Frontstretch Newsletter: Aug. 25, 2025
Volume
XIX, Edition CXLVI |
And Now A Word From Our Title Partner, My Place Hotels! |
My Place Hotels is a proud to be the official hotel sponsor of Frontstretch. With plush beds, in room kitchens and Pet Friendly Hotels My Place makes for the perfect pit stop when traveling. Racing fans can use Promo Code: Frontstretch to save 10% on your stay at any of our nationwide properties. That’s 10% off nationwide with code FRONTSTRETCH. This racing season, be sure to
Make My Place Your Place! |
- The Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series travels tonight to Douglas County Dirt Track for the Showdown on the River. Coverage from Oregon will stream live on FLORacing at 9 p.m. ET. - Teams are back at their shops and preparations for Darlington this weekend are well underway. Entry lists for this weekend's races are out today. We'll have the entry lists and everything else breaks for
you at Frontstretch. |
|
| Ryan Blaney Wins Daytona
Thriller Team Penske's Ryan Penske was able to draft past Cole Custer on the final lap Saturday night to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in Daytona. Daniel Suarez was second, then Justin Haley, Custer and Erik Jones. |
|
| Big One Strikes Early at Daytona, Affects
Playoffs Anxiety is always fairly high when it comes to superspeedway races and Saturday night was one example of it. The Big One broke out in the tri-oval on lap 28, eliminating a number of drivers. |
|
| Somehow, Someway, Tyler Reddick & Alex Bowman Advance
to Playoffs at Daytona Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman had miserable nights in Daytona. However, since Ryan Blaney won, they claimed the final two spots in the playoffs on points. |
|
| Must-Win Drivers Finish Mere Feet Short of NASCAR Playoff
Dreams The Coke Zero Sugar 400 has been a race for underdogs to win in recent years. A number of them had a chance to win Saturday night, but Ryan Blaney took that all away on the final lap. |
|
| Connor Zilisch Joins Trackhouse Full-Time for 2026 Cup
Season Trackhouse Racing announced Saturday that Connor Zilisch will move up and race full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. |
|
| Here’s What Happened in the 23XI/Front Row vs. NASCAR
Antitrust Case This Week (Aug. 16-Aug. 22) Last week, NASCAR submitted multiple filings to oppose the most recent preliminary injunction request from the teams, arguing that their actions do not constitute irreparable harm. |
|
| Legacy Granted Preliminary Injunction Blocking Sale of RWR
Charters Legacy Motor Club has been granted a preliminary injunction in court, which would prevent Rick Ware Racing from selling their charters until the current litigation between the teams is settled. |
|
| Parker Kligerman Takes Xfinity Series Victory At
Daytona Driving in place of Connor Zilisch, Parker Kligerman was able to drive through the field and win Saturday night's Wawa 250 (since Zilisch started the race, he gets credit for the triumph). Sammy Smith was second, then Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Sam
Mayer. |
|
| Harrison Burton Survives 94 Laps with Fiberglass in His
Neck at Daytona Harrison Burton spun out on lap 10 Friday night on the backstretch. No caution was thrown. While driving back to the pits, a piece of fiberglass hit him in his neck, forcing him to drive the remainder of the race in significant
pain. |
|
| Kaulig Racing, Ram Announce 2026 NASCAR Truck Series
Partnership Kaulig Racing and RAM announced Saturday that Kaulig Racing will serve as the manufacturer's sole representative in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, fielding five full-time Ram Trucks. |
|
| Christian Rasmussen Storms to 1st IndyCar Win at
Milwaukee Christian Rasmussen was able to sweep around the outside of Alex Palou with 16 laps to go to take the lead, then held on to win the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 Sunday. Palou was second, then Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi and Patricio
O'Ward. |
|
| Alexander Rossi Finishes 4th in Strong Milwaukee Race for
ECR Ed Carpenter Racing had their best-ever race Sunday in Milwaukee. Not only did Christian Rasmussen win, but Alexander Rossi also finished in the top-five. |
|
| Scott McLaughlin Noncommittal on Truck Series Race at St.
Petersburg Last week, NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be part of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend in 2026. When asked if he would be up for racing in it, Scott McLaughlin did not commit to it. |
|
| Despite Fast Car, David Malukas Has a Roller Coaster Day
at Milwaukee David Malukas was all over the place Sunday. He had a car fast enough to potentially win, but lost a lap in the pits before recovering to finish eighth. |
|
| Max Reaves Leads Wire-to-Wire, Wins ARCA Race at
Madison Joe Gibbs Racing's Max Reaves led all 200 laps Friday night to win the ARCA Menards Series Badger 200 at Madison International Speedway. Lavar Scott was second, followed by Brenden Queen, Isabella Robusto and Julian DaCosta. |
|
| Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia Win Michelin GT Challenge
at VIR Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports' Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims earned their first WeatherTech win of 2025 Sunday at VIR. |
|
| Rennsport One Wins Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand
Prix Rennsport One's Jan Heylen took the lead with 15 minutes to go Saturday and held on to win the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix with teammate Luca Mars. |
|
| Valentino Catalano Wins VP Racing Race No. 1 At
VIR Valentino Catalano managed to lead flag-to-flag Friday afternoon to win VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race No. 1 at VIR. Jake Walker won the GTDX class while Steven Clemons won in GSX. |
|
| Valentino Catalano Completes VIR VP Racing Weekend
Sweep Victories Saturday and Sunday morning allowed GEBHARDT Intralogistics Motorsports' Valentino Catalano to wrap up a three-race weekend sweep at VIR in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Paul Hurley, Chris Owens and Joe Skibinski of Penske Entertainment, IMSA and our own Josh Calloni and Danny Peters. Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising
lead or tip. |
Around the World in Motorsports: Aug. 22-24 |
- At the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Sunday, VDS Panis Racing's Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Charles Milesi claimed overall victory in the European Le Mans Series' 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It is the trio's second straight win after a triumph at Imola last month. The margin of
victory was 24.33 seconds over Inter Europol Competition's Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly. Nielsen Racing's Felipe Albuquerque, Cem Bolukbasi and Ferdinand Habsburg were third, then Algarve Pro Racing's Oliver Caldwell, Kriton Lentoudis and Alex Quinn. IDEC Sport's Paul-Loup Chatin, Paul Lafargue and Job van Uitert were fifth. The Genesis-run No.
18 IDEC Sport entry of Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert and Daniel Juncadella finished second on the road, but were assessed the time equivalent of a stop and three-minute penalty after the race for a full course yellow infringement. That dropped them all the way to 18th overall. Caldwell, Lentoudis and Quinn won the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass in fourth overall. They ended up
30.719 seconds ahead of United Autosports' Oliver Jarvis, Marino Sato and Daniel Schneider. AO by TF's Dane Cameron, Louis Deletraz and PJ Hyett were third, then AF Corse's Francois Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Matthieu Vaxiviere. TDS Racing's Mathias Beche, Clement Novalak and Rodrigo Sales. LMP3 saw CLX Motorsport's No. 17 end up in the gravel late in the race, ending
their chances to clinch the championship. The victory ultimately went to Team Virage's Julien Gerbi, Rik Koen and Daniel Nogales. Their margin of victory was a lap over RLR MSport's Nick Adcock, Gillian Henrion and Michael Jensen. Inter Europol Competition's Tim Crestwick, Douwe Dedecker and Reece Gold were third, then Eurointernational's Ian Aguliera and Fabien
Michal. M Racing's Quentin Antonel and Stephane Tribaudini were fifth. In LMGT3, the race came down to pit stops for fuel in the final 10 minutes. Racing Spirit of Leman's Valentin Hasse-Clot pitted just before the final lap for a splash of fuel and just beat Iron Lynx's Fabian Schiller out of the pits. From there, Hasse-Clot held on to take the class win with Erwan Bastard
and Clement Mateu.
The margin of victory was .986 seconds over Schiller, Martin Berry and Lorcan Hanafin. The Ferrari of Kessel Racing's James Calado, Takeshi Kimura and Ben Tuck was third, followed by the Iron Dames' Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Celia Martin. Richard Mille AF Corse's Riccardo Agostini, Custodio Toledo and Lilou Wadoux were fifth.
- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series spent last weekend racing in North Dakota. Friday night saw the tour return for their second visit of the year to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Here, Emerson Axsom, David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild
dueled for the lead early on. However, Buddy Kofoid started ninth and slowly moved himself into contention. Kofoid was able to run down the leaders and pass them one by one. On lap 19, he took the lead and never looked back en route to the River Cities season sweep. Gravel ended up second, then Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart and Axsom. Saturday night saw the tour travel south on Interstate 29 to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo for the Duel in the Dakotas. Early on, this race was a duel at the front between Haudenschild and local racer Christopher Thram. The dueling allowed Gravel to enter the mix, eventually forcing a three-way race for the lead. Haudenschild was able to speed into the lead from the
middle. However, a late yellow changed things up and brought Carson Macedo into the mix for a four-lap sprint to the finish. The final laps were a brutal battle between Haudenschild and Macedo as they fought tooth and nail. In the end, it was a slide job in turns 3 and 4 on the final lap that allowed Macedo to take the win. Haudenschild was .412 seconds back at the finish. Gravel was third, then Schuchart and Kofoid. Gravel continues to lead
the points by 172 over Kofoid. Macedo is third, then Schuchart and Haudenschild. - The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series was at Arrowhead Speedway for the Sooner State Showdown. Bobby Pierce reasserted his dominance of the series in Oklahoma. Friday night saw him drive up to Brian Shirley and make the pass with seven laps to go. From there, Pierce pulled away to take the victory. Shirley was 2.026 seconds back in second, followed by Tim McCreadie, Nick Hoffman and Tristan Chamberlain. Saturday night saw Pierce start from pole, but McCreadie was able to get past and lead the
first three before a caution came out. On the restart, Pierce was able to charge past on the outside to retake the lead. From there, Pierce was unthreatened on his way to the weekend sweep and his fourth straight victory. Pierce won by 1.64 seconds over Hoffman. Tyler Erb was third, then Shirley and Drake Troutman. In the points, Pierce has expanded his lead over Hoffman to 108 points. Ryan Gustin is third, then McCreadie and Troutman. |
This is just a sampling of the videos that we uploaded to our YouTube channels from Daytona and Milwaukee last weekend. For more from Daytona, Milwaukee, or from other race weekends, be sure to subscribe to our suite of YouTube channels (Frontstretch, Frontstretch Grassroots, Frontstretch Plus and FS Open Wheel) and don't forget to click the bell to be notified of future videos. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: William Byron, Kyle Larson Start Round of 16 Tied For Lead
by Phil Allaway
William Byron clinched the regular season championship in Richmond, so he could relax a little Saturday night. He ultimately finished 19th. That cost him a little of his lead, but not too much. Byron finished
the regular season with a 55-point lead over Ryan Blaney. Blaney's second win of the year moved him up three positions. Kyle Larson is up one place to third after a sixth-place finish. Chase Elliott dropped two positions to fourth after a 10th-place finish. Christopher Bell moved up one spot to
fifth after finishing 13th. Denny Hamlin dropped three spots to sixth after crashing early and finishing 25th. Tyler Reddick was the first driver to get into the playoffs on points in seventh, while Chase Briscoe is eighth. Alex Bowman was eliminated in the big crash early on and fretted for
hours, but held on to claim the final spot in the playoffs on points. His margin was 35 points over Chris Buescher, who finished seventh and moved up to 10th, but it wasn't enough. Bubba Wallace was eliminated in the Big One and dropped to 11th, while Joey Logano finished the regular season in 12th. Ross
Chastain won stage two and scored a race-high 19 stage points. He moved up one place to 13th. Ryan Preece dropped one spot to 14th, while Austin Cindric crashed out and finished up in 15th. Ty Gibbs is up one place to 16th. Kyle Busch dropped down to 17th, while AJ
Allmendinger is 18th and Brad Keselowski 19th. Michael McDowell rounded out the top 20. When the playoffs start in Darlington, Larson and Byron will be tied at the top of the point standings. They'll have a three-point lead over Hamlin. Blaney is fourth, then Bell. Logano and Chastain are tied for 11th and have the last two spots in the Round of 12 on points. They have a one-point lead over Berry and Reddick. Regular Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) William
Byron 863, 2) Ryan Blaney -55, 3) Kyle Larson -62, 4) Chase Elliott -65, 5) Christopher Bell -81, 6) Denny Hamlin -85, 7) Tyler Reddick -133, 8) Chase Briscoe
-144, 9) Alex Bowman -177, 10) Chris Buescher -208, 11) Bubba Wallace -223, 12) Joey Logano -224, 13) Ross Chastain -233, 14) Ryan Preece -243, 15) Austin Cindric -319, 16)
Ty Gibbs -320.
Outside of the top-16, but still in playoffs: t-21) Josh Berry -359, 25) Shane van Gisbergen -378, 26) Austin Dillon -390. Note: Drivers
in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for points. Round of 16 Point Standings: t-1) Kyle Larson 2032, t-1) William Byron 2032, 3) Denny Hamlin -3, 4) Ryan Blaney -6, 5) Christopher Bell -9, 6) Shane
van Gisbergen -10, 7) Chase Elliott -19, 8) Chase Briscoe -22, t-9) Darrell Wallace Jr. -24, t-9) Austin Cindric -24, t-11) Joey Logano -25, t-11) Ross Chastain -25, t-13) Josh Berry -26, t-13) Tyler Reddick -26, 15) Austin Dillon -27, 16) Alex Bowman -30.
Best of the Rest (17-26): 17) Chris Buescher 655, 18) Ryan Preece -35, 19) Ty Gibbs -112, 20) Kyle Busch -114, 21) AJ Allmendinger -139, 22) Brad Keselowski -140, 23) Michael McDowell -145, 24) Erik Jones -151, 25) Carson Hocevar -164, 26) John Hunter Nemechek
-169 Playoff Points: t-1) Kyle Larson 32, t-1) William Byron 32, 3) Denny Hamlin -3, 4) Ryan Blaney -6, 5) Christopher Bell -9, 6) Shane van
Gisbergen -10, 7) Chase Elliott -19, 8) Chase Briscoe -22, t-9) Bubba Wallace -24, t-9) Austin Cindric -24, t-11) Ross Chastain -25, t-11) Joey Logano -25, t-13) Josh Berry -26, t-13) Tyler Reddick
-26, 15) Austin Dillon -27, 16) Chris Buescher -29, t-17) Alex Bowman -30, t-17) Ryan Preece -30, t-17) Brad Keselowski -30, 20) Michael McDowell -31. Stage Points: 1) William Byron 247, 2) Ryan Blaney -18, 3) Kyle Larson -68, 4) Denny Hamlin -71, 5) Tyler Reddick
-80, 6) Bubba Wallace -85, 7) Alex Bowman -98, 8) Chase Elliott -106, 9) Christopher Bell -114, 10) Austin Cindric -121, 11) Joey Logano -134, 12) Chase Briscoe
-138, 13) Carson Hocevar -140, 14) Chris Buescher -158, 15) Ryan Preece -161, 16) Ross Chastain -169. Note: The Stage Points include the Duels at Daytona. Outside of the top 16, but Still in the Playoffs: 17) Josh Berry -170, 20) Shane van Gisbergen -194, 30) Austin Dillon -221. Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 768, 2) Christopher Bell -6, t-3) Kyle Larson
-38, t-3) William Byron -38, 5) Chase Briscoe -40, 5) Denny Hamlin -63, 7) Ryan Blaney -76, 8) Chris Buescher -85, 9) Tyler Reddick -95, 10) Ross Chastain
-114, 11) Alex Bowman -116, 12) Ryan Preece -124, 13) Joey Logano -127, 14) Ty Gibbs -155, 15) Kyle Busch -168, 16) Bubba Wallace -180. Outside of the top 16, but still in the playoffs: t-19) Austin Dillon -217, 24) Shane van Gisbergen -228, 25) Josh Berry -233, 26) Austin Cindric -234. Note: These
standings are based on the old point system that was used before stages were created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Christopher Bell 3450, 2) Chase Elliott -10, 3) Kyle Larson -71, 4) William Byron
-80, 5) Chase Briscoe -91, 6) Ryan Blaney -194, 7) Denny Hamlin -198, 8) Chris Buescher -306, 9) Tyler Reddick -310, 10) Alex Bowman -338, 11) Ross Chastain
-387, 12) Ryan Preece -409, 13) Joey Logano -434, 14) Ty Gibbs -508, 15) Bubba Wallace -567, 16) Kyle Busch -572. Outside of the
top-16, but still in the playoffs: 23) Austin Dillon -738, 24) Shane van Gisbergen -741, 25) Joey Logano -768, 26) Austin Cindric -799. Note No. 2: The WC points are based on the original points system created by Bob Latford in
1975. Race Winners: William Byron (Daytona-1, Iowa), Christopher Bell (Atlanta-1, COTA, Phoenix), Josh Berry (Las Vegas), Kyle Larson (Homestead, Bristol, Kansas), Denny Hamlin (Martinsville, Darlington, Michigan, Dover), Austin Cindric (Talladega), Joey Logano (Texas), Ross Chastain (Charlotte), Ryan Blaney (Nashville,
Daytona-2), Shane van Gisbergen (Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen), Chase Briscoe (Pocono), Chase Elliott (Atlanta-2), Bubba Wallace (Indianapolis), Austin Dillon (Richmond)
Note: Race wins in Italics do not count towards playoff
eligibility.
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
|
|
|
Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: Justin Allgaier Retakes The Lead
by Phil Allaway
Connor Zilisch, driving with a surgically repaired scapula, gave up his car early Friday night to Parker Kligerman. Kligerman then drove the WeatherTech Chevrolet to victory. Zilisch is credited with the victory, his seventh of 2025. However, he will not earn the playoff points from the win. The No. 88 did not score any stage points Friday night. Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier won stage two and finished third. The 50 points was enough for Allgaier to regain the points lead by only three points over Zilisch. Sam Mayer is still in third after a fifth-place finish. Jesse Love finished fourth and remains in fourth. Austin Hill finished 25th after getting caught up in the final lap crash. Despite that, he stays in fifth. Carson Kvapil finished 10th and stays in sixth. Brandon Jones is seventh, while Sheldon Creed is eighth. Sammy Smith won stage one and finished second, moving him up one place to
ninth. Smith jumped over Taylor Gray, who was involved in two crashes and finished 30th. Harrison Burton finished 16th and remains in 11th, the last driver in the playoffs on points. Nick Sanchez is still in 12th. Harrison has a 36-point lead over his cousin Jeb, who finished 20th. Ryan Sieg led the most laps
before being eliminated in a crash that keeps him in 14th. Dean Thompson is up one place to 15th after a seventh-place finish. He jumps over Christian Eckes, who crashed out with Sieg. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Justin Allgaier 866, 2) Connor Zilisch
-3, 3) Sam Mayer -26, 4) Jesse Love -93, 5) Austin Hill -150, 6) Carson Kvapil -179, 7) Brandon Jones -182, 8) Sheldon Creed -215, 9) Sammy Smith
-218, 10) Taylor Gray -232, 11) Harrison Burton -263, 12) Nick Sanchez -297, 13) Jeb Burton -299, 14) Ryan Sieg -319, 15) Dean Thompson -335, 16) Christian Eckes -343. Playoff Points: 1) Connor Zilisch 36, 2) Justin Allgaier -12, t-3) Sam Mayer -28, t-3) Brandon Jones -28, t-3) Sammy Smith -28, t-6) Jesse Love -30, t-6) Nick Sanchez -30, t-6) Aric Almirola
-30, t-9) Harrison Burton -34, t-9) Taylor Gray -34, t-11) Carson Kvapil -35, t-11) Sheldon Creed -35, t-11) Dean Thompson -35. Note No. 1: Austin Hill earned 21 playoff points previous to Iowa. However, since he was suspended for intentionally wrecking Aric
Almirola at Indianapolis, he lost all of his playoff points and cannot earn any until the playoffs start. Note No. 2: Even though Connor Zilisch is credited as the winner of the Wawa 250 at Daytona, he does not earn the five playoff points for winning since he wasn't in the car at the time of the finish. Note No. 2: If they were eligible for NASCAR Xfinity Series points, Kyle Larson would be third, William Byron tied for fourth, Shane van Gisbergen tied for eighth, Daniel Suarez 12th and Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain tied for 15th in playoff points. Stage Points: 1) Justin Allgaier 259, 2) Connor
Zilisch -68, 3) Sam Mayer -89, 4) Sheldon Creed -99, 5) Brandon Jones -101, 6) Austin Hill -105, 7) Jesse Love -113, 8) Sammy Smith -130, 9) Carson Kvapil -134, 10) Taylor Gray
-137, 11) Nick Sanchez -138, 12) Aric Almirola -156, 13) Ryan Sieg -174, t-14) Jeb Burton -197, t-14) Christian Eckes -197, 16) Harrison Burton -212. Note: If he were eligible for NASCAR
Xfinity Series points, Kyle Larson would be 16th in stage points. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Connor Mosack 778, 2) Sam Mayer -5, 3) Jesse Love -45, 4) Justin Allgaier
-61, 5) Carson Kvapil -116, 6) Austin Hill -119, 7) Harrison Burton -122, 8) Sammy Smith -144, 9) Brandon Jones -149, 10) Taylor Gray -168, 11) Jeb Burton -176, 12) Sheldon
Creed -186, 13) Dean Thompson -197, 14) Ryan Sieg -218, 15) Christian Eckes -223, 16) Nick Sanchez -233. WC Points (1-16): 1) Sam Mayer 3429, 2) Connor
Zilisch -14, 3) Jesse Love -140, 4) Justin Allgaier -152, 5) Carson Kvapil -408, 6) Austin Hill -412, 7) Harrison Burton -453, 8) Brandon Jones -507, 9) Sammy Smith -522, 10) Taylor
Gray -542, 11) Sheldon Creed -615, 12) Jeb Burton -634, 13) Dean Thompson -703, 14) Ryan Sieg -732, 15) Christian Eckes -753, 16) Nick Sanchez -779. Race
Winners: Jesse Love (Daytona-1), Austin Hill (Atlanta-1, Martinsville, Talladega), Connor Zilisch (COTA, Pocono, Sonoma, Dover, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Daytona-2), Aric Almirola (Phoenix), Justin Allgaier (Las Vegas, Homestead, Nashville), Brandon Jones (Darlington), Kyle Larson (Bristol, Texas), Sammy Smith (Rockingham), William Byron (Charlotte), Nick Sanchez (Atlanta-2), Shane van Gisbergen (Chicago), Sam Mayer (Iowa) Note: Connor Zilisch still receives credit for winning the Wawa 250 in Daytona even though Parker Kligerman took the checkered flag since Zilisch started the race. Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
|
|
|
Seeking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship: Off-Week Update No. 10
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was off last weekend. They will return to action to begin the playoffs Saturday at Darlington Raceway. When the playoffs begin, Corey Heim will have a 39-point lead over Layne Riggs. Chandler Smith is
third, then Daniel Hemric and a tie for fifth between Tyler Ankrum and Ty Majeski. Rajah Caruth has the final spot on points in the Round of 8 at the moment. He is two points ahead of Kaden Honeycutt and another point ahead of Jake Garcia. Regular Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) Corey Heim 848, 2) Layne Riggs -190, 3) Chandler Smith -205, 4) Ty Majeski -251, 5) Daniel Hemric
-261, 6) Grant Enfinger -266, 7) Tyler Ankrum -284, 8) Kaden Honeycutt -288, 9) Jake Garcia -338, 10) Ben Rhodes -357, 11) Gio Ruggiero -369, 12) Rajah Caruth -410, 13) Tanner Gray
-425, 14) Stewart Friesen -451, 15) Connor Mosack -463, 16) Matt Crafton -484.
Round of 10 Point Standings: 1) Corey Heim 2065, 2) Layne Riggs -39, 3) Chandler Smith -46, 4) Daniel Hemric -54, t-5) Tyler Ankrum -55,
t-5) Ty Majeski -55, 7) Grant Enfinger -58, 8) Rajah Caruth -60, 9) Kaden Honeycutt -62, 10) Jake Garcia -63.
Best of the Rest: 11) Ben Rhodes 491, 12) Gio Ruggiero -12, 13) Tanner Gray -68, 14) Stewart Friesen -94, 15)
Connor Mosack -106, 16) Matt Crafton -127, 17) Andres Perez -146, 18) Matt Mills -154, 19) Jack Wood -183, 20) Dawson Sutton -188. Playoff Point Standings: 1) Corey Heim 65, 2) Layne Riggs
-39, 3) Chandler Smith -46, 4) Daniel Hemric -54, t-5) Tyler Ankrum -55, t-5) Ty Majeski -55, 7) Grant Enfinger -58, t-8) Rajah Caruth -60, t-8) Stewart Friesen
-60, 10) Kaden Honeycutt -62, t-11) Jake Garcia -63, t-11) Ben Rhodes -63, t-13) Matt Crafton -64, t-13) Bayley Currey -64, t-13) Gio Ruggiero -64, t-13) Jack Wood -64. Note: If they were eligible for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points, Kyle Busch and Carson Hocevar would be tied for eighth and Kyle Larson tied for 10th in Playoff points. Stage Points: 1) Corey Heim 264, 2) Layne Riggs -108, t-3) Chandler Smith
-117, t-3) Kaden Honeycutt -117, 5) Ty Majeski -121, 6) Grant Enfinger -153, 7) Tyler Ankrum -176, 8) Daniel Hemric -179, 9) Ben Rhodes -181, 10) Jake Garcia -195, 11) Connor Mosack
-197, 12) Stewart Friesen -207, 13) Tanner Gray -211, 14) Rajah Caruth -215, 15) Gio Ruggiero -226, 16) Matt Crafton -236. Note: If they were eligible for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points,
Carson Hocevar would be 15th and Ross Chastain 16th in stage points. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Corey Heim 527, t-2) Daniel Hemric -92, t-2) Layne Riggs -92, 4) Chandler Smith
-96, 5) Tyler Ankrum -118, 6) Grant Enfinger -121, 7) Ty Majeski -140, 8) Gio Ruggiero -152, 9) Jake Garcia -154, 10) Kaden Honeycutt -178, 11) Ben Rhodes
-186, 12) Rajah Caruth -203, 13) Tanner Gray -228, 14) Stewart Friesen -244, 15) Matt Crafton -261, 16) Andres Perez -267. WC Points (1-16): 1) Corey Heim
2896, 2) Layne Riggs -338, 3) Daniel Hemric -341, 4) Chandler Smith -379, 5) Tyler Ankrum -435, 6) Grant Enfinger -443, 7) Ty Majeski -505, 8) Gio Ruggiero
-552, 9) Jake Garcia -571, 10) Kaden Honeycutt -656, 11) Ben Rhodes -672, 12) Rajah Caruth -717, 13) Tanner Gray -812, 14) Matt Crafton -931, 15) Andres Perez -958, 16) Matt
Mills -968. Race Winners: Corey Heim (Daytona, Las Vegas, Texas, Charlotte, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Richmond), Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Kyle Larson (Homestead), Daniel Hemric (Martinsville), Chandler Smith (Bristol, North Wilkesboro), Tyler Ankrum (Rockingham), Carson Hocevar (Kansas), Rajah Caruth (Nashville), Stewart Friesen (Michigan),
Layne Riggs (Pocono, Lucas Oil IRP)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade
Photography.
|
|
|
Quotes to Remember: Coke Zero Sugar 400 compiled by Phil Allaway
"We just started rolling. I was with [Cole Custer] if he wanted to go three-wide top I wanted to let him know that under caution, and I was kind of waiting for him to go and knew we were probably gonna have people go with us if we went up top, it was just a matter of who would bite first. I figured if two of us went up there, you’d have followers and help. We finally went and it kind of
checked on the tri-oval and Cole jumped up and we were able to keep a bunch of momentum going and have good pushes from Suarez, things like that, and then I just kind of kept creeping on the top. When [Justin Haley] blocked [Custer] and the next thing I know I’m leading the lane and now I’m clear to the middle and I can play two lanes. I didn’t quite know what lane to block, the middle or top at the end. I was like, ‘Just try middle. I think we’ve got enough momentum.’ Enough to hold them off.
It was a crazy last few laps, that’s for sure. I’m gonna be excited to go back and watch it on TV." - Ryan Blaney, race winner
"We just needed one more spot. The No. 99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet team did a great job. We just probably needed to be in position a little bit earlier, but our Chevy was strong. We just lost a little bit of control in the final stage and that set us behind a little bit. [Ryan
Blaney] was back there with us at one point. Overall, we had a good car all night, but it was just a little bit too late." - Daniel Suarez, finished second "When [Kyle Larson] put [Ryan Preece] three-wide, the pack lost momentum, and I got too far out. By the time I realized it, I tried to check up, but then everyone came around me and I was just trying to find a
lane. It was pretty tough, and obviously I don’t think [Larson] wanted to push a new car to the win, so he was doing everything he could to win and that is respectable." - Justin Haley, finished third
"It was an awesome race. Definitely awesome to get a result that shows the hard work of our team and everything they put in this year. I’m definitely going to look back and see the different
things I could’ve done to get a win but a lot of times you just deal with the cards you’ve got. I tried to stay with [Ryan Blaney], my Ford teammate, I knew he was going to have a run at the end but when [Justin Haley] got clear, I had to get away from him and try something different." - Cole Custer, finished fourth "We were really good with [Justin Haley] and
switched there on the restart and started working with [Kyle Larson]. He was shoving really aggressive, and I got pretty out of shape and that was kind of it. I don’t know. I hate that it ended the way that it did. We put ourselves in a good spot and everything was going right to kind of the plan, and we just got out of shape. Glad it’s in one piece and we finished, but unfortunately fifth tonight doesn’t do much for us." - Erik Jones, finished fifth "I don’t know. This race car was really good. The team did a fantastic job. The FIfth Third Bank Ford Mustang was fast and handled fantastic. We got up there and was side-by-side there with [Joey Logano]. We only got there for about two laps and I thought that was gonna be a really good spot and let us be able to duke it out. I think he got hit a little bit there, so we lost our track position on
that caution and got behind some cars and got a little bit boxed in. That’s a shame because we just want more and our car was so good. We had a shot to win that thing and it’s great to be there, but we just want to win." - Chris Buescher, finished seventh
"Man, I felt like we were gonna win that race. You want to talk about having the best scenario play out for how we wanted it to, I was just
leaving [Justin Haley] there. [Chris Buescher] was doing a great job just letting him stay there and there’s nothing you can do. The problem is you know [Chase Elliott] and [Kyle Larson] were worried about their teammate that would have been bumped out, so it was a tough situation. I thought we were gonna win that one because we did everything right today and it just didn’t work out." - Ryan Preece, finished 14th "Being in front of it is really about all I could do, unfortunately. From where we were, there just really wasn’t any way to get around it. All of the hits just sort of compounded too much to be able to fix it. I hate it for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team. We’ve done a lot of good things lately. Tonight is going to be stressful to watch, but we’ll see what happens. Hope for no new winners, but if somebody wins, they deserve it. It’s
unfortunate that we haven’t won yet this year. We’ve been so strong, especially lately. I would say from Michigan on, it’s been something fun to be a part of.
"It was all very out of our control. I hate that we tanked so bad the first run. The bottom lane just fell apart behind us. We had to overcome that, but we had gotten back to the back side of the top 10. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out." -
Alex Bowman, finished 36th (Crashed out) "I need to see a replay. Everything was happening pretty quick there. The hit from [Kyle Larson] shoved me down there and it was like I got shoved up by [Joey Logano] and [Ryan Blaney] moved up. He was trying to just move up and take the lane. But, oh well. I hate it. 20th or 22nd to the lead in a short amount of time. A huge
shoutout to my crew on the 23 Columbia Toyota Camry. I hate it for Columbia. They came down here and I couldn’t get them a good result, so I hate that. I’ll take the blame for it, unfortunately. Just a crap deal. Everything was going too good too early to be all true, so something was bound to happen. I hate that for everyone involved in it but hopefully we can get [Tyler Reddick] in. All in all, we’re locked in, and we’ll get focused for Darlington." - Bubba Wallace, finished 37th (Crashed
out) Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade
Photography.
|
|
|
|
