Kicking off a Memorial Day weekend triple header, the Craftsman Truck Series also runs the first race of the Triple Truck Challenge where the winner will receive an additional $50,000. If the same driver wins the second race, they will win $150,000 – it has been done only once. And if the driver can win all three of the Triple Tuck Challenge races, they will win $500,000 – it has never been done in the five year history of the program.
This is career race number 700 for the Craftsman Truck Series and Truck Chief for the number two truck Chris Showalter has been at EVERY race!
Thirty-eight teams have brought trucks for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 for 36 starting spots.
The drivers hit the track on a hot Friday afternoon for a 20 minute practice session before running 200 miles under the lights.
Kaden Honeycutt got loose and made contact with Christian Eckes. Eckes takes his truck to the garage for repairs and will not make a qualifying run. Helping out, Eckes pulled the tool box to the garage so the crew could begin working on the truck.
Ty Majeski topped the leaderboard after practice.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Jeffrey Earnhardt and posted a time of 32.045 seconds. This is the first time in 10 years that Earnhardt has been in a truck race.
Lawless Alan made a qualifying run of 31.0001 seconds!
Dean Thompson is the first driver to break the 31 second mark with a time of 30.636 seconds.
Several of the drivers this weekend are running more than one race with the ARCA, Craftsman Truck, Xfinity, and Cup Series all running at Charlotte this weekend.
Daniel Dye brings his truck down pit road and takes his truck to the garage with a hung throttle. He is unable to make a qualifying run.
Tyler Ankrum spins out on his qualifying run, but keeps it off the wall.
With a time of 30.296 seconds Tanner Gray puts his number 15 truck on the pole for his second career pole. Corey Heim will start alongside Gray on the front row.
The starting lineup for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200:
Tanner Gray
Corey Hiem
Ty Majeski
Rajah Caruth
Layne Riggs
Chase Purdy
Connor Mosack
Jack Wood
Kaden Honeycutt
Bayley Currey
Dean Thompson
Stewart Friesen
Ben Rhodes
Taylor Gray
Matt Mills
Nick Sanchez
Grant Enfinger
Jake Garcia
Brett Moffitt
Ty Dillon
Lawless Alan
Matt Crafton
Stefan Parsons
Mason Maggio
Conner Jones
Timmy Hill
Bret Holmes
Memphis Villarreal
Mason Massey
Spencer Boyd
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Thad Moffitt
Keith McGee
Tyler Ankrum
Christian Eckes
Daniel Dye
Justin S. Carroll and Jennifer Jo Cobb failed to qualify for the race.
Just six more races remain in the regular season for the Truck Series.
Stages one and two of the race are just 30 laps each with stage three lasting 74 laps for a total of 134 laps around the mile and a half track.
After winning the ARCA race, Tanner Gray brings the field down for the green flag start of the Bet MGM 200 with Corey Heim alongside. Gray edges out in front for the leas from the inside lane.
Drivers are getting three wide across the track in a battle for position.
Lap three, Tanner Gray leads the race with Corey Heim in second; Ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Lap four, Corey Heim passes Tanner Gray for the lead. Heim and Gray are over a second out in front of third place driver Ty Majeski.
Lap six, Corey Heim leads the race with teammate Tanner Gray right behind him; nearly two seconds back Ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Bayley Currey gets loose but saves the truck and the track stays green.
Lap nine, Daniel Dye enters the top 20 after starting the race in last place.
Lap 10, Corey Heim has a lead of over half a second on Tanner Gray; over two seconds back is Ty Majeski with Rajah Caruth and Layne Riggs rounding out the top five.
Lap 13, Christian Eckes has entered the top 20 after starting the race from the back of the field.
Lap 15, Corey Heim has pulled out to a lead of over two and a half seconds on Tanner Gray; ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Lap 18, Kaden Honeycutt passes Layne Riggs for fifth.
Christian Eckes is reporting some voltage issues.
Lap 19, leader Corey Hiem has begun lapping slower trucks.
Lap 23, Corey Heim continues to increase his lead and is now over four seconds out in front of Tanner Gray. Kaden Honeycutt is up to third place.
Lap 25, the top five are Corey Heim, Tanner Gray, Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth, and Ty Majeski.
Lap 27, despite some voltage issues, Christian Eckes is in 15th place with Daniel Dye in 20th.
Lap 28, Kaden Honeycutt has passed Tanner Gray for second; Corey Heim is over four seconds out in front and is lapping trucks.
Corey Heim wins stage one by over four seconds for his fifth stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Corey Heim
Kaden Honeycutt
Tanner Gray
Rajah Caruth
Ty Majeski
Layne Riggs
Chase Purdy
Dean Thompson
Ben Rhodes
Connor Mosack
Drivers come down pit road for service with Tanner Gray edging out for the lead. Drivers are three wide in a battle off of pit road. Christian Eckes’ crew changed the battery.
Stewart Friesen missed his pit stall on the first pass and had to make a second trip down pit road. Rajah Caruth made a run in the grass to avoid a wreck and had to make a second trip down pit road for a tire rub.
Carson Hocevar joins the crew in the broadcast booth as he prepares to join the Drivers Only broadcast crew for the Xfinity race on Saturday afternoon.
Jeffrey Earnhardt was charged with a tire violation.
Tanner Gray brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 38 with Corey Heim alongside. Drivers are getting three wide in a battle for position.
Lap 39, Tanner Gray leads the race with Corey Heim in second; Chase Purdy, Ty Majeski, and Layne Riggs round out the top five. Kaden Honeycutt passes Layne Riggs for fifth. Dean Thompson passed Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs for fifth.
Lap 42, Corey Heim passes Tanner gray for the lead and pulls away.
Lap 43, Daniel Dye is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
The extended pit stop to change the battery put Christian Eckes back in 28th when the race restarted.
Lap 44, Christian Eckes has entered the top 20.
Lap 45, Corey Heim has a third of a second lead on Tanner Gray; Chase Purdy, Ty Majeski, and Dean Thompson round out the top five.
Lap 49, there are 30 trucks on the lead lap with all 36 trucks on the track.
Lap 51, Corey Heim has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Tanner Gray; Chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt, and Ty Majeski round out the top five.
Chase Purdy has some debris on the front grille.
Lap 54, corey Heim now has a lead of nearly two and a half seconds on Tanner Gray; Chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt, and Dean Thompson round out the top five.
Reports on Christian Eckes’ truck, the alternator came unplugged.
Lap 58, Daniel Dye enters the top 10.
Corey Heim has a lead of over three and a half seconds on Tanner Gray; chase Purdy, Kaden Honeycutt, and Dean Thompson round out the top five.
Corey Heim wins stage two for the stage sweep. With his sixth stage win, Heim now passes Kyle Busch for the most stage wins this season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Corey Heim
Tanner Gray
Chase Purdy
Kaden Honeycutt
Dean Thompson
Ty Majeski
Layne Riggs
Connor Mosack
Nick Sanchez
Daniel Dye
Drivers come down pit road for service with Corey Heim winning the race off of pit road. Kaden Honeycutt’s fuel man tried to remove the fuel can from the truck and could not get it loose. He falls down in the attempt and Honeycutt leaves his pit stall with the fuel can attached. Honeycutt will have to restart the race form the back of the field for leaving his pit stall with equipment.
Jake Garcia was charged for crew members coming over the pit wall too soon and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 68. Heim edges out in front of Tanner Gray for the lead.
The first caution flag for an on track incident comes out on lap 69 for a crash involving Jeffrey Earnhardt, Tyler Ankrum, Thad Moffitt, and Keith McGee. Ankrum spun out and the other drivers got collected in the melee.
Already at the back of the field, Kaden Honeycutt, Mason Massey, and Jake Garcia come down pit road to top off the fuel cell.
Jeffrey Earnhardt and Keith McGee have been checked and released from the infield care center.
A few more drivers come down pit road for service.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag restart with 58 laps remaining in the race. Heim edges out in front for the lead. Drivers are three and four wide in a battle for position.
With 57 laps remaining in the race, Corey Heim leads the race with Tanner Gray in second; Connor Mosack, Ty Majeski, and Chase Purdy round out the top five. Daniel Dye is inside the top 10.
Matt Crafton brings out the caution flag after getting into the wall and blows a tire.
Tyler Ankrum has been checked and released from the infield care center.
Bayley Currey came down pit road for repairs while it was still closed. He will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Several of the drivers come down pit road for service including the leaders. Corey Heim had a slow stop with a jack issue. The top seven drivers stayed out on the track.
Chase Purdy is the new leader.
Thad Moffit is out of the infield care center.
Chase Purdy brings the field down for the green flag restart with 47 laps remaining in the race. Drivers get three wide on the restart. Christian Eckes battles with Chase Purdy to take the lead. Eckes has led at least one lap in every race this year.
The top five are Christian Eckes, Chase Purdy, Stefan Parsons, Stewart Friesen, and Ben Rhodes. Corey Heim restarts the race outside of the top 20.
With 44 laps to go, Christian Eckes has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Chase Purdy. Corey Heim has entered the top 20 in 17th.
With 42 to go, Corey Heim is now in the top 15.
Passing several trucks on a single lap, Corey Heim is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
With 41 to go, Corey Heim is now in the top 10.
Forty to go, Christian Eckes leads the race but Corey Heim is blasting through the field and has moved up to eighth place.
The top five are Christian Eckes, Chase Purdy, Stefan Parsons, Stewart Friesen, and Kaden Honeycutt.
With 36 laps to go, Christian Eckes has a lead of just over half a second on Chase Purdy; Stefan Parsons, Kaden Honeycutt, and Stewart Friesen round out the top five with Corey Heim in seventh.
With 33 to go, Corey Heim passes Nick Sanchez for sixth.
With 31 to go, Corey Heim passes Stewart Friesen for fifth.
Thirty to go, Christian Eckes has a lead of nearly a second on Chase Purdy; Stefan Parsons, Kaden Honeycutt, and Corey Heim round out the top five. Heim is less than four seconds behind the leader.
With 27 to go, Christian Eckes and Chase Purdy battle for the lead; Kaden Hoenycutt passes Stefan Parsons for third.
In fifth place, Corey Heim is less than three seconds behind the leader.
Kaden Honeycutt and Corey Heim are running the fastest laps on the track.
With 24 laps to go, there is some question as to whether the leaders have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.
With 23 to go, Kaden Honeycutt begins to pressure Chase Purdy for second.
Twenty to go, Christian Eckes has a lead of under half a second on Chase Purdy; Kaden Honeycutt, Corey Heim, and Stefan Parsons round out the top five.
With 19 to go Kaden Honeycutt has chased down Chase Purdy with Corey Heim in fourth.
Sixteen to go, Kaden Honeycutt passes Chase Purdy for second; Christian Eckes leads the race.
The caution flag comes out with 15 laps to go when Chase Purdy gets into the wall with a flat tire.
Pit road is open; Kaden Honeycutt and Corey Heim are among the drivers who come down pit road for service. Slow stop for Honeycutt’s team with an air gun issue.
Corey Heim also had a slow stop with lug nut issues.
Christian Eckes and Stefan Parsons stayed out on the track.
Christian Eckes brings the field down for the green flag restart with Stefan Parsons alongside with just nine laps remaining in the race. Corey Heim is back in row six on the inside. Eckes gets out in front buct Nicke Sanchez comes up to pass for the lead. Corey Heim is back in the top five.
Seven to go, Corey Heim passes Christian Eckes for third.
The top five are Nick Sanchez, Stewart Friesen, Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, and Christian Eckes. Corey Heim passes Stewart Friesen for second.
Five to go, Nick Sanches has the lead but Corey Heim is on his bumper; Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Mills round out the top five.
Three to go, Nick Sanchez is in the lead with Corey Heim a third of a second back. Christian Eckes has fallen out of the top 10 on old tires.
Nick Sanchez takes the white flag with a near half second lead on Corey Heim.
Nick Sanchez holds on to win the race, his second of the season. Sanchez also earns a bonus $50,000 in the Triple Truck Challenge.
The unofficial results of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200:
Nick Sanchez
Corey Heim
Stewart Friesen
Grant Enfinger
Matt Mills
Ben Rhodes
Jake Garcia
Kaden Honeycutt
Connor Mosack
Dean Thompson
Christian Eckes
Conner Jones
Taylor Gray
Chase Purdy
Bret Holmes
Brett Moffitt
Rajah Caruth
Tanner Gray
Mason Massey
Daniel Dye
Spencer Boyd
Jack Wood
Timmy Hill
Ty Majeski
Ty Dillon
Stefan Parsons
Bayley Currey
Mason Maggio
Layne Riggs
Memphis Villarreal
Lawless Alan
Matt Crafton
Tyler Ankrum
Thad Moffitt
Keith McGee
Jeffrey Earnhardt