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  • Nick Sanchez scores first Truck career victory at Daytona amid dramatic overtime shootout

    Nick Sanchez scores first Truck career victory at Daytona amid dramatic overtime shootout

    From being involved in an early multi-truck wreck to escaping a final lap multi-truck wreck, Nick Sanchez capped off his roller-coaster evening mired with on-track chaos to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career victory in the Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 16.

    The 22-year-old Sanchez from Miami, Florida, led three times for a race-high 26 of 101 over-scheduled laps in an event where he was involved in a multi-truck wreck on the fifth lap. Despite sustaining cosmetic damage to his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST, Sanchez managed to continue as he methodically remained within distance of the front-runners through the draft. Amid more carnages ensuing, he assumed the lead for the first time with nearly 40 laps remaining and managed to remain upfront amid four additional late-race restarts amid four on-track carnages.

    Then during an overtime shootout, Sanchez, who briefly lost the lead to Rajah Caruth, reassumed the top spot with drafting help from Taylor Gray before the final lap. During the final lap, Caruth ignited a multi-truck wreck entering the backstretch that sent a multitude of competitors piling into one another and Gray flipping in the air and on top of two competitors before rolling back on all four wheels. With Sanchez managing to drive away from the field prior to the incident, he was able to cruise back to the frontstretch under a cautious pace and claim his first checkered flag in his 24th series start.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Majeski started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 178.767 mph in 50.345 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Johnny Sauter, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 178.703 mph in 50.363 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Spencer Boyd, Ben Rhodes and Jason White dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season commenced, Majeski and Sauter battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch amid two tight-packed lanes. With the front-runners continuing to battle amid two tight-packed lanes through Turns 3 and 4 and through the frontstretch, Sauter managed to lead the first lap by a hair over Majeski while receiving drafting help from teammate Matt Mills.

    Through the next four laps and as the field started to fan out to three lanes amid the draft, Sauter and Majeski duked back and forth for the lead until Sauter managed to muscle his No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of the pack with both lanes in his control. In the process, Majeski settled in second ahead of Corey LaJoie, Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Dye. Meanwhile, Mills, who sustained significant front nose damage to his No. 42 J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet Silverado RST by drafting Sauter hard in the early laps, was the lead competitor on the outside lane until he was shoved out of the draft amid a tight three-wide battle towards the front.

    Then just past the fifth lap mark, the event’s first caution flew after Crafton, who was boxed in between Tanner Gray and Christian Eckes amid a stacked two-pack lane within the top 15, received a bump from Eckes into Gray that got Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 loose and bumping into the side of rookie Layne Riggs, which then carried forth into Crafton clipping Tanner Gray, who clipped Stewart Friesen, who then clipped Nick Sanchez through the backstretch. The chain reaction incident ended up triggering a multi-truck wreck that also included Ty Dillon, Thad Moffitt, Rajah Caruth, Lawless Alan, Keith McGee, Enfinger, and Jake Garcia. Amid the incident, Sauter was scored the leader ahead of Majeski, LaJoie, Ankrum and Daniel Dye while Bayley Currey, Taylor Gray, Bret Holmes, Toni Breidinger and Dean Thompson were running in the top 10.

    During the caution period, some including Jason White, LaJoie, Grant Enfinger, Timmy Hill, Ben Rhodes, Crafton, Riggs, Mills and Tanner Gray pitted while the rest led by Sauter remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 12, Sauter and Majeski dueled for the lead in front of two tight-packed lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. They remained dead even for the lead through the frontstretch as Sauter tried to edge ahead before Majeski fought back on the inside lane. Amid the tight battle for the lead, Sauter had teammate Currey and Taylor Gray drafting him while Majeski had drafting help from Ankrum as he then muscled ahead with the lead through Turns 3 and 4 during the following lap. Majeski would continue to have both drafting lanes to himself with the lead and with drafting help from Ankrum by the Lap 15 mark.

    Shortly after, the caution returned after Lawless Alan, who was involved in the event’s early multi-truck wreck, spun by himself below the apron entering Turns 1 and 2 after he blew a right-rear tire and damaged his front nose after his truck dug into the infield grass before he then spun back across the track and was dodged by oncoming traffic. During the caution period, some including Dye, Stefan Parsons, Cory Roper, Sanchez, Caruth, Codie Rohrbaugh and Boyd pitted while the rest led by Sauter remained on the track.

    With a single remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, Sauter and Majeski again dueled for the top spot through the first two turns until Sauter prevailed on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Currey to assume the top spot for good through the backstretch. The field then fanned out through the backstretch as both Currey and Majeski tried to mount a late charge for the lead, but their momentum was not enough as Sauter managed to capture the first Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Majeski and Currey duked for the runner-up spot while Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Holmes, Jack Wood, Eckes, Thompson and Heim were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Sauter pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track.

    The second stage period started on Lap 26 as Majeski and Ankrum occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski and Ankrum dueled for the lead until Ankrum muscled ahead with drafting help from teammate Eckes through Turns 1 and 2. With the field dispersed and the competitors trying to regather into a drafting file, Ankrum retained the lead over teammate Eckes and Rhodes while LaJoie, Crafton, Daniel Dye, Sanchez, Breidinger, Heim and Mills moved up the leaderboard as Majeski dropped out of the top 10.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Ankrum retained the lead ahead of a hard-charging Rhodes, who received drafting help from LaJoie on the outside lane to challenge Ankrum for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 while Eckes continued to draft teammate Ankrum on the inside lane. Amid the stacked two-packed field, Crafton and Sanchez battled for fifth while Heim, Dye, Majeski and Breidinger were running in the top 10 ahead of Enfinger, Mills, Caruth, Sauter, Roper and Holmes.

    A lap later and as both Ankrum and Rhodes continued to battle dead even for the lead, the caution flew due to debris in the form of a tire carcass from Stewart Friesen’s entry being spotted in Turn 3, with Friesen pitting for fresh tires. During the caution period, some including Sauter, Currey, Thompson, Tanner Gray, Breidinger, Mills and Holmes pitted while the rest led by Ankrum remained on the track.

    During the following restart on Lap 37, Ankrum received another strong push from teammate Eckes to muscle ahead with the lead on the inside lane. Crafton and Dye would follow suit while Rhodes fell back into a side-by-side battle with teammate Majeski for fifth place amid the draft and two stacked lanes. With Rhodes picking up LaJoie as a drafting partner through the frontstretch, Ankrum maintained the lead ahead of teammate Eckes, Crafton and Dye through the proceeding lap.

    The caution, however, would return on Lap 38 due to reports of mist around the superspeedway venue. With the field being directed to pit road and placed under a red flag period for more than seven minutes to await the track being dried, Ankrum was awarded the Stage 2 victory scheduled to conclude on Lap 40. Teammate Eckes settled in second while Crafton, Dye, Rhodes, Majeski, LaJoie, Enfinger, Sanchez and Heim were scored in the top 10.

    Once the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace for the second stage break, nearly the entire field led by Ankrum pitted while the rest led by Bret Holmes and Sauter remained on the track. During the pit stops, Ankrum nearly collided with Spencer Boyd, who was trying to enter his pit stall. In addition, Jason White drove through multiple pit stalls while Majeski was penalized due to his pit crew jumping over his pit stall too soon.

    With 56 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Holmes and Sauter occupied the front row. At the start, Holmes marched ahead with the lead from Sauter, where the former moved in front of him to the inside lane before Tanner Gray gained a strong run amid the draft through the backstretch to claim the lead followed by Chase Purdy. Amid Gray’s early efforts, Holmes would maintain the lead amid the draft followed by Sauter for the next two laps before the caution returned as Keith McGee wrecked in Turn 4.

    During the caution period, select names that included Sanchez, LaJoie and Cory Roper pitted while the rest led by Holmes remained on the track.

    With the event restarting with 49 laps remaining, Sauter and Holmes engaged in another side-by-side battle for the lead and in front of two tight-packed lanes. Five laps later, however, the caution flew after Holmes slipped sideways while battling Sauter entering the frontstretch and spun towards the infield along with Currey, who spun off the front nose of Taylor Gray and made light contact with the inside wall towards the pit road entrance. This resulted in a majority of the field led by Sauter returning to pit road for service while the rest led by Enfinger pitted. Enfinger, however, would pit shortly after along with several other names during the caution period, thus handing the lead to Sanchez

    With the event restarting with 39 laps remaining, Sanchez received a strong push from Taylor Gray to muscle away with the lead. As the field fanned out to two and three tight-packed lanes amid the draft, Sanchez had both lanes to his control as he retained the lead followed by Taylor Gray. Three laps later, however, Ben Rhodes received a strong shove from Eckes to march forward into the lead, where he would lead the next five laps before he was challenged by Sauter for the top spot.

    Then with 30 laps remaining, Rhodes made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a tire issue to his No. 99 Ranch Fuel Energy Drink Ford F-150 as a result of an earlier on-track contact with Ankrum, where Ankrum ran into the right side of Rhodes’ entry. Amid Rhodes’ issue, a three-way battle for the lead ensued between Chase Purdy, Sanchez and Eckes for the lead while LaJoie, Parsons, Taylor Gray, Ankrum and Jack Wood joined the battle amid two tight-packed lanes.

    Two laps later, Rhodes’ event went from bad to worse after he slipped sideways and spun in Turn 4 while also making contact with Tanner Gray and Breidinger due to another tire issue to his entry. The issue occurred as Rhodes was lapped by the leaders entering Turns 3 and 4. With the damage to his entry, the reigning two-time Truck Series champion concluded his event in his pit stall.

    During the proceeding restart with 23 laps remaining, Sanchez received a strong shove from Eckes to assume the lead from LaJoie as Taylor Gray followed suit in third place. Trouble, however, returned during the following lap when Eckes received a bump from LaJoie that sent his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST sideways and into the side of Parsons while he also got rear-ended by Sauter, whose hood popped up as both he and Eckes spun entering the frontstretch.

    The start of the next restart with 16 laps remaining featured Sanchez muscling away from the field on the inside lane with a strong push from Taylor Gray. They would be followed by Jack Wood while the rest of the field engaged to battling in two tight-packed lanes. The following lap, the caution returned after Dean Thompson ran into the rear of Mason Massey entering Turn 4 and slipped sideways while teammate Breidinger was also involved as she ran into the rear of Thompson, slipped up the track and spun her No. 1 Celsius Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

    During the following restart with nine laps remaining, Rajah Caruth received drafting help from teammate LaJoie to move into the lead entering the first two turns. Both Spire Motorsports competitors would muscle away from the field through the backstretch until Sanchez gained a massive draft to reassume the top spot with drafting help from Taylor Gray as they were followed by Wood, Ankrum and Purdy while Caruth and LaJoie briefly separated amid the draft.

    Two laps later and as Sanchez and Taylor Gray started to battle dead even for the lead in front of the pack, the caution flew after Ankrum slipped sideways off the front nose of Purdy, with both collecting Eckes before spinning through the backstretch’s grass. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime as Sanchez was scored the leader ahead of Caruth, Taylor Gray, Wood, LaJoie and Crafton.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Sanchez and Caruth battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns until Caruth assumed the lead from the outside lane as both he and LaJoie rocketed ahead from the outside lane. They then maintained the lead through the backstretch until Sanchez and Taylor Gray gained a run to the outside lane towards Turns 3 and 4, which was enough for Sanchez to reassume the lead entering the frontstretch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Sanchez was leading ahead of Taylor Gray, Wood, Caruth and Heim as the field started to fan out to three lanes through the first two turns. Then entering the backstretch, a fiery multi-truck ignited after Caruth drove up the track and turned Wood into Taylor Gray, which sent Gray spinning and wrecking against the backstretch’s outside wall before he was T-boned by Daniel Dye and sent upside-down on top of Eckes and Tanner Gray before his No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro rolled back on all four wheels. With the caution flag flying to end the event as nearly the entire field wrecked in the backstretch, Sanchez, who drove away from the incident, was scored the leader and declared the winner for his first series’ career victory.

    With the victory, Sanchez, who claimed the 2023 Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year title and just missed the Championship 4 cutline amid a winless season, became the 123rd competitor overall to achieve a victory in the Craftsman Truck Series and the seventh to do so at Daytona International Speedway. He also recorded the first victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series for Rev Racing and the 100th points-paying victory in NASCAR at Daytona for the Chevrolet nameplate, with the Chevrolet nameplate also racking up its fourth victory at Daytona.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[The win]’s Pretty surreal, especially with how the race started,” Sanchez said on FS1. “A big thanks to my team, sticking with me all last year. We were winless. It hurt. We should’ve won, but we redeemed ourselves in the first race possible. [It’s] Definitely gonna be a good year.”

    Amid the carnage, Corey Heim ended uo in second place followed by Rajah Caruth, who navigated his damaged No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST to a strong top-three result while Bret Holmes and Spencer Boyd ended up in the top five. Parsons, Crafton, Timmy Hill, Bryan Dauzat and Eckes finished in the top 10.

    Taylor Gray, who ended up 19th following his final-lap upside-down wreck, emerged uninjured, though he, LaJoie, Dye, Roper, Thompson and Rohrbaugh were unable to finish.

    There were 24 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 52 laps.

    Following the first event of the 2024 Truck Series season, Tyler Ankrum, who finished 11th at Daytona, leads the regular-season standings by a single point over Sanchez, four over Eckes, five over both Holmes and Crafton, seven over both Heim and Majeski and eight over Caruth.

    Results.

    1. Nick Sanchez, 26 laps led

    2. Corey Heim

    3. Rajah Caruth, one lap led

    4. Bret Holmes, 13 laps led

    5. Spencer Boyd

    6. Stefan Parsons

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Timmy Hill

    9. Bryan Dauzat

    10. Christian Eckes, one lap led

    11. Tyler Ankrum, 16 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    12. Jason White

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Stewart Friesen

    15. Ty Majeski, six laps led

    16. Tanner Gray, one lap led

    17. Grant Enfinger, two laps led

    18. Jack Wood

    19. Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident

    20. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    21. Daniel Dye – OUT, Accident

    22. Cory Roper – OUT, Accident

    23. Codie Rohrbaugh – OUT, Accident

    24. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    25. Mason Massey, one lap down

    26. Matt Mills, two laps down

    27. Tony Breidinger, four laps down

    28. Chase Purdy – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    29. Johnny Sauter – OUT, Accident, 24 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    30. Ben Rhodes, – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    31. Keith McGee – OUT, Accident

    32. Lawless Alan – OUT, Overheating

    33. Layne Riggs – OUT, DVP

    34. Jake Garcia – OUT, Accident

    35. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    36. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    With the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, February 24, and air at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Rhodes survives chaotic finale for second Truck Series title; Eckes wins at Phoenix

    Rhodes survives chaotic finale for second Truck Series title; Eckes wins at Phoenix

    In a finale that came down to the survival of the fittest, Ben Rhodes withstood a series of late caution periods and on-track carnages that involved his three championship rivals, including himself during the next-to-last restart, to capture his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in the Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 3, that was won by Christian Eckes.

    The 2021 Truck Series champion from Louisville, Kentucky, rolled off the starting grid from sixth place and managed to remain within title contention as he achieved top-10 results during both stage break periods while rallying from a slow pit stop before the second stage. Restarting within the top 20 at the start of the final stage period, an opportunity for the title presented itself for Rhodes after title rivals Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar made contact that resulted in Hocevar spinning Heim as Heim plummeted below the leaderboard. During the ensuing restart with 26 laps remaining, Rhodes, who restarted ninth, muscled his way past Hocevar to assume the lead in the championship battle.

    Amid more late caution periods that sent the field into four overtime attempts, among which involved title rival Grant Enfinger making a pit stop for fresh tires after making contact on the track during the first overtime attempt and Rhodes sustaining damage to his truck after hitting and sending the leader Zane Smith for a spin during the second overtime attempt, Rhodes managed to retain the lead in the championship battle and fend off a final lap charge from Enfinger to clinch his second series title by finishing in fifth place, one spot ahead of Enfinger, as Eckes concluded the season by winning the finale.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, championship contender Corey Heim started in the pole position after posting a lap at 136.654 mph in 26.344 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Majeski, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 136.571 mph in 26.360 seconds. Heim’s title rivals, Ben Rhodes, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger started sixth, 13th and 17th, respectively.

    Prior to the event, Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field in a backup truck after wrecking his primary truck during Thursday’s practice session.

    When the green flag waved and the finale started, Heim and Majeski dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to three and four lanes through the dogleg and the frontstretch before navigating through Turns 1 and 2. With rookie Nick Sanchez trying to make a three-wide move for the lead, Majeski managed to muscle ahead from the outside lane as he proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Heim.

    During the second lap, Majeski retained the lead ahead of Heim while title contender Ben Rhodes muscled his way up to third place in front of Sanchez, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy while Christian Eckes and Jesse Love pursued. Amid the early on-track battles, Majeski was leading by half a second over Heim while third-place Rhodes trailed by more than a second.

    Then on the fourth lap, the first caution of the finale flew after Stewart Friesen, who was running 16th, spun entering Turn 4 after getting hit by Derek Kraus, which resulted in Friesen sliding his sideways truck up the track as Hailie Deegan slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting Friesen.

    When the race restarted on the ninth lap, Rhodes attempted to make a move in between Heim and Majeski for the lead as the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg and the first two turns. As the field jostled for early spots through the backstretch, Majeski managed to fend off Heim entering Turn 4 to retain the lead to sole possession and with both lanes under his control. With Majeski leading, Heim retained second ahead of Rhodes while Sanchez and Chase Purdy were in the top five. Shortly after, Taylor Gray moved into the top five over Purdy followed by Zane Smith while title contenders Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger were in eighth and 10th, respectively. Amid the battles, Majeski retained the lead by nine-tenths over Heim and less than two seconds over Rhodes by the Lap 15 mark.

    Through the Lap 20 mark, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Heim while third-place Rhodes trailed by more than three seconds. Behind, Sanchez and Zane Smith were in the top five ahead of Purdy, Taylor Gray, Eckes, Hocevar and Enfinger while Rajah Caruth, Jack Wood, Jake Garcia, Jesse Love and Jake Drew were running in the top 15. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray occupied 16th place ahead of Matt Crafton, Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson and Bayley Currey while Friesen was up in 21st. In addition, Deegan was mired back in 32nd behind Marco Andretti while Tyler Ankrum was in 28th.

    Ten laps later, Majeski increased his advantage to more than two seconds over runner-up Heim and by more than four seconds over third-place Rhodes while Hocevar and Enfinger were running eighth and ninth, respectively. Majeski would stabilize his advantage to more than a second over Heim by the Lap 35 mark. By then, Zane Smith overtook Rhodes for third place followed by Sanchez while Hocevar and Enfinger remained in eighth and ninth, respectively.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Majeski claimed his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Title contender Heim settled in second followed by Zane Smith, Rhodes and Sanchez while Purdy, Eckes, Hocevar, Enfinger and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited first and emerged with the lead while Majeski, Zane Smith, Hocevar, Taylor Gray and Eckes followed suit. Behind, Rhodes and Enfinger exited pit road 11th and 12th, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Tanner Gray was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Sanchez would pit for a second time prior to the restart.

    The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Heim and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Heim dueled with Majeski through the dogleg before muscling ahead entering Turn 1 from the outside lane as he led entering the backstretch. With Heim leading both the race and the championship battle, Majeski fell back to second followed by Zane Smith while Hocevar was in fourth followed by Taylor Gray and Eckes with Jake Garcia and Enfinger following suit. Two laps later, the caution returned after Chris Hacker and Marco Andretti, both of whom were running towards the rear of the field, wrecked in Turn 3.

    Once the carnage was cleared amid an extensive caution period, the race restarted on Lap 64. At the start, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead as the field fanned out through the dogleg before entering Turns 1 and 2. With the field still fanned out through the backstretch, Heim managed to muscle away from Smith and maintain the lead from the outside lane while Majeski tried to close in on Zane Smith for the runner-up spot. During the following lap, Majeski overtook Smith for the runner-up spot while Enfinger trailed in fourth place ahead of Garcia, Taylor Gray, Eckes and Hocevar as Rhodes, who endured a slow pit stop during the first stage break period, was mired back in 11th.

    Just past the Lap 70 mark, Heim was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Majeski while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than a second. Behind, title contender Enfinger retained fourth place ahead of Garcia, Taylor Gray and Eckes while Hocevar and Rhodes were mired back in eighth and 10th, respectively. Heim would retain the lead by a second over Majeski by the Lap 75 mark while his title rivals Enfinger, Hocevar and Rhodes continued to trail in fourth, eighth and 10th, respectively.

    Shortly after, the caution flew after Tyler Hill spun and wrecked in Turn 2. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Garcia pitted while the rest led by Heim and including Majeski, Zane Smith, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Rhodes, Jesse Love and Stefan Parsons remained on the track.

    With the race restarting on Lap 82, Heim fended off Majeski and Enfinger through the dogleg and entering the first two turns to retain the lead and maintain control of both lanes through the backstretch. With Heim still leading, Zane Smith moved back into second followed by Majeski, Taylor and Eckes while Enfinger fell back to sixth as he was battling Rhodes to maintain the spot. Amid the battles, Heim stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Zane just past the Lap 85 mark.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, title contender Heim captured his series-leading eighth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Zane Smith settled in a close second place followed by Majeski, Eckes and Taylor Gray while Rhodes, Purdy, Enfinger, Garcia and Hocevar were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, some led by Heim and including Rhodes and Enfinger pitted while the rest led by Eckes and including Hocevar remained on the track.

    With 51 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Eckes and Purdy occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes rocketed away from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the dogleg and the first two turns. With the field still fanned out through the backstretch and through Turns 3 and 4, Eckes retained the lead over teammate Garcia while Sanchez, Purdy and Friesen trailed in the top five. By then, Hocevar was trying to make his way into the top five from sixth while Heim, Enfinger and Rhodes trailed within the top 15.

    Two laps later, the caution returned after Connor Jones and Jake Drew wrecked in Turn 3, with Jones colliding into Drew and sending both hard against the outside SAFER Barrier while battling for 15th place, as Deegan spun to avoid the carnage.

    During the following restart with 41 laps remaining, Eckes and Sanchez dueled for the lead until Sanchez motored ahead through the backstretch. With Eckes fighting back on the outside lane, he managed to motor past Sanchez through Turns 3 and 4 and reassume the lead. With Eckes back out in front over Sanchez, Garcia was in third ahead of Zane Smith and Friesen while Hocevar was the highest-running title contender in sixth place. Meanwhile, Heim was in 10th in front of Enfinger while Rhodes was mired back within the top 15.

    With 35 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by half a second over Sanchez followed by Garcia, Zane and Friesen while Hocevar retained sixth ahead of a hard-charging Heim. Meanwhile, Enfinger and Rhodes were in 11th and 12th while Purdy, Crafton and Majeski occupied the top 10.

    Three laps later, Heim overtook Hocevar for sixth place on the track through Turns 1 and 2 and reassumed the lead in the championship battle. A lap later, however, Hocevar made contact with Heim and sent Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro spinning into Friesen as the latter two wrecked in Turn 2, with Friesen damaging his rear bumper after hitting the wall. The incident left Hocevar frustrated and placing blame on himself over the contact while Heim managed to continue without hitting the wall as he pitted for fresh tires.

    With the race restarting with 25 laps remaining, Sanchez fired off with the lead from the outside lane while Hocevar, who nearly got turned at the start, was being fanned out by Eckes and Majeski through the dogleg as the field behind fanned out entering the first two turns. Amid the restart and with the field still fanning out, Rhodes overtook Hocevar from the outside lane on the track as Sanchez and Zane Smith made contact against one another and towards the outside wall through the backstretch. Amid the chaos, Sanchez maintained the lead ahead of Zane Smith followed by Eckes, Majeski and Rhodes while Enfinger made his way into the top six. Meanwhile, Hocevar was plummeting in the leaderboard as Rhodes occupied the lead in the title fight while running in fourth place on the track. Then with 23 laps remaining, Zane Smith overtook Sanchez for the lead entering the frontstretch with Eckes following in second place. Behind, Rhodes was in fourth, one spot ahead of a hard-charging Enfinger, while Heim and Hocevar were mired back in 13th and 18th, respectively.

    Then with 21 laps remaining, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck that erupted in Turn 3 and involved Currey, Daniel Dye and Stefan Parsons. The carnage was enough to place the event in a red flag period during the following lap. By then, Rhodes was leading the title fight in third place, one spot ahead of Enfinger, while Heim and Hocevar were mired back in 11th and 18th, respectively, as Zane Smith was scored the race leader.

    Nearly 12 minutes later, the red flag lifted and the field returned under a cautious pace. During the caution period, some including Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.

    As the race restarted with 15 laps remaining, Zane Smith and Eckes dueled for the lead through the dogleg as the field fanned out. Amid the battles, Smith fended off Eckes entering the backstretch to assume the lead. During the following lap, Smith was leading Eckes while Enfinger was in third place and leading Rhodes for the championship. Behind, Heim moved back up to seventh behind Purdy and Jesse Love while Hocevar was mired back in 19th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading the race by a second over Eckes while Enfinger was running third, but leading the championship battle in front of Rhodes, as Heim climbed up to sixth. By then, Hocevar was mired back in 14th.

    With five laps remaining, Zane Smith continued to lead the race by more than two seconds over Eckes while Enfinger, who retained third place, continued to lead the title fight ahead of Rhodes as Heim trailed in sixth place. Meanwhile, Hocevar climbed up to 10th place.

    A lap later, the caution flew when Heim, who was running seventh and had Hocevar making a move to his outside for position, went up the track and sent Hocevar into the outside wall in Turn 2 in retaliation from their earlier on-track incident that sent Heim spinning. In this recent incident, Hocevar, who collided into the outside wall amid the contact with Heim, limped his damaged No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST up against the wall while Heim was hit on the driver’s side by teammate Taylor Gray, thus leaving both championship contenders with wrecked trucks. By then and with the race sent into overtime, Zane Smith was still leading the overall race followed by Eckes while Enfinger and Rhodes, both of whom were running third and fourth, were the lone two title contenders left to battle for the title amongst one another.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Eckes and Zane Smith dueled for the lead as Rhodes tried to thread the middle. With the field still fanning out through Turn 2, Rhodes overtook Enfinger on the track and boosted his way to second place as he challenged Zane Smith for the lead. Amid the field still fanned out through the backstretch, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt after Kraus wrecked in Turn 3 after getting hit by Sanchez. By then, Rhodes settled in second behind Zane while Enfinger, who made contact with Eckes entering the backstretch before he got hit by Love and sent up the track in Turn 3, fell back to ninth. During the caution period, Enfinger pitted his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST for fresh tires and repairs amid the contact as his title hopes were placed in jeopardy.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Zane Smith briefly muscled ahead from Eckes through the dogleg until Smith, who missed a shift to fourth gear and quickly fell off the pace, was hit hard in the rear by an oncoming Rhodes as Rhodes turned Smith, who was T-boned by Crafton and Jack Wood through the frontstretch, while Rhodes escaped with front nose damage to his No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 as he fell back to sixth place, but remained on the track. In the process, Eckes assumed the race lead followed by Purdy and Garcia while the event was sent into a third overtime attempt.

    With the event restarting for a third overtime attempt, Chase Purdy muscled ahead of Eckes from the inside lane to assume the lead through the dogleg as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. Shortly after, the caution quickly returned and the event was sent into a fourth overtime attempt after Majeski, who was running towards the front, got turned by Jesse Love through the frontstretch. Amid Majeski’s spin, teammate Matt Crafton spun while trying to avoid carnage as Sean Hingorani, Zane Smith, Colby Howard and Tyler Hill wrecked in the process. At the moment of caution, Purdy was leading Eckes while Rhodes was in sixth. Meanwhile, Enfinger was mired in 17th as he remained within close distance of Rhodes for the title.

    During the fourth overtime attempt, Eckes muscled his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Purdy’s No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST from the outside lane as he reassumed the lead through the first two turns. With the field fanning out, Enfinger charged his way back into the top 10 and had his eyes on Rhodes, who was battling Kaden Honeycutt and Jesse Love for a spot within the top five.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes remained as the leader over teammate Jake Garcia and Purdy while Rhodes retained the lead in the championship battle by three spots over a hard-charging Enfinger. Even as Tyler Ankrum wrecked entering Turns 3 and 4, the race remained under green flag conditions. Through the dogleg, Rhodes was battling Honeycutt for fifth place, though he remained ahead of Enfinger, who was trying to fend off Sanchez, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray for spots. Then entering the backstretch, Enfinger, who was still trying to overtake Tanner Gray, had Rhodes in front of him for a final opportunity to snatch the title away from the former. As Enfinger stepped on the gas and tried to get to Rhodes’ No. 99 rear bumper to get Rhodes loose entering Turns 3 and 4, he was unable to make physical contact to get Rhodes loose. With Enfinger sliding up the track, Rhodes was able to step back on the gas and fend off Enfinger for a final turn to streak across the finish line in fifth place and win his second Truck Series championship.

    With his accomplishment, Rhodes, who won his first title in 2021, joined Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack Sprague, Todd Bodine and Matt Crafton as the only competitors to achieve multiple Truck Series championships as he became the first competitor to repeat as a champion since teammate Crafton won his third title in 2019. He also delivered the fifth driver’s championship and the second owner’s title for ThorSport Racing while crew chief Rich Lushes, who reunited with Rhodes midway into the 2023 season and who won the 2021 title with Rhodes, captured his second title as a crew chief.

    In total, Rhodes, who barely transferred through the Rounds of 10 and 8 to make this year’s Championship 4 by a narrow margin, capped off his second championship-winning season with a victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, seven top-five results and 14 top-10 results throughout the 23-race schedule.

    Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I can’t even believe it. Let’s go!” Rhodes exclaimed on the frontstretch on FS1. “Man, I hate when people do that on TV, so I’m sorry, but hey, this is so awesome, man. To go 25 laps into overtime, you know what that feels like? Almost lose it three times? Look at the front of the truck. It’s crazy. I didn’t think we were going to make it. I thought we were going to pop a tire. I thought anything that could have gone wrong was going to go wrong. Grant [Enfinger] almost got me. Hats off to him. He ran a great race. I wouldn’t want to race against anybody else for the championship. He raced me clean, and I respect the hell out of him for it.”

    “I saw [Enfinger],” Rhodes added. “I’m watching the replay right here. I saw him. He went for everything, but he ran me clean, and I thank him for that. That’s what these championships are all about. It’s unfortunate we had so many cautions, but we ran each other clean, all of us did tonight, and great show. I love you guys. Thanks for all the fans coming out. I love it. What a team. I don’t know how we pulled it off, but we got here and we did it.”

    While Rhodes celebrated the series’ championship, Enfinger, who finished in sixth place behind Rhodes and achieved three victories this season, was left disappointed on pit road after coming up one spot short of winning his first NASCAR national touring series title and delivering one final championship for GMS Racing, which is set to cease operations at this season’s conclusion.

    “It was just the original green-white-checkered [restart] there where we went four wide, Ben [Rhodes] gassed it up there on the bottom [lane], drove us in [Eckes] and tore up our truck and then, we had to restart from 22nd there,” Enfinger, whose racing plans for 2024 remain undetermined, said. “That’s kind of what ended our run. Obviously, we got close there at the end. I don’t know. Maybe if he didn’t have such a run down the back straightaway, but I needed to get under him to make that pass. It’s a shame that the championship came down to a race like that with 15 green-white-checkereds or whatever it was right there, 30 laps extra. I feel like we did everything we could to win this race and just kind of got used up right there. Championship racing, it’s just incredibly unfortunate to end GMS Racing like this. I really felt like we had that championship in grasp and to be honest with you, I don’t know if I’d have done anything different. Just wasn’t meant to be.”

    Like Enfinger, Corey Heim, the 2023 Truck Series Regular Season champion who captured three victories this season, was left disappointed on pit road after ending up in 18th place on the track and in third place in the final standings following his pair of incidents with title rival Carson Hocevar.

    “Ask [Hocevar] if he stands by the first one,” Heim, who will return to TRICON Garage for the 2024 season, said. “I mean, he wrecked me, then I got my right rear destroyed. From there, I had no side force and he put it on my door and I lost control. Just really got to hold our heads high for a great year. It was a phenomenal year for us. This was our worst finish in like six months. Really put together a good race and really hoped that the guys would race me clean. I’ve got a lot of respect for everybody in the field, but clearly not [Hocevar] anymore. It is what it is. It’s part of racing and unfortunately, that turned into a wreck fest, but I did all I could.”

    Meanwhile, Hocevar, who was unable to finish following his second and latest on-track altercation with Heim, ended up in 29th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings in a season where he notched his first four career victories. The wrecked result marked Hocevar’s final scheduled Truck Series start with Niece Motorsports as he will be moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive for Spire Motorsports in 2024.

    “I’m just more mad right now that I cost [TRICON Garage] a shot to win the championship,” Hocevar said. “I don’t care about my reputation right now. I just feel bad that I robbed [Heim]of that. I feel sorry for him. I can’t say that I was mad, I just messed up. I didn’t even want to run the rest of the laps. I wanted to crawl into a hole and I just feel bad. I’m trying so hard to be better and trying to stay with him. I wasn’t going to give up. I just didn’t know how to give up in that moment. I didn’t want to wreck him, I didn’t want to hit him that hard, I didn’t want to spin him. I was just trying to hold him up a little bit.”

    Amid Rhodes’ championship celebration, Christian Eckes, who missed the cutline to this year’s Championship 4 by a narrow margin, celebrated in Victory Lane for the fourth time this season and the fifth in his career after leading 36 of 179 over-scheduled laps, including the final three laps during the fourth overtime attempt. The victory was enough for Eckes to conclude his first Truck Series season with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in fifth place in the final standings as he will remain with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the 2024 Truck season. The victory, however, did little to ease Eckes’ disappointment over not contending for this year’s title.

    Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “That one’s gonna sting,” Eckes said in Victory Lane. “It still stings. I mean, it’s awesome to win. It’s always awesome to win, especially with our great partners. To come short of the goal to win a championship and being able to come and win the final race kind of stinks for sure, so it is what it is now. We can always look back and Monday morning quarterback in it and say that we could be champions, but at the end of the day, we aren’t. At the end of the day, I’m also really proud of the whole No. 99 group. That was my team last year at ThorSport [Racing] for the most part with a few different pieces. Super proud of them and yeah, it is what it is.”

    On the track, Jake Garcia notched a career-best runner-up result in his final Truck event with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing while Chase Purdy finished third in his final event driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, the winningest team in the Truck Series that will cease operations at this season’s conclusion. Jesse Love finished fourth followed by the champion Rhodes and Enfinger while Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez, the 2023 Truck Series Rookie of the Year, completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    Notably, Rajah Caruth finished 12th in his final event driving for the ceased GMS Racing while Hailie Deegan finished 15th in her final Truck Series start as she will be moving up to the Xfinity Series to drive for AM Racing. In addition, Zane Smith ended up in 25th place with a DNF in his final Truck Series event with Front Row Motorsports while Jack Wood and Daniel Dye ended up 27th and 32nd in their final events driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports and GMS Racing, respectively.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 77 laps. In addition, 21 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Christian Eckes, 36 laps led

    2. Jake Garcia

    3. Chase Purdy, eight laps led

    4. Jesse Love

    5. Ben Rhodes

    6. Grant Enfinger

    7. Dean Thompson

    8. Kaden Honeycutt

    9. Tanner Gray

    10. Nick Sanchez, five laps led

    11. Matt Crafton

    12. Rajah Caruth

    13. Lawless Alan

    14. Ty Majeski, 48 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Christian Rose

    17. Spencer Davis

    18. Corey Heim, 47 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    19. Nick Leitz

    20. Tyler Hill

    21. Colby Howard

    22. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    23. Taylor Gray, two laps down

    24. Stewart Friesen, four laps down

    25. Zane Smith – OUT, Accident, 35 laps led

    26. Sean Hingorani – OUT, Accident

    27. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    28. Derek Kraus – OUT, Accident

    29. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Accident

    30. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident

    31. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    32. Daniel Dye – OUT, Accident

    33. Jake Drew – OUT, Accident

    34. Connor Jones – OUT, Accident

    35. Marco Andretti – OUT, Accident

    36. Chris Hacker – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates championship finalists

    Final standings

    1. Ben Rhodes

    2. Grant Enfinger

    3. Corey Heim

    4. Carson Hocevar

    5. Christian Eckes

    6. Nick Sanchez

    7. Zane Smith

    8. Ty Majeski

    9. Matt Crafton

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway to commence the 2024 racing season. The season opener at Daytona is slated to occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Hocevar capitalizes for late Truck victory at Homestead; Championship 4 field set

    Hocevar capitalizes for late Truck victory at Homestead; Championship 4 field set

    Eleven days after announcing his move to the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2024 season, Carson Hocevar will receive an opportunity to contend for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship after leading the final 11 laps en route to winning the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 21.

    The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led the final 11 of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and battled within the lead pack. He also scored a handful of stage points throughout the event’s two stage periods. Then, amid a series of late battles and late pit strategies ensuing between Playoff contenders trying to race their way into this year’s Championship 4 round, Hocevar tracked and overtook Playoff rival Ben Rhodes with 11 laps remaining.

    He then cruised to his fourth Craftsman Truck Series career victory of the 2023 season and raced his way into the Championship 4 round. As a result, Hocevar will square off against Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes for this year’s Truck Series championship in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in early November.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 20, Playoff contender and rookie Nick Sanchez secured his fifth Truck pole position of this season after posting a pole-winning lap at 167.084 mph in 32.319 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 165.858 mph in 32.558 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Spencer Davis, Trevor Bayne, Jonathan Shafer and Armani Williams dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray also dropped to the rear of the field due to missing driver introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Sanchez and Hocevar dueled for the lead entering Turn 1 as the field fanned out and jostled early for positions. Through the backstretch, Sanchez managed to muscle his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Hocevar from the outside lane as he then maintained control of both lanes through Turns 3 and 4 before he led the first lap. By then, Ty Majeski was in second ahead of Carson Hocevar while Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger were in the top five ahead of a hard-charging Corey Heim, who started eighth.

    Five laps later, Heim, who was already guaranteed a spot in this year’s Championship 4 field, made his move and assumed the lead from Sanchez. By Lap 10, Heim was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Majeski while Sanchez fell back to fourth ahead of Zane Smith and 38. In addition, Enfinger, Eckes, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum were running in the top 10 while Playoff contender Ben Rhodes was mired back in 22nd.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Heim extended his advantage to more than a second over Majeski followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar and Enfinger while Sanchez, Friesen, Eckes, Crafton and Chase Purdy were in the top 10. Behind, Rhodes was mired in 24th behind teammate Hailie Deegan while Ankrum, Rajah Caruth, Bayley Currey, Dean Thompson and Jack Wood were in the top 15. Notably, Trevor Bayne was in 18th while Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Brad Perez and Jake Garcia occupied the top 20.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Majeski settled in second ahead of Hocevar, Zane Smith and Enfinger while Friesen, Eckes, Sanchez, Crafton and Purdy were scored in the top 10. By then, Rhodes was mired in 24th place while 26 of 34 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Majeski, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Eckes, Friesen, Crafton and Enfinger. Amid the pit stops, Hailie Deegan and Nick Leitz were penalized for uncontrolled tire violations while Memphis Villarreal was penalized for a safety violation. In addition, Marco Andretti was penalized for unapproved fueling.

    The second stage period started on Lap 39 as Heim and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Heim, who briefly dueled against Majeski for the lead, maintained the lead over Majeski and a bevy of Playoff contenders as the field behind fanned out. With Heim retaining the top spot, a three-way battle for the runner-up spot ensued between Majeski, Zane Smith and Hocevar while Eckes and Friesen tried to join the battle.

    At the Lap 45 mark, Heim was leading by a second over Zane Smith followed by Hocevar, Majeski and Friesen while Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Crafton and Enfinger were in the top 10. Behind, Rhodes was mired in 16th.

    Five laps later, Heim stabilized his advantage by a second over Hocevar followed by Zane Smith, Majeski and Friesen while Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Enfinger and Crafton were battling in the top 10. Meanwhile, Rhodes was still running in 16th behind Bayne.

    Three laps later, the caution flew after Spencer Boyd stopped on the track. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim maintained the lead after exiting first ahead of Zane Smith, Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Majeski and Friesen. Amid the pit stops, Playoff contender Enfinger was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With the race restarting with two laps remaining in the second stage period, Heim maintained the lead over Zane Smith and Currey muscled his way up to third as the field fanned out through the first two turns. Amid the battles, Heim retained the lead over a hard-charging Zane Smith once he started the final lap of the second stage period.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim notched his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and the second of the day. Zane Smith settled in second ahead of a side-by-side duel between Currey and Sanchez while Friesen, Eckes, Majeski, Crafton, Purdy and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. By then, Rhodes was in 11th while Enfinger was mired back in 20th.

    With the front-runners remaining on the track during the second stage break period, the final stage commenced with 67 laps remaining as Heim and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Zane Smith made his way into the lead over Heim as the field fanned out while jostling for late positions. A lap later, however, the caution returned after Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan wrecked on the frontstretch.

    During the following restart with 60 laps remaining, Zane Smith and Heim dueled for the lead until the former maintained the top spot ahead of the field. As Smith retained the lead, Currey made his way into the runner-up spot over Heim while Hocevar, Sanchez and Majeski followed suit. Rhodes would also make his way into the top 10 while Enfinger was trying to re-enter the top 10.

    Following another caution period with 56 laps remaining after Mason Maggio spun in Turn 4, the race restarted with 50 laps remaining. At the start, Heim, who restarted on the front row alongside Zane Smith, spun the tires, which allowed Smith to pull away with the lead as Hocevar made his way into the runner-up spot. Shortly after, Heim battled and reassumed the runner-up spot over Hocevar while Zane Smith was leading by seven-tenths of a second.

    Then with 40 laps remaining, Heim, who had slipped to sixth, pitted his No. 11 Chateau Elan/Explore Braselton Toyota Tundra TRD Pro under green. Playoff contenders Enfinger and Eckes would also pit four laps later before Eckes was penalized for speeding on pit road, thus damaging his hopes of transferring into the Championship 4 field. Within 30 laps remaining, more Playoff names that included Sanchez, Zane Smith and Majeski pitted as Rhodes, who pitted during the previous caution period amid a gusty pit strategic call from crew chief Rich Lushes, cycled his No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 into the lead.

    With 15 laps remaining, Rhodes was leading by more than five seconds over a hard-charging Hocevar while Zane Smith was in third and trailing the lead by more than five seconds. By then, Heim and Enfinger were in the top five.

    Four laps later, Hocevar, who gained massive ground on Rhodes, assumed the lead from Rhodes. Hocevar’s move placed Rhodes only two points above the top-four cutline while Zane Smith was 15 points below and mired in a “must-win” situation to advance.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by three seconds over Zane Smith’s No. 38 Ambetter Health Ford F-150 while Rhodes, Heim and Enfinger were scored in the top five. By then, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes were still scored above the cutline along with Heim while Zane Smith, Sanchez, Eckes and Majeski were currently scored below the cutline.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by nearly three seconds over Zane Smith. With Smith unable to generate a final lap charge as he was too far behind Hocevar, Hocevar was able to smoothly navigate his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST around Homestead for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim his fourth checkered flag of his career and of the 2023 season.

    With the victory, Hocevar also punched his ticket into this year’s Championship 4 round and will officially contend for his first NASCAR National Touring Series championship in the Truck circuit at Phoenix Raceway. Hocevar will compete alongside Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger, all of whom finished in the top five and will contend for their first series title, minus Rhodes, who will contend for his second title.

    “We were so fast,” Hocevar said on FS1. “It kills me [that] I can’t do a burnout. We have to take this motor to Phoenix. So good. This truck was so good. We got behind on pit stops and just lost track position, which really was unfortunate. I love winning! I love it! We just got to win at Phoenix. Even with all the setbacks, from the debris and everything, we had a shot to win and we did just that.”

    “I don’t know what to think,” Rhodes said. “To be honest, the whole day was so difficult. I knew we were in for a long day. I just didn’t know it was gonna be this difficult, but what an absolute blessing to finish where we did. I can’t thank [crew chief Rich Lushes] enough for making that [pit] call. He’s really good at making these calls when it counts. I just wish we weren’t in this position so much. We’ve dealt with this pressure year over year and every time, we’ve been able to show through we get. I’m thankful for the effort by the team. What a day.”

    “It feels great,” Enfinger said. “These guys deserve to be running for a championship at Phoenix. Pretty disappointed in our execution. You can’t make mistakes against these guys. We were blessed to have a second opportunity. [Crew chief] Jeff [Hensley] made some great calls on the truck. The truck was as good as it was gonna be those last two stints. That was all we had. Congratulations to all these guys. Hopefully, we can make the most of it in two weeks.”

    “Definitely really excited for Phoenix,” Heim said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and studying into that race. It’s gonna be the biggest race of my career. We’ve got bigger things on the horizon here, so we’ll focus on that.”

    Amid the Championship 4 field being set, Zane Smith, the reigning series champion who finished in the runner-up spot, did not transfer along with Ty Majeski, rookie Nick Sanchez and Christian Eckes.

    “Just a bummer,” Smith said. “The Round of 8 was not good to us. It only takes one bad race and unfortunately, we had two. Just one spot short today.”

    “We had a truck [that was] able to advance and just kept making mistakes,” Eckes said. “Just wasn’t good enough today.”

    “We just missed it a little bit today,” Majeski said. “We were all over the splitter, way too hard to be able to attack on restarts, maintain our track position. Long run, we were OK. Just couldn’t get going. Proud of this No. 98 team. Wished we could’ve been competing for a championship at Phoenix, but I see my teammate Ben [Rhodes] made it, so good for ThorSport [Racing]. All hands on deck these next two weeks, trying to prepare four fast trucks to go to Phoenix and hopefully, bring home a race win and a championship.”

    “To miss [the Championship 4] by one point is pretty rough,” Sanchez said. “Guess all you can do is go to Phoenix and try to win, but yeah, it’s on me.”

    Following the post-race inspection process, Zane Smith was disqualified from his runner-up result for windshield support violation. Amid Smith’s disqualification, the Championship 4 field occupied by Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes remained unchanged, with Rhodes earning the fourth and final transfer spot in a tie-breaker over Sanchez.

    There were eight lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 29 laps. In addition, 15 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.

    *Notably, Chevrolet secured this year’s Craftsman Truck Series manufacturer’s title.

    Results.

    1. Carson Hocevar, 11 laps led

    2. Ben Rhodes, 22 laps led

    3. Corey Heim, 57 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    4. Grant Enfinger

    5. Bayley Currey

    6. Stewart Friesen

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Rajah Caruth

    9. Ty Majeski, one lap led

    10. Chase Purdy

    11. Tanner Gray, four laps led

    12. Jack Wood

    13. Taylor Gray

    14. Trevor Bayne

    15. Jake Garcia, one lap down

    16. Dean Thompson, one lap down

    17. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

    18. Marco Andretti, one lap down

    19. Lawless Alan, one lap down

    20. Christian Eckes, one lap down, five laps led

    21. Daniel Dye, one lap down

    22. Tyler Hill, one lap down

    23. Nick Leitz, one lap down

    24. Brad Perez, one lap down

    25. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    26. Jonathan Shafer, two laps down

    27. Mason Maggio, three laps down

    28. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

    29. Memphis Villarreal, three laps down

    30. Colby Howard, five laps down

    31. Armani Williams, 13 laps down

    32. Spencer Davis – OUT, Electrical

    33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

    34. Zane Smith – Disqualified 34 laps led

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Carson Hocevar – Advanced

    3. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    4. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

    5. Nick Sanchez – Eliminated

    6. Christian Eckes – Eliminated

    7. Ty Majeski – Eliminated

    8. Zane Smith – Eliminated

    The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on November 3, where a champion will be crowned. The finale’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 10 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Moffitt triumphs in Truck Series return at Talladega amid overtime shootout

    Moffitt triumphs in Truck Series return at Talladega amid overtime shootout

    With his racing plans for next season undetermined, Brett Moffitt made the most of a one-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series return for Front Row Motorsports by winning the Love’s RV Stop 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, September 30, amid an overtime shootout.

    The 2018 Truck Series champion from Grimes, Iowa, led five times for 22 of 99 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started 31st before methodically drafting his way towards the front amid a total of 23 lead changes for 11 different leaders, eight caution periods and late on-track chaos that ensued and collected a host of competitors and Playoff contenders. Leading for the first time on Lap 63, Moffitt lost the lead at the start of overtime to Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith but was quick to cross underneath Eckes and shove Eckes out of the draft at the start of the final lap to muscle ahead from Smith with drafting help from Parker Kligerman through the backstretch. For the final two turns, Moffitt fended off late challenges from Kligerman, Smith and Ben Rhodes through the tri-oval to claim his first checkered flag in the Truck Series in three years and serve as the spoiler for winning the Truck Series Playoff event at Talladega as a non-title contender.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Purdy notched his second Truck pole position of this season and of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.433 mph in 53.368 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 178.480 mph in 53.653 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Dean Thompson and Greg Van Alst dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Byan Dauzat also dropped to the rear of the field for missing driver introductions. Soon after, rookie Jake Garcia, who qualified third, took his truck to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Purdy quickly transitioned from the outside to the inside lane in front of Sanchez entering the first turn while teammate Jack Wood was trying to keep pace on the outside lane. With the field quickly fanning out to three lanes through the backstretch, Purdy maintained the lead ahead of Sanchez and Ben Rhodes led a charge from the outside lane followed by teammate Matt Crafton while Wood was falling back after losing the draft. With rookie Rajah Caruth igniting another drafting lane towards the outside wall, Purdy proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Sanchez, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim. By then, Wood was penalized for pulling out of line before the event’s start and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road.

    Through the second to fifth lap, Purdy maintained the lead from the inside lane ahead of Sanchez while Caruth was the lead competitor on the outside lane in sixth place. As Chandler Smith tried to form a third drafting lane, Purdy transitioned from the outside to the inside lane to maintain the lead amid the draft. Not long after, Caruth challenged Purdy for the lead on the outside lane, but Purdy rocketed ahead to maintain it on the inside lane. Then as Purdy tried to block Caruth, which he was too late to do so, he got stuck in the middle lane, allowing Sanchez to muscle ahead on the inside lane. With Sanchez leading Majeski, Hocevar, Caruth and Heim, Purdy fell back into the top 10 and towards the middle of the pack that fanned out to three lanes and continued to jostle for early positions.


    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and as the field continued to battle amid two tight-packed lanes, Sanchez maintained the lead ahead of Majeski, Hocevar, Parker Kligerman and Heim while Purdy, David Gilliland, Jake Drew, Bret Holmes and Dean Thompson were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes and Zane Smith were running in the top 16 while Ben Rhodes was back in 24th.

    By Lap 15, Sanchez continued to lead ahead of Majeski, Hocevar, Kligerman and Purdy while Heim, David Gilliland, Thompson, Holmes and Enfinger were jostling and battling within the top 10 along with the rest of the field. Behind, Eckes was in 12th, Zane Smith was in 14th and Rhodes was in 20th.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Sanchez, who came into the event 22 points below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, fended off the stacked field to notch his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar trailed in second while Heim, Majeski, Holmes, Colby Howard, Kligerman, Tanner Gray, Gilliland and Thompson were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Zane Smith, Rhodes, Enfinger and Eckes were in the top 20 while 32 of 36 starters were scored on lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Sanchez pitted for the first time as mixed strategies ensued with some taking two tires while the rest opted for four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Playoff contender Zane Smith slid his truck sideways while trying to enter his pit stall as he ended up clipping his tire carrier, which sent the tire carrier and two tires the carrier was carrying flying, with the tires rolling out of the pit stall, as Smith ended up having his truck serviced backward in the pit stall.

    The second stage started on Lap 27 as Sanchez and Kligerman occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez received a strong push from Majeski to muscle ahead of Kligerman and retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the field quickly fanning out to three stacked lanes, Sanchez continued to lead until Kligerman received drafting help from Gilliland to assume the top spot in his No. 75 Tide Chevrolet Silverado RST through the frontstretch and back to the start/finish line.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Kligerman was leading ahead of Hocevar followed by Gilliland, Sanchez and Holmes while Thompson, Majeski, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Wood were in the top 10.  In the midst of the battles towards the front, Playoff contenders Enfinger, Eckes and Heim were running 16th to 18th. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, who sustained damage to the right-rear quarter panel of his truck amid his pit road incident, was mired a lap down in 35th after he had reported his No. 38 Love’s Ford F-150 was jumping out of gear.

    Five laps later, Hocevar, who assumed the lead three laps earlier, was leading ahead of Majeski followed by a hard-charging Kligerman, Rhodes and Sanchez while Holmes, Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Thompson and Heim were mired in the top 10 and amid the stacked pack. Behind, Eckes was in 14th and Enfinger was back in 27th while Zane Smith took his truck to the garage.

    Then with two laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew after Eckes made contact with Stewart Friesen, which resulted in Friesen clipping Tyler Ankrum before Friesen’s No. 52 GearWrench Toyota Tundra TRD Pro went dead straight towards the Turn 3 outside wall and wrecked hard as David Gilliland was also collected. As a result of the multi-truck incident, the second stage period that was scheduled to end on Lap 40, instead, concluded under caution as Kligerman claimed the stage victory. Sanchez settled in second followed by Playoff rivals Hocevar, Majeski and Rhodes while Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Holmes, Thompson and Heim were scored in the top 10. By then, Eckes and Enfinger were mired in the top 20, Rhodes was scored outside the top 20 and Zane Smith was in the garage amid his mechanical issues.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Kligerman returned to pit road as various pit strategies again occurred with Colby Howard opting for fuel only to his truck and select names including Tanner Gray, Purdy, Heim, Enfinger, Tyler Hill and Dean Thompson changing two tires while the rest opted for four fresh tires.

    With 48 laps remaining, the final stage started as brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Tanner Gray muscled his No. 15 Sport Clips Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead on the inside lane while the field quickly fanned out to three lanes through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As the field made its way back to the tri-oval to reach the halfway mark on Lap 47, Tanner Gray maintained the lead ahead of Howard, Heim, Sanchez and Tyler Hill while Thompson, Taylor Gray, Purdy, Holmes and Wood were in the top 10. In the process and amid the stacked racing, Eckes was in 12th, Rhodes was back in 15th followed by Enfinger in 17th, Majeski was strapped in 20th and Hocevar was back in 22nd.

    Four laps later, the caution returned after Taylor Gray got turned sideways off the front nose of Bayley Currey entering the backstretch, which resulted in Gray spinning and clipping Ankrum, who also clipped Crafton in the process, as Playoff contender Enfinger was also involved as he spun sideways and emerged with damage to his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST. During the caution period, select names that included Lawless Alan, Currey, Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Cory Roper, Ryan Vargas, Hailie Deegan and Garrett Smithley pitted while the rest led by Tanner Gray remained on the track.

    During the proceeding restart with 38 laps remaining, Tanner Gray and Sanchez dueled for the lead ahead of the stacked pack through the first two turns and the backstretch. Gray and Sanchez would remain in a dead heat for the lead for the next two laps until the caution returned as Currey and Enfinger made the slightest of contact through the frontstretch that got Enfinger loose and turned Currey into the path of Tyler Hill as Currey ended up hitting the inside wall. With Enfinger initially being in the position of cycling back on the lead lap due to being the first competitor a lap down when the carnage ensued, he lost the benefit due to being involved in the incident.

    Amid the incident, the field led by Sanchez returned to pit road for service and mainly for fuel. Following the pit stops, Sanchez retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Purdy, Moffitt, Tanner Gray, Chandler Smith and Hocevar.

    With the event restarting under green with 33 laps remaining, Sanchez and Holmes battled for the lead entering the first two turns until Sanchez muscled ahead from the outside lane. Then as Sanchez moved to the inside lane and regained drafting momentum, Brett Moffitt muscled his way into the lead after receiving drafting help from Chandler Smtih as Hocevar followed suit. Soon after, Sanchez steered his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST to pit road and served a pass-through penalty for a restart violation as a result of hanging back on the restart. Amid the penalty, Moffitt retained the lead ahead of a long line of competitors with 30 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Moffitt continued to lead ahead of Purdy, Chandler Smith, Rhodes and Jake Drew while Crafton, Heim, Hocevar, Lawless Alan and Holmes were in the top 10. Behind, Eckes fell back to 11th, Majeski was back in 20th and both Sanchez and Enfinger were in 25th and 26th.

    Two laps later, the caution flew after the hood off of Jack Wood’s No. 51 TrueTimber Chevrolet Silverado RST came loose and disintegrated through the backstretch. The caution occurred after teammate Purdy had reassumed the lead with 27 laps remaining.

    During the ensuing restart with 19 laps remaining, trouble struck for Purdy, who started alongside Moffitt on the front row but stacked up the inside lane and dropped off the pace due to a power issue to his No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST. With Purdy dropping out of the racing groove, Moffitt assumed the lead until Crafton challenged on the outside lane with drafting help from Bret Holmes.

    Then with 16 laps remaining, the caution returned after Caruth and Ryan Vargas made contact through the frontstretch, which resulted in Vargas hitting the outside wall and Caruth spinning just past the start/finish line while Playoff contender Hocevar barely dodged the incident.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Moffitt rocketed ahead on the inside lane with drafting help from Rhodes, who moved to second through the backstretch before Eckes regained the momentum and assumed the lead through the backstretch with drafting help from Chandler Smith. As Eckes and Smith moved in front of Moffitt, Rhodes and the field entering the frontstretch, the caution quickly returned when Colby Howard and Purdy made contact as Purdy turned Howard before both veered towards the outside wall, with Purdy slapping the wall and damaging his pole-winning truck while Howard spun across the track, the tri-oval grass and down pit road as the field scattered to avoid the carnage. The incident and leaked fluid across the tri-oval would be enough to place the event in a red-flag period for more than five minutes as the on-track safety crew proceeded to clear the carnage.

    Once the red flag lifted and the race restarted under green with three laps remaining, Eckes and Moffitt dueled for the lead through the first two laps as Eckes had Chandler Smith drafting him while Moffitt had drafting help from Rhodes. Then as the field approached the tri-oval, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime after Sanchez made contact with Crafton, who rammed into Bret Holmes and clipped Tanner Gray, with a multi-truck wreck ensuing that collected Caruth, Enfinger, Hocevar, Garrett Smithley, Majeski, Cory Roper and Van Alst, who impacted the outside wall head-on. Amid the carnage, Eckes retained the lead ahead of Moffitt while the event was sent into a second red flag period that spanned for more than five minutes.

    Once the red flag lifted and the event restarted in overtime, Moffitt and Eckes dueled for the lead exiting the frontstretch until Moffitt received a shove from Rhodes, Thompson and Kligerman to muscle ahead through the first two turns. With Moffitt briefly losing the draft through the frontstretch, Eckes and Chandler Smith responded back amid a two-truck draft as Smith drafted Eckes into the lead through the frontstretch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was leading ahead of Chandler Smith as the rest of the field regained their momentum to catch the two leaders. With Eckes and Smith getting separated, this allowed Moffitt to jump to the outside lane and close in on Eckes for the lead through the first two turns. Eckes then moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST up to try to block Moffitt, but Moffitt crossed his No. 34 Fr8Auctions Ford F-150 underneath Eckes. This resulted in Eckes losing momentum and falling out of the draft while Moffitt and Smith dueled for the lead ahead of two stacked lanes through the backstretch. Moffitt then started to muscle back ahead with the lead followed by Kligerman as both managed to move in front of Smith and Rhodes through Turns 3 and 4. Then as Kligerman tried to make his move to Moffitt’s outside, Smith and Rhodes remained with Moffitt on the inside lane while Kligerman started to lose the draft entering the tri-oval. Smith and Rhodes then tried to fan out and gain a final lap run on Moffitt, but the momentum for both was not enough as Moffitt managed to retain the lead and win by 0.089 seconds over Rhodes.

    With the victory, Moffitt notched his 13th career win in the Craftsman Truck Series, his first both at Talladega and on a superspeedway venue, and his first since winning at Kansas Speedway in October 2020, which marked his latest full-time stint in the series. In addition to achieving his first Truck victory driving a Ford, Moffitt also recorded the eighth Truck career victory for Front Row Motorsports and the first for FRM’s No. 34 entry in the entry’s debut.

    With Moffitt being a former winner and champion in the Truck Series but competing this season on a full-time basis for AM Racing in the Xfinity Series, this season marks the eighth consecutive season where the Truck’s Talladega Playoff event was won by a non-Playoff contender, which extends the streak of non-Playoff competitors winning at Talladega and preventing the current seven Playoff contenders from winning and earning an automatic berth to this year’s Championship 4 field.

    “It’s pretty awesome,” Moffitt, whose racing plans for 2024 remain undetermined, said on the frontstretch on FS1. “I’ve notably struggled at superspeedways in the past and dreaded coming to them, but this was all “pressure off” situation that Front Row [Motorsports] gave me, Fr8Auctions to come here and just go out there and try to help a teammate. Obviously, that didn’t work out for that group, but to come here and have a shot at a win and to do it is pretty amazing. Reminds me of the good old days that I wanna get back to doing this on a regular basis, so we’ll see what happens.”

    Playoff contender Ben Rhodes was the highest-finishing Playoff contender on the track as he settled in the runner-up spot for a second consecutive year at Talladega while Dean Thompson tied his career-best result of third place. Chandler Smith, who was piloting Rackley W.A.R.’s No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado RST, came home in fourth place while Corey Heim, who is already guaranteed a spot for this year’s Championship 4 finale after winning at Bristol Motor Speedway, finished fifth.

    Rookie Daniel Dye, Nick Sanchez, Hailie Deegan, Kligerman and Lawless Alan completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Hocevar and Enfinger finished 11th and 13th while Eckes drifted all the way back to 19th. In addition, Majeski retired in 21st while Zane Smith capped off his long afternoon in 32nd.

    There were 23 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 41 laps. In addition, 19 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Brett Moffitt, 22 laps led

    2. Ben Rhodes

    3. Dean Thompson

    4. Chandler Smith

    5. Corey Heim

    6. Daniel Dye

    7. Nick Sanchez, 25 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Hailie Deegan

    9. Parker Kligerman, 10 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Lawless Alan

    11. Carson Hocevar, five laps led

    12. Rajah Caruth

    13. Grant Enfinger

    14. Jack Wood

    15. Garrett Smithley

    16. Bret Holmes, three laps led

    17. Ryan Vargas

    18. Taylor Gray, one lap led

    19. Christian Eckes, eight laps led

    20. Jake Drew, one lap down

    21. Ty Majeski – OUT, Accident

    22. Cory Roper – OUT, Dvp

    23. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

    24. Matt Crafton – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    25. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led

    26. Greg Van Alst- OUT, Accident

    27. Jason M. White, 11 laps down

    28. Chase Purdy – OUT, Accident, 11 laps led

    29. Jake Garcia, 20 laps down

    30. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

    31. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    32. Zane Smith, 44 laps down

    33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Accident

    34. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Accident

    35. David Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    36. Bryan Dauzat – OUT, Handling

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Carson Hocevar +23

    3. Christian Eckes +9

    4. Nick Sanchez +3

    5. Grant Enfinger -3

    6. Ben Rhodes -5

    7. Ty Majeski -19

    8. Zane Smith -36

    The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on October 22, where the Championship 4 field will be determined. The event’s coverage is set to commence at noon ET on FS1.

  • Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    In an event dominated by Christian Eckes, Corey Heim captured the final spotlight and punched his ticket to this year’s Championship 4 round after emerging late to win the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 14.

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led the final six of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he was one of eight Playoff competitors vying for both a victory and an early automatic spot to race for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in early November. Taking the green flag in 11th place, Heim methodically carved his way to the front and managed to secure stage points during both stage break periods.

    Then after restarting alongside dominant pole-sitter and Playoff rival Christian Eckes at the start of the final stage period with 80 laps remaining, Heim spent the majority of the final 80-lap run to the finish trailing Eckes. He then capitalized on Eckes being marred in lapped traffic to overtake him for the lead with six laps remaining. From there, Heim managed to keep his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front and claim the checkered flag over a hard-charging Eckes to win for the third time in 2023 and become the first Playoff competitor to be guaranteed a championship-contending spot for this year’s finale due to occur less than two months from now.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Thursday, Playoff contender Christian Eckes, who won last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 127.064 mph in 15.101 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 126.813 mph in 15.131 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Bayley Currey, Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, Kaden Honeycutt, Stewart Friesen and Parker Kligerman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Christian Eckes, who started on the outside lane, quickly transitioned to the inside lane in front of Carson Hocevar through the first two turns as Ty Majeski challenged Hocevar for the runner-up spot from the outside lane. With the field navigating its way around the Bristol circuit while jostling for early positions, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    Through the second to fifth lap, a majority of the front-runners migrated to the inside lane and in a single-file line as Eckes retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar and Majeski while Chase Purdy, Tanner Gray and rookie Rajah Caruth were in the top six. Behind, Zane Smith overtook rookie Taylor Gray for seventh while Jack Wood was running in ninth ahead of William Sawalich, Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger as Ben Rhodes was mired in 14th in between Jake Drew and Hailie Deegan.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Majeski followed by Hocevar, Purdy and Caruth while Tanner Gray, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray, Wood and Sawalich were running in the top 10. Behind, Heim was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Jake Drew, Rhodes and Matt DiBenedetto while rookie Daniel Dye, Deegan, Matt Crafton, Dean Thompson and Tyler Ankrum occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was mired in 31st while battling Greg Van Alst for position and trying to navigate his way to the front without losing a lap.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Jack Wood, who was running ninth, spun and wrecked against the Turn 3 outside wall before his No. 51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet Silverado RST then spun back down to the track and was clipped by Dean Thompson’s No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro as both sustained significant damage to their vehicles and were eliminated from contention. During the caution period, some including Kligerman and Sanchez pitted while rest led by Eckes remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Eckes rocketed ahead and retained the lead over Majeski and Hocevar as the field jostled for positions amid two lanes through the first two turns. With Eckes leading and slowly starting to cruise away from the field, Purdy was in fourth ahead of Caruth, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray and Heim while Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes were mired in the top 11. Amid the battles, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Hocevar and Majeski by the Lap 30 mark.

    At the Lap 40 mark, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes trailed in the top 11. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was still mired towards the rear of the field in 26th behind Daniel Dye.

    Ten laps later, Eckes, despite being mired within lapped traffic, continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar with third-place Majeski trailing by half a second as the latter two tried to keep pace and pressure Eckes for the top spot.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 55, Eckes captured his fifth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar settled in second followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Enfinger and Sanchez were the only two Playoff contenders to not score the first round of stage points as they were mired in 11th and 26th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Eckes pitted for service while the rest led by Playoff contender Zane Smith and including Sanchez, newcomer Carson Kvapil and Bayley Currey remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 66 as Zane Smith and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 away with the lead from the outside lane while Kvapil, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports in his series’ debut, spun the tires and stacked up the inside lane. With Kvapil briefly losing pace, Sanchez navigated his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes, the first competitor on four fresh tires, while Kvapil settled in fourth in front of Majeski. As the field behind jostled for positions, Zane Smith maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Sanchez by the Lap 70 mark. The caution, however, returned by Lap 74 when Greg Van Alst, who was running towards the rear of the field, spun in Turn 2.

    During the following restart on Lap 80, Zane Smith retained the lead after gaining another strong launch from the outside lane while Sanchez and Eckes battled dead even for the runner-up spot before Eckes prevailed during the proceeding lap. Behind, Majeski moved up to fourth ahead of Kvapil while Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Purdy were in the top 10 ahead of Rhodes. Amid the battles, Eckes started to challenge Zane Smith for the lead as he was trailing by a tenth of a second.

    By Lap 90, the top-eight Playoff contenders were running in the top 11 on the track as Zane Smith continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Eckes followed by Sanchez, Majeski and Heim while Kvapil, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Purdy and Rhodes followed suit, with Kvapil, Gray and Purdy being the top non-Playoff contenders running towards the front.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Zane Smith retained the lead ahead of Eckes while Sanchez, Majeski and Heim remained in the top five. By then, Rhodes was overtaken by Caruth for 11th while Enfinger and Hocevar were in seventh and ninth. By then, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton, both of whom were coming off being eliminated from the Playoffs, were in 15th and 16th while Sawalich and Jake Garcia were in 13th and 14th, respectively. In addition, Kligerman, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum, Connor Jones and Deegan were battling within the top 20.

    Five laps later, Eckes overtook Zane Smith, who was mired behind the lapped competitor of Spencer Boyd, for the lead. Shortly after and with more lead lap and Playoff contenders trying to navigate around Boyd, Majeski, who was running fourth, fell off the pace after he made contact with Heim that got Majeski loose and with a flat right-front tire to the No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150. Despite plummeting in the leaderboard as the laps in the second stage dwindled, Majeski continued to run on the track and the event remained under green flag conditions.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 110, Eckes cruised to his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and second of the night. Zane Smith settled in second while Sanchez, Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Kvapil, Caruth and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Majeski was mired in 30th as he was lapped by Eckes, but he would receive the free pass during the stage break period due to being the first competitor mired a lap behind.

    During the stage break, some led by Zane Smith pitted for service while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for pitting outside of his pit box. Taylor Gray also dropped to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    With 80 laps remaining, the final stage started as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes took off with the lead from the outside lane and he quickly steered his truck from the outside to the inside lane in front of Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro through the first two turns. Behind, Enfinger made contact with Taylor Gray to move into third place followed by Hocevar as Gray fell back to fifth in front of Caruth and Rhodes. As the field battled deep within two lanes around the circuit, Eckes stretched his advantage to half a second over Heim and more than a second over third-place Enfinger with 75 laps remaining.

    With 60 laps remaining, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Heim followed by Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray while Caruth, Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen were running in the top 10. By then, Sanchez, who scrubbed the outside wall at the start of the final stage and was trying to rally his way back to the front after pitting during the stage break, was back in 13th in between Jake Garcia and Crafton while Majeski and Zane Smith were mired in 25th and 27th, respectively.

    Ten laps later, Eckes retained the lead by more than a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the top five. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Rhodes, Sanchez, Majeski and Zane Smith were running eighth, 13th, 25th and 26th, respectively.

    Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Eckes was now leading by a tenth over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray continued to trail from third to fifth, respectively. Meanwhile, Caruth retained sixth ahead of Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen while Sawalich, Garcia, Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Matt Crafton occupied the top 15. By then, Zane Smith, who was still mired within the middle of the pack amid his late pit road penalty, was lapped by Eckes.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Eckes stabilized his advantage by two-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the five. By then, Majeski was back in 23rd, but in jeopardy of being lapped by Eckes, while Rhodes and Sanchez were still scored on the lead lap in eighth and 12th. Eckes would proceed to extend the advantage by half a second with less than 20 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Eckes stretched his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor followed suit in the top five. By then, Rhodes and Sanchez moved up to seventh and 10th while Majeski was mired in 20th. In addition, Zane Smith was back in 24th.

    Then with six laps remaining, Eckes hit a roadblock after getting mired behind lapped competitors, among which included Ty Majeski and Tanner Gray. This enabled Heim to make his move beneath Eckes for the lead through Turn 2. With both Eckes and Heim battling dead even through Turn 3, Heim managed to muscle ahead and assume the lead from the inside lane with five laps remaining. During the proceeding laps, Heim, who was approaching the lapped traffic that stalled Eckes’ momentum, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Eckes, who kept Heim close within his sights and tried to regain the lost advantage.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Eckes. Despite Eckes gaining a strong run to Heim’s outside through Turns 2 and 3 as Heim was still mired in lapped traffic, Heim managed to keep Eckes behind him through Turns 3 and 4 as he surged ahead and claimed the checkered flag to win by two-tenths of a second over Eckes.

    With the victory, Heim, who won the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season championship, scored his third Truck victory of the season, the fifth of his career, first at Bristol and first since winning at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July. Above all, Heim officially claimed one of four vacant spots to this year’s Championship 4 round as he and the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team led by former championship-winning crew chief Scott Zipadelli will contend for the series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    “Just huge thank you to TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing, Safelite,” Heim, who celebrated with his team and the fans on the frontstretch, said on FS1. “This is insane. I feel like I’ve given so many [wins] away this year and to win one at the end like that was so special. Unreal. We finally got one back. I was in the zone. I just thought about all the races we’ve given away or I’ve given away. I just focus forward and semi-pass up right where we needed to be. Gosh, it’s so awesome to know we’re in Phoenix and it’s awesome.”

    While Heim was left victorious, Eckes was left dejected on pit road after having a secured spot for himself for the finale evaporate in an event where he led a race-high 150 laps and swept both stages. The runner-up result, though, places Eckes in the runner-up spot in the current Playoff standings and 29 points above the top-four cutline with two upcoming Playoff events for him to rally and receive another opportunity to make the cutline by October.

    “I just think it’s a little ironic that [Tanner Gray] was three laps down and waited,” Eckes said. “Whatever. Good truck. I got really tight there at the end. It is what it is, but just huge thanks to Gates Hydraulics,…everybody involved. That one stings, for sure.”

    Like Eckes, the Bristol night featured strong runs for Enfinger and Hocevar, both of whom finished third and fourth in the final running order. As a result, Hocevar is situated in third place in the Playoff standings and 18 points above the cutline while Enfinger holds possession of the fourth and final spot above the cutline by 14 points.

    “I feel like, overall, we executed almost to the best of our ability,” Enfinger said. “I wished we could’ve contended for the win, but overall, I feel like we got all we could get out of our Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. Lacking a little bit to contend for a win. We always want to fight for a win. We couldn’t do that [tonight], but I think overall, we executed well on pit road. We executed well. Not happy, but satisfied.”

    “We just needed to have a good smooth night tonight and get the points we could and not over-extend ourselves or make any mistakes,” Hocevar added. “We did just that. Our Worldwide Express Chevy was really fast. It was just about not making mistakes and going to run the top [lane]. I wished we could’ve widened out a little bit, but fourth [in the Playoff standings] and plus 20, 18 or whatever it is [above the cutline] is good going into Talladega and that was our goal. We’ll just keep clicking away.”

    Rookie Taylor Gray, coming off a career-best runner-up result at Kansas Speedway, notched his second top-five finish in recent weeks by finishing fifth and as the highest non-Playoff competitor in the field. Rajah Caruth, Rhodes, Purdy, Sanchez and DiBenedetto completed the top 10 on the track.

    For Sanchez, the ninth-place result marks his 10th top-10 finish of the season and a strong rally from starting at the rear of the field. The result, however, leaves him and his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet team 22 points below the top-four cutline. Rhodes, Majeski and Zane Smith join Sanchez in being scored below the cutline following the first Round of 8 event.

    “It sucks because I did legitimately think we had pace to contend for a win,” Sanchez said. “Just didn’t work out tonight. It is what it is, but we’ll go to Talladega and try to minimize the damage and try to go win Homestead.”

    There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 33 laps. In addition, 20 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, six laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, 150 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Grant Enfinger

    4. Carson Hocevar

    5. Taylor Gray

    6. Rajah Caruth

    7. Ben Rhodes

    8. Chase Purdy, one lap led

    9. Nick Sanchez

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Jake Garcia

    12. Carson Kvapil

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Stewart Friesen

    15. Connor JOnes

    16. Matt Crafton

    17. Hailie Deegan

    18. Parker Kligerman

    19. Ty Majeski

    20. Jake Drew

    21. Daniel Dye, one lap down

    22. Colby Howard, one lap down

    23. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    24. Zane Smith, one lap down, 43 laps led

    25. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down

    26. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    27. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    28. Lawless Alan, one lap down

    29. Tanner Gray, two laps down

    30. William Sawalich, three laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, four laps down

    32. Stephen Mallozzi, eight laps down

    33. Memphis Villarreal, nine laps down

    34. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Brakes

    35. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    36. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes +29

    3. Carson Hocevar +18

    4. Grant Enfinger +14

    5. Zane Smith -14

    6. Ben Rhodes -19

    7. Nick Sanchez -22

    8. Ty Majeski -22

    The second Round of 8 event in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to occur at Talladega Superspeedway on September 30, with the event’s air coverage slated to occur at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Eckes wins Playoff’s Round of 10 finale at Kansas in wild two-lap shootout

    Eckes wins Playoff’s Round of 10 finale at Kansas in wild two-lap shootout

    After spending a majority of the evening trailing the front-runners, Christian Eckes benefitted through a pair of late-race cautions and a two-lap shootout to overtake Playoff rivals Corey Heim and Zane Smith on the final lap to win the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 8.

    The 22-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, led the final two of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified eighth, notched stage points during the event’s two stage periods and kept pace with the leaders with a locked-up berth to the Round of 8 in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs already sealed prior to the event.

    Then amid two late-race caution periods, starting with 17 laps remaining and a proceeding one with eight laps remaining that sent the event into a two-lap shootout, Eckes, who was running in the top five amid the late chaos, drew himself into a battle for the lead and win against Heim and Zane Smith prior to the final lap. Despite leading the final lap mark, Eckes briefly lost the lead to both Heim and Zane Smith. With the latter two dueling for the lead through the backstretch, Eckes seized an opportunity and crossed his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet beneath Heim and Zane Smith before bolting past both through the backstretch and nearly sliding up the track in Turn 3 before muscling away and claiming his third Truck Series victory of the 2023 season as the Playoff’s Round of 10 came to a thrilling conclusion.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chase Purdy notched his first Truck career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.292 mph in 30.631 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor and rookie Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 176.200 mph in 30.647 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Chase Janes, Spencer Davis Timy Hill and Lawless Alan dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. Playoff contender Matt Crafton and Colby Howard also dropped to the rear of the field as they started the main event in backup trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Purdy and Sanchez dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn until Sanchez muscled his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Purdy on the inside lane and into the lead entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Sanchez rocketed away from the competition as he proceeded to lead the first lap. With Sanchez leading, Ben Rhodes challenged Purdy for the runner-up spot followed by Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, who got loose and nearly clipped Purdy through the third turn, was back in fifth ahead of rookie Jake Garcia.

    Through the second lap, Sanchez stretched his advantage to half a second over a side-by-side duel between Rhodes and Purdy while Eckes retained fourth. Behind, Majeski got loose again in Turn 3 as he nearly clipped Garcia while battling for fifth place. The mishap dropped Majeski to seventh as Garcia and Jake Drew moved up to fifth and sixth.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Sanchez was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Purdy, Garcia and Eckes while Jake Drew, Majeski, Jack Wood, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith were in the top 10. Behind, Corey Heim was in 11th ahead of rookie Taylor Gray, Hailie Deegan, Matt DiBenedetto and Tanner Gray while Carson Hocevar, Stewart Friesen, rookie Rajah Caruth, Dean Thompson and Jesse Love occupied the top 20 on the track. Meanwhile, Matt Crafton was the lowest-running Playoff contender on the track as he was in 22nd.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Sanchez continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Garcia trailed by more than a second. By then, Purdy fell back to fourth ahead of Eckes and Majeski while Drew, Heim, Zane Smith and Wood were mired in the top 10. Meanwhile, Enfinger, Hocevar, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the four Playoff competitors currently running outside the top 10 on the track.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Bayley Currey, who was running 23rd, spun his No. 41 Unishippers Chevrolet Silverado RST entering Turn 2. During the first caution period, some including Enfinger, Ankrum, Colby Howard, Spencer Boyd, Justin Carroll, Lawless Alan, Mason Maggio, Deegan and Chase Janes pitted while the rest led by Sanchez remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 20, Sanchez, who spun the tires at the start, retained the lead as the field fanned out through the first turn. In the midst of Sanchez leading, Rhodes was being challenged by Purdy and Eckes for the runner-up spot as Heim and Zane Smith battled for fifth in front of Hocevar and Garcia, who slipped out of the top five.

    Five laps later, Sanchez retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Purdy followed by Rhodes, Heim and Eckes while Zane Smith settled in sixth in front of Hocevar. Shortly after, Enfinger, who restarted outside the top 20, had carved his way back into the top 10 on fresh tires as he was in eighth behind Zane Smith and Jake Drew while Hocevar fell back to ninth.

    Then on Lap 26, the second caution of the event flew when Kaden Honeycutt spun in between Turns 3 and 4 as his truck looped sideways from the top lane to the bottom lane with the leaders approaching and missing Honeycutt. Honeycutt’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 30 to officially conclude under caution.

    As a result, Sanchez, who came into the event three points above the top-eight cutline to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8, captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Purdy settled in second while Rhodes, Heim, Eckes, Zane Smith, Drew, Enfinger, Hocevar and Majeski were scored in the top 10. By then, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the two Playoff contenders who failed to collect a first round of stage points as they were scored in 11th and 13th on the track while Hocevar managed to clinch his way into the Round of 8 by points for the first time in his career.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Sanchez pitted while Enfinger, who pitted during the first caution period, remained on the track to inherit the lead.

    The second stage started on Lap 35 as Enfinger and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez managed to rocket ahead of Enfinger to reassume the lead on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With Rhodes challenging and overtaking Enfinger for the runner-up spot, he then proceeded to challenge Sanchez for the lead during the proceeding lap. Despite leading Laps 37 and 38 by a hair over Sanchez amid a heated duel, Sanchez would manage to slide in front of Rhodes’ No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 through Turns 3 and 4 as he retained the lead with a clear racetrack by Lap 39. By then, Purdy made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to reports of a loose wheel to his pole-winning No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    At the Lap 40 mark, Sanchez was leading by three-tenths of a second over a tight seven-truck battle for the lead that involved Hocevar, Rhodes, Eckes, Zane Smith, Enfinger and Heim, all of whom were separated by a second and were contending in the Playoffs, while DiBenedetto and Crafton trailed in the top nine. With nine of 10 Playoff contenders running first through ninth, Majeski, the 10th Playoff contender, was mired back in 20th while Taylor Gray was the highest-running non-playoff competitor running in 10th place on the track.

    By Lap 50, Hocevar, who overtook Sanchez for the lead two laps earlier, was leading in his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST by nine-tenths of a second over Sanchez while Zane Smith, Heim and Rhodes were in the top five ahead of Eckes, Enfinger and DiBenedetto. By then, Crafton fell back to 12th while teammate Majeski was still mired in 19th in between Jack Wood and Jesse Love.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Hocevar notched his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season after muscling away from the field by more than two seconds. Sanchez trailed in second followed by Heim, Zane Smith and Enfinger while Eckes, Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, DiBenedetto and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. By then, the remaining Playoff competitors, Crafton and Majeski, were mired back in 12th and 17th, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hocevar returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first while Sanchez, Zane Smith, Hocevar and Eckes followed suit.

    With 66 laps remaining, the final stage started as Heim and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Heim took off with the lead from the inside lane as Sanchez engaged in a three-wide battle with Hocevar and Zane Smith for the runner-up spot through Turn 1. Smith and Hocevar then went three-wide on Heim for the lead through the backstretch as nearly the entire front-runners also fanned out in three tight-packed lanes. With Hocevar receiving no drafting help through the backstretch, however, Heim, who had Sanchez drafting help, managed to rocket his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead of Smith through Turns 3 and 4 to clear the field and retain the lead during the following lap.

    Then with 63 laps remaining, Crafton’s Playoff hopes took a hit when he fell off the pace as a result of hitting the backstretch’s outside wall two laps earlier while battling in the top 12. Not long after, trouble struck for his teammate Rhodes, whom Crafton was battling for the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, as he was losing spots on the track amid reports of having a tire going down and making contact with the wall, but he continued to remain on the track as he plummeted to 26th while Crafton pitted his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 and dropped out of the lead lap category. Amid the issues for both ThorSport Racing Playoff contenders, Heim retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar and four-tenths of a second over Zane Smith with 60 laps remaining.

    Then with 52 laps remaining, Hocevar, who spent the last few laps engaged in a fierce battle with Heim for the lead, overtook him to reassume the top spot. With Hocevar retaining the lead over Heim and Eckes with less than 50 laps remaining, the night went from bad to worse for Crafton, who pitted for a second time under green for repairs to his truck amid his late incident with the wall as he lost more laps from the leaders. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running eighth, was within close distance of racing his way into the Round of 8 over Rhodes, who still retained the final transfer spot to the next round but was mired back in 27th on the track.

    As Rhodes, who went a lap down earlier, pitted for four fresh tires with 43 laps remaining, Hocevar found himself being intimidated for the lead by Heim, who trailed by two-tenths of a second, while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Eckes and Sanchez were in the top five while Taylor Gray, Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Garcia were running in the top 10.

    With 39 laps remaining, Heim pitted under green from the runner-up spot. A bevy of names that included the leader Hocevar, Taylor Gray, Stewart Friesen, Jake Drew, rookie Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Hailie Deegan and Majeski pitted during the proceeding laps while Zane Smith, Sanchez, Eckes and Enfinger would pit during the next lap as DiBenedetto, who drew himself back into contention to still transfer to the Round of 8 but is still needing to make a pit stop, assumed the lead. DiBenedetto would then pit with 35 laps remaining as Tanner Gray assumed the lead.

    Once the last wave of lead lap competitors pitted, among which included late leaders Tanner Gray, Jack Wood and Bret Holmes, Heim, who slid through his pit box during his green flag pit stop but managed to run ahead of Hocevar on the track, cycled back into the lead with 27 laps remaining. By then, Heim was leading by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Zane Smith, Eckes and Sanchez while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto, Friesen, Caruth and Jake Drew were in the top 10. By then, Enfinger, who was penalized for speeding during his green flag pit stop, was back in 17th in front of Majeski while Rhodes and Crafton were mired in 26th and 35th, respectively.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Heim continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar while Zane Smith, Sanchez and Eckes continued to run in the top five. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running seventh, was still scored eight points below the top-eight cutline behind Rhodes, who was still mired in 26th on the track while teammate Crafton was running 35th on the track and scored 12 points below the cutline.

    Three laps later, the caution flew due to an accident involving Mason Maggio in Turn 3. During the caution period, the front-runners led by Heim remained on the track. With the event reaching its final 10-lap mark with the caution flag still displayed, some running in the middle of the pack, including Enfinger, Majeski and Rhodes, pitted for service while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green with eight laps remaining, Heim received a strong push from Zane Smith’s No. 38 RTA Ford F-150 to boost ahead of Hocevar and retain the lead. Smith then made his move to Heim’s outside in a bid for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Hocevar tried to make it a three-way battle for the lead. Shortly after and amid the tight battle for the lead, the caution returned after Caruth and Tanner Gray wrecked across the frontstretch, with Caruth spinning across the frontstretch grass after getting turned by Gray while Gray spun back across the track and pounded the outside wall. At the moment of caution, Heim managed to retain the lead ahead of Zane Smith and Hocevar.

    Down to the final two laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Eckes gained a massive run on the leaders as he bolted his No. 19 PEAK/NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST to the outside of Smith entering Turn 3. Eckes, Zane Smith and Heim then went three wide entering the frontstretch, with Heim nearly getting loose, as they battled for the lead and potential win.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was out in front by a hair over both Zane Smith and Heim while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto and Hocevar battled for fourth place behind. Through the first two turns, Heim and Zane Smith muscled ahead of Eckes to make it a tight two-truck battle for the lead between them entering the backstretch. Then through the backstretch, Eckes crossed over to the inside lane and managed to overtake both Zane Smith and Heim for the lead entering Turn 3 before he slid up the track and stalled Smith’s momentum, which caused Smith to get loose. With Smith losing his momentum, Eckes managed to keep his foot on the gas pedal and muscle away from the field to cross the checkered flag with the victory in dramatic fashion and by three-tenths of a second.

    With the victory, Eckes, who had secured a spot for the Round of 8 in the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs based on points prior to Friday night’s event at Kansas, scored his fourth career victory in the series, his third of the season and his first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May. Ironically, all three of Eckes’ Truck victories this season have occurred in two-lap shootouts, but tonight was the first where Eckes won under green flag conditions, as the New York native and his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team proceeded toward their quest to win this year’s Truck Series championship.

    “That was wild,” Eckes said on FS1. “I didn’t know if I was gonna win it or not. We had like a sixth-place truck all day, but that caution coming out, I knew we’d have a shot at it. Here we are. We haven’t won in a really long time, so [I] wanted to kind of set the tone and went a hell of a way to the Round of 10. [Finishes of] Second, third and first. Can’t beat that. Proud of all of these guys. Man, it’s awesome to be back in Victory Lane, for sure.”

    Behind Eckes, Taylor Gray notched a career-best runner-up result in his 29th Truck career start followed by Matt DiBenedetto, who made a strong rally to finish third for his second top-five result of the season. The result, however, was not enough for DiBenedetto and the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. team to advance to the Round of 8 as their Playoff run came to an end.

    “Honestly this team fought so hard, worked their tail off to give me a good-looking truck and a good-handling truck all night,” DiBenedetto, who will be departing Rackley W.A.R. at the conclusion of the 2023 season, said. “Man, we made the most of it, for sure. Just so thankful for these guys, Rackley Roofing…I hate we missed [advancing to the Round of 8], man. It stinks we had an issue at Milwaukee and it took us out of it. We could be in that next round, but this team, they deserve to hold their heads high, for sure.”

    Like DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton’s hopes for a fourth championship came to an end amid his late contact with the wall and series of unscheduled pit stops that resulted in him finishing in 33rd in the final running order and below the top-eight cutline. This season marks the second in a row where Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford team have failed to transfer past the Round of 10.

    “It is what it is,” Crafton said. “The cards were dealt. It folded really crappy for us, but at the end of the day, we had some speed. When [the truck] jumped sideways off of [Turn] 2, it hadn’t done that all night. Just caught me off guard. I gotta thank [my crew]. They worked their butts off today just from practice, wrecking that truck in practice and then, wrecking during the race. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go on and do it again next year.”

    Amid the disappointment for DiBenedetto and Crafton, good fortune came for Ben Rhodes, who ended up 25th and managed to secure the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by a mere margin. As a result, he and his No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford team will continue their quest for a second Truck Series title.

    “We were edgy all day long ever since we unloaded,” Rhodes said. “We kind of were predicting that it was gonna come to us in the race and it kind of went the opposite way. We ended up having a tire going down that caused me to hit the wall, it was just a mistake on myself. Mixed emotions tonight for this Kubota Ford F-150 team. The expectation is to make it to the next round, so just meeting the expectation isn’t necessarily a cause for celebration. We’re happy to advance, but at the same time, we’ve got to smoothen out some rough edges and make sure that bringing less mistakes and faster, more comfortable trucks.”

    Heim, who led 40 laps, finished fourth while Zane Smtih fell back to fifth. Hocevar, Friesen, Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Jake Drew completed the top 10 on the track.

    Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes and rookie Nick Sanchez have officially transferred to the Round of 8 and will continue their quests to win this year’s Truck Series championship while Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have been eliminated from the Playoffs.

    There were 18 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 13 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Christian Eckes, two laps led

    2. Taylor Gray

    3. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps led

    4. Corey Heim, 40 laps led

    5. Zane Smith, one lap led

    6. Carson Hocevar, 32 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. Stewart Friesen

    8. Nick Sanchez, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Jake Drew

    11. Jake Garcia

    12. Rajah Caruth

    13. Jesse Love

    14. Chase Purdy, one lap down

    15. Dean Thompson, one lap down

    16. Jack Wood, one lap down, two laps led

    17. Grant Enfinger, one lap down, four laps led

    18. Ty Majeski, one lap down

    19. Colby Howard, one lap down

    20. Bret Holmes, one lap down, two laps led

    21. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

    23. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    24. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    25. Ben Rhodes, two laps down, two laps led

    26. Tanner Gray, three laps down, four laps led

    27. Kaden Honeycutt, three laps down

    28. Chase Janes, three laps down

    29. Justin Carroll, four laps down

    30. Hailie Deegan, four laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, five laps down

    32. Greg Van Alst, five laps down

    33. Matt Crafton, nine laps down

    34. Jennifer Jo Cobb, nine laps down

    35. Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident

    36. Spencer Davis – OUT, Suspension

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes – Advanced

    3. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    4. Carson Hocevar – Advanced

    5. Zane Smith – Advanced

    6. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    7. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

    8. Nick Sanchez – Advanced

    9. Matt DiBenedetto – Eliminated

    10. Matt Crafton – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence next Thursday, September 14, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage of the event is set to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Majeski, ThorSport Racing issued L2-level penalties amid pre-race violations from Milwaukee

    Majeski, ThorSport Racing issued L2-level penalties amid pre-race violations from Milwaukee

    NASCAR released its penalty report following an action-packed tripleheader weekend between Daytona International Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile, with all of the penalties stemming from the second Craftsman Truck Series Playoff event of this season at Milwaukee that occurred last Sunday, August 27.

    The team that headlined the penalty report was ThorSport Racing’s No. 98 Ford F-150 team piloted by Playoff contender Ty Majeski, which was assessed L2-level penalties for infractions involving the wheel assembly, tires/wheels and valve stems per the NASCAR Rulebook. The issue was first discovered during the inspection process prior to Sunday’s event, where NASCAR officials confiscated the No. 98 Ford’s right-rear tire. This also resulted with Majeski starting at the rear of the field and serving a pass-through penalty on pit road once the main event started, where he was able to recover by finishing in seventh place.

    As a result of the penalties prior to the event, Majeski and ThorSport were docked 75 points and five Playoff points from the standings. In addition, crew chief Joe Shear Jr., who was ejected prior to the event at Milwaukee, has now been issued a four-race suspension and a $25,000 fine. He will be eligible to return for the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    The issue does not affect Majeski’s automatic transfer to the Playoff’s Round of 8, which he achieved after winning the previous Truck scheduled event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in August. Currently, he along with Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes and Corey Heim have transferred to the Round of 8 by virtue of winning during the Round of 10 or by clinching through points.

    Another team that was issued a big penalty was Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry that was recently piloted by Matt Mills. The organization was issued an L1-level penalty for infractions involving the team’s triangular filler panels. As a result, NASCAR deducted 10 driver/owner points from Mills and KBM. Mills, who was making his second and final start of the season with KBM, finished 25th after starting 26th.

    In addition, two Niece Motorsports crew chiefs (Mike Hillman and Phil Gould) were each fined $2,500 for violating NASCAR’s lug nut check after both of their respective entries were found to have one unsecured lug nut during the post-race inspection process. Hillman is the crew chief for Niece’s No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry that was recently by Bayley Currey at Milwaukee, who finished 10th, while Gould is the crew chief for Niece’s No. 42 entry piloted by Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who finished in the runner-up spot behind race winner Enfinger.

    Lastly, Aaron Volf, a hauler driver for TRICON Garage’s No. 15 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry piloted by Tanner Gray, has been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR for a behavioral infraction.

    With the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series preparing for their next scheduled events this upcoming weekend during Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway, the next Craftsman Truck Series event on the schedule is Kansas Speedway on September 8, which will determine the Playoff’s Round of 8 field. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Enfinger dominates in Truck’s return at Milwaukee Mile, clinches Playoff’s Round of 8 spot

    Enfinger dominates in Truck’s return at Milwaukee Mile, clinches Playoff’s Round of 8 spot

    With his racing plans for next season undetermined amid the announcement of GMS Racing’s closure at this season’s conclusion, Grant Enfinger made a pivotal statement in a pair of quests to fight for this year’s championship and to keep his name on the grid by scoring a dominant victory in the Clean Harbors 175 at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, August 27.

    The 37-year-old Enfinger from Fairhope, Alabama, led three times for a race-high 95 of 175-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified on the pole position and dominated the event by sweeping both stage periods. Despite losing a handful of spots on pit road during both stage breaks and pitting for fresh tires along with the majority of the field that dropped him from the top five to 16th, Enfinger benefited through two late-race restarts and the fresh tires to muscle his way back to the front and withstand a battle against Playoff contender Carson Hocevar with 16 laps remaining to drive away and cruise to his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2023 season and advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Sunday, Playoff competitor Grant Enfinger started on the pole position for the first time this season after posting a pole-winning lap at 122.848 mph in 29.744 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor Nick Sanchez, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 122.601 mph in 29.804 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who won the previous Truck event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, dropped to the rear of the field and was assessed a pass-through penalty at the start of the event after NASCAR confiscated a right-rear tire in pre-race inspection, a penalty that resulted with crew chief Joe Shear Jr. being ejected from the event. In addition, Greg Van Alst, Josh Reaume and Playoff competitor Matt DiBenedetto dropped to the rear of the field for missing driver introductions along with Matt Mills, whose No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry faced unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Enfinger used the outside lane to retain the lead ahead of Sanchez through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. As the field behind jostled for early positions, Enfinger was able to fend off another charge from Sanchez, who was running on the inside lane, to lead the first lap as Taylor Gray trailed closely behind in third.

    Through the second lap, Sanchez tried to draw even against Enfinger’s No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST through the first two turns, but Enfinger was able to gain the advantage from the outside lane to retain the top spot through the backstretch. As Majeski served his pass-through penalty, Taylor Gray continued to trail closely behind the two leaders as Enfinger retained a narrow advantage over Sanchez.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Enfinger was leading by half a second over Sanchez followed by Taylor Gray, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar while Corey Heim, Chase Purdy, Ben Rhodes, William Sawalich and rookie Jake Garcia were in the top 10. By then, Tanner Gray was in 11th ahead of Tyler Ankrum, rookie Daniel Dye, rookie Rajah Caruth and Bayley Currey while Zane Smith, Derek Kraus, Matt Crafton, Hailie Deegan and Dean Thompson occupied the top 20. In addition, Majeski was in 36th, dead last, and trailing the lead pack by nearly 21 seconds.

    Then on the 10th lap, the first caution of the event flew when Josh Bilicki blew a tire and collided his No. 02 Insurance King Chevrolet Silverado RST against the outside wall in Turn 2 as he became the first retiree of the event.

    When the race restarted on Lap 17, Enfinger used the outside lane to his advantage as he fended off Sanchez to retain the lead through the backstretch while Taylor Gray mounted a challenge for the runner-up spot on Sanchez through Turns 3 and 4. As Enfinger proceeded to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second, Majeski continued to mount his charge back to the front as he moved his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 up to 26th while Hocevar, Heim and Eckes occupied the top six on the track.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Enfinger was leading by four-tenths of a second over Sanchez followed by Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Heim while Eckes, Purdy, Sawalich, Rhodes and Garcia battled within the top 10. By then, Playoff competitors Crafton and Zane Smith were in 14th and 15th, Majeski carved his way towards 16th and DiBenedetto was mired back in 26th behind newcomer Sean Hingorani, who was piloting Hattori Racing Enterprises’ No. 61 entry.

    Ten laps later, Enfinger extended his advantage over Sanchez while Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Heim remained in the top five. With Eckes, Purdy, Sawalich, Rhodes and Garcia remaining in the top 10, Kraus was in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray and Zane Smith while Majeski moved up to 14th ahead of Ankrum and Crafton.

    Another 10 laps later, Enfinger continued to extend his advantage as he was more than two seconds ahead of Sanchez while Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Heim retained the top on the track. Eckes, Sawalich, Purdy and Rhodes also retained positions sixth through ninth while Kraus moved up to 10th over Garcia. In addition, Majeski was in 12th, Zane Smith was back in 14th, Crafton fell back to 17th ahead of Matt Mills and DiBenedetto was mired a lap down in 29th.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 55, Enfinger notched his second Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Sanchez settled in second as he trailed Enfinger by nearly two seconds while Taylor Gray, Heim, Eckes, Hocevar, Sawalich, Kraus, Purdy and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, 24 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while Majeski was up to 11th. Majeski, however, joined teammate Crafton, Zane Smith and DiBenedetto as Playoff competitors to not score stage points during the first stage period.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Enfinger pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited first and assumed the lead for the first time in the event followed by Enfinger, who was boxed in behind Purdy during his pit service. Eckes, Hocevar, Matt Mills, Sawalich, Taylor Gray and Sanchez, who lost six spots on pit road, followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Majeski plummeted to 23rd after enduring a slow pit service from his pit crew.

    The second stage started on Lap 64 as Heim and Enfinger occupied the front row. As Heim and Enfinger dueled for the lead through the first two turns, the caution quickly returned after Greg Van Alst, who was running towards the rear of the field, locked up his tires due to an apparent mechanical issue and collided into Brad Perez as both competitors wrecked against the Turn 1 outside wall, with both having their events coming to an end.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 71, Heim and Enfinger again dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Heim was able to muscle ahead from the outside lane and clear the field through the backstretch. As Heim retained the lead, Enfinger fended off Eckes to remain in the runner-up spot while Sawalich, who won the ARCA Menards Series East event at Milwaukee earlier in the day, battled Eckes for third. With the field fanning out behind, Eckes fended off Sawalich for third place and Sanchez moved up to fifth in front of Hocevar, Taylor Gray and Purdy while Heim started to extend his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Enfinger nearing the Lap 75 mark.

    At the Lap 85 mark, Heim stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Enfinger, who had managed to close the gap from trailing half a second a lap earlier. Enfinger then drew himself into a duel against Heim through the frontstretch a lap later, but Heim maintained the advantage as he continued to run on the outside lane while third-place Eckes trailed by nearly three seconds. With Enfinger continuing to trail by within two-tenths of a second, Heim retained the lead just past the Lap 90 mark.

    Then on Lap 95, Enfinger was able to race his way around Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to reassume the lead. Enfinger would proceed to extend his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Heim at the Lap 100 mark while Eckes, Sawalich and Hocevar were in the top five. Behind, Sanchez, Majeski, Crafton, Zane Smith and Tanner Gray occupied the top 10 while Taylor Gray, Rhodes, Purdy, Kraus and Ankrum followed suit in the top 15. With nine of 10 Playoff competitors running in the top 12 on the track, DiBenedetto was mired back in 27th and not on the lead lap category.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 110, Enfinger notched his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and second of the day after retaining the lead by more than two seconds over Heim, who settled in second. Eckes, Hocevar, Sawalich, Sanchez, Majeski, Crafton, Tanner Gray and Zane Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Enfinger pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Eckes emerged as the new leader after exiting first followed by Hocevar and Sanchez while Enfinger fell back to fourth after losing three spots on pit road in front of Rhodes and Heim, who lost four spots on pit road.

    With 57 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Eckes and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes and Hocevar dueled for the lead until Hocevar rocketed ahead with the lead from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch, Hocevar retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Eckes while Sanchez retained third ahead of Enfinger, a hard-charging Rhodes and Tanner Gray as Crafton challenged teammate Majeski for seventh place. A few laps later, Majeski went wide in Turn 1, which allowed Crafton, Kraus, Heim and Sawalich to overtake him.

    Following another caution period with 52 laps remaining when Spencer Boyd spun entering Turn 2, the race restarted under green with 46 laps remaining. At the start, Hocevar and Eckes dueled for the lead for a second time through the first two turns until Hocevar managed to zip ahead in his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST on the outside lane. As the field fanned out behind, Sanchez overtook Eckes through the frontstretch while Hocevar muscled ahead by three-tenths of a second. In addition, Enfinger retained fourth ahead of Kraus, Heim overtook Tanner Gray for sixth place and Crafton followed suit in seventh during the proceeding laps. By then, Majeski battled Sawalich for 10th while Rhodes was in ninth.

    Then with 41 laps remaining, Sawalich, who was having a stellar race in 10th place, got loose underneath Rhodes in a bid for ninth place, spun backward and crashed against the Turn 1 outside wall as he emerged with significant rear-end damage to his No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. During the caution period, some led by Hocevar and including Kraus, Tanner Gray, Ankrum, Sean Hingorani, Rajah Caruth and Hailie Deegan remained on the track while the rest of the lead lap field pitted.

    During the proceeding restart with 35 laps remaining, where Hocevar and Kraus occupied the front row, Hocevar retained the lead after gaining a strong start from the outside lane while Tanner Gray dueled against Kraus for the runner-up spot. Shortly after, however, the caution quickly returned when Sanchez, who was trying to carve his way back to the front from the top 10, got boxed in behind Deegan and hit by Heim entering Turn 3 as he spun his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST backward and hit the outside wall, which spoiled his strong run towards the front.

    With the race restarting under green with 28 laps remaining, Hocevar muscled ahead of Tanner Gray from the outside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out to three and four lanes through the backstretch, Hocevar was leading by three-tenths of a second during the following lap while Kraus overtook Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot. In addition, Enfinger bolted his way into third as he used the outside lane to gain momentum and overtake both Tanner Gray and Eckes for spots. With Enfinger moving up the leaderboard, Crafton also boosted his way into the top five as he navigated his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 in fifth while Heim was mired in seventh in between Tanner Gray and Ankrum with 25 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Enfinger, who was running on fresher tires than Hocevar, while Kraus, Eckes and Crafton engaged in a fierce three-truck battle for third place, with Eckes and Crafton moving up to third and fourth while Kraus fell back to fifth. By then, Heim was in sixth while Majeski was mired in seventh and trailing by more than four seconds.

    Three laps later, Enfinger gained a run on Hocevar through Turns 3 and 4 as both dueled for the lead through the frontstretch. Enfinger then rocketed ahead entering Turns 1 and 2 before he went wide, which allowed Hocevar to pull a crossover move and try to challenge Enfinger again for the lead on the inside lane. Enfinger, though, managed to withstand a side-by-side duel and near bump from Hocevar exiting the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4 before muscling ahead with 16 laps remaining. Enfinger would retain the top spot during the proceeding laps, but not by a large margin as Hocevar kept Enfinger’s No. 23 Chevrolet within his sights while mounting repetitive challenges through the turns.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Enfinger was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Eckes, Crafton and Heim while Kraus, Majeski, Purdy, Garcia and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. By then, Zane Smith was in 11th, Rhodes was in 16th, Sanchez was mired back in 24th and DiBendetto was down in 27th while two laps behind.

    With five laps remaining, Enfinger managed to extend his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Eckes trailed by more than a second while also starting to close in on Hocevar for the runner-up spot. By then, Heim moved up to fourth while Crafton fell back to fifth. In addition, Purdy and Majeski pulled a three-wide move on Kraus through the frontstretch to move up to sixth and seventh on the track.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Enfinger remained as the leader by more than a second and a half over Hocevar. With both Hocevar and Eckes unable to gain ground to mount a final lap charge, Enfinger was able to smoothly navigate his way around the Milwaukee circuit for a final time and cross the finish line to claim his third checkered flag of the 2023 Truck season after winning by more than a second and a half over Hocevar.

    With the victory, Grant Enfinger, who won the first Truck event at the Milwaukee Mile since the circuit’s return spanning back to 2009, achieved his 10th career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series, his third of the season and first since winning at Worldwide Technology Raceway in early June. The Alabama native also recorded the 45th Truck career victory for GMS Racing, a two-time Truck championship-winning organization that announced four days earlier that it would cease operations at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

    By virtue of winning the second Truck Playoff event of the 2023 season, Enfinger became the second competitor to clinch a spot for the Playoff’s Round of 8 alongside Ty Majeski as he continues his pursuit for his first Truck championship.

    “I don’t want to hear anybody asking if we’re going to lay down again,” Enfinger said on FS1. “[Crew chief] Jeff Hensley’s been focused the whole year. There’s been distractions going on all year long, so if anything, that’s clarity. None of these guys, including me, have a job next year, but I feel like we proved we deserve one. We had a heck of a Champion Power Equipment Chevy. I don’t know if we had a dominant truck, but we had a winning truck. [I] Got put behind the 8-ball there at the end, but it was fun racing. I hope the fans enjoyed it. This [win] is special for a lot of reasons.”

    “Did we execute perfectly today?” Enfinger added. “No, but we’ve had speed all year long. When we’ve hit it, when the guys hit it, we’ve done this twice now this year. We’ve got three wins, but we’ve had three trucks like this in my opinion. This is a brand-new truck. I can’t say thank you enough for GMS Fabrication, GMS Racing, not just this year and not just lately, but the whole year last year. They were just as much effort put into this stuff. I’m glad some of our fruits are showing.”

    Hocevar managed to fend off Eckes to finish in the runner-up for the first time and for his ninth top-five result of the season. With the result, Hocevar is 56 points above the top-eight cutline entering the upcoming Round of 10 finale at Kansas Speedway.

    “Our No. 42 Chevy was really fast,” Hocevar said. “I was finding lines. I was driving like a dirt car, sliding myself, running the top [lane]. I don’t know how good the fans loved it or how good the racing, but I had a lot of fun being able to move around when I didn’t think we were gonna be able to. Just kind of a bummer to run second. Luckily, we’ve been fortunate to win some races. Just close.”

    Playoff contenders Christian Eckes and Corey Heim finished third and fourth at the Milwaukee Mile, but both were able to secure spots for the Round of 8 based on points as they will proceed forward to the Playoff’s second round along with Enfinger and Majeski.

    Matt Crafton came home in fifth place for his second top-five result of the season and first since finishing fourth at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. As a result, he is currently nine points above the top-eight cutline.

    Chase Purdy, Ty Majeski, Derek Kraus, rookie Jake Garcia and Bayley Currey completed the top 10 on the track. In addition, Playoff competitors Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, rookie Nick Sanchez and Matt DiBenedetto finished 12th, 16th, 24th and 27th, respectively, as Rhodes and DiBenedetto are below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings.

    There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 44 laps. In addition, 26 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Grant Enfinger, 95 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

    2. Carson Hocevar, 40 laps led

    3. Christian Eckes, five laps led

    4. Corey Heim, 35 laps led

    5. Matt Crafton

    6. Chase Purdy

    7. Ty Majeski

    8. Derek Kraus

    9. Jake Garcia

    10. Bayley Currey

    11. Tanner Gray

    12. Zane Smith

    13. Taylor Gray

    14. Rajah Caruth

    15. Dean Thompson

    16. Ben Rhodes

    17. Colby Howard

    18. Connor Jones

    19. Bret Holmes

    20. Tyler Ankrum

    21. Lawless Alan

    22. Hailie Deegan

    23. Sean Hingorani

    24. Nick Sanchez

    25. Matt Mills

    26. William Sawalich

    27. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down

    28. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    29. Tyler Hill, two laps down

    30. Stewart Friesen, three laps down

    31. Derek Lemke, three laps down

    32. Spencer Boyd, three laps down

    33. Josh Reaume, four laps down

    34. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Accident

    35. Brad Perez – OUT, Accident

    36. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings.

    1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    2. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    3. Corey Heim – Advanced

    4. Christian Eckes – Advanced

    5. Carson Hocevar +56

    6. Zane Smith +29

    7. Matt Crafton +9

    8. Nick Sanchez +3

    9. Ben Rhodes -3

    10. Matt DiBenedetto -20

    The Round of 10 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Playoffs is set to conclude at Kansas Speedway on September 8, which will determine the Playoff’s Round of 8 field. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Majeski wins Truck Playoff opener at IRP; snaps yearlong winless drought

    Majeski wins Truck Playoff opener at IRP; snaps yearlong winless drought

    After enduring a winless drought throughout the regular-season stretch, Ty Majeski commenced the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs with an emphatic statement after notching a dominant victory in the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, August 11.

    The 28-year-old Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, led twice for a race-high 179 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and quickly assumed the lead by the fourth lap. Proceeding to sweep both stage periods and fending off several restart challenges, including from ones by Playoff rivals Christian Eckes and Corey Heim, Majeski capitalized on a restart with 52 laps remaining to muscle his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford entry away from the field and claim the Playoff opener victory by more than three seconds over Eckes.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, August 11, Playoff contender Christian Eckes secured his second Truck pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 107.918 mph in 22.884 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 107.739 mph in 22.922 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Playoff contender Zane Smith, Lawless Alan, Matt Mills and Logan Bearden dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. Tyler Ankrum also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup truck.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Eckes muscled ahead with an early advantage on the inside lane followed by Majeski and Corey Heim as the field fanned out through the first two turns. As the field continued to fan out and jostle early for positions, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST while Majeski and Heim battled for the runner-up spot.

    Through the second lap and as the field continued to jostle early for positions, Eckes maintained the lead by a tenth of a second over Majeski with Heim following pursuit. By the third lap, however, Majeski drew himself even against Eckes in an early battle for the lead. He continued to duel with Eckes for the following lap until Majeski muscled ahead from the outside lane. Another lap later and at the fifth lap mark, Heim moved into the runner-up spot over Eckes as he began his pursuit on Majeski for the lead.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Majeski was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Eckes, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger while rookie Jake Garcia, rookie Nick Sanchez, rookie Rajah Caruth, Matt Crafton and Layne Riggs were in the top 10. Behind, William Sawalich was in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray, Colby Howard, Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen while Jake Drew, Dean Thompson, rookie Daniel Dye, Chase Purdy and Connor Jones battled in the top 20. Meanwhile, Zane Smith was mired in 21st ahead of Matt DiBenedetto.

    Nearing the Lap 14 mark, the first caution of the event flew for a multi-truck wreck involving Greg Van Alst, Landen Lewis and Hailie Deegan in Turn 3.

    When the race restarted on Lap 21, Majeski received a push from Eckes on the inside lane to emerge ahead by a hair before Eckes and Heim took Majeski three-wide in Turn 1. With Majeski and Heim breaking away from the field entering the backstretch, Heim gained the advantage on the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead in his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for the following lap, though Majeski kept pressuring him for the lead. Majeski and Heim would then battle dead even for the proceeding laps until Heim muscled ahead by Lap 23. As Heim fended off Majeski for the lead, Eckes retained third while Hocevar and Enfinger were in the top five.

    Nearing the Lap 30 mark, the battle for the lead intensified as Majeski made several attempts to draw even with Heim through the turns and the straightaways from the inside lane, though Heim managed to remain ahead while running on the outside lane. While both continued to battle nearly dead even for the lead, Eckes was under pressure by Hocevar for third place as Enfinger retained fifth ahead of Garcia, Riggs, Caruth, Sanchez and Tanner Gray.

    By Lap 40, Majeski, who pulled the slide job on Heim in Turn 1 to assume the lead a lap earlier, was leading by two-tenths of a second in his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 over Heim followed by Eckes, Hocevar and Enfinger while Garcia, Riggs, Sanchez, Caruth and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. Behind, Zane Smith was up to 11th ahead of Rhodes, Jake Drew, Sawalich and Crafton while Thompson, Purdy, DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and Deegan were running in the top 20.

    Six laps later, contact was made on Lap 46 as Garcia, who was trying to overtake Enfinger for fifth, got loose, slid up the track and forced Enfinger to scrape the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Both, though, continued to run in the top 10 as Majeski extended his advantage to two seconds over Heim.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Majeski, who ran into the rear bumper of rookie Daniel Dye in Turn 1 to get him loose and lap him several laps earlier, claimed his fifth stage victory of the 2023 Truck season. Heim settled in second followed by Eckes while Riggs, Garcia, Hocevar, Enfinger, Caruth, Tanner Gray and Zane Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while Rhodes, Sanchez, Crafton and DiBenedetto did not score any stage points from the first stage period.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after exiting first followed by Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Tanner Gray while Eckes exited sixth after losing three spots on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 70 as Majeski and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as the field fanned out entering Turn 1. Through the backstretch, Majeski retained the lead over Heim while Enfinger was in third ahead of Hocevar and Eckes amid the field still fanning out and jostling for positions.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Eckes remained in the top five. Behind, Sawalich was in sixth followed by Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Zane Smith and Riggs while Jake Drew, Sanchez, Crafton, DiBenedetto and Caruth occupied the top 15 on the track.

    Ten laps later, Majeski extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim while third-place Enfinger trailed by more than three seconds. Meanwhile, Hocevar and Eckes remained in the top five while Playoff contenders Rhodes and Zane Smith were in eighth and ninth. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Sanchez, Crafton and DiBenedetto were mired in 11th, 13th and 16th, respectively.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Majeski continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than three seconds over Heim while Enfinger, Eckes and Hocevar continued to run in the top five. Behind, Sawalich, Tanner Gray, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Riggs were in the top 10 as 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. Notably, Sanchez and Crafton were in 11th and 12th, DiBenedetto was mired in 15th ahead of Garcia and Shane van Gisbergen, the debutant winner of the NASCAR Cup Series event at the Chicago Street Course who was making both his Truck and oval debut for Niece Motorsports, was in 22nd behind Jack Wood.

    Ten laps later, Majeski, who lapped van Gisbergen a few laps earlier, retained the lead by more than five seconds over Heim while third-place Enfinger trailed by more than six seconds. As Eckes and Hocevar remained in the top five, Zane Smith moved up to seventh over Tanner Gray while Sanchez cracked the top 10 ahead of Crafton.

    Another five laps later, the caution flew when Chris Hacker, a Noblesville, Indiana, native got loose and spun entering the backstretch as he barely managed to keep his No. 30 UBPN/Morgan & Morgan Toyota Tundra TRD Pro off the wall before continuing. Hacker’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 120 to finish under caution as Majeski captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and second of the night. Heim settled in second while Enfinger, Eckes, Hocevar, Sawalich, Zane Smith, Tanner Gray, Riggs and Sanchez were scored in the top 10. By then, 20 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap while Playoff contenders Crafton, DiBenedetto and Rhodes were scored outside the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Heim, Enfinger, Zane Smith, Sawalich, Eckes and Hocevar. Amid the pit stops, Heim was sent to the rear of the field for a safety violation after a crew member fell over his pit box while trying to retrieve a tire due to his pit stop. In addition, Enfinger made another pit stop to address missing lug nuts to his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    With 73 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Majeski and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski and Smith dueled for the lead until Majeski managed to rocket ahead from the outside lane through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out and jostled for late positions, Eckes moved up to second while Hocevar, Sawalich and Riggs battled behind Smith. Amid the racing, Tanner Gray, who was running in the top 10, was black-flagged by NASCAR for a restart violation as he changed lanes prior to reaching the start/finish line to restart the event.

    Shortly after and just as Tanner Gray was serving his penalty through pit road, the caution returned with 70 laps remaining when Dean Thompson got squeezed towards the outside wall through the backstretch. As Thompson’s truck was slowly sliding to a halt, he was then T-boned by Spencer Boyd as both competitors were left with heavy damage to their respective trucks.

    Following an extensive caution period, the event restarted with 60 laps remaining. At the start, Majeski muscled ahead of Eckes from the outside lane to retain the lead as the field fanned out through the first two turns. With Majeski leading by nearly half a second during the proceeding laps, Eckes retained second while Zane Smith, Riggs and Hocevar were in the top five. The caution, however, returned with 59 laps remaining when Hailie Deegan spun off the front nose of Landen Lewis and rear-ended her No. 13 Ford Performance Ford F-150 into the outside wall in Turn 1 as her event came to a late end.

    During the proceeding restart with 52 laps remaining, Majeski and Eckes dueled for the lead through Turn 1 as Eckes tried to muscle ahead from the inside lane. Eckes, however, slid up the track entering the backstretch, which allowed Majeski to regain the advantage and reassume the lead as the field jostled for positions throughout the following lap. With Majeski leading with 50 laps remaining, Eckes retained second ahead of Hocevar while Riggs and Zane Smith battled for fourth in front of Sawalich. In the midst of the battles towards the front, ThorSport Racing’s Rhodes and Crafton battled for seventh.

    With 40 laps remaining, Majeski was leading by more than a second over Eckes followed by Hocevar, Riggs and Zane Smith while Sawalich, Caruth, Heim, Crafton and Sanchez were running and battling in the top 10. Behind, Rhodes was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Garcia and Purdy while van Gisbergen, Jake Drew, Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray and Jack Wood were mired in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Majeski continued to lead by more than two seconds over Eckes while Riggs, who moved up to third place, trailed by nearly four seconds ahead of Hocevar and Zane Smith. Behind, Sawalich and Caruth retained sixth and seventh while Heim was still scored in eighth ahead of Sanchez and Crafton.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Majeski stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over runner-up Eckes while third-place Riggs continued to trail by more than four seconds. By then, seven of 10 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included DiBenedetto, Rhodes and Enfinger were mired in 11th through 13th, respectively.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Majeski retained the lead by nearly three seconds over Eckes and more than four seconds over third-place Riggs. Majeski would continue to lead by more than two seconds over Eckes with 10 laps remaining as Hocevar and Zane Smith remained in the top five ahead of Sawalich.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Majeski was leading by more than three seconds over Eckes and more than four seconds over third-place Riggs as the laps continued to dwindle.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Majeski remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Eckes. With Eckes not gaining ground to mount a final lap charge for the win, Majeski, who also had a clear racetrack in front of him, managed to cycle his way around the circuit for a final time and return to the frontstretch victorious for the first time in 2023.

    With the victory, Majeski notched his third career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series, all occurring throughout the Playoffs, and his first since winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2022. He also became the 14th different competitor to win at Indianapolis Raceway Park as he recorded the third victory of the season for ThorSport Racing and the fifth for Ford.

    By winning the Playoff opener at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Majeski became the first competitor to transfer to the Round of 8 as he continues his pursuit for his first NASCAR Truck Series championship.

    “Man, that was awesome. How about that, Indy?! Yeah!” Majeski said on FS1. “So cool. [Owners] Duke and Rhonda Thorson put the support into this race. They wanted [Indianapolis Raceway Park] to come back and they’re a huge reason behind that. Just so proud of everybody. Obviously, a heartbreaking loss last week at Richmond, but we win and lose as a team. This is so cool. Proud of the effort, but this is just the start of our Playoff run.”

    Eckes, the pole-sitter who led three laps, settled in the runner-up spot for the second time this season and leaves Indianapolis Raceway Park with a 39-point advantage above the top-eight cutline to commence the Playoffs while Layne Riggs achieved a career-best third-place result in his sixth career start in the Truck Series and first with Spire Motorsports.

    “I thought our NAPA AutoCare Chevrolet was really good there,” Eckes said. “[Majeski]’d fire off a little bit better, then would be just a little bit better throughout. They’ve kind of been the classes of the field on these style of races from the last two years. We got a little bit of homework to do on this style stuff, but overall, just really proud of my guys for bringing what we had.”

    “[Tonight]’s huge,” Riggs said. “I feel like this proves that I deserve to be here every weekend. I love truck racing, I love NASCAR racing. I wanna do it more. It’s a rare occurrence when I can do this. It was a really good truck tonight. Thank you so much to everybody. I hope I can be at one soon.”

    Hocevar came home in fourth place while Zane Smith ended up fifth as both competitors leave Indiana above the cutline.

    William Sawalich, rookie Rajah Caruth, Heim, Crafton and DiBenedetto finished in the top 10. Notably, Playoff competitors Nick Sanchez, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes finished 11th, 12th and 16th, respectively, while Shane van Gisbergen ended up 19th in his Truck Series debut.

    There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 41 laps. In addition, 18 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Ty Majeski, 179 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Christian Eckes, three laps led

    3. Layne Riggs

    4. Carson Hocevar

    5. Zane Smith

    6. William Sawalich

    7. Rajah Caruth

    8. Corey Heim, 18 laps led

    9. Matt Crafton

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Nick Sanchez

    12. Grant Enfinger

    13. Jake Garcia

    14. Chase Purdy

    15. Tanner Gray

    16. Ben Rhodes

    17. Jake Drew

    18. Jack Wood

    19. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

    20. Taylor Gray, one lap down

    21. Logan Bearden, one lap down

    22. Daniel Dye, one lap down

     23. Matt Mills, two laps down

    24. Lawless Alan, two laps down

    25. Bret Holmes, three laps down

    26. Tyler Hill, three laps down

    27. Connor Jones, four laps down

    28. Landen Lewis, four laps down

    29. Chris Hacker, five laps down

    30. Stewart Friesen, 17 laps down

    31. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Accident

    32. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident

    34. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Electrical

    35. Colby Howard – OUT, Suspension

    36. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings.

    1. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    2. Corey Heim +47

    3. Christian Eckes +39

    4. Carson Hocevar +35

    5. Zane Smith +29

    6. Grant Enfinger +24

    7. Ben Rhodes +4

    8. Nick Sanchez +2

    9. Matt Crafton -2

    10. Matt DiBenedetto -3

    With the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs underway, the second Round of 10 Playoff event is set to occur at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin, which will mark the series return to the venue since 2009. The event is scheduled to occur on August 27 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Hocevar outduels Majeski to win the Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond

    Hocevar outduels Majeski to win the Truck Series regular-season finale at Richmond

    From starting at the rear of the field to methodically carving his way to the front and executing a late pit strategy to his favor, Carson Hocevar made an emphatic statement about his quest for a NASCAR championship by winning the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, July 29.

    The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led twice for 64 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he was set to start in 17th place before a flat tire derailed his event early and he was forced to have the tire changed and start at the rear of the field. Amid a steady gain, while carving his way through the field, Hocevar cracked the top 20 prior to the first stage’s conclusion and would proceed to finish in the top five at the conclusion of the second stage.

    Then after dominant pole-sitter Ty Majeski was penalized for speeding on pit road during the second stage’s break period, Hocevar assumed the lead to start the final stage, where he would lead 60 laps. After pitting with select others under green with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar spent the remainder of the event tracking Majeski, who attempted to remain on the track and pilot his way to victory on the exact tires used since the start of the final stage. Hocevar, though, managed to catch and overtake Majeski for the lead with four laps remaining. From there, the Michigan native muscled away with the advantage and cruised to his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of this season and of his career with the regular-season stretch concluding and the 2023 Playoff field set.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 28, Ty Majeski claimed his second Truck pole position of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 119 mph in 22.689 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Corey Heim, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 118.728 mph in 22.741 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Justin Carroll dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. Carson Hocevar would also drop to the rear of the field after he pitted to have a flat tire on his truck changed.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delay that spanned nearly an hour due to a lightning strike, Majeski rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With the field continuing to jostle for early spots while fanning out to three lanes entering the frontstretch, Majeski proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of teammate Ben Rhodes, who navigated his No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 around Heim for second place.

    During the second lap, Majeksi was out in front by three-tenths of a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton were in the top five. Behind, William Sawalich, who started third, was back in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle involving rookie Jake Garcia and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom were vying for spots for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Majeski was leading by half a second over teammate Rhodes followed by Heim, Eckes and Crafton while Tanner Gray was in sixth ahead of William Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Jake Garcia and Chase Purdy. Behind, Matt Mills, making his first start in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry, was in 11th ahead of Grant Enfinger, rookie Nick Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Zane Smith while Tanner Gray, rookie Rajah Caruth, rookie Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen and Dean Thompson occupied the top 20.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Majeski continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Rhodes while Heim trailed by nearly two seconds. Behind, Eckes and Crafton remained in the top five while Tanner Gray, another competitor vying for a spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, retained sixth ahead of Sawalich, Garcia, DiBenedetto and Purdy.

    Fifteen laps later, Majeski extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Rhodes while Heim, Eckes and Crafton followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Hocevar was in 18th after overtaking rookie Daniel Dye and Friesen on the track.

    Another 10 laps later, Majeski continued to extend his advantage to nearly three seconds over teammate Rhodes while third-place Heim trailed by more than five seconds. With Eckes and Crafton retaining fourth and fifth on the track, Jake Garcia was in sixth while Sawalich, DiBenedetto, Purdy and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Zane Smith while Hocevar was up to 16th on the track.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Majeski, who lapped 23rd-place Friesen, a competitor who came into the event nine points below the top-10 cutline to make the Playoffs, a lap earlier, retained the lead by nearly four seconds over teammate Rhodes as third-place Heim trailed by nearly six seconds while Eckes and Crafton occupied the top five ahead of Garcia, Sawalich and DiBenedetto. Despite being marred into more lapped traffic while lapping 19th-place Zane Smith, Majeski continued to lead ahead of teammate Rhodes by Lap 60.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Majeski captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season, having led every scheduled lap thus far. Teammate Rhodes followed suit in second while Heim, Eckes, Crafton, Sawalich, Garcia, Purdy, Matt Mills and DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10. By then, 16 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson, Zane Smith, Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye and Friesen were pinned a lap down. In addition, Corey Heim, who ended up in third place during the first stage’s break period, clinched the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season championship.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Heim, Rhodes, Eckes, Crafton and Sawalich.

    The second stage started on Lap 79 as Majeski and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Majeski rocketed ahead with a strong start on the outside lane and entering Turn 1 while Rhodes battled Heim for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. With Rhodes claiming the runner-up spot, teammate Crafton, who came into the event nine points above the Playoff cutline, made it a ThorSport Racing 1-2-3 on the track as he moved his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 to third place over Heim. Heim, however, fought back on Lap 81 as he reclaimed third place before challenging Rhodes for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles, Majeski ran away from the field as he was ahead by eight-tenths of a second.

    Soon after, Purdy, who was in sixth and trying to race his way into the Playoff cutline, was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road for a restart violation as he did not remain in his lane prior to the start/finish line during the second stage’s start. Meanwhile, Majeski extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes followed suit at the Lap 90 mark.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Majeski was leading by more than four seconds over Heim followed by Rhodes, Crafton and Eckes while Garcia, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Sawalich and Enfinger were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Ankrum and Matt Mills while Bayley Currey, the final competitor on the lead lap, was in 16th. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, the first competitor a lap down, was mired in 17th ahead of Thompson, Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan while Caruth, Connor Jones, Daniel Dye, Lawless Alan and Friesen were mired in the top 25. In addition, Purdy was in 32nd while two laps behind the leaders.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Dean Thompson, who was running 18th in front of Deegan, spun in Turn 2 as he would be overtaken by the lead lap field while trying to re-fire his truck.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 116, Heim gained a strong start on the inside lane as he muscled his No. 11 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead through Turn 1 and the backstretch. With Heim leading, teammate Rhodes proceeded to challenge Majeski for second while Eckes followed suit in fourth. On Lap 118, however, the caution quickly returned when Justin Carroll spun in Turn 4. At the moment of caution, Deegan had managed to emerge as the first competitor scored a lap down ahead of Friesen and thus, receive the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 124, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Heim fended off a three-wide attempt from Majeski to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then during the following lap, which marked the halfway mark of the event, Rhodes muscled his way to the lead through the frontstretch and from the outside lane over Heim. Majeski would follow suit during the next lap as he was locked in a tight side-by-side battle with Heim. As the three-truck battle for the lead involving Rhodes, Majeski and Heim continued to ensue, Majeski reassumed the lead on Lap 129 after overtaking teammate Rhodes through the first two turns. With Majeski out in front over teammate Rhodes and Heim, Eckes settled in fourth followed by Hocevar while Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were in the top 10.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 140, Majeski, who extended his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Rhodes, claimed his second Truck stage victory of the night and fourth of the 2023 season. Teammate Rhodes settled in second while Heim fended off Eckes to claim third. Hocevar, Garcia, Crafton, Sawalich, Sanchez and Matt Mills were scored in the top 10. By then, 18 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while Connor Jones had managed to remain ahead of Friesen to be scored the first competitor a lap down and receive the free pass during the stage’s break period to cycle back on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Majeski returned to pit road for another round of service. Following the pit stops, Majeski initially retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of his teammate Rhodes, Hocevar, Heim, Eckes, Crafton and Garcia. Amid the pit stops, however, Majeski was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding while entering pit road.

    With 101 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Rhodes and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar gained a strong start from the inside lane as he launched his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead while Eckes and Heim took Rhodes three wide in a battle for the runner-up spot. With Rhodes and Eckes battling dead even for the spot entering Turns 3 and 4, Heim settled in fourth while Garcia, Crafton and Zane Smith followed suit as the event reached its final 100-lap mark.

    Five laps later, Hocevar was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Eckes trailed by more than a second. With Heim retaining fourth, Zane Smith moved up to fifth after overtaking Crafton and Garcia earlier while Majeski was mired back in 18th.

    Another 10 laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Heim and Zane Smith while Crafton, Garcia, Matt Mills, Tanner Gray and Sawalich were in the top 10. Behind, Enfinger was in 11th ahead of Sanchez, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Tyler Ankrum while Deegan, Currey, Connor Jones, Taylor Gray and Daniel Dye were in the top 20. By then, Friesen was mired in 22nd, the final competitor scored on the lead lap.

    Then with 78 laps remaining, late troubles occurred for Josh Reaume, who smacked the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 due to a flat right-front tire. As Reaume attempted to turn his truck left to enter pit road, he was nearly T-boned by an oncoming DiBenedetto, though Reaume managed to steer his damaged truck to his pit stall and the race remained under green flag conditions. By then, Hocevar retained the lead by more than a second over runner-up Rhodes and more than four seconds over third-place Heim.

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Hocevar extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Rhodes while Heim retained third place. By then, Zane Smith was in fourth while Majeski, who re-entered the top five three laps earlier after overtaking Eckes, was in fifth.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than four seconds over a hard-charging Majeski, who overtook Heim and Rhodes during the five previous laps. In addition, Jake Garcia and Matt Mills both made a pit stop a few laps earlier under green.

    Two laps later, more green flag pit stops ensued as Zane Smith pitted his No. 38 Boot Barn Ford F-150. Then with 40 laps remaining, Hocevar surrendered the lead to pit under green as Majeski cycled his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 back into the lead. Heim would then pit from the runner-up spot along with Crafton and Sanchez with 36 laps remaining while Rhodes would pit during the following lap. Rhodes would eventually be penalized for a commitment line violation as seven of 36 starters led by Majeski were scored on the lead lap. Currey and Dye would also be penalized for a commitment line violation.

    With 25 laps remaining, Majeski was leading by more than 16 seconds over Eckes and more than 19 over Sawalich. Zane Smith, the first competitor who pitted, was in fourth followed by Garcia, who is placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs while Tanner Gray, DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray and Matt Mills were in the top 10. Behind, Heim was mired in 11th, Crafton was in 13th, Sanchez was in 15th behind Enfinger and Rhodes had fallen back to 16th.

    Five laps later, Hocevar, who overtook Zane Smith to be the first competitor running on the track on four fresh tires, was up to second place as he trailed race leader Majeski, who has decided to roll the dice and remain on the track while on worn tires, by more than 15 seconds. By then, Garcia was mired in fourth ahead of teammate Eckes and Sawalich.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Majeski, who started to lose ground on his advantage over Hocevar amid his worn tires, retained the lead by more than nine seconds over a hard-charging Hocevar. Majeski would continue to lead by more than five seconds over Hocevar with 10 laps remaining while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than nine seconds as Garcia and Matt Mills followed pursuit in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Majeski, who was trying to navigate his way through lapped traffic and lost more ground on his advantage, retained the lead by a second over Hocevar, who was also navigating through lapped traffic but had Majeski close within his sights.

    Then with four laps remaining, Hocevar gained massive ground on Majeski through the backstretch and overtook him through Turns 3 and 4 to reassume the lead through the frontstretch and with just three laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Majeski. Having the four fresh tires to his advantage and with Majeski unable to mount a late rally on his worn tires, Hocevar was able to smoothly navigate his way around the circuit for a final time and streak across the finish line on four fresh tires to claim his third checkered flag of the 2023 season.

    With his third career victory in the series and third of the season, Hocevar became the first competitor to achieve three victories in this year’s Truck season as he also recorded the third victory of the season and the seventh overall for Niece Motorsports. The victory was also a monumental moment for Hocevar, who piloted a Worldwide Express-sponsored truck to the victory in a Worldwide Express-sponsored event as he is one of 10 competitors who will contend for the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series title throughout a seven-race Playoff stretch.

    “Man, I suck at this place and Niece Motorsports, ourselves, we’ve sucked terrible,” Hocevar said on FS1. “That [truck’s] splitter’s gone because we had a flat tire before we even went. We passed every single truck here. [Majeski] was class of the field, but I thought we were second, and when we won with (the) second best truck because I had the first best pit crew and first best crew chief [Phil Gould] on the [pit] box. I just love it. We’ve won two of our competitors’ title races and it sucks seeing our Worldwide Express trophy get handed to a Toyota [competitor]. We had to take it home and there’s gonna be a lot of happy faces. We’re gonna celebrate.”

    While Hocevar was left victorious in Victory Lane, Majeski, who had already secured his spot for the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs prior to tonight’s event at Richmond, was left disappointed on pit road after leading a race-high 168 laps and falling short of notching his first victory of the season.

    “[I was] Helpless,” Majeski said. “I just didn’t have enough there. Obviously, [I] made a mistake speeding on pit road. If I don’t speed on pit road, I feel like that strategy still wins. But regardless, we had a chance to win even with the penalty. I don’t know. It’s just disappointing. What an unbelievable race truck. That thing was so fast tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a dominant vehicle that much better than the rest of the field. To not win with it, it is incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s working really hard at ThorSport [Racing] to get these trucks where they need to be for us for these Playoffs. This one’s gonna sting. Man, I’m so disappointed in myself, but we win and lose as a team. We can go make another run at the Playoffs.”

    Zane Smith came home in third place while rookie Jake Garcia and Matt Mills earned strong top-five results. Heim, the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season champion, ended up sixth while Crafton, Sanchez, Enfinger and William Sawalich finished in the top 10.

    With their respective results of seventh, eighth and 17th, Matt Crafton, Nick Sanchez and Matt DiBenedetto secured the final three vacant spots in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, with Crafton claiming the final transfer spot by 39 points over Stewart Friesen, who concluded his long night in 27th place.

    “We live to fight another day,” Crafton said. “[We got to] Kick [the competition’s] teeth in.”

    “[We] Brought a dull knife to a gunfight tonight,” Friesen said. “It is what it is.”

    Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, rookie Nick Sanchez, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have made the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs and will embark on a seven-race Playoff stretch to contend for this year’s series title. Stewart Friesen, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy, Tyler Ankrum, Hailie Deegan, Colby Howard, Dean Thompson, Lawless Alan and Spencer Boyd along with a bevy of rookies that included Jake Garcia, Taylor Gray, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth and Bret Holmes were among the remaining full-time competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

    There were nine lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps. While all 36 starters finished the event, seven finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Carson Hocevar, 64 laps led

    2. Ty Majeski, 168 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Zane Smith

    4. Jake Garcia

    5. Matt Mills

    6. Corey Heim, nine laps led

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

    9. Grant Enfinger, one lap down

    10. William Sawalich, one lap down

    11. Christian Eckes, one lap down

    12. Ben Rhodes, one lap down

    13. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    14. Taylor Gray, one lap down

    15. Hailie Deegan, one lap down

    16. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    18. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    19. Rajah Caruth, two laps down

    20. Connor Jones, two laps down

    21. Daniel Dye, two laps down

    22. Chase Purdy, two laps down

    23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    24. Colby Howard, three laps down

    25. Dean Thompson, three laps down

    26. Will Rodgers, three laps down

    27. Stewart Friesen, three laps down

    28. Lawless Alan, three laps down

    29. Bret Holmes, three laps down

    30. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

    31. Justin Carroll, five laps down

    32. Christian Rose, six laps down

    33. Derek Lemke, seven laps down

    34. Mason Massey, eight laps down

    35. Spencer Boyd, 10 laps down

    36. Josh Reaume, 11 laps down

    The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs are set to start at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana, on August 11, with the event’s coverage to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.