Frontstretch Newsletter SPECIAL EDITION: Ben Rhodes Claims Camping World Truck Series Title

Published: Sat, 11/06/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: Nov. 6, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CCI

What to Watch: Saturday

- The FIA World Endurance Championship Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain is currently in the seventh hour. Toyota GAZOO Racing's No. 8 Toyota GR010 for Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima currently lead by 33.237 seconds.

Coverage is currently exclusive to MotorTrendOnDemand.com (subscription required), but the final hour of the race and post-race coverage will be on Motor Trend starting at 2 p.m. ET.

- Today, Championship Weekend continues with two races and qualifying sessions. First up is the ARCA Menards Series West, where that championship will be decided with the Arizona Lottery 100. That race is at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports TrackPass (subscription required). Entering the event, Jesse Love leads the points by one over Paul Pedroncelli Jr. The top five drivers are separated by six points, so anything can happen.

- Xfinity Series teams will qualify for tonight's Championship Race at 5:30 p.m. on NBCSports.com. That will be followed by NASCAR Cup Series for tomorrow's Championship Race at 7 p.m. on CNBC.

The day will end with the Xfinity Series Championship Race, where four drivers will fight for the title. Coverage from Phoenix starts with Countdown to Green at 8 p.m. on NBCSN. The race will go green around 8:40 p.m.

- Formula 1 teams are currently in the middle of Free Practice No. 3. That session is live on ESPNEWS. They will qualify for Sunday's Grand Prix of Mexico today starting at 3:55 p.m. ET. This session can be seen live on ESPNEWS.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN PHOENIX THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

Daniel McFadin (@danielmcfadin)

Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter)

Zach Sturniolo (@zachstur)

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Phoenix!!

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Nov. 5-6

- In Formula 1 action Friday, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was quickest in Free Practice No. 1 with a lap at 122.878 mph. The lap was seven-hundredths of a second faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third fastest, then Sergio Perez and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.

The session had a couple of incidents. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc spun 10 minutes into the session and backed into the wall at the Peraltada. Meanwhile, Perez spun and hit the wall at almost the same time. Although Perez returned after 26 minutes, Leclerc was done for the session. He would end up eighth.

- Free Practice No. 2 saw Verstappen put himself on top of the chart with a lap at 124.531 mph. This lap was four-tenths of a second faster than Bottas. Hamilton was third fastest, then Perez and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr.

Williams' George Russell did not set an official time in the session due to gearbox problems. There were no red flags, but Haas F1's Nikita Mazepin did go off-course at turn 8 during the session. He was then sent to the stewards after disobeying a command from the race director.

Today's Top News:

Chandler Smith Wins Truck Series Finale in Phoenix, Ben Rhodes Wins Championship

Joe Gibbs Racing's Chandler Smith had the best truck on long runs Friday night. With that, he ran down Sheldon Creed and took the lead with 18 laps to go. From there, he pulled away to take his second of the year. Stewart Friesen was second, then Ben Rhodes, Creed and Zane Smith. The third-place finish was good enough to give Rhodes the Camping World Truck Series championship.

(Photo: NASCAR Media via Jared C. Tilton of Getty Images)

Ben Rhodes is a NASCAR Champion and Feelin’ Good

Ben Rhodes' third-place finish earned him the Camping World Truck Series championship Friday night. He celebrated by having champagne and a number of Bud Lights and having a great time.

Zane Smith & John Hunter Nemechek Fall Just Short in Championship Chase

Zane Smith and John Hunter Nemechek had very different races Friday night. Nemechek got in the wall on the first lap and eventually cut a tire. He had to recover from two laps down to finish seventh. Meanwhile, Smith was up front all night and was in position to take the title until Rhodes passed him with under 10 laps to go.

Matt Crafton, Junior Joiner Fall Short Of 4th Championship as Decade-Long Partnership Ends

For Matt Crafton, Friday night was the end of an era. Crew chief Carl "Juinor" Joiner Jr. is leaving the sport to work in California. Crafton wanted to send him off with a title, but a loose condition meant that it was an impossible task.

(Photo: NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner of Getty Images)

Highlights from NASCAR President Steve Phelps’ State of the Sport Address

Friday afternoon saw NASCAR president Steve Phelps make his annual State of the Sport address at Phoenix Raceway. Here, topics included the NextGen car, rule packages, attendance, the ongoing "Let's Go Brandon" movement that started in NASCAR, and more.

Brad Keselowski Tops Chart in Phoenix Cup Practice

Team Penske's Brad Keselowski was fastest in NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday in Phoenix with a lap at 135.384 mph. Keselowski was two-hundredths of a second faster than Kyle Larson. Matt DiBenedetto was third, then Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.

John Hunter Nemechek Quickest in Xfinity Practice at Phoenix

John Hunter Nemechek's role as a spoiler for the championship contenders is clearly in focus now that he turned in a lap at 130.388 mph to lead the pack in Xfinity Series practice Friday at Phoenix Raceway. Austin Cindric was second fastest, then Daniel Hemric, Noah Gragson and Jeb Burton.

(Photo: NASCAR Media via Meg Oliphant of Getty Images)

Daniel Hemric’s Championship Bid Alive After Run-in With Dead Deer

Racing for a championship can be a stressful time. Strange instances will only make things worse. For Daniel Hemric, that happened Friday after his transporter hit a deer in Texas. A substitute hauler had to be summoned in order to Hemric's car to get to the track.

Daniel Hemric Feels Like He’s Playing With ‘House Money’ Ahead of Title Bout

Daniel Hemric may be a lame duck driver with Joe Gibbs Racing since he's already signed a deal to go to Kaulig Racing in 2022, but he's looking forward to tonight's race. Before the aforementioned meeting with the deer, just making the Championship 4 is more than enough for 2021 to be considered a success.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography and NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner, Meg Oliphant and Jared C. Tilton of Getty Images.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.

Newsletter Exclusive:

Frontstretch Folio: Xfinity Series Championship Race

by Phil Allaway

Tonight, the Xfinity Series returns to Arizona to determine their champion. Coverage of the Championship Race begins with Countdown to Green at 8 p.m. on NBCSN The green flag should fly around 8:40. Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN Radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 saw Justin Allgaier start from the pole using the metric qualifying. His time at the front was short-lived as Chase Briscoe charged to the front on lap 7. Briscoe stayed there long enough to win stage one, then got beat off pit road by Allgaier.

Austin Cindric was able to run down Allgaier and claim the lead on lap 83, winning stage two in the process. However, much like Briscoe earlier, Cindric lost the lead in the pits. Allgaier was able to get by Brandon Jones on the restart to retake the lead

Cindric retook the lead on lap 130 and held on until he made his final green-flag stop on lap 163. Once the round finished up, he retook the advantage and looked good for victory. Then Briscoe spun and tapped the wall with a couple of laps to go, bringing out a yellow.

Cindric chose to pit here for fresh tires for the upcoming Green-White-Checker. Allgaier stayed out and took the lead. Noah Gragson technically led at the white flag, but Cindric took the lead on the final lap entering turn 3 and held on to win the race and take the championship.

Gragson finished second, then Brandon Jones, Michael Annett and Allgaier Briscoe ended up ninth

All-time, Kyle Busch has the most Xfinity wins at Phoenix with 11. Carl Edwards has four, while Greg Biffle has three. Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric are the only current Xfinity regulars with more than one victory at the desert tri-oval.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1 mile tri-oval, 312 laps (312 miles, 502.32 kilometers)
Banking: 10-11 degrees in the backstretch dogleg, 8-9 degrees in Turns 1-2, 10-11 degrees in Turns 3-4

Frontstretch: 1,551 ft., banked 9-11 degrees

Backstretch: 1,179 ft., banked 3 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 45,000

Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 50 mph
Opened: 1964 (first Cup race in 1988)

Website: http://www.ismraceway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISMRaceway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ISMRaceway

Remaining Pre-Race Schedule:

Qualifying: Saturday, Nov. 6, 5:35 p.m. on NBCSports.com

Say What?!

"I feel like probably the best thing that I’ve heard all year, that I’ve probably been saving for this moment, came from Chase Elliott. Past success doesn’t equal future success. It’s pretty hard to go back-to-back in races let alone three times at a certain racetrack, but obviously championships as well, so we have that opportunity and I think we’re prepared for it.

"It’s certainly great to come back to Phoenix. It’s somewhere I probably have more NASCAR starts than any other racetrack dating back to 2015 in the Truck Series, so, for me, there’s a certain familiarity there, but, otherwise, everyone continually steps up their game. We’re not gonna say that if we just show up with the same race car we had two races ago we’re gonna go out and win the race. We have to continually get better because our competitors are gonna continually get better. It is challenging to win two races in a row let alone three, and obviously championship-wise as well." - Austin Cindric

"We had a really good Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro the last time we were in Phoenix but the results don’t show it. Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and this entire No. 9 team are working as hard as possible this week to bring the best car they can to give us a shot at the championship. I can’t be more appreciative of the opportunity to drive for this team and I am going to do whatever it takes to bring that championship trophy back to JRM.: - Noah Gragson

"Last time we were in Phoenix, we had an impressive finish and really started to show what this team could do if presented with an opportunity. We avoided the chaos at the end and brought home a top-five. Heading into this weekend, the ultimate goal is to win, but most of all, we want to finish out the season with another strong finish. This team has worked hard all season long. I know we can get it done." - Riley Herbst

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

Today at Frontstretch:

Tracking the Trucks: Chandler Smith Snags 2nd Career Win, Ben Rhodes Wins Championship in Phoenix

by Beth Lunkenheimer

Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix

by Joy Tomlinson

Alex Clubb Fielding His Own ARCA Team, Hopeful to Run Full Season

by Mark Kristl

Slipstream Saturday: Max Verstappen Sending a Message in Mexico

by Ava Ladner

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have full breakdowns of the remaining races at Phoenix along with pieces on the championship contenders and their performances.

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