Tag: truck series

Derek Kraus to drive a second Spire Motorsports entry in Truck Series at Phoenix

Spire Motorsports announced on Thursday that Derek Kraus will drive the No. 77 truck as a second entry in the Truck Series race at Phoenix.

[autotag]Spire Motorsports[/autotag] announced on Thursday morning that [autotag]Derek Kraus[/autotag] will drive the No. 77 truck for the organization in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Kraus will pilot a second entry as Marco Andretti will compete in the No. 7 truck. This would be Kraus’ third start of the Truck Series season and his second with Spire Motorsports.

The part-time Kaulig Racing driver drove the No. 20 truck for Young’s Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway for an 18th-place finish and the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports at the Milwaukee Mile for an eighth-place finish. Kraus has been primarily involved in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he has seven quality starts with Kaulig Racing.

In the last Truck Series race at Phoenix, Kraus made his final start in the No. 19 truck for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and finished in 11th place. The previous two seasons also finished results of 15th and 24th place. Kraus may have to make the show on speed if there are more than 36 entries but he should be up to the task in good equipment.

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Bayley Currey to join Niece Motorsports for 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season

Niece Motorsports announced on Thursday afternoon that Bayley Currey will drive the No. 41 truck during the 2024 NASCAR season.

[autotag]Niece Motorsports[/autotag] announced on Thursday afternoon that [autotag]Bayley Currey[/autotag] will drive the No. 41 truck on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Truck Series starting in 2024. Currey has competed in 10 races for Niece Motorsports during the 2023 season and has run well with three top-5 finishes, four top-10 finishes, and a 13.7 average finishing position.

The 26-year-old driver is having his best Truck Series season to this point with a best finish of fourth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Currey has never been full-time in the Truck Series but has run full-time before in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JD Motorsports in 2022. Now, he will have the best full-time equipment in his career to this point.

Overall, this is a good move for both Currey and Niece Motorsports as the two have gelled well during the 2023 season. Currey has shown enough speed and success to suggest that he could make a run for a playoff spot. As for Niece Motorsports, they will line up Currey next to Matt Mills as Carson Hocevar makes the move to the NASCAR Cup Series with Spire Motorsports.

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Why Jesse Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing is major for NASCAR

Jesse Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing is major for NASCAR in several big ways. What does Love’s signing mean for the sport now?

It was announced on Wednesday afternoon that Jesse Love will drive the No. 2 Xfinity car for Richard Childress Racing on a full-time basis starting in 2024. This was a shocking move as Love has been under the Toyota banner and only has two starts in NASCAR’s top-3 levels, with both coming in the Truck Series during the 2023 season.

Quite frankly, there are some serious takeaways from Love’s move to Richard Childress Racing. First, it starts with the idea of moving young drivers to the Xfinity Series instead of the Truck Series. There have been several examples, such as Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith, but some people would say the Truck Series prepares drivers more for the NextGen car than the Xfinity Series.

Each situation is different but the Truck Series used to be a stepping stone for young drivers looking to make it to the Cup Series. Now, it is way more common for these competitors to skip a level. It goes back to the idea that the natural progression from Truck to Xfinity to Cup is not what it used to be due to the new cars.

The Truck Series is very aero-dependent while the Xfinity Series is a different beast. Meanwhile, the NextGen car is significantly different and has its own qualities that make it good and bad. So, Love’s move to the Xfinity Series could be described as an effort to avoid the mayhem of the Truck Series while setting himself up for a better opportunity.

This leads to the next takeaway as Toyota Racing loses another prospect. At Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing, the 2023 ARCA Menards Series champion likely has a better shot at making it to the Cup Series sooner rather than later. The 18-year-old driver’s new organization has Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon in the Cup Series with Austin Hill ready to make the jump as well.

Obviously, Love will be in the Xfinity Series for multiple years but there is a bit of a logjam as three drivers can’t be used for two charters if all of them are full-time. There will be time for it to sort itself out but this opportunity wasn’t truly present at Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing is expected to sign Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed while Ryan Truex continues his hunt for sponsorship.

If Truex finds himself successful, there could be four full-time cars at Joe Gibbs Racing with the fourth entry being used as the All-Star car. The 31-year-old driver has already secured a part-time schedule for the 2024 NASCAR season. Therefore, there very likely wasn’t room at Joe Gibbs Racing for Love in 2024 and maybe even beyond if Smith and Creed stick around.

The best option in the Toyota camp would have been TRICON Garage in the Truck Series but it’s hard to pass up an opportunity for a full-time Xfinity Series ride with a championship-level team. It all boils down to Love’s desire to make the Cup Series and Richard Childress Racing’s opportunity in the No. 2 car has likely sped up the process.

There will be a continued debate on whether the natural progression from Truck to Xfinity is needed but for Love, this situation appears to lie in his future opportunities. For now, we can add Love to the list with Gibbs and Smith as drivers to skip the Truck Series. Is the natural progression truly needed anymore though? Honestly, it continues to feel like that is the case.

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Dean Thompson returning to TRICON Garage in Truck Series for 2024

TRICON Garage announced on Monday afternoon that Dean Thompson will return to the No. 5 truck for the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season.

[autotag]TRICON Garage[/autotag] announced on Monday afternoon that [autotag]Dean Thompson[/autotag] will return to the No. 5 truck on a full-time basis for the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season. Thompson is currently in his first full-time year with TRICON Garage and has run well for a rookie driver. Through 22 races, he has two top-5 finishes, four top-10 finishes, and a 23.0 average finishing position.

Thompson will return with Corey Heim, who was also announced for a second season in the No. 11 truck for TRICON Garage. While Thompson hasn’t seen the same amount of success compared to Heim, he has still run well with four top-16 finishes in the last five races. He would have seen more success if he didn’t have significant issues in 10 races that didn’t let him finish.

Overall, this is a good decision by TRICON Garage as Thompson deserves another opportunity in the No. 5 truck. It has been a rough year for the 22-year-old driver but the organization believes he can turn it around and run even better during the 2024 NASCAR season.

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NASCAR Truck Series officially sets Championship 4 for Phoenix in 2023

The NASCAR Truck Series has officially set the Championship 4 for Phoenix Raceway during the 2023 season. Check out the details!

The NASCAR Truck Series entered Homestead-Miami Speedway with the goal of setting the Championship 4 and that has officially been completed. Entering the event, Corey Heim was the only driver locked into a spot due to his win at Bristol Motor Speedway; however, Carson Hocevar joined him at Homestead by winning the race with a late-race pass.

As for the two remaining spots on points, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes have clinched spots in the Championship 4. Nick Sanchez and Christian Eckes came up just short on points due to issues throughout the day while Zane Smith and Ty Majeski weren’t able to win their way into the show. Most notably, Smith was unable to make up enough ground.

The driver of the No. 38 truck is the defending Truck Series champion and won’t be able to pursue a second one before he makes the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series.

The following drivers will compete for a Truck Series championship in 2023.

Championship 4 (2023):

  • No. 11 Corey Heim (TRICON Garage)
  • No. 23 Grant Enfinger (GMS Racing)
  • No. 42 Carson Hocevar (Niece Motorsports)
  • No. 99 Ben Rhodes (ThorSport Racing)

Carson Hocevar takes victory at Homestead, makes Championship 4

Carson Hocevar wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway for fourth victory of the 2023 season en route to a Championship 4 spot.

The NASCAR Truck Series went to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race of the Round of 8 and left with the official four drivers chasing a title. [autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] won his fourth race of the 2023 season after a late-race pass sealed the deal. Hocevar got by Ben Rhodes as the latter was on older tires.

As for other drivers who made the Championship 4, Corey Heim clinched a spot at Bristol Motor Speedway and finished in fourth place at Homestead. Also, Grant Enfinger slid in with a fifth-place finish as he looks to earn GMS Racing a championship in their final start. Finally, Rhodes snuck in by one point after a brilliant strategy call.

The Truck Series now goes to Phoenix Raceway in two weeks for the Championship 4 as Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger, and Rhodes will fight for a title!

Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 top-10 finishing order:

  1. No. 42 Carson Hocevar
  2. No. 38 Zane Smith
  3. No. 99 Ben Rhodes
  4. No. 11 Forery Heim
  5. No. 23 Grant Enfinger
  6. No. 41 Bayley Currey
  7. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  8. No. 88 Matt Crafton
  9. No. 24 Rajah Caruth
  10. No. 98 Ty Majeski

NASCAR Truck Series director arrested, won’t return in 2023

NASCAR Truck Series director Seth Kramlich was arrested on Saturday and won’t return in 2023. Find out the details behind Kramlich’s arrest.

NASCAR Truck Series director [autotag]Seth Kramlich[/autotag] was arrested last Saturday morning in North Carolina and charged with a DWI, according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. Kramlich has a court date of December 28th and will not return as the Truck Series director for the final two races of the 2023 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.

In his place, NASCAR Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton will take the role for the race at Homestead. No word on a potential Phoenix replacement was given by Pockrass but Auton would make sense too. Kramlich replaced Brad Moran, the current director in the NASCAR Cup Series, for the 2022 season after the latter was promoted following six years in the Truck Series.

Before becoming the Truck Series director, Kramlich served as the assistant director in the Xfinity Series for three seasons behind Auton. He entered NASCAR in 2014 and has spent the last nine years working in various roles. Stay tuned for any more updates on Kramlich’s arrest and developments from NASCAR.

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NASCAR Truck Series set for wild Round of 8 finale at Homestead

The NASCAR Truck Series is set for a wild Round of 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the Championship 4 will be in place soon.

The NASCAR Truck Series will race at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend and it will undoubtedly mark the biggest race of the 2023 season to this point. As of now, Corey Heim is the only driver locked into the Championship 4 due to his win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, and Nick Sanchez hold the other spots.

The major storylines are Zane Smith, the defending Truck Series champion, and Ty Majeski, the defending race-winner at Homestead. Smith sits in a likely must-win situation with a 36-point deficit to the cut-line while Majeski is 19 points below. Both drivers will need very strong days and luck to make the Championship 4 in 2023.

As for the drivers closest to the cut line, Grant Enfinger sits three back while Ben Rhodes must make up a five-point gap. With a field that is capable of seeing any driver win each week, the Round of 8 finale at Homestead is going to be crazy. The race will be underway at Noon ET on Saturday with FOX Sports 1 carrying the coverage.

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Stefan Parsons to drive No. 25 truck for Rackley W.A.R. at Phoenix

Rackley W.A.R. announced on Thursday morning that Stefan Parsons will drive the No. 25 truck at Phoenix Raceway in a few weeks.

[autotag]Rackley W.A.R.[/autotag] announced on Thursday morning that [autotag]Stefan Parsons[/autotag] will drive the No. 25 truck at the NASCAR Truck Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. This comes after the team announced that Trevor Bayne will pilot the entry at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Rackley W.A.R. officially has every race filled for the remainder of the 2023 NASCAR season.

Parsons has made two starts in the Truck Series during the 2023 season. Both came with Young’s Motorsports at Bristol Dirt and Pocono Raceway. The 25-year-old driver has primarily raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with 14 starts this season. Overall, Parsons has 64 Xfinity Series starts compared to 10 Truck Series starts over the last five years.

The part-time NASCAR driver is likely getting his best opportunity in the sport yet. Rackley W.A.R. made the playoffs with Matt DiBenedetto before the two parties parted ways. Therefore, Parsons will have his best equipment for a race during his career. It will be interesting to see how Parsons closes out the 2023 season with Rackley W.A.R.

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Christian Eckes returning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in Truck Series for 2024

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced on Wednesday morning that Christian Eckes will return to the No. 19 truck for the 2024 NASCAR season.

[autotag]McAnally-Hilgemann Racing[/autotag] announced on Wednesday morning that [autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] will return to the No. 19 truck for the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series season. Eckes has experienced a breakthrough season with three victories and currently sits in a position to make the Championship 4 with the Round of 8 finale this weekend.

The driver of the No. 19 truck will have a new teammate as Daniel Dye comes to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing while Jake Garcia will pursue a new opportunity in 2024. Eckes will also have crew chief Charles Denike return as the partnership continues to gain chemistry. The No. 19 truck will continue to be sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts.

Overall, this is a great move for both Eckes and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as the two pursue their first Truck Series championship. Due to Eckes’ success, he likely won’t be in the Truck Series for the long-term future but another opportunity to build on the 2023 NASCAR season is one that both sides couldn’t refuse.

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