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Tag: Talladega Superspeedway

  • Full Weekend Schedule for Talladega

    Full Weekend Schedule for Talladega

  • Weather and Matt Kenseth

    Weather and Matt Kenseth

    Weather has plagued the NASCAR schedule from Atlanta to Martinsville to Bristol. This weather shows no weather concerns with sunny skies and warmth at Talladega. That’s good news for race fans whether heading to the race or watching on television. I’ve only attended two races this year—both postponed and run on Monday, but it’s easy to see that both saw unusual weather. I saw the smell of a snowstorm at Martinsville on Saturday. I’m from West Virginia where it can snow from October to May. It was, as they say in my rural neighborhood, a “doozy.” As many people who told me at the track they didn’t have snowstorms like that in March, they did.

    Same with Bristol. The weather people were right, and the temperature dropped 35 degrees plus the rains came. It was so cold on Monday that even this crusted mountain man couldn’t handle it. From the looks of the crowd, no one else could either. What people missed were two excellent races, and that’s a shame. Maybe the powers that be should re-think the schedule a bit. There is no reason why the teams should go to the left coast and come back to snowstorms and rains when it is possible. I know, weather is fickle, but why take a chance? Why not run Talladega and Texas before Martinsville, Bristol, and Atlanta? Just asking.

    My friend, Patrick suggested something to me. In cases where weather is almost certain, why not run those races by postponing them like baseball? Food for thought. There was no reason why lights couldn’t have been used or a better date used. Of course, every situation is different. I respect NASCAR for their decisions. But why not just move the schedule to avoid all of this? I’ve wiped snow off seats at Rockingham in years passed. Maybe someone is not thinking?

    +++

    I find the announcement that Matt Kenseth is coming back to Roush Fenway Racing a little bit head-scratching. Kenseth left RCR to move to Joe Gibbs Racing a few years ago. Later on, Carl Edwards joined him. One retired and the other was non-renewed. Both could have ended their careers at RFR but chose to go to greener pastures. Both were relatively successful, winning races and being competitive. Tomorrow, if reports are accurate, we will hear that Kenseth will return to the place he was most competitive and share a ride with Trevor Bayne. It’s no secret that after his debut with the Wood Brothers in 2011, Bayne hasn’t done much. The Daytona win was spectacular, but recent great runs by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., made him look like the underachiever.

    To this reporter, it seems that Bayne is on his way out or at least there to wait for the third charter, which may or not exist to become free for Kenseth. Getting over Kenseth’s move to eliminate Joey Logano at Martinsville still sticks in my craw, but I think Kenseth wants to race and there’s not a better racer in the circuit. With the move to younger racers, some great talent gets put on the sidelines. I applaud Jack Roush and his organization to bring Matt back. I feel sorry for Bayne, but in this industry like all industries, he wasn’t getting the job done. Just like everywhere else, that’s the way of business, which has, unfortunately, become part of NASCAR, today.

  • Keselowski, Team Penske Hitting Stride At Key Point In Playoffs

    Keselowski, Team Penske Hitting Stride At Key Point In Playoffs

    At the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoffs, three drivers stood out as the top title contenders come the finale at Homestead-Miami: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch, who had been turning his season around at the right time.

    The Ford teams seemed to be a step behind, with six drivers winning eight races in the regular season and the last coming at Daytona in July. Stewart-Haas Racing Fords didn’t have the power that was expected of them, Roush-Fenway Racing Fords seemed to still have issues during their rebirth period, and Team Penske Fords had their hands full with Joey Logano’s uncharacteristic struggles and Brad Keselowski’s lone two victories at Atlanta and Martinsville.

    After winning at Talladega for the fifth time Sunday, Keselowski has provided the wake-up call his team needed to get their Ford to the top of the standings as they now sit second in points behind the Toyota team of Truex, who has dominated in 2017. With five races left in the season, things are looking up for the No. 2 crew as they look to make an appearance at Homestead for the first time since the induction of the elimination format in 2014.

    He’s won at two of the next five tracks (Kansas, 2011 and Martinsville, Spring 2017) and where he hasn’t won, he’s performed well, with a best finish of second at Fort Worth in 2015, a best finish of third at Phoenix in 2014, and a best finish of third at Homestead twice, in 2014 and 2015. He knows how to get around these tracks and considering the Fords showing their strength at the 1.5-mile speedways it’s just a matter of both driver and team hitting their marks at each track. He’s the reigning Martinsville champion as well, solidifying his domination of NASCAR’s major short tracks.

    Following his win Sunday, Keselowski pointed out that Martinsville is a must-win race for him and his crew.

    “Yeah, Martinsville at this moment as it stands I would say is a must-win for us, and we know that going in,” said Keselowski. “We tested there, and we feel like that’s the type of track that we have a lot of strength for.  At this point, yes, but you know what, that could change.  You hate to say that; it’s still three weeks away, right?”

    Every year since 2014, when one championship favorite slips, another unexpected entry joins the midst of the championship few. In ’14 it was Ryan Newman, who came up one spot short from stealing the championship. In ’15, it was Jeff Gordon, whose surprise win at Martinsville guaranteed him a Championship Round appearance. In ’16, it was Carl Edwards. Keselowski hasn’t had that strong of a playoff run, as Toyotas have managed to win four of the first five races. But as a former Cup champion he has the championship experience that neither Truex nor Larson have held, and in a way he can use that as an advantage heading into Homestead.

    He’s already had the lone mulligan he’s allowed to have and still remain in contention (a 15th-place at Charlotte offset three previous finishes of sixth, fourth, and 10th). However, as a win can prove to revitalize a team and their goals, it’s looking likely that Keselowski and his crew could be the biggest sleeper of the ’17 Playoffs.

  • Matt Crafton Has Wild Day At Talladega

    Matt Crafton Has Wild Day At Talladega

    After the craziness was all settled and over, the finish pylon showed ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton ninth at Talladega, but the top 10 finish didn’t come easy for the two-time champion.

    In the first two stages, Crafton finished inside the top 10 and earned championship playoff points with a sixth in Stage 1 and a fifth in Stage 2. However, on lap 55, the No. 88 Menards Tundra driver was involved in a five-truck accident in Turn 3. This caused some significant damage to the truck, forcing the No. 88 team to fix it and get it back out there for points.

    In the remaining laps, Crafton was in the top 10 until another accident took place after the field took the white flag. It was the same number of trucks involved in the first incident, and again, Crafton was unfortunately involved in the melee.

    Despite the challenges that came Crafton’s way on Saturday, the 41-year-old earned his 13th top-10 of the year and advanced to the next round of the playoffs that begins at Martinsville Speedway.

    “We were strong all day – ran inside the top 10, top five, most of the afternoon,” Crafton said. “Unfortunately, we were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time today and got caught up in someone else’s mess. After the damage, we just tried to make the best of our day. We were lucky enough to bring home a top-10 finish, and make it into the Round of 6. I’m looking forward to the tracks in this Round.”

    The Truck Series is off this weekend but returns Saturday, Oct. 28 at Martinsville Speedway for the Texas Roadhouse 200 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Talladega

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Talladega

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was back in action this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway and the action sure didn’t disappoint. There was drama between the playoffs spots, an upset winner and some surprise faces in the top 10.

    1. Parker Kligerman – It shouldn’t be a surprise that Kligerman added another win to the Talladega column on Saturday. It was the second win of his career and the first since 2012 where he won with Red Horse Racing at the same track. After starting 14th, the Toyota Tundra driver worked his way up to 10th in the first stage. Despite not finishing at all in the top 10 in Stage 2, Kligerman stayed up there with the top teams and took the lead on Lap 94 and went on to win. It was a feel-good moment for Kligerman and the Henderson Motorsports team.
    2. Christopher Bell – Bell does what he does best this past weekend at ‘Dega. The JBL Tundra driver finished third in Stage 1, but like Kligerman fell outside the top 10 due to varying pit strategies near the end of the stage. However, after all the craziness was done and settled, Bell placed second, his 13th top-five of the year.
    3. Myatt Snider – Snider came home with a career-best finish and survived the chaos. The way the young 23-year-old raced, it looked liked he had raced at Talladega before Saturday. In Stages 1 and 2, Snider placed fifth and third, respectively. At the end of the day, the scoring pylon showed a strong third place. Not bad for his first race at Talladega.
    4. Vinnie Miller – Miller made his first ever career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start this past Saturday. Before making that start, he has been a standout star in the K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Racing Series. It was shown on Saturday as Talladega is unpredictable and you don’t who finishes where until the drop of the checkered flag. This was the case for the 20-year-old. Having not raced before in the truck series, Miller came home with a seventh-place finish.
    5. Clay Greenfield – Greenfield is another one of those drivers who you don’t hear too much about. He did not compete in any races last year but has competed in three races this season, with a best finish of 24th at Gateway prior to Talladega. However, Greenfield upped that finish this past weekend and, after the carnage was over, came home eighth, his best career finish to date.
  • ‘Big One’ strikes in closing laps at Talladega

    ‘Big One’ strikes in closing laps at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Several Playoff drivers were among more than a dozen collected in the “Big One” in the waning laps of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Entering Turn 3, Martin Truex Jr. — trying to make a pass on the top lane — hit the right-rear corner of David Ragan’s car, triggering the ensuing melee.

    “Well I tried to get into a hole that was closing up at the wrong time and by the time that I got in the brakes trying to get out of there I got in the 38 (Ragan) a little bit on the right rear and he got squirrely out there and all hell broke loose,” Truex said. “Just was trying to get to the end and get some track position and try to get towards the front and have a good day and ended up causing a wreck, so I hate it for everybody. We definitively had nothing to lose today, but at the same time you don’t want to be the person that causes others problems. Even though I feel like I’ve never been that guy here before it looks like today I was, so I hate it for all of those guys and all of their teams. I wish I didn’t make that mistake. Just 18 to go at Talladega, trying to get going and trying to fill a hole. Bad judgement and should have been more patient.”

    Ragan’s car turned down track and hooked Kurt Busch up into the outside wall. He continued on into Jimmie Johnson, hitting him in the right-rear tire area. Johnson’s car did a clockwise spin, the momentum of which carried him up the track and into the path of Kyle Busch. Busch t-boned Johnson, which sent both of them up into the outside wall.

    “We got hooked in the right rear, and I was pretty close to the front of the pack,” Kurt Busch said. “I am just happy everything turned out the way it did to just not get clobbered by all the cars coming by. My guess is the outside lane was all jumbled up getting aggressive and pushing and somebody spun out and clipped us in the right rear. I thought we were looking good with the Monster Ford. We were coming from behind and the inside lane was open and we were making hay, but now here we are coming out of the infield care center. That is just Talladega. That is how it works out. We need to figure out how to make the cars better so everybody can bump draft a little harder.”

    The force of the wall hit ripped Kyle Busch’s left-front wheel out of his wheel assembly.

    “I had no clue what happened. I just saw the 38 (Ragan) get sideways above me and then he came across my back and I missed him and he must have got the 48 (Johnson) and the 48 shot up right across in front of us,” Busch said. “I never seen him. I wish I would’ve saw him a little bit down there. I could’ve shot to the apron and tried to miss him, but unfortunately we just got messed up in that deal. I hate it for our situation and what we’ve got going on, that’s not what we needed today, but that’s what we got so we’ll just move on to next week.”

    A few seconds earlier, when the rest of the field was whoahing down in response to Kurt Busch’s wreck, Landon Cassill came across the nose of Austin Dillon’s car and turned up into Truex. Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth, who were riding in the middle of the field at the time, were caught behind Truex and sustained damage.

    This 16-car wreck brought out the ninth caution of the race, as well as the first of three successive red flags for 12 minutes and 31 seconds.

    While Truex leaves without sustaining a major blow to his points situation heading into the cutoff race for the Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway, it would require an absolute disaster run to undo his 53-point gap to the first drop spot, others aren’t so fortunate. Kyle Busch leaves occupying the ninth-place spot, seven points behind Johnson for the last transfer spot. Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was also taken out in the wreck, reside in the 10th and 11th-place position’s in points.

    Harvick, in fourth, sits slightly more comfortable with a 22-point margin over Busch.

    Side note: While his car was the main pinball that triggered the wreck, Ragan’s team fixed it enough, and enough cars were taken out in the two subsequent wrecks, that he drove his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford to a 10th-place finish.

    “I feel like we survived this one,” Ragan said. “We had a little bit of luck on our side. Our team did a nice job repairing some of the damage we got in one of the big wrecks. It had been a quiet, low-key race. And then the last 30 laps, everybody raced really hard. I’m proud of our Juice Battery team for fixing me back up so we could come out of it with a top-10”

  • Keselowski Survives Carnage to Win at Talladega

    Keselowski Survives Carnage to Win at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Brad Keselowski outlasted three straight red flag-inducing wrecks, passed Ryan Newman on the final lap and held off teammate Joey Logano to win the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Entering Turn 3 on the final lap, Keselowski juked to Newman’s outside to take the lead. He put the block on Logano, before dropping down to the bottom to stop the advance of Newman and took the checkered flag.

    “I survived. What a special day. We haven’t been as good as we want to be on the mile and a half’s. We knew we needed to come to Talladega and get it done, and this is a great track for us and one that we really enjoy coming to. It’s great to get a win here. I never thought I’d win here, but five times!”

    It’s his 24th career victory in his 300th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

    Newman finished second and Trevor Bayne rounded out the podium.

    “We held them off longer than I expected,” Newman said of the last few laps. “I couldn’t tell how much nose damage I had and I hadn’t led all day, so I didn’t know what to expect. I saw the No. 2 (Keselowski) car in the mirror backing up and then he lost his draft and then he backed up again and he caught the No. 22 (Logano). That was all it took for him to get a good run. I would have maybe played it differently and backed it up in hindsight, backed up to them in hindsight, but I don’t think it would have made a difference. They were double-teaming me and you know it was still a good race to finish second with the Caterpillar Chevrolet.”

    “Man I am proud of all of my guys on this Liberty National Ford,” said Bayne after the race. “They did a great job fixing our Ford after all of the damage we got throughout the day. These guys just never give up. And in the end on that last corner off of four we got a huge run off the top and got to third, so I was pretty pumped with that. I think we were eighth coming across for the white flag, but I wanted those two more spots and we did.”

    Logano and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five.

    Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Grey Gaulding and David Ragan rounded out the top-10.

    Retiring with 10 career restrictor-plate victories, Earnhardt said, when asked if it meant anything to him that he’ll go down as one of the best restrictor plate races in the history of NASCAR, “absolutely.”

    “Anytime anybody says you’re the best at anything, it’s an awesome feeling. I can’t deny that it feels awesome to hear that. People consider you good at anything, it’s a great feeling. I knew that I wasn’t going to win 200 races and seven championships and do all those great things. I just wanted to come in here and be considered talented. But to be great at anything was beyond my imagination. I appreciate people’s compliment’s on my plate driving and the success we’ve had at all the plate races.”

    RACE SUMMARY

    Earnhardt led the field to the green flag at 2:16 p.m. Logano powered by on the top side, on the backstretch, to take the lead on the third lap.

    He and the Ford’s pitted on Lap 15, while the Chevrolet’s tried to duck onto pits on Lap 27. But Erik Jones plowed into the back of Jamie McMurray, turning him into the outside wall, causing a multi-car wreck that brought out the first caution of the race.

    After another caution brought out by Paul Menard slamming the wall in Turn 3, Keselowski edged out Logano in a one-lap shootout to win the first stage.

    Kahne led the field back to the green on Lap 61, losing the lead on the restart to Matt Kenseth. Hamlin acquired it from Kenseth two laps later.

    Debris brought out the fourth caution on Lap 80.

    Lap by lap battling between Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney after the Lap 87 restart led to dicey racing all the way to the conclusion of the second stage, won by Blaney.

    He took it back from Brendan Gaughan on the Lap 115 restart, lost it to Hamlin on Lap 117 and muscled his way back to the front on the front stretch on Lap 119. Chase Elliott, on the backstretch, powered by Blaney on the high side to take the lead with 64 laps to go.

    The Ford’s ducked onto pit road for their final stop with 45 to go, followed by the Toyota’s — and Hendrick cars — the next lap. This handed the lead to Kyle Busch.

    Heading down the backstretch, Logano powered by Busch on the topside to retake the lead with 41 to go.

    The caution flew with 37 to go when Bayne hit the wall in Turn 3.

    Back to green with 29 to go, the caution flew again five laps later when DJ Kennington turned Joey Gase into the wall exiting Turn 2.

    Restarting with 18 to go, the next three cautions resulted in red flags. The first was a 16-car wreck in Turn 3: 12 minutes and 31 seconds, the second was a five-car wreck in Turn 3: five minutes and 45 seconds and last was 17 minutes and 14 seconds.

    These three wrecks set up the run to the finish.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours, 47 minutes and 52 seconds, at an average speed of 131.577 mph. There were 30 lead changes among 16 different drivers and 11 cautions for 47 laps.

    Martin Truex Jr. leaves with a 19-point lead over Keselowski.

    Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and McMurray leave in the bottom four spots.

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  • Nemechek rallies from Playoff elimination with sixth at Talladega

    Nemechek rallies from Playoff elimination with sixth at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — John Hunter Nemechek was on the brink of an early exit from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs after he was caught up in a wreck roughly halfway through the running of the Fred’s 250. But he weaved his way through a multi-truck wreck with roughly 20 laps remaining and took advantage of the trucks caught up in the final-lap melee to claim a sixth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Entering the day, Nemechek occupied the bottom Playoff spot. The early misfortune of Kaz Grala and Chase Briscoe, combined with a seventh-place finish in both the first and second stage, put him in excellent position to race his way in.

    Unfortunately for him, restrictor plate racing is rarely that simple.

    Entering Turn 3 with 35 laps to go, Ben Rhodes ran into the left-rear corner of Clay Greenfield’s truck. This sent him sliding down the track into the path of Matt Crafton, who rammed into and further turned Greenfield around.

    Nemechek, who was riding behind and ran into the back of Crafton at one point, found himself trapped when Greenfield’s car slid back up the banking. He made contact with Greenfield’s truck, which forced him up into the left-front corner panel of Regan Smith, and spun down the track and into the grass.

    Despite the damage, Nemechek’s team kept him in the race and on the lead lap.

    He was riding behind the Lap 71 melee that collected five cars. He used just about all of the apron near the start/finish line as the hole to cleanly get through the wreck quickly closed.

    He worked his way to 13th when Austin Wayne Self’s spin in Turn 4 forced overtime.

    Nemechek jumped up to the top lane with two laps to go, but the top line was in disarray after race leader Parker Kligerman jumped to the bottom.

    While it denied him a chance to steal the victory, it put him back far enough that when the race-ending Big One broke out in Turn 1 on the final lap, he just drove right through it and finished sixth.

    “I’m pretty sure that we were in almost every wreck there was today,” Nemechek said. “I just can’t thank all my guys enough. They never gave up. My pit crew was awesome at fixing the truck. We got stage points. We accomplished everything that we wanted to, except for winning stages and winning the race. I would’ve much rather had Christopher (Bell) stay running up front, being uneventful.”

    Nemechek leaves fourth in points, trailing Bell by 33.

  • Earnhardt Takes Pole Position at Talladega

    Earnhardt Takes Pole Position at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow afternoon after winning the pole for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet posted a final round time of 50.256 and a speed of 190.544 mph. It’s his 15th career pole in 626 career starts.

    Earnhardt spoke about winning the pole in what will likely be his final race at Talladega.

    “We’ve been fighting our teammate, Chase (Elliott) and his group for poles at these tracks for a long time and it’s been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other,” he said. “Really, all the credit for getting a pole at a place like this goes to the team and goes to the car and the guys that work on it, the engine, the body men; we’ve got an amazing staff back at Charlotte that builds some awesome stuff.

    “I just hold the wheel straight and try not to bounce into the apron, but get as close to it as you can and make sure you run a clean lap. But there ain’t much to it as a driver. This place has meant a lot to me. It’s awesome to hear those fans happy for us and hopefully, we’re going to give them a lot more to cheer about before this weekend is over.”

    Chase Elliott will start second with a time of 50.291 and a speed of 190.412 mph.

    On whether he could have done anything differently to capture the pole, Elliott said, “I don’t think so, but congrats to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and the No. 88 team. They do a good job. Our team does great with this stuff. We definitely have a knack for it. We just hope that we can run good tomorrow and it lasts over the long haul. As hot as it is down here I think it’s going to be pretty important and we’ll try to finish this thing. We’ll see.”

    Joey Logano will start third with a time of 50.301 and a speed of 190.374 mph. Kurt Busch will start fourth with a time of 50.329 and a speed of 190.268 mph while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will round out the top-five with a time of 50.355 and a speed of 190.170 mph.

    Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne round out the top-10. Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson will start 11th and 12th as the remaining drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    No car failed to make the race.

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  • Kligerman Wins Talladega Truck Race

    Kligerman Wins Talladega Truck Race

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Before the season started, at the Henderson Motorsports shop in Abingdon, Virginia, I asked NBC Sports analyst Parker Kligerman why he was taking a part-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride. His response was “Why the hell not?” Today I asked him if this win validated that response, he said it didn’t need validating because he’s having a hell of a lot of fun.

    Getting a push down the backstretch from Grant Enfinger, Kligerman took the lead from Bell coming to the white flag. Entering Turn 1, Justin Haley made contact with Noah Gragson and Johnny Sauter, sending either Gragson or Sauter into Stewart Friesen and triggering the five-car wreck that ended the Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    “It was just crazy. Every move worked,” Kligerman said of his closing laps. “And it’s just sometimes, they’d click. Those last 10 laps, no matter if I went high and I’d separate a pack, or I’m trying to get the bump and the run. Every move just works.”

    It’s his 12th victory in 68 career starts.

    Bell finished second and Myatt Snider rounded out the podium.

    Enfinger and Austin Cindric rounded out the top-five.

    John Hunter Nemechek, Vinnie Miller, Clay Greenfield, Matt Crafton and Tyler Young rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Bell led the field to the green flag at 1:16 p.m., but lost the lead immediately to Sauter, who led the first stage from start to finish and won it.

    DJ Kennington and Cindric led during the first stage break, but Sauter took back the lead on the ensuing restart and led all the remaining laps of the second stage on his way to winning it.

    The intensity picked up from the drop of the green for the final stage, with 48 laps to go. Snider edged out Bell at the line to take the lead with 47 to go. Sauter shoved Snider ahead of Bell, but Kligerman shoved Cody Coughlin to the front coming to the line with 46 to go. Kligerman went to the inside of Coughlin and took the lead with 45 to go. Friesen was shoved by Bell to the front down the backstretch with 43 to go.

    On the restart, following a three-truck wreck in Turn 3, Kligerman got a push from Bell to the front around Friesen through Turn 1 35 to go.

    A multi-truck wreck in the tri-oval with 23 to go set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMATION

    Caution flew for the first time on Lap 20 for a one-truck wreck exiting Turn 4. The second caution on Lap 42 was for the end of the second stage. A three-truck wreck in Turn 3 on Lap 55 brought out the third caution. Caution flew on Lap 71 for a multi-truck incident, coming to the start/finish line. The final caution flew in Turn 1 on the final lap, ending the race.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 57 minutes and 18 seconds, at an average speed of 129.258 mph. There were 17 lead changes among 11 different drivers and six cautions for 27 laps.

    Bell leaves with a 52-point lead over Sauter. Chase Briscoe and Kaz Grala fail to advance on in the Truck Series Playoffs.

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