The Camping World Truck Series travels to Richmond to kick off a doubleheader weekend with some short track racing. This is race two of the first round of the playoffs with Grant Enfinger leading the way after his win at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Forty-two teams brought trucks to Richmond Raceway for 36 starting spots for the Worldwide Express 250 Cometic Gasket.
After a 20 minute practice session,
Mason Maggio is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run. The 17 year old driver posted a time of 24.256 seconds around the ¾ mile track.
After leading the field in practice, Ty Majeski puts his number 66 truck on the pole with a time of 22.579 seconds to earn his third pole of the season.
The starting lineup for the Worldwide Express 250: Ty Majeski Chandler Smith Stewart Friesen Layne Riggs Grant Enfinger Zane Smith John Hunter Nemechek Chase Purdy Christian Eckes Matt DiBenedetto Tyler Ankrum Carson Hocevar Austin Wayne Self Ben Rhodes Matt Crafton Corey Heim Jake Garcia Derek Kraus Tanner Gray Hailie Deegan Kaden Honeycutt Colby Howard Blaine Perkins Taylor Gray Jack Wood Kaz Grala Lawless Alan Rajah Caruth Dean Thompson Joey Gase Bret Holmes Spencer Boyd Chad Chastain Nick Leitz Josh Reaume Timmy Hill
Tyler Hill, Norm Benning, Trey Hutchins III, Brennan Poole, Justin S. Carroll, and Mason Maggio all failed to make the race.
Stages one and two of the race are 70 laps each with stage three lasting 110 laps for a total of 250 laps around the ¾ mile track.
Mason Maggio is replacing Josh Reaume; as a result, Maggio will have to start the race from the back of the field.
Stewart Friesen had to make a quick stop down pit road prior to race start.
Ty Majeski brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane. The drivers quickly spread out three and four wide across the track. Majeski goes side by side with Chandler Smith for the lead.
Lap two, Ty Majeski gets out in front for the lead with new dad Chandler Smith in second; Stewart Friesen, Layne Riggs, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap three, Stewart Friesen passes Chandler Smith for second.
Layne Riggs is the only driver in the top five not in the playoffs.
Lap seven, Ty Majeski has pulled out to a one second lead on Stewart Friesen; Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 10, John Hunter Nemechek passes Layne Riggs for fourth.
Ty Majeski has a lead of over a second and a half on Stewart Friesen.
Lap 12, Chandler Smith passes Stewart Friesen for second; nearly two seconds behind leader Ty Majeski.
Lap 20, Ty Majeski continues to expand his lead and is now over two and a half seconds in front of Chandler Smith.
Lap 26, Ty Majeski is nearly three seconds in front of Chandler Smith; Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
There are 32 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 30, Ty Majeski has led every laps so far and is now over three seconds in front of Chandler Smith; John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen ,and Grant Enfinger round out the top five.
Lap 38, Ty Majeski now has a lead of over three and a half seconds on Chandler Smith; John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, and Grant Enfinger round out the top five. There are 25 trucks on the lead lap as Majeski continues top pass trucks.
Lap 43, Ty Majeski continues to dominate the race and has increased his lead to over four seconds on Chandler Smith. It takes a driver 22 to 24 seconds to make a lap at Richmond Raceway.
Lap 47, Ben Rhodes in 16th place is the lowest ranking driver of the top 10 playoff drivers.
Lap 51, mired in traffic, Ty Majeski’s lead is now under four seconds on Chandler Smith.
Lap 54, Ty Majeski’s lead is back to over four seconds on Chandler Smith; John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, and Grant Enfinger round out the top five.
Lap 61. Ty Majeski continues to pull away from the field and is now nearly five seconds out in front; there are only 17 trucks on the lead lap. Ben Rhodes in seventeenth place is the last truck on the lead lap.
Lap 63, Ty Majeski is “driving it like he stole it” with a lead of over five seconds. John Hunter Nemechek passes Chandler Smith for second; Stewart Friesen and Grant Enfinger round out the top five.
Two laps remain in stage one; there are three drivers not in the playoffs in the top 10.
Ty Majeski dominates by leading every lap of stage one and winning by five seconds for his third stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one : Ty Majeski John Hunter Nemchek Chandler Smith Stewart Friesen Grant Enfinger Tyler Ankrum Matt Crafton Layne Riggs Christian Eckes Corey Heim
Playoff drivers Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, and Ben Rhodes finished stage one outside the top 10.
Drivers come down pit road for service. The teams have only three sets of tires in the pits for tonight’s race. Some of the drivers are having tight issues. Chandler Smith wins the race off of pit road after the jackman for Ty Majeski fell coming over the pit wall.
Ty Majeski stopped short to avoid hitting his crewman. He returns to the track in third place.
Hailie Deegan was charged with a crew member coming over the wall too soon.
Chandler Smith s the field down for the green flag start of stage two and takes the lead on lap 81.
Lap 83, the top five are Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen.
Chandler Smith has a half second lead on his KBM team mate John Hunter Nemechek.
Lap 86, there are 18 trucks on the lead lap.
Chandler Smith has a one second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen.
Ben Rhodes reports continued brake issues; he says that the brake shake is unreal.
Lap 91, Chandler Smith has pulled out to a second and a half lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen round out the top five.
Lap 100, Chandler Smith has a second and a half lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski is nearly three seconds back in third with Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen rounding out the top five.
Drivers are battling for position all through the field.
Lap 104, Chandler Smith has a two second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Stewart Friesen round out the top five.
Lap 109, Chandler Smith is dominating stage two and has a lead of over a second and a half after leading every lap in the stage so far.
Lap 120, Chandler Smith has a lead of over three seconds on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski is in third over six seconds bac with Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen rounding out the top five.
Stewart Friesen is also reporting some shakey brakes.
Christian Eckes reports that his truck is “plowing”.
Lap 127, Grant Enfinger passes Ty Majeski for third.
Lap 132, Chandler Smith passes playoff driver Ben Rhodes to put him a lap down. Rhodes is in 17th place. There are now 16 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 135, Chandler Smith passes Matt DiBenedetto to put him a lap down; leaving just 15 trucks on the lead lap.
Just three laps remain in stage two and the only caution flag has been at the end of stage one.
Mowing down the field, leader Chandler Smith passes playoff driver Carson Hocevar to lead just 13 trucks on the lead lap.
After leading every lap in the stage, Chandler Smith wins stage two for his third stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two: Chandler Smith John Hunter Nemechek Grant Enfinger Ty Majeski Taylor Gray Corey Heim Stewart Friesen Matt Crafton Zane Smith Tyler Ankrum
Drivers come down pit road for service. Ty Majeski reports that he is very tight; Grant Enfinger is also very tight.
Chandler Smith wins the race off of pit road with John Hunter Nemechek coming out second.
The drivers can make it to the end of the race on a single load of fuel but may want fresh tires before the end of the race. Richmond Raceway is an old track that is very abrasive on tires.
Stewart Friesen was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race form the back of the field.
Chandler Smith brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 151 and gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 152, the top five are Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, and Christian Eckes.
The first two stages were very clean, but with 95 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are beginning to get aggressive as they battle for position. There are just 14 trucks on the lead lap. Eighteenth place driver Ben Rhodes is the last driver just one lap down.
Lap 161, Stewart Friesen is the last truck on the lead lap in 14th after having to serve a speeding penalty.
Lap 163, Chandler Smith has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on John Hunter Nemechek; Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, and Christian Eckes round out the top five. Zane Smith is challenging Eckes for the spot.
Lap 172, Chandler Smith has a two and a half second lead on team mate John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Lap 180, Chandler Smith holds on to a two and a half second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski is in third nearly four seconds back with Grant Enfinger and Taylor Gray rounding out the top five.
Lap 190, Chandler Smith has a second and a half lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Taylor Gray round out the top five. Stewart Friesen is the last truck on the lead lap in 14th.
Lap 197, John Hunter Nemechek has closed the gap on leader Chandler Smith to under a second and a half.
Fifty to go! Chandler Smith has a lead of just over a second on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski is in third over five seconds back.
Lap 209, Chandler Smith has lost his big lead and is now in a tight race with team mate John Hunter Nemechek for the lead. There are just 13 trucks on the lead lap with play off driver Carson Hocevar the last truck on the lead lap. Stewart Friesen has moved up to 12th.
Lap 214, the first caution flag of the race for an on track event comes out when Nick Lietz has a flat tire and gets into the wall. Carson Hocevar gets caught up in the wreck.
The field comes down for fresh tires. Chandler Smith easily wins the race off of road.
NASCAR has deemed that when the caution flag came out Carson Hocevar was still on the lead lap; Chase Purdy is the “lucky dog”.
Chandler Smith brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with 28 laps remaining in the race. Smith jumps out in front for the lead with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Ty Majeski is in third with Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim rounding out the top five.
Several drivers were charged with penalties during the pit stop.
With 22 laps to go, Chandler Smith has a lead of over a second on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Heim round out the top five.
Twenty to go, Chandler Smith has a second and a half lead on John Hunter Nemechek.
Sixteen to go, Carson Hocevar has entered the top 10 after barely missing going a lap down.
Fifteen to go Chandler Smith has a lead of over two seconds on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Heim round out the top five.
Ten to go! Chandler Smith has a near three second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Heim round out the top five.
Six to go, Chandler Smith continues to expand his lead and is now over three seconds out in front of John Hunter Nemechek.
Four to go, Ben Rhodes is the only playoff driver not on the lead lap.
Chandler Smith takes the white flag.
With a lead of over three seconds, Chandler Smith wins his third race of the season at Richmond in dominating fashion after leading 176 of the 250 laps.
This is Smith’s first race since the birth of his son Chandler Smith Jr. Chandler Smith joins Grant Enfinger with a guaranteed spot in the next round of the playoffs.
The unofficial results of the Worldwide Express 250: Chandler Smith John Hunter Nemechek Ty Majeski Grant Enfinger Corey Heim Taylor Gray Matt Crafton Christian Eckes Zane Smith Carson Hocevar Stewart Friesen Derek Kraus Tyler Ankrum Chase Purdy Bret Holmes Tanner Gray Matt DiBenedetto Ben Rhodes Layne Riggs Jake Garcia Kaden Hoenycutt Kaz Grala Jack Wood Lawless Alan Rajah Caruth Hailie Deegan Austin Wayne Self Colby Howard Joey Gase Chad Chastain Timmy Hill Spencer Boyd Mason Maggio Blaine Perkins Dean Thompson Nick Leitz
