Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Noah Gragson

  • Justin Haley wins at Canada after controversial finish between KBM teammates

    Justin Haley wins at Canada after controversial finish between KBM teammates

    “Oh Canada” is Canada’s national anthem. However, some might be saying, Oh Brother, instead, after another wild finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

    For PG references, that’s what was going on between the minds of KBM teammates Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson after Gragson made a move in the last turn of the race, spinning Gilliland and taking both of them out in the process, for the win. Neither could recover to win and fell back to finish ninth and 11, respectively.

    Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland collide as Justin Haley speeds to the win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    With the incident, it saw 2018 playoff driver Justin Haley break through and take the checkered flag for his second career win in the series and his first at CTMP.

    “I knew those KBM guys were gonna rough it up, especially Noah (Gragson) in there,” Justin Haley told MRN Radio. “He just wants a win as bad as we all do. So, I knew we were in the catbird seat and I liked where I was, and liked being third for that restart, kind of that plan. Gotta hand it to these guys. Hats off. We’ve been chasing this one for a long time and road courses, and finally got it done. It’s all them guys (GMS Racing) not me.”

    Qualifying took place in the rain yesterday evening and with that, it saw playoff drivers, Ben Rhodes and Noah Gragson on the front row. As the race began with Stage 1 being 20 laps, the action was fast and furious from the start.

    Rhodes got out to the lead, but Gragson followed him closely behind until he took the lead on Lap 7. From there, Gragson dominated and went on to win the first stage. There were a couple of incidents without yellows due to the nature of the road course. Jordan Anderson spun around, Stewart Friesen spun, and Myatt Snider spun around after contact with Johnny Sauter. With the road course being long enough and allowing drivers to get back to speed, there were no cautions for these incidents.

    Stage 2 got underway on Lap 24 and went to Lap 40.

    After falling back shortly on the restart, Gragson was able to take the lead once more on Lap 25 and he held on for nine laps. The second caution of the day came out on Lap 32 for the 20 of Max Tullman who stalled on the track. This saw playoff drivers, Sauter and Grant Enfinger pit for strategy and track position. Unfortunately, Enfinger’s truck pulled the gas can with him and was penalized for removing equipment, and had to serve a stop and go penalty.

    The restart came with six to go in Stage 2. With no more incidents in the second stage, Gragson collected his ninth stage win of the year.

    After a lengthy cleanup and caution, the final stage resumed with 16 laps to go. Sauter took the lead on the restart from Gragson. However, another caution flew for the 22 of Austin Wayne Self who spun out after contact with Friesen and John Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch.

    After the restart with 13 to go, Gilliland took the lead two laps later. Gragson passed Rhodes and Enfinger for second. But, a caution came with four to go after Wayne Self had contact with Jason White in Turn 3, setting up NASCAR overtime for a two-lap restart.

    As seen in recent history, most finishes come down to the very last lap and the very last turn and that was the case again for this year’s running at CTMP.

    With the contact made between the teammates, Haley scored his first ever win at CTMP and advanced himself into the Round of 6.

    “I don’t know if we’re going to take a break,” Haley told MRN Radio. “It’s definitely going to be a lot less heavy breathing. We don’t got to worry about it. Like I said, Las Vegas is our best track and at Talladega, we’re good and it’s a wildcard, so, this is what we came here to do and we accomplished our mission.”

    There were five cautions for 18 laps with six leaders among eight lead changes.

    There will be a two-week break for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series until the series returns to Las Vegas Friday night September 14 for the second race in the Round of 8.

    Here’s where the rest of the playoff contenders finished in the annual running of the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

    3. Brett Moffitt
    5. Matt Crafton
    6. Johnny Sauter
    7. Stewart Friesen
    9. Noah Gragson
    14. Ben Rhodes
    17. Grant Enfinger

    Playoff Point Standings
    1. Justin Haley
    2. Johnny Sauter +35
    3. Brett Moffitt +29
    4. Noah Gragson +24
    5. Matt Crafton +1
    6. Stewart Friesen +1

    Below the cut line
    7. Ben Rhodes -1
    8. Grant Enfinger -12

  • Analyzing The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2018 Playoffs

    Analyzing The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2018 Playoffs

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs will begin this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It will be the first time a road course has ever started the Playoffs for the Truck Series.

    This will be the third time the Playoffs take center stage for the Truck Series since the first year it was implemented in 2016. Eight drivers over seven races will round out the Playoffs for the remaining 2018 schedule.

    These seven races consist of the opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, then heading off to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway concluding the Round of 8.

    Then the Round of 6 begins with three consecutive races in a row beginning at Martinsville on October 27th. This round goes to Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, and with the finale at ISM Raceway on Friday, November 9th.

    After all is said and done, and four drivers advance on to compete for the championship that will be held at the season finale in Southern Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway slated for November 16th.

    However, let’s take a look at the eight drivers who will be running for the championship and who might have a shot to be in the final four at Homestead.

    The eight drivers competing for the 2018 Truck Series championship are Johnny Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley, and Matt Crafton.

    1. Johnny Sauter- Sauter will be competing in his third consecutive playoff since the first one in 2016. He has 42 bonus points and is seeded No. 1 in the playoff standings. You could say his 2018 season is almost relative to his 2016 championship season. It’s obvious that Sauter has the most experience in these situations. In his 2016 championship season, the Playoffs began at New Hampshire. Throughout the eight races that year, Sauter finished 10th, seventh at Las Vegas and seventh at Talladega. After solid finishes in the first couple of races, his time came as he won two consecutive races at Martinsville and Texas. With his win at Texas, he punched his ticket for his first Championship 4. While current Cup regular, William Byron may have won the finale, Sauter was the one who pulled through by being the highest finisher by finishing third and clinching his first ever title. In 2017, Sauter was the regular season champion and was crowned after winning the race at Chicago. He won two races again at Texas and Phoenix, allowing him to get a Championship 4 spot for the second consecutive year in a row. Sauter came up one spot short in hopes of securing his second championship to Christopher Bell who finished second. Sauter is on pace currently almost having a year comparable to 2016. This year so far, he has collected five wins, twelve top fives and 13 top-10 finishes. His wins at Daytona, Dover, Texas and Bristol locked him into the Playoffs for a third consecutive year. He was also the regular season champion. If everything goes according to plan and his season continues the way it has, it would be to no surprise to see him in Championship 4 again in 2018.
    2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team will be competing in their first ever playoff. Their wins at Atlanta, Iowa, and Michigan put them in the Playoffs this year. It didn’t come without struggle though, as the team fought hard to secure sponsorship for the remaining races. They were almost done earlier in the summer as they didn’t have sponsorship for the following week. And with that, the Hattori team wouldn’t be competing in the Playoffs because they would not have been granted a waiver. The team is still in search of sponsorship for races at Talladega and Texas. If they can get sponsorship for those races and continue to win, they will have a shot at the championship in Southern Florida. Regardless of what is happening at the moment, Moffitt is the second seed with 27 bonus points. It’ll be interesting to see how the No. 16 team fares in the Playoffs after their best season to date and almost closing earlier in the year.
    3. Noah Gragson – Like Moffitt, Gragson will be competing in his first playoff as well. 2018 has been a so-so year for the No. 18 Safelite Tundra driver. His 2018 season got off to a rocky start. He crashed at Daytona, finished second at Atlanta, 12th at Vegas, fifth at Martinsville, and almost had a shot to win at Dover until he and Sauter made contact in the remaining laps relegating him to a 20th place finish. He finally broke through at Kansas by earning a pole and winning the race. So far, this has been his only race win of the year. Gragson has been close multiple times by finishing second at Iowa in a thriller, fourth at Chicago after starting on the pole, and eighth at Kentucky, starting on the pole there as well. He’s led 475 laps and has an average start of 5.1 with an average finish of 8.3. But he has collected two DNF’s at Daytona and Dover. On the brighter side of things, he has seven stage wins with six top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He will be seeded third in the standings with 22 bonus points. Gragson did not qualify for the Playoffs last year, but he did earn a win at Martinsville.
    4. Ben Rhodes – With his win at Kentucky, Rhodes solidified a playoff spot. He’s had an up and down 2018 season. He started off the season by finishing fourth at Daytona and Atlanta. Rhodes earned a pole at Martinsville but finished 12th. His struggles began at Kansas by finishing 18th, 16th at Texas, 17th at Iowa and 19th at Gateway, with the Playoffs being a little uncertain for the No. 41 ThorSport team. They collected a second place finish at Chicago and finally won at Kentucky in his home state. This won’t be his first Playoffs as he competed in the Playoffs last year. In one of the rounds, Rhodes won his first ever race at Las Vegas, advancing forward, but he suffered a crash at Talladega. Despite his win at Vegas, he couldn’t continue on to compete in the Championship 4 with a couple of bad finishes. In the end, Rhodes finished fifth in the standings. He’ll be seeded fourth with 14 playoff points to carry into the first round.
    5. Stewart Friesen – Friesen is having his best season to date after running off and on for the first few years. This is his first full-time season competing in the No. 52 Halmar team with having a technical alliance with GMS Racing. He’s been close multiple times this year to earn his first ever win. Friesen finished third at Kansas and second at Texas after starting on the pole and leading 13 laps. He struggled a little bit mid-summer, finishing 13th at Gateway and 19th at Chicago. Since then, however, he’s rebounded to finish in the top-five four times including a  second at Bristol, where he almost won the race. It’ll be the first time Friesen competes in the Playoffs and the first time competing in the Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He is seeded fifth with 12 playoff points.
    6. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger could be a sleeper in the playoff run. He’s been steadily quiet but consistent this year. The No. 98 team collected four top fives and 12 top-10 finishes. He’s had an average start of 7.7 and an average finish of 8.2. His best finish this year came at Eldora by finishing second, just .038 seconds behind of his first ever win. Enfinger has had some stage wins this year, especially at Michigan. At Bristol, he locked up his playoff spot during the second stage. In 2016, he won at Talladega which was in the Playoffs but he was was not a playoff contender. He missed out on the Playoffs last year but competed in the whole season. His best finishes came at New Hampshire and Talladega where he finished fourth. At Homestead last year, he finished eighth, ending the season in 11th place in the standings. Enfinger and the No. 98 team are slated as the sixth seed with 11 playoff points.
    7. Justin Haley- Like Enfinger, Haley and the No. 24 GMS Racing team have also been quiet this year. With a win at Gateway, his first ever career win, he locked himself into the Playoffs. His season started out with a second place at Daytona but he had a couple of disappointing finishes at Atlanta and Vegas. He got right back on track with his win at Gateway and since then, Haley has collected five top-10 finishes. For 2018, the No. 24 team has collected five top fives and 12 top-10 finishes, along with an average start of 10.1 and an average finish of 9.6. With Martinsville and Texas being in the Playoffs, Haley finished 10th and third, respectively. As the regular season came to an end at Bristol, he finished sixth. In 2017, he finished 13th at New Hampshire, had engine issues at Vegas and finished 21st, collected a 16th at Talladega, an 11th at Martinsville, won the pole at Texas and finished fifth, finished 14th at Phoenix and ninth at Homestead. The No. 24 team is seeded seventh in the standings with nine playoff points. Haley can be seen as a dark horse and could punch his way into the Championship 4.
    8. Matt Crafton – 2018 has been an uncharacteristic season for the No. 88 Menards ThorSport driver, almost similar to his 2012 season. This will be Crafton’s third consecutive playoff appearance since the inaugural year in 2016. Through the first two Playoffs, he qualified for the Championship 4 with his best finish of second in the standings in 2016. He was the second highest finisher to 2016 champion, Johnny Sauter. In 2016, Crafton won at Dover and Charlotte to lock himself in. In the 2016 playoff rounds, Crafton finished third at New Hampshire, eighth at Vegas, 22nd at Talladega, 17th at Martinsville, second at Texas, third at Phoenix, then finished seventh at Homestead in the championship race. In 2017, he won at Eldora just a few races prior to the Playoffs. Crafton finished fourth in the standings. He had finishes of sixth at New Hampshire, seventh at Vegas, ninth at Talladega, second at Martinsville, ninth at Texas, 21st at Phoenix and sixth at Homestead to finish fourth in the championship standings. In 2018 though, Crafton has had an up and down year. Stat wise, he collected five top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with two DNFs and 53 laps led. Crafton also has had an average start of 9.4 and an average finish of 11.4. His season got off to a disappointing start by finishing 19th at Daytona, brake issues which saw him finish 29th at Vegas, and at Martinsville, he finished 15th. Despite those finishes, his season started to turn around a little at Dover, where Crafton finished second. He went on to finish sixth at Kansas, 11th at Charlotte, fifth at Texas, but then had problems at Iowa and Gateway. But he had solid finishes at Kentucky, Eldora, Pocono, Michigan and Bristol. Things did seem a little uncertain about making the Playoffs this year, but Crafton and the No. 88 team pulled through with an eighth-place finish at Bristol and locked themselves in for a third consecutive year. He will be seeded in the eighth position with just three playoff points but believes the team will break through anytime.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series begin their Playoffs this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This track has been a unique addition to the Truck Series since its first race in 2013. Every year, there has been a last-lap pass for the win.

    What will be unique this time around is that CTMP will be the first road course in the Playoffs where it had previously been held before the Playoffs start.

    Currently, there are 31 trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who might wind up in victory lane this weekend in the annual running of the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – While he may not be competing in the Playoffs, Nemechek has competed here since 2014 earning him four starts at the 2.459-mile road course. His first start was not the greatest as he finished 25th after starting 16th. Since then, however, Nemechek earned a win in 2016 after a controversial finish with Cole Custer that saw them go off the race course coming to the finish line. After the race, the two tangled with each other but Nemechek still got the win. At Canada, he has earned one win, one top five and two top-10 finishes, along with an average start of 12.0 and an average finish of 13.8, and 20 laps led. When stages were implemented in 2017, he finished fourth in the first stage but ultimately finished 20th, one lap down. He looks to turn things around this weekend and secure his second victory at CTMP.
    2. Johnny Sauter- Sauter is coming off his win at Bristol where he was crowned regular season champion. He has made five starts at CTMP since 2013. In those five starts, Sauter has collected four top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.4 and an average finish of 11.0, with four laps led. His first outing, Sauter had a gas line issue which saw him finish 28th for a DNF. Since 2014, he has collected finishes of eighth, sixth, seventh, and sixth, respectively. In 2017, he did not finish in either stage.
    3. Noah Gragson – Gragson made his track debut last season. In his track debut, the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver started sixth and wound up finishing second. He finished sixth in Stage 1 but did not finish in the top-10 at all in the second stage. Prior to the 2018 race, Gragson competed in the NASCAR Pinty Series event at CTMP, where he started 13th and finished third. KBM has visited victory lane before at Canada, where the team won with Erik Jones in 2015.
    4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has started in the last two races at CTMP. In 2016, he finished 30th due to a crash on Lap 6 but had a much better outing in 2017 where he finished 10th after starting ninth. He has an average start of 9.0, but with the crash, he has an average finish of 20.0. With the stages last year, Rhodes finished 10th and third, respectively, in both stages. He’ll look to up his average finish this year.
    5. Matt Crafton – This weekend could be the weekend Crafton winds up in victory lane. He has five starts dating back to the first race in 2013. His finishes at CTMP has been up and down. In 2013, he finished 10th but in the previous race, Crafton had engine issues that relegated him to a 25th place finish. Crafton had a best-finish of second in 2015 after starting third that year. With that said, he has two top fives and four top-10 finishes, with an average start of 9.8 and an average finish of 9.4.

    The CTMP has held five races since its inception in 2013 and has had five different winners. The list of winners includes Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and Austin Cindric. Each race has seen a last-lap pass for the win.

    There will be some drivers making their track debut at CTMP this year. Those include Justin Kunz, Austin Hill, Myatt Snider, Wendell Chavous, Max Tullman, Jason White, Jesse Iwuji, Justin Fontaine, Ray Ciccarelli, Harrison Burton, Stewart Friesen, Bo LeMastus and Roger Reuse.

    Iwuji will be making his NASCAR Truck Series debut, along with Kunz for Jennifer Jo Cobb. Alex Tagliani’s best finish was fifth in 2015 and he does have two poles at the road course. Spencer Gallagher will return in the Truck Series competing in GMS Racing’s No. 25 machine.

    The lowest a race winner has come from to win is 14th set by Ryan Blaney in 2014. The highest a finisher has ever started from was first and that came last year by Austin Cindric.

    The first practice is slated for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET and the final practice is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2.

    The Chevrolet Silverado 250 is slated to take place Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio, with the approximate green flag at 2:46 p.m. ET. Stage 1 will end on Lap 20, Stage 2 on Lap 40 and the checkered flag is scheduled to fall on Lap 64, barring any overtime finishes.

    This will be the first race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs with the Round of 8.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Bristol

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Bristol

    Bristol Motor Speedway was the home for the 16th race of the season and marked the final event of the regular season before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs begin this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

    Here are four takeaways from the UNOH 200.

    1. GMS Racing Continue To Be Dominate 2018 – The GMS Racing team, including one ally, continued to dominate last Thursday at Bristol. GMS placed three of their trucks in the top-10 if you include the GMS Racing ally, Stewart Friesen. Johnny Sauter clinched the regular season championship by starting the race. He didn’t stop there as he led 58 laps and finished second in both stages. GMS Racing ally, Stewart Friesen, finished second and Sauter’s teammate, and Gateway winner, Justin Haley, finished sixth. Regardless, they continue to be the team to dominate the 2018 season and the team to beat for the championship.
    2. John Hunter Nemechek Gets A For Effort – After starting third, Nemechek looked to be the guy to beat. He won both stages and led twice for 104 laps. Nemechek had a shot to win his first ever race since Martinsville. However, his truck began to experience problems with less than 10 to go and fell back to third, after dominating much of the race.
    3. Too Much Emphasis On The Big Three – In the Cup Series this year, there have been three drivers that have visited victory lane the most, including Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick. However, here lately, the Truck Series has their own big three with those being Johnny Sauter, Brett Moffitt, and Noah Gragson. My opinion is that we should stop with the big three analysis and placing too much emphasis and hype on just three drivers. The Big Three should stay in the Cup Series. There have been multiple different race winners this year in the Truck Series. Those including Moffitt, Sauter, Ben Rhodes, Gragson, Haley, among others, who have visited victory lane. Yes, it seems like there are three drivers who regularly run up front, but that’s not the case for every race. Keep the big three special to one series and let the other series have their own brand identity, and stick out more.
    4.  Playoff Begin At Canada – After all the hype and with the regular season coming to an end, it’s now time for the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series playoffs that begin this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Eight drivers will go after the gold and the championship at the end of the year in Homestead-Miami. It will be interesting to see how these eight drivers will fare throughout the rest of the season. Will Sauter be able to keep his dominance and punch his ticket into the Championship 4 for another year? Or perhaps there could be a surprise driver that winds up in the final four such as Haley. Either way, it’ll be an exciting seven race run to the championship finale that takes place in Southern Florida.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Bristol

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Bristol

    As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series completed their 16th race of the season, the 2018 Truck Series Playoff grid is set and eight drivers will compete for the championship beginning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, Aug. 26.

    While a familiar foe ended up in victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday night, others who needed a strong night got their wish and some had their best career finish.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Johnny Sauter – By just starting the race, Sauter clinched the 2018 Truck Series regular season championship. He didn’t stop there, however, as he went on to win his fifth race of the season. Sauter finished second in both stages. He took the lead twice throughout the race. With 15 to go, he and GMS ally, Stewart Friesen battled each other and raced each other hard for the second position. This allowed race leader John Hunter Nemechek to pull away late, but issues in the No. 8 truck saw him fade to third place and saw Sauter take the lead. He was able to fend off Friesen by .236 seconds and was crowned 2018 Truck Series regular season champion. With his fifth win of the season, he will be able to carry over 42 points into the 2018 Playoffs. Sauter continues to be the guy to beat in the 2018 season. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
      2. Stewart Friesen – Friesen was a Playoff bubble driver until the middle of Stage 2. With enough points and a couple of stage wins this year, he was able to clinch a spot in the Playoffs which allowed the No. 52 team to breathe easy and gave the okay to chase for his first possible win. Friesen finished seventh and fourth in both stages, respectively. He’ll be racing in his first ever race at his home track this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the site of the first Playoff race. Nonetheless, Friesen will have to have finishes like Bristol this past weekend in order to be a Championship 4 contender at Homestead-Miami. Friesen is placed fifth in the Playoffs standings. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      3. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland continues to shine in the 2018 Truck Series season in the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra. In a lot of the tracks where he is making his first start in a truck, he looks like a seasoned veteran. After starting in the eighth position, Gilliland fell back quickly due to a loose truck and wound up 13th. In Stage 2, he was involved in an incident when he spun around in Turn 4 collecting the 97 of Jesse Little. While Gilliland didn’t collect any stage points, he was able to rebound to finish in the top five for his third top five of the year. He missed out on the Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play spoiler in the Playoffs by winning races. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes continued his consistent success by finishing in the top-10 this past week at Bristol. He started second on the front row and finished fifth and seventh in both stages, collecting stage points. With his win at Kentucky, Rhodes was already locked into the Playoffs. He just needed to win and have a solid night in order to prepare for the Playoffs. And after a rocky start to the season, the tide is starting to turn for the No. 41 ThorSport Racing team with a seventh-place finish. This was Rhodes ninth top-10 of the 2018 season. He’ll be a part of the eight driver Playoff grid at Canada, where he is the fourth seed. Previous Week Ranking: 4th
      5. Justin Haley – Haley is another driver who continues to carry consistency in each race. He hasn’t had a bad finish since Iowa where he finished 16th. Since then, Haley has finished in the top-10 with a win at Gateway. The No. 24 GMS Racing team finished 10th and ninth in both stages respectively earning stage points. As the 16th race of the season completed at Bristol on lap 200, Haley and the No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles finished sixth after starting 11th. It was his 12th top-10 of the 2018 season. GMS Racing now has two trucks in the Playoffs, three if you include the GMS ally, Friesen. They are the team to beat in the 2018 Truck Series Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    Fell Out

      1. Noah Gragson – Gragson finished ninth in the first stage, but did not collect any points in Stage 2. But, he did come back to finish ninth for his 12th top-10 of the year and is now in the Playoffs. He’ll be seeded in the third position.
      2. Brett Moffitt – After a thrilling win at Michigan the week before, Moffitt and the No. 16 team was brought back to reality on Thursday night. He had a tough qualifying outing by qualifying in the 14th position. Not all was lost, however, as he was able to finish third in Stage 2. But the night continued to get worse for the Hattori Racing team as they continued to slip back and finish in the 18th position. With four wins this year, Moffitt is now locked into the Playoffs and is seeded in the second position.
  • Regular Season Champion Johnny Sauter Fends off Stewart Friesen in Closing Laps at Bristol

    Regular Season Champion Johnny Sauter Fends off Stewart Friesen in Closing Laps at Bristol

    All Johnny Sauter had to do was start the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway in order to become the regular series season champion. However, he wanted more and did more as he earned his fifth win of the season after fending off his GMS Racing ally, Stewart Friesen.

    “This is awesome,” Sauter said after the race, “the history of this place. I flew into Charlotte yesterday morning to stop by the shop real quick and then did my normal tour to Bristol. I stopped at North Wilkesboro and just walked around, and drove up through the countryside, just was like, maybe if I don’t overdrive it this year, I’ll have an opportunity to win, so just proud of everybody at GMS on this GMS fabrication. Sunseeker, ISM Connect, Allegiant Travel Chevrolet, just can’t thank everyone enough. This is so cool!”

    When the UNOH 200 began, Sauter was crowned the 2018 regular series season champion. Playoff bubble driver, Grant Enfinger, clinched a Playoff spot by starting the race as well.

    Stage 1 went to lap 55.

    Only two incidents took place during the first stage. On Lap 12, the No. 30 of Scott Lagasse Jr. spun around on the fronstretch to bring out the first caution. Then on Lap 25, the No. 04 of Cory Roper spun out after having a little bit of help in Turn 2.

    John Hunter Nemechek took the lead on Lap 32 after the restart on Lap 30. He was able to hang on and win the first stage followed by Sauter, Enfinger, Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes, Parker Kligerman, Stewart Friesen, Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, and Justin Haley.

    Race leader Nemechek and a couple of others stayed out to maintain their positions as leaders for the beginning of Stage 2 on Lap 66. It didn’t take long for a caution to come out, however, as Todd Gilliland spun around and had contact with Jesse Little. During that caution, the No. 52 of Friesen, clinched a spot in the Playoffs.

    With the restart on Lap 73, there were no more incidents for the rest of Stage 2 until after the checkered flag.  This saw Nemechek win Stage 2. As Nemechek took the win, Myatt Snider, who was on the outside looking in, had his night ruined, as he crashed and hit the wall on the frontstretch.

    The final stage and the race resumed with 77 to go with Sauter as the race leader.

    Sauter held on momentarily but Gragson passed him to lead for seven laps. Then, Stage 1 and 2 winner Nemechek, passed Sauter for the lead on Lap 177. During this long stretch of a green flag run, Bell lost the power steering and his night was over, finishing in the 28th position.

    With heavy lap traffic starting to come into play, Nemechek closed in on Sauter with 27  to go and Nemechek assumed the lead with 23 to go. Sauter and Friesen battled with each other side-by-side with 10 laps to go, allowing Nemechek to pull away.

    Unfortunately, something happened to the No. 8 of Nemechek and he slipped back to third, with Sauter taking the lead and Friesen close behind him. Sauter was able to breathe easy as he held off his GMS ally for his fifth win of the year and his first since Texas in June.

    With the race win tonight, Sauter picked up 20 points but is carrying over 42 Playoff points into the postseason.

    “Well yeah, he (Nemechek) had a problem,” Sauter said. “The 52 (Friesen) was racing me really hard there and not quite sure, can’t wait to watch that on how we got back by him. Just good hard racing, short track style. This is such a cool way to end the regular season with a win. Obviously, getting the championship in the regular season. Now hopefully this carries some momentum towards the end here. I just got too tight. I tried to get around those lap trucks running through the middle. Even in practice earlier today, I just couldn’t quite complete the corner, I couldn’t get it to cut. So, I knew the bottom was my only chance, but the lap traffic was just all over the place. Just can’t thank everybody enough. I’m so pumped right now, I’m going to let this one soak in for sure.”

    This was Sauter’s fifth win of the season. Sauter led three times for 58 laps. There were five cautions for 38 laps, along with six lead changes among four drivers.

    The Playoff card is now set with Sauter (2042 points), Brett Moffitt (2027 points), Gragson (2022 points), Rhodes (2014 points), Friesen (2012 points), Enfinger (2011 points), Haley (2009 points) and Matt Crafton (2003 points) all competing for the 2018 Truck Series championship.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their exciting season this week at the 2-mile racetrack, Michigan International Speedway, located in Brooklyn, Michigan and the competition gets even tighter with only two races left until the Playoffs begin. There are three drivers on the bubble; Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen.

    Currently, there are 34 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who might end up in victory lane this weekend.

    1. Matt Crafton – Crafton has been very hungry this year in trying to end up in victory lane. It’s been a whole year now since he has a won race in the Truck Series. Crafton needs to punch his ticket to make the Playoffs and that could happen this weekend at Michigan. He is the most experienced active driver having competed in the past 16 starts dating back to 2002, in his first track start that year. In those 16 races, Crafton has three top fives and seven top-10 finishes, along with 63 laps led, four DNFs, an average start of 9.9 and an average finish of 14.2. He has three poles at the racetrack, but is still searching for his first elusive victory at Michigan. In the past five races, Crafton has finished sixth, seventh, sixth, second, and ninth. He currently sits right on the cutoff line at eighth. But this weekend could be the place he breaks through and snaps his long winless streak.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the second most experienced veteran at the track. He has nine starts with one win, two top fives, three top-10 finishes, 47 laps led, an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 11.8. His only victory at the track came in 2014 after starting fifth. In the previous race, Sauter started second, but finished 18th, finishing one lap down. It’s been somewhat of a win drought as well for the No. 21 GMS Racing team. It’s been six races since Sauter and the team visited victory lane, which was at Fort Worth.
    3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has only two starts at Michigan. But in those two starts, he has finished in the top-10. In his first outing with GMS Racing, Enfinger started ninth and finished eighth. In last year’s race, he started sixth and finished eighth. Enfinger also finished 10th in Stage 2. Enfinger could sneak his way into victory lane this weekend after having solid consecutive finishes in the past few races, especially after almost winning Eldora last month. The team is capable of winning and it’s only a matter of time before Enfinger heads back to victory lane.
    4. Noah Gragson – After sitting out Pocono a couple of weeks ago due to illness, Gragson will be back in the No. 18 Safelite Tundra at Michigan this weekend. He was devastated that he couldn’t compete at Pocono and had to sit out. Since winning at Kansas, Gragson has been close to winning again. In the past five races, he finished sixth at Eldora, eighth at Kentucky, fourth at Chicago, 10th at Gateway, and second at Iowa after almost winning. Gragson’s only start at Michigan came last year, starting fifth and finishing seventh. He also finished seventh and eighth in both stages, respectively.
    5. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has just two starts at Michigan, all coming for ThorSport Racing since 2016. In those two starts, he finished sixth and 11th respectively. In the 2017 race, Rhodes started 14th and finished 11th, after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively in both stages. He has led four laps with an average finish of 8.5.

    The NASCAR Truck Series has competed in the past 18 races dating back to the 1999 season. In those 18 starts, there have only been two repeat winners, which came from Greg Biffle in 1999 and 2000, and Travis Kvapil in 2004 and 2007. Since then, however,  there have been  16 different race winners. Those include Robert Pressley, Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer, Johnny Benson, Erik Darnell, Colin Braun, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Nelson Piquet Jr, James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch, Brett Moffitt, and Darrell Wallace Jr. The lowest in the field a race winner has come from to win is 11th back in 1999. The highest a race winner has ever come from is the pole in 2007.

    There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon. The first practice at 1:05 p.m. ET with the final practice at 3:05 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1.

    Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with race coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The scheduled green flag is 1:15 p.m. ET.

    Stages will be broken up into 30/60/100 laps.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Pocono

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Pocono

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the 2.5-mile racetrack located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway. It was the 14th race of the season and there are now only two races left until the Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

    Here are four takeaways from the Gander Outdoors 150.

    1. Kyle Ties Hornaday On All-Time Wins List – Kyle Busch was finally able to tie Ron Hornaday on the all-time wins list this past weekend. Both now have 51 wins in the series, but Busch reached 51 wins in just 145 starts, quicker than Hornaday. Busch dominated most of the race by winning the pole and leading 43 of the scheduled 60 laps. By not being able to gain any stage points due to him being a Cup Series driver, Busch was able to play strategy by pitting late in the stage in order to gain track position for the restarts. He almost got passed for the lead late in the race but held on to win in his final Truck Series start of the year. When Busch returns next year and the years beyond, the sky will be the limit on how many more wins he’ll get before wrapping up his career.
    2. Stages are too short, at least for Pocono – In Saturday’s race, the stages were broken up into 15/30/60. For a track that doesn’t produce much passing, there wasn’t a whole lot of activity during the stages as they were very short. The first stage went its maximum distance, but the second stage was 10 laps with the final stage going green with 25 to go. The drivers agreed in Friday’s media availability that the race was too short in order to produce more passing or make it a more exciting race. The race featured only nine lead changes, but that all came when the stage was winding down as drivers pitted early for track position. Other than that, the field was spread out. Busch and Erik Jones finished with a margin of victory of 1.4 seconds back. However, anyone after that was five, six, seven seconds back and so on. Perhaps Pocono is a track the Truck Series shouldn’t race on or possibly it’s the number of laps in the race, but something should be done in order to see a more competitive race.
    3. Noah Gragson Misses Race – Friday night on Gragson’s Twitter page, he reported that he was feeling sick but was going to race regardless of how he was feeling. However, on Saturday morning prior to qualifying, Noah was too sick to qualify the truck and eventually, too sick to compete in the race. With him missing a race, NASCAR granted him a medical waiver so that he will be able to compete in the Playoffs. Erik Jones, the 2015 Truck Series Champion, filled in for the ill Gragson. Jones placed second.
    4. Playoff Points Race Gets Tighter – With just two races left before the Playoffs began, the fight for the final three positions gets even tighter following Pocono. Enfinger, Friesen, and Crafton continue to be winless this year and will more than likely have to point there way in, if there aren’t any new winners. Enfinger has two playoff points while Friesen has four. Crafton has none. Myatt Snider is also on the outside looking in. With a much deserved off week this week, these four drivers, among others, are working hard to contend for the 2018 Truck Series championship. When the Truck Series returns to Michigan after an off week, drivers will be on their game and make more daring moves to get into the Playoffs. Nonetheless, the run for the championship continues to be exciting and no one really knows yet who the final four drivers will be at Homestead-Miami in November.
  • Erik Jones places second for ill Gragson at Pocono

    Erik Jones places second for ill Gragson at Pocono

    Noah Gragson was unable to participate in Truck Series qualifying Saturday morning at Pocono Raceway after being sick this weekend with what his team called a stomach virus. During a pre-race visit to the infield care center, he was not medically cleared to compete in the race.

    Erik Jones was chosen to replace Gragson in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Toyota. With the driver change, Jones had to start at the back of the pack in 31st. It didn’t take long, however, for the 2015 Truck Series champion to move up to the front as he finished fourth in the first stage.

    Jones time to shine came in the second stage when he took the lead on Lap 27 but multiple battles occurred when he pitted from the lead with teammate Busch. As a result, he did not finish in the top-10 at all during the second stage.

    He continued to fight his way through traffic in the remaining laps, as did race leader Busch. At one point with eight laps to go, Jones caught Busch and was side-by-side with him for a short moment. However, race leader Busch prevailed and held on to win while Jones went on to finished second.

    “We had a really good truck, number one all day,” Jones said. “The Safelite Tundra was really fast and we just needed to get out front. I thought we were snugged on the last run. I had to use the right front up a little bit to get to him. We had a good opportunity with some lap trucks, that lap trucks gave us the opportunity and there was one more lap truck that we needed to get around that I had to check up in the tunnel which let Kyle stay on my corner and get back by.”

    “If we would’ve got out front, I think it would’ve been pretty tough on Kyle to get back around us,” he said. “A fun race, nonetheless. Not expecting to do one is a pretty solid run.”

    This was Jones first Truck Series race since 2016 at Gateway where he finished fifth.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    Eldora Speedway was home of the 13th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In one of the most anticipated races of the season, this standalone event certainly did not disappoint. The field included Truck Series regulars and dirt regulars but it was a not a dirt regular but a former series driver that stood atop the victory circle Wednesday night.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and Chase Briscoe certainly put on quite a show in the last remaining laps. Enfinger, who was looking for the second win of his career, his first since Talladega in 2016, had to settle for second by .038 seconds. The win would have locked him into the Playoffs, but with the consistency and strength that Enfinger has shown in the past remaining races, he sits sixth in the playoffs standings, 120 points. In Wednesday night’s race, he finished seventh and second, respectively in both stages. His second-place finish earned him his fourth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
      2. Stewart Friesen – Friesen came up short once again at Eldora, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from the No. 52 Canadian driver. He was in the fifth heat race and led all 10 laps to score the win, which led him to a third-place starting position. The race was somewhat of a struggle early on for Friesen, as he ran as low 31st but was able to advance with pit stop strategy and cautions helping out the team. But, it wasn’t until the end of Stage 2 when he placed inside the top-10 to finish 10th. Friesen found himself in competition for the win in the final five laps of the race with the multiple race cautions. On one of the restarts, he went four-wide with the top leaders until another caution came out. However, Friesen rallied after being a caution on Lap 29 and earned a third-place finish, giving him his fifth top-five of the year. He’ll have to be careful in the three remaining races until the Playoffs begin as he sits on the bubble in seventh per Playoff standings, 111 points behind, considering no new driver wins until then. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a good night at Eldora, considering this was his first time racing on dirt. Based on qualifying results, he was placed in heat race #2 and ended up finishing third, giving him a 12th place starting position. The three-time race winner in 2018 had to fight his way to the front after fighting in dirty air and heavy traffic. He wasn’t able to earn stage points which will hurt the team just a little bit, but Hattori Racing team already has three wins this year and is good for the Playoffs, if they continue to get sponsorship throughout the season. In the end, Moffitt was helped out with the cautions and race strategy to give him a third-place finish. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Matt Crafton – It has now been one year since Crafton has won a race in the Truck Series. After last night’s race, he has three more races remaining to earn a win to solidify himself into the Playoffs and compete for the championship. Crafton didn’t have a bad night, but it certainly didn’t come without troubles. On Lap 55, he and Tyler Dippel got collected with each other, and Crafton got tipped from behind by Ryan Newman who tore the back end off Crafton’s truck. However, not all was lost, as he and the No. 88 ThorSport team finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages, ultimately giving him a fourth-place finish. But Crafton and the team are hungry for a win as he sits right on the cut line for the playoffs. He may have to get in on points if he wants to be a championship contender. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
      5. Justin Haley – Like Briscoe and Crafton, Haley often competes in dirt racing when his schedule allows. It was second race at Eldora and it was almost the same identical finish for the No. 24 GMS Racing team. In last year’s race, he started 13th and finished eighth. Haley was placed in the fourth heat race and finished fourth after starting sixth. This gave him a 19th starting position, meaning it was going to be a long night for the series regular. But the No. 24 took the entire race to get to the front. He didn’t earn any stage points, but with his Gateway win, Haley is locked into the Playoffs. After a wild finish and race, he finished ninth for his ninth top-10 finish of the year. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Noah Gragson – Gragson had a quiet night at Eldora and didn’t make too much noise. He was placed in the last chance qualifier but had points to fall back on to make it into the race. He didn’t finish inside the top-10 at all for either stage after starting 27th, but Gragson did finish sixth after battling handling conditions all night long. He’ll look to Pocono and try to continue to close the gap on Johnny Sauter’s points lead.
    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes was having a good race going until a few laps after the Stage 2 restart. On Lap 45, he hit the wall and continued to slip all the way back in the field, ultimately having to bring the truck to pit road as the tow was knocked out of the truck. This gave the Kentucky winner a 29th place finish, but he is locked into the playoffs.