The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania this past weekend. Some might say it was an exciting race in regards to track position while others think that it might have been the least exciting race of the season. Despite that, a few drivers who don’t run the series full time earned great finishes, quite possibly their career-best for some.
This week the Truck Series heads to the famous Eldora Speedway on Thursday where the regulars will compete with the dirt track invaders, who normally have a good shot at winning, thanks to their dirt racing backgrounds. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves for the Thursday night Truck Series race.
Here are four takeaways from the Gander RV 150 at Pocono.
- Ross Chastain Championship Favorite – Chastain picked up his third win of the 2019 season this past Saturday, collecting another popular win among the fans. He has quickly become a rising star over the past year. For those fans who don’t have a favorite driver in the series, Chastain is someone that those fans can cheer for. After doing a burnout, the Florida native got out of his truck and grabbed an inflatable watermelon, tossing it to the fans in the stands, showing his appreciation for them. Chastain is also a championship favorite now with three wins in the series. It will be interesting to see if he can continue this momentum into the playoffs.
- Too Short Of A Race – I’ve said this again and I’ll state it again, it was too short of a race. Sixty laps does not give the drivers much time to get to the front in order to make something happen. It’s especially true when you have short stages of only 15 laps each for the first two stages, even when the first stage saw only seven green flag laps. That’s not much action for the fans to see. Stage 2 was a little better as we saw no cautions, but still, defending series champion Brett Moffitt noted that it was difficult to pass and it was all about track position. The PJ1 never really was a factor either. Hopefully, with the new schedule announcement this past weekend and the newly adjusted amount of laps, it will give next year’s race more action.
- TV Coverage – I’m normally not one to complain about the TV coverage, but Saturday’s race broadcast was not the best. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful we have someone covering the whole Truck Series season in what is quite possibly the most exciting series in NASCAR right now. However, the telecast from this past weekend was somewhat disappointing. Whenever there is a race on FOX, it helps give these guys the exposure they need and attracts fans as well, such as those who don’t normally get Fox Sports 1. Unfortunately, we were flooded with commercials, especially late in the going and even missed two restarts. I’m not saying Saturday’s telecast was unwatchable, but there is room for improvement.
- ThorSport Racing Salvages A Great Day – In what looked liked it was going to be a disastrous day for ThorSport Racing, they were able to turn it around by the time the checkered flag flew. Johnny Sauter had some damage after his contact with Bayley Currey on a restart and had to pit to repair it. Sauter made the best of his situation to finish eighth after starting 16th. Matt Crafton was the highest finisher out of the group, finishing sixth despite at one point running as high as third and having a shot to snap his long winless streak. Ben Rhodes started 15th could only finish fourth in Stage 2, before winding up ninth in his sporty No. 99 Havoline Ford. Regular series points leader Grant Enfinger finished sixth and third in both stages, respectively only to come home to finish 10th. Not the best day for the Ohio based group, but they were still able to make the most out of it.
