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NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Kansas
Kansas Speedway was the site of the first doubleheader in NASCAR Truck Series history and the first for the track itself and featured some great racing action across the two races.

After three years, Matt Crafton finally got it done and piloted the No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 to his third Kansas win. Crafton punched his ticket into the Playoffs and will be able to chase for his fourth Truck Series title. The Californian led the final 23 laps after an eventful third stage in the E.P.T. 200.

Before Crafton picked up the victory in Saturday’s event, Austin Hill and his No. 16 Hattori Racing team grabbed the checkers in Friday night’s outing for his first victory of the 2020 Truck Series season. Hill led a race-high of 65 laps before the Georgian took home the fifth win of his career.

With Hill and Crafton picking up victories in the doubleheaders, many Truck Series regulars had solid outings in the first race, while the same ones didn’t have as much luck in race No. 2.

Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 and the E.P.T 200 at Kansas Speedway.
1. Matt Crafton – A no-brainer here. The ThorSport driver notched his first win after a thrilling battle with Christian Eckes late in the going. Crafton managed stage finishes of third and second before getting the victory. In Friday’s race, he came home in the fourth position after randomly drawing 17th via owner points. His stage finishes weren’t quite as strong. Crafton finished fifth in Stage 1 and barely missed out on the top 10 in Stage 2, placing 13th. All in all, not a bad weekend for the No. 88 Menards team who finally snapped a three-year winless streak. Now it will be interesting to see if Crafton and company can be a strong contender for the championship once again.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
2. Christian Eckes – Eckes followed through with another top-five finish at Kansas, at least in the second outing, when he fell just .324 seconds short of winning his first NASCAR race. The New York native was somewhat quiet in the second race of the weekend, only leading six laps, and finishing fourth and ninth in the stages. However, the result was a much better finish than Friday’s race, as Eckes would struggle after drawing first and bringing the No. 18 machine home in the 13th position. Regardless, Eckes made up for the disappointing finish on Friday night and earned his third top-five of the season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – First
3. Zane Smith – Smith once again had a great weekend at Kansas, notwithstanding his run-in with his teammate (more on that later). The Californian shined in both events leading 17 laps in Friday’s event (finishing eighth and third in both stages) and sweeping the stages in Saturday’s race. Unfortunately, Smith would be the cause of the accident on Lap 95 when he got loose off Turn 4 and made contact with the two GMS Racing teammates (Brett Moffitt and Tyler Ankrum), thus ending their day early. Smith would also receive slight front end damage to his No. 21 machine. Despite the incident, he was able to bring the truck home to a top 10 (Smith’s sixth of the year), but his teammates might make it tough on him as the season wears on.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
4. Ben Rhodes- Rhodes overall had a consistent weekend after finishes of seventh and fifth in the doubleheader. Following the two races, the Kentucky native led just four laps but picked up some much needed points when Rhodes finished ninth and second in the stages of Friday’s race. Unfortunately, he would not pick up any points in either stage for Saturday’s outing but was able to manage track position and get the No. 99 Tenda Heel Ford F-150 to a top-five finish. Though, there is still some work to be done in the No. 99 team as they still do not have a win.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
5. Derek Kraus – Kraus showed great promise and speed this weekend at Kansas Speedway. In the Blu-Emu 200, he placed sixth and fifth in both stages, respectively, and gained stage finishes again in Saturday’s race. Overall, the Billy McAnally driver earned finishes of fifth and seventh following the two events. Not bad for missing your high school graduation.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Fell Out
1. Brett Moffitt – The Iowan would have had a good run at the 1.5-mile speedway, but a crash involving three teammates dashed his hopes on Lap 95 in Saturday’s E.P.T. 200. Up until that point, Moffit won Stage 1 in Friday’s showing and placed third in the second stage for Saturday’s efforts. While he did bring home the No. 23 Destiny Homes Ford second in the first race, Moffitt was credited with a 27th place finish in Saturday’s race.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
July 28, 2020
Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series races at Kansas
The Truck Series put on two great races this past Friday and Saturday in the heartland of the Midwest at Kansas Speedway. The track made some history by hosting two back-to-back Truck Series races, the first in its 19-year span.

Nobody knew what to expect from the two races since 1.5 milers can sometimes be uneventful, but Kansas put on a great show. Sure, in Friday’s race, there was more green flag action than yellows, but no driver was really ever able to check out over second place. Hill only led 65 of the scheduled 167 laps in Friday’s effort, while Crafton led just 23 laps before getting his first win of the season. While the results may show a driver leading the most laps of the two races, there were consistent battles for the lead. And of course, rookie Christian Eckes made the veteran Crafton work for his victory.

While Hill and Crafton enjoyed their victories, there were some notables in the field such as Travis Pastrana making his first NASCAR return in years. The Maryland native replaced Ross Chastain in the No. 40 for the Saturday race. Hoping for a strong outing, Pastrana had a difficult showing after having a flat tire ending his day.

After a historic doubleheader, two Truck Series regulars punched their ticket into the Playoffs and took two more spots in the playoff grid.

With those stories to focus on as the season wears on and the Playoffs inching closer, we take a look at four things we might have missed or need to revisit following this weekend’s Truck Series action.
1. Travis Pastrana Returns – We may have already noted this, but Travis Pastrana making his return to NASCAR was special. He last made a start in 2017 at the Las Vegas race driving for Niece Motorsports. Pastrana had high hopes of potentially being the story at the end of the day in victory lane. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to shine, due to having a right-rear tire go down with 10 to go in the first stage. The day would only get worse for Pastrana, as he would go sliding through the grass off Turn 4 after his teammate Natalie Decker took the air off of him. Pastrana came home in the 22nd position, two laps down.
2. Austin Wayne Self Gets Best Finish of the Season – The AM Racing team continues to fly under the radar after a couple of weeks of finishing inside the top 20. After securing a best finish of 14th at Texas a week ago, Wayne Self and the No. 22 team had momentum on their side and looked to carry that through Kansas. While Friday’s event didn’t go so well (finishing 17th), the Texan earned his best finish of the 2020 season Saturday afternoon, placing 13th. Leaving the team somewhat satisfied, they will now focus on trying to get their first top 10 of the season when the Truck Series rolls into Michigan a couple of weeks from now.
3. Brennan Poole Has Consistent Effort – It’s not very often you talk about Poole and the No. 30 OnPoint Motorsports team, but after this weekend the team has a right to be mentioned in your conversation with a race fan. Poole obtained two 12th place finishes after the two races at Kansas, collecting his best finishes of the season as well. Before this weekend, Poole only had a season-best of 17th. However, the Steven Lane owned team can have a little confidence after placing sixth in Stage 1 for Saturday’s race, and being consistent after such a tight turnaround following Friday.
4. Ryan Huff Grabs Respectable Finish – The Virginia native saw a respectable 19th place finishing position after a crazy hectic race on Saturday. Huff stayed out of trouble and kept pace in the field with the No. 00 Reaume Brothers Racing Toyota. Sure, while the finish came a lap down, the 19-year-old brought the Josh Reaume entry home with a clean truck.
July 27, 2020
Austin Hill claims Race One at Kansas
In a historic doubleheader weekend at Kansas Speedway, Austin Hill and his No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises team grabbed the checkered flag after leading a race-high 65 laps. The Georgian led the last 39 laps en route to his first win of the 2020 Truck Series season.

“This is awesome and we’ve been working so hard for this,” Hill said. “Last week was a bummer having engine troubles and I told the guys before coming here, let’s go finish three spots better and I’ll be dang if we didn’t do it. Can’t thank everybody enough at HRE, Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) and the guys, they work their tails off week in and week out. First win with the United Rentals paint scheme and that’s awesome, they’ve been a tremendous partner for me throughout my career. I’ve been wanting to get a win with these colors on and I’m so glad I was able to do it. That last pit stop, I tried to brake check a little bit and got out in fourth because I wanted to be in the high lane. I got tagged from behind, that was my fault and I apologize to Brett (Moffitt) when he hit me. I had it for Scott and the guys, they now have to replace the bumper to get ready for tomorrow. But I think the win was worth it.”

Stages consisting of 30, 30 and 74 laps made up the 134-lap event, which is shorter than last year’s event by about 33 laps. Christian Eckes was on the pole via a random draw based on owner points.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

Early on in the going Brett Moffitt and Todd Gilliland both led laps before Moffitt broke away from the battle. However, the first caution of the night flew on Lap 18 when Robby Lyons spun off Turn 4. Just before the yellow, Tyler Ankrum in the No. 26 experienced trouble with his brakes. Ankrum would return to the race, albeit 22 laps down, but eventually finished 33rd in the running order.

A restart came on Lap 23 with about eight to go in the first stage. Despite early battles and a couple of cautions, Moffitt held on to win the first stage. Hill, Ross Chastain, Gilliland, Matt Crafton, Derek Kraus, Eckes, Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes and Sheldon Creed were the top 10 finishers.

Stage 2: Lap 36- Lap 60

Just 25 laps would make up the second stage and it was caution-free. There were, however, multiple battles for position including a close moment between Crafton and Kraus off Turn 2 at Lap 39.

The lead swapped three times between Rhodes, Eckes, and Hill throughout the 25 lapper in Stage 2. Hill would eventually maintain the lead on Lap 41 and led for 23 laps. Right around 10 to go, Stewart Friesen, in his No. 52 Halmar Racing Toyota, had a right-rear tire go down which forced him to make a pit stop. Unfortunately, Friesen’s night continued to get worse and he would wind up placing in the 27th position.

When the green-checkered flew on Lap 60, it was Hill in the No. 16 who got the stage victory. Rhodes, Smith, Majeski, Kraus, Eckes, Chastain, Creed, Jones, and Moffitt wrapped up the top 10.

Stage 3: Lap 66 – Lap 134

Stage 3 provided a little more action than the first two stages.

With 53 to go, Korbin Forrister in the No. 7 machine, wrecked off Turn 4 slowing the field for the fourth and what would be the final time of the night. As the caution flew, this allowed race teams to take advantage of strategy as they chose to come down pit road for fresh tires. However, Gilliland who had a great run early got busted on pit road for an uncontrolled tire resulting in a penalty and was sent to the rear for the restart.

The restart came with 48 to go and once the field got going again, a great battle for the lead was seen. Moffitt, Hill, Crafton, and the No. 98 of Enfinger challenged for the top spot. During that initial battle, Chastain experienced difficulty with a flat right rear tire. The troubles continued to get worse for the No. 40 Niece Motorsports entry as Chastain pulled the truck behind the wall.

Out of the four drivers that swapped the lead, Moffitt led four laps and Crafton only one, but ultimately it was Hill that checked out on Lap 96. And just like Atlanta, Hill hoped there would not be any cautions late in the going. But a close moment between Spencer Davis and Jordan Anderson came with five to go when the two collided off Turn 4. Fortunately for Hill, the yellow would not fly and he could keep his three-second lead over second-place Moffitt.

In the end, Hill proved unbeatable as he piloted the No. 16 Toyota to victory lane for the first time this year and the fifth time of his career.

“Really, those last 20 laps felt like they went on forever,” Hill said about the last closing laps. “I started thinking, what am I going to do when a caution comes out. Am I going to choose the outside or inside lane and how hard do I drive it into the corner on old tires, just a lot of things were going through my head. I’m glad we didn’t have to do a green-white-checkered and finish it just ended like it did. The United Rentals Toyota Tundra was really fast tonight. We do have some work for tomorrow. It felt like on the long run we were just way too free. I had to really pedal it through the corner, but were good enough tonight.”

The victory snapped a six month winless streak for Hill and company. Hill led four times for 65 laps and picked up six playoff points.

There were four cautions for 19 laps and 17 lead changes among eight different leaders.

Official Results
1. Austin Hill, won Stage 2, led 65 laps
2. Brett Moffitt, won Stage 1, led 21 laps
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Matt Crafton, led two laps
5. Derek Kraus
6. Zane Smith, led 17 laps
7. Ben Rhodes, led three laps
8. Sheldon Creed
9. Johnny Sauter
10. Todd Gilliland
11. Ty Majeski
12. Brennan Poole
13. Christian Eckes
14. Brandon Jones
15. Chase Purdy
16. Raphael Lessard
17. Austin Wayne Self
18. Tanner Gray
19. Timmy Hill, 1 lap down
20. Cory Roper, 1 lap down
21. Natalie Decker, 1 lap down
22. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
23. Spencer Boyd, 1 lap down
24. Codie Rohrbaugh, 1 lap down
25. Dawson Cram, 1 lap down
26. Robby Lyons, 2 laps down
27. Stewart Friesen, 2 laps down
28. Clay Greenfield, 2 laps down
29. Spencer Davis, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
30. Jordan Anderson, 5 laps down
31. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 6 laps down
32. Ray Ciccarelli, 13 laps down
33. Tyler Ankrum, 22 laps down
34. Ross Chastain, OUT, Brakes
35. Korbin Forrister, OUT, Crash
36. Norm Benning, OUT, Handling
37. Bryan Dauzat, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
38. Kevin Donahue, OUT, Power Steering
Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series stays at Kansas Speedway for race No. 2, with a green flag scheduled for 1:45 p.m./ET live on Fox Sports 1.
July 25, 2020
NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview – Kansas
For the first time this season, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will take on Kansas Speedway in a doubleheader. It’s also the first time in event history that Kansas Speedway will hold two back-to-back Truck Series races.

Originally, this event was slated to take place back in May on the planned schedule but COVID-19 forced series officials to change the date. Kansas gets two Truck Series races, as the races at Chicagoland Speedway, this year were canceled due to rising COVID cases. Therefore, one of the races will make up the Chicago race while the other will serve as the May event. It’s certainly strange times, but that just means more Truck Series racing.

Just 38 Trucks will take the field when the green flag flies on Friday and Saturday night. For Friday night’s event, Christian Eckes drew the pole via random draw based on the top 12 in owner points. When Saturday’s event gets underway, the top 15 will be inverted based on Friday’s finish.

The starting lineup for Friday’s event can be found here.

Keeping that in mind, we’ll highlight five drivers who just might end up in victory lane both days.
1. Brett Moffitt – This season has been an uncharacteristic one for the 2018 Truck Series champion. Only two top fives and four top 10 finishes out of eight races. Though, Kansas could be a place he could get a strong run for his No. 24 GMS Racing team. In his first outing last year with GMS, the Iowa native started fourth, but disappointingly finished eighth after leading eight laps. Despite that, Moffitt placed second in both stages. Not only did Moffitt get stage points last year, but he’s been able to finish inside the top 10 for stages since 2017 at Kansas, even with the now defunct Red Horse Racing team.
2. Grant Enfinger – The Alabama native only has three starts dating back to 2017, but has had respectable finishes of 11th, 8th and 7th. An argument could be made that those finishes have been disappointing, as in two out of those three races he led laps and grabbed top-10 stage finishes. In addition, Enfinger has led a combined 61 laps including last year, where he led 47 out of the 167 laps. While he’s still trying to find victory lane, you can count on Enfinger getting solid stage points. Since 2017, the ThorSport driver has managed to finish inside the top 10 in all stages, which is really impressive. Enfinger and the No. 98 team seems to be a solid value pick for Friday or Saturday.
3. Brandon Jones – The Pocono winner is back in the field this week replacing Team Owner Kyle Busch in the famed No. 51 Toyota Tundra. Jones has three starts in the Truck Series at Kansas Speedway with a best finish of fifth in last year’s outing, which also came in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra. Jones himself also has had some success at the 1.5-mile speedway. He found himself in victory lane last October for his first Xfinity Series win as well. Even though Jones has seen success in the Truck Series, Kyle Busch Motorsports has been impressive over the last few years. In 2017, team owner Busch swept the stages and won the outing, while in 2018, now Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson, got to victory lane after sweeping both stages in that event. Last year, KBM’s sweep of winning stages was broken but the team still finished in the top 10 in the running order. After a rough stretch of races for Jones in the Xfinity Series, he could use some momentum and a victory could help him in that regard.
4. Stewart Friesen – Redemption for Friesen? Kansas has been hit or miss for the No. 52 Halmar Racing team. The Canadian has three starts, scoring a best finish of third in the 2018 race after leading six laps. Last year, he led a race-high 87 laps and won both of the stages, before falling short with the late-race restart and settling for a disappointing 15th place, one lap down. So far in 2020, Friesen has not been as hot, with only one top-five and four top 10 finishes. Last year when the season ended, he wound up with two wins, 12 top fives, and 16 top 10 finishes along with one pole. Friesen currently sits outside the Playoffs in the 13th position. If the Halmar team has any hope of making the Playoffs, then they really need to get going and capitalize on the doubleheader.
5. Christian Eckes – Eckes has been strong as of late and even lit the world up in last weekend’s outing at Texas Motor Speedway. He came home in the second-place position in the running order, although it was somewhat disappointing after the New York native led 52 laps. However, Eckes can look at the bright side of that finish since the No. 18 team will be starting on the pole based on the random draw. While he’ll be making his first Truck Series start, Eckes does have experience at the 1.5-mile speedway by competing in the ARCA Menards Series finale last October, the site of his race-winning championship. Even though ARCA cars are drastically different than Truck Series vehicles, the No. 18 team seems to be gaining momentum as of late. In addition, he’ll have a good chance of doing so as Eckes will be piloting chassis “KBM-038.” The chassis has been victorious for the KBM team by collecting six victories including a race-winning victory by Noah Gragson in 2018 at Kansas.
Kansas Speedway has hosted 19 Truck Series events dating back to 2001. The late Ricky Hendrick was the first winner of this event back in 2001 after he started second and led 32 laps.

Over time, there has been a slew of different winners. They include Mike Bliss, Jon Wood, Carl Edwards, Todd Bodine, Terry Cook, Erik Darnell, Ron Hornaday Jr, Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, Clint Bowyer, James Buescher, Matt Crafton, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Noah Gragson, and Ross Chastain.

Busch, Gragson and Friesen have all won stages since 2017 when stages were implemented.

Busch and Crafton are the only race winners with multiple victories. Busch will not be competing this weekend, as the KBM Team Owner completed his five-race schedule for 2020. This leaves last year’s Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, the only two-time Kansas winner in the field.

With that in mind, track position will be important here as no one who has started outside the top 10 has won the race. In fact, the lowest a race winner has ever started was 10th (three times, 2005, 2007, 2017). The race has been won from the pole three times, in 2008, 2014, and 2018.

In regards to manufacturers, Chevrolet got their first victory in 2001 with Ricky Hendrick. Ford grabbed the victory in 2003 with Jon Wood and Toyota in 2005 with Todd Bodine. Overall, Toyota has the most victories with eight, Chevrolet seven and Ford with four.

The most ever lead changes were 22 which took place in last year’s outing. The least amount of lead changes saw was seven, in 2005 and 2009.

Stages 30/30/74 will make up the 134-lap distance in both Friday and Saturday events.

Both Truck Series events can be found live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The green flag for Friday’s event is 7:15 p.m. ET with Saturday’s race slated for 1:45 p.m. ET.

Since the time of this writing, it has been announced Travis Pastrana would make his NASCAR return, piloting the No. 40 Niece Motorsports machine replacing Ross Chastain by doing so. In addition, Reaume Brothers Racing has added Ryan Huff to the entry list for the Saturday afternoon event.
July 24, 2020
NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Texas I
The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series roared into a blazing hot Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night for Round No. 8 of the 2020 Truck Series season.

In what was to be expected, Kyle Busch came in and picked up another win in his final Truck Series start of the season. Busch continues to be impressive at Texas and now has three consecutive Truck wins. Though Busch had to work hard for his 59th career series win as rookies Christian Eckes and Zane Smith had the lead and kept Busch behind them a couple of times (more on that later). But, despite Busch outrunning the rookies, series regulars like Matt Crafton had a good night as well as Brett Moffitt and Stewart Friesen, among others, who also had a great showing.

With that said, let’s take a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the Vankor 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.
1. Christian Eckes – Eckes shined under the lights Saturday night when he led the second race-high of 52 laps before coming in the runner up position, just .777 seconds behind his team owner Kyle Busch. He never did get to win a stage but stage finishes of sixth helped the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver gain some much needed points as the Playoffs are starting to lurk in the background. Even with a 10 lap dash to the finish, Eckes gave Busch a run for his money and kept within distance for the potential race win. However, the New York native will have to wait until Friday night at Kansas to have another chance to battle for the win, and this time, Eckes won’t have to battle his team owner for the victory. Despite all of that, the finish was a momentum booster for Eckes and the No. 18 KBM team with Eckes earning his second top-five finish of the season.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not ranked
2. Matt Crafton – It was a decent night for Crafton and his Menards No. 88 Ford F-150 team who came home in the third position. The season hasn’t been the best of seasons for Crafton, the defending champion of the series. But, there was some confidence to be found Saturday night when the Californian driver tied his best finish of the season again. Crafton got an eighth-place finish in Stage 1 and a second-place position in Stage 2. If Crafton and the team can capitalize on this momentum and continue to earn these kinds of finishes, you can guarantee that he will be a threat again for the Playoffs. While top-five finishes are nice, Crafton hasn’t been consistent and wins are what gets it done (winning the championship) nowadays. Saturday’s top-five finish was Crafton’s 119th top-five finish of his Truck Series career.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
3. Zane Smith – Like Eckes, rookie Zane Smith also performed very well before a tire issue ended his chances prematurely and he wound up finishing in the 19th position, three laps down. Until that mishap, Smith took the lead early on at Lap 13 and led for 22 laps, battling with Kyle Busch for the top spot. The Huntington Beach, California driver would lead one more time for four laps, which took place from Laps 84-87. If not for the tire issues, we would have seen Smith up front on the final restart, potentially battling for the race win. In the stages, he placed second and fifth, respectively.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
4. Brett Moffitt- It was a quiet, but good outing at Texas for Moffitt and the No. 23 GMS Racing driver Saturday night. The Iowan finished top five in the fifth position. Moffitt managed to win the second stage when he took advantage of pit strategy and stayed out under a late caution in the stage. Ultimately, he settled for his second top-five finish of the year as well.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
5. Ben Rhodes – It was a somewhat disappointing finish for the Kentucky native, after being solid throughout the Vankor 350. Rhodes placed fourth in both stages before ending up ninth in the running order. The finish probably would have been higher had Rhodes not had a small dust-up with competitor Todd Gilliland. Rhodes has not won in two years. A win in the No. 99 ThorSport camp would be a morale booster for this team and their hopes of making it into the Playoffs.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Third
Fell Out
1. Austin Hill – Engine woes ended the No. 16 team’s streak of finishing inside the top 10 throughout the first seven races of the year. It was a forgettable night for Hill.
  
  Previous Week Ranking – Second
July 20, 2020
Four Takeaways from the Vankor 350 at Texas Motor Speedway
With the Truck Series competing at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend, many teams hoped to bring home a good finish as they try to lock themselves into the Playoffs. However, bad news came when the checkered flag flew at the end of the 350 miles and the all-time wins leader in the Truck Series, Kyle Busch, grabbed the win for the third time this season. With Busch winning, the victory meant another race where a series regular would not be locked in and will have to continue to earn points in order to be a lock for the Playoffs.

There is some good news for the regular Truck Series teams, as Saturday’s race was Busch’s last race of the Truck Series season, with him now turning to his Cup Series efforts and looking for a third championship in that series. With Busch exiting the series for the rest of the year, this should allow for some other drivers to get some wins on the board and pick up those much needed points.

While Busch being the talk of the night after winning the race, we take a look at what storylines might have been missed following the Vankor 350.
1. Justin Haley Makes Rare Appearance – It’s been well over two years since Haley made a Truck Series start. The last time he made a start was at Homestead in 2018, the last full season Haley had in the series. Since then, the Indiana native has been focusing on the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing. On Saturday, Haley was reunited with former team boss Maury Gallagher and brought home the No. 24 in a respectable seventh-place finish. Before finishing in that position, Haley also earned a ninth-place position in Stage 1. It is unknown if Haley will make any more Truck Series starts this season.
2. Austin Wayne Self Brings Home Best Finish of The Season – The 2020 season hasn’t been too kind to Wayne Self and the No. 22 AM Racing team. Last season, Wayne Self had one top-five and thee top 10 finishes. This season he has no finishes inside the top 10 but he did bring the truck home to a 14th place finish. The Texan hopes the finish will help bring more confidence to the team.
3. Akinori Ogata Returns – For the first time in over two years, Japanese driver Akinori Ogata came back to the Truck Series to compete with Reaume Brothers Racing in the No. 33 machine. The last Truck Series race for Ogata came at Atlanta, where he started 23rd but finished 30th due to a crash. Meanwhile, Saturday at Texas, he started 25th and ended up 25th, 12 laps down. It was a disappointing return for Ogata and company.
4. Clay Greenfield and Timmy Hill Earn Best Finishes of the Season – While Ogata didn’t have the outcome he had hoped for, team owners Clay Greenfield and Timmy Hill saw their best finishes of the year. Hill made his fourth Truck Series start and finished 18th with his own Hill Motorsports crew, and Clay Greenfield saw his best run after winding up in the 20th position.
July 20, 2020
Kyle Busch dominant in Texas Truck win
In his final Truck Series event of the 2020 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports Team Owner Kyle Busch, scored the win for the fifth time at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night on what was a hot and blistering day in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Our guys are really good with what they do,” Busch said about his recent Texas dominance in the Truck Series. “They’ve done a great job of putting some fast (Toyota) Tundras underneath me. Real proud of the effort tonight with (Danny) Stockman Jr. (crew chief). Him and I, we almost went five for five this year, I think if we didn’t have the part failure at Charlotte and speeding issues at Atlanta. We probably could have done that.”

“It was nice to have another crew chief in the house. I haven’t worked with (Mike) Hillman Jr. (crew chief for Raphael Lessard) yet. However, it was nice to have a different crew chief, where I feel like we could go out there and be competitive, week in and week out. The 18 (Christian Eckes) and 51 ran together and fast, so that was really cool for me. Now, me turning over the 51 to Chandler (Smith) and some other guys, to cap off the rest of the year, it’s going to be exciting for me to see where their growth is at and our program is at. That’s good news for this truck, but bad news for them, they’ve got no excuses.

Stages 40-40-87 made up the 167-lapper at Texas Motor Speedway. Last week’s winner at Kentucky, Sheldon Creed, drew the pole via random draw based on the top 12 in points.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 40

The first stage went caution-free, but the stage did have its moments. In the early going, Spencer Davis in his own No. 11 machine, experienced a left front tire rub. Shortly after, Creed experienced similar issues when he had a tire go down on his truck, forcing him to come down pit road and give up valuable track position.

Meanwhile, there were short-lived battles on the track for the lead. Rookie Zane Smith and Kyle Busch traded the top spot three times before Busch managed to check out on Lap 35. The Las Vegas native then held on to take home the stage win with Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Ben Rhodes, Brett Moffitt, Christian Eckes, Todd Gilliland, Matt Crafton, Justin Haley, and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top 10 in the first stage. Even though Crafton ended up in the top 10 for the stage, he pitted under the stage break as the team replaced a battery that was having issues.

Stage 2: Lap 45 – Lap 80

As the green flag flew for the second stage, there were 16 laps of green flag runs before the yellow flew again on Lap 63. Another problem ensued in the ThorSport camp and this time, it was Johnny Sauter who leaked fluid onto the track after blowing up.

When the restart came with nine to go in Stage 2, Christian Eckes shined and had his battle with Busch for the lead. Eckes was able to lead five laps in his first stint out front, but the second caution flew on Lap 74 for Jordan Anderson in the No. 3 as he would crash off Turn 4. Under the yellow, there were a couple of race leaders that pitted for adjustments, which included Busch, Eckes, among a few others. However, Eckes did not take any tires whereas Busch did.

A short seven-lap run was seen, until a caution for Tate Fogleman and Derek Kraus on the backstretch ended the stage prematurely. Brett Moffitt played strategy by staying out and won the stage. Crafton, Ankrum, Rhodes, Smith, Eckes, Kraus, Ryan Truex, Chastain, and Enfinger were the top 10 finishers. Busch would wind up 12th in the stage.

Stage 3: Lap 87 – Lap 167

When the final stage got underway, a fun battle between Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, and Busch was seen. As Smith and Eckes battled each other, this allowed Busch to close in. With around 63 to go, Smith had a big wiggle off Turn 4 and nearly lost it. In doing so, Busch moved to second after passing Smith in the midst of things. Unfortunately, as the laps started to wind down, Smith had a flat right rear go down and had to make a pit stop, which ultimately ruined his chances for a good finish.

Despite Smith’s misfortune, the final round of green-flag pit stops took place right around 40 to go. Most notably, Busch would pit with 37 to go, and almost gave the win away on his stop. As the Las Vegas native made his scheduled pit stop, he almost turned into the wrong pit stall and nearly pitted in Eckes (Busch’s teammate) stall. Fortunately for Busch, he realized it at the last second and saved his day by finding the right box to pit in.

Once stops were completed, Busch cycled out in the lead and began to check out over the leaders. The final yellow of the night flew with 15 to go when Todd Gilliland in the No. 38 got turned by Ben Rhodes in the No. 99 on the backstretch after Gilliland skid up the track and came back down.

The caution would set up a 10 lap dash to the finish and for a few short laps, a six Truck battle for the win was seen. Eckes gave Busch a good run for his money, but Busch fended off the New York native and grabbed the checkered flag for the third time this season and for the third consecutive time in the Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway.

When asked about Busch’s miscue on pit road, his crew chief, Danny Stockman Jr., thought it was funny.

“Yeah, that was funny,” Stockman Jr said. “I actually thought he (Kyle Busch) was messing with them (Christian Eckes pit crew), but I haven’t talked to him about it, who knows. He drives the 18 (in the Cup Series) and he probably thought, he was going to the 18. He caught himself and eventually drove in the 51 box, so that was pretty funny.”

There were five cautions for 26 laps and 15 lead changes among seven leaders. Busch led five times for 72 laps en route to victory.

Official Results
1. Kyle Busch, won Stage 1, led 72 laps
2. Christian Eckes, led 52 laps
3. Matt Crafton, led two laps
4. Stewart Friesen
5. Brett Moffitt, won Stage 2, led seven laps
6. Tyler Ankrum
7. Justin Haley
8. Grant Enfinger
9. Ben Rhodes, led one lap
10. Ross Chastain, 1 lap down
11. Derek Kraus, 1 lap down
12. Raphael Lessard, 1 lap down
13. Ryan Truex, 1 laps down
14. Austin Wayne Self, 2 laps down
15. Ty Majeski, 3 laps down
16. Sheldon Creed, 3 laps down, led seven laps
17. Cory Roper, 3 laps down
18. Timmy Hill, 3 laps down
19. Zane Smith, 3 laps down, led 26 laps
20. Clay Greenfield, 4 laps down
21. Spencer Davis, 5 laps down
22. Codie Rohrbaugh, 6 laps down
23. Angela Ruch, 7 laps down
24. Spencer Boyd, 11 laps down
25. Akinori Ogata, 12 laps down
26. Tim Viens, 13 laps down
27. Todd Gilliland, OUT, Crash
28. Jordan Anderson, 15 laps down
29. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Electrical
30. Austin Hill, OUT, Engine
31. Brennan Poole, OUT, Crash
32. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Crash
33. Johnny Sauter, OUT, Engine
34. Norm Benning, OUT, Handling
35. Natalie Decker, OUT, Engine
36. Tanner Gray, OUT, Transmission
Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series head to the Midwest at Kansas Speedway for a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday, July 24 and July 25.
July 19, 2020
Weekend schedule for Texas Motor Speedway

All three national series will compete at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. First up is the Xfinity Series race Saturday afternoon followed by the Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race at 8 p.m.

The NASCAR Cup Series will close out the weekend’s events with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday at 3 p.m. With the completion of this race, the series will have reached the halfway point of the 2020 season. Jimmie Johnson has the most Cup Series wins of active drivers at Texas with seven, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch with three victories each.

All times are Eastern.

Saturday, July 18

3 p.m.: My Bariatric Solutions 300 Xfinity Series race (200 laps/300 miles) (Stages 45/90/200 Laps) NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch

8 p.m.: Vankor 350 Truck Series race (167 laps/250.5 miles) (Stages 40/80/167 Laps) FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Sunday, July 19

3 p.m.: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Cup Series race (334 laps/501 miles) (Stages 105/210/334 Laps) NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2019 Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

July 17, 2020
Sheldon Creed Wins Rain-Shortened Truck Race at Kentucky
Sheldon Creed won his first career NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night after series officials called the race official after the completion of Stage 2 due to thunderstorms in the area.

NASCAR completed two stages that were 35 laps each before the race became official. Getting there, however, was a different story as numerous cautions filled the stages as threatening weather began to approach the area.

Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 35

On Lap 1, the No. 02 of Tate Fogleman spun in Turn 4 to bring out the first yellow of the race. As Fogleman faced trouble, his Youngs Motorsports teammate Spencer Boyd, also had issues with his Truck as smoke was coming out the back end.

Two more cautions occurred in the first stage. On Lap 14, the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh made hard contact with the Turn 1 wall after the Truck snapped loose. The final caution during the stage came out on lap 22 when Tim Veins in the No. 49 went around in Turns 3 and 4.

The restart came on Lap 25. Rookie Zane Smith held the lead from the restart and went on to take the stage win. Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Christian Eckes, Tyler Ankrum, Todd Gilliland, Grant Enfinger, Derek Kraus, Austin Hill, and Spencer Davis rounded out the top 10.

Under the stage break, Moffitt was penalized for a safety violation which sent him to the rear of the field.

Stage 2: Lap 40- Lap 70

Two cautions once more slowed the stage. Bryant Barnhill went spinning off Turn 4 as a left-rear tire went down. Meanwhile, on Lap 46, Jennifer Jo Cobb and Korbin Forrister were both involved in an accident.

The final restart came on Lap 51 and it was the winning move of the race. Sheldon Creed got the best of Ben Rhodes and checked out. The GMS Racing driver was not only able to win Stage 2 but also claimed the eventual checkered flag at Kentucky Speedway as the rains came and left NASCAR no choice but to call the race on Lap 71.

The victory was Creed’s first in 37 starts. The Californian also led 20 of the scheduled 71 laps. There were seven cautions for 25 laps and six lead changes among five drivers.

One of the biggest stories before the race started was that Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes and Derek Kraus were dropped to the rear of the field for a violation of filler panel in prerace. For violating the rule, they will be docked 10 driver points.

Official Results
1. Sheldon Creed, led 20 laps, won Stage 2
2. Ben Rhodes, led 6 laps
3. Matt Crafton, led 1 lap
4. Johnny Sauter
5. Austin Hill
6. Christian Eckes
7. Zane Smith, led 11 laps, won Stage 1
8. Derek Kraus
9. Tanner Gray
10. Todd Gilliland
11. Brett Moffitt, led 26 laps
12. Grant Enfinger
13. Raphael Lessard
14. Spencer Davis
15. Stewart Friesen
16. Tyler Ankrum
17. Brennan Poole
18. Parker Kligerman, led 7 laps
19. Ty Majeski
20. Austin Wayne Self
21. Tate Fogleman
22. Chandler Smith
23. Cory Roper
24. Jordan Anderson
25. Angela Ruch
26. Clay Greenfield
27. Ryan Truex
28. Dawson Cram, 1 lap down
29. Natalie Decker, 1 lap down
30. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
31. Chase Purdy, 1 lap down
32. Ray Ciccarelli, 1 lap down
33. Bryant Barnhill, 2 laps down
34. Korbin Forrister, 2 laps down
35. Tim Viens, OUT, Handling
36. Trey Hutchens, OUT, Crash
37. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Crash
38. Spencer Boyd, 25 laps down
39. Codie Rohrbaugh, OUT, Crash
40. Norm Benning, OUT, Engine
July 11, 2020
Weekend schedule for Kentucky

This weekend NASCAR heads to Kentucky Speedway. The Xfinity Series will feature a double-header, competing on Thursday and Friday. The Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will provide Saturday’s racing action preceded by the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150. The Cup Series closes out the weekend Sunday afternoon with the Quaker State 400.

In the nine previous Cup Series races at Kentucky, there have been five different race winners. Brad Keselowski leads with three victories at the 1.5-mile tri-oval (2012, 2014, 2016). Kyle Busch (2011, 2015) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017, 2018) have won twice while Matt Kenseth (2013) and Kurt Busch (2019) have one win each at the track.

Kevin Harvick leads the Cup Series driver standings by 85 points over Chase Elliott.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, July 9

8 p.m.: Xfinity Series Shady Rays 200
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps)
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Friday, July 10

8 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco 300
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps)
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Saturday, July 11

Noon: ARCA Menards Series final practice – No TV
2:30 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 on FS1/MRN

6 p.m.: Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Buckle Up In Your Truck 225
Distance: 225 miles (150 laps)
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2019 Race Winner: Tyler Ankrum

Sunday, July 12

2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2019 Race Winner: Kurt Busch

July 8, 2020