· Three Chevrolet drivers qualified their Camaro ZL1’s into the top-10, led by Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team in the third position. This marks Elliott’s fifth top-10 start at Pocono Raceway; and his 12th top-10 start of 2022.
· Qualifying fourth in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, this will be Larson’s 15th top-10 start of 2022.
· Rounding out the Team Chevy top-10 starting lineup in the ninth position, this is Suarez and the No. 99 CommScope Camaro ZL1 team’s seventh top-10 start of 2022.
· USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 24, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.
Zane Smith captured the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship with a 13th-place finish at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 23.
The 23-year-old Smith from Huntington Beach, California, entered Saturday’s event at Pocono with a 58-point advantage over both John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith prior to the event. His weekend started on a high note after he was awarded the pole position when rain washed out Friday’s qualifying session, which forced NASCAR to establish the starting lineup by the rulebook.
During the main event, however, Smith did not lead a lap during the first stage which was comprised of 15 laps. Nonetheless, Smith, who only needed two recorded points to capture the regular season title, accomplished his task with a sixth-place run in the first stage. For the remainder of the event, he earned more stage points after finishing eighth in the second stage which was also comprised of 15 laps.
After pitting prior to the final stage, Smith, who was mired in the second half of the leaderboard, encountered throttle issues as he made multiple pit stops with less than 20 laps remaining to address the issue. Restarting near the end of the lead lap for a 14-lap dash to the finish, he managed to carve his way back to 13th place when the checkered flag flew, which was enough for him to wrap up the regular-season title by 40 points over Pocono race winner, Chandler Smith, and 45 points over third-place finisher Nemechek.
With his accomplishment, Zane Smith became the sixth different competitor to win a Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship, joining a list that includes Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill and John Hunter Nemechek.
By capturing this year’s regular-season title, Smith, who accumulated 616 points throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch along with 22 Playoff points and seven stage victories, was also awarded an additional 15 Playoff points for winning his first regular-season title. He now enters the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs as one of 10 competitors who will embark on a seven-race stretch to battle for the 2022 Truck Series title, beginning next weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and with a 15-point advantage over Chandler Smith.
“A huge props to [Front Row Motorsports] and all our sponsors involved throughout this regular season,” Smith said on FOX. “Man, today was a major struggle. Started out with the green flag to pretty much the end of Stage 2, our throttle was ticking. Everything that we were doing wasn’t fixing it, so a little worried there at times because I knew that I just had to have a couple points, and you see [Chandler Smith] up there. Long, long day. Once we did get it right, [I] still fought a really, really tight truck. There’s no giving up. This race is just so short to try to get your truck right, but I’m glad we’re on to the Playoffs and ready to get this [Playoff] season started.”
Smith is campaigning in his third full-time season in the Truck Series, but the first with Front Row Motorsports following a two-year run at GMS Racing. He began his first event with FRM on a high note by winning the 2022 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February, which gave him the regular-season points lead and a guaranteed spot in the 2022 Truck Playoffs. Despite finishing in the runner-up spot during the following scheduled event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, Smith’s result was stripped due to his truck failing post-race inspection, where he lost the points lead. He rebounded by winning at Circuit of the Americas in March and at Kansas Speedway in May. Following a strong runner-up result at Nashville Superspeedway in June, Smith reassumed the points lead, which he never relinquished. To go along with his three regular-season victories, Smith has finished in the top 10 in all but three of the 16 regular-season events.
Through 62 career starts in the Truck Series, Smith has achieved six victories, a pole, 20 top-five results, 41 top-10 results, 854 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.9. He has also finished in the runner-up spot in the final standings during the previous two seasons.
Zane Smith’s pursuit for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship commences next Friday, July 29, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The event is scheduled to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.
Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST
START: 8TH FINISH: 17TH POINTS: 9TH
Quote: “First and foremost, I’ve got to say thank you to everyone that supports us – Champion Power Equipment, Maury Gallagher, Mike Beam, Ron Booth, everyone at GMS Fabrication; they built a brand new truck for here, but we weren’t able to see what it could do. Everything that happened today was on us, we’re going to take it back and learn from it, and we’re not going to get down. The good thing about this regular season is that it’s over, and we made it to the [postseason]. We’ve learned a lot this year, and are getting transitioned again. Jeff Hensley did a great job on top of the box battling through some of this stuff that was self-inflicted. I’m frustrated now, but we’re not going to get down, we’re going to work hard and be ready for IRP.”
Jack Wood, No. 24 Chevrolet Military Appreciation Chevrolet Silverado RST
START: 25TH FINISH: 35TH POINTS: 25TH
Quote: “Just another unfortunate end to our day, man I hate it for my No. 24 Chevrolet Military Appreciation team. This season has been tough on everyone, but I know we will be able to turn it around eventually. All we can do is regroup for next weekend’s race at IRP.”
ABOUT GMS RACING:
GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series 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 Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.
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NEWTON, Iowa (Saturday, July 23, 2022) – Hunter McElrea earned his second consecutive Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory Saturday, elevated to first place at Iowa Speedway after a post-race penalty was levied on Linus Lundqvist.
Series points leader Lundqvist took the checkered flag first in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing car, 3.4258 seconds ahead of McElrea in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car on the .894-mile oval. But INDYCAR officials determined Lundqvist made avoidable contact with Matthew Brabham in a duel for the lead with five laps to go, damaging Brabham’s front wing.
Lundqvist was penalized three spots, dropping to fourth in the final results. That penalty gave Andretti Autosport a sweep of the top three spots. with pole sitter McElrea the winner, fellow rookie Christian Rasmussen second in the No. 28 Road to Indy/Stellrecht car and Brabham third in the No. 83 Andretti Autosport entry.
“Not the way I want to get it, obviously,” McElrea said. “I think, to be honest, Matt deserved that. But I’ll take it. Back to back. You’ll take what you can get in this game.”
McElrea’s victory in the first oval race of the Indy Lights season was the 250th across all series for Andretti Autosport.
The flashpoint of the 75-lap race took place on Lap 71. Leader Lundqvist lost momentum in Turn 1, and Brabham pounced by steering to the outside lane, looking to pass as they drove nearly side by side entering Turn 2. Lundqvist moved up to the high line before he was clear of Brabham, making contact with and damaging Brabham’s front wing. Brabham also made right-side contact with the SAFER Barrier exiting Turn 2 while trying to avoid contact with Lundqvist.
“It was a close fight,” Lundqvist said. “I got a little bit loose through (Turn) 1, and I saw that he was behind me. But I got a ‘clear’ from my spotter, so I switched my lane, and unfortunately I think my rear just touched his front nose. It’s inch-perfect on ovals, and I put my trust in the spotter. Sorry to Matt for the incident.”
Said Brabham: “My perspective is that I got drove into the wall. It looked like he was struggling coming off that corner, and I took the high line and he took the low line. It looked like he just committed to going low and trying to block for the next corner. I said, ‘If you’re going to give me the top, I’ll take the top.’ There was overlap, and we’re still side by side, and I felt like he figured out, ‘Oh, maybe he doesn’t want to give me the top,’ and came over.
“He said his spotter cleared him. But we still have mirrors, at the end of the day. He knew I was there because he was giving me the lane at first.”
Brabham hung on to second place on track in his damaged car until the final lap, when teammates McElrea and Rasmussen passed him.
McElrea led the first 50 laps from pole, resisting a move by Lundqvist for the lead on Lap 35. But Lundqvist passed McElrea for the lead on the only restart of the race, on Lap 50. McElrea’s car drifted toward the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4 as the field headed for the green flag on the restart, giving Lundqvist a huge opening to exploit.
“That restart, I don’t know what I did,” McElrea said. “I’ll have to look back, look at the footage and stuff. Really not good enough to get up in the marbles like that.”
Despite losing what would have been his fifth victory of 2022 to the penalty, Lundqvist still maintains a sizable lead in the series standings with five races remaining this season. He is 77 points ahead of McElrea, who leapfrogged teammates Sting Ray Robb and Brabham to jump from fourth to second in the championship.
Indy Lights drivers and teams return to action Sunday, Aug. 7 at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Tennessee.
About Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Celebrating 35 years, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires develops drivers and teams to compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Past champions include INDYCAR SERIES champions Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Paul Tracy and Cristiano da Matta. In 2021, 20 drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES were Indy Lights graduates, including rising stars and race winners Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. The 2022 season consists of 14 races in the United States. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, please visit www.indylights.com. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com.
About Cooper Tire
Cooper Tire, a subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT), specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.
NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO RACEWAY M&M’S FAN APPRECIATION 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 23, 2022
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying at Pocono Raceway. Press Conference Transcript:
YOU ARE GOING TO RUN THE SRX RACE TONIGHT AT SHARON SPEEDWAY, ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THAT?
“I am looking forward to it. Nashville last year for me is going to be hard to top. I feel like that is about as cool as it gets as far as going and doing one of their races and the significance of that, the city, racing against my dad, all of that was cool. Tonight I think will be a lot of fun. I am looking forward to being a part of the event. Hopefully, it is a good show. I am excited to watch Ryan (Blaney) and Dave (Blaney) race too. That is going to be really neat and I am looking forward to that.”
AFTER WINNING IN ATLANTA YOU SAID YOU WERE TRYING TO FOCUS ON GETTING BETTER ON THE TRACKS YOU HADN’T BEEN GOOD AT, LIKE LOUDON AND POCONO. WHAT IS THE OPTIMISM LEVEL THIS WEEKEND SEEING HOW YOU IMPROVED LAST WEEK AT LOUDON?
“I was surprised that we ran as good as we did last week. I felt like I probably had a car that was capable of running that well in the past, I just think I do a poor job at that place. It was nice. We qualified better than I thought we were going to, even after that second round when I didn’t think my lap was all that good. Then we ended up being second and I was surprised by that. It felt like when the race started we were kind of bleeding a little bit. We had a loose wheel and had to come back in and fix that. I was able to get back up through the field and at that point, I thought we had helped the car and gotten into a favorable position. I was proud of that effort and would like to continue to do more of that this weekend.
I think we can go and be competitive. We were good here once. I think it was my rookie year. We were fast and had an opportunity there and I kind of threw that one away too. Hopefully, we can get back in that direction. I think it is there, we just have to extract it. This has been a difficult place for me.”
BEFORE YOUR FIRST WIN YOU WERE REALLY HARD ON YOURSELF. THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS YOU HAVE BEEN PRETTY HARD ON YOURSELF. WHERE DOES THE MINDSET COME FROM OF HOLDING YOURSELF TO SUCH A HIGH STANDARD?
“I am not hard on myself, I am just honest about the facts of the matter and what happened. There is no one that knows what goes on in the event more than myself and my team. Not y’all, not anyone watching at home. I appreciate the kind words here and there but the reality is what it was and I stated that. I made too many mistakes and felt like I took a chance to win away. That is really as simple as that. I have tried to state that when I feel that way, especially when it is in my hands.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR OPINION ON THE NEXT GEN CAR? YOU HAVE HAD TIME WITH IT NOW AND ARE LEADING THE POINTS. HOW HAS IT BEEN FOR YOU THIS SEASON? “Honestly I don’t really have much of an opinion. I don’t make the rules. My job is to make whatever it is go as fast as possible and go perform at a high level. Outside of that, I just have gotten to the point where it is someone else that makes those decisions and I will go on down the road. I don’t have much of one, honestly, not in a negative light, I just don’t. For me, I want to go do a good job and perform to my best and go and try to make my team better and get better every week. That opportunity is going to be there whether you are driving what we have now, what we had last year or whatever they decide to change to in a couple of years or whatever. I don’t think the racing is much different from the outside looking in. It has just been a lot of new obstacles for the teams to overcome.”
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 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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 – Kyle Busch NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
LONG POND, Pa. (July 23, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Pocono Raceway race on Saturday:
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about the success your Truck Series program has had at Pocono?
“Thanks. The guys have certainly worked hard and done a great job the last few years. I remember coming here the first time – I think we had Kasey Kahne and we finished second to (Kevin) Harvick. And, then we come here the next year and I think we finished second again to KHI. The press was on to get there at Pocono and certainly they’ve done that. Nice to continue the strong effort here. Wasn’t sure that John Hunter (Nemechek) was going to make it up that far so good to see the 51 (Corey Heim) and the 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) get finishes that were solid, and of course Chandler (Smith) be able to get to victory lane and win for us today in his Toyota Tundra. A good day.”
David Wilson indicated that he met with you at New Hampshire. What were your takeaways from the meeting with him and did it change any of your feelings?
“We’re all working as hard as we can obviously, and the goal hasn’t changed. And, that goal is for me to be able to continue at Joe Gibbs Racing with Toyota and have that chance to continue to race for race wins and race for championships. That’s what everybody is striving for. That’s the first goal and we’ll continue to try to push for that.”
How does the Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Series program factor into your discussions in remaining at Joe Gibbs Racing?
“It doesn’t factor into discussions with Joe Gibbs Racing. It does factor in to discussions obviously with Toyota. Definitely, that weighs on me a lot. We’ve got 50-something employees at Kyle Busch Motorsports on the Truck Series team and in the chassis shop, in the body shop, in the fab shop – everywhere. So, it’s important for me to continue to keep all of them in mind and all of their families and stuff to make sure that we get something done that keeps all of that going. Obviously, again, it’s a topic point of mine to keep that as much as we can and to keep that place flourishing.”
What is your outlook for Kyle Busch Motorsports during the Truck Series playoffs?
“I love Chandler (Smith) getting another win here and getting himself some more bonus points getting into the Playoffs. I think that’s a really good chance for us, and I feel like the 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) Truck is as well too. Obviously, the 51 with Corey (Heim) has gotten a win there and is not racing full-time so it doesn’t have that opportunity. I feel like we’ve got two really strong horses and they’ve done a super job. John Hunter (Nemechek) and Erik (Phillips, crew chief), Danny (Stockman, crew chief) and Chandler (Smith) – they’re both championship caliber teams and drivers and crew chiefs and everybody is ready to go. That was a brand-new truck here today for Chandler. He did a nice job with it and was able to score the win. So, no reason why I don’t feel like our guys should really strive and try to hit all their marks and be perfect here in the remaining races for their Playoffs and championship hopes.”
How have you seen Chandler Smith grow in the last year and a half on and off the track?
“He’s done a good job. He’s really come a long way. He’s still young. I remember my young days. He is fiery. He likes to say stuff sometimes out of turn, which I’ve been there, I’ve done that and hell I probably did it yesterday. But he’s been able to get the job done this year and that’s just the growth relationship between he and Danny (Stockman) and being comfortable with these trucks. They’re getting the most out of it right now so that’s exciting to see. Hell, he outdrove me and beat me at Vegas. Him and John Hunter (Nemechek) have had their quirks a little bit through the year, but I feel like they’re all on the same team, same goal, want an opportunity to go out there and win a championship for KBM. So, may the best man win.”
Are you happy with how the contract talks are progressing on the Cup Series side?
“I mean, you’d like to be done obviously. So, certainly that would be key but obviously you’ve got to just kind of weigh out everything that’s in front of you and see what the best thing is not only for myself in Kyle, for my family and of course too, the KBM family.”
What kind of a distraction have the contract talks been? Does it all go away when you put your helmet on or does some of that linger once you’re behind the wheel?
“No, I mean when you’re behind the wheel and you’re racing you’re focused on that task and what that is. So, you try to put that best foot forward and that chance to be able to go out there and score wins. The best thing right now is to go out there and show everybody that you can still do it, that you can still win, that you can still be competitive. Hell, if it was four weeks ago, we were talking about being second in points and chasing after a regular season championship. We went cold and somebody else standing over there got hot. We’ve fallen far away from that obviously right now, but we still want to make ourselves as high as we can in points. Get those reset points from the standings aspect and be able to go chase for a championship.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 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 43 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 the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
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.
Following Friday’s inclement weather, Hailie Deegan would start 19th by virtue of the rulebook. The No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150 fell to 22nd on the initial start, fighting tightness in the corners. A stop-and-go first stage due to several cautions would see Deegan finish 20th. A miscommunication on the next pitstop would cost the 21-year-old a few more positions, falling to 27th for the start of Stage 2. A strategy call to stay out during green flag pit stops on lap 27 gave Deegan favorable track position, reaching a race-high 12th place. Unfortunately, bad luck would strike in the final stage as Deegan would suffer a blown right front tire on Lap 45, halting her momentum and rendering her to the back of the pack. The damage sustained by the flat would end her afternoon, limping home to a 33rd place finish at Pocono Raceway.
Tanner Gray started 18th per the rulebook after qualifying was cancelled due to rain on Friday afternoon. In the caution-filled first stage, the Ford driver made his way forward to ninth before falling back to 11th and finishing the stage there. The No. 15 stayed out at the stage break and short-pitted the second stage on lap 27 for four tires and trackbar adjustments. After ending Stage 2 in 32nd, Gray restarted the final stage in eighth and maintained inside the top-10 for the duration of the final stage. The finish was his first top-10 since Charlotte in May.
Ryan Preece fired off 22nd for the CRC Brakleen 150 and methodically worked his way to 12th with the few green flag laps that were completed in Stage 1. With eight laps to go in Stage 2, the No. 17 RaceChoice Ford was into the top-five within striking distance of the leaders. On lap 27, Chad Johnston called the truck down pit road for service to short pit the stage break and they would take 25th in Stage 2 as a result. Preece restarted second for the final stage and took the lead on the start, but a yellow soon after brought the field back together and the veteran driver couldn’t snag the lead on the next restart. Preece battled hard to return to the lead, but passing proved too difficult and he settled for a second-place effort.
Next event: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
SMITH CLAIMS VICTORY AT POCONO’S TRICKY TRIANGLE Seven Tundras Poised for Truck Series Playoffs to Chase 2022 Championship
LONG POND, Pa. (July 23, 2022) – Chandler Smith claimed his second victory of the 2022 season in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Pocono Raceway. Smith held off a hard-charging Ryan Preece in the closing laps to claim the win on the triangular Pennsylvania track. The race also marked the end of the regular season for the NCWTS and a total of seven Tundra drivers are poised amongst the 10 total drivers who will compete for this year’s championship – Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski and Matt Crafton. The Tundra team of ThorSport Racing also positioned all four of their trucks within the Playoffs.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pocono Raceway Race 16 of 23 – 60 Laps, 150 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, CHANDLER SMITH 2nd, Ryan Preece* 3rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 4th, COREY HEIM 5th, Carson Hocevar* 7th, TY MAJESKI 8th, CHRISTIAN ECKES 11th, CHASE PURDY 14th, STEWART FRIESEN 15th, MATT CRAFTON 16th, TYLER ANKRUM 19th, BEN RHODES 25th, KADEN HONEYCUTT 28th, TIMMY HILL 30th, TYLER HILL 34th, JOSH REAUME 36th, TODD BODINE *non-Toyota driver
How were you able to hold off Ryan Preece in the closing laps to get the victory?
“God is good. It’s God’s timing. We’ve been going through a bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we need to start shining, we start shining. I can’t thank everyone enough. This ChargeMe Toyota was fast today. It was really good. We were a little tight. Had some trouble getting through the gears. Sorry to the 51 (Corey Heim) team, but also thank you to the 51 team. This win is as much mine as it is yours. Just can’t thank the Good Lord enough. I’m about to have a baby boy soon and this is for you when you look back at this.”
How does this set you up for the postseason?
“Big because we didn’t have a lot of points going into the Playoffs and today we got one stage win and won the race so I think we’ll be looking pretty sharp going into IRP.”
What does this win mean to set your team up for the start of the Playoffs?
“This is awesome. I got Safelite a win earlier this year in Vegas and now I got ChargeMe a win. Now I have to get iBUYPOWER a win and I think they’re on the truck in Talladega. Really excited. We had a really fast ChargeMe Toyota Tundra today. Danny (Stockman, crew chief) did a phenomenal job. I knew we were going to be good today, I knew what we had coming here. Without practice, I did wish we would have had practice, but the Good Lord plays out in funny ways sometimes.”
What were the last few laps like having to play defense?
“It was really hard because I was losing fuel pressure down the straightaway and it would sputter and he (Ryan Preece) would get a huge run and I would have to block bottom, top, bottom, top every two seconds and every minute. I had my work cut out for me today to say the least.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Yahoo Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 3rd
How tough was the battle in the closing laps with your teammate Corey Heim and what did you tell him post-race?
“Just talked about our race and what went on with his truck and my truck and things like that. Overall, a solid day for our Yahoo Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Thank you to Yahoo, thank you to Toyota, TRD, Kyle (Busch, team owner) and everybody at KBM. All my crew guys put a lot of work into it. We tried and we gave it a shot. Just didn’t have track position all day and it ended up hurting us at the end. Overall, solid third place after driving back through the field and there weren’t many who could do that so proud of the guys, proud of the truck and it’s time to peak and go win a championship.”
What was the conversation with John Hunter Nemechek post-race about the late-race battle for a podium position?
“I feel like we caught up to him (John Hunter Nemechek) so fast and Chandler (Smith) and Ryan (Preece) were racing their tails off. Our Tundra TRD Pro was so good today and all the guys back at the shop, at KBM, did such a great job. Just needed a little bit more there at the end. I feel like if we had track position, we were probably the best truck, but that’s part of it. We’re going to get them next time.”
TY MAJESKI, No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
How was your day and how are you positioned to race in the Playoffs?
“I’m ready. We just unloaded way too much on the ground and had to come in and put packers in it. Just balance was off. Just a good day. This is what I feel like is a Playoff caliber day. When you fight like that and you start off so bad and pit and get behind on track position, especially when you’re at Pocono. To come back and recover with a solid top-10, these need to be our bad days in the Playoffs. Hopefully we can clean some of this up and be better for IRP, Richmond and Kansas.”
CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 98 Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How much are you looking forward to getting the Playoffs started?
“I’m looking forward to it for sure. Everyone at ThorSport Racing is working really hard. We struggled today still and we’ve always struggled here as a company, but me and Ty (Majeski) ran okay and we got Matt (Crafton) in the Playoffs and that was the biggest thing. All four trucks into the Playoffs is huge. Can’t thank everybody enough, Curb Records, Duke and Rhonda (Thorson, team owners), Toyota Racing and now we get to go race for a championship so just really looking forward to it.”
STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
How will you approach the Playoffs?
“Just have to go out and try to win them, that’s all we can do. That’s what we tried to do today, but we had a pit road penalty. Just a bummer. Our Halmar Tundra TRD Pro was good, it wasn’t great. I feel like we could have ran top-five today pretty easily. After the penalty, we just got caught in the back and can’t really do much with dirty air. The race is pretty short, I feel like the ARCA race should be 60 laps and this race should be 80 with the way our day went. If we were leading, I would have been happy with 60. Proud of our guys, another fast truck. We ran in the top-five for the first two stages. Then I saw the tire roll out in front of the truck and I saw our guy dove to get it and corralled it and almost fell over the wall and his toe touched the ground. I hoped nobody saw it, but apparently not.”
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 15th
What needs to change with your team’s execution before the Playoffs start to ensure you have a shot at another championship?
“These guys did everything they were supposed to do, they work their tails off at TRD and at the simulator just trying to get things working on getting our setups better. We had a very good truck and we were good in the short run and we had a way better truck than where we finished. But you need to be aggressive on these restarts and I couldn’t put myself in any bad situations and you have to put yourself in bad situations on restarts to be able to get the spots so I would have to wait for everything to settle down and then pass people instead of just being a wild man on restarts. So we just had to keep the 19 (Derek Kraus) in grasp right there and hopefully not get a new winner. These guys worked really hard.”
What can you do different in the Playoff races?
“Take the gloves off and do whatever it takes. I bring all my friends in the yellow firesuits and don’t care about the rest.”
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 19th
How do you change how things have been going for your team as you enter the Playoffs?
“Just have to be faster. We were absolutely terrible today, I don’t know why. I think we were on the splitter all day and lack of practice just compounded some of the other issues we were fighting. Overall, my Toyota Tundra team just needs to regroup and refocus and know that everything resets and there is no reason to keep having any issues here. We just need speed. Maybe we can borrow some from our teammates, they were pretty fast today. For ThorSport Racing, all four trucks in the championship hunt is pretty special. Especially great with the competition in the Truck Series the last few years. The Truck Series is alive and well and strong. I don’t know about Pocono thought, I think I would rather do the championship or the regular season championship at a short track or something, maybe Martinsville. That would be more my style.”
TODD BODINE, No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
After being taken out of the race early due to an accident, how do you feel about your 800th and final NASCAR start?
“That’s definitely not how we wanted this to go. I’ve been so blessed to do what I love to do 800 times. Made so many good friends and have so many great people involved in my life, it’s a pretty blessed life to have. That’s racing. I’ve been here before, I’ve been wrecked before. It’s part of the game. Maybe I’ll have to make it 801. Thanks to Chris Larson and Stewart Friesen for letting me do this and having this much fun. Marcus Lemonis and Camping World – nobody thought he would step up and he did, thank you. Thank you to all the fans that have supported me all these years. It’s truly meant the world to me and I appreciate it. I’ll see you on TV and I’ll be having fun on TV.”
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Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 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 the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pocono Post Race | Saturday, July 23, 2022
Zane Smith secured the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship Saturday afternoon. The regular-season title comes with 15 bonus points heading into the Truck Series playoffs which begin next week at Indianapolis.
ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Fr8Auctions.com #BraveLikeWyatt Ford F-150
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PLAYOFFS, WHAT DO YOU CARRY WITH YOU? “Honestly, I just have to give huge props to FRM and all our sponsors throughout the regular season. The team has brought me some really fast Ford’s this year. Today was a major struggle though. We started out from the green flag to pretty much the end of Stage 2, our throttle was sticking and everything we were doing wasn’t fixing it. I was a little worried there at times because I knew that I just had to have a couple of points and then you see the 18 up there as well. A long, long day once we did get it right we still fought a really tight truck. But there is no giving up. This race is just so short to try to get your truck right. I am glad we are on to the playoffs and ready to get that started.”
WHAT DOES THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE MEAN TO YOU, AND HOW IMPORTANT ARE THOSE 15 BONUS POINTS? “Yeah, those points are huge. We had that circled at the very beginning of the year. Honestly, for most of it, it was such a tight battle between the six of us. We kept at it and just put together four solid races and I feel like that is what got us into this big points buffer. Fortunately, we had that today because we obviously needed it. I am happy to have that and move on with those extra points to better our odds in the playoffs.”
CAN YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON WHAT IT WAS THAT CLICKED FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO BE ABLE TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP? “I think just communication. We started out our year as best as we possibly could at Daytona. From there on we have shown speed each and every weekend. I think this is like our second worst finish all year. That is still pretty good. I am disappointed in our new truck that we brought here today. We had higher hopes for it than that and it just wasn’t quite there. But we know we have some rockets back at the shop, so we will bring those into the playoffs.”
LOOKING AT THE PLAYOFF RACES, DO ANY STAND OUT TO YOU? “All of them. I feel like Kansas is probably a big one for us to look at. That one showed what we are really capable of. We had a really fast Ford there. I don’t know. I am trying not to get too excited for it because a lot of times you do that and then you go there and you suck. I am trying to approach it just like we did earlier in the year. But I feel like that will definitely be a good one for us.”
After losing the lead to Ryan Preece with less than 20 laps remaining, Chandler Smith executed a restart with 14 laps remaining and a draft from teammate Corey Heim to his advantage as he reassumed the lead and fended off Preece to win the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 23.
The 20-year-old Smith from Talking Rock, Georgia, led three times for a race-high 49 of 60-scheduled laps as he capped off the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch with his second victory of the season and added momentum in his pursuit for his first NASCAR national touring series championship.
With on-track qualifying that was set for Friday canceled due to rain, the starting lineup was determined through a qualifying metric from NASCAR’s rulebook. As a result, Zane Smith, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position while Chandler Smith joined Smith on the front row.
Prior to the event, Josh Reaume dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Zane Smith and Chandler Smith dueled for the top spot entering the first turn as Chandler Smith used the inside lane to rocket his No. 18 Charge Me Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the lead. Through the Long Pond straightaway, Zane Smith settled in the runner-up spot behind Chandler Smith while Carson Hocevar was in third ahead of Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, Derek Kraus, John Hunter Nemechek and Ty Majeski.
Just as Zane Smith started to challenge Chandler Smith for the lead, the first caution flew when rookie Jack Wood got loose entering the second turn and spun his No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST, though he was dodged by the oncoming field.
As the event restarted on the fourth lap, the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn as Chandler Smith retained the lead ahead of Zane Smith’s No. 38 Fr8 Auctions Ford F-150 while Hocevar and Eckes battled for third ahead of Kraus, Friesen and Nemechek.
Two laps later, the caution returned when Dean Thompson spun his No. 40 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST in Turn 1. During the caution period, some like Ty Majeski and Grant Enfinger, who was encountering radio issues to his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RSt, pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Chandler Smith took off with the lead on the outside lane while Eckes rocketed his No. 98 Cub Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into the runner-up spot. Behind, Hocevar fended off Nemechek for third place before Zane Smith and Friesen took Nemechek three-wide past the Tunnel Curve for spots in the top five.
As the on-track battles continued through the frontstretch and around the Tricky Triangle, the caution returned during the following lap when Todd Bodine, who was making his 800th NASCAR national touring series career start, got pinched in between Hailie Deegan and Blaine Perkins entering the first turn. The contact sent Bodine’s No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro around and into the outside wall as Jack Wood and Tyler Hill piled into Bodine’s Toyota. The wreck and damage were enough to conclude Bodine’s historic NASCAR career in the garage.
The wreck involving Bodine was enough for the first stage scheduled for Lap 15 to conclude under caution as Chandler Smith captured his second stage victory of the season. Eckes settled in second followed by Hocevar, Friesen, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith, Nemechek, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton and rookie Corey Heim. With his sixth-place result, Zane Smith clinched the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season championship.
Under the stage break, some led by Kraus and Zane Smith pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 18 as Chandler Smith and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Smith retained the lead on the outside lane followed by Eckes and Friesen while Hocevar was being overtaken by Heim, Ankrum, Crafton, Ryan Preece, Matt DiBenedetto and Nemechek, all of whom were running on the outside lane through the Pocono turns.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Chandler Smith was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Eckes followed by Friesen, Heim and Ankrum while Preece, Crafton, DiBenedetto, Nemechek and Hocevar were in the top 10. Derek Kraus was back in 11th ahead of Tanner Gray, Majeski, Jesse Little and Grant Enfinger while Colby Howard, Austin Hill, Timmy Hill, Chase Purdy and Blaine Perkins were in the top 20. Meanwhile, names like Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes and Hailie Deegan were mired outside of the top 20.
By Lap 25, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Eckes. Meanwhile, Heim moved his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into third place while Friesen and Preece were scored in the top five. Crafton and Enfinger, both of whom occupied the final two spots to the Playoffs, were in seventh and 19th while Ankrum and Kraus, the first two competitors scored outside of the top-10 cutline, were in sixth and 11th.
A few laps later, names like Heim, Friesen, Preece, Hocevar, Kraus, Austin Hill, DiBenedetto and Tanner Gray pitted under green. By Lap 28, Chandler Smith surrendered the lead to pit for four fresh tires and fuel while Eckes cycled to the lead.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Eckes captured his first stage victory of the season. Ankrum settled in second following a side-by-side battle between Crafton and Nemechek. Majeski, Colby Howard, Chase Purdy, Zane Smith, Jesse Little and Enfinger were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, some led by Eckes pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.
With 25 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Chandler Smith and Ryan Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith retained the lead on the outside lane followed by Preece, Heim, Hocevar, Hill and Kraus as the field fanned out through the Long Pond straightaway.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Chandler Smith was leading by four-tenths of a second over Preece while Heim, Hocevar and Austin Hill retained their spots in the top five. Kraus was in sixth ahead of Nemechek, DiBenedetto, Eckes and Ankrum while Crafton and Enfinger were in 13th and 17th.
Shortly after, the battle for the lead ignited as Preece, who was dealing with a left-rear tire rub, dueled and overtook Chandler Smith for the top spot in Turn 1. Just as the battle between Preece and Smith continued, the caution returned with 18 laps remaining when Spencer Boyd spun from Turn 3 to the frontstretch as he also dropped debris on the frontstretch. During the caution period, Zane Smith pitted to fix a throttle issue along with Rhodes, who opted for fresh tires, while the rest led by Preece remained on the track.
With 14 laps remaining, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Heim pushed teammate Chandler Smith back to the lead while Preece fell back to second. Meanwhile, Hocevar overtook Heim for third place as Nemechek joined the battle followed by Austin Hill, Kraus and Majeski.
Two laps later, Kraus, who was running in seventh place, started to have smoke come out of the left-front fender of his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST as he reported a power steering failure to his truck. Despite the issue, he continued on the track and the event remained under green.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Chandler Smith continued to lead by half a second over Preece’s No. 17 RaceChoice.com Ford F-150 followed by Heim, Hocevar and Nemechek while Austin Hill, Eckes, Kraus, Majeski and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. By then, Crafton was in 13th, Zane Smith recovered to 15th ahead of Ankrum and Enfinger was back in 18th behind Colby Howard.
With five laps remaining, the top-six competitors were separated by less than two seconds as Chandler Smith remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Preece and seven-tenths of a second over teammate Heim. Behind, Hocevar, Nemechek and Hill engaged in a three-truck battle for fourth place while Kraus, Tanner Gray, DiBenedetto, Zane Smith, Crafton, Ankrum and Enfinger were in ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th, respectively.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chandler Smith was leading by two-tenths of a second over Preece. While Preece kept Smith close to his front windshield, he could not gain any late momentum through the Trick Triangle’s turns as Smith managed to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim his second checkered flag of the season by more than two-tenths of a second.
With the victory, Smith recorded his fourth Camping World Truck Series career victory, his first at Pocono and his first win since winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. He also recorded the seventh Pocono victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports. By collecting his second checkered flag of the season along with two stage victories throughout the regular season stretch, Smith and his No. 18 KBM Toyota team led by former championship-winning crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. will commence the 2022 Playoffs in second place in the Playoff standings with 2,022 behind Zane Smith, who holds 2,037 with his regular-season title.
Photo by Jeff Clemons for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“God’s good,” Smith said on FOX. “We’ve been going through a little bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we needed to shine, we started shining. I can’t thank [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. This Charge Me Toyota Tundra was fast today. It was really good. It was a little tight. [I] Had problems getting through the gears. Also, thank you to the No. 51 team. Just can’t thank the good Lord. This is awesome! [The victory is] Big because we didn’t have a lot of Playoff points going into the Playoffs and today, we got one stage win, won the race, so I think we’re gonna be looking pretty sharp going to [Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park].”
Preece, who made his seventh Truck start of the season and won in his latest series start at Nashville Superspeedway in June, settled in the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Heim and Hocevar finished in the top five. Completing the top 10 were Austin Hill, Majeski, Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray.
With their finishes of 15th and 17th, Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger secured the final two spots to the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. Kraus, who finished ninth, was the first competitor to miss the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 17 points.
“After a day like today, it’s a little bit frustrating,” Enfinger said. “First and foremost, got to say thank you to everybody that stuck behind us. Everybody at GMS Fabrication. They built a brand new truck for here. We never were able to see what it did, so everything that happened to us today was on us. We’re gonna take it back, we’re gonna learn from it. We’re not gonna get down. The good thing about this regular season is it’s over and we made it to the off-season. We’ve learned a lot throughout this year. We’re getting transitioned again. [Crew chief] Jeff Hensley did a great job on the [pit] box, battling through the stuff that was self-inflicted. I’m frustrated right now, but we’re not gonna get down. We’re gonna work hard and be ready for [Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park].”
“We had a very, very good truck,” Crafton said. “It was really good on short run. We had a way better truck than where we finished, but you need to be aggressive on the starts and I couldn’t put myself in any bad situations. You have to put yourself in bad situations on restarts to be able to get the spots. I would have to wait for everything to settle down and then, pass people, earn it instead of being a wild man on restarts. We just had to keep [Kraus] in grasp right there and hopefully, we didn’t get a new winner. [The team] worked really hard.”
“[There were] A couple races that we could’ve improved on where we were better,” Kraus said. “Overall, it’s what happened. I don’t know what happened when the power steering went away. Just parts failure. Just move on, hang our heads high and we’ll go on to the next 10 [Playoff] races.”
Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton have made the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. All 10 competitors will embark on a seven-race postseason stretch and contend for this year’s Truck title.
Derek Kraus, Tyler Ankrum, Matt DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray, Colby Howard, Timmy Hill, Chase Purdy, Lawless Alan, Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson, Jack Wood, Spencer Boyd, Kris Wright, Blaine Perkins were among the remaining competitors whom did not make the Playoffs.
There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 20 laps.
Results.
1. Chandler Smith, 49 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Ryan Preece, six laps led
3. John Hunter Nemechek
4. Corey Heim
5. Carson Hocevar
6. Austin Hill
7. Ty Majeski
8. Christian Eckes, five laps led, Stage 2 winner
9. Derek Kraus
10. Tanner Gray
11. Chase Purdy
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Zane Smith
14. Stewart Friesen
15. Matt Crafton
16. Tyler Ankrum
17. Grant Enfinger
18. Colby Howard
19. Ben Rhodes
20. Tate Folgeman
21. Max Gutierrez
22. Lawless Alan
23. Kaz Grala
24. Dean Thompson
25. Kaden Honeycutt
26. Jesse Little
27. Kris Wright
28. Timmy Hill
29. Blaine Perkins
30. Tyler Hill
31. Armani Williams, one lap down
32. Spencer Boyd, one lap down
33. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Brakes
34. Josh Reaume, five laps down
35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident
36. Todd Bodine – OUT, Accident
The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence next Friday, July 29, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, which marks the series’ return to the venue since 2011. The event is scheduled to commence at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.
