Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Truck Series races at Kansas

The Truck Series put on two great races this past Friday and Saturday in the heartland of the Midwest at Kansas Speedway. The track made some history by hosting two back-to-back Truck Series races, the first in its 19-year span. 

Nobody knew what to expect from the two races since 1.5 milers can sometimes be uneventful, but Kansas put on a great show. Sure, in Friday’s race, there was more green flag action than yellows, but no driver was really ever able to check out over second place. Hill only led 65 of the scheduled 167 laps in Friday’s effort, while Crafton led just 23 laps before getting his first win of the season. While the results may show a driver leading the most laps of the two races, there were consistent battles for the lead. And of course, rookie Christian Eckes made the veteran Crafton work for his victory.

While Hill and Crafton enjoyed their victories, there were some notables in the field such as Travis Pastrana making his first NASCAR return in years. The Maryland native replaced Ross Chastain in the No. 40 for the Saturday race. Hoping for a strong outing, Pastrana had a difficult showing after having a flat tire ending his day. 

After a historic doubleheader, two Truck Series regulars punched their ticket into the Playoffs and took two more spots in the playoff grid. 

With those stories to focus on as the season wears on and the Playoffs inching closer, we take a look at four things we might have missed or need to revisit following this weekend’s Truck Series action. 

1. Travis Pastrana Returns – We may have already noted this, but Travis Pastrana making his return to NASCAR was special. He last made a start in 2017 at the Las Vegas race driving for Niece Motorsports. Pastrana had high hopes of potentially being the story at the end of the day in victory lane. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to shine, due to having a right-rear tire go down with 10 to go in the first stage. The day would only get worse for Pastrana, as he would go sliding through the grass off Turn 4 after his teammate Natalie Decker took the air off of him. Pastrana came home in the 22nd position, two laps down.
   
2. Austin Wayne Self Gets Best Finish of the Season – The AM Racing team continues to fly under the radar after a couple of weeks of finishing inside the top 20. After securing a best finish of 14th at Texas a week ago, Wayne Self and the No. 22 team had momentum on their side and looked to carry that through Kansas. While Friday’s event didn’t go so well (finishing 17th), the Texan earned his best finish of the 2020 season Saturday afternoon, placing 13th. Leaving the team somewhat satisfied, they will now focus on trying to get their first top 10 of the season when the Truck Series rolls into Michigan a couple of weeks from now.
   
3. Brennan Poole Has Consistent Effort – It’s not very often you talk about Poole and the No. 30 OnPoint Motorsports team, but after this weekend the team has a right to be mentioned in your conversation with a race fan. Poole obtained two 12th place finishes after the two races at Kansas, collecting his best finishes of the season as well. Before this weekend, Poole only had a season-best of 17th. However, the Steven Lane owned team can have a little confidence after placing sixth in Stage 1 for Saturday’s race, and being consistent after such a tight turnaround following Friday.
   
4. Ryan Huff Grabs Respectable Finish – The Virginia native saw a respectable 19th place finishing position after a crazy hectic race on Saturday. Huff stayed out of trouble and kept pace in the field with the No. 00 Reaume Brothers Racing Toyota. Sure, while the finish came a lap down, the 19-year-old brought the Josh Reaume entry home with a clean truck.