Home Blog Page 1252

Mayer clinches Championship 4 berth with late Xfinity victory at Homestead

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Two weeks after keeping his championship hopes alive by earning a walk-off victory in the Playoff’s Round of 8 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Sam Mayer will officially race for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship after achieving a late victory in the Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 21.

The 20-year-old Mayer from Franklin, Wisconsin, led three times for 46 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started 13th and made his presence at the front known at the start of the second stage period while scoring a handful of stage points during the first two stage periods. Then after assuming the lead with 49 laps remaining while pole-sitter and Playoff rival Cole Custer pitted under green due to a flat tire, Mayer, who pitted with under 37 laps remaining for his final set of tires, withstood two late restarts, including the final one with 23 laps remaining, to fend off a hard-charging Riley Herbst and claim his fourth Xfinity Series victory of the 2023 season. Above all, Mayer punched his ticket into this year’s Championship 4 round as he will contend for the 2023 Xfinity Series title at Phoenix Raceway in two weeks’ time.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 20, Playoff contender Cole Custer secured the pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 165.604 mph in 32.608 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 164.704 mph in 32.786 seconds.

Prior to the event, Patrick Emerling and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Custer used the outside lane to rocket away from Nemechek and retain the lead through the first two turns. With the field fanning out and jostling for early spots through the backstretch, Custer proceeded to lead the first lap while Nemechek was overtaken by Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill for second and third place. Josh Berry would follow suit during the following along with rookie Sammy Smith while Custer was leading by half a second.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Custer retained the lead by half a second over Allgaier followed by Nemechek, Hill, and Berry while Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Brett Moffitt, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg were in the top 10. Behind, rookie Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed were in the top 15 along with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as Kaz Grala and Daniel Hemric were a part of the battle.

Ten laps later, Custer stretched his advantage to a second over Nemechek followed by Allgaier, Hill and Sammy Smith while Mayer, Herbst, Berry, Moffitt and Creed occupied the top 10 on the track. Behind, Chandler Smith was in 13th ahead of Hemric and Earnhardt Jr. while Ryan Sieg and Grala were in the top 12. In addition, Ryan Newman was running in the top 20.

At the Lap 35 mark, Custer continued to lead by more than a second over Nemechek as Allgaier, Mayer and Creed were in the top five. Behind, Herbst occupied sixth place ahead of Moffitt, Hill, Grala and Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman, Daniel Hemric, Earnhardt Jr. and Berry were in the top 15.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Custer, who came into the event 15 points above the top-four cutline to transfer into the Playoff’s Championship 4 round, captured his eighth Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season. Mayer settled in second ahead of Nemechek, Creed and Moffitt while Allgaier, Herbst, Hill, Grala and Hemric were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith were mired in 11th and 14th, respectively.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Custer pitted. Following the pit stops, Custer retained the lead after exiting pit road ahead of Mayer, Creed, Nemechek, Allgaier and Herbst. Amid the pit stops, Brandon Jones was penalized for his crew members’ going over the wall too soon. Josh Williams was also penalized for pit interference.

The second stage period started on Lap 52 as Custer and Mayer occupied the front row. At the start, Custer and Mayer dueled for the lead for nearly a lap. Mayer would lead the following lap by a hair until Custer fought back and reassumed the top spot by Lap 54. Another few laps later, Allgaier made his way into the runner-up spot over teammate Mayer as Nemechek and Hill trailed in the top five.

At the Lap 60 mark, Custer was leading by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier followed by Mayer, Nemechek and Hill while Herbst, Kligerman, Berry, Creed and Chandler Smith were racing in the top 10.

Seven laps later, the caution flew after Dawson Cram wrecked in Turn 1 and lost his left-rear wheel in the process. During the caution period, the front-runners led by Custer remained on the track while select names that included Jeremy Clements, Derek Kraus, Brennan Poole and Kyle Sieg pitted for fresh tires.

When the race restarted on Lap 72, Custer and Nemechek briefly dueled for the lead until Nemechek muscled ahead with the lead from the inside lane. With Nemechek driving away from the field, Mayer and Custer battled for the runner-up spot followed by Allgaier and Kligerman while Hill and Herbst followed suit along with a hard-charging Kraus.

Then on Lap 78, Kraus, who pitted during the previous caution period, assumed the lead from Nemechek. Kraus would proceed to lead just past the Lap 80 by more than a second over Nemechek as Custer, Mayer and Allgaier were scored in the top five. By then, Kyle Sieg was in sixth while Hill, Kligerman, Herbst and Hemric were in the top 10. By then, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Creed were in 11th, 12th and 14th while Earnhardt Jr. was in 13th.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Kraus, who was making his seventh Xfinity career start, captured his first Xfinity career stage victory. Nemechek settled in second ahead of Custer, Mayer and Allgaier while Kligerman, Kyle Sieg, Herbst, Hill and Hemric were scored in the top 10. 16, 18 and 2 in 11th, 12th and 14th while Earnhardt Jr. was back in 16th.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Custer returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Custer retained the lead after exiting pit road first. Amid the pit stops, Berry was penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started as Custer and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Custer and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first two turns and they continued to battle dead even entering the backstretch. Shortly after, the caution returned after Playoff contender Chandler Smith, who was battling for a top-10 spot on the track, was hit by teammate Kraus, who was being rubbed by Brandon Jones, before Smith bounced off of Creed and spun before he was then hit by Brett Moffitt.

During the following restart with 97 laps remaining, Allgaier benefitted from restarting on the inside lane as he muscled away from Custer to inherit the lead. Amid the battles ensuing behind the leaders, Allgaier would lead the next eight laps before Custer reassumed the lead with 90 laps remaining.

Then with 81 laps remaining, Allgaier, who was running third, made a pit stop under green to address a loose left-rear wheel on his No. 7 hellowater Chevrolet Camaro. By then, Custer extended his advantage to two seconds over Mayer followed by Herbst, Nemechek and Hill while Earnhardt Jr., Sammy Smith, Creed, Hemric and Kraus were running in the top 10.

With nearly 65 laps remaining, green flag pit stops commenced as Joe Graf Jr. pitted. Richard Childress Racing’s Hill and Creed would pit under green a few laps later followed by Earnhardt Jr., Herbst, Custer, Mayer and others. As the green flag pit stops dwindled, Custer reassumed the lead with 53 laps remaining.

Four laps later, however, Custer fell off the pace while leading through the frontstretch and pitted after the right-front tire was spotted flat on the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. Custer’s late misfortune moved Mayer into the lead while Hill, Nemechek, Herbst and Allgaier followed suit in the top five.

With 37 laps remaining, the caution returned after a wheel was spotted leaning against the outside wall on pit road. The caution occurred a few laps after Allgaier had pitted for his final set of tires. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Mayer pitted for their final set of tires.

As the race restarted with 30 laps remaining, Mayer retained the lead ahead of Hill, Nemechek and Herbst as the field fanned out and jostled for late positions. Shortly after, the caution returned after Earnhardt Jr., who was battling within the top 10, got loose entering the backstretch, slipped up the track and bumped against his JR Motorsports’ driver Berry, which sent Berry into the outside wall before Berry went up the track in Turns 3 and 4 and scraped the wall amid a flat tire to his No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro.

During the following restart with 23 laps remaining, Mayer cleared Hill entering Turn 2 to retain the lead as the field behind fanned out through the backstretch. Mayer would stabilize his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Hill as Nemechek, Herbst and Brandon Jones followed suit in the top five with 20 laps remaining.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Mayer extended his advantage to more than a second over Nemechek while Herbst, Hill and Earnhardt Jr. were scored in the top five. Behind, Hemric was in sixth while Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Kligerman and Joe Graf Jr. were up in the top 10.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer remained as the leader by more than two-tenths of a second over Herbst. Amid Playoff contender Creed wrecking just past the backstretch, the race remained under green flag conditions. With Herbst unable to narrow the gap, Mayer was able to navigate his No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet Camaro around the Homestead circuit smoothly for a final time as he returned to the frontstretch and claimed his fourth checkered flag of this season and of his career.

With the victory, Mayer, who achieved his first oval-circuit win in the Xfinity Series and came into the event 16 points below the top-four cutline, became the first Playoff contender to secure one of four vacant spots into this year’s Championship 4 round as he will officially contend for his first Xfinity Series championship. Mayer’s victory was also enough for the Chevrolet nameplate to secure this year’s manufacturer’s title and it was the seventh of the season for JR Motorsports.

“That’s unreal. We won on an oval! Whoo!” Mayer exclaimed on USA Network. “I can’t believe it. These guys, the Accelerate Pros Camaro today was just so good. It’s all about putting a full race together and I’m so proud of these guys. They kicked tail on pit road. We made it happen with these [Hendrick Motorsports] engines. Stewart-Haas [Racing] had [the race won] today, that’s for sure. It’s just really cool to be able to beat an amazing organization like that. We got to turn it on a little harder going to Phoenix.”

Herbst, who achieved his first Xfinity victory a week ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, settled in the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Hill and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in the top five. Behind, Hemric ended up sixth while Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr. finished in the top 10. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Custer, Allgaier and Creed, all of whom led a combined 126 laps, ended up 13th, 15th and 26th, respectively.

There were 13 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 33 laps. In addition, 12 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Sam Mayer, 46 laps led

2. Riley Herbst

3. John Hunter Nemechek, seven laps led

4. Austin Hill

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

6. Daniel Hemric

7. Parker Kligerman

8. Brandon Jones

9. Sammy Smith

10. Joe Graf Jr.

11. Derek Kraus, 21 laps led, Stage 2 winner

12. Parker Retzlaff

13. Cole Custer, one lap down, 114 laps led, Stage 1 winner

14. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

15. Justin Allgaier, one lap down, eight laps led

16. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

17. Josh Williams, one lap down

18. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

19. Brennan Poole, one lap down

20. Jeb Burton, one lap down

21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

22. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

23. Leland Honeyman, one lap down

24. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

25. Patrick Emerling, two laps down

26. Sheldon Creed, two laps down, four laps led

27. Mason Massey, two laps down

28. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down

29. Blaine Perkins, four laps down

30. Kaz Grala, six laps down

31. Connor Mosack – OUT, Electrical

32. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident

33. Mason Maggio – OUT, Electrical

34. Chandler Smith – OUT, Engine

35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

36. Dawson Cram – OUT, Accident

37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Carburetor

38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Rear gear

*Bold indicates Playoff competitors

Playoff standings

1. Sam Mayer – Advanced

2. John Hunter Nemechek +44

3. Cole Custer +3

4. Austin Hill +3

5. Justin Allgaier -3

6. Sammy Smith -49

7. Chandler Smith -54

8. Sheldon Creed -65

The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to conclude next Saturday, October 28, at Martinsville Speedway, which will determine the Championship 4 field. The event’s broadcast is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Chevrolet Clinches 25th Bill France Performance Cup in NASCAR Xfinity Series

By
Official Release
-

Seventh Consecutive Title for Camaro SS

 DETROIT (October 21, 2023) – With two races remaining, Chevrolet has clinched the 2023 Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. JRM Motorsports’ Sam Mayer’s win in the series’ second race of the Round of Eight at Homestead-Miami Speedway delivered the Bowtie Brand the Bill France Performance Cup for a series-leading 25th time.

The Chevrolet Camaro made its debut as the automaker’s flagship vehicle in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2013, and has since earned nine titles in the series with 2023 marking its seventh consecutive title-winning season.

“It is a tremendous honor earning the Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the seventh consecutive year,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “Thank you to the Chevrolet drivers, crew chiefs and teams for all of their hard work to contribute valuable points toward this special championship.”

Seven drivers have recorded a combined 16 wins in the Camaro SS this season, led by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer with four wins each. Mayer’s teammate and fellow playoff contender Justin Allgaier has collected three wins. Kaulig Racing has four wins with three different drivers, including series rookie Chandler Smith (one) and Team Chevy NASCAR Cup Series drivers AJ Allmendinger (two) and Kyle Larson (one). Jordan Anderson Racing also collected its first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series win with Jeb Burton. Team Chevy’s Sheldon Creed, Josh Berry, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Parker Kligerman also contributed to the title with valuable points throughout the season.

“Thank you to all of the Chevrolet teams who work hard each and every week to make this Manufacturer Championship possible,” said Shane Martin, GM Racing Program Manager for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “Every point matters during the season to reach this accomplishment. I’m very proud of the team effort and contributions made by everyone involved in this program, and look forward to racing for a Driver Championship.”

The end of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season saw Austin Hill take the title, leading Chevrolet to a manufacturer-leading nine playoff contenders. Now reaching the Round of Eight, five Team Chevy drivers remain in title contention with Mayer’s win at the 1.5-mile South Florida oval punching his ticket into the Championship Four and the opportunity to compete for the Chevrolet’s 22nd NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Championship title.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – NXS Homestead Post-Race Report – 10.21.23

By
Official Release
-

NEMECHEK, SMITH AND GRAF JR. EARN TOP-10s at HOMESTEAD
John Hunter Nemechek stays above playoff cutline; Smith in must-win scenario

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 21, 2023) – At the end of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek came home with a third-place finish, keeping him 44 points above the playoff cutline heading into Martinsville next weekend. The North Carolina native earned his seventh consecutive top-10 finish and has finished in top-10 in each Homestead Xfinity Series start.

His Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates, Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr., both joined him in the top-10, with Smith finishing ninth and Graf tenth. To advance to the Championship 4, Smith is in a likely must win scenario at Martinsville Speedway next Saturday. Graf completed his scheduled races in 2023 with JGR on a high note with his second top-10 in six starts with the No. 19 GR Supra.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 31 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Sam Mayer*

2nd, Riley Herbst*

3rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

4th, Austin Hill*

5th, Dale Earnhardt Jr.*

9th, SAMMY SMITH

10th, JOE GRAF JR.

30th, KAZ GRALA

31st, CONNOR MOSACK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you assess how your race went?

“Overall, solid day. Proud of this whole No. 20 Pye-Barker Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing team. Thanks Toyota, TRD. We are still in a really good points spot going into Martinsville. Just have to go execute – solid points day today, and that’s all you can ask for. Doesn’t matter how you get to Phoenix, just that you get there.”

What kind of challenges did you overcome today to get third?

“A lot, I feel like. We had a really fast Toyota GR Supra with Pye-Barker colors on it today. Thank you to Toyota, TRD – all of our great partners. This thing was almost as fast as Xfinity 10 G, but overall, solid day for us – we had a solid points day. With the 1 (Sam Mayer) winning, it kind of took away our chance to lock it up today. Still a solid cushion behind us going into Martinsville. We won there early this year, so hopefully we can go there and have a solid day. It doesn’t matter if we win. As long as we lock into Phoenix, that is all that matters.”

SAMMY SMITH, No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Take us through your day today.

“Yeah, it was an okay day for the No. 18 Pilot Flying J GR Supra team as we struggled a bit with balance and just needed some speed throughout the day today. I knew we had to go win either of these two races to advance, so now, have to go to Martinsville and win it – all we have to do. Do whatever it takes to win.”

JOE GRAF JR., No. 19 Wawa Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

Can you talk about what you learned today and what it means to you to achieve a top-10 finish?

“Definitely learned a lot today. I feel like we fired off too free to start the race in the short run. We were really good on the long run, but it hurt us on the short run. We needed to fire off better on restarts, so we tightened the car up, and got it better short run. I felt like we were better on the short run there at the end but gave up a little bit on the long run – just built too tight on center exit, but overall, a good day. I can’t thank the Joe Gibbs Racing guys enough and Wawa coming on board our GR Supra. I’m really happy to be here and hoping to do some more of it next year.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).

Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).

Hocevar capitalizes for late Truck victory at Homestead; Championship 4 field set

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeeedwayMedia.com.

Eleven days after announcing his move to the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2024 season, Carson Hocevar will receive an opportunity to contend for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship after leading the final 11 laps en route to winning the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 21.

The 20-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, led the final 11 of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and battled within the lead pack. He also scored a handful of stage points throughout the event’s two stage periods. Then, amid a series of late battles and late pit strategies ensuing between Playoff contenders trying to race their way into this year’s Championship 4 round, Hocevar tracked and overtook Playoff rival Ben Rhodes with 11 laps remaining.

He then cruised to his fourth Craftsman Truck Series career victory of the 2023 season and raced his way into the Championship 4 round. As a result, Hocevar will square off against Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes for this year’s Truck Series championship in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in early November.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 20, Playoff contender and rookie Nick Sanchez secured his fifth Truck pole position of this season after posting a pole-winning lap at 167.084 mph in 32.319 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 165.858 mph in 32.558 seconds.

Prior to the event, Spencer Davis, Trevor Bayne, Jonathan Shafer and Armani Williams dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray also dropped to the rear of the field due to missing driver introductions.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Sanchez and Hocevar dueled for the lead entering Turn 1 as the field fanned out and jostled early for positions. Through the backstretch, Sanchez managed to muscle his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Hocevar from the outside lane as he then maintained control of both lanes through Turns 3 and 4 before he led the first lap. By then, Ty Majeski was in second ahead of Carson Hocevar while Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger were in the top five ahead of a hard-charging Corey Heim, who started eighth.

Five laps later, Heim, who was already guaranteed a spot in this year’s Championship 4 field, made his move and assumed the lead from Sanchez. By Lap 10, Heim was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Majeski while Sanchez fell back to fourth ahead of Zane Smith and 38. In addition, Enfinger, Eckes, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum were running in the top 10 while Playoff contender Ben Rhodes was mired back in 22nd.

At the Lap 20 mark, Heim extended his advantage to more than a second over Majeski followed by Zane Smith, Hocevar and Enfinger while Sanchez, Friesen, Eckes, Crafton and Chase Purdy were in the top 10. Behind, Rhodes was mired in 24th behind teammate Hailie Deegan while Ankrum, Rajah Caruth, Bayley Currey, Dean Thompson and Jack Wood were in the top 15. Notably, Trevor Bayne was in 18th while Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Brad Perez and Jake Garcia occupied the top 20.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim captured his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Majeski settled in second ahead of Hocevar, Zane Smith and Enfinger while Friesen, Eckes, Sanchez, Crafton and Purdy were scored in the top 10. By then, Rhodes was mired in 24th place while 26 of 34 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Majeski, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Eckes, Friesen, Crafton and Enfinger. Amid the pit stops, Hailie Deegan and Nick Leitz were penalized for uncontrolled tire violations while Memphis Villarreal was penalized for a safety violation. In addition, Marco Andretti was penalized for unapproved fueling.

The second stage period started on Lap 39 as Heim and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Heim, who briefly dueled against Majeski for the lead, maintained the lead over Majeski and a bevy of Playoff contenders as the field behind fanned out. With Heim retaining the top spot, a three-way battle for the runner-up spot ensued between Majeski, Zane Smith and Hocevar while Eckes and Friesen tried to join the battle.

At the Lap 45 mark, Heim was leading by a second over Zane Smith followed by Hocevar, Majeski and Friesen while Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Crafton and Enfinger were in the top 10. Behind, Rhodes was mired in 16th.

Five laps later, Heim stabilized his advantage by a second over Hocevar followed by Zane Smith, Majeski and Friesen while Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Enfinger and Crafton were battling in the top 10. Meanwhile, Rhodes was still running in 16th behind Bayne.

Three laps later, the caution flew after Spencer Boyd stopped on the track. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim maintained the lead after exiting first ahead of Zane Smith, Eckes, Currey, Sanchez, Majeski and Friesen. Amid the pit stops, Playoff contender Enfinger was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

With the race restarting with two laps remaining in the second stage period, Heim maintained the lead over Zane Smith and Currey muscled his way up to third as the field fanned out through the first two turns. Amid the battles, Heim retained the lead over a hard-charging Zane Smith once he started the final lap of the second stage period.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim notched his seventh Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and the second of the day. Zane Smith settled in second ahead of a side-by-side duel between Currey and Sanchez while Friesen, Eckes, Majeski, Crafton, Purdy and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. By then, Rhodes was in 11th while Enfinger was mired back in 20th.

With the front-runners remaining on the track during the second stage break period, the final stage commenced with 67 laps remaining as Heim and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Zane Smith made his way into the lead over Heim as the field fanned out while jostling for late positions. A lap later, however, the caution returned after Colby Howard and Hailie Deegan wrecked on the frontstretch.

During the following restart with 60 laps remaining, Zane Smith and Heim dueled for the lead until the former maintained the top spot ahead of the field. As Smith retained the lead, Currey made his way into the runner-up spot over Heim while Hocevar, Sanchez and Majeski followed suit. Rhodes would also make his way into the top 10 while Enfinger was trying to re-enter the top 10.

Following another caution period with 56 laps remaining after Mason Maggio spun in Turn 4, the race restarted with 50 laps remaining. At the start, Heim, who restarted on the front row alongside Zane Smith, spun the tires, which allowed Smith to pull away with the lead as Hocevar made his way into the runner-up spot. Shortly after, Heim battled and reassumed the runner-up spot over Hocevar while Zane Smith was leading by seven-tenths of a second.

Then with 40 laps remaining, Heim, who had slipped to sixth, pitted his No. 11 Chateau Elan/Explore Braselton Toyota Tundra TRD Pro under green. Playoff contenders Enfinger and Eckes would also pit four laps later before Eckes was penalized for speeding on pit road, thus damaging his hopes of transferring into the Championship 4 field. Within 30 laps remaining, more Playoff names that included Sanchez, Zane Smith and Majeski pitted as Rhodes, who pitted during the previous caution period amid a gusty pit strategic call from crew chief Rich Lushes, cycled his No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 into the lead.

With 15 laps remaining, Rhodes was leading by more than five seconds over a hard-charging Hocevar while Zane Smith was in third and trailing the lead by more than five seconds. By then, Heim and Enfinger were in the top five.

Four laps later, Hocevar, who gained massive ground on Rhodes, assumed the lead from Rhodes. Hocevar’s move placed Rhodes only two points above the top-four cutline while Zane Smith was 15 points below and mired in a “must-win” situation to advance.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by three seconds over Zane Smith’s No. 38 Ambetter Health Ford F-150 while Rhodes, Heim and Enfinger were scored in the top five. By then, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes were still scored above the cutline along with Heim while Zane Smith, Sanchez, Eckes and Majeski were currently scored below the cutline.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar remained as the leader by nearly three seconds over Zane Smith. With Smith unable to generate a final lap charge as he was too far behind Hocevar, Hocevar was able to smoothly navigate his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST around Homestead for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim his fourth checkered flag of his career and of the 2023 season.

With the victory, Hocevar also punched his ticket into this year’s Championship 4 round and will officially contend for his first NASCAR National Touring Series championship in the Truck circuit at Phoenix Raceway. Hocevar will compete alongside Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger, all of whom finished in the top five and will contend for their first series title, minus Rhodes, who will contend for his second title.

“We were so fast,” Hocevar said on FS1. “It kills me [that] I can’t do a burnout. We have to take this motor to Phoenix. So good. This truck was so good. We got behind on pit stops and just lost track position, which really was unfortunate. I love winning! I love it! We just got to win at Phoenix. Even with all the setbacks, from the debris and everything, we had a shot to win and we did just that.”

“I don’t know what to think,” Rhodes said. “To be honest, the whole day was so difficult. I knew we were in for a long day. I just didn’t know it was gonna be this difficult, but what an absolute blessing to finish where we did. I can’t thank [crew chief Rich Lushes] enough for making that [pit] call. He’s really good at making these calls when it counts. I just wish we weren’t in this position so much. We’ve dealt with this pressure year over year and every time, we’ve been able to show through we get. I’m thankful for the effort by the team. What a day.”

“It feels great,” Enfinger said. “These guys deserve to be running for a championship at Phoenix. Pretty disappointed in our execution. You can’t make mistakes against these guys. We were blessed to have a second opportunity. [Crew chief] Jeff [Hensley] made some great calls on the truck. The truck was as good as it was gonna be those last two stints. That was all we had. Congratulations to all these guys. Hopefully, we can make the most of it in two weeks.”

“Definitely really excited for Phoenix,” Heim said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and studying into that race. It’s gonna be the biggest race of my career. We’ve got bigger things on the horizon here, so we’ll focus on that.”

Amid the Championship 4 field being set, Zane Smith, the reigning series champion who finished in the runner-up spot, did not transfer along with Ty Majeski, rookie Nick Sanchez and Christian Eckes.

“Just a bummer,” Smith said. “The Round of 8 was not good to us. It only takes one bad race and unfortunately, we had two. Just one spot short today.”

“We had a truck [that was] able to advance and just kept making mistakes,” Eckes said. “Just wasn’t good enough today.”

“We just missed it a little bit today,” Majeski said. “We were all over the splitter, way too hard to be able to attack on restarts, maintain our track position. Long run, we were OK. Just couldn’t get going. Proud of this No. 98 team. Wished we could’ve been competing for a championship at Phoenix, but I see my teammate Ben [Rhodes] made it, so good for ThorSport [Racing]. All hands on deck these next two weeks, trying to prepare four fast trucks to go to Phoenix and hopefully, bring home a race win and a championship.”

“To miss [the Championship 4] by one point is pretty rough,” Sanchez said. “Guess all you can do is go to Phoenix and try to win, but yeah, it’s on me.”

Following the post-race inspection process, Zane Smith was disqualified from his runner-up result for windshield support violation. Amid Smith’s disqualification, the Championship 4 field occupied by Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes remained unchanged, with Rhodes earning the fourth and final transfer spot in a tie-breaker over Sanchez.

There were eight lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 29 laps. In addition, 15 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.

*Notably, Chevrolet secured this year’s Craftsman Truck Series manufacturer’s title.

Results.

1. Carson Hocevar, 11 laps led

2. Ben Rhodes, 22 laps led

3. Corey Heim, 57 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

4. Grant Enfinger

5. Bayley Currey

6. Stewart Friesen

7. Matt Crafton

8. Rajah Caruth

9. Ty Majeski, one lap led

10. Chase Purdy

11. Tanner Gray, four laps led

12. Jack Wood

13. Taylor Gray

14. Trevor Bayne

15. Jake Garcia, one lap down

16. Dean Thompson, one lap down

17. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

18. Marco Andretti, one lap down

19. Lawless Alan, one lap down

20. Christian Eckes, one lap down, five laps led

21. Daniel Dye, one lap down

22. Tyler Hill, one lap down

23. Nick Leitz, one lap down

24. Brad Perez, one lap down

25. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

26. Jonathan Shafer, two laps down

27. Mason Maggio, three laps down

28. Hailie Deegan, three laps down

29. Memphis Villarreal, three laps down

30. Colby Howard, five laps down

31. Armani Williams, 13 laps down

32. Spencer Davis – OUT, Electrical

33. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Electrical

34. Zane Smith – Disqualified 34 laps led

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings standings

1. Corey Heim – Advanced

2. Carson Hocevar – Advanced

3. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

4. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

5. Nick Sanchez – Eliminated

6. Christian Eckes – Eliminated

7. Ty Majeski – Eliminated

8. Zane Smith – Eliminated

The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on November 3, where a champion will be crowned. The finale’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 10 p.m. ET on FS1.

Carson Hocevar Takes the Checkered Flag at Miami; Joins, Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes in Championship 4

By
Official Release
-
Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway earning all four of his career series wins this season – the trophy Saturday most impactful among them.

Hocevar put his No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the lead with 11 laps remaining and held off the hard-charging Zane Smith by 2.705-seconds to claim the win over the reigning series champion, whose runner-up effort was disqualified by NASCAR after a post-race technical inspection found the defending series champion’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was illegal – using an unapproved windshield support.

“We are disappointed in the disqualification,’’ Front Row Motorsports said in a statement after the NASCAR inspecition. “We will continue to work and discuss with NASCAR officials back at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C. before making any further comment.’’

The DQ moved ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes into runner-up on the afternoon helping him to advance to the Playoffs – prevailing in a tiebreaker with rookie Nick Sanchez; the polesitter who finished 17th after making contact with another truck coming to pit road for his final stop.

Regular season champion, TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim, GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger and Hocevar’s Niece Motorsports teammate Bailey Curry rounded out the top five at Homestead.

Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes will now race for the championship Nov. 3 at Phoenix Raceway.

Hocevar celebrated the clutch win by climbing high atop the flag stand to claim the checkered flag in person. He threw it down to the cheering fans behind the fence then climbed back down on the grandstand side to high-five fans and celebrate the biggest win of his life – to date.

“It kills me I can’t do a burn-out but we have to take this truck to Phoenix,’’ a grinning Hocevar said. “This truck was so good. We just got behind on pit stops and just lost track position which was unfortunate, but man, it’s so good to feel [like this]. I love it.

“I thought we could win today with our truck, even with all the setbacks from the debris and everything, we had a shot to win and we did just that.’’

The battle for that final Playoff position was as dramatic as the fight for the victory.

Rhodes came into this final regular season race only five points behind Sanchez for the fourth championship-eligible transfer position. He finished 24th in the opening stage and 10th in the second stage. It still left him outside looking into the Championship 4, so Rhodes’ ThorSport team opted to pit for fresh tires early and out of pit sequence. The move allowed his No. 99 ThorSport Ford to take the race lead as the other frontrunners pit later.

He held the point with 30 laps remaining only to have Hocevar and Smith chase him back down. Hocevar passed him with 11 laps remaining, Smith a lap later.

“We failed Ben today, we didn’t give him a very good truck and he bailed us out at the end there,’’ Rhodes’ crew chief Rich Lushes said. “It was the only call we had. We had to do something different than everybody else and it all worked out so I guess we’re going to [championship] again.’’

It was a heartbreaking ending for the 22-year old Sanchez, who is from nearby Miami and raced often at Homestead-Miami Speedway as he was coming up the junior ranks. He won the pole and led the opening five laps, only to see his Playoff hopes in jeopardy after a miscue approaching his final pit stop with 34 laps remaining. His No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet hit the back of Tanner Gray’s truck as the two were slowing to enter pit road causing noticeable damage to Sanchez’ Chevrolet.

“Obviously I lost a lot of time there and just lost time in the pits trying to fix it,’’ Sanchez said. “Just my fault, no two ways to it. I really didn’t know the 15 was pitting and didn’t slow down [enough]. So that’s on me. I apologize to my team. They’re going to support me. To miss by one-point is pretty rough, but all you can do it go to Phoenix and try to win.’

Heim led a race best 57 of the 134 laps and swept both Stage victories. His third place finish marked the series best 15th-consecutive top-10 finish of the season.

“I really thought we had them covered today, I mean we were smoking the first two stages and kind of waiting on the third stage and then it went out like a light switch so we’ll look everything over,’’ Heim said, adding, “We’ve got bigger things on the horizon so we’ll focus on that.’’

Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Rajah Caruth, Ty Majeski and Chase Purdy rounded out the top 10 finishing order. Majeski joins Smith, Sanchez and Christian Eckes to be eliminated from Playoff contention.

Eckes finished 20th after what looked like a sure-bet top-10 finish was hampered by penalties and miscues on the afternoon. He was called for moving lanes on a restart and another time for speeding on his pit road exit late in the race.

“We had a truck able to advance and just kept making mistakes,’’ Eckes said. “Just wasn’t good enough today.’’

IndyCar star Marco Andretti finished 18h in his second series start in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. He’s scheduled to race at Phoenix in two weeks.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series concludes the season with the Craftsman 150 at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 3 (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – Baptist Health Cancer Care 200
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Saturday, October 21, 2023
(2) Carson Hocevar (P), Chevrolet, 134.
(21) Ben Rhodes (P), Ford, 134.
(8) Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 134.
(3) Grant Enfinger (P), Chevrolet, 134.
(17) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 134.
(9) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 134.
(22) Matt Crafton, Ford, 134.
(13) Rajah Caruth #, Chevrolet, 134.
(4) Ty Majeski (P), Ford, 134.
(14) Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 134.
(6) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 134.
(11) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 134.
(12) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 134.
(32) Trevor Bayne(i), Chevrolet, 134.
(15) Jake Garcia #, Chevrolet, 133.
(5) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 133.
(1) Nick Sanchez # (P), Chevrolet, 133.
(27) Marco Andretti, Chevrolet, 133.
(23) Lawless Alan, Chevrolet, 133.
(10) Christian Eckes (P), Chevrolet, 133.
(19) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 133.
(26) Tyler Hill, Toyota, 133.
(25) Nick Leitz, Chevrolet, 133.
(18) Brad Perez(i), Chevrolet, 133.
(16) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 133.
(33) Jonathan Shafer, Toyota, 132.
(29) Mason Maggio, Ford, 131.
(20) Hailie Deegan, Ford, 131.
(31) Memphis Villarreal, Ford, 131.
(24) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 129.
(34) Armani Williams, Toyota, 121.
(28) Spencer Davis, Ford, Electrical, 65.
(30) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Electrical, 50.
(7) Zane Smith (P), Ford, 134.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 110.965 mph.

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 48 Mins, 41 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.705 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 5 for 29 laps.

Lead Changes: 8 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders: N. Sanchez # (P) 1-5;C. Heim (P) 6-33;T. Majeski (P) 34;C. Heim (P) 35-54;T. Gray 55-58;C. Heim (P) 59-67;Z. Smith (P) 68-101;B. Rhodes (P) 102-123;C. Hocevar (P) 124-134.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Corey Heim (P) 3 times for 57 laps; Zane Smith (P) 1 time for 34 laps; Ben Rhodes (P) 1 time for 22 laps; Carson Hocevar (P) 1 time for 11 laps; Nick Sanchez # (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Tanner Gray 1 time for 4 laps; Ty Majeski (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,98,42,23,52,19,2,88,4,16

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,41,2,52,98,88,4,42,99,24

Rhodes Clinches Championship 4 Spot for Ford

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Baptist Health Center Care 200 | Saturday, October 21, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:

2nd – Zane Smith

3rd – Ben Rhodes

8th – Matt Crafton

10th – Ty Majeski

28th – Mason Maggio

29th – Hailie Deegan

30th – Memphis Villarreal

33rd – Spencer Davis

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford F-150 — Finished 3rd — Advances to Championship 4

YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4 ON POINTS, BUT IT WASN’T EASY WAS IT? “I was just trying to hold on all day long. I was trying to hang on from the drop of the green flag. I told my team that I have never had a truck that was so on top of the race track with brand new tires. I really didn’t understand it. Something was going on with this thing and we built a completely different package underneath it and it wasn’t jiving. We are going to have to go back to our notebook and go with what we know. The good news is that Phoenix we have a really good track record. We finished second last year, second in the championship, a championship the year before. I should be celebrating right now. We have a chance to go for a championship and today was an absolute blessing to finish the way it was. I didn’t see that coming.”

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Ambetter Health Ford F-150 — Finished 2nd

“It was everything I had. I am not sure what happened there on the final stop or what. We just got wicked, wicked tight and I don’t know why. We had zero front grip and I just couldn’t do anything to defend the 42 there. It is just a bummer. I felt like we had a pretty good day, we just didn’t quite have enough.”

TY MAJESKI, No. 98 Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford F-150 — Finished 10th

“It was a mediocre day. We were just I guess probably a sixth to 10th place truck and that is where we finished. We had a bad last pit stop and it just was not our day today.”

Toyota Racing – NCTS Homestead Post-Race Report – 10.21.23

By
Official Release
-

HEIM LEADS TOYOTA CHARGE AT HOMESTEAD WITH TOP-FIVE RUN
Georgia native achieves 15th consecutive top-10 finish

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 21, 2023) – In the penultimate race of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Corey Heim put together another top-five finish as he gears up for the championship race at Phoenix. The Toyota development driver notched his 12th top-five of the season with a fourth-place run, coming after he won both stages earlier in the race. This result is Heim’s 15th consecutive top-10, which is tied for the seventh-longest streak in Truck Series history. Heim, on the strength of his Bristol win, had already clinched his spot in the Championship 4 in Phoenix. The reigning Rookie of the Year will compete against Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and Ben Rhodes for the title.

Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing finished seventh after a solid run inside the top-10 most of the afternoon. The 40-year-old, who sat on pole in Homestead in 2019, captured his seventh top-10 of the 2023 season and first since Kansas in September.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 22 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Carson Hocevar*

2nd, Zane Smith*

3rd, Ben Rhodes*

4th, COREY HEIM

5th, Grant Enfinger*

7th, STEWART FRIESEN

12th, TANNER GRAY

14th, TAYLOR GRAY

17th, DEAN THOMPSON

23rd, TYLER HILL

26th, TYLER ANKRUM

27th, JONATHAN SHAFER

32nd, ARMANI WILLIAMS

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM, No. 11 Chateau Elan/Explore Braselton Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 4th

What’s your mindset as you shift to Phoenix, which I’m sure you’ve already been thinking about?

“I’m definitely excited for Phoenix. I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and studying into that race. It’s going to be the biggest race of my career. Super thankful for Toyota Racing and TRD for putting me in this position. Really, I thought we had them covered today. We swept the first two stages and were kind of put-putting around waiting for the third stage, and all of a sudden, it went out like a light switch. We’ll look everything over, it’s kind of undiagnosed for us, but huge shout out to Chateau Elan and Explore Braselton for everything they do, TRD and Toyota Racing, once again, and TRICON Garage. We have bigger things on the horizon, so we are focused on that heading to Phoenix.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Can you walk us through your day today?

“Yeah, solid day for us overall. Just finishing up a rebuild year for the HFR (Halmar Friesen Racing) No. 52 Halmar Toyota team. Proud of a top-10 finish after a decent qualifying effort yesterday. Could’ve had a better day at the end, but we’ll add it to the notebook for next year.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.

Chevrolet Clinches 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturer Championship

By
Official Release
-

11th Title for Silverado

 DETROIT (October 21, 2023) – Chevrolet has clinched the first championship title of the season in the NASCAR national ranks by earning the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) Manufacturer Championship. This marks the 11th time in NCTS history that Chevrolet has captured the title.

Chevrolet has been racing the Silverado model exclusively in the NCTS since the series’ inception in 1995, producing 275 all-time victories and 14 driver championships – both of which are series-leading feats.

“Winning the Manufacturer Championship title is a tremendous accomplishment for everyone involved in Chevrolet’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program,” said Dayne Pierantoni, GM Racing Program Manager for the NASCAR Truck Series. “The dedicated and focused effort among Chevrolet’s teams, engineers and technical partners throughout the season have resulted in this prestigious title. Congratulations to all on winning the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturer Championship, and we are looking forward to a strong finish to the season.”

Five drivers from five different Chevrolet teams have driven to victory lane in the NCTS this season, earning a combined 13 wins with 22 races complete. Team Chevy drivers contributing to those wins include NCTS full-time competitors Carson Hocevar (four wins) and Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger (three wins each), as well as Team Chevy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch (two wins) and Kyle Larson (one win). William Byron and Chandler Smith also collected finishes that contributed to this season’s manufacturer championship title.

In pursuit of the 2023 NCTS Driver Championship, Chevrolet maintained 50 percent of the series’ playoff field through both rounds of its postseason competition, with Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger advancing to the Championship Four to compete for the championship title at Phoenix Raceway.

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – NCS Homestead Quotes – Martin Truex Jr. – 10.21.23

By
Official Release
-

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 21, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media after earning the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Truex’s pole is the 500th for Toyota across the NASCAR National Series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks), its seventh pole in the last eight races and 15th Cup Series pole of 2023, which leads all manufacturers. With 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick qualifying second and third, Toyota drivers will make up the top three positions for the second time this season, following the Darlington spring race where Truex also took pole.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you feel like you and the team are in a good place right now?

“Yeah, I feel good. I felt good coming into this round even though last weekend didn’t go as we would have hoped. There was more potential there than what we achieved. Coming here, I felt good coming in as it’s a good track for us and we’ve always run well here. It’s just a comfort zone for me. I had confidence coming in here but didn’t expect to get the pole. After practice, our car felt good in the long run, but pretty excited to be on the pole here. Always good when things go the right way.”

After last weekend, are you more willing to overrule James (Small) in strategy decisions?

“No, but in that situation, yes. And James (Small) told me after the fact I should have in that situation. But in the end, crew chiefs know a lot more than racing drivers when the race is going on, so I go with that. But in that scenario, I did feel weird about the decision.”

What are the feelings coming back to Miami after winning a championship here a few years ago and usually running well here?

“Yeah, I wasn’t thinking about those things necessarily, but I always enjoy coming here and feel like it’s always been a good track for us. Going back to the Busch Series, and learning about this place, it was good then. I almost won my first race here in the Cup Series. I feel comfortable and have fun here, and it’s nice coming to a track you’re not dreading.”

What do you remember from that night when you won the championship in 2017?

“I remember everything about it – the whole weekend, race, every lap. Only thing I don’t remember, is when I crossed the finish line until the back straightaway. The party was fun, but nothing crazy as everyone was so happy and excited. We didn’t get to do much as I was on the track until 3 a.m. with obligations. The funniest part was a few of my crew guys and team members took a van around the racetrack. I was sitting off turn 4 doing an interview with Jamie Little and FOX, and we see those guys screaming in the van. Just everyone having a big time and happy for everything that happened.”

What would it mean to win another championship?

“It’d mean everything. It’d make me and the entire team very happy. Put a stamp on all of the hard work we’ve put in since the start of the Next Gen car last year. We’ve had a lot of good runs and wins with the group, but this is the reason we do what we do. Winning it all again would be everything would make me feel better about doing another season.”

Do you feel this is a wildcard race?

“No, I don’t, I don’t think it’s anywhere near one. It’s a tough place and a lot can happen. But, if your car’s good and you’re good on long runs, taking care of what you need to, it’s not a wildcard where guys can take two-tire stops and flip track position. It’s more of a straightforward race for the most part.”

How important is it to get through a weekend where you execute a race to its full potential?

“It’d be great. It’s very important as we’re only two points above the cutline, so we can’t afford to give up points. We have to get all we can tomorrow. I feel like we missed a few in stage 2 last weekend. Hopefully, that doesn’t come back to haunt us.”

Did you guys do anything different for the windshield to help with the sun glare issues?

“Yeah, we’ve tried a few different things, so I’ll let you know tomorrow how they work. The biggest thing from the incident last year was just there was a lot of debris on the windshield at the time and needed a tear off. We should have a better pit stall too tomorrow. It was just a crazy situation with us and (Kyle) Larson last year. Wish he tapped the brake, but it wasn’t really his fault in that situation. Just a bad scenario.”

How does winning a championship or not change your outlook on driving for more years in the future?

“I think competing for championships and having the ability to keeps you going. In years past, when we’ve had heartbreakers, we’ve been right there and had a chance. Whether things went right or not, we still felt like we were a championship team. You can’t always control circumstances, and outcomes aren’t always what you want, but feeling that you did everything you could feels a lot better than not even making it. I feel great about where we’re at and feel a lot better about our direction after signing up for another year.”

How do you feel the dynamic of the Martinsville race next weekend will be?

“It’s been disappointing so far with the NextGen car. We haven’t been able to get the tires just right there and now that we’re shifting, it hurts the racing. But if we don’t shift, the racing would be worse as we wouldn’t have enough power. It’s just been a tough one. It’s always been such a fun track, but this car is so much different than what we’ve ever had before, so it just needs some work. I think they were tire testing there earlier this year, so don’t know if it’s different, but that’s definitely something that needs some work.”

Will next weekend be more aggressive than normal?

“I doubt it. I think it’s going to be as aggressive as it’s been with this car. You can only beat and bang with this car so much, and then you can’t get to someone’s bumper to get them out of the way. Just the way it is.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).

Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).

Chris Buescher Homestead Media Availability (10.21.23)

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Chris Buescher Media Availability | Saturday, October 21, 2023

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang — DID ANYTHING CHANGE FOR YOU WHEN BLANEY WENT FROM 56 POINTS BACK TO 17 POINTS BACK WHEN NASCAR CHANGED THEIR MIND? “No, I think they already changed the penalty back before I even knew about it in the first place. By the time I got the news it was like, ‘Oh, never mind.’ No, it really doesn’t. We are in a spot where we are within striking distance still from really strong points days but really it is going to be about winning in this round, it typically is. We have to work hard for that and go out and run good all day. If we can go run well in the stages and be up front, that puts us in a position to win the race but if not at least you have acquired points in the meantime. That is the main part of it. I really can’t control what goes on elsewhere.”

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM YOUR WINS AT MICHIGAN OR RICHMOND THAT CAN GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE FOR THE NEXT TWO RACES? “Just the fact that we have been better for the second half of the year in general is great. Nothing that is really going to carry over from those styles of race tracks but we know what we are capable of as a group and we really have to dig deep and get into that for this race and for next week. There is nothing here that really follows those two styles of tracks, maybe Darlington more than anything, but certainly made some really big gains at Martinsville in the playoffs for us. I don’t feel like we are way off as far as the car goes right now. We are in a smaller tweaking area. We just have to keep doing that. We just didn’t unload as close as we wanted to, but I don’t feel out to lunch.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON PIT ROAD LAST WEEK AND HOW MUCH DID YOU GUYS ADDRESS THAT? “Yeah, Vegas is a slick pit road and we go in knowing that. We thought we had a pretty decent box with a lot of rubber in it beforehand and I guess that gave me a rather false sense of security for our first stop and I ended up all but blowing through the white line. I really just didn’t do a good job on pit road last week. A couple of more times after that trying to back it up, I had to back up an obnoxious amount I felt like in order to get on the marks. That is just my fault. I didn’t catch on quick enough and put us in bad spots throughout the race. Our pit crew did a nice job and tried their best to keep up with me and where I was parking. That was just my fault. I didn’t do a good job there.”

YOU PICKED IT UP A LOT GOING FROM PRACTICE TO QUALIFYING TODAY, WHAT CHANGES DID YOU MAKE TO GET THAT SPEED? “That is outside of my wheelhouse exactly. We just freed up a lot. We got into practice there and we were super tight, especially on our fire-off laps, and really could not finish the corner. We took a pretty large stab at freeing up and certainly got us very close. Still scrubbing the fronts pretty hard through three and four but I at least felt like I was able to pull on the wheel a little and make something happen, so it is a lot better, we just need a little more yet.”

HOW CRAZY DO YOU THINK MARTINSVILLE WILL BE? “We aren’t there yet. Everyone keeps putting me two weeks out and I can’t do it. Since the playoffs started, I have been driving off the hood pins and whatever is immediately out in front of us is where I have been. I used to rag on people for doing that a lot growing up because I felt like they were always the first one to crash, but in this sense, I feel like it is the best way we can take it, one at a time. I am really not that far ahead yet.”

FOR A SHORT TRACK IT HAS APPEARED A BIT LACKLUSTER OF LATE. DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE MORE ROOTING AND GAUGING OR THE DYNAMIC OF THE RACE WILL CHANGE WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE? “Maybe. It always does, right? It is always in the playoffs and always gets a little dicey there. It is going to have its moments I am sure. Like I said, I really just haven’t gotten that far ahead yet.”

WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGE COULD RESTARTS BE IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT BEING BETTER ON A LONGER STINT? “That is why we need to work on that fire-off speed to get it better immediately so that we can make some progress on restarts and be able to move around a little more. This race track is a ton of fun and gives you a ton of options. With that, if you are a little tight or a little loose usually you can find something. We just have to get a little more free to where we can point and find something a little bit better. Again, without sacrificing too much of the long run speed because we know we will have 35 or 45 lap runs tomorrow, so you can’t throw them away, but you just have to be able to find a little bit of fire-off speed. Just another step of what we did for qualifying, really.”

HAVE YOU LEANED ON BRAD FOR PLAYOFF ADVICE THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “It really hasn’t changed a whole lot. It is really a lot of what we have done as an organization since Brad has come over as owner and on the teammate side. Not that we are really going into any differences, it is always just a lot of communication and teamwork between our two groups. We have several opportunities throughout the week where we sit down and go over what we are looking at for the immediate race weekend and what we are looking at going forward. There is obviously advice coming our way and things that we talk about but it is not really any more or any less than it has been throughout the entire last two years really. It is the same stuff that has been able to get us to this point, it is now just about focusing on the last three races, really two as we try to just get to Phoenix. It is the same amount of teamwork and the same conversations that we have been having that have put us in a good spot.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LOW POINTS OF ROUSH FENWAY TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW AS RFK. DOES THAT JUST CHANGE YOUR WHOLE OUTLOOK ON WHAT IS POSSIBLE GOING FORWARD? “Yeah, I have been a part of RFK for 15 years. I have seen a lot. I have seen a lot of good and a lot of bad. I would say it is really exciting right now to see the positives. Not for myself, selfishly, it is a lot more than that. It is the positivity of individuals we have had there since well before I started and people that have always tried to fire off each new season with a positive outlook and made it three or four weeks into a year and realized that it didn’t change enough and that was not going to be the amount of improvement that we needed. I lived through that and have seen how it can certainly get everybody fired up through an offseason but can bring it back down really quickly if the success is not there. We haven’t had that. That is the best part, seeing everyone really get fired up around the shop and seeing the work and the effort that everyone is putting in and seeing the results of that. It keeps everyone in a much better state of mind and that has been a big part of it. It has certainly been a lot of fun to be a part of a big positive swing as an organization. As I said, being a part of it for a decade and a half, it is a lot of fun at this point.

1...1,2511,2521,253...6,663Page 1,252 of 6,663