The Camping World Truck Series kicks off a triple header weekend with a stand alone event from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The Toyota 200 Presented By CK Power is the start of the seven race playoffs for the Truck Series that will culminate with the final four and a series champion in Phoenix in November.
Ten drivers will be competing for the championship:
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Hill
Ben Rhodes
Todd Gilliland
Sheldon Creed
Zane Smith
Matt Crafton
Carson Hocevar
Stewart Friesen
and Chandler Smith
Joining Vince Welch and Michael Waltrip in the FOX Sports broadcast booth tonight is Cup Series driver and former champion Kurt Busch.
Austin Hill sits on the pole and will bring the field to green with regular season champion John Hunter Nemechek starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Toyota 200 Presented By CK Power:
Austin Hill
John Hunter Nemechek
Todd Gilliland
Sheldon Creed
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar
Ben Rhodes
Christian Eckes
Stewart Friesen
Matt Crafton
Derek Griffith
Chandler Smith
Tyler Ankrum
Josh Berry
Austin Wayne Self
Tanner Gray
Derek Kraus
Ryan Truex
Hailie Deegan
Johnny Sauter
Jack Wood
Kris Wright
Danny Bohn
Tate Fogleman
Ty Majeski
Taylor Gray
Tyler Hill
Chase Purdy
Jake Griffin
Grant Enfinger
Chris Hacker
Spencer Boyd
Jordan Anderson
Roger Reuse
Jennifer Jo Cobb
Armani Williams
Cory Roper
Dawson Cram
Norm Benning
Stages one and two of the race are 55 laps each with stage three lasting 50 laps for a total of 160 laps around the 1.25 mile track.
Normally many of the crews that service the trucks also service the Cup Series cars; with the Cup Series in Michigan this week, NASCAR has called for non-competitive pit stops where teams can change tires only during stage breaks and the crews are allowed a specific amount of time for pit service without losing on track positions.
AT 45, Matt Crafton is the oldest driver in the playoffs; while 18 year old Carson Hocevar is the youngest.
Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag start of the race to begin the playoffs and takes the lead as drivers get three and four wide across the track.
Austin Hill leads lap one.
Lap two, Sheldon Creed passes Austin Hill to take the lead.
Lap three, the top five are Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, and Todd Gilliland.
Christian Eckes and John Hunter Nemechek make contact but the track stays green.
Lap seven, Sheldon Creed has a lead of nearly a second on Austin Hill; Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five. John Hunter Nemechek had dropped to ninth place. Carson Hocevar is the playoff driver in the lowest position in 21st.
Lap 10, Sheldon Creed has increased his lead to nearly two seconds on Zane Smith; Austin Hill, Todd Gilliland, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
Lap 16, Sheldon Creed continues to lead the race with Zane Smith nearly two seconds behind; Austin Hill, Todd Gilliland, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
Chris Hacker’s truck was smoking and the crew pushed it to the garage.
There are 34 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 20, with 32 trucks on the lead lap, Sheldon Creed holds on to his near two second lead on Zane Smith; Todd Gilliland, Austin Hill, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
In 22nd place, Carson Hocevar reports that he is bottoming out and has an unhappy truck.
Lap 22, Sheldon Creed has increased his lead to over two seconds on Zane Smith.
Lap 23, after starting 25th, Ty Majeski has entered the top 10.
The caution flag comes out on lap 25 for Chandler Smith’s smoking truck. Reports are the gauges look fine. The crew reports a right rear hub issue. Smith takes his truck to the garage for repairs.
Zane Smith’s team reports possible brake issues
Sheldon Creed brigns the field down for the green flag restart on lap 30 and gets out in front for the lead as drivers get three and four wide.
Zane Smith passes Sheldon Creed for the lead; Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, and Stewart Friesen rounds out the top five.
There are 31 trucks on the lead lap.
Cory Roper spins out and brings out the second caution flag of the race.
Zane Smith brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 39 from the inside lane. Zane Smith edges out in front for the lead with Sheldo nCreed in second; Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, and Todd Gilliland round out the top five.
Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith battle for the lead with Smith taking the spot after a little swapping back and forth.
The third caution flag of the race comes out for Derek Griffith who has some rear end damage after hitting the wall.
Zane Smith brings the field down for the green flag restart with just nine laps remaining in stage one. Zane Smith edges out for the lead from the outside lane to take the lead.
The top five are Zane Smith, Sheldon Creed, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, and Todd Gilliland.
Chris Hacker returns to the track 21 laps down. Jennifer Jo Cobb and Chandler Smith are off the track.
Seven laps remain in stage one; Sheldon Creed passes Zane Smith for the lead.
Lap 50, Ty Majeski enters the top five after passing Todd Gilliland.
Four laps remain in stage one, Sheldon Creed has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second over team mate Zane Smith.
Lap 54, Stewart Friesen passes Zane Smith for second.
With a lead of over a second and a half, Sheldon Creed wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Sheldon Creed
Stewart Friesen
Ben Rhodes
Zane Smith
Ty Mjeski
Todd Gilliland
Matt Crafton
Austin Hill
John Hunter Nemechek
Derek Kraus
The crews have three minutes to change tires, fuel the trucks, and make any needed adjustments.
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the outside lane on lap 59 with Stewart Friese alongside. Creed and Friesen go side by side before Sheldon Creed edges out for the lead.
The top five are Sheldon Cred, Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, and Ty Majeski.
Lap 60, Sheldon Creed has jumped out to a two second lead on Zane Smith. Zane Smith and Stewart Friesen battle for second; but Smith holds on to the spot.
There is a power outage at the track; bringing out the caution flag. NASCAR displays the red flag at 10:22pm EDT and brings the trucks down pit road.
Reports are an accident outside of the track is the cause of the power issues inside the track.
The race president reports that it is actually a fire outside the track that has caused the power issues with a transformer out.
Track officials are placing some portable lights around the track and must restore the timing and scoring before the race can continue.
At 11:05pm EDT, NASCAR has called the drivers back to their trucks.
The lights along the backstretch have come back on.
At 11:10pm EDT, the engines have fired once again.
Chandler Smith returns to the track 36 laps down.
Jordan Anderson is still on pit road with the hood up.
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane on lap 67. Creed jumps out in front for the lead. Drivers are getting two and three wide across the track.
Still early in stage two, the drivers are getting aggressive; beating and banging for positoin as they get four wide.
Sheldon Creed continues to increase his lead with 36 laps remaining in stage two.
While the lights are working fine, timing and scoring is not working properly.
Sheldon Creed leads the race with Ben Rhodes in second; Mat Crafton is in third with Stewart Friesen in fourth.
Thirty laps remain in stage two with Sheldon Creed leading the way; Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and Zane Smith round out the top five.
Sheldon Creed has pulled out to a lead of over half a straightaway in front of Ben Rhodes; Matt Crafton challenges Rhodes for second.
Twenty to go is stage two, Sheldon Creed is dominating the race with Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton battling for second.
Danny Bohn slowly makes his way to pit road.
After leading early, Zane Smith is falling back in the field; he reports further brake issues, saying that he is pushing it to the floor.
Leader Sheldon Creed has encountered slower traffic with 10 laps remaining in stage two.
Zane Smith brings his truck down pit road and the crew is looking under the truck. Smith is the second playoff driver to have some major issues with his truck.
Sheldon Creed leads the race with Ben Rhodes in second; Mat Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, and Stewart Friesen round out the top five.
Zane Smith’s crew pushes the truck to the garage.
Zane Smith is out of his truck…and out of the race.
Leader Sheldon Creed has Austin Wayne Self right in front of him and is working to put the driver a lap down.
With a big lead, Sheldon Creed wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Sheldon Creed
Ben Rhodes
Matt Crafton
John Hunter Nemechek
Stewart Friesen
Ty Majeski
Derek Kraus
Tyler Ankrum
Christian Eckes
Austin Hill
Drivers come down pit road for their pit stops. The hood is up on Matt Crafton’s truck; he has been reporting heating issues all race long.
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three from the outside lane on lap 112. Sheldon Creed gets out in front for the lead as the drivers go three wide across the track. Matt Crafton takes second from Ben Rhodes.
The caution flag comes out for a crash involving several top drivers including Todd Gilliland, Ty Majeski, Austin Hill, and John Hunter Nemechek. Tyler Ankrum, Jake Griffin, Christian Eckes, and Chandler Smith were also involved.
John Hunter Nemechek reports that the engine just shut off but he got it going again.
The top five are Sheldon Creed, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, and Derek Kraus.
There are only 20 trucks on the lead lap.
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 40 laps remaining in the race. Creed jumps out in front from the outside lane. Grant Enfinger has an issue with his truck; the hoods flies up. He makes his way to pit road and the track stays green.
Sheldon Creed has a lead of over a second on Ben Rhodes; Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and Derek Kraus round out the top five with 18 trucks on the lead lap.
Thirty five laps to go, Sheldon Creed has pulled out to a lead of nearly two seconds on Ben Rhodes; Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
With 31 laps remaining in the race, John Hunter Nemechek brings his truck down pit road. When the crew removes the tire, the brake rotor is on fire. He pulls off behind the wall and the crew gathers with the hood up. Prior to coming down pit road, Nemechek reported that something broke.
Only 26 laps remain in the race, Sheldon Creed has a lead of over two seconds on Ben Rhodes; Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and Derek Kraus round out the top five.
With 23 laps to go, there are 17 trucks on the lead lap.
Twenty to go, Sheldon Creed has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Ben Rhodes.
Fifteen to go, Sheldon Creed continues to dominate the race with a lead of two and a half seconds on Ben Rhodes; Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and Johnny Sauter round out the top five.
With 12 laps to go, there are only 14 trucks on the lead lap.
After being in the top five, Derek Kraus has fallen out of the top 10 after an unscheduled trip down pit road.
Ten to go, Sheldon Creed has a lead of nearly two and a half seconds on Ben Rhodes wint only 13 trucks on the lead lap.
Of the 10 playoff drivers, only leaders Sheldon Creed, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and Stewart Friesen have not had issues with their trucks.
Five to go Tanner Gray spins out and brings out the caution flag.
Derek Kraus is stopped on the track.
The race goes into overtime…
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green/white/checker overtime finish from the outside lane and edges out Matt Crafton for the lead as drivers get three and four wide across the track.
Sheldon Creed takes the white flag.
Ryan Truex gets into the wall but the track stays green.
In dominating fashion, Sheldon Creed wins the first race of the playoffs and secures his spot in the second round.
The unofficial results of the Toyota 200:
Sheldon Creed
Matt Crafton
Ben Rhodes
Stewart Friesen
Johnny Sauter
Chase Purdy
Hailie Deegan
Carson Hocevar
Austin Wayne Self
Jack Wood
Tyler Hill
Taylor Gray
Ryan Truex
Tate Fogleman
Josh Berry
Spender Boyd
Cory Roper
Kris Wright
Tanner Gray
Derek Kraus
Armani Williams
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Hill
Roger Reuse
Grant Enfinger
Derek Griffith
Chris Hacker
Chandler Smith
Todd Gilliland
Dawson Cram
Christian Eckes
Tyler Hill
Ty Majeski
Jake Griffin
Zane Smith
Danny Bohn
Jordan Anderson
Jennifer Jo Cobb