NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are taking a break this weekend and will return to action Friday, June 10th for the Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Fans can watch all 250.5 miles during 167 laps on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 pm ET with a green flag around 9 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Crafton Cruises to Second Consecutive Win
Matt Crafton led a race-high 47 laps in last Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 to cruise to his second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.
The ThorSport Racing driver, who leads the points standings, is the first driver on the circuit to log multiple victories this season. He has totaled at least two wins in his last three campaigns.
Crafton leads the series in wins (2), top-fives (3), top-tens (5), driver rating (115.4), average finish (8.5), fastest laps (128), laps led (264) and percentage of laps led (26.7).
His Charlotte victory was his seventh win, 11th top-two showing and 18th top-ten finish in 20 starts at 1.5-mile tracks since 2014.
Standings Snapshot
Two-time Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton paces the points standings six races through the 2016 season. Following him are Timothy Peters, Daniel Hemric, Spencer Gallagher and William Byron. Ryan Truex, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Johnny Sauter round out the top-ten.
Crafton, Byron and Nemechek have each captured Camping World Truck Series Chase berths by winning races.
GMS Keeps on Rollin’
GMS Racing, the Statesville, North Carolina-based outfit, continued its strong season at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday by producing a third-place finish from Johnny Sauter and a sixth-place showing by Spencer Gallagher.
On the season, Gallagher ranks fourth in series points, 22 markers behind leader Matt Crafton. He is tied with Crafton for first in top-fives with five.
Sauter sits tenth in points, but virtually clinched a spot in the Camping World Truck Series Chase with his win at Daytona. He claims one win, three top-fives and three top-tens this season.
Newly Minted NASCAR Next Member Tifft Registers Career Best Finish
Four days after being selected to the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class, Matt Tifft produced a career high fifth-place finish.
In 18 career starts, Tifft has one top-five and seven top-tens.
He started competing full-time in the series for Red Horse Racing at Kansas, replacing Ben Kennedy who moved on to GMS Racing.
KBM’s Bell, Byron on Crusade of Consistency
Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Christopher Bell and William Byron continued their string of strong finishes in Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Bell finished eighth for his third consecutive top-ten showing, while Byron placed 10th for his fourth consecutive result of 11th or better. Byron also led 25 laps.
Byron and Bell sit fifth and ninth, respectively, in the Camping World Truck Series points standings. Byron sits 26 points behind first-place Matt Crafton, while Bell trails Crafton by 37 markers.
A Charlotte resident, Byron captured a spot in the Camping World Truck Series Chase via his win at Kansas. He leads second-place Bell in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by six points.
On Tuesday, Bell served as a special guest in Texas Motor Speedway’s Speeding To Read Championship Assembly. The event culminated a year-long reading competition among nearly 6,500 students from 11 Dallas/Fort Worth-area elementary schools.
Brad Keselowski Racing on the Rise
Brad Keselowski Racing has picked up the pace the last few weeks.
Last season’s Camping World Truck Series championship runner-up Tyler Reddick scored a season-high fourth-place finish – his second straight top-ten showing. His teammate Daniel Hemric placed ninth for his third consecutive top-ten finish.
Hemric leads BKR in the points standings where he mans the third spot just 17 markers behind leader Matt Crafton, on the strength of two top-fives and five top-tens.
Reddick trails in eighth, 36 points behind Crafton. He has one top five and two top-tens.