event. 

    Speaking of returns, Ben Rhodes returned to victory lane this past Sunday after taking advantage of an overtime restart and fending off rookie Derek Kraus to snap a winless drought. The victory marked the first time in two years since Kentucky where Rhodes collected a race-winning checkered flag. 

    While some fans may look at the victory as a fluke due to race leaders Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt electing to come to pit road prior to the final restart, Rhodes had a consistent day in his No. 99 Tenda Ford F-150.  

    We’ll take a look at Rhodes’s day and others in this week’s Power Rankings following the Truck Series race at Darlington. 

    1. Ben Rhodes – The victory was finally a weight lifted off of Rhodes shoulders, who has had an up and down season through the mid portions of the schedule. Leading up to Sunday’s victory, Rhodes had six top fives and 10 top 10s. By scoring the victory, he upped his average finish to a solid 9.1 and has a spot in the Playoffs. In both stages, Rhodes finished fourth before leading four laps en route to victory. If Rhodes can continue this momentum throughout the Playoffs, he easily could be a dark horse or championship favorite.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    2. Sheldon Creed – It was what could have been for Creed had he not elected to come down pit road for fresh tires. Though the No. 2 team really didn’t have any choice as his tires were eaten up, and the team elected to pit. Once Creed was mired in the back of the field, the spots he lost prior to the restart were too much to make up in a short amount of time. While finishing 18th may not look like a great outing, the Californian dominated the majority of the race by leading 82 laps and winning Stage 2. Had it not been for pitting with two to go, or for the late yellow, Creed easily could have ended up in victory lane.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    3. Brett Moffitt – Like Creed, Moffitt had a great shot of challenging his teammate for the win late or finishing in the runner up spot, if the caution hadn’t come out late in the race. Unlike Creed, Moffitt was one of the few that could rebound in just two laps to a 10th place finish, earning him his 10th top 10 of the season. Excluding the finish, Moffitt won Stage 1 and placed second in Stage 2. In addition, the Iowa native led 63 laps.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
    4. Austin Hill – It was a good day for Austin Hill, all things considered, after finishing in the third position. The Georgian was runner up in Stage 1 and wound up third in Stage 2. There were a few moments throughout the race when Hill contended for the victory but ultimately, third place was all Hill could do in his No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. The top-five finish was his eighth of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    5. Todd Gilliland – From first to seventh in a week for Todd Gilliland, who finished seventh after 152 laps in an overtime finish. He didn’t score any points during Stage 1 but the Front Row Motorsports driver did gain points in Stage 2 by finishing ninth. Gilliland currently sits 10th in the last playoff spot. If he has a good race on Thursday and a new driver does not win a race, Gilliland would be a part of the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs.

      Previous Week Ranking – First 
  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Race at Darlington

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

    Darlington Raceway marked race No. 15 of the 2020 Truck Series season. The race certainly had some storylines, both going into and coming out of the event. 

    It looked as though GMS Racing was once again going to dominate with drivers Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt. But a late yellow and a pit stop took these two drivers out of contention for the win. After that, Ben Rhodes found an opportunity after staying out to assume the race lead. Eventually, the Kentucky native brought home the No. 99 Ford to victory lane, giving ThorSport Racing their second win of the year. 

    While Rhodes enjoyed victory lane once again after a two-year drought. There was somewhat of a Roush reunion with drivers Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle, and David Ragan all returning to the cockpit for their one-off start. Biffle finished the highest of the bunch with a 19th place effort. 

    However, there were some other interesting stories that you may have missed. We’ll analyze them in this week’s Four Takeaways following the Truck Series race at Darlington. 

    1. Matt Noyce Gains First Win – After 49 starts in the Truck Series, crew chief Matt Noyce finally picked himself up a victory with assistance from Rhodes. The first time Noyce and Rhodes worked with each other was at Daytona last year. Since then, the duo has enjoyed some success, scoring solid finishes. Their first second-place finish together came at Martinsville last year. Before Sunday afternoon, the duo had three second-place finishes. Now that Rhodes has a win in the bank and is locked in the Playoffs, we will have to see if the driver and crew chief combination can continue to work well together and advance through the rounds.
    2. Kyle Busch Motorsports Sees Successful Day – Both Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers. Christian Eckes and Raphael Lessard, had quiet outings finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the running order. At times, it looked as though the Canadian Lessard was going to have a chance to win and potentially finish ahead of his teammate Eckes. He ran as high as third in some portions of the race but after the checkers flew, it was Eckes who placed one spot higher than Lessard after the 152-lap event. Nonetheless, it was a good outing for the KBM team, especially for Eckes, as he was able to clinch a playoff spot due to his result on Sunday.
    3. Timmy Hill Scores Top 10 Finish – Timmy Hill, in his dad’s inspired throwback No. 56 machine, enjoyed his third career top-10 outing following the Darlington race. It’s rare these days to see a small team finish inside the top 10 while competing against the larger teams. But Hill continues to work hard with limited resources and brought home a ninth-place finish after leading two laps. The top 10 result marked his first since Martinsville of last year, where he finished fifth. His other top 10 finish came seven years ago at Talladega, where Hill claimed sixth place.
    4. Johnny Sauter in a Must-Win Situation – The Darlington return for veteran Johnny Sauter wasn’t one to remember. Engines woes made it a forgettable race for the Wisconsin native as he was unable to finish and was credited with 31st place. Now, with just one race to go before the Playoffs start, Sauter, like many others outside the 10th position, is in a must-win situation in order to be a part of the playoff grid. Though only one driver can win you have to make it into the Playoffs to contend.
  • It’s time to go about crowning a Champion

    It’s time to go about crowning a Champion

    It has been a frantic season. Three, sometimes four races a week were the norm. Now, we are a little over two months away from crowning champions in NASCAR’s three national series. The old show started out with “they said it couldn’t be done.” Well, it was, thanks to NASCAR paying attention to the scientists and proper safeguards. They are to be applauded for that. They did it right from the beginning.

    Saturday night, there was a tremendous elimination race at Daytona. It was a good one, but it saw the retiring Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time Cup champion, be eliminated. Johnson was caught up in a problem, not of his doing, but this is common at what is known as “plate races.” The big question for fans and those in charge amounts to a question about should these plate races, where anyone can win and anyone can crash out, be an elimination race? For many, it is not. Fans love the races at Talladega and Daytona, but this writer does not think it is fair for competitors. Yes, run those tracks, but give them a race to recover. I can only think about the guy who comes in solid in the Playoffs, gets wrecked early in a “Big One” and fails to make the cut, if he had 26 second-place finishes. Yes, that is extreme but possible. Let me know what you think.

    The Cup drivers will be negotiating Darlington, Richmond, Bristol, Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte, Kansas, Texas, Martinsville, and Phoenix. Eliminations races will be held at Bristol, the ROVAL at Charlotte and Martinsville. The Final Four race for the championship is at Phoenix.

    Who will win? I have no idea. Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr., and Brad Keselowski have dominated, but who knows what will happen?

    The biggest surprises for me were wins by Cole Custer and the guy who beat out Johnson for the Playoffs, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, so you never know. Watching will be fun. My only fear is a Covid-19 outbreak. So far, so good. So, buckle up let’s see what happens.

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Gateway

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Gateway

    The hunt to the Truck Series Playoffs continued this past Sunday with a trip to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. 

    All eyes were on rookie stand-out Zane Smith, who has been strong as of late and is making a considerable bid to be a championship favorite. Meanwhile, his GMS Racing team-mates Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt and Tyler Ankrum continue to chase him for wins. 

    Smith shone in the first 45 laps of the event. But it was ultimately his teammate Sheldon Creed who got the victory after some controversial contact with then race leader, Todd Gilliland, who dominated the majority of the event. 

    Things may get tougher for the Californian as things progress late into the season as Creed noted that Gilliland “owes him one,” meaning payback from Gilliland could potentially happen. 

    Nonetheless, Creed scored the victory, and picked up an additional $50,000 thanks to the “Triple Truck Challenge” and now is a threat for the championship with three wins to his name. 

    Yet, there were other drivers who needed a solid run and did just that. 

    We’ll analyze them in this week’s Power Rankings following the CarShield 200 at Gateway. 

    1. Todd Gilliland – It was a great day gone bad for Gilliland after sweeping both stages and leading the most laps in a Truck Series race in his career but then getting together with eventual race winner Sheldon Creed in Turns 1 and 2 when Creed accidentally made Gilliland slide up the track and pound into the wall. The incident left a damaged No. 38 Ford F-150 and dashed Gilliland’s hopes of winning the race. His day got even worse when the Front Row Motorsports driver got caught two laps down as the yellow flew during his pit stop. Despite the negative outcome, there are some positives to take away from this race. Gilliland was on the outside looking in coming to Gateway but with two stage victories, he now sits 10th, the last position in the playoff grid, 15 points above the cut line.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    2. Brett Moffitt – A solid outing in Moffitt’s No. 23 GMS camp after he came home in the runner-up position. The Iowan placed third in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2. It’s still disappointing that Moffitt has not yet won this year when everyone expected him to but he’s got a comfortable points lead, +118, and five playoff points. Should Moffitt avoid any bad mishaps in the next two races, he can easily lock himself into the Playoffs at Darlington this weekend.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    3. Sheldon Creed – It went from worst to first in one week for the Californian. The week prior at Dover, he placed 22nd, four laps down. Now, Creed was back in victory lane again just a couple of weeks following his Daytona Road Course win. I would like to see a little more consistency out of this camp as some of his finishes have been up and down. When Creed won at Kentucky earlier in the season, he finished 16th a week later at Texas, a few laps down. In the Kansas doubleheader, he placed eighth in race 1, but wrecked out and was credited with a 26th place finish in the second race. He finished 30th at Michigan, one lap down, won the Daytona Road Course but finished 22nd at Dover. If the No. 2 team can find a little consistency in the Playoffs, there’s no doubt Creed can end up in the Championship 4.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    4. Austin Hill – Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises seem back on track after scoring finishes inside the top 10 in the past three races. Hill earned a finish of third in Sunday’s race, his best finish since winning at Kansas in July. The Georgian made a bid late in the race to challenge for the win but ultimately settled for his seventh top-five finish of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Ben Rhodes – Overall, it was a quiet day for Rhodes as he finished 11th in the running order. Despite placing outside the top 10, Rhodes earned stage finishes of seventh and ninth, respectively. However, he’ll need to pick it up a notch, if he wants to be a strong contender for the championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

    Fell Out 

    1. Matt Crafton – After experiencing an unusual issue in Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Ford F-150, he finished an uncharacteristic 14th place. After finishing fifth in Stage 1, Crafton’s Truck started to have some issues when he came down pit road during the stage break as his truck shut off prior to entering his pit box. There was some radio chatter from the crew that the truck could have run out of gas, but a full diagnosis was not discovered. It was an unfortunate day for Crafton who was strong early.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second 
  • Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to Daytona International Speedway in Florida while the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series travel to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Illinois.

    The Cup Series race at Daytona will serve as the regular season finale with the start of the postseason Playoffs set to begin on Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway.

    There are 13 drivers who have already earned a spot in the Cup Series 16-driver Playoff field. They include Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 28, 2020

    7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020

    11:30 a.m.: ARCA Menards Series final practice at Gateway – No TV

    6:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Dutch Boy 150 at Gateway (120 Laps, 150 Miles) TrackPass/MRN

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 50/100/160 Laps = 400 Miles) Pole: Kevin Harvick

    Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020

    Noon: Truck Series CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power at Gateway (Stages 55/110/160 Laps = 200 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series race at Dover

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series race at Dover

    The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series continued their march to the Playoffs last Friday at Dover International Speedway.

    Surprisingly, there is just three races left in the regular Truck Series season. It’s a little hard to believe the season is starting to wind down considering all that has happened this year with the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year. But, NASCAR has made a solid effort by getting most of the races in and just 10 Truck Series races left in the 2020 season.

    GMS Racing is currently the team to beat with rookie Zane Smith winning again for the second time this year. The team has a combined four wins with Sheldon Creed and Smith having a pair of victories. Remarkably, 2018 Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt and another rookie Tyler Ankrum, currently don’t have wins but have been close multiple times.

    Even though GMS has been the talk of the garage as of late, there are other story lines that are worth mentioning following Dover.

    Here are this week’s Four Takeaways.

    1. Johnny Sauter Has Solid Run – It’s been a dismal couple of weeks for Johnny Sauter’s No. 13 ThorSport team. An engine failure at Texas and a crash at Michigan has put the Wisconsin native in a must-win situation with three races left. A 71 point deficit is just too much to make up in over those races, so Sauter will need a victory if he wants to make the Playoffs. Nonetheless, he scored a respectable finish of sixth at one of his favorite racetracks.
    2. Carson Hocevar Gains Career Day – Coming into the Dover race, Hocevar’s best finish in the Truck Series was 23rd last year at Phoenix. On Friday, the Niece Motorsports driver cut that in half and earned a career-best of 12th. Not a bad outing in his fourth series start.
    3. Teammate Battles – A heated battle occurred between Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers on Lap 89 caused a multi-truck incident. Chandler Smith who was back in the No. 51 was underneath his teammate Christian Eckes in the No. 18 and they made contact with each other. Unfortunately for the Georgia native, Smith received the worst of the damage and as a result, he finished 20th two laps down after having a strong truck earlier in the race and leading 50 laps.
    4. Playoffs – The season has gone by in a hurry, but the playoffs are inching ever so closley. Currently, five drivers are locked in based on wins, but three additional drivers (Brett Moffitt, Eckes, and Ben Rhodes) are safely locked in on points if they have clean races. Where it really gets interesting is ninth to 11th. Tyler Ankrum is ninth with nine points above the cut line and Todd Gilliland is sitting in the last playoff position in 10th, four points in. Realistically, Derek Kraus would be the only driver outside the cut line that could point his way in. Kraus is sitting 11th, just four points out. Every other driver including Tanner Gray, Johnny Sauter, and Raphael Lessard are too far back to even have a chance. The only thing those three drivers could do is win, but only one driver will be the winner. One thing’s for sure, the points battle will be an interesting story to follow at the final race of the regular season.
  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Dover

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Dover

    The Truck Series continued their 2020 season momentum last Friday night by visiting Dover International Speedway for race No. 13.

    Rookie Zane Smith grabbed another victory when the checkered flag flew after 200 laps at the “Monster Mile.” The victory marked his second of the year and slowly, but surely, he is starting to become a championship favorite for the Playoffs. Aside from the Daytona Road Course, Smith has been able to either win or finish inside the top 10. With his late momentum, Smith has upped his average finish to a solid 10.9 and has only one DNF, which is really impressive for a rookie.

    While Smith enjoyed the Dover victory, the top 10 finishing order saw a mixed bag of drivers seeing their best finishes to date.

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following Race No. 13.

    1. Zane Smith – After finishing 13th the week last week at Daytona, Smith was back on top at Dover claiming the victory and leading 50 laps. On top of winning Friday’s race, Smith finished fourth in Stage 1 and won the second stage. All in all, not a bad day for the Californian who picked up 57 points and six playoff points. With the victory, Smith tied his GMS teammate Sheldon Creed in the playoff picture with 14 playoff points.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    2. Matt Crafton – Crafton found himself with a shot to win when a late-race restart came with three to go. He maneuvered his way to second following the restart and tried to chase down Smith in the process. Ultimately, the ThorSport driver fell .989 seconds short but did gain stage finishes of second and 10th, respectively. Crafton’s second-place finish was his seventh of the 2020 season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt started on the pole, led 50 laps, and came home to a podium finish of third. In both stages, the Iowan ended up fifth and gained a total of 46 points. Surprisingly, with just one race left before the playoffs are set, Moffitt does not have a win but currently is 94 points above the cut line. Barring any circumstances at Gateway, he could easily lock himself in after one of the stages. Though, he’ll have to pick it up a notch in the Playoffs and start winning a lot more often.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    4. Todd Gilliland – It was a bounce-back race in Gilliland’s camp after finishing 33rd at Daytona Road Course due to an electrical problem. This past weekend at Dover, the Front Row Motorsports Ford Performance team came home with a top-five after finishing fourth. It’s the first time he has finished fourth since Pocono back in June. Gilliland sits 10th on the bubble, +4 above the cut line without a win. If he finishes where he usually does next weekend at Gateway, Gilliland will be in the Playoffs. But, the No. 38 team will have to avoid any issues in order to make it in on points or can get help if there is no new winner.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Ben Rhodes – A much needed fifth place at Dover after finishing outside the top 10 the last two weeks and getting involved in a couple of incidents. Rhodes had a clean race and placed sixth in Stage 2. The fifth-place outing gained the Kentucky native his fifth of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Sheldon Creed – A forgettable 22nd place (four laps down) outing at Dover for Creed after winning Daytona the week prior. The only highlight of the day was Creed finishing sixth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had a quiet day finishing outside the top 10 in 13th, one lap down.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
  • Zane Smith conquers the Monster Mile

    Zane Smith conquers the Monster Mile

    Rookie of the Year contender Zane Smith won his second NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory of the 2020 season Friday afternoon at Dover International Speedway. Smith was almost picture-perfect throughout the 200 lap event, finishing fourth in Stage 1 and winning the second stage. Smith led the final 33 laps that included one late-race restart en route to victory.

    ““What an awesome truck,” Smith said. “I think we all know that I suck at restarts, but I picked a good time to have a good one. Man, two wins. This is by far the most fun I’ve ever had racing in my career. I’m just so blessed to be here.”

    Three stages split the 200-mile race with the first ending on Lap 45, the second on Lap 90, and the final on Lap 200. Brett Moffitt was on the pole as the starting lineup was determined based on finishing position from the previous race (50%), ranking in team owner points (35%) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%).

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 45

    It didn’t take long for yellows to start flying, especially early on. Tate Fogleman in the No. 02 brought out the first yellow on Lap 6 when he went sideways off Turn 4 but avoided any major damage. The second caution was the scheduled competition caution on Lap 20 to check tire wear.

    Moffitt was strong through the first 27 laps of the race, but Georgia native Austin Hill swiped the lead and held on to the top spot for the remainder of Stage 1. Crafton, Ankrum, Smith, Moffitt, Creed, Eckes, Enfinger, Lessard, and Gilliland rounded out the top 10.

    Stage 2: Lap 52 – Lap 90

    Stage 2 only saw minor incidents, but there were many close moments that could have prompted more cautions.

    One of those moments came for Johnny Sauter, as his No. 13 ThorSport machine got loose and high in Turns 1 and 2 after the restart.

    Another close call came on Lap 56 when Grant Enfinger and Tanner Gray slid up the track in Turn 4. Both went on without any major contact.

    There was a lead change during the remaining laps of Stage 2 when Derek Kraus in the Bill McAnally machine took the lead from Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith on Lap 79.

    Ten laps later, the fourth yellow flew when Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Christian Eckes and Smith make slight contact with each other in Turn 4. Unfortunately for Smith, he would be on the receiving end, and wound up spinning out Also collected in the process was Sheldon Creed and Ben Rhodes, who received some damage.

    With the yellow coming out so late in the stage, the stage ended under caution, giving Stage 2 to Zane Smith. Kraus, Eckes, Creed, Moffitt, Rhodes, Gilliland, Sauter, Ankrum, and Crafton completed the top 10.

    Stage 3: Lap 97 – Lap 200

    When Stage 3 got underway, NASCAR officials reviewed a restart when it looked liked Eckes got a jump on the leader, but it was later determined that the restart was all clear as it appeared Smith could not get going.

    Eckes and Moffitt traded the lead and both led for multiple laps, before Smith grabbed the lead again with 46 to go, a few laps until the final round of green-flag pit stops began.

    Those final pit stops would come with less than 40 to go, with Moffitt being the first to start the cycle of stops. A few drivers had troubles during pit stops, as Raphael Lessard and Tanner Gray would be penalized for a commitment line violation. Creed also received a penalty for pitting outside the box.

    California native, Smith, however, cycled back out into the lead with 32 to go.

    It looked as though Smith would run away with the victory at first, keeping his teammate Moffitt at bay. But a late-race yellow occurred with eight laps to go for Stewart Friesen spinning in Turns 1 and 2.

    Despite the late restart, Smith was able to fend off Matt Crafton for the victory and GMS Racing’s fifth win overall as a team.

    There were five cautions for 27 laps and 13 lead changes among 10 drivers. Smith led three times for 50 laps and picked up six playoff points. In addition, Smith picks up $50,000 due to the “Triple Truck Challenge.”

    Official Results following the KDI Office Technology 200 at Dover.

    1. Zane Smith, won Stage 2, led 50 laps
    2. Matt Crafton, led one lap
    3. Brett Moffitt, led 50 laps
    4. Todd Gilliland, led two laps
    5. Ben Rhodes
    6. Johnny Sauter
    7. Tyler Ankrum
    8. Austin Hill, won Stage 1, led 21 laps
    9. Stewart Friesen
    10. Derek Kraus, led nine laps
    11. Christian Eckes, led 34 laps
    12. Carson Hocevar, 1 lap down
    13. Grant Enfinger, 1 lap down
    14. Ty Majeski, 1 lap down
    15. Sam Mayer, 1 lap down
    16. Spencer Davis, 1 lap down
    17. Tanner Gray, 2 laps down, led one lap
    18. Bayley Currey, 2 laps down
    19. Raphael Lessard, 2 laps down
    20. Chandler Smith, 2 laps down, led 31 laps
    21. Timmy Hill, 3 laps down
    22. Sheldon Creed, 4 laps down, led one lap
    23. Austin Wayne Self, 4 laps down
    24. Jordan Anderson, 4 laps down
    25. Dawson Cram, 5 laps down
    26. JJ Yeley, 6 laps down
    27. Tate Fogleman, 7 laps down
    28. Spencer Boyd, 7 laps down
    29. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 11 laps down
    30. Tyler Hill, 12 laps down
    31. Tim Viens, 20 laps down
    32. Clay Greenfield, OUT, Suspension
    33. Bryant Barnhill, OUT, Ignition
    34. Parker Kligerman, OUT, Engine
    35. Norm Benning, OUT, Brakes

    Playoff Points

    1. Zane Smith, 2 wins, 14 points
    2. Sheldon Creed, 2 wins, 14 points
    3. Grant Enfinger, 2 wins, 11 points
    4. Austin Hill, 1 win, 7 points
    5. Matt Crafton, 1 win, 5 points
    6. Brett Moffitt, +94, 4 points
    7. Christian Eckes, +76
    8. Ben Rhodes, +76
    9. Tyler Ankrum, +9
    10. Todd Gilliland, +4

      Below the cut line
    11. Derek Kraus, -4
    12. Tanner Gray, -63
    13. Johnny Sauter, -71
    14. Raphael Lessard, -73

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway Sunday, Aug. 30 live on Fox Sports 1.