NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — With a handlebar mustache straight out of “Tombstone Territory” and a laid-back, affable personality, Ryan Blaney has the potential to expand his presence beyond racing.
Jeff Gordon extended NASCAR’s reach in 2003 when he hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and Blaney wouldn’t mind following in the four-time champion’s footsteps.
“I would love to,” Blaney said when asked whether he would like to host the show. “That’s probably P1 on my bucket list. I would love to do SNL. I’m a big SNL fan.
“That’s a big commitment, though. If you guest-host SNL, you’re gone for a week. I don’t really have a week in my schedule, unless it’s in the winter. Maybe one day. That would be really, really neat.”
“I’m good buddies with Whiskey Myers,” he said. “I think they would put on a pretty good show.”
Blaney does have a brief history in television. He had a guest role in 2019 on the Magnum P.I. episode “Winner Takes All.”
“That one actually worked out fun, because I was vacationing in Hawaii, in Maui, and they filmed it in Honolulu,” Blaney said. “They said, ‘Hey, can you come film this now?’ and yeah, so I took a puddle jumper over to Honolulu and filmed it.
“That was just neat because the timing of it worked out pretty cool.”
Three NASCAR Cup Series teams have been penalized following Saturday’s pre-race inspection at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, driven by Ross Chastain, failed inspection three times, resulting in the ejection of car chief David Fero and loss of pit-stall selection. Chastain must also drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of Sunday’s Window World 450 and serve a pass-through penalty following the green flag of Sunday’s race (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chastain, still seeking his first victory of the 2026 campaign, maintained an optimistic outlook despite the glum impact on the start of his 450-lap odyssey.
“If the car’s fast, it won’t matter,” Chastain said. “Plenty of laps, so yeah, not worried.”
Additionally, the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill and the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driven by Connor Zilisch both failed Saturday’s inspection twice. As a result, No. 33 car chief Clay Alexander Jr. and No. 88 car chief Eddie D’Hondt Jr. were each ejected from the event, and both teams lost pit-stall selection.
Saturday’s qualifying session was canceled, so the starting lineup for Sunday’s race was set according to the NASCAR Rule Book. Ryan Blaney will lead the field to the green flag.
Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at North Wilkesboro Speedway has been canceled due to inclement weather.
Late-afternoon storms rolled over the Wilkes County short track shortly after the conclusion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and lingered, washing out Saturday’s time trials. NASCAR held a 50-minute practice session Saturday evening instead of the qualifying session once rain cleared the area.
In lieu of qualifying, the starting lineup will be set by the NASCAR Rule Book, placing last week’s EchoPark Speedway winner and 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney on the pole position for Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Sunday’s race marks the first points-paying event at North Wilkesboro since 1996, when Jeff Gordon held off Dale Earnhardt for the victory. The 0.625-mile oval is the site of an unlikely revival that culminated in hosting the NASCAR All-Star Race from 2023 through 2025 before returning in full to the NASCAR Cup Series calendar this season.
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Steam rose from every under-hood escape route possible after Christian Eckes’ No. 91 Chevrolet came to a halt on North Wilkesboro Speedway’s sweltering pit road. Eckes was similarly cooked after making his exit, baking after his cool-suit system failed early on one of the worst possible days for such a malfunction.
The conditions made the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver’s second consecutive top-five result in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series all the more remarkable, fighting through oppressive heat for fourth place in Saturday’s FaithFest 250. Eckes had radioed his crew that he was in trouble with overheating after the checkered flag. Though he waved off safety workers there to attend to him post-race, he willingly accepted every other cooling aid that his crew provided — ice packs, cascading water bottles and a cold towel.
The result and the improvement it took to get there helped sustain him.
“Itwasagoodshowing,forsure,” Eckes said after a brief post-race recovery period. “Itwashotinthere.Mycoolshirtfailed,Ithink,rollingoffpitroad,sothatdidn’t helpanything.Yeah,itwashotoutthereandslick,anditwasfunbecausewefinallygotourtruckdriving OK.”
The No. 91 team’s betterment came in less than a 24-hour span from Friday’s preliminaries to Saturday’s feature. Eckes was just 20th on the practice sheet, then qualified 18th in the 36-truck field. His upward surge from Saturday’s midpack berth resulted in a points payoff at both stage breaks, then a steady presence among the top five for the duration of the final stage, which went green all the way.
Further complicating matters was an injury he suffered nearly a month ago in San Diego, where a severe sprain to his left foot from a misstep on a jagged Naval Base Coronado surface hobbled him. He battled through the rigors of last weekend’s road-course meet at Lime Rock Park to a fifth-place run. Saturday, Eckes said the foot was still taped up with help from physicians at Atrium Health and that he managed this weekend at North Wilkesboro needing only ibuprofen to combat the pain.
Eckes has registered top-10 finishes in six of the last seven races, a level of consistency that’s slotted him fourth in the Craftsman Truck Series standings. It’s been a solid return to trucks for the 25-year-old driver, who spent last season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before returning to the circuit and the team where he’s enjoyed some of his career’s biggest successes.
The fellow drivers he’s chasing on the Truck Series’ current pecking order have enjoyed stretches of dominance and trips to Victory Lane. Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs has gone on a midseason tear atop the standings, teammate Chandler Smith added to his win tally in Saturday’s 250-lapper and Kaden Honeycutt has capably steered the No. 11 Tricon Garage entry that Corey Heim took to the title last year.
Three races — all at tracks measuring roughly a mile or shorter — remain in the Craftsman Truck Series regular season, and Eckes & Co. aim to make strides in tracking down the trio ahead of them.
“We’redefinitelybuilding,” Elenz said. “We’renotwhereweneedtobe.There’salotofthingsthatweneedtoworkon,buthimandIarebuildingtogetherandunderstandingeachothermore.Wehadn’treallybeentotheshorttracksotherthanBristol,sothisisagoodshowingforus, makesusexcitedaboutthenextthreehere.Soit’sbeenachallengingseason,butIthinkwe’repointed in therightdirection.”
Said Eckes: “Yeah,Idefinitelywantedsomemore,butyouknow,aftersomeoftheseweeks,fourthplaceisn’tbad.Sowe’vejustgottokeepmovingforwardandtrytogetbetter.”
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Last year at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Chandler Smith led one lap after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race over Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs.
In sharp contrast, Smith was the quintessence of dominance on Saturday, leading the final 105 laps to claim victory in the FaithFest 250 presented by Mercer Transportation, again with series leader Riggs securing second place.
Last year’s race ended under caution after the trucks of Riggs and Corey Heim collided on the last lap. On Saturday, Smith ran away with the race in the final stage, beating Riggs to the finish line by 8.479 seconds — a record margin of victory on a short track in Truck Series history.
“We’re ready to rip,” Smith said after a race run in extreme heat on the 0.625-mile asphalt surface. “If the Lord wills it, we don’t plan on backing down from here going forward. We were just biding our time, keeping the fenders clean and taking what (the No. 38 Ford) would give me.”
Smith took the lead off pit road for a Lap 152 restart to begin the final stage and never looked back. Riggs restarted eighth and worked his way to second on Lap 210 but had nothing for his teammate over the final 40 circuits.
The race ran without a caution for the final 99 laps.
“Part of me wanted to have a restart,” Riggs said. “Part of me knew if that happened there was probably going to be some carnage. So I was very happy just finishing the race there, knowing our teammate got the win. Congratulations to Chandler. He did a great job.”
Riggs, who won the opening stage and led 25 laps, had to overcome the heat to hold second over third-place finisher and Cup Series regular Shane van Gisbergen, who matched his best NASCAR national series finish on an oval track.
“It was hot today,” Riggs acknowledged. “I ice-bagged on every stop. My cool shirt was on—I took it off already. It was probably one of the hottest races I’ve ever been in. I think we need to add some heat shields to these things…
“But my mind stayed sharp, and I stayed in the game.”
Riggs extended his series lead to 59 points over 11th-place finisher Kaden Honeycutt.
Christian Eckes finished fourth, followed by Landen Lewis, who scored his second straight top-five finish after a runner-up run last Saturday at Lime Rock Park.
Gio Ruggiero, Chase Elliott, Stewart Friesen, Heim and Stage 2 winner Ty Majeski completed the top 10.
The race for the final spots in the postseason Chase tightened on Saturday. With three races left to set The Chase field, Friesen and 19th-place finisher Tyler Ankrum are tied for the 10th and final postseason berth, with Jake Garcia just 11 points back in 12th place after coming home 13th at North Wilkesboro.
Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar led 74 laps but couldn’t recover from a cut left-front tire that dropped him two laps down and relegated him to a 27th-place finish.
The Craftsman Truck Series returns to action on Friday for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, confirming Smith as the winner. The No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet had one lug nut not safe and secure and will lose pit-stall selection at its next event.
Goodyear Racing Eagles will debut an updated look for the 2027 NASCAR season, featuring recently released Goodyear and Eagle logos on the tire sidewalls.
The refreshed branding celebrates more than 45 years of Eagle heritage in motorsports, and Goodyear plans to introduce it throughout its global racing program. North Wilkesboro Speedway, the site of Goodyear’s first NASCAR victory on Eagle radial tires, served as the backdrop for the announcement.
The updated styling also reflects Goodyear’s recently launched “Fast Is In Us” campaign, highlighting the brand’s history of speed, performance and innovation while introducing a new visual identity for the future.
“NASCAR has been the most important proving ground for Goodyear Eagles across the past four decades, helping build a legacy that continues to inspire drivers and fans alike,” said Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear’s director of racing for the Americas.
“This new sidewall artwork celebrates that heritage while embracing the future of our brand. It amplifies the spirit of ‘Fast Is In Us,’ reflecting our passion for performance, our commitment to innovation and our ambition to keep pushing Goodyear Racing forward for generations to come.”
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — One of the most popular events in The Dale Jr. Foundation’s annual fundraising slate is the Driven to Give Gloves Program, which supports the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) in Columbus, Ohio. The annual auction’s proceeds will support awareness of the life-saving work of the world-class doctors and nurses at NCH for the benefit of children and their parents.
This year’s Driven To Give Gloves Program will see 36 NASCAR Cup Series drivers wear the skeleton-design gloves inspired by Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the July 19 event at North Carolina’s North Wilkesboro Speedway. The auction is set to run from July 16-20. (Click here to bid.)
Each pair of gloves is autographed by both the driver who used them in the race and by Earnhardt Jr., the two-time Daytona 500 winner and 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award winner. Each set of gloves also features a certificate of authenticity.
The proceeds will go to the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to support the patients and their families in pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and prevention.
Auction start date:Thursday, July 16
Auction end date:Monday, July 20
Starting bid for all gloves:$30.00
Once the auction is complete, the gloves and certificate of authenticity will be shipped approximately four weeks after the auction ends.
Participating drivers: AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, Riley Herbst, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suárez, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace, Cody Ware, Connor Zilisch.
Front Row Motorsports announced Friday that Todd Gilliland has signed a contract extension to continue driving the team’s No. 34 Cup Series Ford in 2027.
Gilliland, 26, has been a long-term piece of the organization’s equation and will now remain a cornerstone for the three-car operation.
Originally from California, Gilliland first joined Front Row for the 2020 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. He spent two years driving the No. 38 Ford in Trucks, winning once and making the playoffs in both seasons, before earning a Cup call-up in 2022.
As a rookie, Gilliland scored a pair of top 10s, including a banner fourth-place effort at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He made noticeable gains in 2023, upping his top 10 total to four in a year split between four entries across two organizations. Most of his races came in the team’s No. 38 entry, but he also made a start in Front Row’s part-time No. 36 car while contesting five races for Rick Ware Racing. He returned to the No. 38 Ford full-time in 2024, finishing a career-best 22nd in series points and scoring four more top 10s.
Last year, after the departure of Michael McDowell to Spire Motorsports, Gilliland moved into the team’s flagship No. 34 entry and paired with crew chief Chris Lawson. He recorded a personal-best 20.8 average finish with five top 10s, nearly winning in the fall at Talladega Superspeedway.
Through 20 races this season, Gilliland sits 24th in points, 93 markers below the provisional Chase cutline. He’s set to compete in the semifinal Round 4 of the In-Season Challenge on Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and owns a best finish this season of sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Gilliland is the son of former NASCAR driver and Truck Series team owner David Gilliland. Todd has a win driving for his father’s Tricon Garage team, as well as a win in 2019 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. He’s also a two-time ARCA Menards Series West champion and first began racing on his fifth birthday.
Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
Fantasy Update: After an extended 50-minute practice session at North Wilkesboro Speedway, my lineup remains unchanged. Christopher Bell was the class of the field over the long haul (fastest on 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-lap averages), with Kyle Larson close behind. The issue for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — which is why I debated keeping him in my lineup — is that, with qualifying getting canceled due to inclement weather, Larson will take the green flag in 27th position and could miss out on stage points. Trackhouse Racing also impressed in practice, with Ross Chastain leading five-lap averages. But his outlook took a major hit when the No. 1 Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection three times, forcing Chastain to serve a pass-through penalty at the start of the 450-lap race. Denny Hamlin and William Byron are also strong lineup considerations.
Starting five: Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott.
Garage pick: Ty Gibbs.
There have been 10,885 days — almost 30 trips around the sun — since the NASCAR Cup Series last had a points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Three All-Star Races have provided some recent data, but Sunday’s 450-lap points race under the lights is an entirely different challenge. More than three months have passed since the Cup Series last visited a short track, where Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have typically set the standard.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick,where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
Driver: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford Selections remaining: 6 Comment: Logano is amid a 45-race winless drought, currently sitting eight points below The Chase cutline. Fortunately for the No. 22 team, four of the final six races in the regular season will be contested at venues in Penske’s wheelhouse. Logano is one of two drivers to have top 10s in all three visits to North Wilkesboro for the exhibition race, and he has led 338 of the last 450 laps in the last two visits here.
Driver:Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Selections remaining: 2 Comment: Blaney is at his best at short tracks, despite putting on an absolute clinic last weekend at EchoPark Speedway. The 2023 champion is in the middle of a career-best eight-straight top-10 streak — tied for the best streak ever in the Next Gen era. He also has 11 finishes of sixth or better in the last 13 short track events, scoring points in 14 of the last 15 stages.
Driver: Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Selections remaining:4 Comment: As the scorching heat is taking over most of the United States, Bell is warming up, too. The No. 20 team has consecutive runner-up finishes, and he is the first driver since Kyle Larson in 2018 to have five second-place efforts without a win in a single season. Bell won last year’s All-Star Race and has 12 top-10 finishes in the last 17 short-track events.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Selections remaining: 4 Comment: Reddick saw some return to normalcy at EchoPark, running at the front and banking a top 10. Unfortunately, the five-time 2026 winner doesn’t have a hold on short tracks – yet. He has top 10s in two of the three exhibition go-arounds at North Wilkesboro, buthas a single top 10 in the last 10 points-paying short-track races.
Driver: Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Selections remaining: 6 Comment: The last three months have been a fall from earth for Keselowski, going the last 11 races without a top 10 (seven finishes of 26th or worse in that timespan). He won the pole for last year’s All-Star Race and led 62 circuits before wrecking out. He has a best finish of 15th in three Wilkesboro attempts.
Patrick McDermott | Getty Images
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Selections remaining: 8 Comment: There are signs of life for Chastain, cracking the top 20 in points for the first time in over two months. He has a pair of top 10s in the three All-Star races, placing third last season. Chastain also has six top 10s in the last 11 short-track races.
Driver:Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Selections remaining:10 Comment: Bowman has only participated in one All-Star Race in Wilkes County, finishing fourth in 2025. He has a trio of top 10s in his last five short-track starts, including a runner-up at Richmond Raceway last summer.
James Gilbert | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Christopher Bell vs. Ryan Blaney Pick: Blaney Comment: The bell – no pun intended – has rung for a heavyweight bout between two of NASCAR’s dominant forces. Gibbs vs. Penske in the Final Four. While Toyota has largely dominated the 2026 season, I like Blaney in this matchup by a hair, and you might have to win the race to win this matchup.
Todd Gilliland vs. Chase Elliott Pick: Elliott Comment: This is more of a battle of David vs. Goliath. However, David – in this case, Todd – has come out on top the last three weeks, and he has two top 10s in the last three short-track events. But Elliott finished eighth or better in all three All-Star visits, including a pair of fifth-place efforts.
Kyle Larson vs. Denny Hamlin Pick: Larson Comment: Another flashy bout, but Larson has outshone Hamlin in the three events at Wilkesboro. The No. 5 car drove through the field in the return trip in 2023 to hoist the $1 million check. Hamlin is a short-track ace but has two finishes of 12th or worse in the three Wilkesboro exhibitions.
Ty Gibbs vs. Bubba Wallace Pick: Gibbs Comment: Wallace’s North Wilkesboro resume is impressive, with a pair of top 10s in three All-Star starts, highlighted by a runner-up result in 2023. Yet recent form tilts toward the No. 54 team, which won the last short-track race at Bristol and has recorded three top 10s in its last four short-track starts.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott. Garage pick: Ty Gibbs.
Don’t look now, but we’re just four races away from the Craftsman Truck Series Chase, where 10 drivers will battle over seven races for championship glory. Full-timers have won just seven of 14 races this year, but the postseason picture is rapidly taking shape after a springtime surge from Layne Riggs.
Beginning this Saturday at North Wilkesboro (12:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the tailgaters begin a stretch of five races at tracks a mile in length or shorter, spanning through the regular-season finale at New Hampshire and to the Chase opener at Bristol in September. While some drivers yearn for the rough-and-tumble style of racing ahead, others may be looking back at missed opportunities at recent road courses and intermediates.
With just over a month until The Chase, see how the standings look before the truckers head for the North Carolina foothills, and which drivers are on the right and wrong sides of the bubble.
Just two drivers have secured postseason berths so far, and they are in the midst of a heated battle for the elusive No. 1 seed. Riggs leads the series by 41 points over Tricon Garage’s Kaden Honeycutt, but Honeycutt made a noticeable dent into his deficit at Lime Rock. The two were caught up in a late-race incident, and Riggs suffered the worst of it, finishing 23rd after leading 48 circuits. Honeycutt finished third and boasted a 54-point afternoon, shaving 21 points off Riggs’ series lead. The two spoke after the race and calmly found an understanding.
Both, obviously, are among the top championship contenders come November, and their numbers back it up. Riggs’ four wins are best in class, but Honeycutt tops him in top fives, top 10s and average finish, also earning three poles. He owns just one win at Watkins Glen in May, but it certainly feels like the No. 11 driver has more in the tank down the stretch. But if Riggs continues his torrid pace — winning three of the last five — he’ll be tough to track down in the next four races.
SAFE
Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes and Gio Ruggiero are near shoulder-to-shoulder in the ranks, making up spots three through five with just ten points separating the trio. Of them, Smith is the only one with a victory, winning the season opener at Daytona and pacing the series after each of the first four races. But after taking the checkered flag fourth at Rockingham, the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team was disqualified following post-race inspection, a major points swing that will likely remove Smith from contention for the No. 1 seed. He’s 154 points back from Riggs, but also 140 points above the cutline.
Eckes and Ruggiero are among the most consistent in the series, each scoring four top fives this season and ranking inside the top five in average finish. Surprisingly, despite four victories apiece in 2023 and 2024, Eckes hasn’t scored a win thus far in his return to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing after a year in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Meanwhile, Ruggiero is searching for his first dub since his maiden victory at Talladega last fall, though both he and Eckes are comfortably above the cutline at +130 and +139, respectively.
David Jensen | Getty Images
ABOVE THE BUBBLE
This is where The Chase tightens, starting with 2024 champion Ty Majeski — currently sixth in points. It’s pretty much feast or famine right now for the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford, alternating top-12 efforts with finishes of 23rd or worse. He’s +62 to the cutline. Meanwhile, his teammate and two-time champion Ben Rhodes is right behind him at +54, going on three years without a series victory. Rhodes started the year strong with three straight finishes of 12th or better — including a pair of top fives — but enters North Wilkesboro finishing 21st or worse in three of the last four.
McAnally-Hilgemann’s Daniel Hemric is eighth at +53 and quietly on an upturn after sitting 18th in the series ranks through five races. He’s earned seven finishes of 15th or better in the last eight races, including a runner-up last month at Naval Base Coronado. Could he be a postseason dark horse? Grant Enfinger turned his season around in the biggest way possible last weekend at Lime Rock Park, prevailing in a wild race for his first win in nearly two seasons. That victory shot him inside the top 10 in points for the first time all season (+42 to the cutline), but the question is, can he sustain this? Enfinger has just four top 10s so far, and seven finishes of 22nd or worse. Finally, Tyler Ankrum is the 10th and final driver above the cutline for now, but he has just one top-five finish. Road courses have been his weakness this year, finishing 25th or worse in three of the four, but maybe he can heat up with ovals the rest of the way.
BELOW THE BUBBLE
The six drivers immediately below The Chase cutline are within 41 points of Ankrum, further emphasizing the postseason hunt. Stewart Friesen and Jake Garcia are the closest, each just 17 points behind. Friesen scored a much-needed top 10 at Lime Rock after a Naval Base Coronado DNF, jumping him two spots in the series ranks. He’s shown flashes of speed, but the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing squad hasn’t had sustained consistency. The same goes for Garcia, who’s failed to finish two of the last four after surging as high as eighth in points.
Leading the Kaulig Racing brigade is Brenden Queen in 13th, 21 points below the cutline. Growing pains were certainly expected for the five-truck operation in its first year in Trucks and with Ram. But with back-to-back strong road-course efforts, the longtime late model ace is right in the thick of it. Andrés Pérez is 14th, and despite just two top 10s — both at road courses — he’s only 31 points back in Niece Motorsports’ No. 44 Chevrolet. He’s finished inside the top 20 at each of the last three ovals, so maybe a breakout is on the way. Justin Haley (minus-34) and Tanner Gray (minus-41) make up spots 15 and 16 in the ranks, and both are looking for sustained consistency over the final weeks of the regular season.
The bubble battle couldn’t be tighter, and with a short-track swing on the horizon, it’ll make or break drivers’ hopes to pursue a championship.
