It’s a doubleheader weekend for NASCAR with the Craftsman Truck and Cup Series drivers taking on the short track at Richmond Raceway.
The big news of the week is that after his injury and subsequent out for the season, Stewart Friesen has decided NOT to request a medical waiver to keep the truck in the playoffs for a few more weeks. That leaves four spots open for drivers to make it in the playoffs.
And this is the final week of the regular season for the Truck Series. Corey Heim has already been named the regular season champion; tonight the remainder of the playoff field will be determined.
Andres Perez has moved over to finish the season with Niece Motorsports driving the number 44 truck and Corey LaJoie has taken over the driving duties of the number 77 truck to finish out the season.
Thirty-five teams have brought drivers to Richmond with Kaden Honeycutt taking over the driving duties for the number 52 truck. After being released from Niece Motorsports, taking over the driving duties for the injured Stewart Friesen allows Honeycutt to maintain his playoff bid. Xfinity Series drivers Christian Eckes, Sammy Smith, and Carson Kvapil are also in the field.
The racing ophthalmologist Dr. Patrick Staropoli returns to run at Richmond.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for 25 minute practice sessions. The drivers will have one round and two laps to make their best laps for qualifying for the eero 250 later tonight.
The drivers are experiencing tire drop off of a second after 10 to 15 laps of practice. Crew chiefs are expecting tire drop off as much as two seconds on a tire run.
Having run over 30 laps in practice, Christian Eckes top the leaderboard in multiple laps times in group 1 practice.
Uke Fenhaus tops the leaderboard for a single lap run in practice.
Gio Ruggiero takes his truck to the garage with a rear hub issue and will not make a qualifying run.
Matt Mills spins out and slides down the track before running into the grass to bring out the caution flag.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Carson Kvapil who posted a time of 23.837 seconds around the ¾ mile track.
The number two truck of Clayton Green did not make a qualifying run.
Jack Wood was injured during the race at Watkins Glen last week and is not in the race; however, he is at the track.
With a time of 23.095 seconds Corey Heim put his number eleven truck on the pole for the eighth time this season; Ty Majeski will start alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the eero 250:
Corey Heim
Ty Majeski
Layne Riggs
Grant Enfinger
Sammy Smith
Chandler Smith
Matt Crafton
Jake Garcia
Christian Eckes
Daniel Hemric
Kaden Honeycutt
Dawson Sutton
Bayley Currey
Connor Mosack
Luke Fenhaus
Tyler Ankrum
Ben Rhodes
Tanner Gray
Brent Crews
Matt Mills
Rajah Caruth
Andres Perez
Spencer Boyd
Patrick Staropoli
Carson Kvapil
Corey LaJoie
Nick Leitz
Frankie Muniz
Matthew Gould
Toni Breidinger
Stephen Mallozzi
Caleb Costner
Ryan Roulette
Clayton Green
Gio Ruggiero
Stages one and two are 70 laps each with stage three lasting 110 for a total of 250 laps around the ¾ mile track. The drivers can run 112 laps on a single load of fuel.
On a hot Virginia Friday night Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Ty Majeski alongside. Starting under the sun, the race will end under the lights. The drivers immediately began spreading out three and four wide. Corey Hiem takes the lead but Daniel Hemric is falling through the field.
Lap three the top five are Corey Hei, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Layne Riggs, and Matt Crafton.
Clayton Green has taken his truck to the garage with a mechanical issue.
Stephen Mallozzi has made an unscheduled pit stop.
Lap nine, Gio Ruggiero has advanced 13 spots after starting the race from the back of the field.
The 22 truck of Stephen Mallozzi was charged with having too many crew members over the wall.
Daniel Hemric is slowed on the track with a flat tire but works his way slowly to pit road; the track stays green.
Lap 13 Corey Heim has a third of a second lead on Ty Majeski but Majeski is closing the gap.
Layne Riggs battles with Grant Enfinger to take third.
Daniel Hemric takes his truck to the garage with a mechanical issue.
Lap 18, Ty Majeski has caught leader Corey Heim and passed on the outside to take the lead.
Lap 23, leaders have begun lapping slower trucks with 28 trucks on the lead lap.
Gio Ruggiero has entered the top 20.
Lap 27, Ty Majeski has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Corey Heim; Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Crafton round out the top five.
Crew members are working on making repairs to the 19 truck of Daniel Hemric; but note that they are already in the playoffs but will use the race as a test session to improve their short track program.
Lap 32, Ty Majeski has pulled out to a near two and a half second lead on Corey Heim.
Lap 33, there are 23 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 34, Corey Heim has closed the lead on Ty Majeski to under two seconds.
Lap 37, the top five are Ty Majeski, Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, and Sammy Smith.
Lap 41, Sammy Smith passes Grant Enfinger for fourth.
Lap 42, leader Ty Majeski just passed Dawson Sutton to put the 20th place truck one lap down.
Lap 45, Ty Majeski puts Gio Ruggiero a lap down; the 19th place truck.
Lap 47, Ty Majeski is back to over two seconds out in front of Corey Heim with just 17 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 50, leader Ty Majeski passes 17th place driver Corey LaJoie to put him a lap down.
Lap 52, ty Majeski has increased his lead on Corey Heim to nearly three seconds.
Layne Riggs passes Corey Heim for second with 14 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 55, leader Ty Majeski may be less than three seconds out in front but he is driving and passing trucks like he was avoiding the revenuers with a full load of contraband.
Lap 58, there are now 13 trucks on the lead lap with 12 laps remaining in stage one.
Lap 60, Ty Majeski has a near three second lead on Layne Riggs with just 12 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 62, the top five are Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Corey Heim, Sammy Smith, and Chandler Smith.
With a near five second lead, Ty Majeski wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ty Majeski
Layne Riggs
Corey Heim
Sammy Smith
Chandler Smith
Kaden Honeycutt
Christian Eckes
Grant Enfinger
Matt Crafton
Jake Garcia
Only eleven trucks are on the lead lap.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ben Rhodes winning the race off of pit road. But has made more trips down pit road after missing his pit stall.
Kaden Honeycutt has clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Ty Majeski brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Corey Heim alongside on lap 80. Corey Heim gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Sammy Smith, Layne Riggs, and Christian Eckes.
Lap 84, Layne Riggs passes Christian Eckes for fourth.
Lap 86, Layne Riggs passes Sammy Smith for third.
Daniel Hemric has returned to the race 64 laps down.
Jape Garcia passes Christian Eckes for fifth.
The caution flag comes out on lap 90 Luke Fenhaus and Spencer Boyd make contact.
Ben Rhodes comes down pit road for fresh tires. Chandler Smith makes two trips down pit road.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 97 with Ty Majeski alongside. Heim jumps out in front for the lead; Layne Riggs and Ty Majeski battle for second.
The top five are Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, and Christian Eckes.
Lap 98, Ben Rhodes passes Christian Eckes for fifth.
Lap 100, Ben Rhodes passes Kaden Honeycutt for fourth.
Clayton Green is out of the race with mechanical issues.
Lap 103, Ty Majeski passes Corey Heim for the lead; Layne Riggs, Ben Rhodes, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five.
Stephen Mallozzi is out of the race with mechanical issues.
Lap 106, Ty Majeski has pulled out to a near second and a half lead on Corey Heim; Layne Riggs, Ben Rhodes, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five.
Lap 108, the caution flag comes out when Dawson Sutton gets into the wall hard near the entrance to pit road.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for fresh tires including leader Ty Majeski and Kaden Honeycutt.
Corey Heim is the new leader.
Corey Heim brings the field down for the green flag restart with Layne Riggs alongside on lap 118. Heim gets out in front with a four wide battle behind.
The top five are Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes, Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith, and Ty Majeski.
Lap 121, Ty Majeski is in second place and battle with Corey Heim for the lead.
Lap 122, Ty Majeski takes the lead; Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five. Majeski restarted the race in eighth place.
Drivers are three and four wide across the track.
Lap 126, Ty Majeski has a one second lead on Corey Heim; Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, and Jake Garcia round out e the top five.
Layne Riggs has dropped to 10th on older tires.
Christian Eckes passes Ben Rhodes for third.
Jake Garcia passes Ben Rhodes and Christian Eckes to for third.
Lap 133, Ty Majeski has a lead of over a second on Corey Heim; Jake Garcia, Christian Eckes, and Gran Enfinger round out the top five.
Lap 136, Jake Garcia and Corey Heim battle for second.
Jake Garcia takes second.
Dawson Sutton returns to the race 27 laps down.
Ty Majeski wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ty Majeski
Jake Garcia
Corey Heim
Christian Eckes
Grant Enfinger
Kaden Honeycutt
Ben Rhodes
Chandler Smith
Tyler Ankrum
Layne Riggs
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ty Majeski winning the race off of pit road with Corey Heim in second.
Ty Majeski brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Corey Heim alongside on lap 150. Drivers spread out three and four wide. Andres Perez gets off in the grass but the track stays green. Corey Heim takes the lead with Ty Majeski in second; Kaden Honeycutt, Christian Eckes, and Tyler Ankrum round out the top five.
Lap 155, ty Majeski passes Corey Heim for the lead; Kaden Honeycutt, Christian Eckes, and Tyler Ankrum round out the top five.
Layne Riggs passes Ben Rhodes for seventh.
There are 19 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 160, ty Majeski has a lead of over a second on Corey Heim; Kaden Honeycutt, Christian Eckes, and Tyler Ankrum round out the top five.
The drivers will not be able to complete the race on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop some time during the stage.
Lap 162, Ty Majeski has led 105 of them.
With 82 laps remaining in the race Ty Majeski has a three second lead on Corey Heim; Kaden Honeycutt, Layne Riggs, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Lap 177, Ty Majeski has a lead of over three seconds on Corey Heim; Kaden Honeycutt, Layne Riggs, and Christian Eckes round out the top five. The top five are separated by nearly 10 seconds.
There are just 15 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 182, Tanner Gray is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop.
Lap 189, Corey Heim has closed the gap on leader Ty Majeski to under three seconds.
More drivers are trickling in to make their green flag pit stops. Matt Crafton reports no brakes.
Lap 195, Corey Heim makes his pit stop.
Rajah Caruth was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Kaden Honeycutt makes his green flag pit stop.
With 52 laps to go, Ty Majeski has yet to come down pit road with just five trucks on the lead lap.
The caution flag comes out on lap 199 when Matt Crafton makes contact with Ty Majeski and sends Majeski spinning; bot drivers make contact with the wall. Reports are that fluid on the track was the cause of the crash.
Sammy Smith is the new leader but still needs to make his pit stop; along with Gio Ruggiero and Corey LaJoie.
Drivers come down pit road for service.
Sammy Smith brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Majeski alongside with just 36 laps remaining in the race. Drivers spread out three and four wide in a battle for the lead. Sammy Smith takes the lead with Gio Ruggiero in second.
Corey Heim passes Gio Ruggiero for second.
The top five are Sammy Smith, Corey Heim, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, and Corey LaJoie.
Thirty to go, Corey Heim and Gio Ruggiero continue to battle for second.
Lap 223, Corey Heim finally gets around Gio Ruggiero and pulls away.
The top five are Sammy Smith, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Gio Ruggiero.
There are just 14 trucks on the lead lap.
With 24 laps to go, Corey Heim is a half second behind leader Sammy Smith.
Twenty to go, Corey Heim has caught leader Sammy Smith and begins the battle for the lead.
Corey Heim takes the lead.
Ty Majeski passes Layne Riggs for second. Sammy Smith drops to fourth.
Just 14 laps to go, Corey Heim has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Ty Majeski; Layne Riggs, Sammy Smith, and Corey LaJoie round out the top five.
Ten to go! Corey Heim holds a one second lead on Ty Majeski with 14 trucks on the lead lap.
Five to go, Corey Heim has a second and a half lead on Ty Majeski; Layne Riggs, Sammy Smith, and Corey LaJoie round out the top five. Heim has never won a race at Richmond.
Corey Heim takes the white flag.
Winning the Richmond race for the first time, Corey Heim earns win number seven of the season.
The unofficial results of the eero 250:
Corey Heim
Ty Majeski
Layne Riggs
Sammy Smith
Corey LaJoie
Gio Ruggiero
Jake Garcia
Ben Rhodes
Chandler Smith
Kaden Honeycutt
Tyler Ankrum
Christian Eckes
Grant Enfinger
Tanner Gray
Carson Kvapil
Brent Crews
Matt Mills
Connor Mosack
Rajah Caruth
Bayley Currey
Andres Perez
Luke Fenhaus
Patrick Staropoli
Toni Breidinger
Matthew Gould
Matt Crafton
Nick Leitz
Spencer Boyd
Ryan Roulette
Caleb Costner
Dawson Sutton
Frankie Muniz
Daniel Hemric
Stephen Mallozzi
Clayton Green
Playoff drivers:
Corey Heim
Layne Riggs
Chandler Smith
Daniel Hemric
Tyler Andrum
Ty Majeski
Grant Enfinger
Rajah Caruth
Kaden Honeycutt
Jake Garcia
The points are reset to 2,000 with playoff and stage points added. Corey Heim leads with 2,065 points.