Posted on by Staff Report

Thunder in the Mountains 200

White Mountain Motorsports Park

  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 11.482 78.384 16 16  —
2 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes 11.52 78.125 16 17 0.038
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 11.525 78.091 33 33 0.043
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electric/Lumiere Electrical/AP Marquadt & Sons/Dell Electric/Andrew James Interiors/Hughes Motor 11.541 77.983 31 31 0.059
5 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 11.55 77.922 17 23 0.068
6 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 11.555 77.888 18 38 0.073
7 07 Jake Johnson The Jack Bar & Grill/Platinum Fire Protection/Propane Plus/Lins Propane/Axis Wealth/Island Internati 11.59 77.653 5 5 0.108
8 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive/Middlesex Interiors/Levasseur HVAC/Christopers Towing 11.592 77.64 16 16 0.11
9 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 11.598 77.6 17 33 0.116
10 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 11.61 77.519 29 29 0.128
11 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Autobody/Sontag Motorsports/Bells Septic 11.619 77.459 22 22 0.137
12 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.628 77.399 24 32 0.146
13 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/Northeast Drilling/J&R Pre-Cast 11.663 77.167 24 26 0.181
14 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 11.674 77.094 6 16 0.192
15 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 11.718 76.805 6 18 0.236
16 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing/Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 11.722 76.779 19 20 0.24
17 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine/West Wind Tree Farm 11.749 76.602 19 20 0.267
18 82 Woody Pitkat USNE Power/Gunsmoke Stable Racing 11.939 75.383 3 12 0.457
19 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 11.974 75.163 5 20 0.492
20 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 12.17 73.952 18 43 0.688

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Thunder in the Mountains 200

White Mountain Motorsports Park

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 11.624 77.426 7 29  —
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 11.637 77.34 9 31 0.013
3 07 Jake Johnson The Jack Bar & Grill/Platinum Fire Protection/Propane Plus/Lins Propane/Axis Wealth/Island Internati 11.649 77.26 8 15 0.025
4 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 11.665 77.154 11 32 0.041
5 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/Northeast Drilling/J&R Pre-Cast 11.669 77.127 7 33 0.045
6 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Autobody/Sontag Motorsports/Bells Septic 11.672 77.108 11 20 0.048
7 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 11.683 77.035 7 31 0.059
8 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.689 76.995 8 28 0.065
9 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 11.69 76.989 18 31 0.066
10 64 Austin Beers G&G Electric/Lumiere Electrical/AP Marquadt & Sons/Dell Electric/Andrew James Interiors/Hughes Motor 11.703 76.903 11 31 0.079
11 79 Jonathan  McKennedy Stuarts Automotive/Middlesex Interiors/Levasseur HVAC/Christopers Towing 11.735 76.694 24 36 0.111
12 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes 11.743 76.641 8 21 0.119
13 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 11.747 76.615 20 26 0.123
14 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 11.763 76.511 21 21 0.139
15 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing/Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 11.786 76.362 18 23 0.162
16 82 Woody Pitkat USNE Power/Gunsmoke Stable Racing 11.807 76.226 7 21 0.183
17 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 11.868 75.834 32 32 0.244
18 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 11.931 75.434 16 20 0.307
19 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine/West Wind Tree Farm 11.952 75.301 30 37 0.328
20 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 12.241 73.523 8 35 0.617

 

Posted on by Brandon White

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Connor Hall’s second straight triumph in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway was far less eventful compared to his charge from last place in 2024.

But it was more sentimental.

With a strong second-half performance in Saturday’s 200-lap feature, Hall brought home the first Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 victory in the history of JR Motorsports’ Late Model Stock program. Aware of the gold standard that has long followed JR Motorsports, Hall wanted to add onto their prestigious legacy when he joined the team during the offseason.

Hall’s chapter in JR Motorsports’ story is still being written, but he said the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 victory is indicative of the early chemistry the team possesses.

“It’s pretty cool to give [JR Motorsports] a first,” Hall said. “Between Carson [Kvapil] and Josh [Berry], I think they checked off the rest. It’s a huge blessing to be able to run in [the No. 88] and represent the Earnhardt family. I’m still kind of learning because I’ve only been down there really five months and I’m trying to make the best of it.”

Synergy was imperative from Hall and JR Motorsports as the diligently worked to find speed in their No. 88 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet throughout the weekend at South Boston.

In the two practice sessions Saturday, Hall did not post a time quick enough to crack the top 10. The initial lack of speed did not intimidate Hall in the slightest. He put his trust in crew chief Bryan Shaffer and the rest of his team to get the car right in time for qualifying.

Hall’s confidence proved to be grounded. He set the third quickest time of the 38 cars entered in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, which provided him optimal track position for the grueling night ahead.

Several potential contenders such as Peyton Sellers and Trevor Ward, the top two in South Boston’s Late Model Stock standings, saw their evenings get derailed early due to on-track accidents. With no carnage within his vicinity, Hall could keep his focus centered on chasing down polesitter Matt Waltz for the victory.

Waltz was a familiar face to Hall stemming from his days as a regular at Langley Speedway, so Hall knew the veteran racer would pull no punches in their shared pursuit of a Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 win. Hall stayed patient with Waltz until 80 to go when he made what he believed was the decisive pass for the lead.

Momentum appeared to shift back toward Waltz on a later restart when he utilized the bottom line to power his way around Hall for the lead. A caution for the two separately stopped cars of Bobby McCarty and Justin Carroll was displayed before a green flag lap was completed, moving Hall back to the spot by rule.

Waltz never got another solid chance at Hall’s advantage. He was tasked with fending off Darren Krantz Jr. for second while Hall capitalized on the perfectly timed caution to secure another Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 checkered flag.

“Anytime you get the lead back, it’s a break,” Hall said. “Matt was strong and I think we were the better car by the end of the race, but at that point, it was a little more 50-50. I’d be lying if I was cool, calm and collected about losing the lead with 40 laps to go.”

Excelling in marquee Late Model Stock events has become common practice for Hall over the past several years. Along with his two Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 wins, Hall’s list of achievements includes victories in Hickory Motor Speedway’s Fall Brawl and the prestigious Hampton Heat at Langley back in 2019.

Being in South Boston’s Victory Lane with fireworks as a backdrop provided Hall some time to reflect on how his Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 wins came together. Each event saw Hall face some sort of adversity, but on both occasions, Hall relied on his experience and that of the people around him to find his way towards the front.

“[The two wins] are nice in their own way,” Hall said. “Last year was so awesome with the story of coming from the back, but this year, I wasn’t near the top of the speed chart all weekend really. We stuck to our guns and focused on the race. It’s nice to run in the top three all night and come home with a clean race car and a win.”

Now that he has conquered the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 once again, Hall is setting his sights on another item he and JR Motorsports have yet to cross off on their respective bucket lists: the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.

Hall has plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of the next Virginia Triple Crown race in the Hampton Heat, being a past winner and track champion. While Hall would love to perform a sweep of the three Virginia Triple Crown races with JR Motorsports, he also intends to enjoy every step of the journey regardless of the outcome.

“The older I get, the more I’m learning to be a lot more appreciative of trying to live in the moment and just be happy,” Hall said. “We’re going to go to Langley and try to finish one spot better in the Hampton Heat. I thought I was going to give Kvapil a run for their money at Martinsville last year but had that plug wire fall off.

“We need to be smart, bring a great race car to the track and do what JR Motorsports does.”

Winning races has always been a part of JR Motorsports’ identity as a driver. Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 proved the organization is primed to keep visiting Victory Lane with Hall as their driver.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

HAMPTON, Ga. — Sometimes, it’s just not meant to be.

Brad Keselowski’s 2025 season has been summed up in what-could-have-beens so far and it crescendoed Saturday evening at EchoPark Speedway as the No. 6 RFK Racing driver was passed by Chase Elliott on the final lap for the win in a thriller.

Underneath the roar of tens of thousands of fans for the home-state favorite in Elliott, Keselowski could only lament not being the one performing a burnout under the lights as he settled for a runner-up finish.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Atlanta

“He just had the 48 behind him giving him a huge push and nothing I could do to cover that,” Keselowski said of Elliott’s pass entering Turn 1 on the last lap. “When we had our cars linked up at RFK, we could do the same thing and we lost that. Then it was just kind of a two-on-one, and fought as hard as I could.”

From the drop of the green flag, the racing was intense.

Throughout the 40-car field, aggressive moves were being made to move toward the front. The heat from the day made the opening laps treacherous as many drivers reported ill-handling hot rods and the race hit a massive turning point with a Lap 76 melee as 23 cars piled up entering Turn 3, wiping out more than half the field from contention.

Keselowski was among those caught up in the mess, but was fortunate enough to resume and continue dicing it up with a much smaller lead pack.

The 2012 Cup titleholder was among the 13 leaders, pacing the field for 46 circuits and playing a big role in the 46 exchanges for the top spot. No. 6 crew chief Jeremy Bullins made note of how the thinned-out field changed the dynamics of Atlanta versus how it raced in the spring.

“I think a lot of it was a product of having some bigger wrecks and wiping out a lot of good cars, and having less cars at the front — just seemed like the runs were bigger,” Bullins told NASCAR.com. “You didn’t have as many cars packed up, so you’re getting big runs and just guys able to take advantage of them. Once we got split up from our teammates there, just kind of in a bad spot with with no help behind us and two Hendrick cars coming. Just part of it.”

keselowski leads at atlanta
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Not even seven days removed from a potential Pocono victory where Keselowski and the No. 6 team made a pair of pit-road mistakes to fall out of contention, they appeared to hit everything right in the Peach State.

Keselowski held his position up front for the final half of the evening and was the driver to beat when Elliott took the point with under two miles to go.

MORE: See where Keselowski stacks up in points

Instead of becoming the 12th different winner this season, Keselowski remains in an uphill battle for a spot in the playoffs as he remains well outside the bubble. However, there were some bragging rights snagged as the 41-year-old won his In-Season Challenge first-round matchup over Kyle Busch and will go head-to-head with 32-seeded Ty Dillon as Dillon busted the bracket, defeating top-seed Denny Hamlin.

Without the checkered flag though, it’s just another sting out of the hornets’ nest of a campaign for Keselowski this year and it’s on to the Chicago Street Course next Sunday (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with eight races left for the No. 6 team to find their way into the postseason.

Keselowski: “It ain’t over till it’s over … Every loss stings.”

Bullins: “They all sting when you don’t win them, but yeah, when you’re that close, it’s going to sting for a little bit.”

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

With the first of five races down in the inaugural In-Season Challenge, 16 drivers now advance to Round 2 at the Chicago Street Course and continue the head-to-head frenzy for $1 million. Atlanta delivered early upsets and bracket-busting drama, proving no seed is safe. With elimination on the line each week, the pressure only intensifies from here.

Here’s where we stand after Challenge Round 1 at EchoPark Speedway:

RELATED: Hub page with bracket  | Check your bracket

EchoPark race winner: Sound the si-reen! Chase Elliott won at his home track with an epic last-lap pass around Brad Keselowski. Ultimately, the decision to stay out and play defense on Lap 230 was the right gamble. It allowed Elliott to restart second, and from there until the checkered flag, the No. 9 car just had to keep the leaders in sight until he was able to make his maneuver on the inside of Keselowski on the final lap. His top-20 consistency was bound to pay off at some point with a win as he also avoided calamity all night.

Who advances to Round 2:

Advancing with Elliott to the next round are: (3) Chris Buescher, (6) Ty Gibbs, (8) Alex Bowman, (9) Bubba Wallace, (12) John Hunter Nemechek, (14) Zane Smith, (15) Ryan Preece, (17) Brad Keselowski, (20) Erik Jones, (22) AJ Allmendinger, (23) Tyler Reddick, (26) Carson Hocevar, (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., (31) Noah Gragson and (32) Ty Dillon.

The most eye-catching driver from this group is Dillon, as the No. 32 seed left Atlanta with a huge upset over top-ranked Denny Hamlin. Dillon was ahead of Hamlin for most of the race after Hamlin got caught in the huge melee to start Stage 2, but also qualified 14th and ran around the top 10 for a majority of the 260-lap event. It’s a long shot for his “Cinderella run” to continue, but he delivered an ultimate stunner in Round 1.

Most interesting matchup in Round 2 of the challenge: No. 8 seed Alex Bowman vs. No. 9 seed Bubba Wallace. These two had a bit of a dust-up at the end of last year’s Chicago Street Race, so how will things fare this time around with a hefty payday on the line? Bowman is the defending winner and enters with a more significant road-course advantage. However, Wallace qualified in the top 15 both years at Chicago and finished 13th last year, which is enough to keep this battle at Grant Park interesting.

Who’s up

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. Winning the matchup of the week over Kyle Larson, the No. 23-seeded driver fought an uphill battle with a tight-handling car early in the race. However, being one of four cars not involved in a wreck and winning Stage 2 by an eyelash over Elliott helps turn the tide. His fourth-place finish gives solid momentum into a track where he finished runner-up last year, plus he owns three road-course wins at the Cup level.

Who’s down

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. The young driver keeps his $1 million hopes alive after Ryan Blaney wrecked out in Stage 2, and while a top-10 finish isn’t bad on paper, his matchup against Reddick does not favor him. In seven road-course starts at the Cup level, Hocevar has six finishes of 12th or worse. He had a third-place finish last year at Watkins Glen, but the tight corners in the “Windy City” are a different challenge.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. — Timing his pass on the last lap to perfection, Georgia native Chase Elliott charged past Brad Keselowski and held off the driver of the No. 6 Ford to win Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Echo Park Speedway.

The popular victory in the first event of the NASCAR Cup Series’ In-Season Challenge broke a 44-race drought for Elliott dating to last year’s win at Texas Motor Speedway. The win was the second at EchoPark for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and the 20th of his career.

Elliott crossed the finish line 0.168 seconds ahead of Keselowski and 0.170 seconds in front of teammate and third-place finisher Alex Bowman.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Atlanta

The 29-year-old from Dawsonville, Georgia, advances to the second round of the five-race In-Season Challenge, eliminating first-round opponent Austin Dillon, who finished 20th.

In a race that featured 46 lead changes among 13 drivers, Elliott got a welcome push from Bowman on the final two laps, stranding Keselowski with no help for a final charge.

“Unbelievable … unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me?” Elliott said with an uncharacteristic display of emotion. “I’ve never in my life. … This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much.

“What a special car, and just a huge thanks to [sponsor] NAPA Auto Parts and everything they do for me and to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. [Cancer patient] Rhealynn Mills designed the fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight, so this was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget.”

In the closing laps, Elliott was quick to seize the opportunity that came his way.

“Well, I just think that, honestly, all the cards fell in the right places there those last couple laps,” he acknowledged. “What a crazy race, man. I don’t know if y’all had fun, but it was wild from my seat. I’m so glad we got to run that thing out there to the end.”

Keselowski led 46 laps, including circuits 255-259 of 260, and advanced past 21st-place finisher Kyle Busch in the In-Season Challenge, but he had no defense for Elliott’s final push.

“The 9 [Elliott] just had the 48 [Bowman] behind him giving him a huge push, and there was nothing I could do to cover that,” Keselowski said. “When we had our cars linked up at RFK [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing], we could do the same thing, but we lost that, and it was just kind of a two-on-one, and I fought as hard as I could.”

Tyler Reddick came home fourth, followed by Erik Jones. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar to complete the top 10.

SHOP: Winner gear

The 18th event of the Cup Series regular season got off to a slow start that belied the intense action that would come later in the proceedings. A delay for a light rain stopped the race for 14 minutes, 34 seconds after 36 laps, with Joey Logano out front for the entire stint after starting from the pole.

After the resumption of green-flag racing on Lap 49, the first of two major wrecks was just eight circuits away. On Lap 57, Christopher Bell turned sideways near the apex of Turns 3 and 4, igniting a seven-car wreck that sent the cars of Bell and Ryan Blaney to the garage for attempted repairs.

“I saw a couple guys spinning and slowing,” Blaney said. “I got to the apron and there was really nowhere else for me to go but the apron. I tried to get there and get clear of it, but they kind of came down and got me in the right-rear and I ended up in the fence.

“There was no missing that one.”

That was just the appetizer. On the backstretch after a restart on Lap 69, Buescher lifted to avoid running into then-leader Chase Elliott and the field accordioned behind him, sending cars spinning out of control and into each other.

In a wreck that inflicted varying degrees of damage on 22 of the 40 cars, the vehicles of Ross Chastain, William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry and Corey LaJoie all found their way to the garage — several on wrecker — a result of the multicar pileup.

Byron exited in 36th place.

“There wasn’t really a whole lot I could see,” said the two-time Daytona 500 winner. “I was kind of catching the No. 22 [Logano] with a little bit of a run. All the guys at the front had pitted during the stage break and cycled to the mid-20s.

“We were just running a great race in the top five. They all stacked up and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening, and I just kind of got shoved into it.”

WATCH: Front seat views of the ‘Big One’ in Stage 2

Needless to say, the two major incidents had enormous implications for the In-Season Challenge. Hamlin, the top seed, fell victim to 32nd seed Ty Dillon in the biggest upset of the opening round.

“For all you Denny fans out there, I just beat your favorite driver,” Dillon quipped afterward, borrowing from one of Hamin’s signature phrases.

Second-seeded Briscoe was ousted by close friend Noah Gragson, who survived the major incidents and finished 25th. Byron bowed out to Ryan Preece, who finished 15th.

Joining Elliott, Keselowski, Ty Dillon, Preece and Gragson in advancing to the second round were Bowman, Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, Jones, Hocevar, Reddick (eliminating Kyle Larson), AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Smith.

The race featured 10 cautions for 68 laps. Logano led twice for a race-high 51 laps before exiting after the Lap 69 crash. Austin Cindric won the first stage. Reddick edged Elliott for the Stage 2 win by 0.001 seconds.

The Cup Series returns to action next Sunday for the Grant Park 165 in the “Windy City,” with drivers set to tackle the twists and turns of the Chicago Street Course (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage was completed with no issues, confirming Elliott as the winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

The red flag came out on Lap 70 of Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge opener at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway) after a huge multicar wreck involved nearly half of the 40-car field.

The wreck ignited when Denny Hamlin got spun in the middle of the pack on the backstretch early in Stage 2 as chaos ensued. Multiple drivers were involved, including Stage 1 winner Austin Cindric, causing another huge shake-up of In-Season Challenge brackets.

“I had a small chance to get through a gap there, but obviously it didn’t work out,” Cindric said. “It’s a shame. Obviously, we had a super fast Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang. We wanted to keep the thing out front.

“I was looking forward to it because we got back in traffic with staying out to win the stage, but I was looking forward to see what our car was gonna do in dirty air and see what final adjustments we needed to make and have that opportunity to learn there. It’s just a shame and a shame for everybody at Team Penske bringing such fast cars and all of them wreck out.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Atlanta

Polesitter Joey Logano was also among those taken out of the race in this wreck. Before getting caught up in the melee, the driver of the No. 22 Ford led 51 laps in the Peach State.

“Just the wrong place at the wrong time,” Logano said. “It’s a real bummer. The Autotrader Mustang wasn’t too bad. It had speed. We were gonna have to work on handling, no doubt, but it hurts to see so many of our cars – all four of our cars that were lights out – none of them are even running anymore.”

Other drivers involved included: William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suárez.

Before this wreck occurred, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney were taken out of contention late in Stage 1 when Bell was spun after contact with Kyle Larson, as Ryan Blaney got clipped in the right rear and was sent hard into the outside wall in Turn 4 after getting clipped by the spinning Austin Dillon.

Posted on by Staff Report

Coming to three laps to go in Stage 1 of the NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenger opener at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, a multicar wreck turned many brackets upside down as favorites Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney were taken out of contention in Saturday night’s 400-miler.

In Turn 4, Bell’s No. 20 Toyota got sideways after contact with Kyle Larson. Then, Bubba Wallace crashed into the spinning Bell.

Blaney got turned hard into the outside wall when Austin Dillon spun and clipped the No. 12 Ford driver’s right rear.

“As usual for this year, got caught up in someone else’s mess,” Blaney said after being clear from the infield care center. “I got to the apron and there was really nowhere else for me to go but the apron. I tried to get there and get clear of it, but they kind of came down and got me in the right-rear and I ended up in the fence. There was no missing that one.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Atlanta

The multicar wreck caused a shake-up in the In-Season Challenge, with No. 29 seed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. advancing to Round 2 over Bell and No. 26 seed Carson Hocevar ahead of Blaney in their head-to-head matchup.

Chase Elliott went on to win the Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Can’t wait any longer to go Inside the Race following each NASCAR Cup Series event?

Visit our NASCAR YouTube page Sunday, June 29, at 10 a.m. ET to get a live breakdown and analysis from veteran crew chief and broadcaster Steve Letarte, alongside additional co-hosts and reporters from the track.

Sunday’s show will analyze Saturday night’s race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway). Analyst and championship-winning crew chief Todd Gordon will join Letarte to dissect the winning and losing moves, plus other top story lines. Kyle Petty and Cup Series driver Todd Gilliland will join as well.

Bookmark the stream below or just come back to this page to watch live on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.

Posted on by Zack Albert

LAKEVILLE, Conn. — The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ first visit to historic Lime Rock Park ended with more drama than the stat sheet might show. Corey Heim led 99 of the 100 laps to win with dominating flair for the fifth time this year, but a final restart upended the outcome for several other podium contenders.

The last green flag of Saturday’s LiUNA! 150 touched off first-turn bedlam at the 1.487-mile road course, with the narrow, right-hand sweeper running out of room in a hurry at the end of the long Sam Posey Straight. The intensity opened doors for Ty Majeski and Gio Ruggiero behind Heim, while a handful of other competitors found dust clouds and hard feelings.

RELATED: Race results | Heim rolls at Lime Rock

Few took it as hard as Layne Riggs, who pressed hard alongside Heim’s No. 11 Toyota in a last-ditch effort to take command, but wound up washing wide through the corner with tires smoking on his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

“I just kind of overcooked the corner,” said Riggs, who ran second for most of the day but dipped to 13th in the final rundown. “I had my braking point for restarts, and I just didn’t really take into factor that we had used tires on as much as I needed to and just overcooked it. So I’m just really disappointed right now. I’m beating myself up and just feel like we deserved at least a second-place finish. The 11 was kind of toying with us all day. They were really, really good, so congrats to them. They deserve that win. But I’m just mad that I wasn’t able to finish second like we deserved to.”

Behind Riggs’ slide-out into the trackside grass was further chaos, set up after Matt Mills’ off-course excursion that brought out the final yellow flag with 11 laps left. IMSA talent Jordan Taylor, making his first NASCAR venture in nearly two years with Spire Motorsports, bulled into Turn 1 with his No. 7 Chevrolet sliding out of control, collecting others as he pinballed in. The miscue cost him a likely top-five result and dropped him to 20th in the 34-truck field.

Heim wasn’t the only one to scoot free. Defending series champ Majeski landed his best finish of the season in second place, and crew chief Joe Shear Jr. shared a laugh with officials post-race at his No. 98 ThorSport Racing team’s good fortune to miss the melee.

“We were probably gonna finish third or fourth if that last caution didn’t come out, and (Riggs) overshot Turn 1 a little bit,” Majeski said. “And yeah, we ended up getting a couple spots out of that last caution, so yeah, they parted, but we had a good run. So, proud of the effort for our 98 Soda Sense Ford F-150 and needed some momentum like this headed into these last few races before the playoffs.”

When Majeski emerged from his truck on pit road post-race, Ruggiero was there to greet him with a fist bump after coming home third in his No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota. Ruggiero said his choice of the inside lane for the restart ended up being the right call. “Just had to stay out of the mess,” the 20-year-old rookie said, noting how Heim — his Tricon teammate — seemed uncatchable.

“I knew it was going to be bad going into (turn) one, so I just tried to stay out of it,” Ruggiero said. “Came out in third out of (turn) two, and just had a decent truck today. Just didn’t have a lot of track position. It was super hard to pass the whole race, but there at the end, I definitely had enough speed to hang with the 98 (Majeski) and the 11 (Heim), but I don’t think anybody had anything for that 11 all day.”

One of the hardest hit by Taylor’s skid into Turn 1 was Connor Mosack, who lined up third for the final restart and ran most of the day in the top five. A season-best finish seemed likely, right on the heels of a respectable sixth the previous weekend at Pocono, but his No. 81 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Chevy ended with a mangled front end and a 16th-place result.

“It started with the 7 (Taylor) running us over into (turn) one and running us off the track — along with like five other trucks — and that kind of got us back in the pack,” said Mosack, in his first full season of Truck Series competition. “The 1 (Brent Crews) and I had a little bit of contact on one of the early restarts, and I understand him being upset about that, but he just went way overboard with it, ran me off the track in three, came back on and hooked me in four, and then tried to drive me into the tire barriers on exit and I missed it by literally an inch from just going head-on in the wall. So definitely going to remember that one next time we’re racing together.”

While Majeski and Ruggiero were close to each other in Saturday’s results, the two left Lime Rock still on opposite ends of the playoff bubble. Majeski clings to the final spot in the provisional 10-driver postseason field, 38 points above the elimination line with three regular-season races remaining — Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 25), Watkins Glen (Aug. 8) and Richmond (Aug. 15).

MORE: At-track photos: Lime Rock, Atlanta

Majeski is still seeking a playoff-clinching first win of the season, but Heim adding to his victory total actually helped him, preventing another new winner from locking into the grid.

“At this point, if somebody’s gonna win, we want it to be him,” Majeski said. “We don’t want somebody else to win and jump us in the playoffs. So overall, a solid day for us and glad we were able to get a good finish and good points day.”

Ruggiero is 12th on the playoff leaderboard, 65 points behind the elimination line and just behind ThorSport’s Jake Garcia (minus-38). Like Majeski, he’s still aiming for a playoff-sealing win, but left Lime Rock with his best finish since a runner-up effort in the Daytona season opener.

“I don’t know. I mean, just got to keep fighting for these top fives and top threes, and a win will come,” Ruggiero said. “We’ve got IRP and another road course and another short track left for us to get into the playoffs. So just got to pull off a win somehow.”