The reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith is set to establish his mark in NASCAR’s premier series for the 2024 season after inking a multi-year driving deal with Trackhouse Racing that will feature Smith driving for Spire Motorsports in an alliance with Trackhouse in next year’s Cup Series season.
The news comes as Smith, a 24-year-old native from Huntington Beach, California, is currently campaigning in his fourth full-time season in the Truck Series and second with Front Row Motorsports with his future initially uncertain beyond this season. The news also comes amid a report from The Athletic that Spire Motorsports purchased Live Fast Motorsport’s charter for $40 million that would enable an opportunity for the organization in conjunction with Trackhouse to field a Cup ride for Smith, who will campaign in his first full-time season against NASCAR’s elite and future stars in 2024.
“This is an incredible moment for me,” Smith, who will officially join Trackhouse in January 2024, said in a released statement. “Trackhouse is one of the most progressive organizations in the garage. I told some friends a year ago that I wanted to be a part of what Trackhouse is doing and I just can’t believe this is all coming true. I am very excited and thankful to have a future with the organization.”
Commencing his racing career with BMX and go-karts before ascending up the racing ladder through various racing divisions, among which include legends cars, super late models and CARS Tour, Smith established his mark during the 2018 ARCA Menards Series season, where he achieved four victories and a runner-up result in the final standings while driving for MDM Motorsports. Smith proceeded to make 10 career starts in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, where he achieved seven top-10 results, before spending the following two seasons in the Truck Series for GMS Racing, where he notched three victories and two runner-up results in the final standings. He would then join Front Row Motorsports for the 2022 Truck season, where he notched four victories, including the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and the series championship after winning the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, which marked the first NASCAR championship for Smith and Front Row Motorsports.
During the 2022 season, Smith made his inaugural presence in the NASCAR Cup Series level at Worldwide Technology Raceway as an interim competitor for Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, where he finished 17th. Since then, he has made six Cup starts this season between Front Row Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing, where his current best on-track result is a 10th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
Through September 2023, Smith has garnered nine Truck career victories and four ARCA wins as he aims to hone his competitiveness towards the Cup Series division in 2024.
“The Cup series is the pinnacle of racing in America, and I cannot wait to compete, learn and hone my skills against the best in the world,” Smith added. “I am really looking forward to working with the Spire Motorsports team in 2024 and believe the alliance with Trackhouse will help continue Spire’s ascent up the grid.”
Smith’s addition to Trackhouse Racing marks another milestone moment for the organization that made its debut in 2021 as a single-car team with Daniel Suarez and has since expanded to new heights on an annual basis, from becoming a two-car team by adding Ross Chastain in 2022 to fielding a part-time PROJECT91 entry on a part-time basis while giving international racing stars an opportunity to compete in NASCAR.
Through September 2023, Trackhouse Racing has achieved five Cup victories: three with Chastain, one with Suarez and one with three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen. Gisbergen, who won at the Chicago Street Course while driving for Trackhouse’s PROJECT91 program in his NASCAR debut in July and was signed by Trackhouse two days earlier, is already set to compete across various NASCAR national series and late model events in 2024 as Trackhouse aims to field three full-time Cup entries in 2025.
“Expansion is not something to be taken lightly, but we feel Trackhouse is commercially and technically positioned for growth,” Justin Marks, owner and founder of Trackhouse, said. “You need good timing, very good partners and great drivers. Adding Zane is like signing the No. 1 draft pick and we are proud that he is now a member of the Trackhouse family.”
The collaboration with Trackhouse Racing and Zane Smith marks another milestone moment for Spire Motorsports, which debuted in 2018 and currently fields two full-time entries in the Cup Series and a part-time entry between the Xfinity and Truck Series divisions. The team achieved its first Cup victory at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 with Justin Haley and has since notched two Truck victories between 2022 and 2023 with Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson.
“Spire Motorsports will acquire a NASCAR charter from Live Fast Motorsports prior to the 2024 season and we’re thrilled to offer our support to Trackhouse Racing, a key member of the Chevrolet family,” Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire Motorsports, added. “Spire has a longstanding relationship with Justin Marks and we are proud of everything he and all the men and women at Trackhouse have accomplished in a relatively short time. This cooperative agreement is also proof-positive of the hard work of everyone at Spire Motorsports. We certainly wouldn’t be in this position without Mr. [Rick] Hendrick and the competition group at Hendrick Motorsports so we continue to be grateful for that relationship. T.J. [Puchyr] and I are also grateful to [Live Fast Motorsports’ owners] B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft for working with us on the charter acquisition. We’re looking at a watershed moment for our organization that further demonstrates our commitment to the sport.”
With his future plans set, Smith’s quest to defend this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship continues at Talladega Superspeedway. The event is scheduled to occur on September 30 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.
Live Fast Motorsports confirmed today that they have sold their charter to Spire Motorsports. Live Fast Motorsports currently owns the No. 78 car and charter, which Spire will acquire in the deal.
Spire currently fields the No. 7 car piloted by Corey LaJoie and the No. 77 car driven by Ty Dillon. It is unsure whether Ty Dillon will be returning to Spire after this season. Corey LaJoie is returning next season on a multi-year deal signed earlier this year.
There has not been a driver announcement for the new Spire Motorsports No. 78 car.
This deal will make Spire Motorsports a three-car full-time race team for the first time in its history as a NASCAR Cup Series race team. This purchase comes at a time when charters are skyrocketing in price. This is also close to when teams are expected to receive a bigger share of the revenue NASCAR generates. This revenue will come through the new upcoming TV deal that is being worked on by NASCAR and TV broadcast partners. The current TV deal expires in 2025, and the new one will start during the 2025 season.
It’ll be exciting to see how this team does with three cars and if Spire can continue being on the cutting edge of NASCAR.
Competing in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Justin Haley is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will achieve 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Winamac, Indiana, Haley made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2019, where he piloted the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. By then, he was also campaigning in his first full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing. Starting 38th, Haley ended up in 32nd place after getting collected in a multi-car wreck on the backstretch with seven laps remaining. After finishing 34th in his second Cup career start at Sonoma Raceway in June, Haley pulled off an upset at Daytona International Speedway in July when he achieved his first career victory in the rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400. His road to victory occurred with 30 laps remaining when contact between race leader Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer triggered a multi-car wreck that eliminated a majority of the field. Haley, who avoided the carnage and moved up into the top five, then became the leader when initial leader Kurt Busch pitted during an extensive caution period and moments before the race was red-flagged due to a lightning strike. With the event remaining under a red flag period for hours, NASCAR called the event official on Lap 127 of 160 and awarded the first Cup win for both Haley and Spire Motorsports as Haley became the 193rd different competitor to achieve a win in NASCAR’s premier series. Despite not qualifying for the 2019 Cup Playoffs due to being a part-time series competitor, the Daytona victory made Haley eligible to compete in the 2020 All-Star Race.
In 2020, Haley, who remained as a full-time Xfinity competitor for Kaulig Racing, campaigned in two Cup events, with his first occurring in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where he debuted Kaulig Racing in NASCAR’s premier series. He earned a transfer spot for the 500 after posting the fastest-qualifying time in a non-chartered entry and rallied from being involved in a late incident to finish in 13th place during the main event. Haley went on to finish 14th in the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in July and 31st at Talladega in October, both while competing for Spire Motorsports.
For the 2021 season, Haley, who remained at Kaulig in the Xfinity circuit, competed in all but five of the 36-race Cup schedule. Thirty-five of his starts occurred with Spire Motorsports, with his best on-track results being eighth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and sixth at Daytona in August. His lone start not with Spire occurred with Kaulig at Talladega in October, where he finished in 20th place. Overall, Haley concluded the season with 21 top-30 results and an average-finishing result of 28.5.
Six months prior to the conclusion of the 2021 season, Kaulig Racing announced that the team would be fielding a full-time Cup Series entry for Haley to drive for the 2022 season. Assuming control of Kaulig’s newly formed No. 31 entry, he commenced the season with a 19th-place result in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in February despite winning the third Heat qualifying event and starting towards the front. He proceeded to finish 23rd during the first two scheduled events before posting four consecutive top-20 results. At Darlington Raceway in May, Haley posted his first top-five result of the season by finishing third. Despite finishing seventh at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July and achieving 15 top-20 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he did not qualify for the 2022 Cup Playoffs. Haley went on to tie his season-best result of the season in third place at Texas Motor Speedway in September before finishing fifth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October. He ended up recording a total of three top-five results, four top-10 results, 44 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.4 throughout the 36-race schedule before capping off his first full-time Cup season in 22nd place in the final standings.
Commencing this season with a 32nd-place finish in this year’s Daytona 500, Haley recorded three top-10 results during the first 17-scheduled events, with his best on-track finish being a sixth-place run at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. Then during the inaugural Chicago Street Course, he assumed the lead on Lap 48 and led through Lap 70 until he was overtaken by eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen and ended up in a strong runner-up result. Despite finishing eighth during the following weekend at Atlanta, seven consecutive results of finishes outside the top 15 were not enough to boost Haley and the No. 31 team into the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Coming off a 31st-place finish at Darlington, the Indiana native is currently situated in 24th place in the standings with a total of five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 20.6 through 27 events. This season is also scheduled to be Haley’s last at Kaulig as he is set to join Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 Cup season.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Haley has achieved one victory, five top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 72 laps led and an average-finishing result of 22.1.
Haley is primed to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 10, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
NASCAR released its penalty report and a notable name was issued a major suspension following the recent on-track action at Charlotte Motor Speedway that spanned throughout the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The first news to headline the penalty report is that Chase Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has been suspended from competing in next weekend’s Cup Series event at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
The news comes after Elliott was found to have intentionally wrecked veteran Denny Hamlin on Lap 185 of 400 during the Coca-Cola 600 that occurred this past Monday, May 29.
During the event, Hamlin and Elliott were battling inside the top 10 when Hamlin slipped up the track and crowded Elliott towards the frontstretch’s outside wall which resulted in Elliott making contact with the wall. Elliott quickly responded back by veering his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the left and turning Hamlin head-on into the frontstretch’s SAFER Barriers at full speed that resulted in both competitors being wrecked out of the event. After the incident, Elliott cited the lack of control over his damaged car after scrubbing the wall that resulted in the contact with Hamlin.
“[Hamlin] ran us up in the fence,” Elliott said in the infield care center on FOX. “Once you hit the wall in these [cars], you can’t drive it anymore. An unfortunate circumstance.”
Hamlin, however, did not mince his words over the incident and called for Elliott to be suspended for the upcoming Cup event at Gateway for jeopardizing a driver’s safety amid a retaliatory act.
“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway,” Hamlin said. “It’s a tantrum and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable.”
Following the news of Elliott’s suspension for violating NASCAR’s Behavioral and Code of Conduct policy, Hendrick Motorsports released a statement, citing the team’s decision to not appeal the penalty and submit a formal request for a Playoff waiver for Elliott to remain in contention to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs. In addition, HMS announced that Corey LaJoie will be serving as an interim competitor for the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for the upcoming event at Gateway. LaJoie currently competes as a full-time Cup Series competitor for Spire Motorsports. He is set to become the third different competitor to pilot HMS’ No. 9 entry alongside Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor.
With LaJoie joining HMS for a one-race deal, Carson Hocevar, a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor for Niece Motorsports, will make his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series by piloting LaJoie No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry this upcoming weekend at Gateway.
Elliott’s suspension marks the first time NASCAR has suspended a competitor for a retaliatory act since Bubba Wallace was suspended from competing in the Cup Series Playoff event at Homestead-Miami Speedway last October for intentionally turning and sending Kyle Larson into the frontstretch’s outside wall during the previous event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The incident involving Wallace and Larson mirrored the on-track scuffle between Hamlin and Elliott, where Larson forced Wallace up the track as Wallace hit the frontstretch’s outside wall before Wallace quickly retaliated by veering left, clipping and sending Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry into the outside wall as both competitors were knocked out of the event.
Elliott’s suspension also means that he is set to miss his seventh event of the 2023 Cup Series season. He was absent for six consecutive events from early March to the first half of April after suffering a left leg fracture from a snowboarding accident in Colorado during the week of the Cup Series event at Las Vegas. In eight starts through the first 14-scheduled events, including the Coke 600, Elliott has secured two top-five results and four top-10 results, with his best on-track finish being a runner-up result at Auto Club Speedway in February. With an average-finishing result of 14.6, however, he is currently situated in 29th place in the driver’s standings with 215 points and trails the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs by 81 points. Elliott has until the series’ return to Daytona International Speedway on August 26, which marks the conclusion of the regular-season stretch, to win or point his way into the Playoffs, which will commence at Darlington Raceway on September 3.
In other penalty news highlighting the Cup Series, the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang team piloted by Michael McDowell has been penalized for the loss of a wheel or a wheel that was improperly installed on a racing vehicle when a right-front wheel rolled off of McDowell’s entry on the track’s backstretch with 57 laps remaining. As a result, front-tire changer Scott Brzozowski and jackman Adam Lewis have been suspended from NASCAR competition for the following two Cup Series events.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Jeff Meendering, crew chief for rookie Sammy Smith and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra team, has been fined $5,000 due to a lug nut infraction, where one lug nut was found to have not been properly secured on Smith’s entry following Monday night’s action. In addition, the No. 74 CHK Racing team piloted by Dawson Cram at Charlotte has been docked 10 driver/owner points for violations involving the air duct, outlet hose and quarter window of Cram’s entry that did not meet NASCAR standards.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Derek Hartnagel, truck chief for rookie Daniel Dye and the No. 43 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST team, has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sport’s substance abuse policy.
With this past extended weekend’s events at Charlotte Motor Speedway complete, the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series embark to World Wide Technology Raceway for their next scheduled event while the Xfinity Series travels west to compete for the second-ever time at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The Truck Series’ event at Gateway, which is also set to serve as the second of three Triple Truck Challenge events, will occur this Saturday, June 3, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity Series event at Portland will follow suit at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The Cup Series action at Gateway will conclude the weekend and occur on Sunday, June 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
In his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start in two years, Kyle Larson made the most of the opportunity by scoring a dominant victory in the third-ever running of the Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on Saturday, May 20.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led two times for a race-high 138 of 252 over-scheduled laps, including the final 15, and prevailed in an overtime shootout amid a series of late carnages to win in the series return to North Wilkesboro while piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Corey Heim won his second consecutive pole position in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap at 112.096 mph in 20.072 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 111.629 mph in 20.156 seconds and was the fastest during Friday’s lone practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Heim launched ahead with the lead on the outside lane before he quickly transitioned to the inside lane entering Turn 1. With the field behind running two lanes deep, Heim was able to cycle back to the frontstretch and lead the first lap ahead of Hocevar as William Byron, Ty Majeski and Bret Holmes were scored in the top five.
During the second lap, Heim retained the lead over Hocevar and Byron while Kyle Larson, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, had fallen back to 12th as he was struggling for grip on the outside lane. Shortly after, Colby Howard, who started in the top five and was running sixth in the early stages, lost spots to Grant Enfinger and Christopher Bell before settling in front of Kaden Honeycutt in eighth place. Amid the early battles through the first five laps, Heim continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Byron trailed by more than a second.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Heim was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Byron, Majeski and Bret Holmes while Grant Enfinger, Bell, Howard, Kaden Honeycutt and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. Behind, Matt DiBenedetto was in 11th ahead of Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Hailie Deegan and Tyler Ankrum while Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Bubba Wallace, rookie Jake Garcia and rookie Rajah Caruth occupied the top 20, with rookie Nick Sanchez running in 21st. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, who did not post a qualifying lap due to his truck failing pre-race inspection three times, was up in 24th.
On Lap 23, the first caution of the event flew when Timmy Hill turned across the front nose of Johnny Sauter, which sent Hill spinning into Turn 4 as he was dodged by oncoming traffic. By then, Heim, who started to approach lapped traffic, among which included Stewart Friesen, had retained the lead by half a second over Hocevar as Majeski moved up to third. Byron fell back to fourth in front of Bell, who carved his No. 61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the top five over Holmes while Enfinger, Howard, DiBenedetto and Larson were in the top 10.
During the first caution period, names that included Byron, Bell, Colby Howard, Christian Eckes, Tyler Ankrum, Jake Garcia, Lawless Alan, Sauter, Chase Purdy, rookie Daniel Dye, Chris Hacker and Friesen pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Sauter was penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted on Lap 31, Heim retained the lead followed by Hocevar while Enfinger battled Majeski and DiBenedetto for third place. Majeski and DiBenedetto would overtake Enfinger as the Alabama native fell back to fifth while stuck on the outside lane before settling in front of Holmes and Larson as the field fanned out, bumped and jostled for positions.
Then on Lap 43, Hocevar seized an opportunity entering Turn 2 as he overtook Heim and assumed the lead for the first time. Hocevar then started to extend his advantage to more than a second over Heim while Larson worked his way up to third as he trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Majeski and DiBenedetto were in the top five while Bell and Byron, both of whom pitted during the first caution period for fresh tires, moved up to sixth and seventh.
At the Lap 50 mark, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim followed by Larson, Majeski and Byron while Bell, Eckes, DiBenedetto, Chastain and Honeycutt were running in the top 10. A few laps later, however, Byron and Bell moved up to third and fourth on fresh tires with Larson moving up to second while Heim fell back to fifth.
During the event’s caution period on Lap 57, where Hailie Deegan spun in Turn 1 amid contact with Johnny Sauter, Hocevar surrendered the lead to pit as he led a bevy of competitors to pit road while the rest led by Byron and Friesen remained on the track.
With seven laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead over Howard and Friesen as the field fanned out again for on-track positions. A lap later, however, the caution quickly returned when Timmy Hill, who was running towards the rear of the field, got loose entering Turn 1 and clipped Deegan before spinning and coming to a stop sideways between Turns 1 and 2 with damage to his truck. During the caution period, a few drivers, including Jake Garcia, Honeycutt and Hill pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.
When the race restarted with a single lap remaining in the first stage, Heim, who restarted alongside Byron on the outside lane on the front row, capitalized on fresh tires to overtake Byron’s No. 51 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST through Turns 2 and 3. The momentum was enough for Heim to cycle his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro back to Turn 4 and capture the first stage victory and his third of the 2023 season on Lap 70. Byron settled in second followed by Bell, Howard and Hocevar while Friesen, Zane Smith, Larson, Chase Purdy and Ankrum were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, names that included Byron, Howard, Friesen, Purdy, Chris Hacker, Sauter, Kris Wright and Holmes pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 80 as Heim and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Heim rocketed with the race leader on the inside lane while Hocevar battled Bell for second in front of Larson, Zane Smith and DiBenedetto. With the field battling amid two tight-packed lanes during the proceeding laps, a three-wide action and contact occurred between Chris Hacker, Connor Jones and Kris Wright, with all three battling for spots in the top 30. Amid the tight racing, Heim retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar.
By Lap 90, Heim was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Bell trailed by a second. Larson and Zane Smith occupied the top five ahead of DiBenedetto and Majeski while Ross Chastain, Ankrum and Ben Rhodes were in the top 10. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Nick Sanchez, Eckes and Byron.
At the Lap 100 mark, Heim continued to lead by more than a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Larson, who overtook Bell and Hocevar less than 10 laps earlier, while Zane Smith retained fifth. Meanwhile, Byron was mired in 12th behind Wallace, Eckes was in 15th ahead of Matt Crafton and Friesen was back in 18th.
A lap later, however, Larson battled and overtook Heim to assume the lead for the first time as the leaders approached lapped traffic. Hocevar would overtake Heim for second a few laps later while Bell trailed in fourth place by more than a second.
At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Larson extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Hocevar while third-place Zane Smith trailed by four seconds. Heim and DiBenedetto were in the top five followed by Heim, Wallace, Chastain, Enfinger and Byron while Majeski, Bell, Crafton, Friesen, Rhodes, Purdy, rookie Taylor Gray, Honeycutt, Howard and Garcia occupied the top 20.
Eight laps later, the caution flew when Dean Thompson, who got bumped by Rajah Caruth entering Turn 1, spun in Turn 2 amid contact with Josh Williams. During the caution period, the field led by Larson peeled off the track to pit for fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Larson exited first followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar, DiBenedetto, Heim and Chastain.
When the race restarted with a single lap remaining in the second stage, Larson peeked ahead with the lead alongside Hocevar and amid two tight-packed lanes through Turns 1 and 2. Despite being locked alongside Hocevar through Turn 2, Larson was able to muscle ahead and clear the field through Turns 3 and 4 as he claimed the second stage victory scheduled for Lap 140. Hocevar settled in second followed by Zane Smith, Heim and Byron while DiBenedetto, Enfinger, Chastain, Wallace and Ankrum were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, a few names that included Majeski and Holmes pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
With 99 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson muscled ahead with the lead ahead of Zane Smith and Hocevar. As Larson retained a steady advantage over Hocevar, Heim moved back up to third while Zane Smith fell back to fourth while battling Enfinger and Byron. As the on-track battles ensued, the caution returned with 95 laps remaining when Josh Williams, who was battling Kris Wright, Spencer Boyd, Connor Jones and Tanner Gray, was bumped by both Wright and Jones as Williams was turned off the front nose of Gray through the backstretch. Williams then clipped the barriers towards the pit road entrance before spinning across the track towards the inside wall.
With the race restarting with 88 laps remaining, Larson muscled ahead with the lead over the field as Hocevar made his way around Grant Enfinger for second.
With 75 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over Hocevar and more than three seconds over third-place Heim while Zane Smith and Bell were in the top five. Enfinger was back in sixth ahead of Byron, DiBenedetto, Wallace and Crafton while Ankrum, Friesen, Taylor Gray, Chastain and Purdy were mired in the top 15.
Then with 67 laps remaining, the caution flew when Deegan bumped and sent Dean Thompson for a spin in Turn 1 as Thompson backed his No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the outside wall and sustained significant rear-end damage. In the ensuing chaos, Deegan slapped the outside wall while trying to regain her momentum while Kris Wright hit both the wall and Thompson’s damaged truck while trying to lock up his front tires. During the caution period, the field led by Larson pitted and Larson retained the lead after exiting first followed by Heim, Hocevar, Byron, Zane Smith and Enfinger. During the pit stops, Zane Smith was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.
With the race restarting with 59 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead on the inside lane as Heim made his way to second over Hocevar. Two laps later, the caution returned when Eckes bumped and sent Ben Rhodes for a spin in Turn 1, though Rhodes managed to keep his No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 off the outside wall.
During the proceeding restart with 51 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead ahead of Heim while Byron was locked in a battle with Hocevar and DiBenedetto for third. The caution, however, returned a lap later when Ankrum, who was locked in a tight three-wide battle against Eckes and Purdy within the top 15, got shoved and squeezed into the outside wall through Turn 2 as he slapped the wall. Ankrum’s incident ignited a chain reaction as Rajah Caruth ran into him along with Rhodes and Zane Smith, with all four competitors wrecking while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage. During the caution period, Chastain and Deegan pitted while the rest of the field led by Larson remained on the track.
With the race restarting with 35 laps remaining, Larson rocketed with the lead followed by Heim while Hocevar battled and overtook DiBenedetto for third. As the laps proceeded and with late battles ensuing around the circuit, Byron made his way up to fourth over DiBenedetto while Larson extended his advantage to a second over Heim.
With 28 laps remaining, the caution returned when Connor Jones came to a stop on the track, a move that resulted in NASCAR holding Jones for two laps in the pits as a penalty. During the caution period, Wallace, Chastain and Deegan remained on the track while the rest led by Larson pitted. Amid the caution period, Colby Howard was penalized for speeding on pit road.
During the following restart with 23 laps remaining, Wallace retained the lead while Majeski, the first competitor with fresh tires, carved his way up to second as the field fanned out and jostled for late positions. Wallace would continue to lead on old tires over Majeski as the event reached its final 20-lap mark.
Then with 15 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Larson, who carved his way back up to second, intimidated Wallace for the top spot. After bumping and remaining in a tight side-by-side match against Wallace during the proceeding laps, Larson managed to reassume the lead for good with 12 laps remaining as Majeski challenged Wallace for second.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson was leading by a second over Majeski as Wallace trailed by more than a second. Four laps later, the caution flew when Eckes spun in Turn 3 after making contact with Chase Purdy. Eckes’ spin was enough to send the event into overtime.
When the field restarted for the first overtime attempt, Larson rocketed with the lead on the inside lane while Wallace spun the tires on outside lane, which jumbled the field and allowed Majeski to move to second followed by DiBenedetto. As the field fanned out through the first two turns, Larson started to pull away from Majeski and his rivals.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by more than six-tenths of a second over Majeski. With the clean air to his advantage, Larson was able to cruise away from the field and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and win by nine-tenths of a second over Majeski.
With the victory, Larson notched his third career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series and his first since winning at Eldora Speedway in July 2016. He joined Mike Bliss and Mark Martin as the only competitors to win a Truck event at North Wilkesboro Speedway and he recorded the second Truck career victory for Spire Motorsports.
The victory occurred nine days after Larson was announced to drive the No. 7 entry for Spire Motorsports in place of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, who remains injured with a fractured vertebra stemming from a sprint car accident in late April.
“[That was] A really fun track there, especially in the truck,” Larson said on FOX. “You can use the apron and such, and both ends there. [I] Had a good time. That was a lot of fun on the long runs there, lapping trucks. Huge thank you to [crew chief Kevin] Bono [Manion], everybody on this team.
I wasn’t supposed to run [this event]. Unfortunately, Alex [Bowman] got hurt and allowed me the opportunity to run this. Thanks to everybody at Spire Motorsports for allowing me to race their truck, HendrickCars.com, [Cup owner] Rick Hendrick for also letting me run.”
Majeski finished in second place for the second time this season followed by Matt DiBenedetto while Hocevar and Bubba Wallace finished in the top five. Heim, the pole-sitter, ended up in sixth place while Crafton, Chase Purdy, Ross Chastain and Enfinger finished in the top 10.
There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 85 laps. In total, 25 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 10th event of the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by seven points over Ty Majeski, 16 over Zane Smith, 41 over Grant Enfinger and 60 over Christian Eckes.
Results.
1. Kyle Larson, 138 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ty Majeski
3. Matt DiBenedetto
4. Carson Hocevar, 16 laps led
5. Bubba Wallace, 13 laps led
6. Corey Heim, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner
7. Matt Crafton
8. Chase Purdy
9. Ross Chastain
10. Grant Enfinger
11. William Byron, 10 laps led
12. Chris Hacker
13. Stewart Friesen
14. Daniel Dye
15. Bret Holmes
16. Christopher Bell
17. Kaden Honeycutt
18. Tanner Gray
19. Lawless Alan
20. Hailie Deegan
21. Taylor Gray
22. Kris Wright
23. Jake Garcia
24. Colby Howard
25. Christian Eckes
26. Tyler Ankrum, two laps down
27. Spencer Boyd, two laps down
28. Josh Williams – OUT, Water pump
29. Connor Jones – OUT, Electrical
30. Nick Sanchez, 39 laps down
31. Timmy Hill, 41 laps down
32. Zane Smith – OUT, Accident,
33. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident
34. Rajah Caruth – OUT, Accident
35. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident
36. Johnny Sauter – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is another North Carolina event as the series will travel southeast from North Wilkesboro to Concord to compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
With the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season less than a week away from concluding, Corey LaJoie is set to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship event at Phoenix Raceway, the driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will fulfill 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Kannapolis, North Carolina, and the son of two-time Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie, Corey LaJoie made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. By then, he had recorded five victories in the K&N Pro Series East and made two career starts in the Xfinity Series between Richard Petty Motorsports and Biagi-DenBeste Racing. Driving the No. 77 Ford Fusion for Randy Humphrey Racing, LaJoie started and finished 41st in his Cup debut. He then made his second Cup career start three weeks later at Charlotte Motor Speedway for RHR, where he finished 35th after starting 42nd.
Prior to the start of the 2017 Cup Series season, LaJoie joined forces with BK Racing on a part-time schedule. During the first of two Duel events at Daytona International Speedway in February, he rallied from being involved in a late multi-car wreck, where he wrecked Paul Menard and Reed Sorenson in the closing laps, to finish 16th and earn a transfer spot for the 59th running of the Daytona 500, where he finished 24th. He ended up competing in all but four of the 36-race schedule between the Nos. 23 and 83 Toyota Camry for BK Racing. His best on-track result throughout his schedule was an 11th-place run at Daytona in July.
For the 2018 Cup season, LaJoie piloted the No. 72 Chevrolet SS for TriStar Motorsports. Commencing the season with a 40th-place run during the 60th running of the Daytona 500 due to an engine failure and making a total of 23 starts, LaJoie’s season-best result was a 16th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September.
In 2019, LaJoie joined Go Fas Racing to pilot the No. 32 Ford Mustang in the Cup Series on a full-time basis. After commencing the season with an 18th-place run during the 61st running of the Daytona 500 and recording three top-20 results through the first 17-scheduled events, LaJoie notched his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit after finishing sixth at Daytona in July. He went on to post a seventh-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October before settling in 29th place in the final standings and in his first full-time stint in NASCAR’s premier series.
Remaining at Go Fas Racing for the 2020 Cup season, LaJoie commenced the season on a harrowing note after being involved in a final lap accident during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Entering the tri-oval, LaJoie was battling for a spot in the top 10 when he rammed into the upside-down No. 6 Ford Mustang piloted by Ryan Newman driver’s side that sent Newman’s car airborne before landing back on his roof. Despite the impact that damaged the front nose and windshield of his No. 32 Ford, LaJoie, who managed to finish eighth, emerged uninjured. He went on to finish in the top 20 five times throughout the 36-race schedule before finishing in 30th place in the final standings. By then, LaJoie surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
Following a two-year run with Go Fas Racing, LaJoie inked a multi-year deal to pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Spire Motorsports, beginning in 2021. He finished ninth during the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 in his first event with Spire before posting five top-20 results during the next 23-scheduled events. At Michigan International Speedway in August, LaJoie missed the event following a positive COVID-19 test. From his return at Daytona in August through the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, he posted two additional results in the top 20 before finishing in 29th place in the final standings.
This season, LaJoie kicked off his second stint at Spire Motorsports with a 14th-place run during the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Two races later, he finished 15th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March before achieving his first top-five result in the Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway another two races later in the schedule. The top-five run for LaJoie occurred after he rallied from being involved in an early multi-car pileup, where he spun backwards through the frontstretch grass. He went on to record five additional top-20 results during the following 13 events.
Then when NASCAR returned to Atlanta in July, LaJoie led a career-high 19 of 260-scheduled laps as he was battling Chase Elliott for the win during a three-lap shootout to the finish. After losing the lead to Elliott with two laps remaining, LaJoie made a move to the outside of Elliott on the final lap when he was blocked and forced into the outside wall in Turn 1. The contact and scrape stalled LaJoie’s momentum as he then veered below the track before shooting back across the outside wall and wrecked along with Kurt Busch and Cole Custer. The incident knocked LaJoie to a 21st-place result in the final running order after being in position of winning his first NASCAR Cup event. Despite posting three additional top-20 results during the final seven regular-season events, LaJoie did not accumulate enough points to move out of the top-30 cutline in the standings nor qualify for the 2022 Cup Playoffs. Through nine of 10 Playoff events, he has achieved three top-15 results and is currently ranked in 31st place in the drivers’ standings.
Through 199 previous Cup starts, LaJoie, who will be returning to Spire Motorsports for the 2023 season, has achieved one top-five result, five top-10 results, 57 laps led and an average-finishing result of 26.9.
LaJoie is scheduled to make his 200th Cup Series career start in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship event at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 6, with the event’s coverage to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
From the rear of the field to the front and straight to Victory Lane, William Byron made a triumphant return to the winner’s stage in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series after surviving a carnage-filled event to dominate and win the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday, April 7.
The 24-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for a race-high 94 of 200 laps, including the final 84, as he fended off Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch and the field through the final 36 laps to claim his first Truck victory in six years while piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, which recorded its first victory in the Truck circuit.
With on-track qualifying initially scheduled for Thursday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup was determined through a calculated formula factoring in the results from the previous event along with the fastest laps and points positions. With that, Zane Smith, winner of the previous Truck event at Circuit of the Americas, started on pole position as he shared the front row with Kyle Busch, who was making his third of five scheduled Truck starts.
Prior to the event, Modified competitor Dillon Steuer dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Zane Smith fended off Ben Rhodes and Kyle Busch to retain the lead for a full lap as he led the opening lap. Behind, Rhodes, who attempted a three-wide move at the start, moved in front of Busch for the runner-up spot while Chandler Smith and John Hunter Nemechek settled in the top five.
Seven laps into the event, the first caution flew when Kris Wright and rookie Jack Wood collided on the frontstretch, with the latter ramming into the former that was spinning.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 13, Zane Smith and Rhodes briefly dueled through the first two turns until Smith cleared the field through the backstretch while Stewart Friesen moved up to third place. Just then, the caution returned when the No. 40 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Dean Thompson came to a stop on the frontstretch, which soon after came on fire inside the cockpit as the driver hopped out. Eventually, the fire situation was enough to terminate Thompson’s run early.
Ten laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith retained the lead while Friesen and Rhodes battled for second in front of Kyle Busch and Chandler Smith. Behind, Christian Eckes was up in sixth place followed by Grant Enfinger and John Hunter Nemechek, who was losing spots on the track.
Through the first 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second over Friesen followed by Rhodes, Kyle Busch and Chandler Smith while Eckes, Enfinger, Nemechek, Derek Kraus and Matt Crafton were in the top 10.
Three laps later, Johnny Sauter and Hailie Deegan made contact while battling for 22nd place entering the frontstretch, which resulted in Deegan sustaining a tire rub, but the race proceeded under green.
Nearing the Lap 40 mark, the caution returned when Spencer Boyd stalled his No. 12 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST near the exit of the backstretch due to a loss of fuel pressure.
Under caution, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track. During the pit stops, Matt Crafton was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Tate Fogleman was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.
With six laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Zane Smith retained the lead once again while Rhodes challenged Friesen for the runner-up spot. As the field scrambled for positions behind, Smith continued to lead.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 50, Zane Smith claimed his third Truck stage victory of the season. Friesen fended off Rhodes to retain the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Enfinger, Eckes, Kraus, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy and Tyler Ankrum were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, some led by Zane Smith pitted while the rest led by Ben Rhodes remained on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 60 as teammates Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes, competing on worn tires, cleared the field on the inside lane through the backstretch and retained the lead while Kyle Busch and Eckes battled for second. Just as Busch prevailed, Carson Hocevar went to work on Eckes for more followed by Ty Majeski, Matt DiBenedetto, Johnny Sauter and William Byron.
By Lap 70, the caution returned when Boyd stalled his truck for a second time in the event, this time between Turns 1 and 2.
At the Lap 75 mark, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes fended off Kyle Busch to retain the lead once again while Byron, who moved into the top five, battled and overtook Hocevar for third place in front of Eckes.
On Lap 78, the caution returned when Lawless Alan spun following contact with Tate Fogleman in Turn 2. Under caution, some led by Busch and Byron pitted while the rest led by Rhodes remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 85, Rhodes fended off Hocevar to retain the lead while Eckes, Ty Majeski and Matt DiBenedetto battled in the top five and in front of sixth-place Zane Smith.
At the Lap 90 mark, Rhodes extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Eckes while Hocevar, Majeski, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Matt DiBenedetto, Parker Kligerman, Enfinger and Colby Howard were in the top 10. By then, Byron was in 13th while Busch was mired outside of the top 20.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 100, which marked the halfway point of the event, Rhodes, who managed to complete the event’s first half without pitting once, claimed his third stage victory of the season. Teammate Eckes settled in second ahead of Hocevar, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Majeski, DiBenedetto, Kligerman, Enfinger and Taylor Gray.
Under the stage break, some led by teammates Rhodes and Eckes pitted while the rest led by Byron and Chandler Smith remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hocevar overshot his truck while pitting. Following the pit stops, Zane Smith, who led the first 55 laps, was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 92 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead ahead of Chandler Smith and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when Kaden Honeycutt, who replaced Matt Jaskol in the No. 46 G2G Racing Toyota, got sideways after making contact with Austin Wayne Self. He then made contact against the trucks of Tanner Gray and Blake Lothian before getting hit by Dillon Steuer and coming to rest sideways in Turn 2.
Eight laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron fended off Chandler Smith to retain the lead while the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch.
Another five laps later, the caution flew again when Kris Wright and Dillon Steuer wrecked in Turn 4.
With 73 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron rocketed away with another strong restart while Chandler Smith and Johnny Sauter dueled and battled for second, with the latter prevailing. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in fourth while Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen battled for a spot in the top five.
Six laps later, the caution flew again when Rhodes, who was racing in the top 10, attempted to make a bold move on teammate Eckes for position, and then made contact that sent Eckes into Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. As a result, Friesen, who was in seventh place, spun in Turn 3, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage.
When the race restarted with 62 laps remaining, Byron launched ahead with another strong start to retain the lead while Sauter settled in second ahead of Chandler Smith, Kyle Busch, Crafton, and Nemechek.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron was leading by nearly a second over Sauter followed by Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith and Crafton while Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Rhodes, Enfinger and Kraus were in the top 10. Zane Smith was up in 11th place followed by Eckes, Ankrum, Kligerman, DiBenedetto, Chase Purdy, Carson Hocevar, Friesen, Hailie Deegan and Lawless Alan.
Six laps later, the caution flew when Jesse Little spun entering Turn 2 off the front nose of Tate Fogleman, which he was then hit by Bret Holmes as Kris Wright rammed into the side of Little in a billow of smoke. Under caution, some like Zane Smith, DiBenedetto, Hocevar, Colby Howard and Deegan pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.
With 36 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron retained the lead followed by Sauter and Kyle Busch while Nemechek battled and overtook teammate Chandler Smith to move into fourth place on fresh tires. Behind, Crafton was in sixth ahead of Rhodes, Enfinger, Kraus and Majeski.
Six laps later, Byron stabilized his advantage to less than a second over Sauter while Busch, Nemechek and Chandler Smith trailed by less than two seconds. Shortly after, Chase Purdy limped to pit road with a flat tire.
With 20 laps remaining, Byron extended his advantage to more than a second over Sauter while Busch, Nemechek and Chandler Smith remained in the top five. Rhodes was in sixth ahead of Crafton, Enfinger, Majeski and Zane Smith while Kraus, Ankrum, Eckes, Friesen and DiBenedetto were in the top 15.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Byron, who carved his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by more than a second over Sauter followed by Kyle Busch and Nemechek while Rhodes was in fifth in front of Chandler Smith.
With five laps remaining, Byron remained the leader by more than a second over Sauter while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by two seconds. Behind, Nemechek and Rhodes trailed by less than three seconds while Chandler Smith trailed by more than four seconds.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Sauter. Remaining uncontested at the front, Byron was able to navigate his way around the paperclip-shaped short circuit for a final time and claim the checkered flag for his first grandfather clock trophy.
In addition to claiming his first NASCAR national touring series victory at Martinsville, Byron recorded his eighth career victory in the Truck Series and first since winning the 2016 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Byron also recorded the first Truck victory of the season for Chevrolet.
“It was a lot of fun,” Byron said on FS1. “Great crowd here at Martinsville. I’ve never won a race at Martinsville. [I] Struggled here when I was in late models. Just awesome to get the win tonight. Great truck. HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet. Thanks to Spire [Motorsports]. All the guys back at their shop, they don’t have a lot of guys, but they do alright. It was fun to work with [crew chief] Bono [Manion]. [I] Had a little help from [Cup crew chief] Rudy [Fugle]. He knows the truck really well. Yeah, just awesome. Thanks to Mr. [Hendrick] for letting me come do it. Pretty awesome. I’m excited.”
Sauter, the 2016 Truck Series champion who competes on a part-time basis between ThorSport Racing and G2G Racing, settled in second place for his highest on-track result since finishing second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February 2020.
“It was fun,” Sauter said. “It’s been a while. Just so proud of everybody at ThorSport. This is our first in-house chassis, in-house body complete. I called for an adjustment early in the race to just tighten it up a little bit and at the end it was just too much. This is the way it’s supposed to be. This is what this whole deal is about: to go for wins. To start shotgun on the field and finish second, that’s a solid day. I knew it was gonna be good. I knew on Lap 2, we had something we could race with. I’ve been doing this long enough to know. I wish I didn’t call for that adjustment. Who knows, you think that’s enough but all in all a solid night. The goal was to win and we just came up one spot short.”
Kyle Busch came home in third place in his third of five Truck starts this season while Nemechek and Rhodes finished in the top five.
Chandler Smith, Crafton, Enfinger, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10 on the track. Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Stewart Friesen, Derek Kraus and Matt DiBenedetto finished in the top 15 wile Hocevar and Hailie Deegan, who confronted Lawless Alan following the event, finished 17th and 19th.
There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 71 laps.
With his fifth-place result, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by four points over Chandler Smith, 21 over Zane Smith, 25 over Stewart Friesen and 44 over both John Hunter Nemechek and Christian Eckes.
Results.
1. William Byron, 94 laps led
2. Johnny Sauter
3. Kyle Busch, one lap led
4. John Hunter Nemechek
5. Ben Rhodes, 47 laps led, Stage 2 winner
6. Chandler Smith, two laps led
7. Matt Crafton
8. Grant Enfinger
9. Zane Smith, 55 laps led, Stage 1 winner
10. Tyler Ankrum
11. Ty Majeski
12. Christian Eckes
13. Stewart Friesen
14. Derek Kraus
15. Matt DiBenedetto
16. Parker Kligerman
17. Carson Hocevar
18. Colby Howard
19. Hailie Deegan
20. Lawless Alan
21. Tanner Gray
22. Tate Fogleman
23. Timmy Hill
24. Bret Holmes, one lap down
25. Chase Janes, one lap down
26. Taylor Gray, two laps down
27. Jesse Little, two laps down
28. Blake Lothian, two laps down
29. Chase Purdy, three laps down
30. Kris Wright, five laps down
31. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Brakes
32. Dillon Steuer – OUT, Accident
33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical
34. Kaden Honeycutt – OUT, Accident
35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident
36. Dean Thompson – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ second annual running of the Pinty’s Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, which will occur on April 16 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
A significant milestone start is in the making for Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chastain will accomplish 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Alva, Florida, Chastain made his Cup Series debut at Dover International Speedway in June 2017. By then, he was a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for JD Motorsports. Driving the No. 15 Chevrolet for Premium Motorsports, Chastain finished 20th in his Cup debut. He returned for the Cup Playoff race at Dover in October, where he finished 38th while driving for Premium Motorsports.
The following season, Chastain competed in 34 of the 36-race Cup schedule, making all of his starts with Premium Motorsports. Throughout the season, he earned two top-20 results, including a season-best 18th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
In 2019, Chastain campaigned in all but one of the 36-race Cup schedule with Premium Motorsports. He also competed the entire Truck Series schedule with Niece Motorsports and on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series between JD Motorsports and Kaulig Racing. During his Cup tenure, Chastain earned a 10th-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500 and a 12th-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. He also led a total of 11 laps and averaged a finishing result of 28.2.
While competing as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Kaulig Racing in 2020, Chastain also made a total of eight Cup starts, starting with the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. Driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in a partnership between Spire Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing, Chastain was in position to win the 500 until he was involved in a late multi-car wreck that relegated him to 25th in the final running order.
Two days after the 2020 Daytona 500, Chastain was named a substitute competitor for Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford Mustang driven by Ryan Newman, with Newman hospitalized after suffering non-life threatening injuries from a final lap accident during the 500. Making his first Cup start with RFR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February, Chastain finished 27th after being involved in a late spin. He went on to finish 17th and 23rd during the following two race weekends at Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway in March before the COVID-19 pandemic put a hiatus to all racing activities.
When NASCAR resumed the 2020 season in May at Darlington Raceway, Newman was medically cleared to return to racing. Chastain, meanwhile, returned the following week at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Driving for Spire Motorsports, he finished 21st. He made three more Cup starts for the remainder of the season, all for Spire Motorsports, beginning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where he finished 17th. He also competed at Daytona in August, where he finished 16th, and at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500 in September, where he finished 29th.
Prior to the 2021 season, Chastain was selected by Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on a full-time basis. The move fulfilled the fruition of Chastain competing with CGR following sponsor DC Solar’s fallout and FBI raid in December 2018, an event that cost Chastain an opportunity to compete with CGR for the 2019 Xfinity Series season due to sponsorship woes and resulted with CGR’s Xfinity team ceasing operations.
Commencing this season with a seventh-place result in the Daytona 500, Chastain has achieved two top-five results, five top-10 results, 40 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.1 through the first 20 Cup races of the schedule. This includes a career-best runner-up result achieved at Nashville Superspeedway in June along with a strong fourth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas in May. He and Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevrolet team are currently ranked in 18th place in the regular-season standings.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Chastain has achieved two top-five results, six top-10 results, 53 laps led and an average-finishing result of 25.7.
Chastain is primed to make his 100th Cup career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 11, with the race scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season less than a month away from commencing, a familiar name will be returning to the starting grid for this year’s 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500. That name is Jamie McMurray after it was announced that the 44-year-old native from Joplin, Missouri, will be piloting the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE from Spire Motorsports sponsored by AdventHealth.
McMurray, who serves as a NASCAR analyst on FOX, made his 583rd and recent NASCAR Cup Series start to date in the 2019 Daytona 500, where he finished 22nd. His final full-time season in the Cup circuit was in 2018 with Chip Ganassi Racing. Through 2019, McMurray has made 17 career starts in the 500. He is also a former Daytona 500 champion, having won NASCAR’s prestigious event in 2010 with CGR.
With a charter, McMurray and his Spire Motorsports entry will be guaranteed a spot in the 2021 Daytona 500, which will mark McMurray’s 18th start in the event and his 584th start in the Cup Series.
“It doesn’t get any better than the Daytona 500, and I am so excited to have the opportunity, thanks to AdventHealth, to run this race one more time,” McMurray said. “I have enjoyed my time out of the car as an analyst covering NASCAR, but nothing can replace the feeling of actually racing. And it’s great to be partnering with a company like AdventHealth for this race. We share a lot of the same goals about health and fitness, and I’m looking forward to using this opportunity to talk to race fans about the importance of staying healthy and feeling whole.”
Along with his 2010 Daytona 500 victory, McMurray comes into the 2021 Daytona 500 with a bevy of success and experience towards NASCAR competition and superspeedway racing. He won at Daytona International Speedway in July 2007 while driving for Roush Fenway Racing and at Talladega Superspeedway twice (2009 and 2013). He is also a former winner of the Brickyard 400 and the All-Star Race, and he is the 2003 Cup Rookie of the Year.
Through 583 previous starts in the Cup Series, McMurray has won seven Cup career races while also achieving 11 poles, 63 top-five results, 168 top-10 results and three Playoff appearances, with a best points result of 11th place in 2004.
With McMurray’s entrance, Spire Motorsports has two cars set to compete in the 500, with Corey LaJoie signed on to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
The 2021 Daytona 500 is set to occur on Sunday, February 14, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
A significant milestone is in the making for Ross Chastain, a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor for Kaulig Racing and part-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. By the time Chastain completes this weekend’s Xfinity and Cup doubleheader events at Darlington Raceway, he will achieve 350 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).
A native of Alva, Florida, who grew up as a watermelon farmer for his family’s farm and started racing after watching his father hobby racing, Chastain started his career by winning in late models and Fastruck Series races. His first start within NASCAR’s three major division series occurred at Lucas Oil Raceway in July 2011, where he drove the No. 66 Chevrolet Silverado for Turn One Racing in the NASCAR Truck Series. Starting 15th, Chastain finished 10th in his series debut. He went on to compete in four additional Truck races with Turn One Racing.
In 2012, Chastain was named a full-time competitor of the No. 08 Toyota Tundra for SS-Green Light Racing as he entered the Truck Series as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Throughout the 22-race season, Chastain achieved four top-10 results, a career-best third-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and he concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. He made one start in the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado for SS-Green Light Racing at Phoenix, where he finished 33rd.
The following season, Chastain competed in 14 Truck races with Brad Keselowski Racing and in the No. 19 Ford F-150 led by Chad Kendrick. His first start with the team was at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he finished 14th. He went on to finish 20th at Martinsville Speedway in April and ninth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. He achieved his first top-five result of the season at Pocono Raceway in August. Two races later at Iowa Speedway, Chastain was dominant as he started on pole position and led a race-high 116 of 212 laps, only to be overtaken by James Buescher on a late restart and settle in a career-best second place. He went on to finish third at Talladega Superspeedway in October and second at Phoenix in November following a late battle with eventual winner Erik Jones. He finished in eighth place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and capped off his 14-race stint at BKR with four top-five results, seven top-10 results and his first two career poles.
In 2014, Chastain competed in his first seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races along with three Truck Series races. He competed between Viva Motorsports, Hattori Racing Enterprises and TriStar Motorsports in the Xfinity circuit, with his best result being 10th place at Kentucky Speedway in September. He competed between RBR Enterprises and Win-Tron Racing in the Truck Series, with his best result being 11th place at Homestead in November.
For the 2015 season, Chastain was named a full-time competitor for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Making 31 starts in JDM’s No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro and two in JDM’s No. 01 Chevrolet Camaro, Chastain achieved four top-10 results and a career-best result of ninth place at Daytona in February. He concluded the season in 15th place in the final standings.
Between 2016 and 2017, Chastain continued to drive for JD Motorsports and the No. 4 Chevrolet on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series. Following the 2016 season, he surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series. He finished 15th in the final standings in 2016 and 16th in 2017. Between June and July 2017, Chastain achieved back-to-back top-10 results, which included a career-best fourth-place result at Iowa Speedway. He also made a total of eight starts in the Truck Series with Bolen Motorsports, where his best result was seventh place at Martinsville Speedway in April. In addition, he made his first two NASCAR Cup Series career starts in both Dover International Speedway races while driving for Premium Motorsports. He finished 20th in his debut at the Monster Mile in June and 38th in his second start in October.
The 2018 season was an eventful season for Chastain, who made 34 starts in the Cup Series, 33 starts in the Xfinity Series and seven starts in the Truck Series. In the Truck circuit, he made a total of seven starts between Beaver Motorsports, Premium Motorsports and Niece Motorsports. His best result was seventh place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. In the Cup circuit, he competed in 34 of 36 races with Premium Motorsports. His best results were an 18th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April and a 20th-place result at Las Vegas in September.
For the first 23 Xfinity Series of the season, Chastain recorded one top-five result and six top-10 results, all while during his fourth season with JD Motorsports. Then, in September, Chastain made his first of three starts in the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing led by crew chief Mike Shiplett at Darlington Raceway. During the main event, Chastain started on pole position for the first time in his career, led a race-high 90 laps and won the first two stages. His strong run, however, was spoiled following a late on-track incident with Kevin Harvick as Chastain ended his race in 25th place. Competing the following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for JD Motorsports, Chastain returned to the No. 42 team at Las Vegas in September seeking redemption. During the main event, Chastain dominated again as he won the first two stages and led a race-high 180 laps. This time, Chastain sealed the deal after beating Justin Allgaier to achieve his first career win across NASCAR’s three major division series. His first Xfinity career win, which occurred in his 132nd series start and also occurred in the regular-season finale at Vegas, was enough for the Floridian to secure a spot in the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as he introduced his celebratory trademark by smashing a watermelon.
During his first run in the Xfinity Playoffs, Chastain went on to finish in second place at Richmond in September, which also marked his final start with Chip Ganassi Racing. Returning to JD Motorsports, he finished 12th at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and 13th at Dover. When the dust settled, Chastain was beaten by Matt Tifft for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by three points. He went on to conclude the season in a career-best 10th place in the final standings as he also achieved a career-high three top-five results, eight top-10 results and 272 laps led. Following the 2018 season, he surpassed 200 career starts across NASCAR.
In November 2018, it was announced that Chastain would compete in the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing on a full-time basis for the 2019 Xfinity Series season. The announcement came a month after Chastain revealed plans to compete in the Cup Series for Premium Motorsports. However, the team ceased operations in January when DC Solar was raided by the FBI. Fortunately, Chastain was picked up by Niece Motorsports to compete in the Truck Series on a part-time basis led by crew chief Phil Gould and by JD Motorsports for 30 Xfinity races. In addition, he signed a three-race deal to pilot the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Competing in all three series’ openers at Daytona International Speedway, Chastain finished third in the Truck Series with Niece Motorsports, 13th in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing after winning the second stage and 10th in his first Daytona 500 start with Premium Motorsports. Through the beginning of June, Chastain competed in the first 12 Xfinity races and recorded a best result of seventh place at Las Vegas in March. He also competed in the first eight Truck races with Niece Motorsports, achieving top-10 results in all of his starts and collecting his first Truck career win at Kansas Speedway in May following a late pass on Stewart Friesen. To cap off his eventful start to this season, he competed in the first 14 Cup races with Premium Motorsports.
On June 4, Chastain declared himself a full-time Truck Series competitor to contend for points and the series title with Niece Motorsports. In order to achieve his goal of making the Playoffs, he would have to win again throughout the regular-season stretch and be scored inside the top 20 in the standings. After finishing in 10th place at Texas Motor Speedway following his announcement, Chastain achieved his second victory of the season at Iowa Speedway following a dominating performance. Following the race, however, Chastain was disqualified due to his truck failing post-race technical inspection and NASCAR awarded the win to runner-up finisher Brett Moffitt. Chastain’s disqualification from winning was a first in NASCAR since Emanuel Zervakis was disqualified from winning at North Carolina’s Wilson Speedway in April 1960 due to an oversized fuel tank.
Chastain rebounded the following race with vengeance after scoring a late win at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway and collecting a $50,000 for winning a Triple Truck Challenge race. This time, Chastain’s win at Gateway was ruled official. After finishing seventh at Chicagoland Speedway and fourth at Kentucky Speedway the following two races, Chastain made himself Playoff eligible after moving into the top 20 in the standings. The following race, he achieved his third victory of his career/season at Pocono Raceway and he entered the postseason as a title favorite. During the Playoffs, Chastain achieved three top-five results and five top-10 results as he made the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the finale, however, he finished fourth at Homestead and fell short of his first NASCAR championship to Matt Crafton. Despite the final outcome, he logged in a successful season in the Truck circuit, where he recorded three wins, a pole, 10 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, an average result of 8.6 and 591 laps led before concluding the season in a career-best second place. In the end, he was named the 2019 Truck Most Popular Driver.
Chastain’s on-track success in 2019 did not only come from the Truck Series. At Daytona in July, while piloting Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro, Chastain led a 1-2-3 finish for the team across the line as he achieved his first victory at Daytona, second of his Xfinity career and the first NASCAR win for Kaulig Racing. Despite teammate A.J. Allmendinger being disqualified from third place for failing post-race technical inspection, Chastain’s victory and teammate Justin Haley’s runner-up result were deemed official by NASCAR. He made a total of seven additional Xfinity starts since June, where he also finished in second place at Texas in November behind Christopher Bell while driving for Kaulig. Overall, he capped off the 2019 Xfinity season with a win, a pole, two top-five results and eight top-10 results between JD Motorsports and Kaulig Racing.
On the Cup side, Chastain made 35 starts in the No. 15 Chevrolet for Premium Motorsports. His best results were a 10th-place result at the Daytona 500 in February and a 12th-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
In total, Chastain made 77 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series in 2019. Early into the season, he broke Kyle Busch’s record in competing in the most consecutive races across all three series to start a season. Following the 2019 season, he surpassed 300 career starts across NASCAR.
Three months after winning at Daytona, Chastain was named a full-time competitor of the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing led by crew chief Bruce Schlicker for the 2020 Xfinity Series season. Prior to the 2020 season, he also planned to compete in select Truck Series races with Niece Motorsports and in the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE sponsored by AdventHealth in the Cup Series for the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. His No. 77 ride was under a partnership between Spire Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Chastain started the 2020 season by finishing in eighth place in the Truck opener at Daytona with Niece Motorsports. For the Xfinity opener, however, he initially failed to qualify for the event, along with teammate A.J. Allmendinger, due to mechanical issues. Nonetheless, he was able to compete when veteran Jeff Green relinquished his seat at RSS Racing. Chastain went on to finish 22nd in the Xfinity opener. For the Daytona 500, he made a late charge to the front until he was involved in a multi-car accident and settled in 25th place.
Through September 2, Chastain has made eight starts in the Truck Series with Niece Motorsports and has recorded one top-five result and five top-10 results. He has also made seven Cup starts between Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, where he served as an interim competitor for the injured Ryan Newman. His best results in the series include a 16th-place run at Daytona in August and a pair of 17th-place results at Auto Club Speedway in March and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Through the first 22 Xfinity Series races of this season and as a full-time competitor, Chastain has recorded one stage win, two Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonuses, nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results. He is currently in third place in the Xfinity regular-season standings and is 420 points above the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs and with four regular-season races remaining. Thus far, his average result is 8.8.
While Chastain is set to compete in this weekend’s Xfinity and Cup races at Darlington, he will also be sporting a special white, red, blue and gold paint scheme to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports/Dirty Mo Media Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on the Cup side while paying tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt and his 1976 Hy-Gain Chevy.
Catch Chastain’s milestone start on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
