NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Next Race: UNOH 175

The Place: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

The Date: Saturday, Sept. 26

The Time: 1 p.m. (ET)

TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 185.15 miles (175 laps)

 

Truck Series Set to Run 500th Race

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will run its 500th race this weekend – Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series began in 1995 and is in its 21st season of operation. Ron Hornaday Jr. has won the most Camping World Truck Series championships with four and 51 races. Mike Skinner earned the first series titles driving for legendary owner Richard Childress. Throughout its existence, many NASCAR stars have started their careers in the Camping World Truck Series, including Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Challengers Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski.

Custer Back at Site of First Stand

Last September, Cole Custer made the first of what will likely be many stands in his racing career when he became the youngest NASCAR national series winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway at 16 years, 7 months, 28 days. Just one year later, the JR Motorsports driver returns to the site of his first win, celebrating his own milestone on a day that also marks the landmark 500th race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Since capturing his first win at New Hampshire, Custer has gone on to visit Victory Lane at Gateway Motorsports Park in 2015. In seven starts this season, he claims one top-five and three top-tens. Custer has an average start of 7.9 and an average finish of 13.4.

Nemechek it Out: Second-Generation Driver Captures First Win

NASCAR Next driver John Hunter Nemechek captured his first NASCAR win in the Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, 16 years to the day that his father, ‘Front Row’ Joe Nemechek, won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

John Hunter moves on to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend where he has quite the family history. Not only was New Hampshire the first Sprint Cup win for his father Joe, it was also the track where Joe logged his first premier series start in 1992. With Joe carrying a Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series win at New Hampshire, John Hunter can complete the family trifecta with a truck win there this weekend.

In 11 starts this season, Nemechek claims one win, three top-fives (27.3%) and five top-tens (45.5%). He has an average start of 9.7 and an average finish of 12.2. With his victory at Chicagoland, Nemechek became the fourth-youngest winner in Camping World Truck Series history at 18 years, 3 months and 8 days.

Teenage Dream:

Youngsters Jones and Reddick Lead the Championship Points Standings

Erik Jones maintained the top spot in the Camping World Truck Series championship points standings, increasing his lead to ten points over fellow 19-year-old Tyler Reddick after finishing sixth on Saturday at Chicagoland. Two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton, who entered the race trailing Jones by three points in second, finished 14th and now ranks third in the standings – 11 points behind Jones. Reddick passed Crafton by placing runner-up.

Jones enters Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway riding a streak of eight consecutive top-tens. He made his first and only start at New Hampshire last year, finishing seventh.

Reddick made his lone New Hampshire start last season as well, placing sixth.

In 12 career starts at The Magic Mile, Crafton boasts three top-fives and seven top-tens. He finished third in last season’s race.

Hemric Sporting Throwback Paint Scheme From Inaugural Truck Race

This weekend at New Hampshire, Daniel Hemric will run the same paint scheme that NTS Motorsports general manager and spotter Rick Carelli drove in the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway in 1995. Carelli made 134 starts in the Truck Series, tallying four wins, 22 top-fives and 60 top-ten finishes in his tenure. Dubbed early in his career as the ‘High Plains Drifter,’ the Colorado native became an inductee into the NASCAR West Coast Racing Hall of Fame in 2009. Carelli also won the very first Camping World Truck Series exhibition race at Tucson Raceway Park in 1994.

Hemric, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, ranks fifth in the Camping World Truck Series standings on the strength of four top-five and ten top-ten finishes in 16 starts.

KBM’s Showalter Competing In 500th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race

Calling Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 truck chief Chris Showalter a veteran of the Camping World Truck Series race is an understatement. He has competed as a crew member in all 499 Camping World Truck Series races and will try to help field the fastest truck for a 500th time in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In order to make it to every race, he has survived a couple of near misses.  During the 2004 season, he had ACL surgery on Tuesday and was at the track on Thursday. In 2013, he passed a kidney stone the morning of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway and still was able to make it to the track that day.

Jones Attempts to Join Owner Kyle Busch as Same Day Double-Duty Winner

Similar to Ernie Banks, Erik Jones will ‘play two’ on Saturday.

The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver will pull double-duty this weekend, hopping on a plane to Kentucky for the Saturday night NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Kentucky following his afternoon NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition at New Hampshire. Jones’ owner, Kyle Busch, is the only driver to win races in two different NASCAR national series races on the same day. He visited Victory Lane in both the Camping World Truck Series and the XFINITY Series on Feb. 21, 2009 at Auto Club.