Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Stewart Friesen

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kentucky

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kentucky

    After a week off for the Fourth of July holiday, the real fireworks get back on track Thursday night for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

    The Truck Series was at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago where we saw last year’s champion take home the trophy. It was Moffitt’s second win of the 2019 season, which occurred on the 1.5-mile speedway, the same as Kentucky.

    The Playoffs continue to be on the horizon and with five races left, there are some drivers who continue to be winless in the series. Believe it or not, only four series regulars have taken home a trophy. Other than Moffitt, Austin Hill won at Daytona and Johnny Sauter won at Dover. Ross Chastain had victories at Kansas and Gateway but sits 10 points out of the top-20. Chastain should easily make it into the Playoffs, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.

    Despite only having four series regulars winning this year, there are other big names who have not won yet. Those include series points leader Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Sheldon Creed, who are all on the outside looking in. With that said, however, those names could break through at Kentucky this Thursday night.

    There are currently 34 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for 32 spots.

    Here are five drivers to keep an eye on in Thursday night’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225.

    1. Matt Crafton – Kentucky could be the place where Crafton breaks his long two-year winless streak. He is the most experienced driver with the most active starts at 20, ever since the first race here in 2001. The No. 88 ThorSport Racing driver has just one win here that occurred in 2015 when he started on the pole and led 43 laps that night. Otherwise, he has six top fives and 15 top-10 finishes with one DNF. Crafton’s average finish is 9.9 with 79 laps led overall. The Tulare, California driver has finishes of third in 2018, eighth in 2017 and 2016, a win in 2015 and sixth in 2014. He doesn’t have any stage wins, but Crafton finished sixth in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2 in the 2018 race. Keep an eye on the No. 88 Menards driver who hopes to snap his winless streak Thursday night.

    2. Ben Rhodes – The ThorSport train continues with Ben Rhodes. Rhodes is the previous race winner at Kentucky after leading 38 laps last year. It was a hometown win for Rhodes, as he resides in Louisville, Kentucky just 57 minutes away from Kentucky Speedway. However, prior to his win, Kentucky Speedway had not been too kind to Rhodes. He crashed out of the race in 2017, finishing 27th, and finished 13th in his first race in 2016. The Kentucky native has an average finish of 13.7 with an average start of 5.7. It will mark one year since Rhodes has not won a race in the Truck Series. He currently sits somewhat comfortable in the standings, in fifth, 98 points behind first. He’ll need a win or a finish in the top 10, or top five, to contend in the Playoffs.

    3. Stewart Friesen – Speaking of being close to winning, Friesen has a decent chance of getting his first win Thursday night. He finished second to Rhodes in last year’s race after leading 37 laps. He has Stage finishes of seventh and fourth in the 2018 race, but no stage top-10 finishes in 2017. The Canadian finished 12th in his first outing two years ago. Look for Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team to be a contender in Thursday night’s race at Kentucky.

    4. Brandon Jones – The Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series regular returns to the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck this week. The Atlanta, Georgia native has four starts at Kentucky Speedway and has finished in the top-10 in every start since 2015. Jones has had great results with a best finish of second in 2017. His other finishes include fourth in 2018, seventh in 2016 and 10th in 2015, which equal an average finish of 5.8. The No. 51 truck has not seen victory lane since Texas last month when Greg Biffle earned a popular victory. At Kentucky, the truck has not been to victory lane since 2014 when team owner Kyle Busch brought it to victory lane. Jones will try to put that No. 51 truck back in the winner circle this weekend.

    5. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland has just one start which came in last year’s race. The No. 4 KBM driver finished seventh after starting second and led just one lap. Gilliland has a stage finish of third and sixth in both stages that came in the 2018 race.

    Other drivers on the entry list include Codie Rohrbaugh in the No. 9, Spencer Davis in the No. 11, Dylan Lupton in the No. 15, Tyler Ankrum in the No. 17 and Brennan Poole returns with his No. 30 machine. Josh Bilicki will compete in the No. 34, Chad Finley returns to the track in the No. 42, Jeb Burton in the No. 44, Ray Ciccarelli in the No. 49, Tyler Hill in the No. 56 and Clay Greenfield in the No. 68.

    Ben Rhodes and Noah Gragson are the only stage winners since 2017.

    Kentucky Speedway has seen 21 races and counting since their first race back in 2000. A list of winners include Greg Biffle who won the first race 19 years ago, Scott Riggs, Mike Bliss, Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton, Dennis Setzer, Ron Hornaday Jr (2006, 2009, 2011), Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson Jr, Todd Bodine, James Buescher (2012 and 2013), Ty Dillon, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Christopher Bell.

    The race winner has come from the pole three times set by Matt Crafton in 2015, Kyle Busch in 2014 and Ron Hornaday Jr in 2009. The lowest a race winner has ever come from was 22nd by Ty Dillon in 2013 and Hornaday Jr in 2006.

    It will be an all-day show for the Truck Series with first practice at 9:35 a.m. ET and final practice at 11:05 a.m. ET with no TV coverage. Qualifying is scheduled to take place at 4:05 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

    The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 can be seen live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio with the green flag flying shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET. Stages will be broken up into 35/70/150 laps to make up the 225-mile race.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Chicago

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited the Windy City this past weekend for race No. 12 of the 2019 season.

    For some, it was a great race. Brett Moffitt earned his second win of the 2019 season in an unsponsored truck, while Kyle Busch Motorsports’ drivers placed in the top-10 for the first time in a while.

    Other drivers like Anthony Alfredo, Dylan Lupton, Sheldon Creed and Tyler Ankrum all had good runs finishing ninth through 13th, some earned their best career finish.

    However, others had their struggles coming out of the Camping World 225, despite being on a hot streak coming into the race.

    With that said, here’s a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the 12th race of the season.

    1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt claimed his second win of the season Friday night in Joliet, Illinois. However, it was a newsworthy win for Moffitt and his No. 24 GMS Racing team, as they came in Thursday and unloaded an unsponsored truck. This left some people wondering how Moffitt would do in the race and whether or not, sponsorship problems would affect his performance. Obviously, it didn’t, as Moffitt started third and a had a great truck from the start. The Grimes, Iowa native finished third in both stages. However, it really wasn’t until after Stage 2 when we saw Moffitt out in front leading the way. He took the lead on Lap 74 and led for 46 laps. Despite green flag pit stops late in the going, Moffitt cycled out and regained the lead with 25 to go. From there, he held steady and won the race. This moves Moffitt up into third in points, 53 points behind first. The question remains if GMS Racing will continue to face more sponsorship woes as the season goes on.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third

    2. Ross Chastain – Chastain quietly finished in the seventh position at Chicago Friday night after his popular win at Gateway the week prior. He started midfield, qualifying 16th. The Niece Motorsports driver didn’t place in the top-10 at all in Stage 1 but was able to earn playoff points by finishing eighth in Stage 2. Chastain ran as high as sixth, but never really got any further as he had to settle for a seventh place finish. This would be Chastain’s 11th top-10 finish of the season. He is now 10 points outside the top-20 in order to make the Playoffs, as there are now five races remaining.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

    3. Stewart Friesen – Another week, another third-place finish for Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team. He started in the 10th position, then finished eighth and sixth in Stage 1 and 2, respectively. This allowed Friesen to gain two points on championship points leader Grant Enfinger. Friesen is now 52 points back. Friesen ran as high as second in the race and averaged a fifth place showing throughout the event.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

    4. Harrison Burton – After a disappointing 16th place at Gateway, Burton and his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team rebounded to a fourth-place finish this past weekend. He never led a lap, but ran as high as second and finished sixth and fourth in both stages. Burton would remain consistent throughout the night and would finish in the top five for the fifth time this season. He sits sixth in the points standings, 111 points back with five races remaining before the Playoffs begin.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    5. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had strong outings in both stages, finishing second in Stage 1 and winning the second stage. He led three times for 49 laps until an accident late in the going on Lap 80 took Enfinger out of contention to win. The Alabama native continued to struggle throughout the night, having tires go down. This would, unfortunately, place Enfinger 16th, one lap down. Despite the bad luck, he still remains the points leader over Stewart Friesen by 52.

      Previous Week Ranking – First

    Unranked:

    1. Sheldon Creed -It was a rough outing at Chicago for the No. 2 GMS Racing team. While his teammate Moffitt was celebrating in victory lane, Creed was left with a disappointing 11th place finish. Creed did not finish in the top-10 in either stage, despite qualifying seventh and leading two laps.

    Previous Week Ranking- Fourth

    Other Notables:

    Dylan Lupton returned to the Truck Series in his first outing in 2019. Lupton competed in the No. 5 DGR-Crosley Toyota and wound up 10th for the first top-10 finish of his career. Tyler Dippel earned a 12th place finish. It was his first 12th place finish since Kansas back in May.

  • Stewart Friesen and Harrison Burton earn top-five finishes at Chicago

    Stewart Friesen and Harrison Burton earn top-five finishes at Chicago

    Coming into the 12th race of the 2019 season, Stewart Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team had not yet won a race, despite being so close many times.

    Friesen was looking to change that entering the Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. He had a decent qualifying spot of 10th and remained consistent in both stages, picking up a couple of stage points. The No. 52 team finished eighth in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2.

    He never got to lead a lap but was battling side-by-side with Brandon Jones for the second place spot for a few laps. However, the side-by-side battle ended when the last round of pit stops began with less than 35 to go.

    Friesen pitted from the top five but was able to get his position back after the pit stops cycled through. He and Jones battled it out again, but it allowed race leader Brett Moffitt to run away with the win. Friesen gave it all he could for the No. 52 Halmar Racing team, but once again had to settle for a third-place finish.

    “Just me, I made a bad call in practice yesterday (Thursday afternoon),” Friesen said in his post-race interview with MRN Radio. “Hot and greasy track kept the car pretty tight, kind of bit us in the ass. Trip (Crew Chief) and the boys had to adjust on it all race. Great pit stops by the guys, got us some track position there. Once we got toward the front, we were fast. Just not as fast as Brett (Moffitt) and the 51 (Brandon Jones). Great race for us, thanks to Halmar and Orange County Fair Speedway, big race in August, so it’s cool to have those guys on board.”

    It was Friesen’s seventh top-five finish of the 2019 season. He sits second in points, 52 points back behind championship points leader Grant Enfinger.

    For Harrison Burton and his No. 18 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota team, it was a solid but quiet night for the Kyle Busch Motorsports entry.

    Burton started in the eighth position but showed he had a fast truck through both the stages. In Stage 1, Burton finished sixth while he placed fourth in the second stage. Burton was able to miss all the melee during the race and kept himself in contention. However, his truck wasn’t good enough for the late green flag run, as well as the adjustments made during his final pit stop with 30 to go.

    The No. 18 KBM driver would have to settle for a fourth place finish without leading a single lap.

    “If I knew, I would probably have a higher paycheck,” Burton said describing his race to MRN Radio. “We’re just working really hard, all the guys at KBM busting their butts, day in and day out, giving us really fast trucks. They’re fun to drive and just lucky to be in this position. We’re fighting our way into the Playoffs. That’s a lot of fun for a team to try and come back to get to the Playoffs, and scratch and claw their way in. If we get in, they better watch out.”

    Burton’s fourth-place finish was his fifth top five of the 2019 season. Burton sits sixth in the championship points standings, 111 points behind first place.

  • Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes tangle late at Gateway

    Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes tangle late at Gateway

    Christian Eckes had a great race truck all night long, started on the pole, finished fifth and fourth in both stages and led 57 laps. But he was accidentally taken out by Stewart Friesen on the last lap of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series while Eckes was running third.

    When the melee finally ended at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway settled, Eckes did not hit anything but wound up with a disappointing 14th place finish after having such a strong truck.

    “I’m really not sure what happened exactly, but probably just got turned again for the second year in a row by Stewart (Friesen),” Eckes described to MRN Radio in his post race interview. “It’s unfortunate. Had a really fast Sirius XM Tundra tonight. I made a mistake, kind of lost to second there, but we had a really fast truck and that’s all you could really ask for.”

    Friesen apologized for the late race incident with Eckes.

    “We had a good (Chevy) Silverado,” Friesen said in his post-race interview. “Got to apologize to that 51 or whoever is in that thing, I guess it’s Eckes. Drove down in there, tried to cross up. Hard racing, I feel bad for turning him around, I wasn’t trying to do that. Good hard racing, I know he’s from Middletown, New York. If he ever wants to come run a Modified, we’ll gladly bring one for him to repay the favor there. He’s a good hard racer.”

    Friesen finished third in the overall results, while finishing second in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. He sits second in the points standings, 54 points behind current championship leader Grant Enfinger.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Ganders Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Ganders Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returned to Iowa Speedway this weekend for their 10th race of the 2019 season.

    It was quite a newsworthy race with original winner Ross Chastain being disqualified and Brett Moffitt being declared the new winner, along with Johnny Sauter being parked by NASCAR officials for an incident with Austin Hill under caution. The Truck Series race was quite possibly one of the most talked about events in recent NASCAR memory this season.

    It was the first time in nearly 25 years that a race win has been taken away. What’s more amazing is that Moffitt became the first winner to not lead a single lap in 66 years.

    On the other hand, we had a young, up and coming phenomenon who is making a name for himself in the ARCA Menards Series and is considered a future NASCAR Cup Series star in the years to come.

    So what else happened in the event? Here’s a look at this week’s four takeaways.

    1. Chandler Smith Impressive In Rookie Debut – You’ve probably already heard a lot about Smith from this past weekend, but seriously, this kid is impressive and is the next real deal. Sure, qualifying was rained out which gave him the advantage of the pole position but he remained strong throughout the race. Smith led the first 55 laps of the event before a late stage caution forced him to come down pit road to fix his radio issues. Despite those radio issues, he continued to work his way back into the top-10 to finish fourth in Stage 2. However, another unfortunate circumstance took place at the end of the stage, as Smith was caught speeding on pit road which sent him to the back of the field. The highest position Smith was able to obtain after that was fifth, but he eventually had to settle for an eighth-place finish. Not bad for your first time out in a Truck Series start. Expect more big things to come from Smith in the future. He’s also setting the ARCA world on fire earning four career wins, 11 top fives and 14 top-10 finishes, along with seven poles over a span of 14 races. It’s quite impressive for a driver who is only 16-years-old.

    2. ThorSport Racing Continues Strong Championship Run – Despite Sauter being parked and finishing 28th, ThorSport Racing continued their run toward a championship this season. Both drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton each won a stage respectively. Crafton won the first stage and Rhodes the second. Grant Enfinger was up there as well finishing second in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 after post-race inspection. Before Sauter was parked, he was up there as well, finishing third in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. ThorSport has three of their four drivers in the top five point standings. Enfinger leads over Crafton by 47 points, with Rhodes in fifth. Sauter now sits on the cut off line in eighth, 103 points behind. He will be suspended for Gateway, but will still remain playoff eligible, despite the suspension. Now, Enfinger, Crafton and Rhodes all just need a win to help their chances even more.

    3. Johnny Sauter Suspended – Well, we’ve all been waiting for it and Sauter has been suspended for the upcoming race at Gateway this weekend but at what cost? I’ve always learned, while one is at fault for their actions, the other is too. I think it would have only been right for both drivers to be suspended this weekend to learn from their actions. Oh by the way, if you’re near Dells Raceway Park Saturday night, Sauter will be there as well, as he tweeted below.

    Change of plans…Dells Raceway Park Saturday night Dick Trickle 99! Ya know a Real Racer #DickTrickle #SupportYourLocalShortTrack pic.twitter.com/SIxEDeUIbv— Johnny Sauter (@JohnnySauter) June 18, 2019

    4. Stewart Friesen Gets Top Five Finish – Lost in all the controversy following Sunday’s race is Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team, who earned another top-five finish this season. Friesen and his team finished 10th, and sixth in both stages respectively. It was his six top-10 finish of the season and he currently sits third in the point standings, 49 points behind Grant Enfinger.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Iowa

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Iowa

    Continuing their exciting run through the summer stretch and the run to the Playoffs, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series stays in the Midwest as they head to Iowa Speedway for a rare Saturday night race.

    Currently, there are 33 drivers on the preliminary entry list. There were 34 but the No. 32 of Daniel Sasnett for Reaume Racing withdrew from the event.

    Iowa Speedway located in Newton, Iowa, is still relatively new to the Truck Series. The series first came to the track in 2009 and has hosted 12 races since then.

    The speedway will host the second round of The Triple Truck Challenge. Greg Biffle won last weekend earning himself $50,000. However, despite a valiant effort, Biffle will not be competing this weekend to continue his run toward the money as he missed the entry deadline date. Also, Kyle Busch Motorsports already has four trucks entered and it would be tough to add a fifth truck to the field.

    With that said, here are five drivers to keep an eye on in Saturday’s M&M’s 200.

    1. Matt Crafton – After having a strong run in last week’s race at Texas, finishing second to Biffle, Crafton looks to carry that momentum forward in hopes of finally snapping his two-year winless streak dating back to Eldora of 2017. Iowa could be the place to do it. The No. 88 driver has 12 starts at the Newton facility earning one win in 2011. Other career stats include five top fives and 10 top-10 finishes, 109 laps led, two DNFs and 96.6% laps completed. Up until the 2017 race, Crafton finished inside the top-10 in every race. The last two years, however, he’s had disappointing finishes, crashing out in two consecutive races that left him with finishes of 19th and 26th. Before wrecking out last year, Crafton finished second in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. Keep an eye on the No. 88 ThorSport Racing team as they’ll try to break that winless drought.

    2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt has a perfect track record of a 100% success rate, but that’s because he only has one start at the .875 mile racetrack in Iowa. His win came last year in exciting fashion. In a last-ditch effort by now Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson, made a dive bomb move in Turns 3 and 4 in hopes of making a last lap pass on Moffitt. Gragson’s effort failed as he would take the lead for a split second, but he wound up hitting the wall and Moffitt went by him with a margin of victory by .333 seconds. This year, however, has been a bit of a challenge for the 2018 Truck Series champion who drives the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet. He still has no wins but has four top fives and five top-10 finishes with one pole. Iowa could be the place where a winning streak could start up again. After all, it is his hometown racetrack as Moffitt is from Grimes, Iowa, just 48 minutes east of the track.

    3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen, driver of the No. 52 for Halmar Racing, is hoping to get the monkey off his back, especially after crashing last week. He has one start which came last year with a ninth-place finish after leading 48 laps. Friesen finished fourth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Friesen is looking to finally get that win that has eluded him for so long.

    4. Johnny Sauter – When looking at statistics, race fans may be surprised when they see Sauter does not have any wins at Iowa. Like Crafton, he has made every start since the track held its first Truck Series race back in 2009. Over the 12 races at Iowa, Sauter has eight top fives and nine top-10 finishes with 110 laps led and an average finish of 7.2. In the last two races, he has finishes of fifth and second. His best finish with ThorSport racing is second back in 2010, nine years ago. It will be interesting to see if Sauter and the No. 13 team can finally get a win and cross Iowa Speedway off the win checklist.

    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain continues his fight to make the Playoffs this week at Iowa. He has five starts with only one top-five finish back in 2013 driving for Brad Keselowski after starting on the pole and leading 116 laps. His other finishes include a finish of 16th in 2012, 11th in the fall race of 2012 and 13th in 2013 before he finished second later in the year and 30th last year. But, Chastain is with Niece Motorsports and has finished inside the top-10 in every Truck Series race this season including a win at Kansas last month. Chastain’s playoff run will be an interesting story to watch throughout the summer.

    There are some different names on the entry list this week. Juan Manuel Gonzalez returns to Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing to drive the No. 10. Gonzalez has no Truck starts as he attempted the Martinsville race with the same team but failed to qualify. Raphael Lessard also returns to the series to pilot the No. 17 DGR-Crosley Toyota. C.J. McLaughlin will be in the No. 33 for Reaume Racing and Mason Massey will attempt to make his first NASCAR debut. Chad Finley is back racing for his family-owned team in the No. 42. Future upcoming star Chandler Smith will be making his NASCAR debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports driving the famed No. 51. Tyler Hill returns in the No. 56 for Hill Motorsports. Lou Goss will try to make his first NASCAR attempt in the No. 74 and team owner Josh Reaume will pilot the No. 87 Nemco Motorsports Chevrolet.

    With the Truck Series having a span of 12 races at Iowa dating back to 2009, the winner’s list includes Mike Skinner, Austin Dillon, Matt Crafton, Timothy Peters, Ryan Blaney, James Buescher, Erik Jones, William Byron, John Hunter Nemechek and Brett Moffit.

    Qualifying is important at Iowa with most of the winners coming from the top 10 starting positions. Only two winners have started outside the top 10, Matt Crafton who started 11th in 2011, and Moffitt who started 16th in last year’s race.

    Only two drivers have won twice at the track. Timothy Peters did it in 2012 and 2013. Erik Jones is the only driver that has won two consecutive races, in 2014 and 2015.

    The race winner has come from the pole four times, in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015.

    The Truck Series will hit the track Saturday morning for the first practice at 9:30 a.m. ET. The final practice is set for 11:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying is slated for 5:35 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 2.

    The M&M’s 200 race is scheduled to start shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. It will consist of three stages that will be broken into 60/120/200 laps to make up the 175-mile race distance.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Texas II

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Texas II

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series gets back on track this Friday night in the Lone Star state at Texas Motor Speedway for race number nine of the 2019 season after a couple of weeks off.

    Normally, the summer race would be the site of the first of two races of the season with the final race taking place in November and being one in the Playoffs. However, the schedule changed this year by placing the November race in early spring and using the summer race as the final race for the Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway. It will also be the first of many standalone races for the series as well.

    The Truck Series will have a unique twist when they get on track Friday night, as the series will introduce the Triple Truck Challenge over the span of the next three races. Should a driver win at Texas Friday night, Iowa or Gateway, Gander Outdoors will award the driver an additional $50,000 bonus for winning any of these events. If the driver wins two out of three, the title sponsor awards $150,000. Win all three and the driver will earn themselves $500,000. That’s extra motivation for any driver to win throughout the upcoming races.

    With that said, there are currently 33 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for the SpeedyCash.com 400.

    Here are five drivers to keep an eye on Friday night.

    1. Johnny Sauter – It shouldn’t be a surprise that Sauter tops this list and there’s a reason why. He has a stellar track record at the 1.5-mile track and has always run well. Sauter has only finished outside the top-10 in five races there, while every other finish is either a win or a top-10. He has five wins (sweeping the 2012 season, 2016, 2017 and 2018). With those five wins, Sauter has collected 11 top fives and 17 top-10 finishes along with 368 laps led. He also has four poles with the last coming in the November race. His average start is 8.4 with an average finish of 6.1. Sauter has never had a DNF at Texas and has completed 100% of the laps dating back to his first start in 2005. It would be a mistake to bet against the two-time champion. Only something catastrophic or an ill-handling truck would prevent Sauter from having a great finish. Don’t be surprised if you see the Wisconsin native wheel the No. 13 into victory lane on Friday night.

    2. Grant Enfinger – Texas could be the site of Enfinger’s first checkered flag of the season. The Thorsport driver has just five starts with a best finish of third coming in his first outing in 2017 with the No. 98 team. Since then, he’s earned three top fives and four top-10 finishes with 16 laps led. In the spring race, Enfinger earned the front row starting position by starting on the pole and wound up fourth after leading eight laps. He won the first stage while finishing seventh in Stage 2. Enfinger only has one finish outside the top-10 that came in the November race last year, finishing 12th. In the summer race last year, he finished fourth after starting eighth and led seven laps. Look for Enfinger and the No. 98 Thorsport team to be a strong contender this weekend.

    3. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland only has three starts at the 1.5-mile track in the Lone Star state with a best finish of sixth in the summer race last year. The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver even started on the outside pole and led 62 laps. He finished fourth in November and wound up 14th in the previous race in March of this year. At 1.5 mile tracks this year, Gilliland’s best finish came at Kansas last month with a finish of third where he challenged for the win late. Other finishes include ninth at Atlanta, seventh at Las Vegas and seventh at Charlotte. Gilliland has faced a lot of pressure to perform lately and he Triple Truck Challenge just might give him a little extra motivation to win this Friday night.

    4. Stewart Friesen – Speaking of first-time winners, there could be one this weekend and it might be the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver Stewart Friesen. He has five starts with a best finish of second twice (2018 and March of 2019). His first two outings did not go well with finishes of 22nd and 14th. However, since the summer race, Friesen finished second, eighth and second. The Canada native sat on the pole and led 13 laps last year in the summer race. Those finishes have led to 26 laps led and an average finish of 9.6 at Texas. Friesen has been close multiple times to victory lane, falling short to Kyle Busch in March. Friday night could be redemption for Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team.

    5. Greg Biffle – When people see the entry list this week, they’ll see a familiar name making a one-off start and his first race in quite some time. NASCAR fans will see Greg Biffle entered in the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Friday night. It will be his first Truck Series start since 2004 at Homestead where he finished eighth. Before making the jump to the Cup Series, the Washington State native used the Truck Series as a stepping stone to get to the Busch Series and eventually to the Cup Series in 2002. Biffle won the Truck Series championship 19 years ago in 2000. In his championship season, he earned five wins, 18 top fives and 18 top 10 finishes. In 1999, the year before he won the championship, Biffle set the record in the Truck Series by winning nine races, the most in a single season. Only one driver has come close and that was William Byron in 2016 when he earned seven wins that season. At his last Texas start in November of 2000, he finished 25th driving for Jack Roush. However, he won that year as well at Texas. Biffle practiced in Kyle Busch’s truck at Texas earlier this March to adjust to the truck. It will be interesting to see how the 2000 Truck Series champion performs this Friday night.

    Cory Roper will be back with his own team this week, driving the No. 04 Roper Racing Ford, Codie Rohrbaugh will be in the No. 9, Trey Hutchens will compete in the No. 14, Anthony Alfredo will pilot the No. 15, Ted Minor will be in the No. 25, Scott Stenzel will drive the No. 34 and Kyle Benjamin will be in the No. 45.

    Texas Motor Speedway has hosted 43 Truck Series races dating back to its first year in 1997.

    Johnny Sauter has the most wins with five, while former series regular Brendan Gaughan is the only driver to win four in a row and that occurred in the 2002-2003 season.

    The list of winners include Kenny Irwin Jr, Tony Raines, Dennis Setzer, Jay Sauter, Greg Biffle, Bryan Reffner, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Todd Bodine, Clint Bowyer, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jeb Burton, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Justin Haley.

    The lowest a race winner has ever come from to win was 22nd set by Todd Bodine in 2004. The race winner has started on the pole five times and includes drivers Jay Sauter, Biffle, Reffner, Bowyer and Bodine, who was the last to do so in 2007.

    The Truck Series will be on-track Thursday afternoon with two practice sessions. The first occurs at 2:05 p.m. ET and the final is set for 6 p.m. ET. There will be no live TV coverage for either practice session. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 5:35 p.m. ET with no live TV coverage as well.

    The SpeedyCash.com 400 green flag will fly shortly after 9 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The event will see three stages as usual with the first stage ending on Lap 40, the second stage on Lap 80 and the final stage on Lap 167.

  • Brennan Poole and Stewart Friesen earn top-3 finishes at Charlotte

    Brennan Poole and Stewart Friesen earn top-3 finishes at Charlotte

    After missing the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway due to the lack of sponsorship, Brennan Poole and the No. 30 On Point Motorsports team returned with redemption in mind and wanting more after last week.

    Poole and the No. 30 team started 17th and quietly ran under the radar all night long. But when it mattered most during a late race restart with three to go, he found himself inside the top three with a shot at the upset win for a small underfunded team.

    Poole tried all he could to chase down race leader Kyle Busch, but ultimately, wound up 1.115 seconds short.

    Poole was ecstatic about his second place finish, despite not being able to chase down Busch for the race win.

    “I just gave it everything I had,” Poole said in his Fox Sports 1 post-race interview. “I found a little something there running on the top lane of the restarts and it worked out really good. I can’t thank MadVapes, Blu this weekend. It sucks that we missed Kansas last week. The work that the guys do with literally no funding is ridiculous. Ran second tonight to Kyle Busch with a broken sway bar. So, pretty proud of the effort. I know we got a lot more chances with this coming up in our future to get this Toyota Tundra to victory lane, but I’m excited tonight and I may even go grab a beer when I get home.”

    It was Poole’s first top five of his Truck Series career in over 10n starts and the best finish of his Truck Series career.

    After a heartbreak last weekend in Kansas, Stewart Friesen, driver of the No. 52 Halmar Racing Chevrolet was looking to rebound this weekend at Charlotte and he almost did just that.

    Friesen started second and ran inside the top-10 most of the night, finishing fifth and sixth in both stages. He was up front and found himself in the top five late in the race, but had to settle for another top-five finish, finishing third for his fourth top five of the year.

    “These guys work so hard,” Friesen said to MRN Radio. “All of these guys work so hard. Thanks to Chris Larsen, Team Chevy and GMS Fab Shop. They got their heads down and working hard, we’re catching them. Kyle (Busch) ended up spanking us at the end here. I know he got out and had that good run there, but we got some good notes. We’re going to keep working on it and get them at the end of the year when the money is on the line. Speaking of money on the line the next three weeks, thanks to Gander Outdoors. That’s pretty badass. We put up a lot of money to race our modified in modified country in the northeast. We’re going to go to our two favorite tracks, Texas and Iowa, and this is not my favorite track, so I’m ready to get out of here.”

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kansas

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Kansas

    After visiting the Monster Mile this past weekend, the Truck Series heads to the Midwest and Kansas Speedway. Some drivers may follow “the yellow brick road” to victory lane in the heartland and others will leave grateful they are “not in Kansas anymore.”

    The sponsor of the race is a Lenexa, Kansas based company Digital Ally, and the Truck Series race will be called the Digital Ally 250.

    Currently, there are 27 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s race at Kansas Speedway.

    While Johnny Sauter won his first race of the season last weekend at Dover, is he ready to set the world on fire or will someone else take over this weekend?

    Here’s a look at who might just win Friday nights Truck race at Kansas.

    1. Matt Crafton – This weekend could be the weekend that snaps Crafton’s year and a half winless streak since Eldora of 2017. He has the most starts of any active drivers with 18 starts and has competed in every race since the Trucks debuted at Kansas in 2001. Crafton has two wins at Kansas (2013, 2015). Overall, he has completed 97.7 percent of the laps and has led 110 laps. The No. 88 driver also has five top fives and nine top-10 finishes but does have three DNFs with the last coming in 2005. Since then, he’s had inconsistent finishes. In 2018, Crafton finished sixth, 16th in 2017, second in 2016 and 2014, and 12th in 2012. Nonetheless, Crafton could be following the “Yellow Brickroad” to victory lane on Friday night and snapping his long winless streak.

    2. Brandon Jones – Brandon Jones will once again pilot the famed No. 51. Jones returned to the Truck Series last weekend at Dover where he finished 13th. He’ll have some pressure to perform well as Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch swept the top two spots last season at Kansas. Jones will also have veteran crew chief Rudy Fugle who has two career wins at the track located in Kansas City, Kansas. The first in 2016 was with William Byron and last year with Gragson. Jones has two starts overall at Kansas with a best finish of ninth coming in last year’s race. He’ll be using chassis number KBM-055 as this chassis has had three outings with two wins, both this season with owner-driver Kyle Busch behind the wheel, at Atlanta and Texas. Jones finished seventh and fourth in both stages in 2018. He also has a couple of ARCA starts as well.

    3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has been on a roll recently in the Truck Series by taking over the points lead after Dover and he just might continue that momentum this weekend at Kansas. In just two starts, his first coming in 2017, he has a best finish of eighth at the 1.5-mile track. In the first race, Enfinger started 15th and finished eleventh, and led 14 laps led. In 2017, he finished ninth and sixth in both stages, while in 2018 Enfinger finished fifth and eight in both stages, respectively. Enfinger finished inside the top-10 last year on 1.5-mile tracks including winning the Las Vegas race in September. Look for the No. 98 team to continue their momentum this weekend for the Digital Ally 250.

    4. Stewart Friesen – Friesen and the No. 52 team will be looking forward to getting back on track this weekend at Kansas, and he might do just that. While his first outing didn’t go well finishing 32nd in 2017, Friesen upped his finish in last year’s race where he finished third after starting eighth and leading six laps. He also finished 10th and fifth in both stages last year. Friesen will be hungry for a win.

    5. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt only has two starts at Kansas with a best finish of seventh in his first start in 2017. Last year didn’t fare so well for the defending Truck Series champion, where he finished 16th, four laps down. However, Moffitt has had four top fives and four top-10 finishes this season and he finished second last weekend at Dover after leading 81 laps.


      Of note, Angela Ruch will drive the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports, Norm Benning will be in the No. 6, Joe Nemechek will drive the No. 8, Josh Bilicki will be piloting the No. 34 Reaume Brothers Racing Truck and Riley Herbst will be in the No. 46. Natalie Decker originally wasn’t supposed to race at Kansas but added six races to her schedule and will be competing this weekend in the No. 54.

      Update – Announced Wednesday, May 9, the No. 30 On Point Motorsports team of Brennan Poole has withdrawn from Friday night’s race due to lack of sponsorship. The team will return to Charlotte next week.

      The list of winners at the speedway include Ricky Hendrick winning the first race in 2001, Mike Bliss, Jon Wood, Carl Edwards, Todd Bodine, Terry Cook, Erik Darnell, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, hometown favorite Clint Bowyer, James Buescher, Matt Crafton who won twice, Kyle Busch who also won twice, William Byron in 2016, and recently, Noah Gragson in 2018.

      Qualifying will be critical here at Kansas, as the lowest a race winner has ever started was 10th set by Todd Bodine in 2005, Erik Darnell in 2007 and Kyle Busch in 2017. The highest a race winner has come from was first place three times, the first in 2008 by Ron Hornaday Jr., Kyle Busch in 2014 and Noah Gragson in 2018.

      The Truck Series gets on track early Friday morning with the first practice at 9:35 a.m. ET and final practice at 11:35 a.m. ET. Qualifying for the Digital Ally 250 is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

      The Digital Ally 250 will take place Friday night a little after 8:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio for 167 laps.



  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Dover

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Dover

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returned to on-track action this past weekend at Dover International Speedway, famously known as the Monster Mile.

    While it’s known to reach out and bite drivers, the drivers, for the most part, able to tame it. One, in particular, Johnny Sauter, took the lead with 30 to go and went on to win the JEGS 200. It didn’t come without some controversy, however, as Sauter fought an ignition issue early on but he rebounded nicely for the win.

    While it was Sauter’s third consecutive win at Dover, how did everyone else fair? Was Stewart Friesen able to keep the points lead?

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment team had a good day at Dover, finishing fourth after starting sixth and running inside the top-10 all day. Enfinger even finished fourth in both stages and led three laps. Nonetheless, Enfinger had something to smile about after the race was over, as he took over the points lead by four points over teammate Johnny Sauter. It was Enfinger’s fourth top five of the year thus far.

      Previous Week Ranking- 2nd
    2. Brett Moffitt – Some say Moffitt should have won this race. The No. 24 team got off to a great start Friday by qualifying on the pole. As the race started, Moffitt completely dominated and won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. He consistently stayed up front, led 81 laps and finished second.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked

    3. Johnny Sauter – You could say Sauter got the monkey off his back by winning at one of his favorite racetracks. He showed speed in qualifying by starting on the outside pole. Sauter won Stage 2 but faced an ignition issue afterward. The No. 13 team was able to get it fixed and ultimately Sauter went on to win. Believe it or not, it was his first win of the season. Keep an eye on Sauter and company as they just might start to go on a tear this summer.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton and the No. 88 Menards team were able to salvage a top-five finish at Dover this past weekend, but not without a tough start. The two-time champion had to drop to the rear after an engine change before the race. Problems only got worse for Crafton as they started to face plug wire issues. Crafton came back to finish fifth. However, the No. 88 team had seen better days and were looking forward to getting out of Dover. Nice rebound, however, for the veteran driver.

      Previous Week Ranking – 3rd

    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain had an eventful day at the Monster Mile. He didn’t have nearly as strong a truck as in past races this year but still managed a top 10 finish, even after some close calls. There was a moment late in the race, where he almost lost control of his truck which would have brought out a caution. A late race caution helped the team get a decent finish to continue their great run in the 2019 season.

      Previous Week Ranking – 4th

      Fell Out

      1. Stewart Friesen – After qualifying fourth and finishing fifth in Stage 2, the No. 52 team was really nowhere to be seen throughout the race. Friesen wound up 12th and lost the points lead to Grant Enfinger, and now sits third in the standings, 11 points behind.

      Previous Week Ranking – 1st

      2. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum quietly finished ninth at Dover but didn’t make too much noise, as he has had in previous races, such as his sixth-place finish in March at Texas.

      Previous Week Ranking – 5th