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  • Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

    Corey Heim benefits in overtime to claim second Truck Series career victory at Gateway

    A late caution, a given lane choice to restart on the bottom lane on the front row and a well-executed launch during an overtime shootout fell into the hands of Corey Heim as he fended off Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith to win the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, June 4.

    The 19-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for 20 of 165 over-scheduled laps as he benefitted through the overtime shootout and retaining the lead at the moment of caution due to a multi-truck wreck on the final lap to achieve his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career victory in his ninth series start.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, rookie Corey Heim secured his first pole position after recording a pole-winning lap at 138.232 mph in 32.554 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 137.978 in 32.614 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim pulled ahead on the outside lane followed by teammate Chandler Smith while teammate John Hunter Nemechek also made his way into the top three ahead of Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. With the field settling in a long single-file line, Heim led the first lap followed by his two Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Heim retained the lead ahead of Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Zane Smith and Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Colby Howard and Matt Crafton were in the top 10.

    By Lap 10, Heim continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while Nemechek, Zane Smith and Eckes remained in the top five.

    Ten laps later, Chandler Smith, who took over the lead two laps earlier, was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Heim followed by Nemechek, Zane Smith, Eckes, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Crafton and Colby Howard.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Chandler Smith extended his advantage by more than two seconds over Heim. Behind, Nemechek remained in third followed by Zane Smith and Friesen while Eckes was back in sixth.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Chandler Smith notched his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Heim settled in second followed by teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Friesen, Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes, Crafton and Colby Howard.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Enfinger, who opted for a two-tire pit stop, exited in first place followed by Chandler Smith, Heim, Nemechek, Eckes, Friesen and Zane Smith.

    The second stage started on Lap 43 as Enfinger and Chandler Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith gained the advantage on the outside lane to reassume the lead while Enfinger settled in second in front of Heim, Nemechek and Eckes.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Majeski turned Taylor Gray and sent Gray into the outside wall in Turn 2. At the same time, Rajah Caruth, a full-time ARCA Menards Series competitor who was making his Truck debut for Spire Motorsports, spun while avoiding Gray’s truck.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 52, Chandler Smith pulled ahead and retained the lead ahead of Enfinger while Heim challenged Enfinger for the runner-up spot. Behind, Friesen battled and overtook Nemechek for fourth place as the field behind jostled for positions.

    A lap later, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck that erupted when Nemechek made contact with Friesen entering Turns 3 and 4, which sent Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sideways in the middle of oncoming traffic. Nemechek’s spin ignited a chain reaction wreck that collected Majeski, Colby Howard, Jesse Little and Blaine Perkins, with Nemechek sustaining damage after hitting the wall before getting hit by both Perkins and Howard. The damage was enough to terminate Nemechek’s following a seven-race span of finishing no lower than sixth place.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 59, Chandler Smith and Enfinger engaged in a heated duel for the lead for two laps until Enfinger got loose beneath Smith, which sent both competitors into the Turn 1 outside wall on Lap 61 with Enfinger sustaining significant damage to his No. 23 Champion Chevrolet Silverado RST while Smith emerged with minimal damage to his No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

    Under caution, names like Rhodes, Crafton, Chase Purdy, Derek Kraus, Austin Wayne Self, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Hill, Brennan Poole, Dean Thompson, Hailie Deign and Rajah Caruth remained on the track while the rest pitted.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Rhodes, who had taken the lead following Enfinger and Smith’s wreck, managed to fend off teammate Crafton and the field to retain the lead. With a series of battles occurring behind him, Rhodes remained out in front during the shootout as he claimed his seventh stage victory of the season on Lap 70. Teammate Crafton settled in second ahead of Kraus, Purdy, Self, Hocevar, Deegan, Friesen, Heim and Zane Smith. During the stage break, Friesen ran into the side of Deegan’s truck to his displeasure for being squeezed into the outside wall by Deegan during the shootout.

    Under the stage break, some like Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Carson Hocevar remained on the track.

    With 83 laps remaining, the final stage started as Hocevar and Hailie Deegan occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar pulled ahead of Deegan to lead entering the first turn until Heim challenged Hocevar for the top spot. Hocevar, however, received a push from Zane Smith through Turn 2 to retain the lead for a lap until Smith challenged Hocevar in a side-by-side battle for the lead for a full lap.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 80, Zane Smith managed to clear Hocevar for the lead entering the first turn as he started to pull away while Heim, Eckes, Deegan and Caruth battled behind. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter was in seventh ahead of Matt DiBenedetto, Chandler Smith and Tanner Gray.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith extended his advantage to two seconds over Eckes followed by Hocevar, Heim and Sauter while Caruth, Chandler Smith, DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray and Deegan were in the top 10.

    Another three laps later, the caution flew when Kris Wright got loose beneath Jordan Anderson and backed his truck into the outside wall in Turn 3. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Friesen pitted as Friesen inherited the lead while Hocevar exited pit road first. Following the pit stops, Caruth was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 62 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Friesen and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Rhodes while Hocevar was being pressured by Kraus for third place. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar, who made contact with Kraus in Turn 3 during the previous lap and was losing spots, rubbed fenders with Zane Smith as Smith fell off the pace with a flat right-front tire. 

    As the field scrambled and jostled for positions, Friesen continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray while Heim, DiBenedetto, Sauter, Jordan Anderson and rookie Jack Wood were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hocevar was back in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith.

    Then with 53 laps remaining, the caution returned when Crafton made contact and sent Hocevar for a spin through Turn 2. Under caution, some like Friesen pitted while the rest led by Rhodes remained on the track.

    With 46 laps remaining, teammates Rhodes and Eckes led the field back to green flag racing as Rhodes retained the lead. Not long after, Kraus moved into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes. 

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the caution flew when Colby Howard got loose, spun and got into the wall between Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, Rhodes was leading by nearly a second over Kraus followed by Eckes, Heim and Sauter.

    When the race restarted under green four laps later, Rhodes rocketed away with the lead followed by teammate Eckes while Kraus and Heim battled for third place in front of DiBenedetto, Sauter and Chase Purdy. The caution, however, was quick to return with 29 laps remaining due to debris on the track and when Rajah Caruth got into the outside wall.

    With 24 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Rhodes and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes retained the lead while Kraus overtook Eckes for the runner-up spot in front of the field.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Rhodes was leading by two-tenths of a second over Kraus while Eckes, Heim and DiBenedetto occupied the top five. Sauter was in sixth ahead of Purdy, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Friesen while Hocevar, Anderson, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum and Tanner Gray were in the top 15.

    Two laps later, Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead over Rhodes followed by Eckes while Sauter intimidated Heim for fourth place.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Kraus extended his advantage to more than a second over Eckes while Rhodes, who fell back to third, radioed power issues to his truck.

    Then with the laps dwindling, Eckes started to erase Kraus’ advantage with the former closing in on the latter. With six laps remaining and following a tight battle with Kraus, Eckes moved his No. 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead in Turn 1. Though Kraus kept Eckes close within his sights, Eckes then started to pull away by nearly half a second under the final five laps.

    Then with the field approaching the final two laps, the caution flew when Tanner Gray spun and wrecked in Turn 3. By then, Eckes had pulled away by more than a second over Kraus as the field was sent into overtime. 

    Prior to the start of the first overtime attempt, Kraus surrendered the runner-up spot to restart on the outside lane behind Eckes, thus giving Heim and Chandler Smith the top-two starting spots on the inside lane with Heim restarting on the front row next to Eckes and with an opportunity to win.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Heim received a push from teammate Chandler Smith that launched Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the lead ahead of Eckes as he maintained the lead through the backstretch. By then, the restart was under review for Heim potentially jumping the start.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim was still out in front ahead of Eckes and Chandler Smith while Friesen was in fourth ahead of Hocevar and Kraus. Then in Turn 1, Hocevar spun after getting hit by Kraus before he was T-boned by Tyler Hill as Lawless Alan and Austin Wayne Self also wrecked. 

    The carnage involving Hocevar was enough for the event to conclude under caution as Heim cycled his way back to the finish line and claim the victory under caution. By then, NASCAR deemed the final restart that was reviewed towards Heim to be clear with no penaltie and with Heim officially handed the victory.

    With the victory, Heim claimed the first of three Triple Truck Challenge $50,000 bonuses and his second career win in the Camping World Truck Series after notching his first win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Yeah, I can’t believe I got the bottom [lane] right there [on the overtime restart],” Heim said on FS1. “That’s unbelievable. A great push by my teammate Chandler Smith right there. All the dedication to my team. These couple of weeks has been just everything. I’ve been putting in so much time and effort to improve my craft. Man, I’m out of breath right now. That was awesome. Anytime we can get the extra seat time is super important. I feel like I’m getting better every week, but like I said, everyone back at the shop, just phenomenal job.”

    Eckes settled in second place while Chandler Smith, Friesen and Sauter finished in the top five.

    “[I] Spun the tires a little bit and [Kraus] picked my rear wheels off the ground,” Eckes said. “Just didn’t get a good launch. Man, it’s just two of the last three races, we’ve been leading and the caution comes out late. It just sucks, but very proud of my ThorSport Racing team. Just really frustrating. The past three weeks, we should’ve won and we didn’t. We gotta go back to the drawing board and try to fix some stuff out.”

    “To be honest with you, if [Enfinger] didn’t run out of talent there in Stage 2, we’d probably lapped half the field easily,” Chandler Smith said. “Our truck was stupid, stupid good. Hats off to [crew chief] Danny [Stockman Jr.], everybody at [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. They gave me a really fast Safelite/Charge Me Toyota Tundra. I honestly probably should’ve won the race, but got drove all the way into the fence once again. It is what it is. Glad to get a top three out of it, but definitely sucks.”

    Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Rhodes, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy completed the top 10 while Rajah Caruth finished 11th in his Truck Series debut.

    Following the event, Hocevar was airlifted to a local hospital for further evaluation following his hard wreck on the final lap.

    There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 54 laps.

    The second of three Triple Truck Challenge events of 2022 is next scheduled to occur at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24.

    With five races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch, Ben Rhodes leads the regular season standings by 17 points over Chandler Smith, 21 over Zane Smith, 22 over John Hunter Nemechek and 24 over Stewart Friesen.

    Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 44 points, Tanner Gray trails by 48, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 59, Tyler Ankrum trails by 78 and Chase Purdy trails by 112.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, 20 laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, nine laps led

    3. Chandler Smith, 40 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Stewart Friesen, 13 laps led

    5. Johnny Sauter

    6. Matt DiBenedetto

    7. Derek Kraus, 12 laps led

    8. Ben Rhodes, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    9. Zane Smith, 16 laps led

    10. Chase Purdy

    11. Rajah Caruth

    12. Matt Crafton

    13. Tyler Ankrum

    14. Dean Thompson

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Jordan Anderson

    17. Timmy Hill

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Jack Wood

    20. Jesse Little 

    21. Tate Fogleman

    22. Blaine Perkins

    23. Colby Howard

    24. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    25. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

    26. Austin Wayne Self – OUT, Accident

    27. Mason Maggio, one lap down

    28. Grant Enfinger, two laps led, four laps led

    29. Jake Garcia, four laps led

    30. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

    31. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

    32. Ty Majeski, 29 laps down

    33. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    34. Brennan Poole – OUT, Rear gear

    35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Dvp

    36. Taylor Gray – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ return to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the first time in 24 years. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Zane Smith in, Buescher out for inaugural Cup Series event at Gateway due to COVID-19

    Zane Smith in, Buescher out for inaugural Cup Series event at Gateway due to COVID-19

    Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing announced a shakeup to one of its two-driver roster for this weekend’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. 

    Chris Buescher, coming off his wild rollover wreck during last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will not be competing at Gateway due to testing positive for COVID-19. With Buescher absent, Zane Smith, a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor for Front Row Motorsports, will be piloting Buescher’s No. 17 Acronis Ford Mustang on a one-race deal for this upcoming weekend.

    Smith, a 22-year-old native from Huntington Beach, California, will be making his inaugural presence in the Cup Series, having made 11 previous starts in the Xfinity Series, 38 starts in the ARCA Menards Series and 56 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. He is currently campaigning in his third full-time season in the Truck Series, but first with Front Row Motorsports following a two-year run with GMS Racing. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled Truck events, Smith has achieved three victories (Daytona International Speedway in February, Circuit of the Americas in March and Kansas Speedway in May), five top-five results and eight top-10 results as he is ranked in third place in the regular season standings as he pursues his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    With Smith filling in for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing at Gateway, Buescher will set his sights for his return next weekend at Sonoma Raceway scheduled for June 12.

    Zane Smith is set to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 5, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series will make its debut at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway before a sold-out crowd. The Camping World Truck Series will join them for the series’ 22nd race at the 1.25-mile paved oval.

    There are only five open spots available for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Ross Chastain are the only drivers with multiple wins in the series, with two victories each.

    The Xfinity Series will travel to Portland International Raceway, a 1.97-mile paved road course, for the first time, and NASCAR has instituted new caution and pit road procedures for this race as seen below.*

    There have been 19 different Truck Series race winners at Gateway. But only one former winner, John Hunter Nemechek (2017), is entered in Saturday’s Toyota 200.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 3
    Portland:
    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – No TV
    8:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) (Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) FS1
    Gateway:
    5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – Gateway – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    6:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – Gateway – FS1
    6:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Gateway – FS1
    Saturday, June 4
    Gateway:
    11 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) (Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series ‘Toyota 200’ race
    Stages end on 35/70/160 (160 Laps=200 Miles)
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $696,198
    Portland:
    2:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Practice/Qualifying – No TV
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series ‘Pacific Office Automation 147’ race
    Stages end on 25/50/75 (75 Laps = 147.75 Miles)
    The Purse: $1,258,443
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Portland 100 (57 Laps, 112.29 Miles) FloRacing/MRN

    Sunday, June 5
    Gateway:
    3:30 p.m. Cup Series ‘Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter’ race
    Stages end on 45/140/240 (240 Laps = 300 Miles)
    The Purse: $7,013,085
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    *General Procedure Rules for Xfinity Series at Portland

    • The field will be frozen at the time of caution
    • All caution periods will be Quickie Yellows (when Pit Road has opened, ALL cars may pit)
    • Fuel may only be added during the stage breaks
    • Tires may be changed at any time during the event

    Stage Break Pit Stops

    • Stage breaks will consist of a THREE-minute break
      • NASCAR Officials will announce the start of the THREE-minute break after the last vehicle has stopped in their pit stall
      • No crew members on pit road until all cars are stopped and NASCAR has announced the start of the break
    • Fuel may not be added and tires may not be changed at the same time
      • Tires must be changed first, then fuel may be added
    • The lap in which pit road is open during the stage breaks will not count
    • Teams that elect not to pit will stop behind the caution vehicle until the conclusion of the break

    Green Flag Pit Stop

    • Green flag pit stops, where tires are changed, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line:  60 seconds minimum
    • In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag:  If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road

    Restart Lineup (During stage breaks and all caution periods)

    • Lead lap Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lead lap Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lap(s) down Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Lap(s) down Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
    • Free Pass, Wave Around, and Penalty Cars (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)

    Pit Stop Penalties

    • Restart Tail End:
    • Servicing the vehicle before the THREE-minute break has started
    • Servicing the vehicle after the THREE-minute break has ended
    • Vehicles not in the correct restart position when the one to go is given at Turn 8
    • Pass-Through:
      • Not meeting the green flag minimum time limit on pit road

    Pit Crew/Pit Equipment

    • The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
      • Road crew roster positions
      • Five (5) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle (excluding the stage breaks)
      • One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
    • All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stops (excluding the stage breaks)
    • Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used.
  • Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    With the NASCAR Cup Series set to compete for the first time at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, Martin Truex Jr. is also set to achieve a major milestone start of his own. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Gateway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will make his 600th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Mayetta, New Jersey, Truex made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July 2004. By then, he was contending for the 2004 Xfinity Series championship for Chance 2 Motorsports and was serving as a standby competitor for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was recovering from injuries and burns sustained following a fiery wreck at Sonoma Raceway while practicing for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix at Sonoma. Taking over Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Monte Carlo under the first caution period, Truex settled in 31st place in his unofficial Cup debut.

    Three months later, Truex made his official Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October, where he drove and retired the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet to a 37th-place result due to an engine issue. He returned for the 2004 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where he ended up 32nd place after his right-rear tire shredded his rear quarter panel late in the event.

    Entering the 2005 NASCAR season as the reigning Xfinity Series champion with an opportunity to defend his series title, Truex also made a total of seven starts in the Cup circuit for Dale Earnhardt Inc. His first start of the season occurred in the 47th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February, which he finished in fourth place during the second of two Gatorade Duels a few days prior and earning a transfer spot for the main event. During the 500, however, he finished 34th due to a late engine issue. Returning at Talladega Superspeedway in May, Truex was running towards the lead pack when he was involved in a late multi-car wreck and fell back to 21st place. His best on-track result during the remaining six events to his limited Cup schedule was seventh place at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May. This marked Truex’s first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit.

    After achieving his second consecutive Xfinity title in 2005, Truex took over the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet Monte Carlo as a full-time Cup Series competitor for the 2006 season. Commencing his rookie Cup season with a 16th-place result in the 48th running of the Daytona 500, he earned a total of two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 20.8. His best on-track result was second place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway behind Greg Biffle as he finished in 19th place in the final standings.

    Truex commenced the first 11 scheduled events of the 2007 Cup Series season with three top-10 results. Then at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, he earned his first non-points Cup victory in the All-Star Open after fending off Johnny Sauter to earn a transfer spot to the All-Star Race, where he went on to finish 10th. Two weeks later, the New Jersey native earned his first points-sanctioned NASCAR Cup Series career victory at Dover International Speedway after leading 216 of 400 laps and beating pole-sitter Ryan Newman. The victory occurred in his 58th start in NASCAR’s premier series and on a day where former NASCAR CEO Bill France Jr. died at age 74. Truex backed up his first victory at Dover with four top-three results and six top-10 results for the remaining 13 regular season events, including two runner-up results during both Michigan International Speedway events, as he earned a spot in the 2007 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing in the top 10 four times during the final 10 events, however, he never contended for the 2007 title and settled in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, Truex’s sophomore Cup season was a success as he earned his first win, his first pole at Texas Motor Speedway in November, seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.4.

    In comparison to the 2007 season, the following two seasons (2008 and 2009) for Truex were disappointing seasons as he did not make the Playoffs. In 2008, his best on-track result was fourth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June as he racked up three top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing 15th in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premiers series. In 2009, where DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing, Truex won three poles, including one for the 51st running of the Daytona 500, but his best on-track result was fifth at Phoenix Raceway in November. Earning a total of six top-10 results throughout the season, he slipped back to 23rd place in the final standings.

    Following a four-year run with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Truex joined Michael Waltrip Racing to pilot the No. 56 Toyota Camry. Despite commencing the season with a sixth-place result in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500, he struggled with maintaining consistency as he finished no higher than fifth place, which occurred at Martinsville Speedway in March, and achieved a total of seven top-10 results and a single pole (Dover in May) throughout the 36-race schedule. When the final checkered flag of the 2010 season flew, Truex, who did not make the Playoffs, wrapped up his first campaign with MWR in 22nd place in the final standings. 

    The 2011 Cup season saw Truex and the No. 56 MWR Toyota Camry team achieve a second pole at Dover in October, a season-best second-place result at the Bristol Night Race in August, three top-five results and 12 top-10 results, with the driver finishing in 18th place in the final standings, four spots better than in 2010. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Truex, who remained at MWR for a third consecutive season, commenced the 2012 season by finishing 12th in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 despite earning a $200,000 bonus for leading the halfway lap. Not long after, he earned a pole and five top-10 results during the following six events. Then at Kansas Speedway in April, he led a race-high 173 of 267 before settling in second behind Denny Hamlin. After recording seven additional top-10 results during the following 16 events, Truex was placed in another opportunity to win, this time at Atlanta Motor Speedy in September as he was leading in the closing laps when a late caution due to Jamie McMurray blowing a right-front tire spoiled his run. After being beaten off of pit road by Hamlin and spinning his tires on the final restart, Truex settled in a disappointing fourth place. The result, nonetheless, was enough for him to make his second appearance in the Playoffs and return to the postseason for the first time since 2007. Ultimately, Truex and the No. 56 team achieved another second-place result at Kansas in October along with four additional top-10 results during the final 10 Playoff events, but finished in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, his average-finishing result of 12.1 was his personal best along with 19 top-10 results throughout the 2012 season.

    Fresh off a multi-year contract extension with MWR, Truex finished in the top five three times as he also earned a total of six top-10 results during the first 15 events of the 2013 season. At Texas in April, he led 55 laps before settling behind Kyle Busch in second place. Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Truex snapped a 218-race winless drought after claiming a dominant victory and achieving his second Cup career victory, the first since winning his first race at Dover in 2007. He went on to post three top-10 results, including two third-place results, during the following nine scheduled events as he was vying for a spot for the 2013 Cup Playoffs.

    At Richmond Raceway in September, Truex nursed his No. 56 Toyota Camry to a seventh-place result following a three-lap dash to the finish and he claimed a Wild Card spot to the Playoffs in a tie-breaker over Newman, who was leading late in the event before slipping back to third place. Controversy, however, ensued two days later when NASCAR assessed major penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing for the team’s involvement in manipulating the outcome of the event that involved teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers to ensure that Truex would make the Playoffs. Among the penalties included a $300,000 fine and a 50-point dock for each of MWR’s three-car operation. The penalties eliminated Truex from Playoff contention while Newman and Jeff Gordon, both of whom were affected by MWR’s manipulation, were added to the Playoffs. With his title hopes for 2013 diminished, Truex recorded four top-10 results for the remaining 10 scheduled events before finishing in 16th place in the final standings.

    Two weeks prior to the 2013 Cup season’s conclusion, Truex inked a deal with Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet SS for 2014 season, replacing Kurt Busch as Busch transitioned to Stewart-Haas Racing while Truex’s former ride at MWR became a research and development team and with his primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts opting to depart the team entering 2014. Despite qualifying on the front row for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, the New Jersey native was forced to start at the rear of the field for the main event after wrecking his primary car during his Budweiser Duel event. During the main event, he suffered an early retirement in 43rd place, dead last, due to an engine failure. Two races later, Truex made his 300th Cup career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His first season with Furniture Row Racing, however, was a difficult season as he claimed a season-best fourth place at Kansas in October, five top-10 results and just a single lap led throughout the entire season before finishing 24th in the final standings.

    Following a difficult 2014 season, Truex roared out of the gate with seven consecutive top-10 results during the first seven scheduled events in 2015, which marked his 10th full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor. This stretch included a runner-up result behind Kevin Harvick at Las Vegas in March. Despite finishing 29th at Bristol Motor Speedway in April, Truex reignited his top-10 streak, beginning at Richmond Raceway in April through Dover International Speedway in June. Then at Pocono Raceway in June, Truex, who had potential race-winning opportunities slip from his grasp early in the season, made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after fending off Harvick to record the first victory for Furniture Row Racing since 2011, the first for Canadian crew chief Cole Pearn and the third for the driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet SS.

    Coming off the Pocono victory, Truex recorded four additional top-10 results during the final 12 regular season events before making his third appearance in the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, Truex was consistent as he earned five top-10 results in nine weeks to transfer from the Round of 16 all the way to the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and with an opportunity to claim his first title in NASCAR’s premier series over Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. During the finale, however, Truex finished 12th on the track and settled in fourth place in the final standings. Nonetheless, the fourth-place result was the best result in the standings for both Truex and Furniture Row Racing, with the driver notching eight top-five results, 22 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.2.

    Entering the 2016 Cup season with momentum and a new manufacturer as Furniture Row Racing swapped from Chevrolet to Toyota, Truex settled in second place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500 after being edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.010 seconds, which marks the closest margin of victory in the Daytona 500. Truex backed up his run in the 500 by recording four additional top-10 results despite being eluded several opportunities of winning an event. Notable moments of him nearly winning occurred at Texas in April, where he led a race-high 141 of 334 laps only to fall back to sixth following a late pit stop; Kansas in May, where he led a race-high 172 of 267 only to be plagued by a loose wheel and finish 14th; and at Dover in May, where he led 47 laps and fell back to ninth after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. Nonetheless, the on-track frustrations ended at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May, where he started on pole, led 392 of 400 laps and grabbed his first victory of the season and his fourth Cup career victory. Truex’s total laps led of 392 are the most by a Cup Series winner and having led 588 miles during the 600 event, he established the all-time record for the most miles led in a NASCAR event.

    Twelve races later, Truex earned his second victory of the season in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September after fending off Kevin Harvick through the final 16 laps. Coming off a third-place result during the regular season finale at Richmond, Truex then capitalized on a late caution and a stellar four-tire service from his pit crew to win at Chicagoland Speedway during a two-lap shootout. The Chicagoland victory along with Truex’s fourth overall victory of 2016 at Dover in October were more than enough for the New Jersey native to transfer from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. During the Round of 12, however, his championship hopes evaporated following two consecutive results outside of the top 10 along with an engine failure and a 40th-place result at Talladega in October. Posting two top-10 results during the remaining four scheduled events, Truex capped his third full-time season with Furniture Row Racing in 11th place in the final standings. Despite finishing one spot shy of the top-10 mark in the final standings for a third time, he capped off the season with four victories, five poles, eight top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.9. In addition, he surpassed 400 Cup career starts.

    The recent on-track momentum for Truex and Furniture Row Racing continued in the early stages of 2017 as Truex claimed his first victory of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. He would go on to win at Kansas Speedway in May, Kentucky Speedway in July and Watkins Glen International in August throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. To go along with 17 top-10 results, Truex claimed the 2017 Cup Series regular season title. He then commenced the 2017 Playoffs by winning at Chicagoland Speedway for a second consecutive season and transferring from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. Three races later, Truex secured a spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Charlotte and Kansas in October. After posting three consecutive top-three results in the Round of 8, he earned a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. At the finale, Truex led 78 laps and held off title rival Kyle Busch to claim his eighth victory of the season and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. By becoming the 31st different competitor to win a title in NASCAR’s premier series, he recorded the first championship for Furniture Row Racing and became the second Toyota competitor to emerge as a Cup champion. Truex’s championship season was a dominant one, where he notched a career-high eight victories, three poles, 19 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.4.

    Truex’s quest to defend his title started off with an 18th-place result in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a late multi-car wreck. Despite this, he earned his first victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March. Four months later, Truex earned victories at Pocono and Sonoma before adding a fourth victory of 2018 at Kentucky in July. Those victories along with a total of 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch enabled the driver of the No. 78 FRR Toyota to qualify to make the Playoffs for the sixth time in his career. Five top-10 results throughout the Playoffs were enough for Truex to return to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. However, he was unable to defend his championship after being overtaken late by title rival Joey Logano, which relegated Truex to a runner-up result in the final standings. Overall, Truex achieved four victories, four poles, 20 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.7.

    Two months prior to the 2018 Cup season’s conclusion, Furniture Row Racing announced plans to cease operations at season’s end. With FRR closed, Truex and his championship-winning crew chief Cole Pearn moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 season and took over the No. 19 Toyota Camry team in place of Daniel Suarez. Despite finishing 35th in the 61st running of the Daytona 500, the 2017 Cup champion rallied by posting five consecutive top-10 results during the following seven events. Then at Richmond in April, Truex claimed his first elusive short track victory and his first with JGR after fending off Logano and Clint Bowyer in the closing laps. For the remainder of the 2019 Cup Series regular season stretch, Truex notched victories at Dover in May, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and Sonoma in June along with six top-10 results before making the Playoffs for the seventh time in his career. By then, he surpassed 500 Cup career starts. For the third time in four seasons, Truex then commenced the Playoffs by winning the Playoff opener at Las Vegas in September. The following weekend at Richmond, he rallied from a late spin while trying to lap Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to claim his sixth victory of 2019 at Richmond and transfer past the opening Playoff round. After posting two top-10 results and transferring to the Round of 8, Truex secured a one-way ticket into the Championship Round for a third consecutive season after winning at Martinsville Speedway for the first time in his career in October. During the finale at Homestead in November, however, he settled in second place on the track and in the final standings behind teammate Kyle Busch. Nonetheless, Truex’s seven victories in 2019 were the most he achieved in a season since winning eight times in 2017. He also recorded 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results along with an average-finishing result of 9.8.

    The 2020 Cup Series season, which marked Truex’s 15th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, also marked the first time since 2015 where Truex achieved only a single victory throughout the season, where he won at Martinsville in June. Despite this, he earned a total of 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Qualifying for the Playoffs for the eighth time in his career, Truex was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 8 and settled in seventh place in the final standings.

    This past season, Truex achieved three victories throughout the 26-race regular season stretch: Phoenix Raceway in March, Martinsville in April and Darlington in May. As he made the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career, he then won at Richmond in September to transfer to the Round of 12. Three top-10 results during the following six Playoff events were enough for Truex to transfer all the way to the Championship Round and campaign for his second Cup title. During the finale at Phoenix in November, he had the championship lead late until a late caution and pit stop, where he lost the lead, relegated him back to a runner-up result behind Kyle Larson. Despite finishing in second place in the final standings for the third time in four seasons, Truex capped off his 16th full-time Cup season with four victories, 13 top-five results and 20 top-10 results.

    Through 599 previous Cup starts, Truex has achieved one championship, 31 career victories, 19 poles, 131 top-five results, 254 top-10 results, 10,851 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.8. He is currently ranked in fifth place in the 2022 driver’s standings on the strength of two top-five results and six top-10 results through the first 14 events of the 2022 regular season stretch.

    Truex is primed to make his 600th Cup Series career start at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 5, with coverage to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Josef Newarden prevails at Gateway with victory, closes in on points lead

    Josef Newarden prevails at Gateway with victory, closes in on points lead

    Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Penske team navigated through early chaos at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway to score his second win of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Season. The Nashville, Tennessee native took the lead on Lap 80 and only surrendered the lead a couple of times before regaining the lead on Lap 210 and going on to win his third Gateway victory.

    “Yeah, I think so,” Newgarden said about the victory. “It (winning) definitely helps a lot (closing in on points lead). I was surprised when I saw the early wreck. Will and me were talking about it. Yeah, everyone was good, which is great. But it’s about time we got something to come our way a little bit. That’s what it felt like.

    “Yeah, it does help a lot. It helped a lot today. A win helps a lot. The team did a great job. Will was super quick this weekend. I thought Scott McLaughlin did a great job for us. He came and tested here. He’s a rookie that never has driven on ovals before this year. He helped develop a lot of the things I ran on the car here.

    “Everybody did a great job of pitching in this weekend. We had great cars. The circumstances have played favorably into helping us get back into this race, which is what we’ve been working towards. I feel really confident about where we’re going.”

    Before the green flag flew, qualifying was held earlier in the afternoon and Will Power scored his 63rd career NTT IndyCar Series pole laying down a lap of 24.8508 seconds and 181.081 mph.

    As the 260-lap race got underway, four cautions slowed the race pace. Three cautions flew in the first 20 laps of the race. The yellow flew as early as Lap 3 when the No. 18 of Ed Jones slide up into the No. 15 of Graham Rahal in Turn 1 and both cars crashed. Another interesting yellow occurred on Lap 17 for the No. 22 of Simon Pagenaud, when his right-front wing made contact with his teammate Newgarden. Following the incident, Pagenaud’s right-front wing fell off as a result.

    A more significant issue happened on Lap 64 that involved championship contenders Alex Palou and Scott Dixon. Both Palou and Dixon were involved in an accident in Turn 1 after the No. 21 of Rinus VeeKay turned into Palou, which then caused Palou to turn into his teammate, Dixon. With Dixon and Palou out of the race, this accident caused major championship implications as Dixon and Palou lost numerous points.

    After the stop-and-go pace in the first half, there was a long stretch of green-flag racing. Andretti Autosports’ Colton Herta led early but was overtaken for the lead by Newgarden on Lap 76. From there, Newgarden maintained a sizeable gap over second-place Alexander Rossi.

    The lead changed again following the Lap 133 pit stops. Newgarden was able to come out as the leader briefly before second-place Herta overpowered Newgarden heading into Turn 1.

    Herta led for 45 laps after taking the lead from Newgarden. Unfortunately, during Herta’s scheduled stop on Lap 185, the Andretti Autosport driver night ended early, as he broke a right-rear driveshaft.

    Newgarden once again cycled back into the lead one lap later after Herta’s misfortune, but this time, Alexander Rossi who was looking to turn his season around was lurking in the second position. Rossi was maintaining his pace to Newgarden before his bad luck continued. On Lap 200, Rossi brought out the last caution of the night when his No. 27 NAPA AutoParts machine hit the wall in Turn 2 creating the second DNF of the season.

    Succeeding the final yellow, it seemed as though the race would be Newgarden’s to lose as he would have championship points leader Pato O’Ward chasing him down in the final laps. As the laps continued to wind down, O’Ward cut the gap to 0.4951 seconds on Lap 215 and stayed near Newgarden by half of a second. Inside five to go, O’Ward would need help from lap cars or a quick yellow to be able to have a chance at Newgarden. Unfortunately for O’Ward, he came up just a bit short as Newgarden scored his second win of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season and closed in on the points battle having a 22 point deficit.

    O’Ward however leads the points by 10 over Alex Palou with just three races left in the season.

    “It’s a very big points day for us,” O’Ward said about taking the points lead. “To be honest, man, it’s so tight. There’s still three races to go, 150 points on the table. Yeah, I mean, this means we’re going on the right path. We came off a solid run in Indy road course, now we have a podium with second. It would be great to rack up a couple more, a few more podiums. Yeah, man, we’re just going to push until the checkered flag waves in Long Beach and see where we stand.”

    Pole sitter Power had a quiet, but solid night as the Australian wrapped up the podium finishers with third place.

    “Yeah, actually I was really happy to finish third,” Power said. “Definitely didn’t have the car to challenge for the win. Yeah, struggled a little bit to get the car in a window. Just did a really clean race, clean pit stops, no mistakes. Yeah, stoked to be third.

    There were six cautions for 49 laps and six leaders among 11 lead changes. Newgarden led four times for 138 laps to victory.

    There were also three penalties handed out during the race. Takuma Sato was penalized for jumping the start on Lap 10, Ed Carpenter for avoidable contact on Lap 13 and Romain Grosjean for unsafe release on Lap 58.

    Official Results following the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway:

    1. Josef Newgarden, led 138 laps
    2. Pato O’Ward
    3. Will Power, led one lap
    4. Scott McLaughlin
    5. Sebastien Bourdais, led 18 laps
    6. Takuma Sato
    7. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    8. Simon Pagenaud, led one lap
    9. Marcus Ericsson
    10. Jack Harvey
    11. Conor Daly
    12. Dalton Kellett
    13. Tony Kanaan
    14. Romain Grosjean, 1 lap down
    15. James Hinchcliffe, 17 laps down
    16. Felix Rosenqvist, OUT, Mechanical
    17. Alexander Rossi, OUT, Contact
    18. Colton Herta, led 101 laps, OUT, Contact
    19. Scott Dixon, OUT, Contact
    20. Alex Palou, OUT, Contact
    21. Rinus VeeKay, OUT, Contact
    22. Ed Carpenter, OUT, Contact
    23. Graham Rahal, OUT, Contact
    24. Ed Jones, OUT, Contact

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series takes a couple of weeks off before finishing out the season on the west coast with just three races left. Their next race is Sunday, September 12 at Portland live on NBCSN at 3 p.m. ET.

  • Sheldon Creed dominates wild playoff-opener at Gateway

    Sheldon Creed dominates wild playoff-opener at Gateway

    Despite a late-race overtime restart and a 48-minute red flag due to a power outage at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, the 2020 Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed held onto the lead and navigated to his second win of the 2021 Truck Series season.

    “My guys put together such a great truck,” Creed told Fox Sports 1 in victory lane. “My guys have been working hard all year. Obviously, we haven’t had the speed at times and I’ve made mistakes. We just built this brand new truck and I felt like we’ve taken everything we learned this year and applied it. My teammate showed me a couple of things when he got to the lead. The bottom was good on restarts, but the top started coming in there at the end. I love late-race restarts,” he joked. “I didn’t want it but thought to myself, just focus and execute.”

    World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway served as the first race of the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs Friday evening. Austin Hill received the pole via the qualifying metric system.

    Throughout the first stage, there were three cautions that occurred on Lap 26, 33 and 42. Most notably, the caution on Lap 26 flew for playoff contender Chandler Smith. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver brought the No. 18 to pit road as he had a right-rear hub issue.

    Creed showed his dominance early and won Stage 1, his second stage win of the season. Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski, Todd Gilliland, Matt Crafton, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Derek Kraus were the Top 10.

    During Stage 2, on Lap 60, a power outage occurred at the track knocking out the power, including the electronic timing and scoring and brought out the red flag. This caused a delay that lasted 48 minutes and 38 seconds before the race could resume with backup power and temporary lighting.

    Following the lengthy delay, the race went back green on Lap 67. Playoff drivers experienced more trouble as the race continued. Zane Smith was on pit road inside 10 laps to go in the second stage. Eventually, Smith drove the No. 21 truck behind the wall and was done for the night.

    Creed once again went on to win the second stage and was followed by Rhodes, Crafton, Nemechek, Friesen, Majeski, Kraus, Ankrum Eckes and Austin Hill.

    Stage 3 went green on Lap 111, but shortly thereafter, there was a huge wreck on the frontstretch. Playoff contender and regular-season champion, John Hunter Nemechek, had an issue as his truck shut off coming off Turn 4, which caused a huge stack up behind him. Multiple drivers were involved including Austin Hill, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Ankrum, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith and others.

    Unfortunately, more problems arose for Nemechek with 32 laps to go, as the North Carolina driver had a brake rotor that broke in half. He was able to resume the race but in the 34th position.

    The final stage was relatively calm in nature compared to the first two stages. However, a caution with four laps to go for the No. 15 of Tanner Gray who crashed in Turn(s) 3 and 4 brought out an overtime finish.

    Creed, Rhodes, Crafton, Friesen and Sauter were in the top five for the restart.

    Even with the late-race restart, there was no stopping Creed as he took the checkered flag for the seventh time of his career, and his first since Darlington earlier this year.

    2019 Truck Series champion Matt Crafton finished second and earned his third top-five finish of the season and the first since Darlington as well.

    “Definitely, a good points night, all in all, they knew we were here,” Crafton said about his runner-up finish to Fox Sports 1. “We drove from 10th to get to second, we just needed a little bit more since the 2 (Creed) was a little better. These guys (ThorSport) have worked hard lately. They’ve worked their butts off. Went back and threw all the notebooks away from 2019 and 2018. We went back to the old school stuff and I guess it still worked.”

    There were eight cautions for 37 laps and one red flag that lasted 48 minutes and 38 seconds. There were five lead changes among three different leaders.

    Race winner Creed led three times for 142 laps and gained seven playoff points and locked himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

    Playoff Standings following Round 1 at Gateway:

    1. Sheldon Creed, 1 win, Advanced
    2. John Hunter Nemechek, +55
    3. Ben Rhodes, +52
    4. Matt Crafton, +33
    5. Stewart Friesen, +31
    6. Austin Hill, +21
    7. Carson Hocevar, +13
    8. Todd Gilliland, +10
      Below the cut line
    9. Zane Smith, -10
    10. Chandler Smith, -18

    Official Results for the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway:

    1. Sheldon Creed, won both stages, led 142 laps
    2. Matt Crafton
    3. Ben Rhodes
    4. Stewart Friesen
    5. Johnny Sauter
    6. Chase Purdy
    7. Hailie Deegan
    8. Carson Hocevar
    9. Austin Wayne Self
    10. Jack Wood
    11. Tyler Hill
    12. Taylor Gray
    13. Ryan Truex, 1 lap down
    14. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
    15. Josh Berry, 1 lap down
    16. Spencer Boyd, 2 laps down
    17. Cory Roper, 2 laps down
    18. Kris Wright, 2 laps down
    19. Tanner Gray, 2 laps down
    20. Derek Kraus, 3 laps down
    21. Armani Williams, 4 laps down
    22. John Hunter Nemechek, 5 laps down
    23. Austin Hill, led two laps, 6 laps down
    24. Roger Reuse, 6 laps down
    25. Grant Enfinger, 9 laps down
    26. Derek Griffith, 9 laps down
    27. Chris Hacker, 23 laps down
    28. Chandler Smith, 40 laps down
    29. Todd Gilliland, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
    30. Dawson Cram, OUT, Accident
    31. Christian Eckes, OUT, Accident
    32. Tyler Ankrum, OUT, Accident
    33. Ty Majeski, OUT, Accident
    34. Jake Griffin, OUT, Accident
    35. Zane Smith, led 19 laps, OUT, Rear Gear
    36. Danny Bohn, OUT, Engine
    37. Jordan Anderson, OUT, Engine
    38. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Engine

    Up Next: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head to Darlington Raceway Sunday, September 5, to continue their Round of 10 playoffs run, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Weekend schedule for Michigan and Gateway

    Weekend schedule for Michigan and Gateway

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Michigan International Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series will compete at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the first race in their Playoffs.

    There are five regular-season races left in the Xfinity Series.

    Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider have already clinched a spot in the Xfinity postseason 12-driver field.

    Xfinity Series drivers who can secure their spot with a win include Brandon Brown, Harrison Burton, Jeremy Clements, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg.

    Landon Cassill, Alex Labbe, Tommy Joe Martins and Josh Williams could clinch a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs with a win and some help.

    There are only two open spots in the Cup Series postseason. Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Martin Truex Jr. have each qualified for the Playoffs.

    Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Darrell Wallace Jr., Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Corey Lajoie, Anthony Alfredo can clinch with a win.

    Harvick, the defending race winner, can also earn a spot in the Playoffs with 44 points.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 20 – Michigan

    4 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice – No TV
    6 p.m.: ARCA Series Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan
    100 Laps/200 Miles
    Trackpass/MRN

    Friday, August 20 – WWT Raceway at Gateway

    8:50 p.m.: Driver Intros
    9 p.m.: Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway
    Stages 55/110/160 laps = 200 Miles
    Pole: Austin Hill
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, August 21 – Michigan

    3:05 p.m.: Driver Intros
    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan
    Stages 30/60/125 Laps = 250 Miles
    Pole: Austin Cindric
    NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN

    Sunday, August 22 – Michigan

    2:30: Driver Intros
    3 p.m.: Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan
    Stages 60/120/200 Laps = 400 miles
    Pole: Kyle Larson
    NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN

    Michigan Intl. Speedway Data

    Track Size: 2-miles
    Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 18 degrees
    Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 18 degrees
    Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
    Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
    Frontstretch Length:  3,600 feet
    Backstretch Length:  2,242 feet

    Michigan Qualifying Data

    Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (206.558 mph, 34.857 secs.) on August 17, 2014.
    2020 Michigan pole winner: Qualifying canceled due to COVID-19.  The starting lineup was decided by a random draw.

    • Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active NCS drivers in Michigan starts with 40 each.
    • Tyler Reddick leads all active NCS drivers in average starting position at with an 8.500 in two starts.
    • Seven of the 50 NCS Michigan pole winners are active this weekend.  Joey Logano (4), Kurt Busch (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Denny Hamlin (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Kyle Larson (1), and Ryan Newman (1).
    • Joey Logano (2013, 2016 sweep, 2019) leads all active NCS drivers in poles at Michigan with four; followed by Kurt Busch (2010, 2011 and 2018) with three.
    • The youngest series Michigan pole winner is Joey Logano (August 16, 2013 – 23 years, 2 months, 23 days).
    • Nine different manufacturers have won a pole at Michigan in the NCS.  Ford leads the series in poles at Michigan with 31, followed by Chevrolet (27), Mercury (10), Dodge (nine), Pontiac (eight), Toyota (six), Buick (three), Plymouth (two) and Oldsmobile (one).

    Michigan Race Data

    Track race record: Dale Jarrett, Ford (173.997 mph, 2:17:56) on June 13, 1999.
    2020 Michigan race winner: Kevin Harvick, Ford (124.712 mph, (02:34:55) on August 8, 2020.

    • A total of 38 different drivers have won in the NCS at Michigan with seven of the 38 race winners are active this weekend.  Kevin Harvick (5), Joey Logano (3), Kurt Busch (3), Kyle Larson (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Ryan Newman (2), and Kyle Busch (1).
    • Kurt Busch (2003, 2007, 2015), Matt Kenseth (2002, 2006, 2015), Joey Logano (2013, 2016, 2019) and Kevin Harvick (2010, 2018, 2019) lead all active series drivers in wins at Michigan with three each.
    • The youngest series Michigan winner id Joey Logano (August 18, 2013 – 23 years, 2 months, 25 days).
    • Martin Truex Jr. (30), and Michigan native Brad Keselowski (23) lead all active drivers in the series in starts without a win at Michigan.
    • The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (22 of 103, 21.36%) than any other starting position at Michigan.
    • The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Michigan is 24th, by Kurt Busch in the June of 2015.
    • Roush Fenway Racing leads the series in wins at Michigan with 13.  Mark Martin (four), Greg Biffle (four), Carl Edwards (two), Matt Kenseth (two) and Kurt Busch (one).
    • Eight different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Michigan.  It’s led by Ford with 41 victories, followed by Chevrolet with 26, Mercury (12), Dodge (nine), Toyota (five), Buick (four) Pontiac (four) and Oldsmobile (two).

    Top 12 Michigan Driver Ratings

    Kevin Harvick……………………… 102.5
    Joey Logano………………………… 99.1
    Chase Elliott…………………………. 99.1
    Brad Keselowski……………………. 97.3
    Kyle Larson………………………….. 96.1
    Denny Hamlin……………………….. 92.6
    Ryan Blaney…………………………. 92.5
    Kurt Busch…………………………… 91.8
    Kyle Busch…………………………… 90.7
    Christopher Bell…………………….. 89.6
    Martin Truex Jr……………………… 89.3
    Erik Jones……………………………. 86.6
    Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (32 total) among active drivers at Michigan International Speedway.

  • Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to Daytona International Speedway in Florida while the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series travel to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Illinois.

    The Cup Series race at Daytona will serve as the regular season finale with the start of the postseason Playoffs set to begin on Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway.

    There are 13 drivers who have already earned a spot in the Cup Series 16-driver Playoff field. They include Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 28, 2020

    7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020

    11:30 a.m.: ARCA Menards Series final practice at Gateway – No TV

    6:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Dutch Boy 150 at Gateway (120 Laps, 150 Miles) TrackPass/MRN

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 50/100/160 Laps = 400 Miles) Pole: Kevin Harvick

    Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020

    Noon: Truck Series CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power at Gateway (Stages 55/110/160 Laps = 200 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Gateway

    NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Gateway

    The NTT IndyCar Series heads back to the Midwest this weekend for race No. 15 of the 2019 season. With Will Power winning the rain-shortened race at Pocono last weekend, he was able to close the points gap a little but he is still far behind fifth in points, 128 behind his teammate Josef Newgarden. Due to the win at Pocono, Power is mathematically eligible to win the championship but will need a lot of help to do so with just three races remaining.

    Here’s a look at who might win the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

    1. Josef Newgarden – Newgarden has two starts at Gateway with a win in 2017 after dominating the race by leading 170 laps. His previous finish was seventh in last year’s race after qualifying third. The Team Penske driver has an average start of 2.5 and an average finish of 4.0. Newgarden has been a beast on ovals this year, finishing fourth in the Indy 500 and winning at Texas and Iowa. Should Newgarden win again this weekend, I expect some drivers to be mathematically eliminated to compete for the championship.

    2. Scott Dixon – Trying to run Newgarden down in the championship is CGR driver Scott Dixon, who currently sits fourth in the standings, 52 points behind Newgarden. At Gateway, Dixon has three starts with a best finish of second in 2017 and he also earned a pole here last year. Dixon has an average finish of 6.7 and has led 223 laps. He led 145 laps in last year’s race before ultimately finishing third. On ovals this year, he has finishes of 17th in the Indy 500 and Fort Worth and second at Iowa and Pocono. Expect Dixon to be in contention to win on Saturday night and try to close the points gap a little bit on Newgarden.

    3. Will Power – Counting out last week’s winner would be a head-scratcher for sure when it comes to Gateway. While the 2017 race wasn’t the best outing for the Aussie, Power came back to win the race last year after leading 93 laps and starting fourth. In the two outings, Power has an average finish of 10.5, but his starts have been great. Keep an eye on Power who might be up front.

    4. Spencer Pigot – Looking to put the disappointing Pocono outing behind him, Pigot and the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing team are looking forward to returning to Gateway this weekend, a track where they were good at last year. In one start, Pigot finished sixth after starting 14th. The 2019 oval season has been so-so for the Ed Carpenter driver, finishing 14th at Indy and Fort Worth, fifth at Iowa and 17th last week at Pocono after crashing out of the race. Pigot and company are hoping to bounce back after last week’s events.

    5. Alexander Rossi – Speaking of someone hoping to bounce back we can’t forget Alexander Rossi who has two starts at Gateway. Rossi was involved in the Lap 1 crash at Pocono last Sunday. He was able to finish the race but was many laps down when the race was over. Rossi came to Pocono with a 16 point deficit but is now 35 points behind. Gateway might be the place where Rossi can overcome the points gap a little bit, as he finished second there last year and led four laps. The Andretti Autosport driver has finishes of second at Indy and Fort Worth and sixth at Iowa. Don’t ever count out Rossi and his No. 27 Napa team.

    World-Wide Technology Raceway has hosted four races under the CART/CCWS name and five races under the NTT IndyCar name. The first race for CART was back in 1997 when Paul Tracy won after starting second. Over the next three races, legendary names like Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya have all won here.

    However, when IndyCar came in 2001, drivers like Al Unser Jr., Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves have won here as well. The series took a 16-year hiatus before returning two years ago in 2017. Since then, it’s been all Team Penske who have taken the checkers with Newgarden and Power winning.

    The NTT IndyCar Series drivers will get on track Friday afternoon with two one hour practice sessions. The first practice is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and the final practice set for 9:15 p.m. ET live on NBC Gold. Qualifying will also be held on Friday evening at 6:15 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

    Saturday night is race day for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. The race will have 250 laps and will be live on NBCSN. The pre-race show is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the green flag will fly at 8:45 p.m. ET.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series At Gateway

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series At Gateway

    Gateway was the venue for the 11th race of the 2019 Truck Series season that took place late Saturday night.

    It was an uncharacteristic race, with only five cautions, three for actual incidents that took place on the track. There were 14 lead changes, but once someone was up front, the leader could pull away for a while and remain dominant. This was seen with Stewart Friesen who led for 19 laps, Grant Enfinger for 33 laps, Christian Eckes for 12 laps on his first stint out front and 45 laps on his final stint, and the eventual race winner Ross Chastain who led the final 19 laps.

    The CarShield 200 was one of those races, where if you had a great truck, you were out front. However, if you didn’t, you would struggle for most of the night.

    Ross Chastain took home his second win of the season and continues his climb to the top-20 in points for a shot at the championship. Other drivers like Friesen and Eckes, were left frustrated after making last-lap contact with each other. You could also make a case for Harrison Burton, who also got involved in an incident late relegating him to a 16th place finish when he was running in the top-10 prior to the contact.

    What else happened though in the CarShield 200? Here is a look at this week’s four takeaways from Gateway.

    1. ThorSport Class Of Field – Throughout the night, especially when the checkered flag flew, race fans saw ThorSport place all four of their trucks in the top-10. Enfinger was the highest finisher out of the camp, finishing sixth after winning both stages. Ben Rhodes and the No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 finished eighth, Matt Crafton was ninth and Myatt Snider (who did well under pressure replacing the suspended Johnny Sauter) finished 10th after finishing ninth and second in both stages. It really would have been quite something if Snider could have pulled off the upset victory.
    2. Sauter Has Impressive Showing At Dick Trickle 99 – While the Truck Series was running at Gateway, Sauter spent his weekend and suspension racing the Super Late Model classic in Wisconsin. He finished second behind short track star Ty Majeski. After the race, Sauter stayed to sign autographs for the fans and stated, that he has no regrets for his actions at Iowa. It will be interesting to watch this story unfold, as Sauter returns to the track this weekend at Chicagoland and if it affects his championship chances at all. He is currently 10th in the standings, two positions outside the top eight.
    3. Chandler Smith Continues Impressive Drive – In only two starts, the rising star continues to deliver on the track and is impressing the NASCAR world, gaining more popularity. Smith competed once again in a Kyle Busch Motorsports entry Saturday night, this time in the No. 46 entry. He again showcased his talent and finished 14th and ninth in both stages. When the checkered flag flew, Smith was in the fourth position in the final running order. He competed in the ARCA Menards Series race a few hours, but Smith’s chances of winning were cut short due to a broken axle.
    4. Too Late Of A Race – When race fans woke up Saturday morning, they more than likely saw an unusual start time for the race of 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. local. When all was said and done Saturday night, it was a little after midnight when the final word was given by NASCAR, stating that Chastain was the official winner. Night racing can be challenging time-wise and even though there were rain showers earlier in the day and that would have delayed the race start, it certainly doesn’t do much for overnight ratings. I hope next year NASCAR will consider an earlier start time for the race. One solution would be to schedule the practices and qualifying the day before and just go racing the next day. Hopefully, NASCAR will look at a different time slot next year.