It’s BRISTOL BABY!
All three racing series head to Thunder Valley for a triple header weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series gets the weekend started with the Tennessee Army National Guard 250.
Thirty-six teams brought trucks to Bristol for 36 starting spots with Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr among the field of drivers.
The drivers are getting a full 50 minute session for practice before making a qualifying run.
This is the final race for the Triple Truck Challenge. Despite the rules saying that Trip winners must be full time points earning drivers, NASCAR has awarded race winner Corey Hiem the prize money. If he wins tonight and is awarded the money, he will earn a total of $500,000 for winning all three Triple Truck Challenge races.
NASCAR has applied the traction compound on parts of the track.
Not surprising, Corey Heim tops the leaderboard with the fastest lap of 15.459 seconds early. Christian Eckes comes in with a single lap run of 15.454 seconds.
A competitor in the reality series competition to drive a Ram truck full season for Kaulig Racing, Carson Fergusson is making his debut in the Ram 25 truck this weekend. Fergusson finished in second place behind “Race for the Show” winner Mini Tyrrell.
The caution flag comes out at the 17:13 mark when Dawson Sutton gets into the wall.
Thirty-three of the 36 drivers have lap times in the 15 second range.
Kaden Honeycutt tops the leaderboard of 15 and 20 lap times.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in practice, Chase Briscoe ran the fastest lap with a time of 15.166 seconds. Briscoe’s practice time was faster than the pole time last year.
Dawson Sutton’s team reported his getting into the wall was the result of a power steering issue.
Christian Eckes’ team is also reporting possible power steering issues.
Kyle Busch has a total of 22 Bristol wins across all three racing series – eight in Cup, nine in the O’Reilly Series, and five in the Truck Series.
But Darrell Waltrip holds the record for winning seven races in a row!
When asked what his Hollywood colleagues think about his racing, Frankie Muniz said that he’d say most of them think he is crazy. He noted unless you are a racer or are very passionate about racing, there is no way they could understand.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Francki Muniz who posted a time of 15,801 seconds around the half mile track.
With a time of 15.066 seconds, Kaden Honeycutt puts his number eleven truck on the pole with Christian Eckes starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Tennessee Army National Guard 250:
Kaden Honeycutt
Christian Eckes
Layne Riggs
Chase Briscoe
Jake Garcia
Ty Majeski
Carson Hocevar
Ben Rhodes
Gio Ruggiero
Ross Chastain
Corey Heim
Stewart Friesen
Kyle Busch
Justin Haley
Christopher Bell
Chandler Smith
Cole Butcher
Grant Enfinger
Corey La Joie
Tyler Ankrum
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Tanner Gray
Daniel Hemric
Tyler Reif
Kris Wright
Mini Tyrrell
Andres Perez
Brenden Queen
Carson Fergusson
Luke Baldwin
Frankie Muniz
Clayton Green
Spencer Boyd
Dawson Sutton
Timmy Hill
Daniel Suarez+
Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, and Dawson Sutton will not make a qualifying run due to issues with their trucks.
Stage one and two of the race are 65 laps each with stage three lasting 120 laps for a total 250 laps around the half mile track.
Austin Cindric joins Jamie Little and Michael Waltrip for the race broadcast.
Kaden Honeycutt brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Christian Eckes alongside. Honeycutt gets out in front for the lead with Eckes in second; Chase Briscoe, Layne Riggs, and Ty Majeski round out the top five.
Lap five, Christian Eckes leads the race with Kaden Honeycutt in second.
Lap nine, Carson Hocevar is the first Cup Series drover in the race in sixth; Kyle Busch is in ninth.
Lap eleven, Christian Eckes has a near one second lead on Kaden Honeycutt; Layne Riggs, Jake Garcis, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 16 when Andres Perez spins out in a “long lazy spin” but doesn’t anything or anyone.
Christian Eckes brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with Kaden Honeycutt alongside on lap 23. Eckes jumps out in front with Layne Riggs in second.
Lap 24, the top five are Christian Eckes, Layne Riggs, Chase Briscoe, Kaden Honeycutt, and Jake Garcia.
Lap 30, there are 34 trucks on the lead lap.
Corey Heim reports that he has a tight truck.
Lap 33, Christian Eckes has a one second lead on Layne Riggs; Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Garcia, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
Ty Majeski is reporting some shaking in his turck.
Lap 39, leader Christian Eckes is approaching slower traffic.
Lap 42, Layne Riggs’ lead is now down to just a third of a second amid slower traffic.
And the Artemis II Integrity capsule and crew have safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego!
Lap 57, Christian Eckes has a third of a second lead on Layne Riggs; Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Garcia, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
Tenth place driver Kyle Busch reports that he is “just too tight”.
Clayton Green is in the pits with 30 trucks on the lead lap.
Christian Eckes wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christian Eckes
Layne Riggs
Kaden Honeycutt
Ben Rhodes
Jake Garcia
Carson Hocevar
Gio Ruggiero
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Kyle Busch
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service. With a fuel load of 145 to 150 laps, the drivers can run the race on just one pit stop.
Grant Enfinger is now four laps down after spending an extended time on pit road with a voltage issue.
The top eleven drivers stayed out on the track.
Christian Eckes brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Layne Riggs alongside on the inside lane on lap 79. Christian Eckes takes the lead with drivers getting three wide on the track.
Lap 81, the top five are Christian Eckes, Layne Riggs, Ben Rhodes, Kaden Honeycutt, and Gio Ruggiero.
Lap 84, Corey Heim has entered the top 10.
Lap 87, Christian Eckes has a half second lead on Layne Riggs; Ben Rhodes, Kaden Honeycutt, and Gio Ruggiero round out the top five.
Luke Baldwin has some smoke coming from his truck with a possible tire rub.
Lap 95, Christian Eckes has a lead of less than a quarter of a second on Layne Riggs; Ben Rhodes, Kaden Honeycutt, and Gio Ruggiero round out the top five.
Lap 100, Christian Eckes puts Frankie Muniz a lap down for the second time. There are now 29 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 102, Layne Riggs comes up to battle with Christian Eckes for the lead. Ben Rhodes is just over a half second behind.
NASCAR has posted Clayton Green for failure to maintain minimum speed.
Just 20 laps remain in stage two, Christian Eckes has a narrow lead on Layne Riggs; Ben Rhodes, Kaden Honeycutt, and Gio Ruggiero round out the top five.
Ben Rhodes and Layne Riggs battle for second with 14 laps remaining in stage two.
The caution flag comes out on lap 118 for a crash involving Frankie Muniz and Tyler Reif. Both trucks are destroyed. Timmy Hill was also involved.
Ben Rhodes passes Layne Riggs just before the caution came out.
Nearly all of the field come down pit road for service with Corey Heim leading the race off of pit road; but a few drivers stayed out on the track.
In a race to finish stage two, Ben Rhodes brings the field down for the green flag restart with Justin Haley alongside with just three laps remaining in stage two. Ben Rhodes takes the lead.
Kyle Busch takes second form Justin Haley.
Ben Rhodes wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ben Rhodes
Kyle Busch
Justin Haley
Corey Heim
Christopher Bell
Christian Eckes
Corey LaJoie
Kaden Honeycutt
Jake Garcia
Layne Riggs
Brent Moffit was the last driver to win stage two and the race.
Ben Rhodes comes down pit road but Kyle Busch stays out on the track. Rhodes leaves his pit box with the lug nut gun still attached and comes out in the next pit box.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three from the outside lane with Corey Heim alongside on lap 142. Busche gets out in front with Christopher Bell coming up on the outside.
The top five are Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, and Corey LaJoie.
Corey LaJoie was charged with a restart violation.
The caution flag comes out on lap 147 when Tanner Gray gets into the wall with a flat tire. In a three wide battle, Gray gets loose and gets into Mini Tyrrell before hitting the wall.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 154. Busch jumps out in front for the lead with Corey Heim in second; Christian Eckes, Christopher Bell, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 157 for a crash involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Cole Butcher. Butcher spins and Stenhouse gets caught up trying to sneak through.
Andres Perez was caught speeding on pit road. Perez and Cole Butcher were charged with pitting too soon.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with Christian Eckes alongside on lap 165. Busch holds on to the lead with Christian Eckes in second; Corey Heim, Christopher Bell, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five.
Corey Heim passes Christian Eckes for second.
Luke Baldwin spins out after contact with Daniel Suarez to bring out the seventh caution flag on lap 169.
Kyle Busch is stuck back in traffic after his truck doesn’t refire when he shuts the engine off and on and failed to refire. He is now in 10th place.
Christian Eckes is the new leader.
With 73 laps remaining in the race, Corey Heim is listed as the control car and leads the field to the green flag. Christian Eckes takes the lead with Corey Heim in second. Christopher Bell gets loose but saves the truck.
Corey Heim spins out and gets hard into the wall after contact from Christian Eckes on lap 180 with several drivers getting caught up in the crash. Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs were also involved.
NASCAR has red flagged the race.
The trucks are moving again with Christian Eckes in the lead. Kyle Busch has moved up to sixth after the wreck.
Christian Eckes brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with Chandler Smith alongside with 63 laps remaining in the race. Ecles gets out in front but Christopher Bell moves up on the outside in Bell takes the lead.
With 60 to go Christopher Bell leads the race with Christian Eckes in second; Chandler Smigh, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Ty Majeski makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.
Teammates Jake Garcia and Ben Rhodes batt for ninth.
Twenty-nine of the 36 trucks to start the race are still on the track.
Just 50 laps to go, Christopher Bell has a third of a second lead on Christian Eckes; Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 205, Christian Eckes has caught leader Christopher Bell and challenging for the lead. There are 22 trucks on the lead lap.
Forty to go, Christopher Bell has a third of a second lead on Christian Eckes; Chandler Smith is in third place over two seconds back with Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.
Corey LaJoie spins out to bring out the 10th caution flag of the race with 35 laps to go. LaJoie reports that something broke on his truck. He makes his way back to the garage.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christian Eckes alongside with just 27 laps remaining in the race. Bell takes the lead with Chandler Smith taking second; Gio Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes, and Christian Eckes rounding out the top five. Kyle Busch falls to eighth.
Chase Briscoe got loose but saved the truck and the track stays green.
Twenty to go! Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Chandler Smit; Ben Rhodes, Gio Ruggiero, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Ben Rhodes is slowed on the track and has fallen to seventh. Rhoes keeps reporting “it keeps shutting off”.
Just 12 laps to go, Christopher Bell now has a one second lead on Chandler Smith; Gio Ruggiero, Ross Chastain, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Eight to go, Christopher Bell gets caught up in slower traffic allowing Chandler Smith to close the gap to just half a second; Gio Ruggiero, Ross Chastain, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Four to go, Christopher Bell holds on to the lead.
Christopher Bell takes the white flag.
Christopher Bell wins the race with Chandler Smith coming in second and will win the Triple Truck Challenge prize.
The unofficial results of the Tennessee Army National Guard 250:
Christopher Bell
Chandler Smith
Gio Ruggiero
Ross Chastain
Christian Eckes
Jake Garcia
Dawson Sutton
Kyle Busch
Carson Hocevar
Brenden Queen
Ben Rhodes
Daniel Hemric
Tyler Ankrum
Chase Briscoe
Justin Haley
Stewart Freisen
Andres Perez
Daniel Suarez
Mini Tyrrell
Tanner Gray
Carson Fergusson
Layne Riggs
Ty Majeski
Spencer Boyd
Kris Wright
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Grant Enfinger
Cole Butcher
Corey LaJoie
Corey Heim
Kaden Honeycutt
Luke Baldwin
Timmy Hill
Tyler Reif
Frankie Muniz
Clayton Green