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Toyota Racing – NCS Kansas Quotes – Denny Hamlin – 09.09.23

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Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

KANSAS CITY (September 9, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media after before practice for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway on Saturday:

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Did the Playoffs starting make wanting to get the deals done or was it naturally?

“A little bit of both. I would say more natural time than anything. Obviously, you have to prepare for all different kinds of scenarios, so you need a certain amount of time to work all of those out. I just think it happened naturally, more than timeline with the Playoffs for sure.”

How much does the stage wins help you with the result you ended up with?

“It was big. That is why we started the stages years ago – for those scenarios where you just get a bad break at the end – at least you get rewarded for what your performance was in the beginning. Certainly, it was crucial for us to keep us in a stable position coming into this weekend.”

As you look at 23XI for 2024, how many races would you look to run in the third car?

“I don’t know – I think a handful at the most is what we would look to do, but the situations would have to be perfect and aligned. There’s talks about who we can put in where and when, but it wouldn’t be a big bulk of races for sure.”

Is your driver length the same length as the manufacturer deal for 23XI?

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

How close did the discussions with Ford get?

“I don’t have any comments on the speculation there.”

What is about Kansas that has played into the strength of Toyota?

“I understand the reasoning for thinking it’s a Toyota track, but we’ve seen a lot of contenders throughout the races, sometimes it just hasn’t worked out for some reason or another, but certainly, the results have shown that Toyotas have been strong here, but it is so hard to think or bank on what has happened in the past and that it will relate to right now. I do think for the 11 team, all I can speak to is me personally, there is a feel in the car that I try to find. It doesn’t matter what tire changes or car changes or anything like that. I search for that feel, and if I get it, we typically run up front. That’s the correlation for us, and if a team struggles here, they typically look at the notes of the guy who runs well and they copy it somewhat and then all the teams run well, so that is kind of the correlation. It seems like we’ve built upon some setups that 23XI and JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has shared that has been successful for both.”

Does this track have any more significance for you because of 23XI’s success here?

“It has. It’s been a special track because when 23XI has won, I’ve been in the top-three both races that it has happened. It is special in that sense. I got my very first Cup start here in ’05. It is. It’s a special track. One you feel confident going, when you come.”

What do you look for in the practice session today?

“I don’t know typically why I haven’t been totally up to speed in practice. The Spring was an outlier. We were dominate from lap one of practice, all the way through, but typically, all of the other Kansas races we’ve been pretty middle of the road and I’ve kind of panicked overnight because we are not where we should be, and then the race – they dropped the green and then we just go to the front. Hopefully, we can be pretty solid in practice. The track changes so much from practice to race, so I just look for characteristics that I know will be good for passing. Everyone is going to try to run up top because that is going to be the fastest lane, but I’m looking if I can run somewhere else and have the speed be really close, because that is how you make passes. You just can’t run in the wake of the car in front of you, so I try to make sure my car can maneuver, and sometimes that gives us slower lap times in practice.”

Can you talk about the growth for Bubba Wallace?

“It has been a progression. I think last week is a good example of where he’s progressed. Typically, in racing you very seldom have a trouble-free, adversity-free race. I think early on in his career a couple of years, if he had something adverse – like a spin out, like he had at the end of stage one – it would derail his day. Just mentally it would derail him, and he would struggle to come back from it. The difference is we see him rebounding and finishing better probably than where he was running all day, so that is a good trend for that team – is get better as the day goes, versus the opposite – where they used to be – which was they are as good as they are going to get right off the truck, and typically went down from there. That is what I’ve noticed – is he has been able to mentally overcome adversity better.”

Have you been a part of his progression?

“We’ve constantly tried to point out drivers that have come back from penalties or crashes early and show the result of this what is capable of happening if your stay in the game and that is where your character gets defined – is when you face adversity, how do you respond to it?”

How do you look at signing what could be your last racing contract?

“It does for sure. When you are younger, you see it as a financial stabilizer. For me, it’s how many more Daytona 500s do I have left? How many more opportunities do I have to win certain events that are special to me personally or help me accomplish a goal that I’m trying to accomplish? It really puts in perspective the urgency of accomplishing as much as you can here in the short term. When you are younger in your 20’s or low 30s, you have so much runway, where if you don’t get it this time, I’ll get it the next. I’ve been very, very fortunate in the financial planning that my team has put together – we never planned past 40 as far as income was concern, so this is all me telling myself, how many more opportunities will I have? I want to compete at a high level in my final year. I don’t want to kind of trickle off. I’m way too competitive to do it. There is no way I could go to the race track not knowing that I could win. I understand there will be a day when things fall off. Things get slower for you. You will never know when that day will come, but now, that I’ve been doing it so long – it definitely puts some urgency in years like that, where I have all of the things, I need to compete each and every week. This could be one of the best shots we’ve had to win it all. You really put an emphasis on it knowing there is only so many total races left. If you want to get to your personal goals, you’ve got to capitalize on every single weekend.”

How have you grown throughout your career?

“I would say it’s natural to get a little more emotional when those situations come about because like last week – how many more chances at the Southern 500 will I have to win? We don’t even know – will our cars compete next year? Will we be as strong? No one knows. There is so many ebbs and flows in the sport, so you always want to take advantage of the opportunities. Chris Gabehart (crew chief) keeps a strict tally of when our running or winning capability is a one. Last week marked our 59th race winning capability weekend. We haven’t won nearly that many – 59 times. That is a lot since 2019. When we look at why we haven’t? I feel comfortable saying I’m doing all I can do. Sometimes these things are just out of our hands. I can only do my job to the best of my ability and continue to try to bring the team up. I really feel confident – no matter what the outcome – that I’m not letting any weekends slip away. I wish I honestly had the discipline way back when. In the early 30s, and 20s, that I do now with my work ethic. It’s paid huge dividends.”

Was the tire loose?

“It was. What happened – on the video – it takes a while to get high-res video, but the socket is turning, turning, turning and it never stopped. The left rear is one of the most sensitive corners. If it was the left front, we probably could have gotten away with it, no problem. It is just the way that track works. It’s the most sensitive corner on the car. When it’s not all the way tight, you are going to feel it dramatically and it would continue to just back off to that safety clip and then it would have damaged the hub so bad, that we wouldn’t have been able to get a tire on.”

What does it mean to you to re-sign with Joe Gibbs Racing?

“I said from the very beginning. I want to start and end my career at Joe Gibbs Racing. That’s continued to be the goal and I think this is another step towards that. I don’t know if this is the last one or not, but I know how many more times that I will run for sure, but that doesn’t mean that it’s over at that point. There is still an opportunity to go beyond that as long as I know I’m competitive at a high level. I think people like Kevin Harvick are an anomaly being that fast and that competitive that late in his career. That is going to be really, really hard to do. I don’t think the runway is that long, but certainly it is capable of being one more beyond this one, but that is all pending. You just never know. Next year, I could show up and start running into things that I didn’t even see. Who knows how this goes, but I think being with the Gibbs family as certainly been at the forefront of my goal. I’ve always wanted to end my career in one car. That’s still the goal, and knowing they give me the best opportunity to win a championship is something you don’t want to take for granted because there are only so many championship-caliber race teams out there, and they are certainly one of them.”

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 48,000 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 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Cadillac at Fuji: Row 3 start for six-hour race

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No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R impresses with another start in top half of Hypercar field

OYAMA, Japan (Sept. 9, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will start the Six Hours of Fuji – the sixth round of its inaugural season in the FIA World Endurance Championship — from the third row following qualifications at Fuji International Speedway.

Alex Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 28.770 seconds on the 16-turn, 2.84-mile (4.563-kilometer) road course declared wet for the 15-minute session and held the provisional pole midway through the stint. He returned to pit lane with 3 minutes left and seven laps in the books as rain intensified.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified fifth for the second consecutive race and fourth time this season. Cadillac Racing has qualified in the top half of the Hypercar field four times.

Lynn, who also drove the hybrid racecar in qualifying in the last WEC outing at Monza, was .053 of a second behind the fourth-place car. His best lap was more than 2 seconds quicker than any of the 120 total laps in the three free practice sessions.

“I think the team operationally has been fantastic. The result at Le Mans suggests the team is working very well,” team manager Stephen Mitas said. “Monza, operationally, was fantastic. The result does not reflect what was going on in the background. Every weekend the team is getting better and the car is getting better, and we’ll keep pushing forward.”

The No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing, with former Cadillac Racing DPi endurance race driver Kamui Kobayashi behind the wheel, earned its second pole award in a row and fourth of the season with a lap of 1:27.794.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will aim for its second podium finish of the season. The reliability of the racecar with the distinctive sound of its 5.5-liter V8 naturally aspirated engine has led to four top-five finishes. It is one of only five Hypercars to be running at the finish of every race.

Cadillac Racing is third in the Hypercar Manufacturer Championship standings.

The Six Hours of Fuji for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. JST Sunday /10 p.m. ET today. The race will air live in the U.S. on MotorTrend with live streaming coverage of the race and qualifying on the MotorTrend Plus app. Radio Le Mans will broadcast the race.

Alex Lynn, who made his FIA WEC debut at Fuji International Speedway in 2016, drove in qualifying: “The session started with mixed conditions. After we got some heat in the tires, the pace picked up and by the fourth lap I was able to get a gap and post the qualifying lap. With weather moving across the circuit, there wasn’t much to be gained in the closing minutes. We’ve shown in previous races that starting fifth in not a detriment, so we’ll continue to work on the car and hopefully be in position at the end for another podium.”

CORVETTE RACING AT FUJI: Keating Puts C8.R on Pole Position!

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OYAMA, Japan (Sept. 9, 2023) – Corvette Racing’s Ben Keating put the team’s No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on the GTE Am pole position Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Six Hours of Fuji – the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Keating, who is teaming with Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone, set a best lap of 1:38.338 (103.769 mph) in the championship-winning C8.R. Corvette Racing clinched the GTE Am Drivers and Teams titles in the last WEC round at Monza, Italy and is seeking its fourth victory of the season.

On Saturday, Keating was just 0.035 seconds clear of Sarah Bovy in the No. 85 Porsche of the Iron Dames team. The top half of the class was very close with the six fastest GTE Am cars separated by just 0.673 seconds around the 2.84-mile, 16-turn circuit at the base of Mount Fuji. Keating claimed his third pole position of the season and eighth in the class since the start of 2021 – more than any other GTE Am driver.

It was difficult for the full field of 36 cars to get a read on the track during the three practice sessions. Friday’s opening practice and Saturday’s final practice were in mixed conditions with periods of rain and dry weather. That left Friday’s second practice as the only fully dry running ahead of qualifying.

Still, Corvette Racing engineers made good use of each session with the conditions uncertain heading into qualifying with a variety of tuning and chassis changes in hopes of finding a good balance in the Corvette for not just the 15 minutes but also Sunday’s six-hour race.

As in previous races, the C8.R will race at Fuji with a level of rewards weight due to its successes earlier this year: 15 kilograms for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 15 kilograms for leading the championship, plus 10 extra kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight ahead of the previous round at Monza for a total of 40 kilograms – 10 less than at the Italian round.

The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. JST on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage Sunday’s race.

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – POLE-WINNER: “I don’t know why (race engineer) Tyler Neff has to wait until qualifying to give us the really good setup! I went more than two seconds per lap faster in qualifying today than I have at any other time this weekend. It’s because the setup is that much better. It was so confidence-inspiring. I could really push the car without losing grip, even on a damp track. I don’t know what they did, but the car was really nice to drive. I wasn’t expecting to be on the pole. It’s always so much fun to be that close with Sarah. She did a good job. I thought I had a pretty good lap and then the team said she did a 1:38.3, and I came across the line at a 38.3 and not knowing who was going to be in front. It was super, super close. Last year being with TF Sport and being teammates with Satoshi Hoshino in the Aston Martin… this is his home track and where he lives. I’m really happy for him to come in P3. It was a little bit of a reunion at tech after qualifying seeing Sarah and Hoshino down there. It’s a lot of fun. This season continues to be a fairy-tale season. Every time you think it can’t get any better, it keeps getting better. I’m just trying to soak up and enjoy every last minute.

“It was exciting before we left. They asked me what I thought, and I thought it would be the best thing to go out on a drying wet tire. To me, the frontstraight looked wet. We watched every car around me put on slicks, and so the engineers made the decision to go with slicks from the get-go. When I got around on the back half of the track, it was a lot drier than it was on the frontstraight. I came on the radio and congratulated them on making the right call. It was a matter of bringing them up to temperature slowly and not over-driving in the damp conditions. But you only have a 15-minute window to get them up to temperature and take advantage of the peak of the tire to get those extra few tenths.

“We made some big sweeping changes on the car. We had been chasing it a little bit. I give the engineers such a hard time because it seems like it’s the same at every race we go to! We’re not exactly sure where we are, but when we get to qualifying I have a really, really strong setup on the car. We made some really big changes and they got it really right. The car felt really good. I felt like I could really attack the corners without feeling like I’m walking on eggshells. Especially in Sector Three, you have to be able to have confidence going through there if you’re going to be fast. It’s the first time I’ve felt that here, and the car felt really good.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “As always, it was Ben and Sarah putting on a good show. We had to wait until her last lap to be finished, and Ben did an amazing job. To be fair, I didn’t predict him to be on pole because we were struggling quite a bit in the mixed conditions, but he once again delivered! I’m super happy with that.

“It’s always nice in Fuji. The location at Mount Fuji is an awesome place and Japan is one of my favorite places to go. So I always love coming to Fuji, and we’re looking forward to racing here. We’ve been struggling a little bit with the weather conditions as everyone else has. It’s always in between… wet-dry-wet-dry… We haven’t really gotten any valuable data yet, so it will be interesting in the race. You’re right below the mountain and right on the edge of where it starts. It wasn’t supposed to rain today and it’s been wet the whole day because the clouds just keep sitting here. It’s weird and difficult to prepare for this. You go with certain predictions and they just do whatever they want.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “This is really cool. Being in Japan for the first time, the people are great and the culture is so different. I’m really enjoying it and getting used to it. The track is really fun to drive. It’s really tricky; almost all the last sector is difficult to find where the lines are, so it is tough. But it is better than I expected. We have a great car and we worked through all the sessions. And now Ben has taken pole! It’s been really good so far, and we’re all very happy.”

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After five of seven events)

Driver Standings

  1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 145
  2. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 67
  3. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 65
  4. Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Mikkel Pedersen – 60
  5. Benjamin Barker/Michael Wainwright/Riccardo Pera – 54

Team Standings

  1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 145
  2. No. 85 Iron Dames – 67
  3. No. 25 ORT by TF – 65
  4. No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing – 60
  5. No. 86 GR Racing – 54

CORVETTE RACING AT Fuji: By the Numbers

  • 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette
  • 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R
  • 13: Hours difference between Fuji and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone. That means the race will begin Sunday morning in Japan but late Saturday night Eastern Time
  • 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001
  • 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen
  • 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship
  • 40: Kilograms of success ballast for the Corvette C8.R at Fuji – 15 for winning Le Mans, 15 for leading the GTE Am championship and 10 additional kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight by the organizers
  • 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC
  • 280: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999
  • 359,884.24: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back!

Corvette Racing at Fuji (wins in bold)

2022

No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 5th in GTE Pro

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. 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.

GMS Racing NCTS Race Recap: Kansas Speedway II

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Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 12TH
FINISH: 17TH
POINTS: 3RD

Post-Race Quote: “Overall, we had a decent Champion Power Equipment Chevy. We just weren’t great. Seemed to struggle a bit for the first five or six laps, and then it would come to life. I’m proud of Jeff for making a gutsy call there at the beginning and getting us off-sequence. And honestly, it played out about as good as it could have. I really thought once we got back on sequence with everybody, we would drive to the front, but we just couldn’t for whatever reason. It was a little free to fire off, and then it would come to me where we would spot them a little too much on the short run. And then, I just screwed up coming down pit road; sped, and that was all she wrote. We ended up finishing 17th, but probably gave up finishing with a shot at a top-five. We probably didn’t quite have a race-winning truck tonight, but definitely it was better than what the driver gave it. All eyes are on Bristol now.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 19TH
FINISH: 12TH
POINTS: 17TH

Post-Race Quote: “Definitely a heartbreaking night with the amazing speed we had in our No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet. Worked back into the top-10 in stage two, had a jack break on the stop. Caught the fence a little bit, then I got the tire clearance and I was ripping the wall. I think we were a good spot there in 10th, well before the caution came out and got caught in the crapshoot there at the end. Definitely frustrating but I’m proud of this No. 24 team. Want to thank all of our partners and Maury Gallagher, Mike Beam, and Ron Booth for this deal. We will just go execute at Bristol next week.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Race To Stop Suicide Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 23RD
FINISH: 23RD
POINTS: 18TH

Post-Race Quote: “We had good speed and got faster all night. Blake and I communicated well and made good changes. Our No. 43 team brought a fast truck, but when I got caught speeding on pit road on the final stop, it put us in a bad spot and took us out of contention to have a good finish. All-in-all, it was great to have the support from Race to Stop Suicide, and we appreciate everybody’s efforts in bringing fast Chevys to the racetrack.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series operating the No. 23, No. 24, and No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs for drivers Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, a team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCTS Kansas 2 Post-Race Quotes (9.8.23)

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Kansas Lottery 200 | Friday, September 8, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:
5th – Zane Smith
18th – Ty Majeski
25th – Ben Rhodes
28th – Chase Janes
30th – Hailie Deegan
33rd – Matt Crafton
35th – Mason Maggio
36th – Spencer Davis

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 RTA rtatel.com Ford F-150 – HOW NERVE-RACKING WAS THAT FINAL RESTART? “It was a crazy one. I felt like we were in a really good position. I thought the No. 19 was coming with the push there, and he did as I would have. Had the run – three-wide, you get such a massive run when you’re behind two trucks like that. He just got me in a good spot , where he was able to run up the track… and just nowhere [to go]. Fortunately, I didn’t wreck. I shot at it, and I thought we were going to get it. But still, all-in-all, a good day. I felt like our truck was pretty strong. Just not quite fast enough.”

HOW DO YOU ASSESS GOING INTO THE ROUND OF 8 WITH ANOTHER TOP-FIVE PERFORMANCE? “To be honest, I forgot about points there. I was just going for the win. Happy our whole team at FRM and all our partners advance to the Round of 8. It’s a wild round as we know with Bristol, Talladega and Homestead. So, I feel like we’re in a good spot playoff position wise. So, we’ll try to carry some of this momentum into this next round.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 – “We had some instability in general and as you noticed with the truck all night long, and I’m not quite sure what happened that got us into the wall. But, we ended up having a tire issue, and I have to do some research on that. But, lucky to be into the next round. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, I guess. But, thankful for all our supporters. We let them down a little bit tonight, but we’re going to rebound and be back stronger for the next round.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Flex Seal/Menards Ford F-150 – “It just started on the second lap of practice, when they did a half-assed job cleaning the racetrack off of Turn 2. Got in a hurry, and a bunch of people went through there and blew tires – we were one of them. At the end of the day, you have to thank the clean-up crew that didn’t do their job in Turn 4, and then that got us behind. So, we had to bring out a back-up truck. As the driver, I busted my butt trying to make something happen. Trying to get up there and get as many points as we could. That part’s on me – 100 percent on me. The practice still had nothing to do with any of us here. It was just a pathetic job of cleaning up.”

Toyota Racing – NCTS Kansas Post-Race Report – 09.08.23

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TAYLOR GRAY EARNS CAREER-BEST RUNNER-UP FINISH
Corey Heim moves on to the Round of 8 with his 12th straight top-10 run

KANSAS CITY (September 8, 2023) – Taylor Gray finished second to set a new career-best in the NASCAR Truck Series to lead Toyota at Kansas Speedway on Friday evening.

Corey Heim, who clinched his spot in the Round of 8 at the Milwaukee Mile, continued his strong performance with his 12th straight top-10 finish. The Toyota development driver finished in fourth.

ARCA Menards Series points leader Jesse Love (ninth) scored his second top-10 in as many Truck Series starts, while Jake Drew (11th) set new career-bests in starting position and finishing position in his third series start.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Kansas Speedway
Race 19 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Christian Eckes *
2nd, TAYLOR GRAY
3rd, Matt DiBenedetto*
4th, COREY HEIM
5th, Zane Smith*
7th, STEWART FRIESEN
9th, JESSE LOVE
10th, TYLER ANKRUM
11th, JAKE DREW
15th, DEAN THOMPSON
24th, TIMMY HILL
26th, TANNER GRAY
29th, JUSTIN CARROLL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TAYLOR GRAY, No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 2nd

Can you talk me through that last restart and how chaotic the last few laps were?
“Yeah, first, I can’t thank all of my guys enough at TRICON Garage for bringing me a pretty good JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro – just needed a little bit more to be able to get the 19 (Christian Eckes). It’s disheartening, because on a long run we were faster than the 19. I should have passed him before that first caution came out, when we started having multiple cautions there in the end. But like I said, I can’t thank all of my guys enough for bringing me good JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, just needed a little bit more there at the end.”

COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 4th

Can you take me through those last few laps?

“Yeah, I feel like every time we got up front there was a caution. Can’t say enough about our speed tonight. Definitely an improvement from the first Kansas, and we were really fast then. Big thanks to TRICON Garage, Safelite and Toyota Racing for everything they do for me. “

JESSE LOVE, No. 1 HomeSmiles Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 9th

Two top-10s in two truck starts. Can you talk about your day?

“Yeah, I think we made the HomeSmiles Toyota Tundra TRD Pro a lot better. I feel like we were really good all race long. We might have been a top-15 truck at the beginning, and I feel like we were a top-five truck on speed at the end. I just did not a great job today on restarts. I couldn’t restart worth a hell today. I just need to go work and it feels good. I can go to work and get better and work on myself. I’m looking forward to getting to work over the next few weeks, and upping my restart game when there is a lot of cars around me.”

JAKE DREW, No. 61 Cyclum Truck Stops Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Hattori Racing Enterprises

Finishing Position: 11th

Third start, and nearly got your first top-10 on the biggest track you’ve raced at. How was your race?

“Yeah, just continuing to learn the aero games in the Truck Series. It’s been a blast. Super happy with the career-best tonight in qualifying and race finish. Can’t thank all of the guys around me enough on this Cyclum Truck Stops Tundra who have been guiding me through this and teaching me and giving me all of the support to succeed. Looking forward to keep growing and improving every time.”

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.

Connor Mosack Dominates ARCA Race at Kansas

By
Official Release
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Driver of Mobil 1 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing Scores Career-First Stock-Car Win
Date: Friday, Sept. 8
Event: Sioux Chief Fast Track 150
Series: ARCA Menards Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Length: 100 laps (150 miles)
Start/Finish: 4th / 1st (Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
Race Winner: Connor Mosack of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Overview:

Prior to the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150 ARCA Menards Series race Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Connor Mosack had been knocking on the door of his first career victory. In his sixth and final start of 2023, Mosack kicked that door down. The 24-year-old racer from Charlotte, North Carolina, thoroughly dominated the 100-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval by leading twice for a race-high 64 laps and lapping all but one driver – second-place Carson Kvapil – before crossing the stripe in first place with a stout, 3.202-second margin of victory.

It was Mosack’s first stock-car win of any kind and it came in his 19th career ARCA start. Mosack’s previous victories had come in sports cars, specifically the TA2 division of the Trans Am Series. In two seasons of TA2 (2021-2022), Mosack won twice, earned five poles and never finished outside of the top-four in the championship standings.

Scoring a victory in stock cars – the discipline where Mosack has put all of his focus – was gratifying, especially after seeing a win in his prior ARCA start get upended by a late-race caution. On Aug. 4 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mosack was leading and well in command before the race went into overtime. A frantic, green-white-checkered finish ultimately left him third.

With that heartbreak in his rearview mirror, Mosack entered Kansas looking to punctuate his six-race ARCA campaign with a victory for JGR.

That drive was evident from the start. Mosack wheeled his No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry on the high side of the track’s high banks to go from his fourth-place starting spot to the lead on just the third lap. Mosack held the top spot for five laps before Dean Thompson grabbed the lead. And while Thompson held the point for 34 laps, Mosack bided his time, ultimately retaking the lead on lap 42 and never looking back, pacing the final 59 laps to take the coveted victory.

Connor Mosack driver of the No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“It means a lot to see all the hard work pay off. All the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing did a great job. We brought a really fast car today and I’m just proud to be driving this No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry.

“We were just trying to keep the right rear (tire) on it those last 20 laps. We kind of burned it off a little bit in the first half, so just trying to manage that gap (to second place). I felt like we could push a little harder if we needed to, but it’s pretty easy to get up in the fence here if you push too hard. So, we just started managing that gap, and I think he (Carson Kvapil) started falling off there and we could kind of ride to the finish in case we had a restart.

“This just feels really good. I kind of feel I have a weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a long time coming. Definitely made plenty of mistakes this year and learned a lot, and had some bad luck as well, but it feels good to finally get it done, for sure. Today we had a great car and didn’t have any mistakes and we made it happen.”

Notes:

● Since making his first ARCA Menards Series start at Kansas with an 11th-place drive on Oct. 23, 2021, Mosack has improved his finishing position each time he has returned to 1.5-mile oval. He finished fifth in May 2022, improved it with a fourth-place result this past May, and then bettered that run with his victory in the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150.

● Mosack led twice for a race-high for 64 laps – his first laps led at Kansas.

● This was Mosack’s first career victory in 19 ARCA starts. It was his 15th career top-10.

● This was Mosack’s ninth career top-five in ARCA and his third straight top-three. He finished second July 21 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and third in his prior start Aug. 4 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

● This was Mosack’s seventh straight top-10 in ARCA, a streak that dates back to last September at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

● Mosack qualified fourth for the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150 with a lap of 31.031 seconds at 174.02 mph. He has qualified fifth or better in his last eight ARCA starts, a streak that began more than a year ago at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International when he qualified third.

● Mosack set fast time in the lone practice session for the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150. His lap of 31.176 seconds at 173.21 mph was .004 of a second better than the next quickest driver, Jesse Love.

Next Up:

Mosack is back in a racecar Saturday at Kansas. He will drive the No. 24 MKS Pipe and Valve Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing in the Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which goes live at 2 p.m. CDT/3 p.m. EDT on NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Eckes wins Playoff’s Round of 10 finale at Kansas in wild two-lap shootout

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Mitchell Pavel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

After spending a majority of the evening trailing the front-runners, Christian Eckes benefitted through a pair of late-race cautions and a two-lap shootout to overtake Playoff rivals Corey Heim and Zane Smith on the final lap to win the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 8.

The 22-year-old Eckes from Greenville, New York, led the final two of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified eighth, notched stage points during the event’s two stage periods and kept pace with the leaders with a locked-up berth to the Round of 8 in the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs already sealed prior to the event.

Then amid two late-race caution periods, starting with 17 laps remaining and a proceeding one with eight laps remaining that sent the event into a two-lap shootout, Eckes, who was running in the top five amid the late chaos, drew himself into a battle for the lead and win against Heim and Zane Smith prior to the final lap. Despite leading the final lap mark, Eckes briefly lost the lead to both Heim and Zane Smith. With the latter two dueling for the lead through the backstretch, Eckes seized an opportunity and crossed his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet beneath Heim and Zane Smith before bolting past both through the backstretch and nearly sliding up the track in Turn 3 before muscling away and claiming his third Truck Series victory of the 2023 season as the Playoff’s Round of 10 came to a thrilling conclusion.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chase Purdy notched his first Truck career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.292 mph in 30.631 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor and rookie Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 176.200 mph in 30.647 seconds.

Prior to the event, Chase Janes, Spencer Davis Timy Hill and Lawless Alan dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. Playoff contender Matt Crafton and Colby Howard also dropped to the rear of the field as they started the main event in backup trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Purdy and Sanchez dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn until Sanchez muscled his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Purdy on the inside lane and into the lead entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Sanchez rocketed away from the competition as he proceeded to lead the first lap. With Sanchez leading, Ben Rhodes challenged Purdy for the runner-up spot followed by Christian Eckes while Ty Majeski, who got loose and nearly clipped Purdy through the third turn, was back in fifth ahead of rookie Jake Garcia.

Through the second lap, Sanchez stretched his advantage to half a second over a side-by-side duel between Rhodes and Purdy while Eckes retained fourth. Behind, Majeski got loose again in Turn 3 as he nearly clipped Garcia while battling for fifth place. The mishap dropped Majeski to seventh as Garcia and Jake Drew moved up to fifth and sixth.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Sanchez was leading by six-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Purdy, Garcia and Eckes while Jake Drew, Majeski, Jack Wood, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith were in the top 10. Behind, Corey Heim was in 11th ahead of rookie Taylor Gray, Hailie Deegan, Matt DiBenedetto and Tanner Gray while Carson Hocevar, Stewart Friesen, rookie Rajah Caruth, Dean Thompson and Jesse Love occupied the top 20 on the track. Meanwhile, Matt Crafton was the lowest-running Playoff contender on the track as he was in 22nd.

At the Lap 10 mark, Sanchez continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Rhodes while third-place Garcia trailed by more than a second. By then, Purdy fell back to fourth ahead of Eckes and Majeski while Drew, Heim, Zane Smith and Wood were mired in the top 10. Meanwhile, Enfinger, Hocevar, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the four Playoff competitors currently running outside the top 10 on the track.

Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Bayley Currey, who was running 23rd, spun his No. 41 Unishippers Chevrolet Silverado RST entering Turn 2. During the first caution period, some including Enfinger, Ankrum, Colby Howard, Spencer Boyd, Justin Carroll, Lawless Alan, Mason Maggio, Deegan and Chase Janes pitted while the rest led by Sanchez remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 20, Sanchez, who spun the tires at the start, retained the lead as the field fanned out through the first turn. In the midst of Sanchez leading, Rhodes was being challenged by Purdy and Eckes for the runner-up spot as Heim and Zane Smith battled for fifth in front of Hocevar and Garcia, who slipped out of the top five.

Five laps later, Sanchez retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Purdy followed by Rhodes, Heim and Eckes while Zane Smith settled in sixth in front of Hocevar. Shortly after, Enfinger, who restarted outside the top 20, had carved his way back into the top 10 on fresh tires as he was in eighth behind Zane Smith and Jake Drew while Hocevar fell back to ninth.

Then on Lap 26, the second caution of the event flew when Kaden Honeycutt spun in between Turns 3 and 4 as his truck looped sideways from the top lane to the bottom lane with the leaders approaching and missing Honeycutt. Honeycutt’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 30 to officially conclude under caution.

As a result, Sanchez, who came into the event three points above the top-eight cutline to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8, captured his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Purdy settled in second while Rhodes, Heim, Eckes, Zane Smith, Drew, Enfinger, Hocevar and Majeski were scored in the top 10. By then, DiBenedetto and Crafton were the two Playoff contenders who failed to collect a first round of stage points as they were scored in 11th and 13th on the track while Hocevar managed to clinch his way into the Round of 8 by points for the first time in his career.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Sanchez pitted while Enfinger, who pitted during the first caution period, remained on the track to inherit the lead.

The second stage started on Lap 35 as Enfinger and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez managed to rocket ahead of Enfinger to reassume the lead on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With Rhodes challenging and overtaking Enfinger for the runner-up spot, he then proceeded to challenge Sanchez for the lead during the proceeding lap. Despite leading Laps 37 and 38 by a hair over Sanchez amid a heated duel, Sanchez would manage to slide in front of Rhodes’ No. 99 Kubota Ford F-150 through Turns 3 and 4 as he retained the lead with a clear racetrack by Lap 39. By then, Purdy made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to reports of a loose wheel to his pole-winning No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST.

At the Lap 40 mark, Sanchez was leading by three-tenths of a second over a tight seven-truck battle for the lead that involved Hocevar, Rhodes, Eckes, Zane Smith, Enfinger and Heim, all of whom were separated by a second and were contending in the Playoffs, while DiBenedetto and Crafton trailed in the top nine. With nine of 10 Playoff contenders running first through ninth, Majeski, the 10th Playoff contender, was mired back in 20th while Taylor Gray was the highest-running non-playoff competitor running in 10th place on the track.

By Lap 50, Hocevar, who overtook Sanchez for the lead two laps earlier, was leading in his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST by nine-tenths of a second over Sanchez while Zane Smith, Heim and Rhodes were in the top five ahead of Eckes, Enfinger and DiBenedetto. By then, Crafton fell back to 12th while teammate Majeski was still mired in 19th in between Jack Wood and Jesse Love.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Hocevar notched his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season after muscling away from the field by more than two seconds. Sanchez trailed in second followed by Heim, Zane Smith and Enfinger while Eckes, Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, DiBenedetto and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. By then, the remaining Playoff competitors, Crafton and Majeski, were mired back in 12th and 17th, respectively.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hocevar returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first while Sanchez, Zane Smith, Hocevar and Eckes followed suit.

With 66 laps remaining, the final stage started as Heim and Sanchez occupied the front row. At the start, Heim took off with the lead from the inside lane as Sanchez engaged in a three-wide battle with Hocevar and Zane Smith for the runner-up spot through Turn 1. Smith and Hocevar then went three-wide on Heim for the lead through the backstretch as nearly the entire front-runners also fanned out in three tight-packed lanes. With Hocevar receiving no drafting help through the backstretch, however, Heim, who had Sanchez drafting help, managed to rocket his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead of Smith through Turns 3 and 4 to clear the field and retain the lead during the following lap.

Then with 63 laps remaining, Crafton’s Playoff hopes took a hit when he fell off the pace as a result of hitting the backstretch’s outside wall two laps earlier while battling in the top 12. Not long after, trouble struck for his teammate Rhodes, whom Crafton was battling for the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, as he was losing spots on the track amid reports of having a tire going down and making contact with the wall, but he continued to remain on the track as he plummeted to 26th while Crafton pitted his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 and dropped out of the lead lap category. Amid the issues for both ThorSport Racing Playoff contenders, Heim retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar and four-tenths of a second over Zane Smith with 60 laps remaining.

Then with 52 laps remaining, Hocevar, who spent the last few laps engaged in a fierce battle with Heim for the lead, overtook him to reassume the top spot. With Hocevar retaining the lead over Heim and Eckes with less than 50 laps remaining, the night went from bad to worse for Crafton, who pitted for a second time under green for repairs to his truck amid his late incident with the wall as he lost more laps from the leaders. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running eighth, was within close distance of racing his way into the Round of 8 over Rhodes, who still retained the final transfer spot to the next round but was mired back in 27th on the track.

As Rhodes, who went a lap down earlier, pitted for four fresh tires with 43 laps remaining, Hocevar found himself being intimidated for the lead by Heim, who trailed by two-tenths of a second, while third-place Zane Smith trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Eckes and Sanchez were in the top five while Taylor Gray, Enfinger, DiBenedetto, Majeski and Garcia were running in the top 10.

With 39 laps remaining, Heim pitted under green from the runner-up spot. A bevy of names that included the leader Hocevar, Taylor Gray, Stewart Friesen, Jake Drew, rookie Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Hailie Deegan and Majeski pitted during the proceeding laps while Zane Smith, Sanchez, Eckes and Enfinger would pit during the next lap as DiBenedetto, who drew himself back into contention to still transfer to the Round of 8 but is still needing to make a pit stop, assumed the lead. DiBenedetto would then pit with 35 laps remaining as Tanner Gray assumed the lead.

Once the last wave of lead lap competitors pitted, among which included late leaders Tanner Gray, Jack Wood and Bret Holmes, Heim, who slid through his pit box during his green flag pit stop but managed to run ahead of Hocevar on the track, cycled back into the lead with 27 laps remaining. By then, Heim was leading by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Zane Smith, Eckes and Sanchez while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto, Friesen, Caruth and Jake Drew were in the top 10. By then, Enfinger, who was penalized for speeding during his green flag pit stop, was back in 17th in front of Majeski while Rhodes and Crafton were mired in 26th and 35th, respectively.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Heim continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar while Zane Smith, Sanchez and Eckes continued to run in the top five. By then, DiBenedetto, who was running seventh, was still scored eight points below the top-eight cutline behind Rhodes, who was still mired in 26th on the track while teammate Crafton was running 35th on the track and scored 12 points below the cutline.

Three laps later, the caution flew due to an accident involving Mason Maggio in Turn 3. During the caution period, the front-runners led by Heim remained on the track. With the event reaching its final 10-lap mark with the caution flag still displayed, some running in the middle of the pack, including Enfinger, Majeski and Rhodes, pitted for service while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green with eight laps remaining, Heim received a strong push from Zane Smith’s No. 38 RTA Ford F-150 to boost ahead of Hocevar and retain the lead. Smith then made his move to Heim’s outside in a bid for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Hocevar tried to make it a three-way battle for the lead. Shortly after and amid the tight battle for the lead, the caution returned after Caruth and Tanner Gray wrecked across the frontstretch, with Caruth spinning across the frontstretch grass after getting turned by Gray while Gray spun back across the track and pounded the outside wall. At the moment of caution, Heim managed to retain the lead ahead of Zane Smith and Hocevar.

Down to the final two laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Eckes gained a massive run on the leaders as he bolted his No. 19 PEAK/NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST to the outside of Smith entering Turn 3. Eckes, Zane Smith and Heim then went three wide entering the frontstretch, with Heim nearly getting loose, as they battled for the lead and potential win.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was out in front by a hair over both Zane Smith and Heim while Taylor Gray, DiBenedetto and Hocevar battled for fourth place behind. Through the first two turns, Heim and Zane Smith muscled ahead of Eckes to make it a tight two-truck battle for the lead between them entering the backstretch. Then through the backstretch, Eckes crossed over to the inside lane and managed to overtake both Zane Smith and Heim for the lead entering Turn 3 before he slid up the track and stalled Smith’s momentum, which caused Smith to get loose. With Smith losing his momentum, Eckes managed to keep his foot on the gas pedal and muscle away from the field to cross the checkered flag with the victory in dramatic fashion and by three-tenths of a second.

With the victory, Eckes, who had secured a spot for the Round of 8 in the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs based on points prior to Friday night’s event at Kansas, scored his fourth career victory in the series, his third of the season and his first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May. Ironically, all three of Eckes’ Truck victories this season have occurred in two-lap shootouts, but tonight was the first where Eckes won under green flag conditions, as the New York native and his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet team proceeded toward their quest to win this year’s Truck Series championship.

“That was wild,” Eckes said on FS1. “I didn’t know if I was gonna win it or not. We had like a sixth-place truck all day, but that caution coming out, I knew we’d have a shot at it. Here we are. We haven’t won in a really long time, so [I] wanted to kind of set the tone and went a hell of a way to the Round of 10. [Finishes of] Second, third and first. Can’t beat that. Proud of all of these guys. Man, it’s awesome to be back in Victory Lane, for sure.”

Behind Eckes, Taylor Gray notched a career-best runner-up result in his 29th Truck career start followed by Matt DiBenedetto, who made a strong rally to finish third for his second top-five result of the season. The result, however, was not enough for DiBenedetto and the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. team to advance to the Round of 8 as their Playoff run came to an end.

“Honestly this team fought so hard, worked their tail off to give me a good-looking truck and a good-handling truck all night,” DiBenedetto, who will be departing Rackley W.A.R. at the conclusion of the 2023 season, said. “Man, we made the most of it, for sure. Just so thankful for these guys, Rackley Roofing…I hate we missed [advancing to the Round of 8], man. It stinks we had an issue at Milwaukee and it took us out of it. We could be in that next round, but this team, they deserve to hold their heads high, for sure.”

Like DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton’s hopes for a fourth championship came to an end amid his late contact with the wall and series of unscheduled pit stops that resulted in him finishing in 33rd in the final running order and below the top-eight cutline. This season marks the second in a row where Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford team have failed to transfer past the Round of 10.

“It is what it is,” Crafton said. “The cards were dealt. It folded really crappy for us, but at the end of the day, we had some speed. When [the truck] jumped sideways off of [Turn] 2, it hadn’t done that all night. Just caught me off guard. I gotta thank [my crew]. They worked their butts off today just from practice, wrecking that truck in practice and then, wrecking during the race. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go on and do it again next year.”

Amid the disappointment for DiBenedetto and Crafton, good fortune came for Ben Rhodes, who ended up 25th and managed to secure the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by a mere margin. As a result, he and his No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford team will continue their quest for a second Truck Series title.

“We were edgy all day long ever since we unloaded,” Rhodes said. “We kind of were predicting that it was gonna come to us in the race and it kind of went the opposite way. We ended up having a tire going down that caused me to hit the wall, it was just a mistake on myself. Mixed emotions tonight for this Kubota Ford F-150 team. The expectation is to make it to the next round, so just meeting the expectation isn’t necessarily a cause for celebration. We’re happy to advance, but at the same time, we’ve got to smoothen out some rough edges and make sure that bringing less mistakes and faster, more comfortable trucks.”

Heim, who led 40 laps, finished fourth while Zane Smtih fell back to fifth. Hocevar, Friesen, Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum and Jake Drew completed the top 10 on the track.

Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes and rookie Nick Sanchez have officially transferred to the Round of 8 and will continue their quests to win this year’s Truck Series championship while Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton have been eliminated from the Playoffs.

There were 18 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 13 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Christian Eckes, two laps led

2. Taylor Gray

3. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps led

4. Corey Heim, 40 laps led

5. Zane Smith, one lap led

6. Carson Hocevar, 32 laps led, Stage 2 winner

7. Stewart Friesen

8. Nick Sanchez, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

9. Tyler Ankrum

10. Jake Drew

11. Jake Garcia

12. Rajah Caruth

13. Jesse Love

14. Chase Purdy, one lap down

15. Dean Thompson, one lap down

16. Jack Wood, one lap down, two laps led

17. Grant Enfinger, one lap down, four laps led

18. Ty Majeski, one lap down

19. Colby Howard, one lap down

20. Bret Holmes, one lap down, two laps led

21. Bayley Currey, two laps down

22. Lawless Alan, two laps down

23. Daniel Dye, two laps down

24. Timmy Hill, two laps down

25. Ben Rhodes, two laps down, two laps led

26. Tanner Gray, three laps down, four laps led

27. Kaden Honeycutt, three laps down

28. Chase Janes, three laps down

29. Justin Carroll, four laps down

30. Hailie Deegan, four laps down

31. Spencer Boyd, five laps down

32. Greg Van Alst, five laps down

33. Matt Crafton, nine laps down

34. Jennifer Jo Cobb, nine laps down

35. Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident

36. Spencer Davis – OUT, Suspension

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings

1. Corey Heim – Advanced

2. Christian Eckes – Advanced

3. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

4. Carson Hocevar – Advanced

5. Zane Smith – Advanced

6. Ty Majeski – Advanced

7. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

8. Nick Sanchez – Advanced

9. Matt DiBenedetto – Eliminated

10. Matt Crafton – Eliminated

The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence next Thursday, September 14, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage of the event is set to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

Malukas joins Arrow McLaren on multiyear basis, beginning in 2024 IndyCar season

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Joe Skibinski (Penske Entertainment).

A new beginning is in the making for David Malukas as he will be joining Arrow McLaren on a multiyear basis, beginning in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season.

The move comes as the 21-year-old Malukas from Chicago, Illinois, is currently wrapping up his second full-time season in the IndyCar circuit for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports, where he has achieved a podium in the form of a third-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway in August. He has also racked up six top-10 results through 16-scheduled events as he is currently ranked in 16th place in this year’s driver’s standings.

“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season,” Malukas said in a released statement. “Arrow McLaren has been a threat to the top contenders all season long, and I’m excited to join the team and see what their Chevrolets can do. Pato [O’Ward] and Alexander [Rossi] both know what it takes to win, so it will be fun racing alongside them and learning from them as well.”

A former race winner across the Pro Mazda Championship and Indy Lights, Malukas made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit in 2022, where he piloted the No. 18 Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports on a full-time basis. Finishing 26th in his series debut at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, Malukas finished no higher than 11th twice during the first eight events on the schedule before notching his first top-10 career finish with a ninth-place run at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Despite achieving only a single top-10 result during his next five starts, which was an eighth-place run at Iowa Speedway in July, the Chicago native delivered with his maiden podium in IndyCar competition by finishing in the runner-up spot behind Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway after making a late rally to overtake Scott McLaughlin on the final lap. Ultimately, Malukas would end up 16th in the final championship standings with 305 points and fall short in claiming the 2022 IndyCar Rookie-of-the-Year title to Christian Lundgaard.

Through 33 career starts in IndyCar, Malukas has recorded two podiums, 12 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.0 as he aims to elevate his IndyCar status and performance within the McLaren organization, where he will be replacing Felix Rosenqvist as Rosenqvist will be departing the McLaren organization following a three-year run for Meyer Shank Racing in 2024.

“We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly David has gotten up to speed in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” Gavin Ward, Arrow McLaren Racing Director, said. “At 21, he’s already one of the strongest oval racers in the field and his competitiveness on road and street courses has been steadily improving. That speed combined with an excellent attitude and work ethic makes us thrilled to have him join the team.”

“David is an up and comer in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and based on what we’ve seen from him so far in his first two seasons, I’m confident there’s a lot of talent we can extract from him through the resources we have at Arrow McLaren,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “Beyond what he can do on a racetrack, he’s got a great personality and we’re excited to welcome him to the McLaren Racing family.”

The addition of Malukas completes Arrow McLaren’s 2024 IndyCar lineup as the Chicago native will be teammates to Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, both of whom return for their fourth and second year, respectively, with the McLaren team. Arrow McLaren is also set to run four cars in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 as the 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson will attempt to qualify for the event while piloting the organization’s No. 17 entry.

With his future plans set, Malukas aims to conclude the 2023 INDYCAR season on a strong note by competing in this weekend’s season finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 10, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Brett Moffitt | AM Racing Kansas Speedway September NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Preview

By
Official Release
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AM Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series
Kansas Speedway | Kansas Lottery 300

Fast Facts
No. 25 AM Racing Team:
Driver: Brett Moffitt
Primary Partner(s): Concrete Supply | Destiny Homes
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Joe Williams Jr.
Spotter: Tony Raines
Chassis Intel: AMR Chassis No. 006
Engine: Roush-Yates Engines
Driver Championship Point Standings: 15th
Team Championship Point Standings: 17th

Notes of Interest:

Fitting In: After spending the past several seasons as a full-time team in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, AM Racing will embark on its inaugural journey in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season with driver Brett Moffitt for the entire 33-race tour continuing with Saturday afternoon’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

The race signifies the eighth race of the second half of the 2023 Xfinity Series season for the Statesville, N.C.-based organization.

Future Focused: With AM’s inaugural Xfinity journey set to continue in the Sunflower State, the team has chosen veteran driver Brett Moffitt to lead the team’s campaign from the driver’s seat aboard the No. 25 Ford Mustang.

Moffitt, a native of Grimes, Iowa, hails numerous starts across all three of NASCAR’s National Series, including the 2018 Truck Series championship with Hattori Racing Enterprises.

Moffitt, 30, arrived on the scene at AM Racing after a stint at Our Motorsports.

Partner Intel: The Statesville, N.C.-based team welcomes The Rasmussen Group as a co-primary partner for Saturday afternoon’s race.

The Rasmussen Group is an Iowa-based company with over a century of construction experience and expertise. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the Rasmussen Group represents a variety of multi-faceted construction companies. With companies specializing in bridge construction, marine contracts, concrete and asphalt supply, paving, heavy hauling, dump trucks, crane operations, and fabricating steel, the Rasmussen Group can provide excellent, complete customer service with one phone call.

The Rasmussen Group’s Concrete Supply will be the anchor co-primary partner this weekend.

Right At Home: Joining Concrete Supply as a co-primary partner for the Kansas Lottery 300 is Destiny Homes.

At Destiny Homes, there is no shortage of dedicated and experienced professionals ready to serve the families who put their trust in them to build a new home. The hard-working staff at Destiny Homes has over 150 years of combined experience in helping families achieve homeownership.

Destiny Homes’ passion is that every essential worker in the current economy has the opportunity to own a new home. It goes beyond sticks and bricks; it’s about helping customers achieve homeownership which in turn keeps the economy strong.

Destiny Homes is proud of their focused effort in helping families achieve affordable homeownership and how that process strengthens the communities where we live, work and play.

AM Minute: Last weekend was another busy summer weekend for AM Racing.

In addition to the NASCAR Xfinity Series team being in action at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the ARCA Menards Series, was competing in their 16th race of the season from the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

Driver Christian Rose banked his ninth top-10 finish of the 2023 season with a competitive seventh-place finish in the Southern Illinois 100 on Sunday, September 3, 2023.

This weekend, the ARCA Menards Series joins the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas Speedway for their final intermediate race of the 2023 season.

Thanks For Your Support: With more than 78 percent of the 2023 season complete, AM Racing and Brett Moffitt would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AIRBOX Air Purifier, CForce Bottling Company, Flying Circle, Kreuz Market, Lane Frost Brand, Mechanix Wear and Mobil 1.

Honoring Cancer Heroes: Moffitt will have David L’Heureux riding with him Saturday afternoon in Kansas through the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation “Honor a Cancer Hero” fundraiser with The NASCAR Foundation.

L’Heureux of Browns Mills, N.J., has been battling squamous cell carcinoma for the past five years and recently completed six weeks of proton radiation in hopes of becoming cancer-free.

Jennifer Haas recently nominated him to ride along with Moffitt for the 26th Xfinity Series race of the season.

Catch Him On The Dial: Before Brett Moffitt straps into his No. 25 Concrete Supply | Destiny Homes Ford Mustang on Saturday, the AM Racing driver will be featured on “The Frontstretch” on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 90 with host Pat Patterson on Saturday morning, September 9, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Brett Moffitt Xfinity Series Kansas Speedway Stats: Saturday afternoon’s Kansas Lottery 300 will mark Moffitt’s fifth Xfinity Series start at the Midwest 1.5-mile speedway.

Moffitt is aiming for his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway since the 2020 Xfinity Series season.

In his previous four efforts, he has delivered three top-10 finishes. His track-best result occurred during the 2021 Kansas Lottery 300 when Moffitt steered to a sixth-place finish after starting 16th for Our Motorsports.

In addition to Xfinity, Moffitt also has three NASCAR Cup Series and seven NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series starts, including a popular 2020 Truck Series win at Kansas.

Brett Moffitt Xfinity Series Speedway Stats: At NASCAR Xfinity Series tracks classified as a speedway, Moffitt has made 53 starts throughout his career, earning one pole and 17 top-10 finishes. He also holds an average finishing position of 15.7.

Brett Moffitt NASCAR Xfinity Series Career Stats: In 109 career Xfinity Series starts, Moffitt has earned three top-five and 30 top-10 finishes, including a second-place outing at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2021. During that tenure, he also holds an average finishing position of 17.6.

He earned a career-best Xfinity Series qualifying effort of fourth earlier this year at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway with AM Racing.

In addition to 109 Xfinity Series starts, he has achieved 45 NASCAR Cup Series and 92 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series starts to his credit.

Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway, Brett Moffitt and the AM Racing team chased their seventh top-10 finish of the season.

Following practice, Moffitt and the No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford Mustang qualified 18th in the 38-car field, and despite the team’s best effort, they struggled with the balance of their race car and finished 25th at the track dubbed Too Tough To Tame.

In 25 races this season, Moffit has delivered one top-five, seven top-10s, 14 top-15s, 17 top-20s and an average finish of 17.0.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Joe Williams is Brett Moffit’s crew chief.

He will be crew chief for his 124th NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday afternoon and his fifth race at Kansas Speedway.

In his previous 123 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, he has collected one win (Auto Club Speedway | February 2022), eight top-five and 28 top-10 finishes.

Follow on Social Media: For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.

For more on Brett Moffitt, please visit BrettMoffitt.com, like his Facebook page (Brett Moffitt Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@brett_moffitt_racing) and Twitter (@brett_moffitt).

Brett Moffitt Quoteboard:

On Kansas Speedway: “Overall, Kansas Speedway has been a good track for me, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to showcase that with my AM Racing team on Saturday afternoon.

“This weekend is our last opportunity to make it into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, and believe me, we are not going down without a fight.

“I know that we are coming to Kansas prepared to the best of our ability and hoping to deliver in a big way on Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve won at Kansas Speedway before, and I’m eager to do it again and bring AM Racing home their first career win!

“I cannot thank my longtime partners, The Rasmussen Group, Concrete Supply and Destiny Homes, for their support of partnering with us this weekend. The car looks great, and I am ready to get after it.”

On 2023 Season: “We are quickly approaching the homestretch of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and I feel we have much to be proud of. Our team has strengthened as the season has marched on, and I believe the results have showcased that.

“We have been on a little bit of a roller coaster, but that will end soon. We have some excellent tracks coming up for our AM Racing team. Despite our tough finish at Darlington, we are focused as ever and ready to go to Kansas and put our team back in the top-10.

“With the Playoffs on deck starting next weekend at Bristol, Kansas, is our one shot to throw a Hail Mary and take up one of the coveted 12 spots and bring some attention to our AM Racing team.”

Race Information:

The Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps | 300 miles) is the 26th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2023 schedule. Practice begins on Saturday, September 9, from 10:05 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Qualifying immediately follows at 10:35 a.m. The 38-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:00 p.m. with live coverage on NBC, the Motor Racing Network (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are Eastern.

About AM Racing:

AM Racing is a multi-tiered, multi-faceted Motorsports program headquartered in Statesville, N.C.

Established in December 2015, AM Racing is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance.

The family-owned team will compete in the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and various Dirt Modified events in its seventh year of competition.

The team has named Brett Moffitt, Christian Rose and Austin Wayne Self as their primary drivers for the 2023 Xfinity, ARCA Menards Series and Dirt Modified seasons respectively.

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