NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will race 250.5 miles over 167 laps in the Rattlesnake 400 on Friday, June 10th at Texas Motor Speedway with television coverage on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8:30 pm ET and a green flag around 9 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Three-Peat: Crafton Goes for Third Straight June Texas Victory
Matt Crafton, who’s won the last two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this season and the past two June contests at Texas Motor Speedway, will go for his third consecutive win in Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at the 1.5-mile track.
In 30 career starts at Texas, Crafton owns two wins, 11 top-fives, 19 top-tens and a 9.7 average finish. He has placed in the top-ten in his last nine starts there. The ThorSport Racing driver also has three runner-up showings at Texas.
An intermediate track maven, Crafton boasts seven wins, 11 top-two showings and 18 top-ten finishes in 20 starts at 1.5-mile ovals since 2014.
Crafton leads the Truck Series standings on the strength of two wins, three top-fives and five top-tens. He holds a 12-point advantage over second-place Timothy Peters.
No Horsin’ Around:
Quiroga Back in the Saddle for Red Horse Racing after 19-Month Layoff
German Quiroga returns to the Camping World Truck Series for his first race in 19 months – Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The 36-year-old Mexican made his last Truck Series start in the 2014 season finale at Homestead for RHR (11/14/14). That season, he finished sixth in the series standings on the strength of three top-fives and ten top-tens in 22 starts.
“I’m very happy to return to Red Horse Racing,” Quiroga said. “I hope we can put together a great run at Texas (Motor Speedway) and that we will be able to put something together so I can keep competing this season.”
For his career, Quiroga has five top-fives – including two runner-up finishes – and 17 top-tens in 50 starts. He won the NASCAR Mexico Series championship as a 31-year-old in 2011 when he recorded three wins, 11 top-fives and 12 top-tens in 14 starts.
Decorated Class Vies for Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award
The drivers involved in the Camping World Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year race all have a decorated list of accomplishments.
Currently, William Byron leads the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, followed by Christopher Bell (-3 points), Ben Rhodes (-16), Cole Custer (-18) and Rico Abreu (-30).
Byron, Rhodes, Custer and Abreu are all NASCAR Next alumni, while Byron (2015) and Rhodes (2014) are NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champions.
Custer holds the title of youngest NASCAR national series winner. He visited Victory Lane in the 2014 Truck Series race at New Hampshire at age 16 years, 7 months, 28 days.
Abreu is the two-time defending champion of Chili Bowl Nationals.
Bell, the 2013 USAC National Midget champion, won the Truck Series race at Eldora last summer.
Standings Snapshot
Six races into the Camping World Truck Series season, two-time champion Matt Crafton leads on the strength of two wins, three top-fives and five top-tens. Trailing him are Timothy Peters (-12 points), Daniel Hemric (-17), Spencer Gallagher (-22) and William Byron (-26). Ryan Truex (-32), John Hunter Nemechek (-34), Tyler Reddick (-36), Christopher Bell (-37) and Johnny Sauter (-41) round out the top-ten.
Ten races remain before the seven-race Camping World Truck Series Chase that begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 24. It will feature eight drivers and two elimination rounds, with four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. A win in the first 16 races all but guarantees a driver entry into the Chase, provided that the driver is in the top-30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each race.
Townley Takes Aim at Second Win
After winning his first career race at Las Vegas last season, John Wes Townley takes aim at his second win in the Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Townley finished third in last season’s Camping World Truck Series standalone event at Texas and has two top-fives and three top-tens in eight career starts at the 1.5-mile track.
Right now, Townley sits 19th in the series point standings with a high finish of seventh at Atlanta.
Custer to Receive High School Diploma at Texas Motor Speedway
Cole Custer is missing his graduation from Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California to compete in Friday’s Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. However, he will not miss out on all the festivities. Custer will walk the TMS stage in his cap and gown before the race to receive his high school diploma from TMS President Eddie Gossage, who will be in a full dean’s gown. TMS honored Erik Jones in similar fashion when the youngster opted to race and not attend graduation in 2014.