Category: Trucks

Eckes claims masterful Martinsville victory in NASCAR Trucks

It was indeed a special night for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Christian Eckes, who dominated Friday night’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Eschewing a trip to pit road between the first and second stages at the 0.526-mile …

It was indeed a special night for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Christian Eckes, who dominated Friday night’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

Eschewing a trip to pit road between the first and second stages at the 0.526-mile short track, Eckes led the first 104 laps, swept the stages and worked his way back through the field from 19th after pitting at the Stage 2 break.

Undeterred by the chaos that produced 11 cautions for 81 laps, Eckes took the lead for the final time on lap 172 in a side-by-side battle against pole winner Ty Majeski, who regained the top spot when Eckes came to pit road for the only time during the 200-lap event.

“Something really special,” Eckes said of the effort of his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team and the quality of his Chevrolet. “We came here last year, and we weren’t really that great… we were maybe a sixth-place truck (started sixth and finished 15th). And we worked really hard on it, and here we are in victory lane. So just super proud of this entire team.”

The victory was the second of the season for Eckes, who won from the pole at Bristol last month. It was his first triumph at Martinsville and the seventh of his career.

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Starting from the top spot on the grid, Majeski gave up the lead on the first lap as Eckes powered past him.

“The 19 (Eckes) was tough tonight,” Majeski said. “He was just a little but better than us. He had better tires (in the final stage), and I just could not launch on restarts…

“But I think we left here with the points lead today. Really solid day. Obviously, you want to win. I wanted that grandfather clock (trophy), but I’m super proud of this team. We’ve been working hard at getting our trucks better, and just a little but short tonight.”

Majeski leaves Martinsville as the series leader, with a seven-point edge over Corey Heim and Tyler Ankrum.

Chase Purdy ran third to post his fourth top-five finish in 81 Truck Series starts. Nick Sanchez was fourth, followed by Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Sammy Smith, Kaden Honeycutt and Heim.

Australian Supercars star Cam Waters finished 30th in his NASCAR debut, a casualty of a chain-reaction collision on lap 177 that left his No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford spewing hot vapor like a geyser.

“I had so much fun tonight and all day today,” Waters said. “It is totally different racing from what I usually do, and I just wanted to learn. I learned so much.

“There at the end I just had nowhere to go and knocked the radiator out of it. It is a shame, but I was having fun and learning and had some awesome battles, too.”

RESULTS

NASCAR debut a long time coming for Waters

An opportunity a year in the making comes to fruition on Friday night at Martinsville Speedway when Cam Waters makes his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck series with ThorSport Racing. Waters visited the same track a year ago, which further …

An opportunity a year in the making comes to fruition on Friday night at Martinsville Speedway when Cam Waters makes his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck series with ThorSport Racing.

Waters visited the same track a year ago, which further sparked his interest in a sport he’s followed for a long time. A Ford Mustang driver in Australian Supercars for Tickford Racing, Waters will be in ThorSport Racing’s No. 66 Ford F-150 at Martinsville Speedway. He is the third Australian Supercars driver to enter a NASCAR race in less than a year, even though no one knew Waters had been working on this deal long before Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki arrived on the scene.

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“I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time,” Waters said. “Shane [van Gisbergen] was super lucky with how his stuff came together and I was super happy for him and how Chicago went was obviously amazing. For me, it’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time and it’s just great to finally be able to pull something together and do this race.”

Unlike van Gisbergen and Kostecki who made their debuts in a Cup series car, Waters is doing so in a truck. NASCAR took inspiration for its Next Gen car from sports cars and Australian Supercars, but Waters felt the truck is the best way to learn and said he prefers truck racing.

“I went to Martinsville 12 months ago and I’ve done a lot of dirt oval stuff, small stuff in Australia,” Waters said, “so for me, I wanted to experience oval racing and the truck was probably the perfect opportunity to come over here and do a short oval and get racing.”

Waters didn’t deny he’d like to come to NASCAR full-time one day, but noted he has a “pretty cool thing” going in Australia. NASCAR will be a different experience when it comes to oval pavement racing but Waters has a background in sprint cars, late models and modifieds on dirt ovals. While he’ll have a better answer after the weekend, Waters anticipates that his sprint car experience of having to search for grip and trying different lanes will translate to his NASCAR debut.

Upon arriving in the United States late last week, Waters spent time at the ThorSport Racing shop in Sandusky, Ohio, for a seat fitting. It was a race shop that he was blown away by for its size. A road trip to Charlotte brought him to the Ford tech center for simulator work.

“I think Friday night, if we can keep the truck clean and take in as much as I can, I think that’d be good,” Waters said. “I’ve kind of got no expectations. I don’t really know how I’m going to go. It’s going to be kind of jumping in the deep end, so to speak, with the limited practice and not being able to drive the truck beforehand. Right now, this is the only thing we’ve got set in stone.

“It’s kind of hard with my schedule in Australia. I’m going after a championship over there. This race fit in pretty perfectly between AGP and Telpo to fit in a race. I really just need to get through this weekend and see how we go and go home, go to New Zealand, and try to win some races over there to get my Supercar championship back on track.”

Waters will be on track at Martinsville for practice on Friday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, FS1) followed by qualifying. The green flag is set for after 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1).

Supercars’ Waters to make Truck Series debut

Australian Supercars racer Cam Waters will make his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Speedway with ThorSport Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. Waters, 29, left Australia last Tuesday for the United States after the Melbourne SuperSprint Supercars …

Australian Supercars racer Cam Waters will make his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Speedway with ThorSport Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Waters, 29, left Australia last Tuesday for the United States after the Melbourne SuperSprint Supercars event. He will drive a ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 in the Friday, April 5, event.

“We’ve been working away at making this happen for some time and to finally be given the chance to race, and with a top operation, is great,” Waters said. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself knowing I will be getting thrown into the deep end without any testing, but hopefully I can adapt reasonably quickly and be competitive. It’s a short oval so I’m sure it will be pretty wild out there.”

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Waters is a two-time championship runner-up in Supercars competition, where he currently races a Tickford Racing Ford Mustang. He’s also previously competed at Bathurst, with three podium finishes.

“I have to thank Ford Performance and the team at ThorSport for helping make this happen,” Waters said, “and also my long-time team Tickford Racing, who have always supported my plans to explore new driving opportunities in and around my continued dedication to winning the Supercars Championship with them.”

Waters will be the third Supercars driver who has ventured into NASCAR over the last year. Shane van Gisbergen made two starts last season in the Cup Series, winning in his debut on the streets of Chicago. Brodie Kostecki made his Cup Series debut on the Indianapolis road course.

ThorSport Racing fields full-time entries for Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia and reigning two-time series champion Ben Rhodes. The organization has won five driver’s championships and 28 races.

“Anything that can provide Cam with further seat time is a bonus,” said Tickford Racing owner Rod Nash. “His foray into sprint car racing and now the NASCAR truck event provides a fantastic way for Cam to stay sharp and further test his skills. The timing being in between the AGP event and Taupo also works well for our team and we’re wishing Cam well and will be watching with huge interest.”

Heim dominates Truck Series’ only road course of 2024 at COTA

An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon. Heim dominated the …

An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon.

Heim dominated the race – his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career — by 1.625s over his teammate Taylor Gray.

ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, Spire Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain in a Niece Motorsports Chevy rounded out the top five.

“Just prepared so hard for this race,’’ Heim said, adding, “I came into this race last year and struggled, really. Finished sixth with a penalty and just all over the place. To put together a solid race like this is just so special and really just shows you how good our trucks are back at the shop”.

Heim has finished sixth or better in all five races this season.

“Great consistency and that was the name of the game last year to make it as far as we did,’’ he said smiling. “Didn’t have the result at the end [of 2023] but I think this year we can make it back and prove we’re champions. Super excited for the rest of the year. We’re really just getting started and I think our best tracks are in front of us, so really can’t wait.”

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Certainly Heim’s performance Saturday on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course was the afternoon standard, but there was plenty of good racing behind him. There were 14 lead changes among eight drivers, but no one other than Heim led double-digit laps.

Jack Hawksworth, a sports car and IndyCar driver making his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start certainly proved himself a talent to be reckoned with. He ran top five most of the day and led a lap. He finished sixth.

Reigning series champ Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

 

The 17-year-old phenom Zilisch started from pole position in his first ever start in one of NASCAR’s premier divisions. Leading the field, he went into the first corner hard, however, relinquishing the lead to Heim immediately. After a pit stop for tires and a motivational reminder from his veteran crew chief Brian Pattie, he returned with vengeance. He and his Spire Motorsports team never gave up, getting him back on the lead lap and then in contention late in the race.

Zilisch was running in fourth place with less than five laps in regulation to go but was given a pass-through penalty for cutting the course. Fortunately, it came just as a caution flew and it only cost the teenager two positions. He opted to pit for gas during the ensuing yellow flag and was able to climb back to that impressive top five finish in his first race.

Nick Sanchez won Stage 1 and Heim claimed Stage 2 – both drivers’ first stage victories of the year.

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition April 5 with the Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending winner.

RESULTS

Eckes finds redemption with Truck Series win at Bristol

Sometimes a victory tastes sweetest when it comes as a chaser for a bitter defeat. That was certainly the case for pole winner Christian Eckes, who held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol …

Sometimes a victory tastes sweetest when it comes as a chaser for a bitter defeat.

That was certainly the case for pole winner Christian Eckes, who held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In last year’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race at Bristol, Eckes gave up the lead to Corey Heim with six laps left and finished second by 0.218s.

The loss cost Eckes, who led 150 laps in that event, a berth in the Championship 4 at Phoenix, where his victory in the season finale gave him a consolation prize but not a title.

On Saturday night, Eckes passed Busch for the lead on lap 159 and held it for the final 92 circuits as Busch made a frenetic charge that fell just short. In traffic, Eckes crossed the finish line 0.141s ahead of the career Truck Series victory leader.

“Oh, man, it’s so sweet,” said Eckes, who won for the first time this season, the first time at Bristol and the sixth time in his career. “There’s just so much behind this win from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with [six] to go.

 

“To come back and redeem ourselves was our number one goal, and not only that, but the first three races [of this season], how terribly they’ve gone. We had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good just shows the resilience of the team.”

By putting his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Silverado in Victory Lane, Eckes extended Chevrolet’s 2024 Truck Series winning streak to four races.

Under the sixth and final caution, which slowed Busch’s pursuit for eight laps, Busch radioed to his team, “We’re a second-place truck, maybe third.”

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But that didn’t prevent Busch from charging after Eckes after a restart on lap 227 of 250. As the run progressed, Busch cut into Eckes’ lead, which had grown to more than one second, and closed to his back bumper by the time Eckes crossed the finish line.

“The crazy part about it is, we fought loose all through practice, all through qualifying, all through the beginning part of the race on older date codes,” Busch said. “Then we put on the newer date codes of tires and were instantly tight. So just not being able to prepare and practice on what you expect to race on hurt us.

“We tightened up all day, and obviously I don’t think we were as tight as the 19 (Eckes) at the end but, you know, just track position. I let him go early in that run to just go burn his stuff off and track position at the end, just aero effects… Didn’t have enough rubber on the road to outduel him.”

Zane Smith finished third in the first race of a double-duty weekend. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton was fourth after joining Eckes and Busch in a three-way battle for the lead before the final caution for a shunt involving Stewart Friesen and Nick Sanchez on lap 219.

Series leader Tyler Ankrum was fifth, extending his margin over second-place Corey Heim to 17 points. Heim finished sixth, followed by Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger and Sunoco rookie Layne Riggs.

RESULTS

Caruth breaks through for first Truck Series win at Las Vegas

Rajah Caruth made a promise after taking the checkered flag in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “There’s more to come, for sure,” said the 21-year-old Spire Motorsports driver moments after securing his first NASCAR …

Rajah Caruth made a promise after taking the checkered flag in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“There’s more to come, for sure,” said the 21-year-old Spire Motorsports driver moments after securing his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win from the pole position in Friday night’s race.

An alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, Caruth is the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race, joining Hall of Famer Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.

It was a day for firsts for Caruth, who earlier on Friday won the initial Truck Series pole of his career by 0.001s over Christian Eckes.

But it was Caruth’s pit crew that helped decide the issue. During a 62-lap green-flag run to the finish, crew chief Chad Walter called Caruth’s No. 71 Chevrolet to pit road early in the cycle.

The over-the-wall crew performed a flawless stop, and after other contenders made their stops during the cycle, Caruth inherited the lead on lap 114 with an advantage over Taylor Gray of nearly two seconds.

That margin enabled Caruth, who led 38 laps, to finish 0.851s in front of fast-closing Tyler Ankrum, who passed Gray for the second spot on lap 120.

After starting up front, smooth execution by Caruth and his Spire Motorsports team kept him there. Gavin Bake /Motorsport Images

“It’s surreal,” said Caruth. “Thinks so much to (sponsor) HendrickCars.com and Mr. H (Hendrick) for putting me in this thing all year, and with the men and women at Spire.

“So many people have helped me get to this point, and I can’t believe it. I just stayed cool. We lost track position in little portions of the race, and we stayed in the game… My guys got me a great stop, and we just executed.”

A lack of execution ruined the chances of several contenders. Ty Majeski, who led a race-high 40 of the 134 laps and swept the first two stages, drew a penalty for speeding on pit road on lap 102. So did Daytona winner Nick Sanchez, snuffing out a late rally.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch’s crew was guilty of a tire violation, preventing Caruth’s Spire teammate from contending for the victory. But with Busch winning last week at Atlanta, Spire now has two straight victories.

In the closing laps, Ankrum could see Caruth tantalizingly in front of him, just out of reach.

“I wish we would have had 10 more laps, and I think we could have gotten it,” said Ankrum, who retained his series lead by five points over second-place Majeski. “But we tend to say that a lot in racing. I wish we would have been able to do it, but I think our time is coming.”

Corey Heim finished third as is seven points behind Ankum in the standings. Caruth climbed one spot from fifth to fourth, 10 points out of the series lead.
Gray took fourth on Friday, followed by Christopher Bell. Eckes, Matt Crafton, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Majeski completed the top 10. Busch finished 15th, one lap down.

Chevrolet won its second straight race at the track, after breaking a streak of seven straight Toyota victories last year… Caruth’s win was the 11th from the pole position in 32 Truck races at LVMS — a remarkable percentage of 34.4.

RESULTS

Busch cruises to Truck Series win at Atlanta after Enfinger falters

When Kyle Busch sold his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team to Spire Motorsports, he didn’t surrender his prowess behind the wheel. Driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in his first start of 2024, Busch inherited the lead from Grant …

When Kyle Busch sold his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team to Spire Motorsports, he didn’t surrender his prowess behind the wheel.

Driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in his first start of 2024, Busch inherited the lead from Grant Enfinger on lap 129 of 135 and held off Ty Majeski and Corey Heim over the final five laps to win his seventh race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the 65th of his career, extending his own series record.

Enfinger was out front for 21 consecutive laps before one of his tires began losing pressure, forcing him to the pits after Busch, Majeski, Heim, Taylor Gray and Nick Sanchez, last week’s winner at Daytona, sped past.

Busch crossed the finish line 0.187s ahead of Majeski, who edged Heim for the runner-up position by 0.009s. Gray and Sanchez came home fourth and fifth, respectively.

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“I actually got a run on the No. 9 truck (Enfinger) down the backstretch,” Busch said of the pass for the win. “He must have been going flat down the backstretch and slowing down because it gave me—it sucked me up right to him. Then he got loose in the corner. I got loose in the corner. We all checked up trying not to crash.

“Thankfully, we didn’t. I thought that was a big moment. But then we got the lead right there, and after that, it was about trying to protect it. Majeski was a bit of a wing man today. Appreciate him—and the history we’ve had together growing up racing late models with him a lot in Wisconsin and around those parts.

“That was a lot of fun. Great to get Chevrolet to Victory Lane.”

The race was the first of five events Busch will run for Spire Motorsports this year, after selling Kyle Busch Motorsports to the organization late in the 2023 season. Busch now has 230 victories across all three of NASCAR’s national series (63 NASCAR Cup, 102 Xfinity and 65 CRAFTSMAN Truck).

Coming through the final corner Busch effectively blocked Majeski’s only potential path to victory.

“I had a run, and I got to Kyle’s bumper,” Majeski said. “I knew he was going to cover the bottom. My only shot was to try and fade right, get to his quarter panel. That was the only shot that I had.

“Overall, super proud of the day. The truck was a little ill-handling in the beginning. (Crew chief) Joe Shear made some great calls, tightened me up a little bit so we could go racing.”

 

Tyler Ankrum led a race-high 46 laps but got shuffled back in the bottom lane after Enfinger passed him for the top spot in lap 108. Busch, who won Stage 2, was out front for 33 laps and Enfinger 23. Ankrum finished seventh behind Kaden Honeycutt in sixth.

Christian Eckes led 20 laps and won the first stage but suffered brake issues that prevented him from stopping in his pit box during the Stage 1 break. Eckes retired after 50 laps in 33rd place.

There were 20 lead changes among seven drivers and seven cautions for 37 laps.

RESULTS

Sanchez avoids Truck Series chaos to nab first career win at Daytona

With cars wrecking and flipping behind him in overtime, Nick Sanchez claimed the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of his young NASCAR Cup Series career in Friday night’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The race …

With cars wrecking and flipping behind him in overtime, Nick Sanchez claimed the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of his young NASCAR Cup Series career in Friday night’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

The race ended under caution on the second lap of the overtime after Rajah Caruth, running fourth, moved up the track and turned the No. 91 Chevrolet of Jack Wood in front of the field.

Sanchez and runner-up Corey Heim were clear of the chaos, and Caruth escaped with minimal damage to run third. But behind them, the Chevy of Daniel Dye launched the Toyota of Taylor Gray, which flipped in mid-air and landed upright on its tires in a gaggle of mangled cars.

 

All told 12 trucks were involved in the wreck, which caused the record 12th caution of the evening.

Coincidentally, Sanchez rallied from a 13-truck crash on lap six to score the victory for his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet team in his sophomore season.

“It’s huge,” Sanchez said. “We spent all of last year trying to get a win. I knew coming into this year I knew that I had to, right? What better race than to do it than Daytona? Honestly, out of every race, if I was going to do it, this would have been the last one (I expected), but happy to do it. It’s awesome.

“I just knew I had to lead at the white flag, because they were probably going to wreck. I’m glad they wrecked — if everyone is OK. I’m just happy.

“It’s huge. Obviously, we have a new technical partner in Spire (Motorsports)—our first race with them. What a better way to start a partnership. (Sponsor) Gainbridge has stuck with me. They were winless last year. They all deserve it, and they’re going to celebrate with me.”

Caruth was thankful for his third-place finish, but he rued the wreck that ended the race.

“I’m trying to play it back differently in the last laps, but thank you to everybody at Spire Motorsports, HendrickCars.com, the Hendrick Automotive Group, and Mr. H (Hendrick) for what they’ve done for me along with everybody at Spire and Chevy,” Carruth said.

“Man, I felt like I got a bad push there, and you’re already getting tight off of the corner, and everybody is going for all they have on the last lap. I feel terrible to see trucks like that torn up. I hope Taylor (Gray) is all right. But a good night to start the year.”

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Fifty-one of the 101 laps were run under caution, and it didn’t take long for the action to start. The first major incident KO’d a handful of drivers.

On the backstretch on Lap 6 of a scheduled 100 circuits, a shove from Christian Eckes’ Chevrolet turned the Ford of three-time series champion Matt Crafton into the Ford of Layne Riggs, igniting a 13-truck accident that eliminated Ty Dillon, Thad Moffitt and Jake Garcia.

With his team unable to effect repairs on his No. 38 Ford F-150, Riggs took his Truck to the garage under caution on lap 17.

“Chaos, a lot of craziness — everybody was just kind of all over the place,” Dillon said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “I’ve never seen anything look like that from behind the wheel four laps into a race.

“With my experience, I knew something like that was going to happen. That’s why I got myself to the bottom to hopefully have a spot to bail. And sure enough, it happened. I thought I got through… I hit the grass and it knocked the tires out of my hand, and I was trying to catch it with the throttle…

“Just hate to be taken out so early and not have a chance.”

The lap 6 incident was a harbinger of the chaos to come.

Defending series champion Ben Rhodes saw a good night turn bad when Tyler Ankrum door-slammed his Ford on lap 68. Rhodes pitted with a flat tire a lap later, but after leaving the pits, he spun and crashed as the lead packed tried to dodge the No. 99 Ford in the center of the track.

Rhodes exited the race, and soon after, Johhny Sauter was an innocent victim of a four-truck wreck off Turn 4—after leading 24 laps, second only to Sanchez’s 26.

Bret Holmes finished fourth, followed by Spencer Boyd. Stefan Parsons, Crafton, Timmy Hill, Bryan Dauzat and Eckes completed the top 10.

RESULTS

Marco Andretti announces NASCAR Truck, ARCA plans

Marco Andretti will run a mix of ARCA Menards Series and Craftsman Truck Series races this season with Cook Racing Technologies. Andretti will run 14 ARCA races in the No. 17 Chevrolet starting with the season-opening event at Daytona International …

Marco Andretti will run a mix of ARCA Menards Series and Craftsman Truck Series races this season with Cook Racing Technologies.

Andretti will run 14 ARCA races in the No. 17 Chevrolet starting with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 17). It will be his series debut.

The former IndyCar Series regular and SRX champion will also run seven Craftsman Truck Series races in the No. 04 Chevrolet, the first of which will be at Circuit of The Americas on March 23.

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NASCAR veteran Bruce Cook will be Andretti’s crew chief. Cook has one win in the Xfinity Series with Tony Stewart in 134 starts. He’s worked with drivers including Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain. Cook also has experience in the Truck Series, serving as crew chief for drivers including Ron Hornaday Jr., Harvick and Johnny Sauter, earning six wins in 104 starts.

“I’m really happy with the program we’ve put in place for my racing schedule in 2024,” Andretti said. “This plan is a good mixture of races with the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series that provides maximum track time, which is what I’m after. It will answer a lot of my unknowns in stock cars.

“I also want to do it the right away and not go right to the top of their sport on my IndyCar and SRX merit as I respect the amount of talent in all of the various stock car series. I’m looking forward to having a lot of run with Bruce and the team. I’m confident that we can be pretty competitive right out of the gate.”

Last season, Andretti made three starts in the Truck Series with Spire Motorsports, taking two top-20 finishes. His NASCAR national series debut was in 2022 in the Xfinity Series.

“I am looking forward to working with Marco and helping him to develop and grow as a driver in stock cars,” Cook said. “Marco has a proven track record across multiple racing platforms. I think with some more seat time and guidance in the stock car world, he’ll be able to compete up front on a regular basis.”

Riggs gets full-time Trucks drive with Front Row

Layne Riggs will be a full-time NASCAR national series driver in 2024, having signed with Front Row Motorsports to compete in the Craftsman Truck Series. Riggs is the newest driver of the No. 38 Ford F-150, vacated by Zane Smith with his move into …

Layne Riggs will be a full-time NASCAR national series driver in 2024, having signed with Front Row Motorsports to compete in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Riggs is the newest driver of the No. 38 Ford F-150, vacated by Zane Smith with his move into the NASCAR Cup Series. The son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, the 21-year-old Layne Riggs has made six starts in the series over the last two years. A third-place finish on the Indianapolis short track in August has thus far been his best result.

“I’m really thankful for this opportunity to compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with one of the best teams in the sport,” Riggs said. “I’ve dedicated my life for an opportunity like this, and I’m incredibly appreciative of Bob [Jenkins] and everyone at Front Row for providing me the opportunity to take my next step in my racing career.”

It is a multi-year deal for Riggs.

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Front Row Motorsports won the Truck Series championship in 2022 with Smith. The organization has eight victories with Smith and Todd Gilliland, who drove the truck in 2020 and 2021.

Riggs has been cutting his teeth in grassroots racing, being crowned the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion. His résumé also includes multiple seasons competing in Limited Sportsman events at Orange County (N.C.) Speedway, where he earned the track championship, as well as the CARS Tour. In the CARS Tour, Riggs has six victories.

“I really appreciate Layne’s dedication to his education while also competing at the highest levels,” team owner Bob Jenkins said. “That comes from great parenting and a sense of dedication from Layne. We’ve already seen a lot of potential in Layne and he’s a perfect fit for our program to develop him into a national series NASCAR winner.”

Dylan Cappello will move from lead engineer to crew chief of the No. 38 team and rookie Riggs. Chris Lawson, who had overseen the team for the last four seasons, is stepping into a consultant role with Front Row Motorsports.