Posted on July 23, 2022July 23, 2022 by Staff Report

For the third time in 2022, Denny Hamlin will lead the Cup Series field to green as he won the pole at Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon with a 169.991 mph lap.

It’s the 36th career pole award for the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

RELATED: Qualifying results | Pocono odds

A balanced field will make up the first three rows for Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as two Toyotas, two Chevrolets and two Fords make up the top six positions.

Kyle Busch will join Hamlin on the front row after completing a 169.498 mph lap.

Cup Series champions and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson locked out Row 2 while Chris Buescher and Ryan Blaney will start in Row 3.

Toyota landed all cars inside the top 11 with five cars inside the top 10, but not all is golden for the manufacturer as Kurt Busch spun and crashed coming off Turn 3 and suffered heavy damage that will force him to a backup car for Sunday’s race.

Busch’s 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace earned his second-straight start inside the top 10 while Martin Truex Jr. will start eighth.

Daniel Suárez will start ninth.

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — It came down to the final race of the regular season, but Matt Crafton is officially in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.

Crafton was the last driver into the 10-driver postseason grid. On the other side of that cutline sits Derek Kraus, who misses the playoffs by 17 points.

Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Toyota for ThorSport Racing, was cool, calm and collected heading into Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway. That veteran experience paid off in the form of a playoff berth after finishing 15th.

“Just go execute and do what we know we can do and do what we’ve always done,” Crafton, the three-time series champion, said of his pre-race mindset. “Just put ourselves in position, get stage points we got today. … We had a lot, a lot better truck than what we what we ended up with to be honest. I just couldn’t be as aggressive as I needed to be on the starts. And I just had to be super ultra cautious. And all the kids were throwing caution to the wind.”

“I couldn’t because I couldn’t take that chance. It would just take one deal where somebody got loose under me and took me out. And that knocks us out for the big picture. So had to be really, really patient and try to ride it there at the end.”

Of course, as a past champion, Crafton is far from satisfied by just making the playoffs.

“Hell no. We know what we need to,” Crafton said, who’s searching for his first win since Kansas Speedway in July 2020. “We figured out our problems the first 10, 12 races, whatever it was, and we were gonna see improvement on the 88 truck.”

This coincided with a crew-chief change after the 10th race of the year, with Jeff Hensley heading to GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger and Bud Haefele, ThorSport’s shop foreman, stepping in atop the box.

“You got a good group of guys that will go back to what the 88 used to do and how the 88 used to run,” Crafton said. “And as you know, when it came playoff time, we were always there when it counted.”

While Crafton plans his next steps to chase a championship, Kraus is left to wonder what could have been.

Kraus came away with a top-10 finish, placing his No. 19 Chevrolet ninth at the checkered flag. But late mechanical issues — and different strategy plays — thwarted his chances to make this year’s playoffs.

“Just something that you’ve got to deal with,” Kraus said. “I mean I wish we were in the playoffs, but there’s a couple of races that we didn’t capitalize on what we needed to. And overall, today was a decent day. We ran out of power steering there at the end, but it’s part of it. There’s parts failures all the time, and we’ll move on and try to be the best that we can these next 10 races.”

Kraus didn’t spend much time lamenting his ousting from postseason contention. While the disappointment was palpable, the 20-year-old also knew there’s no way to change the outcome.

“There’s definitely races that you can look back on and circle and be like, if we had this one back, we could have been better,” he said. “But at the end of it, that’s all in the past, we can’t really do much about it. So we just focused on today and did the best we could today. And it just wasn’t enough.”

Kraus earned six stage points in the first stage and aimed for more stage points in the second stage. But Crafton’s on-track positioning forced a different call in stage two that negated Kraus’ initial plan.

“I thought we did really good with points but he (Crafton) got a couple too,” Kraus said. “So that definitely didn’t help because then just the second stage where we were on the race track, and wherever he was, we had to make the call to come in under green. So we did and then we had to race for the win really and that’s what we did.”

The field shifts to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 29 for the TSport 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Staff Report

Five NASCAR Cup Series teams failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times before on-track activity on Saturday at Pocono Raceway.

RELATED: Pocono weekend schedule

The Nos. 11 of Denny Hamlin, 42 of Ty Dillon, 17 of Chris Buescher, 77 of Josh Bilicki and 7 of Corey LaJoie each had two failures but passed on the third time. Due to the failures, each team listed will have a crew member ejected and lose pit-stall selection this weekend.

Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is crucial for playoff hopes with only six races remaining before the Round of 16. Four of the five penalized teams are currently on the outside looking in. Denny Hamlin has two wins.

Posted on July 23, 2022July 23, 2022 by Staff Report

The 10-driver playoff field for the 2022 Camping World Truck Series is officially set after Saturday’s race at Pocono Raceway.

RELATED: Truck Series standings | Series schedule

Chandler Smith picked up his second win of the season after holding off a hard-charging Ryan Preece on the final restart.

Matt Crafton held on to the final playoff spot by 17 points over Derek Kraus.

The Round of 10 begins July 29 with the Truck Series’ return to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for the first time since 2011. The opening round continues at Richmond Raceway (Aug. 13) and Kansas Speedway (Sept. 9), where two drivers will be eliminated. The Round of 8 will consist of Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 15), Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 1) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 22) and will see four drivers eliminated.

The championship race will be held at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 4.

The 10 drivers listed below make up the playoff field. The field includes two former champions, Ben Rhodes (defending champion) and Matt Crafton.

DRIVERS WHO QUALIFIED WITH POINTS RESET:

1. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, wins (3)/regular-season champion, 2037 points

2. Chandler Smith, No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, wins (2), 2022 points

3. Ben Rhodes, No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota, wins (1), 2017 points

4. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, wins (1), 2,016 points

5. Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, wins (1), 2,013 points,

6. Christian Eckes, No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota, 2,007 points

7. Ty Majeski, No. 66 ThorSport Racing Toyota, 2,006 points

8. Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, 2,005 points

9. Grant Enfinger, No. 23 GMS Racing, 2,002 points

10. Matt Crafton, No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota, 2,001 points

Posted on July 23, 2022July 23, 2022 by Holly Cain

Chandler Smith earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, taking the trophy in the CRC Brakleen 150 regular-season finale at Pocono Raceway Saturday afternoon while another Smith — Zane — coolly collected his first Regular Season Championship.

It marked the seventh race win for a Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team in the last eight Pocono races with Smith leading a commanding 49 of the 60 laps in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra. The 20-year-old Georgia native had to hold off a final-lap charge from Ryan Preece, however, and did so by a close 0.262 seconds to hoist his fourth career trophy.

“We’ve been going through a little bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we needed to shine and we started shining,” Chandler Smith said of the victory — his first since a win in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Official results | Truck standings

Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith finished a distant 13th in his No. 38 Ford F-150 dealing with throttle issues early in the race. But with the regular-season title in hand, the series-best three-race winner will start the playoffs with the all-important 15 bonus playoff points. He’s hoping to become the first Regular Season Champion to win the season title since 2017.

“Man, today was a major struggle,” Zane Smith said. “Started out from the green flag to pretty much the end of Stage 2 our throttle was sticking and everything we were doing wasn’t fixing it. So, little worried at times because I knew I just had to have a couple points.

“Long day, once we did get it right still fought a really, really tight truck, but there’s no giving up,” Smith added. “Glad we’re on to the playoffs and ready to get this postseason started.”

The other end of the playoff drama, veteran Matt Crafton was able to hold onto the 10th and final playoff transfer position — finishing 15th in the race, but with a 17-point edge on 19-year-old Derek Kraus, who finished ninth. Crafton, a three-time series champion, has qualified for the series playoffs every season since its inception into the series in 2016.

“These guys did everything they were supposed to and worked their rear ends off with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and worked on the simulator, working on getting our setups better and we were really good on the short runs. We had a way better truck than where we finished,” Crafton said.

“Take your gloves off and do whatever it takes,” he said of the racing for his fourth title now.

Last year’s Regular Season Champion John Hunter Nemechek was third, followed by rookie Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar.

Austin Hill, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

Former two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine finished 36th in his 800th and final NASCAR national series start. He was collected in an accident on Lap 13.

“I’ve been so blessed to be able to do what I love for 800 times,” said Bodine, who now works as a race broadcaster for FOX Sports. “Pretty blessed life to have.”

As for the early ending, “That’s racing,” Bodine said managing a smile. “I’ve been here before. I’ve been wrecked before. That’s part of the game.”

After adjusting the standings according to playoff positions, the 10 drivers to advance to the upcoming seven-race Camping World Truck Series Playoffs include (in points order): Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, defending series champion Ben Rhodes, Nemechek, Friesen, Eckes, Majeski, Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Crafton.

The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs begin next week with Friday’s TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The series last raced at the formerly named “Indianapolis Raceway Park” back in 2011 with Timothy Peters winning the race. There are no former winners currently competing full-time in the series.

MORE: Truck playoff field is set

NOTE: Inspection in the Truck Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Chandler Smith as the winner.

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — No one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is having a season quite like Zane Smith.

With three wins in his pocket, the third-year Truck racer leads the series in victories and is the only full-time competitor with multiple triumphs.

Smith, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports entry, holds a 58-point lead over both John Hunter Nemechek and Stewart Friesen and is eyeing his first regular-season championship, which he could clinch from the pole at Pocono Raceway on Saturday (12 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Pocono starting lineup | Truck Series standings

And while Smith is having a career year — his three wins and nine top fives are career-bests and his 13 top 10s are one shy of his career-best total (14, 2021) — it’s the extracurricular work he did in early June that he feels impacted his Truck season the most.

Smith filled in for Chris Buescher in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway on June 5, making his series debut in the No. 17 Ford for RFK Racing and finishing 17th while Buescher was out due to COVID-19 protocols. That opportunity, Smith believes, changed his season.

“I felt like it taught me a lot in the areas where you need to be good at the little things,” Smith said Friday at Pocono. “Because those little things are what equal race wins. And so I feel like since then, I’ve been able to be probably more consistent, and I feel like putting together those four weeks of really good consistency of — I think my worst finish is third. I feel like that’s what has gotten me in this position and the points-wise for the regular season.”

He’s right: Since finishing ninth in the Truck race at Gateway, he’s finished second (Sonoma Raceway), third (Knoxville Raceway), second (Nashville Superspeedway) and second (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course).

“I feel like I’m just a way better driver of what I learned in that one race,” Smith said. “Just, if you think you’re decent on pit road, no you’re not. If you think you’re good on restarts, not even close. The Cup level is just a little bit different. A lot a bit different with just everything. First through last, everyone is really good.”

A 17th-place finish doesn’t necessarily jump off the sheet for most people. For Smith, he was elated as his goals changed throughout the course of the weekend.

“Starting out in the race, I was just getting everyone telling me, ‘Man, if you finish all laps, that’s huge with how hard these Cup cars are to drive,'” Smith said. “And obviously, it was even my seat or anything in it. So that was my main goal. ”

Eventually, that goal grew to a top 25, then to a top 20. Racing for 15th during the second stage, Smith just hoped he would finish the race. He crossed the line 17th, notching that top-20 finish but almost eager for more.

“I feel like honestly, as excited as I sound for a 17th-place finish, I felt like we could have ended up a lot better,” Smith said. “I felt like our car was pretty good there at the end of the race.”

A key factor for Smith that weekend was sound mentorship from that day’s teammate and co-owner, Brad Keselowski.

“What Brad had told me going into the weekend is, ‘You don’t have anything to prove. You already proved it with me calling you,'” Smith said. “And so I felt like that went a really long way with me because I am probably the type of (guy that’s like), man, this is my opportunity. I want to go try to do something or make something out of it. But him saying that I felt like went a long way.”

This weekend, Smith sits on the brink of a regular-season championship and could come away with a series-best fourth win in the 60-lap contest. Perhaps his cushion wouldn’t be as comfortable without that Cup performance.

“I think it’s definitely just helped all around. That was just a huge opportunity,” Smith said. “I feel like obviously getting that call is showing that they (Cup owners) are paying attention and my stock is up. And I feel like that that just is huge for any driver.”

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Staff Report

The race to lock in a playoff spot continues this weekend at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Before the action, try your hand at some props.

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineup

Featured matchups of the week

Race-specific data props

Posted on July 22, 2022July 26, 2022 by Tanya Stevens

NASCAR invited students from Morehouse College’s journalism in sports, culture, and social justice program to Atlanta Motor Speedway to take in and report on a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Read one student’s recap of the experience below.

HAMPTON, Ga. – Drivers! Start! Your! Engines! The flyover just passed over the track, the pit crews are settled and now it’s time for the race to begin.

This was my first NASCAR race and it was a truly mesmerizing experience. Seeing a race on television doesn’t quite compare to the sights and sounds at a racetrack. Being able to see all of the different components that contribute to the final product, the race itself is quite impressive.

To start our Saturday race day, our Morehouse College sports journalism class arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway where we met with our tour guide for the day, Caryn Grant, a Howard University graduate who works with NASCAR as a senior member of the diversity of inclusion team. Our first stop on our tour was “The Compound,” which is where all media gather for production of the race.

It’s the site of behind-the-scenes production of TV broadcasts, two radio broadcasts, all replays, and all of social media for the race day. The amount of equipment and seamless collaboration from the production team was something I had never seen before.

“In this field, commitment beats education,” said Wayne Nelson, broadcast overseer of the NASCAR production team. “Books can’t teach what we do because you see and then do.”

By Justin Darden

The most exciting part of the day was the stop at the media center. This room was filled with journalists from all over the country who represented an extensive list of different news outlets. To be able to sit in this room during interviews was invigorating. Seeing the journalists write stories, NASCAR drivers being interviewed, and the aura of the media room was quite eye opening.

The next and final stop of our tour was pit road. Here is where the action happens. You see the drivers, the pit crews and teams, and the cars are right in front of you. Nothing compares to the sound of a race car starting up and going around the track.

This trip and experience really helped open my eyes to NASCAR and motorsports. Getting this experience changed my perspective on the sport, and walking the grounds before and during the race showed the diversity surrounding the event.

“We are all working to change the image of the sport,” said Caryn Grant, the senior manager of diversity and inclusion at NASCAR. “The goal ultimately is to increase the amount of exposure to the sport.”

With my perspective being changed, I definitely feel more diverse groups of people should enter the sport both as drivers and behind-the-scenes personnel. I would consider even working with NASCAR in the future, but definitely know now I want to work in sports in some fashion.

Markus Carter contributed to this report.

By Andy Harris

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Deja Dorsey

NASCAR race weekends consist of making memories with family, celebrating, and filling your belly with amazing food. When camping at the track, you have the luxury of making meals that are unique. Most campers want meals that are perfect for kids and can be prepared in under 20 minutes.

Well, NASCAR.com has a few meal ideas that families can enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even dessert at Pocono Raceway this weekend. All meals are kid-friendly and require fewer than 10 ingredients.

Grab the kids, your favorite pots and pans and let’s get started!

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Pocono 101

Lap 1: Breakfast of champions

Bacon and pancake dippers: Nothing is better than crispy bacon in the morning. This sweet and salty combination is easy for the kids to help prepare, and a great meal to take on the go as you walk to the raceway gate.

Ingredients:
– A box of complete pancake mix – Bacon (pork or turkey)
– A bottle of syrup – Butter

Instructions:
Follow the instructions on the pancake box to prepare batter. Heat pan or skillet on medium/high heat, cook bacon to desired crispiness then remove from heat. Clean pan and reheat pan with butter on low/medium heat. Spoon a nice layer of pancake batter onto the pan in the shape of the bacon. Then place a piece of bacon on top of the batter; add another layer of batter on top. Let pancake batter cook until desired color. Make sure to flip in between.

Lap 2: Caution, hot dogs!

The Bill France: It wouldn’t be right to go to a race and not have the NASCAR founder’s hot dog recipe. Not only is this a fun meal for the kids to build, it’s also a mini history lesson. Take the time to share some of your favorite NASCAR moments with the family and spread some NASCAR history.

Ingredients:
– Hot dogs (beef or turkey) – Diced onion
– Can of chili – Cole slaw
– Hot sauce – Hot dog rolls
– Shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Heat the grill or set up a campfire to cook hot dogs to desired color. Open and heat a can of chili, then set aside. Once hot dogs and chili are complete, toast hot dog rolls. To assemble; place dog into bun, place a scoop of chili, coleslaw, diced onion and cheese on top. Then drizzle hot sauce on top. Bite in and enjoy NASCAR’s finest.

Final Lap: Dinner

Walking tacos: There is a ton of walking on race weekend, and you will walk up an appetite. For our spectators on the go, grab your favorite bag of Doritos, taco toppings and a fork.

Ingredients:
– Snack bag of Doritos – Diced onion
– Taco seasoning – Shredded cheddar cheese
– Sour cream – A pound of ground beef or turkey
– Shredded lettuce

Instructions:
Heat a pan on medium heat with a drizzle of oil. Add the meat to the pan, salt and pepper to taste, add taco seasoning then cook meat for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, wash and chop any produce that’s needed or purchase shredded and diced produce. Open an individual bag of chip choice, load in meat, toppings, and grab a fork. You’re all set!

Turkey and cheese sliders: Camping calls for cold lunch meat sandwiches, and these sliders are easy for your kids to prep with little to no supervision. Pair the sliders with your favorite chips and pickles.

Ingredients:
– A pack of Hawaiian Rolls – ½ lb of cheese of choice
– ½ lb of turkey deli meat – ½ lb of American cheese
– Mayonnaise – Mustard

Instructions:
Separate top and bottom of Hawaiian Rolls. Apply desired amount of mayonnaise and mustard to both sides of the bread. Layer deli meat and cheese in alternating order to desired amount. After assembling sandwiches, add any additional toppings and place bread on top. For convenience, store sandwiches in original packaging.

Victory Lane: Dessert, please!

Firecracker popsicle: In still July, so why not celebrate like it’s Fourth of July weekend — and cold treats and fireworks just go together. After making memories in the heat, a popsicle is a great refreshing treat that everyone in the family will enjoy.

S’mores: What is a NASCAR camping trip without a good ole s’more? Easy to make on a stove/hot plate or with an actual campfire. A perfect treat to gather the family and share favorite memories from race weekend.

*When you’re done with the campfire, make sure the fire is completely extinguished to lower the risk of wildfires.*

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Cameron Richardson

Saturday at Pocono Raceway will mark a significant milestone in the racing career of Todd Bodine.

The two-time Camping World Truck Series champion is scheduled to make his 800th and final NASCAR national series start this weekend at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Bodine will join a list of only a handful of drivers to accomplish the feat.

“There hasn’t been a lot of guys who’ve done it,” Bodine said. “To be able to accomplish something like that, it’s nice to know that I’ve had longevity and been able to do it in all three series at a competitive level. It’s pretty special.”

A winner of 22 Truck Series races and 15 Xfinity Series races, Bodine’s last full-time season was in 2012, but he ran limited schedules in both series from 2013-2017.

After racing full-time, Bodine joined FOX Sports in 2015 as an analyst for NASCAR RaceDay – becoming a prominent voice on the NCWTS while sitting in the broadcast booth as a color commentator on occasion.

This season, Bodine returned to on-track action for one final tour — a six-race schedule for Halmar Friesen Racing backed by Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis. Bodine reminisced on his time racing and said not being at a race track was difficult.

“I’ve grown up at a race track and have been going to races since I was born,” Bodine said. “I’ve been doing it at a professional level since I graduated high school in 1982. I’ve worked on cars, building cars and modifieds, raced in modifieds but then moved south, continued working on them and was a crew chief for them.”

In four decades of racing at NASCAR’s highest levels, Bodine noticed a significant shift in the Truck Series.

“The biggest change, and it had already started when I quit full-time, is the age of the driver,” Bodine said. “Owners went from wanting the 40-year-old guy who had a lot of experience that could go out and win races to wanting that 20-year-old who’s going to push it to the limit every lap and get in trouble a little bit, but still give them the opportunity to win. These kids today have a whole different thought process.”

He added that the way the trucks drive and feel is pretty much the same as they were when he stopped racing full-time, and it showed at Darlington Raceway in May as Bodine collected his lone top-10 finish so far.

Bodine has finished inside the top 20 in three starts this season with two finishes outside the top 20 that came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.

When looking at younger drivers he has competed against, there were two that stood out to him.

“I’ve given advice to a few of the younger guys,” Bodine said. “If you look at the successful ones, like Zane Smith and Ben Rhodes, they went through the balls-to-the-wall, crash them up stage and they came out on the other side being seasoned, young men who understand that to be a good racer isn’t going fast every lap.”

Rhodes is the defending Truck Series champion while Zane Smith currently holds a 58-point advantage over John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale.

With Pocono playing host to Bodine’s final start, he discussed the elements that rightfully give the 2.5-mile speedway its ‘Tricky Triangle’ moniker.

“Pocono is a blast as a driver. It’s just a lot of fun because you’ve got three different straightaways and three different corners but that’s also what makes it challenging,” Bodine said. “You cannot get the vehicle to be perfect in all three corners so the driver has to adjust and make it the best it can be in two out of the three and hopefully you can get it right in the other.”

In four starts at Pocono, Bodine has finished 12th or better three times with one DNF that came in 2012.

Viewers can tune in to Bodine’s final start Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I’ve done every facet you could do and that’s been every weekend of my life so going to a race track is like going home. It’s where our friends are at, where our families are at. It’s our life.”