Frontstretch Newsletter: Chandler Smith Claims 1st Career Camping World Truck Series Victory At Bristol

Published: Fri, 09/17/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: Sept. 17, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CLXVIII

What to Watch: Friday

- Tonight, the Xfinity Series wraps up their regular season with the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. There is no real excitement at the cutoff. Riley Herbst's lead is big enough over anyone else that has started enough races to be playoff-eligible that one of those drivers would have to win tonight to bump him out.

However, Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger are separated by only five points and are fighting hard for the regular season championship. The extra playoff points are worth it to them. Coverage begins with Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. at NBCSN.

INDYCAR teams will be on-track at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca later this afternoon for their first practice session of the weekend. That can be seen at 5:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.

- SRO America teams are practicing today at a relatively foggy Watkins Glen International. Qualifying for all four series is scheduled for Saturday morning.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN WATKINS GLEN THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUE:

Phil Allaway (@Critic84)

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Bristol and Watkins Glen!!

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Sept. 17

- The Automobile Club d'Ouest (ACO) released the 2022 schedules for the European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup Friday. Changes here see both series drop the Red Bull Ring and Monza from their schedules. Both series will stay in Italy, but shift their race to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. The Red Bull Ring will be replaced by the Hungaroring.

Specific to the Michelin Le Mans Cup, they will not be present at Barcelona in August. The annual 55-minute Road to Le Mans races will be back in their traditional dates in June on the undercard of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

- In opening Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS practice at Watkins Glen International, Wright Motorsports' Jan Heylen was fastest with a lap at 115.813 mph. Heylen was eight-tenths of a second faster than K-PAX Racing's Andrea Caldarelli. DXDT Racing's Ryan Dalziel was third quickest, then Turner Motorsport's Robby Foley and HTP Winward Motorsport's Mikael Grenier.

Today's Top News:

Chandler Smith Wins Truck Series at Bristol, Advances to Playoffs Round of 8

Chandler Smith bumped Sheldon Creed out of the way in the last couple of laps, then benefitted from team orders to win Thursday night's UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics, his first career win in the Camping World Truck Series. Grant Enfinger was second, then John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Johnny Sauter.

Bootie Barker Named Bubba Wallace’s New Crew Chief for Rest of 2021

23XI Racing announced Thursday that Robert "Bootie" Barker will serve as crew chief of Bubba Wallace's No. 23 Toyota for the remainder of 2021, replacing Mike Wheeler, who will stay in an executive role with the team.

Ty Gibbs Dominates, Wins ARCA Race at Bristol

Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs dominated once again Thursday night, winning the combination ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East Bush's Best 200 at Bristol for his 10th win of the year. Sammy Smith was second and claimed the ARCA Menards Series East title. Taylor Gray was third, then Nick Sanchez and Corey Heim.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

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

Newsletter Exclusives:

(Photo: NASCAR Media via Logan Riely of Getty Images)

Seeking the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs: Sheldon Creed Wins Round of 10; Chandler Smith Bumps Todd Gilliland Out Of Playoffs
by Phil Allaway

Sheldon Creed dominated Thursday night, leading all but 11 laps. However, contact with Chandler Smith cut his left rear tire and cost him the race. He spun in the final five laps, then continued and finished 19th. Winning both stages gave him an extra 20 points, enough to allow him to win the Round of 10 by one point over John Hunter Nemechek, who finished third. Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen ended up tied for third. Crafton gets the spot by virtue of his second-place finish at Gateway.

Carson Hocevar gained two spots to finish the round in fifth after finishing sixth. Ben Rhodes dropped one place to a tie for sixth after finishing ninth. Rhodes was tied with Zane Smith, who finished eighth. Todd Gilliland finished 10th, but that was not enough for him to advance to the Round of 8. He ended up missing out by two points.

Chandler Smith moved up to ninth in the round by virtue of his victory Thursday night. Austin Hill had a great night until he was tagged by Josh Berry, resulting in Hill crashing out. The 24th-place finish put him 10th and ended any championship chances.

After the Round of 8 points reset, Nemechek will enter Las Vegas with a 24-point lead over Creed. Rhodes is third, then Zane Smith and Chandler Smith.

Outside of the playoffs, Grant Enfinger finished second and expanded his advantage. He is 92 points ahead of Johnny Sauter, who finished fifth. Derek Kraus dropped to 13th after spinning late in the race. Tyler Ankrum dropped two places to 14th after running into the back of Clay Greenfield on a late restart and damaging his suspension. Austin Wayne Self is 15th, followed by Ryan Truex.

Round of 10 Point Standings: 1) Sheldon Creed 2166, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -1, t-3) Matt Crafton -33, t-3) Stewart Friesen -33, 5) Carson Hocevar -63, t-6) Ben Rhodes -64, t-6) Zane Smith -64, 8) Todd Gilliland -66, 9) Chandler Smith -68, 10) Austin Hill -72.

Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have advanced to the Round of 10.

Note No. 2: Drivers in Italics have been eliminated.

Round of 8 Point Standings: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 3050, 2) Sheldon Creed -24, 3) Ben Rhodes -31, 4) Zane Smith -41, 5) Chandler Smith -44, 6) Matt Crafton -46, 7) Carson Hocevar -48, 8) Stewart Friesen -49.

Full Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 765, 2) Austin Hill -131, 3) Ben Rhodes -136, 4) Sheldon Creed -148, 5) Todd Gilliland -151, 6) Zane Smith -179, 7) Matt Crafton -191, 8) Stewart Friesen -249, 9) Carson Hocevar -261, 10) Grant Enfinger -267, 11) Chandler Smith -316, 12) Johnny Sauter -357, 13) Derek Kraus -363, 14) Austin Wayne Self -384, 15) Tyler Ankrum -387, 16) Ryan Truex -443.

Best of the Rest: 11) Grant Enfinger 501, 12) Johnny Sauter -92, 13) Derek Kraus -99, 14) Tyler Ankrum -116, 15) Austin Wayne Self -120, 16) Ryan Truex -179, 17) Hailie Deegan -198, 18) Tanner Gray -240, 19) Chase Purdy -264, 20) Parker Kligerman -279.

Playoff Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 50, 2) Sheldon Creed -24, 3) Ben Rhodes -31, 4) Zane Smith -40, 5) Chandler Smith -43, 6) Matt Crafton -46, 7) Carson Hocevar -47, 8) Stewart Friesen -48.

Stage Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 208, 2) Sheldon Creed -27, 3) Austin Hill -57, 4) Ben Rhodes -73, 5) Zane Smith -76, 6) Matt Crafton -82, 7) Stewart Friesen -86, 8) Todd Gilliland -95, 9) Derek Kraus -111, 10) Chandler Smith -122, 11) Grant Enfinger -139, 12) Carson Hocevar -156, 13) Tyler Ankrum -160, 14) Raphael Lessard -168, 15) Johnny Sauter -182, 16) Ty Majeski -185.

Note: If they were eligible for stage points, Kyle Busch would be 11th and Josh Berry 16th.

Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 501, 2) Todd Gilliland -66, 3) Ben Rhodes -70, 4) Austin Hill -85, 5) Zane Smith -111, 6) Sheldon Creed -114, 7) Carson Hocevar -116, 8) Matt Crafton -121, 9) Grant Enfinger -125, 10) Stewart Friesen -171, 11) Johnny Sauter -190, 12) Chandler Smith -192, 13) Austin Wayne Self -211, 14) Tyler Ankrum -227, 15) Ryan Truex -253, 16) Derek Kraus -254.

Race Winners: Ben Rhodes (Daytona-1, Daytona-2), John Hunter Nemechek (Las Vegas, Richmond, Charlotte, Pocono), Kyle Busch (Atlanta, Kansas), Martin Truex Jr. (Bristol-1), Sheldon Creed (Darlington-1, Gateway, Darlington-2), Todd Gilliland (Circuit of the Americas), Ryan Preece (Nashville), Austin Hill (Knoxville, Watkins Glen), Chandler Smith (Bristol-2)

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of NASCAR Media via Logan Riely of Getty Images

Frontstretch Folio: Bass Pro Shops Night Race

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series makes their second visit of the season to Bristol Motor Speedway in Eastern Tennessee. Coverage of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race starts on NBCSN with Countdown to Green at 6:30 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to drop around 7:45 p.m. Saturday night. The race can also be heard on PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race was dominated by Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. The two drivers combined to lead 385 of 500 laps with Harvick leading a race-high 226.

Busch was dominant at times despite having to come from the rear of the field after flunking pre-race inspection multiple times. Harvick won the race off pit road during the final yellow of the evening with 87 laps to go.

From there, Harvick and Busch fought each other. Busch took the lead from Harvick on lap 459. 10 laps later, Harvick was able to get him back. From there, Harvick held on to take the victory.

Kyle Busch was only three-tenths of a second back at the finish in second. Erik Jones was third, then Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola.

Amongst active drivers, Kyle Busch has the most victories at Bristol with eight. Older brother Kurt has six career victories on the high banks. Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have three each (Logano's total includes the dirt race back in March).

All-time, Darrell Waltrip is the winningest driver in the history of Bristol Motor Speedway with 12 wins, including seven in a row at one point. Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace have nine each. Kyle Busch is next on the list with his eight, followed by Kurt Busch with his six victories, then Jeff Gordon and David Pearson with five each.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 0.533-mile oval, 500 laps (266.5 miles)
Banking: 24-30 degrees
Straights: 650 ft., banked 4-9 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 153,000
Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1960 (first Cup race in 1961)

Website: http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMSUpdates

Say What!

"Obviously, we’re not in an ideal situation heading to Bristol but we’re by no means out of it. Just because we’re below the cutline doesn’t mean we need to try anything crazy, either. That’s when people put themselves in bad situations, I feel like. We just need to go to Bristol and execute on all levels as a team. We know we have the speed in our cars to run well at Bristol; we just need to focus on running our race. We’ll be aware of what’s going on around us, but we can only control our race and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We need to maximize our points and be around at the end of the night to capitalize." - William Byron

"The vibe at the Bristol Night Race is always over the top. It’s always a great event. You really never know what to expect at the Bristol Night Race. It can go completely smoothly or it can be complete chaos. Usually, it’s somewhere in between those two and you just have an exciting night. Bristol is intense every lap. There’s just a lot happening every single corner to make good lap times at Bristol. There’s always something happening in front of you, so you try and look as far ahead as you can to keep yourself out of trouble. But the best way to keep yourself out of trouble at Bristol is to be on offense and going forward, so hopefully we can do that." - Kevin Harvick

"Bristol Motor Speedway is tough. You are hustling the car nonstop. It is really the only place that we get to go where you are just all out for the whole race. A lot of places, you kind of have to manage your car. At Bristol, you are really going with all you’ve got from the start. Just being able to run both lanes; being able to make the bottom work in the PJ-1 and be able to move up as the race goes on. Getting in that upper groove, you can make a lot of speed up there and that’s really just as important. You have to have a good car in both lanes. That’s probably the toughest part, having that balance." - Erik Jones

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.

Today at Frontstretch:

Friday Faceoff: Candy Eggs, Easter Bunnies & NASCAR Racing?

by the Frontstretch Staff

4 Burning Questions: NASCAR Schedule Pondering

by Michael Finley

Zach’s Turn: Pocono Raceway’s Doubleheader Canned Too Quickly

by Zach Sturniolo

Tracking the Trucks: Chandler Smith Scores 1st Career Win at Bristol Motor Speedway

by Beth Lunkenheimer

Stock Car Scoop: Bristol Preview

by Adam Cheek and Bryan Nolen

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Bristol, Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen.

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