On an early Saturday morning, the Craftsman Truck Series takes to the track at Michigan International Speedway for a round of practice and qualifying for the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics before running the race alter today.
After two weeks of dodging rain drops in an effort to get the race events in; it is a beautiful day with blue skies for the truck race.
Thirty-six teams brought trucks for 36 starting spots in a field that includes Cleetus McFarland, Corey Heim, Parker Kligerman, as the 25 Ram Truck guest driver, and Cup Series drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ross Chastain, Chrisotpher Bell, and Carson Hocevar.
The drivers have a full 50 minute practice session before qualifying.
Cleetus McFarland and Kris Wright were held five minutes for missing the rookie meeting.
Layne Riggs was penalized 30 minutes.
Gio Ruggiero went out early and laid down a fast lap at 38.805 seconds with Corey Heim in second.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Ricky Stenhouse Jr who posted a time of 39.602 seconds.
With a time of 39.257 seconds, Ty Majeski puts his number 88 truck on the pole with Christopher Bell alongside on the front row.
The lineup for the DQS Solutions 250:
Ty Majeski
Christopher Bell
Chandler Smith
Layne Riggs
Connor Mosack
Carson Hocevar
Cole Butcher
Gio Ruggiero
Jake Garcia
Spencer Davis
Grant Enfinger
Stewart Friesen
Tyler Ankrum
Corey LaJoie
Ross Chastain
Dawson Sutton
Kaden Honeycutt
Andres Perez
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Christien Eckes
Brenden Queen
Justin Haley
Corey Heim
Daniel Hemric
Parker Kligerman
Daniel Dye
Kris Wright
Spencer Boyd
Cleetus McFarland
Mini Tyrrell
Frankie Muniz
Josh Reaume
Morgan Baird
Caleb Costner
Ben Rhodes
Tanner Gray
Stages one and two of the race are just 30 laps each with stage three lasting 65 laps for a total 125 laps around the two mile track. The drivers can run 39 laps on a single load of fuel.
Tanner Gray will start the race from the back of the field after the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the truck.
Brent Stover and Todd Bodine join Michael Waltrip in the broadcast booth for the race.
Cleetus McFarland gave the command to start engines from inside his truck.
This is the final Truck Series race for Ross Chastain.
Ty Majeski brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Christopher Bell alongside. Christopher Bell gets out in front for the lead.
Daniel Hemric gets into the wall on lap one. The track stays green as Hemric takes his truck to pit road.
Lap two, tTy Majeski passes Christopher Bell for the lead.
Lap three, the top five are Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Christoher Bell, Gio Ruggioer, and Chandler Smith.
Lap four, Ty Majeski and Carson Hocevar battle for the lead but Christopher Bell gives Majeski a push to keep the lead.
Tanner Gray has a flat tire and takes his truck to pit road.
Lap six, Christopher Bell retakes the lead with Carson Hocevar in second.
Carson Hocevar passes Christopher Bell for the lead.
Lap seven, the first caution flag of the race comes out when Kris Wright, Spencer Davis, and Frankie Muniz got into a wreck.
Corey LaJoie was caught speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Majeski alongside on lap 12. Drivers are getting three and four wide across the track. Carson Hocevar holds on to the lead.
Josh Reaume was charged with a restart violation and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 14, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith, and Kaden Honeycutt.
Lap 17, Kaden Honeycutt passes Christian Eckes for fourth.
Layne Riggs passes Jake Garcia for seventh.
Lap 19, Carson Hocevar holds on to the lead with Christopher Bell on his bumper; Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Justin Haley in the 16 Ram truck was charged with improper fueling and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
There are 32 trucks on the lead lap.
Lap 24, Carson Hocevar has the lead with Christopher Bell on his bumper; Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Christian Eckes reports an issues with grip; adding that he is too tight.
Lap 26, Christopher Bell passes Carson Hocevar for the lead.
Lap 27, Carson Hocevar challenges Christopher Bell for the lead.
Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar battle for the lead; Bell holds on.
Christopher Bell wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Carson Hocevar
Kaden Honeycutt
Chandler Smith
Layne Riggs
Corey Heim
Christian Eckes
Gio Ruggiero
Jake Garcia
Ross Chastain
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road. Carson Hocevar came out in third with Corey Heim coming out second.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Carson Hocevar alongside on lap 37. Getting a push from Kaden Honeycutt, Carson Hocevar takes the lead as drivers spread out across the track.
Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar battle for the lead.
Lap 38, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Christoher Bell, Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, and Christian Eckes.
Lap 40, Christopher Bell takes the lead with Corey Heim in second; Carson Hocevar, Kaden Honeycutt, and Christian Eckes round out the top five.
Dawson Sutton is off the track.
Lap 42, Christopher Bell, Corey Heim, and Carson Hocevar are nose to tail.
Dawson Sutton was charged with too many crew members over the wall and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 45, Christopher Bell has a tenth of a second lead on Corey Heim; Carson Hocevar, Kaden Honeycutt, and Chandler Smith.
Layne Riggs is reporting a loose condition in the truck.
Lap 49, Layne Riggs brings his truck down pit road. For a flat tire.
Christopher Bell leads the race with Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar on his bumper; Kayen Honeycutt, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.
Lap 53, leaders have encountered slower traffic.
Lap 55, Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim battle for second.
Dawson Sutton makes another trip down pit road and is again charged with having too many crew members over the wall and has to serve another passthrough penalty.
Lap 58, after battling with Corey Heim for second, Carson Hocevar has dropped to a second and a half behind the leader.
Kaden Honeycutt passes Chandler Smith for fourth.
Christopher Bell wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Corey Heim
Carson Hocevar
Kaden Honeycutt
Chandler Smith
Christian Eckes
Ross Chastain
Gio Ruggiero
Grant Enfinger
Ty Majeski
Drivers come down pit road for service with Carson Hocevar winning the race off of pit road.
The drivers cannot finish the race without making a stop for fuel.
Corey Heim had a slow stop when the crew had an issue with the jack.
Stewart Friesen was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 67 with Grant Enfinger alongside. Getting a push from Kaden Honeycutt, Carson Hocevar takes the lead.
Lap 68, the caution flag comes out when Cleetus McFarland gets loose and spins out. He keeps it off the wall.
Gio Ruggiero has been down pit road with an issue to the underside of his truck.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 75 with Grant Enfinger alongside. Getting a push from Kaden Honeycutt, Carson Hocevar gets out in front.
The caution flag comes out on lap 75when Stewart Friesen spins out and has to come down pit road with flat tires. Pitting while pit road is closed, Friesen will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
It has gotten very cloudy over the racetrack.
Ben Rhodes started the race from the back of the field after having a power issue during qualifying.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 81. Kaden Honeycutt gives Carson Hocevar a push but it is Christopher Bell who gets out in front for the lead. Drivers are getting five wide across the track in a battle for position.
Lap 82, the top five are Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes, and Corey Heim.
Grent Enfinger makes an unscheduled trip down pit road for a flat tire.
Dawson Sutton is off the track.
Lap 85, Carson Hocevar has a narrow lead on Christopher Bell; Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, and Ben Rhodes round out the top five.
Lap 86, Christopher Bell passes Carson for the lead.
Corey Hiem passes Carson Hocevar for second.
The caution flag comes out on lap 88 when pole sitter Ty Majeski crashes trying to pass Tanner Gray and gets into the wall.
With 37 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are in their pit window to make it to the end of the race.
Drivers come down pit road for service with a lot of teams taking only two tires.
After staying out on the track, Daniel Dye brings the field down for the green flag restart with Jake Garcia alongside on lap 93. Carson Hocevar pushes Daniel Dye before making it a three wide battle. Carson Hocevar takes the lead.
The caution flag comes out on lap 94 when Cole Butcher and Spencer Boyd crash and get into the wall. Butcher has a flat tire, gets loose, and into Boyd’s truck.
Ben Rhodes got into the wall on the last restart and made a trip down pit road for service but will have to restart from the back of the field after pitting before pit road was open.
Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 26 laps remaining in the race. Kaden Honeycutt edges out for the lead but Carson Hocevar comes up on the outside to take the lead.
The top five are Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeucutt, Jake Garcia, and Corey Heim.
With 25 to go, Carson Hocevar holds on to the lead with Chandler Smith in second; Kaden Honeycutt, Corey Heim, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Dawson Sutton is out of the race.
Cole Butcher is out of the race.
Corey Heim passes Daken Honeycutt for third.
Twenty to go! Carson Hocevar has a narrow lead on Chandler Smith; Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
With 18 laps to go, the top five have broken away from the field.
With 16 laps remaining in the race, Chandler Smith has dropped down several times looking to pass leader Carson Hocevar.
Fifteen to go, Corey Heim comes down on the inside lane to pass Chandler Smith and Carson Hoevar for the lead.
Carson Hocevar had some debris on his grille and needed a truck in front to get the debris off.
Twelve to go, Corey Heim leads the race with Carson Hocevar and Chandler Smith trying to make it a three wide battle for the lead.
Corey LaJoie makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.
Ten to go! Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, and Chandler Smith have broken away from the field and are in a battle for the lead.
Kaden Honeycut has come up to make it a four way battle for position.
Kaden Honeycutt has passed Chandler Smith for third.
Layne Riggs in fifth is running the fastest laps in the race.
Seven to go, Carson Hocevar tries to drop down on the inside to battle with Corey Heim.
Kaden Honeycutt passes Carson Hocevar for second.
Carson Hocevar is reporting a tight condition in his truck.
Five to go, Corey Heim has a tenth of a second lead on Kaden Honeycutt; Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith, and Layne Riggs round out the top five.
Three to go, Corey Heim continues to lead the race with Kaden Honeycutt in second.
Kaden Honeycut has caught Corey Heim and begins to challenge for the lead.
Corey Heim takes the white flag.
It’s Heim Time once again with Corey Heim winning the race. Heim has now won a race at 22 different tracks.
The unofficial results of the DQS Solutions 250:
Corey Heim
Kaden Honeycutt
Carson Hocevar
Layne Riggs
Chandler Smith
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Connor Mosack
Jake Garcia
Tyler Ankrum
Grant Enfinger
Gio Ruggiero
Daniel Hemric
Brenden Queen
Daniel Dye
Parker Kligerman
Ross Chastain
Tanner Gray
Andres Perez
Mini Tyrrell
Ben Rhodes
Stewart Friesen
Frankie Muniz
Spencer davis
Cleetus McFarland
Morgen Baird
Caleb Costner
Justin Haley
Corey LaJoie
Josh Reaume
Kris Wright
Christian Eckes
Cole Butcher
Spencer Boyd
Ty Majeski
Dawson Sutton