The Craftsman Truck Series gets a doubleheader weekend started with a practice session at Michigan International Speedway for the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 on Saturday afternoon.
It has been five years since the Truck Series has raced at Michigan. There are 18 drivers – over half the field – who have never raced at Michigan.
Thirty-two teams brought trucks to MIS including Cup Series drivers Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar for the race. Corey LaJoie returns to racing in the Truck Series for some races.
Tanner Gray topped the leaderboard in practice. Qualifying will be a very early session on Saturday morning.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Norm Benning who posted a time of 43.169 seconds around the two mile track. At 73 Benning still runs a part time schedule.
Josh Reaume is the first driver to break the 40 second mark with a time of 39.847 seconds.
Morgan Baird brings out the caution flag when his truck stops on the track. He gets a push to pit road. With just 32 trucks for 36 starting spots, he will be able to race if the crew can get the truck repaired.
Grant Enfinger is at Michigan racing while his family is celebrating his grandparents 75th wedding anniversary.
The drivers are running the fastest times so far this season.
Chandler Smith blew a tire during his qualifying lap but saved the truck. He did not complete his lap and will star the race from the back of the field.
With a time of 39.236 seconds, Luke Fenhaus put his number 66 truck on the pole for his first career pole with Carson Hocevar starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250:
Luke Fenhaus
Carson Hocevar
Matt Crafton
Jake Garcia
Jack Wood
Ty Majeski
Corey Heim
Connor Mosack
Ben Rhodes
Tyler Ankrum
Daniel Hemric
Andres Perez
Rajah Caruth
Grant Enfinger
Dawson Sutton
Kaden Honeycutt
Stewart Friesen
Layne Riggs
Lawless Alan
Gio Ruggiero
Josh Reaume
Matt Mills
Tanner Gray
Corey LaJoie
Frankie Muniz
Ross Chastain
Toni Breidinger
Nathan Byrd
Spencer Boyd
Norm Benning
Chandler Smith
Morgain Baird
Stages one and two of the race are 30 laps each with stage two lasting 65 laps for a total of 125 laps around the two mile track. The drivers can run 36 to 39 laps on a single load of fuel.
Toni Breidinger, Morgan Baird, Frankie Muniz, and Nathan Byrd will all start the race from the back of the field after crews made unapproved adjustments to the trucks.
Luke Fenhaus brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Carson Hocevar alongside. Drivers quickly spread out across the track getting four wide with a three way battle for the lead. Luke Fenhaus leads lap one.
Lap two, Carson Hocevar passes Luke Fenhaus for the lead.
Lap three, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Connor Mosack, Luke Fenhaus, Tyler Ankrum, and Jake Garcia.
Rajah Caruth hakes an unscheduled trip down pit road for a tire issue.
Lap five, Corey Heim passes Jake Garcia for fifth.
Leaders get single file.
Lap six, Carson Hocevar leads the race but Connor Mosack keeps challenging for the lead. Third place driver Corey Heim is half a second behind.
Lap eight, Corey Heim passes Connor Mosack for second; Carson Hocevar has just a two tenths of a second lead.
Norm Benning is off the track. Rajah Caruth goes a lap down.
Lap eleven, after starting the race near the back of the field, Ross Chastain is now in the top 10.
The top five are Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, Connor Mosack, Luke Fenhaus, and Tyler Ankrum.
The record for lead changes in the Truck Series at Michigan is 20, just 14 laps in there has already been three lead changes.
Lap 15, Carson Hocevar continues to lead the race; Corey Heim, Connor Mosack, and Tyler Ankrum round out the top five.
Lap 20, leaders have encountered slower traffic and have begun lapping trucks. There are 27 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 25 , Carson Hocevar holds on to a very narrow lead on Corey Heim; Connor Mosack, Luke Fenhaus, and Ty Majeski round out the top five with 26 trucks on the lead lap.
Grant Enfinger reports a tight condition “in dirty air”.
Corey Heim wins stage one on a last lap pass.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Corey Heim
Carson Hocevar
Connor Mosack
Ty Majeski
Kaden Honeycutt
Tyler Ankrum
Luke Fenhaus
Ross Chastain
Layne Riggs
Andres Perez
Drivers come down pit road for service with Corey Heim winning the race off of pit road with Carson Hocevar in second. Despite moving up 18 spots, Ross Chastain reports a tight condition in his truck.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Connor Mosack alongside on lap 37. Heim gets out in front to hold on to the lead. He has now led in all 13 of the Truck Series races.
Lap 39, the top five are Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Connor Mosack, Ty Majeski, and Gio Ruggiero.
Drivers are getting aggressive on the track.
In 25th place, Rajah Caruth is back on the lead lap with the wave around but still has to make a pit stop.
Lap 41, Carson Hocevar passes Corey Heim for the lead; Ty Majeski, Connor Mosack, and Gio Ruggiero round out the top five.
After a flat tire during his qualifying lap and starting at the back of the field, Chandler Smith has entered the top 10.
Rajah Caruth makes his pit stop on lap 44.
While he will not earn any points in the race, Carson Hocevar has run the fastest lap in the race so far.
Lap 46, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Connor Mosack, and Kaden Honeycutt.
Lap 48, leader Carson Hocevar has debris on his grille.
The top three drivers, Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, and Ty Majeski are separated by just a quarter of a second.
Lap 50, Corey Heim passes Carson Hocevar for the lead. Hocevar told Heim to pass him to get the debris off of the grille
Lap 55, the top five are Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Ty Majeski, Kaden Honeycutt, and Connor Mosack.
Just five laps remain in stage two.
Lap 58, Carson Hocevar begins to challenge Corey Heim for the lead.
Corey Heim wins stage two for the sweep for the fourth time this season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Corey Heim
Carson Hocevar
Ty Majeski
Kaden Honeycutt
Connor Mosack
Ross Chastain
Gio Ruggiero
Tanner Gray
Chandler Smith
Luke Fenhaus
Josh Reaume takes his truck to the garage.
Rajah Caruth is the “lucky dog” and back on the lead lap.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Corey Heim winning the race off of pit road and Carson Hocevar in second.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 69 with Kaden Honeycutt alongside. Carson Hocevar starts behind leader Corey Heim. Getting a push from Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim takes the lead.
Carson Hocevar passes Corey Heim for the lead.
Lap 70, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Majeski, and Ross Chastain.
Jack Wood brings out the first caution flag for an on track incident on lap 72 when he spins out…and mostly keeps it off the wall but does have a flat tire.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 77 with Kaden Honeycutt alongside. Drivers spread out three wide.
Lap 77, Rajah Caruth brings out the caution flag when he gets loose after some on track contact and gets into the wall. There is some significant damage to the right rear of Caruth’s truck. Caruth takes his truck to the garage.
With 46 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are not yet withing the fuel window, but several of the drivers do come down pit road for service. Leaders stay out.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 82 with Kaden Honeycutt alongside. Drivers get three wide behind the leaders. Kaden Honeycutt gets in front briefly before Carson Hocevar retakes the lead.
The caution flag comes out on lap 84 when Morgan Baird and Nathan Byrd wreck, causing some significant damage to both trucks.
When the caution flag came out the top five was Carson Hocevar, Kaden Honeycutt, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, and Ross Chastain.
Pit road is open with several drivers coming down for service. Corey Heim reports that the truck shut off like it did in Miami.
Track crews are out on the track, working on making repairs to the outside wall and safer barrier.
Layne Riggs had a slow stop when the tire changer had difficulty in getting the right front tire off of the truck.
Grant Enfinger is the new leader after pit stops.
NASCAR has displayed the red flag so that the crew can get the wall repaired.
Carson Hocevar will restart the race in 17th and Corey Heim in 20th.
As the regular season begins to wind down, Corey Heim tops the leaderboard in the playoff standings with four wins. Chandler Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Hemric, and Raja Caruth are all in the playoffs with at leas one win. Currently Grant Enfinger, Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Garcia, and Ty Majeski round out the list of playoff drivers through points.
After a 19 minute red flag condition, NASCAR pulls the red flag and displays the yellow caution flag and the engines fire back up.
The top seven drivers stayed out on the track, the next nine made a pit stop but took fuel only, and Corey Heim is the first driver on four fresh tires.
During the red flag, Ross Chastain took a wee nap.
Carson Hocevar comes down pit road to pull the bumper away from the tire.
Grant Enfinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with Matt Crafton alongside on lap 91. Drivers are getting three and four wide across the track. Grant Enfinger takes the lead.
The top five are Grant Enfinger, Gio Ruggiero, Daneil Hemric, Matt Crafton, and Stewart Friesen.
Tyler Ankrum gets into the wall bu the track stays green.
Restarting in 18th place, Ross Chastain is back in the top 10. Corey Heim is up to 14th.
Norm Benning, Rajah Caruth, Nathan Byrd, and Morgain Baird are all out of the race.
Starting from the back of the field after some pit road repairs, Carson Hocevar is just outside the top 10.
Lap 96, Ross Chastin is in the top five!
Lap 97, grant Enfinger leads the race with Gio Ruggiero on his bumper; Tanner Gray, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Hemric round out the top five. Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar have entered the top 10.
Just 23 laps remaining in the race with Grant Enfinger in the lead; Gio Ruggiero, Layne Riggs, Ross Chastain, and Corey Heim round out the top five. Carson Hocevar is in eighth.
Lap 105, Layne Riggs passes Gio Ruggiero for second.
Ross Chastain passes Gio Ruggiero for third.
Twenty to go, Grant Enfinger has a lead of less than two tenths of a second on Layne Riggs.
Lap 108, Kaden Honeycutt makes his pit stop.
With 17 laps to go, Grant Enfinger holds on to the lead with Layne Riggs in second; Ross Chastain, Gio Ruggiero, and Corey Heim rount out the top five with Carson Hocevar in sixth.
Layne Riggs attempts to pass Grant Enfinger for the lead and falls to third when Ross Chastain Passes for second.
Lap 111 Ross Chastain passes Grant Enfinger for the lead but Layne Riggs comes out to make it a three way battle with Grant Enfinger taking back the lead.
Carson Hocevar is in the top five.
Lap 113, Carson Hocevar takes third.
Corey Heim passes Carson Hocevar for third.
Lap 114, Ross Chastain passes Grant Enfinger for the lead with Carson Hocevar taking second; Grant Enfinger, Corey, and Gio Ruggiero round out the top five.
Ross Chastain gets sideways after some on track contact from Hocevar with Carson Hocevar taking the lead. Chastain saves the truck and the track stays green.
There is a tire carcass on the track from Layne Riggs’ truck that brings out the caution flag with just nine laps remaining in the race.
There is some concern from the seven team over the left rear tire on Carson Hocevar’s truck. Hocevar said he is staying out and going for the win and staying out. The FOX Sports camera crew showed a closeup of the tire and it looks flat.
A few drivers come down pit road for service including Carson Hocevar.
Gio Ruggiero brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ross Chastain alongside and Corey Heim behind Ruggiero with just five laps remaining in the race.
Ruggiero hits Ross Chastain on the restart, spinning Chastain around, and causing a big wreck; sending trucks everywhere. The caution flag is out. Trucks were pushing and moving while still in the restart zone. Ross Chastain, Gio Ruggiero, Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Corey Heim, Daniel Hemric, Ty Majeski, jack Wood, Chandler Smith, and Jake Garcia were all involved.
The race goes into overtime.
Corey LaJoie leads the race with Dawon Sutton in second.
Corey LaJoie brings the field down for the green flag overtime shootout for the finish with Dawson Sutton alongside. Carson Hocevar restarts in the third row. LaJoie edges out for the lead
. Lawless Alan slammed against the wall and Daniel Hemric blows a tire and gets into the wall to bring out the caution flag.
Grant Enfinger takes the lead.
Corey LaJoie brings the field down for the second overtime shootout to end the race with Jake Garcia alongside. Garcia’s crew is concerned over whether or not he has enough fuel to make it to the end of the race. Grant Enfinger comes up on the inside to take the lad.
Drivers get four wide on the back stretch for another crash to bring out the caution flag. Carson Hocevar was charged with a restart violation and will have to restart the race from the back of the field. Matt Mills, Jack Wood, and Tanner Gray were involved.
Grant Enfinger brings the field down for the third overtime shootout for the end of the race with Stewart Friesen alongside. Grant Enfinger edges out for the lead but Stewart Friesen passes on the inside to take the lead.
Stewart Friesen takes the white flag.
Stewart Friesen wins the race for his first win of the season. After grabbing the flag, Friesen climbs the fence
The unofficial results of the race:
Stewart Friesen
Grant Enfinger
Luke Fenhaus
Ben Rhodes
Corey LaJoie
Matt Crafton
Jake Garcia
Chandler Smith
Andres Perez
Layne Riggs
Carson Hocevar
Gio Ruggiero
Dawson Sutton
Frankie Muniz
Ty Majeski
Spencer Boyd
Tanner Gray
Corey Heim
Connor Mosack
Jack Wood
Kaden Honeycutt
Toni Breidinger
Matt Mills
Tyler Ankrum
Josh Reaume
Ross Chastain
Daniel Hemric
Lawless Alan
Morgan Baird
Nathan Byrd
Rajah Caruth
Norm Benning