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

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

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the 1.5-mile racetrack in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend for the annual Active Pest Control 200. Here are four takeaways from that event.

    1. Brett Moffitt Shines In Last Lap Restart – Moffitt hasn’t won a race since Michigan of 2016, where he scored his first career win with Red Horse Racing before they ended up closing their doors. However, for Hattori Racing, it was the first time for them to end up in victory lane. With a late race restart that came with two laps to go, Moffitt was there when it counted and led the only laps that were the most important. With that win, Moffit and the No. 16 team are now locked into the Playoffs. It will be interesting to see how he and the team carry this momentum.
    2. Noah Gragson Finishes Runner-Up – When there’s a restart with two laps to go in any race, you can expect it to be a wild finish. That statement rang true for Gragson. The No. 18 Safelite Tundra restarted ninth and finished second in just two laps. You could say it was almost like a video game for the No. 18 driver.
    3. Busch Will Have To Wait Another Couple Of Races To Tie Hornaday’s Record – It looked like Kyle Busch could have been one step closer to tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday last Saturday night. However, under caution, Busch’s left rear tire fell off due to miscues on pit road with the late race caution. He led 67 of the scheduled 134 laps and even won Stage 2, but was relegated to a 21st place finish. It’s no doubt though that Busch will most likely either tie or surpass Hornaday’s record as he sits at 49 wins. Busch is currently scheduled to compete in Las Vegas this weekend, Kansas in May and Charlotte.
    4. Stewart Friesen Earns Top 10 Finish – The No. 52 of Halmar Racing continues to impress in the Truck Series. Friesen started seventh, ran ninth in Stage 1 but was outside the top 10 in Stage 2. However, he rallied his way back in the remaining laps to wind up sixth on the scoring pylon. This was Friesen’s sixth top 10 finish of his career. The No. 52 team could surprise the field and the fans by ending up in victory lane at some point this season.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Atlanta Motor Speedway

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Atlanta Motor Speedway

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came to Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend following the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the only doubleheader of the season. The Active Pest Control 200 sure didn’t disappoint as it came down to the wire and the last restart of the race.

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Brett Moffit – Moffit surprised the field Saturday night by taking home his second career Truck Series victory. A late race caution came out on Lap 126 when Dalton Sargeant and Josh Reaume got collected to send the race into overtime. Moffit led the most important two laps of the race and won for the first time since 2016 at Michigan. With this win, Hattori Racing and Moffit are now locked into the Playoffs.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter came into a track where he had no wins in the previous seven races. It looked like that streak could have ended Saturday, but he scored another third-place finish. This was Sauter’s second consecutive third-place finish at Atlanta. He will have to wait another year to check this track off. Sauter started ninth and finished seventh and second respectively in both stages, along with leading three times for 12 laps.
    3. Noah Gragson – Gragson scored his career-best track finish this past weekend. In last year’s race, he finished 14th after starting 10th. This year, Gragson started third, won the first stage and finished fifth in Stage 2. Gragson only led 43 laps before ultimately finishing second after restarting ninth with two laps to go.
    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton headed to one of his favorite tracks on the truck series circuit, Atlanta, in hopes of locking himself into the Playoffs early. After starting second, he took the lead on lap 44 and led for seven laps. This would be the only time Crafton led in the race. He finished second in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. However, the No. 88 Menards driver ultimately finished fifth at the end of the day. Crafton sits second in the point standings, 31 points behind Daytona winner Johnny Sauter.
    5. Jesse Little – Little competed in his first race of the 2018 season this past Saturday. The last time the No. 97 driver raced was at Phoenix where he started 24th and finished 18th due to a crash on lap 134. Atlanta saw Little make his track debut. After starting 12th, he finished fifth in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. After a late race restart, the scoring pylon showed the No. 97 team eighth. It was a solid outing for Little’s first start at Atlanta.
  • Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series started the 2018 season last Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Here are four takeaways from the event itself.

    1. GMS Racing Look To Recapture Championship – GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter started off the season with a win, followed by the No. 24 of Justin Haley. If history repeats itself, Sauter would wind up winning his second championship this year as he won the season opener a few years ago and won the championship in that year. It could happen again, but there are a lot of hungry and new drivers looking to knock off the seasoned veterans for the championship.
    2. Scott Lagasse Jr. Gets A For Effort – Lagasse Jr earned a fifth-place finish Friday night at Daytona. It was his best finish at the historic 2.5-mile superspeedway since the 2015 race where he finished third. Regardless of where he finished in the stages, he gets an A for effort while earning his second top five of his career.
    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Star-Studded Lineup – The driver lineup will look different this year for Kyle Busch Motorsports than it did in past years. Noah Gragson returns for his second full-time season driving the famed No. 18. Todd and David Gilliland will split the rides until Todd turns 18 at Charlotte in May. Spencer Davis and Kyle Busch will also spit the No. 51 Truck. While at Charlotte, KBM will field four entries with Todd in the No. 4, Gragson in the No. 18, Busch in the No. 51 and Brandon Jones in the No. 46. As you can see, the KBM entries are fielded with bright stars looking to make an impact and headlines in 2018.
    4. Jordan Anderson Fields Own Entry In 2018 – It will be interesting to see how Anderson does competing in his own team this year. He will be fielding the No. 3 Toyota Tundra in 2018. He was there at the end challenging for the win despite not finishing in the top 10 in both stages. However, just like Spencer Davis, Anderson went spinning around at the start-finish line to earn the first top 10 of his career. If Anderson can keep this up, he will have a solid 2018 season.
  • Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicked-off its 23rd year of competition and its eighth year racing at Daytona International Speedway. Some drivers left Daytona happy, but others like Matt Crafton (still searching for his first win at Daytona) left unhappy. Others included Noah Gragson, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Stewart Friesen, Cody Coughlin and Brett Moffit.

    Thorsport Racing – Two of its entries were involved in multiple incidents at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. On Lap 74, Snider was collected in a six-truck crash. He barely made it through the crash but was caught at the last second by Nemechek. After finishing seventh in Stage 1, Snider’s night was done early and he was relegated to a 24th place finish after finishing in the top 10 last year.

    “I almost got through the wreck, but John (Hunter Nemechek) ended up coming down the track and we made contact,” Snider said.  “Then, I was in the grass and dug the splitter in and tore the nose off. We had a really good truck – the guys at ThorSport brought me a really good Liberty Tax Ford F-150, and I’m really proud of the work they’ve all done, especially for how quick we had to get things turned around before the season started. It’s a great group of guys, I just hate that all of their hard work ended up getting torn up like that.”

    Matt Crafton was involved in a five-truck crash late in the race on Lap 83. With the incident, Crafton is still searching for his first Daytona win and it will have to wait another year, as he wound up finishing 19th. Despite not getting the finish he wanted, Crafton is looking forward to Atlanta next weekend.

    “Tonight just wasn’t our night,” he said.  “We had the pit road issue early, and then we had an issue with something under the hood – never could quite figure that out. Then, there at the end, we got turned and had to make multiple trips down pit road to repair the damage on the rear. Overall though, this Menards Ford F-150 was good. Even after the pit road penalty, I knew we could make our way back to the front whenever we wanted, we just had to play it smart. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get to make that move. We will regroup and head to Atlanta next week – hands down one of my favorite tracks.”

    Cody Coughlin found himself in a new team this season driving the No. 2 JEGS Chevy for GMS Racing. Things started off well as he started 10th and finished there in Stage 1 while finishing fourth in Stage 2. However, at Daytona, you have to some luck in order to be there at the end to capitalize on it. Unfortunately, Coughlin was collected in the first wreck of the night off Turn 4. At the end of the night, the scoring pylon showed the No. 2 in 17th.

    “Well, we had a good run going tonight and a really fast JEGS.com Chevrolet Silverado,” Coughlin said. “We just had terrible luck. It’s hard to overcome two flat left rear tires and having to start at the tail of the field a lot due to those issues. Hopefully, we can get this luck turned around for next weekend at Atlanta (Motor Speedway).”

    Noah Gragson who is now in his second year at Kyle Busch Motorsports also had unfortunate luck after having a strong run. Gragson posted a fifth place qualifying effort Friday afternoon giving him a good starting position. But at Daytona, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. The first two stages saw him finish ninth and 14th, respectively. On Lap 56, the No. 18 Safelite Tundra was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck which thus ended their night early with a 23rd place finish.

    “In Daytona, a lot of the luck is not in the drivers’ hands — it is what it is. We qualified really good — Rudy Fugle and the guys on this No. 18 team built a really fast Safelite AutoGlass/Switch Toyota Tundra during the offseason,” Gragson said.  “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be driving for this team. This is not the way we wanted to start our season, but we can go to Atlanta next week with our heads held high that we had a lot of speed and I’m confident that we’ll have speed again next weekend in our first mile-and-a-half race of the year.”

    Hunter Nemechek finished 25th after being taken out on Lap 74, Stewart Friesen (27th) on the same lap and Brett Moffit was shown 26th.

    While some teams are already ahead and look forward to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend, other teams are behind and will be playing catch up.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Texas

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Texas

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs continues this Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway for the second race in the Round of 6. It’s crunch time for the drivers who are in the Playoffs.

    With Noah Gragson winning last weekend, a non-playoff driver, no one is locked in yet this weekend, so everyone will be on their game because as we’ve seen in previous years, anything can happen.

    Let’s breakdown on who’s hot and who might lock themselves into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami.

    There are 32 trucks on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s JAG’s Metal 350.

    In the past five fall races, there have been four different winners and one repeat winner, Johnny Sauter in 2012 and 2016.

    Starting position is crucial to stay up front all night. The lowest a winner has ever come from at Texas is 16th done by Sauter in the previous fall race.

      1. Matt Crafton – Crafton is looking for a little redemption after coming up one spot short to race winner Gragson at Martinsville. In five races, he has posted one win, four top fives and five top 10 finishes, with 258 laps led and an average finishing position of 3.6. This could be the race that propels Crafton to the Championship 4. He is the best among active drivers stat wise.
      2. Christopher Bell – Texas is a great track for Bell. He is the previous June winner of the race. However, in the fall race, he finished 11th. Other stats include one top five and two top 10 finishes in four races, leaving him with a 13.0 average finish.
      3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is another driver to look out for at the 1.5-mile track. In 2012 and 2016, he won the fall races. By winning last year’s race, Sauter was able to go the Championship 4 at Homestead. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he claims the race win Friday night.
      4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes might be a surprise in the Lone Star State this weekend. In the 2016 fall race, he finished 15th, however, not to be denied is the fact that he has one top five and top 10 finish. Rhodes ended up in victory lane earlier this season at the 1.5 mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Look for him to be a contender Friday night.
      5. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe only has one start here, but in that one start, he finished second on a last-lap pass in June. He finished sixth and second in Stages 1 and 2, respectively. After being knocked out of the Round of 8, Briscoe is looking to end the year strong with wins for Brad Keselowski Racing before they end up closing their doors for good at the completion of the 2017 season.

    The trucks will hit the track for final practice on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET with no television coverage. Qualifying is slated for Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET on FS1 with race coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET, both on FS1 and MRN Radio. The green flag is scheduled for 8:18 p.m. ET.

  • Four Takeaways From the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Martinsville

    Four Takeaways From the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Martinsville

    It was quite the action-packed race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this past weekend at Martinsville. Here are four takeaways from that event before they head off to Texas this weekend.

    1. Noah Gragson breaks through at Martinsville – The young 20-year-old finally broke through at the famed Martinsville Speedway. Gragson had a quiet race for the most part by finishing in the top 10 in both stages. As the final restart happened with 10 to go, he made a power move on the outside of Matt Crafton to win his first ever career Truck Series win. Gragson now looks to continue that momentum at Texas Friday night, where he previously finished seventh there in June.
    2. Mason Diaz Gets An A for Effort – Diaz made his first ever career truck series start Saturday afternoon after qualifying a solid ninth. The truck owned by Jerry Brown played some various strategies throughout the race as he finished eighth in Stage 1. However, Diaz would wind up finishing 23rd after having a strong truck earlier in the day. Still, not a bad day for his first start at Martinsville.
    3. Cale Gale Returned – It was great seeing Cale Gale back in the truck series driving the No. 99 for Matthew Miller. The last time he made a start was four years ago at Homestead where he finished 10th. Gale finished 10th in Stage 1, before ultimately finishing 18th.
    4.  Chase Briscoe Finished A Disappointing 19th – After finishing ninth and fifth in Stages 1 and 2, respectively, Briscoe was caught up in an accident with Justin Haley in Turn 1 on Lap 138. He went a lap down after the incident and never could fight his way back to the lead lap and challenge for the win. Briscoe wound up 19th when the checkered flag flew.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was back in action this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway to kick off the Round of 6 and the final stretch for the championship run at Homestead-Miami.

    Here’s a look at who did well.

    1. Noah Gragson – The 19-year old finally scored his first career win this weekend in style. He qualified fifth and did well in the first stage by placing fifth. In the second stage, Gragson wound up third behind Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton. On the final restart, Gragson restarted second on the outside of Crafton and passed him with a power move to lead the final 10 laps to score win number one at the famous half-mile track.
    2. Matt Crafton – The 2015 winner fell one spot short on the final restart, to eventual race winner, Noah Gragson. Before that, however, Crafton dominated Stage 1 by winning and leading the most laps. In Stage 2, it was the other way around as he finished second. Crafton had the lead until Gragson passed him on the outside with 10 to go for the restart and settled for second. He wound up leading the most laps with 102 and earning one playoff point.
    3. Johnny Sauter – It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Sauter in the top five or top three at Martinsville. He placed second and first, respectively, in Stages 1 and 2. He battled for the lead late, but at the end of the day, the 2016 champion finished third after leading 33 laps.
    4. Stewart Friesen – The Canadian driver had another solid run this season by finishing sixth. It’s great to see this out of a team that doesn’t normally compete regularly for the win. It was Friesen’s third-best finish of his career. He placed ninth as well in Stage 2.
    5. Kaz Grala – Just because you’re eliminated from competing for the championship, it doesn’t mean that you’re done competing for the race win. This was shown Saturday afternoon as Grala started eighth and finished sixth in Stage 1, and 13th in Stage 2 after pit stops. By the end of the checkered flag, Kaz placed seventh to score his ninth top 10 of the year.
  • Gragson Makes Outside Pass on Final Restart to Win at Martinsville

    Gragson Makes Outside Pass on Final Restart to Win at Martinsville

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — While celebrating victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Noah Gragson did a throwback to Tony Stewart and Helio Castroneves, climbing the catchfence, and something uniquely his own, doing pull-ups.

    On the final restart with 10 laps to go, Matt Crafton was the race leader. But by the time the field exited Turn 2 and dove into Turn 3, Gragson was the clear leader and drove onto his first career victory in the Truck Series.

    “Oh it’s really tough racing against these veterans. Those last like 40 laps with Johnny Sauter beating off my back bumper. He did that earlier to us in the spring (at Martinsville) and I wasn’t going to let him pass me again like that. We got that caution there at the end. You can’t pass on the outside at Martinsville, but I did it!”

    Crafton finished second and Johnny Sauter rounded out the podium.

    Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Chase Briscoe led the field to the green flag at 1:14 p.m. After John Hunter Nemechek brought out the first caution on Lap 37, Crafton took over the lead when Briscoe pitted and drove on to win the first stage.

    Returning to green on Lap 60, Crafton spent the next 10 laps getting his rear bumper beaten in by Sauter. Finally on Lap 71, he pulled aside and allowed Sauter to take the inside line, which let him take the lead on Lap 72 and go on to win the second stage.

    Christopher Bell, who inherited the lead when Sauter pitted, led the field to green with 89 laps to go. With 79 to go, Crafton got too deep into Turn 3, clipped the curb and spun Bell.

    Crafton retook the lead, as a result, and led the rest of the way, until Bayley Currey spun out and planted his truck in the grass, setting up the final 10-lap run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMATION

    Caution flew for the first time on Lap 37 when Nemechek got loose, spun out and slammed the outside wall in Turn 1. The end of the first stage brought out the second caution on Lap 50. The third caution flew on Lap 100 for the conclusion of the second stage. The two-car incident with Bell and Crafton in Turn 3 with 79 to go brought out the fourth caution. A three-car incident in Turn 1 with 64 to go involving Briscoe, Ty Dillon and Justin Hayley brought out the fifth caution. Bayley Currey’s spin in Turn 1 brought out the sixth and final caution with 16 to go.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 32 minutes and 55 seconds, at an average speed of 67.932 mph. There were six lead changes among five different drivers and six cautions for 45 laps.

    Bell leaves with a three-point lead over Sauter. Austin Cindric and Nemechek leave in the Round of 6 drop zone.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series gets back on the road this week as they head to Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon for the running of the Texas Roadhouse 200. This will begin a four-week stretch leading up to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Friday night November 17.

    There are currently 34 trucks listed on the preliminary entry list.

    1. Christopher Bell – Bell is looking to start the Round of 6 hot by checking off Martinsville on tracks he hasn’t won yet. In three races, he has two top fives and two top 10 finishes, 96 laps led and an 8.7 average finish. Bell also carries momentum after securing his first ever NASCAR XFINITY Series win this past weekend at Kansas Speedway.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the previous race winner of the Texas Roadhouse event. In the past five races, he has averaged three top fives and four top 10 finishes and has led 112 laps. Sauter has another win back in the 2011 race event. It would not be a surprise if he starts the Round of 6 off with a win.
    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton had an okay first round, but if he wants to advance to the Championship 4, he’ll have to win and Martinsville may be his best shot. He won the 2015 fall race after starting 13th and leading 63 laps. Other than that, stat wise, Crafton has had two top fives and four top 10 finishes in the past five races, ranking him first among active drivers at Martinsville.
    4. Noah Gragson – Gragson could be a surprise this weekend, but not a surprise for Kyle Busch Motorsports since they run strong here. From 2012-2014, KBM picked up three consecutive wins with drivers Denny Hamlin in 2012, Darrell Wallace Jr. in 2013 and 2014. Gragson has one start that came this year and finished fourth.
    5. John Hunter Nemechek – In the previous five races, Nemechek has three top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 8.4. He didn’t have a great first round in the Playoffs, but, Nemechek might grab his first win this weekend at Martinsville and secure a spot in the Championship 4.

    There will be two practices Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m ET with the final practice at 3 p.m. ET. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET and race coverage will start at 1 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 1:16 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-New Hampshire

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-New Hampshire

    The Round of 8 began this past weekend for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While there were some surprises in the top 10 results, most of it saw the normal faces up front. Here are this week’s power rankings.

          1. Christopher Bell – Bell continued his dominant season and starts the Playoffs off with the win going into the next round. He led three times for 73 laps and won both stages. Bell also gained seven playoff points after his fifth career victory of 2017. He certainly dominated this weekend at New Hampshire and is safe for at least the next two races in this round.
          2. Noah Gragson – Despite not getting the finish he wanted and missing out on the playoffs, Gragson dominated most of Stage 1 until Bell passed him late in the stage. However, the second stage did not go as well as the first stage did for the Las Vegas driver. On lap 65, Gragson was involved in a multi-truck accident involving a tap by Ben Rhodes. Playoff contender, Johnny Sauter, was also collected as he had right side damage to his truck. Gragson could not rebound after this wreck and wound up 15th on the scoring charts.
          3. Todd Gilliland – The young 17-year-old was not to be denied at the “Magic Mile” on Saturday afternoon. In Stage 1, he finished eighth. However, during the pit stops after the stage was over, Gilliland was nabbed with a pit road penalty for running over equipment. This sent him to the back before Stage 2 started, although, Gilliland charged through the front late and ended up finishing third. Nice rebound after getting tabbed with a penalty early on.
          4. Stewart Friesen – Friesen has been a solid 2017 season so far, despite not competing in the full schedule. Prior to New Hampshire, Pocono in July was the site that saw the best finish of his career by finishing 12th. However, he upped that this past Saturday by finishing fifth, scoring his second top five of the year.
          5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger is another driver who missed the playoffs this year but had a solid outing at New Hampshire. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. At the end of the day, when all was settled and done with, Enfinger earned a fourth-place finish.

    Next Up: The Round of 8 continues this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While one driver is locked in, seven others will look to lock themselves in as well and punch their ticket to the next round.