The Camping World Truck Series drivers are at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Smith’s 350 on Saturday night under the lights. The green flag waves at 8:30pm ET, with television coverage of all 150-laps, beginning at 8pm ET with radio coverage on MRN, SiriusXM, channel 90.
Chad Hackenbracht is making his fourth start of the season for Kyle Busch Motorsports and it comes at an important time for the No. 51 team. Thanks to Hackenbracht’s second-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and team owner Kyle Busch’s victory at Chicagoland, the team has closed to within 18-points of the lead in the series’ owner’s championship battle.
Hackenbracht is attempting to keep the team’s streak of five consecutive top-ten finishes going at Las Vegas Speedway. If his most recent performance is any indication, he could keep the pressure on the No. 88 ThorSport Racing team driven by series points leader, Matt Crafton.
Thanks to team owner Busch’s four wins this season, the No. 51 team is within striking distance of the owner’s crown with six races left in the season. Erik Jones also collected a runner-up finish for the team at Iowa Speedway in July. The team’s nine top-five finishes in 16 events is the best in the series for 2013.
Kyle Busch Motorsports won the Camping World Truck Series title in 2010 – its first season in the series.
Crafton continues to enjoy a comfortable, 41-point advantage in the driver point standings, with one victory at Kansas Speedway in April. The Tulare, CA driver has finished second, three times in his most recent four starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including a year ago when Nelson Piquet Jr. passed him on the last lap.
Crafton’s worst finish in the past five races is a fifth. His average finish in eight LVMS starts is 9.0 – second only to teammate Johnny Sauter, who is also the race’s 2009 winner.
Brendan Gaughan returns home to Las Vegas this weekend and is looking for his first series win since 2003, a season in which he won six seasons. One of those victories came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the veteran driver would like to get his next win at home in front of his family and friends. Gaughan has performed will at his home track through the years with two top-five, four top-ten finishes and one pole award.
If he does pick up the win this weekend, he would help keep a rare record in place. There has never been a back-to-back winner at the track. Two drivers have won twice at the track (series champions Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner), but no other driver has been able to win more than once. Winning drivers entered for this weekend include, David Starr (2002), Gaughan (2003), Johnny Sauter (2009), and Ron Hornaday (2011).
There are six consecutive different winners and 14 different winners in the track’s most recent 15 races.
Dakoda Armstrong is getting a new crew chief as Doug George is taking over for the rest of the season at Turn One Racing. Former crew chief Joe Shear Jr moves to Ken Schrader Racing where he is taking over and leading a planned effort next year for K&N Pro Series winner Cole Custer.
Sharp Gallaher Racing announced earlier this week, they are relocating their shop from Denver, NC to Moorseville, NC. Also, second generation driver John Hunter Nemechek, son of 1992 series’ champion Joe Nemechek, is making his series’ debut at Martinsville Speedway in October.
