NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Rhino Linings 350
The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
The Time: 10 p.m. (ET)
TV: FS1, 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 219 miles (146 laps)
Standings Snapshot: Crafton Gains on Jones at New Hampshire
Matt Crafton finished runner-up in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to jump Tyler Reddick for the second spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings. Crafton trails standings leader Erik Jones, who finished seventh at New Hampshire, by a mere seven points. Reddick, now third, needs to erase a 19-point deficit to catch Jones in the last six races.
Jones heads to Las Vegas as the defending race winner. He enters the race riding a streak of nine consecutive top-ten finishes.
In 14 career starts at Las Vegas, Crafton owns six top-fives and seven top-tens. He has finished runner-up three times in the City of Lights. The ThorSport Racing driver has won five races at 1.5-mile tracks in the last two seasons.
Dillon Gets GMS their First Win in 500th Truck Race
Austin Dillon earned GMS Racing their first NASCAR national series victory, leading 80 laps from the pole to win the UNOH 175 – the 500th race in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history.
Owned by Maurice Gallagher, the Statesville, North Carolina-based organization fields three trucks, the No. 21, No. 23 and No. 33. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Spencer Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon have all competed for GMS this season.
NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Brennan Poole will make his Truck Series début at Las Vegas on Saturday, driving the No. 21 for GMS Motorsports.
Pastrana Returns to NASCAR for Vegas Truck Race
Extreme sports star Travis Pastrana makes his return to NASCAR in Saturday’s Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 31-year-old Maryland native will compete in an entry fielded by NTS Motorsports.
Pastrana’s last NASCAR race was the 2013 XFINITY Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he finished 18th. That season he ran a full schedule for Roush Fenway Racing, posting four top-tens and earning one Coors Light Pole Award in 33 starts.
Pastrana finished 17th in the only NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event he has ever competed in – at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sept. 28, 2012).
Mud Summer Classic Winner Christopher Bell Making First Start Since Eldora
He’s back.
Christopher Bell returns to the No. 54 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra for the first time since slingin’ and slidin’ to victory in the Mud Summer Classic at Eldora Speedway in July.
The 20-year-old Norman, Oklahoma native has made three Truck Series starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports this year and boasts two top-fives.
Gallagher Gets Going Home for Vegas Truck Race
Sin City native Spencer Gallagher heads back to his hometown for Sunday’s Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate heads into the 18th race of the season with one top-five showing and five top-ten finishes.
Gallagher finished 13th after starting sixth last year in his lone previous Camping World Truck Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He began racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 12 years old, beginning in the Bandolero Bandit Series, and then advancing to the Legends Car Series.
Gallagher ranks ninth in the series standings, trailing eighth-place John Wes Townley by 14 points.
Truck Series Sees 11th Winner in 17 Races
The Camping World Truck Series saw its 11th different winner of the season when Austin Dillon took the checkered flag at New Hampshire last Saturday, surpassing its total of ten winners last season.
The average age of race winners this season is 26.4, further illustrating the series as a proving ground for younger drivers. In fact, four of the winners are current/former NASCAR Next members: Erik Jones, Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Blaney.
Matt Crafton leads the series with four wins this season, followed by Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch who all have two victories.