NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are taking a break before their next race at Kentucky Speedway for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 on Thursday, July 7. Watch all 150 laps cover 225 miles on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8 pm ET with a green flag around 8:30 pm ET. Radio coverage is also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Bell Rings in First Victory of Season; KBM Ties for First On All-Time Wins List
Christopher Bell won Saturday’s Drivin’ For Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park to earn the fifth berth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. The win was Bell’s first of the season and the 50th for Kyle Busch Motorsports, tying them with Roush Fenway Racing for the most victories in Camping World Truck Series history.
The four other Chase berths are owned by Bell’s KBM teammate William Byron, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and John Hunter Nemechek.
Seven races remain until the Camping World Truck Series Chase. If the season ended today, Timothy Peters is at 30 points ahead of Tyler Reddick on the cutoff line, Daniel Hemric (+25) and Ben Kennedy (+1) would clinch the remaining three berths.
On the cusp of the Chase spots are Reddick (-1), Ben Rhodes (-11), Spencer Gallagher (-16) and Cole Custer (-20).
Rhodes Roars to Career-Best Finish
Ben Rhodes powered to a career-best runner-up finish after earning his second career 21 Means 21 Keystone Light Pole at Gateway Motorsports Park.
The No. 41 ThorSport Racing driver’s previous career-high showing was a fourth-place finish recorded the race before at Iowa.
On the season, Rhodes owns two top-fives and four top-tens in seven starts. He ranks ninth on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid – 11 points behind Ben Kennedy on the cutoff line.
“A career-best finish of second is great, but after tasting it (victory) four times now, and not being able to go home and get it – that’s been tough, but hopefully here soon,” Rhodes said. “We’re just going to keep pushing forward.”
Rhodes, a Louisville native, next heads to his home state of Kentucky for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 on Thursday, July 7 at Kentucky Speedway..
Dan The Man: Hemric One of Camping World Truck Series’ Most Consistent
Daniel Hemric recovered from a mid-race spin to place third in Saturday’s Drivin’ for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park to tie Matt Crafton for the Camping World Truck Series lead in top-tens with seven.
Currently, Hemric ranks seventh on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid, 25 points above Bead Keselowski Racing teammate Tyler Reddick on the cutoff.
“My Brad Keselowski Racing team gave me a really great Draw-Tite Ford F-150,” Hemric said. “We knew we had something for the rest of the field from the time we unloaded. We had a great balance and a lot of speed at the beginning of the race, but unfortunately, I put us in a hole early when I spun; that’s all on me. But we still had an extremely fast truck, we made the right calls on pit road, and I’m glad we were able to rebound like we did. There is no ‘quit’ in this team; I’m so proud of our entire effort here tonight at Gateway Motorsports Park.”
GMS Racing Continues Strong Season with Three in Top-Ten at Gateway
GMS Racing placed three drivers in the top-ten of Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports park: Johnny Sauter (fourth), Kaz Grala (eighth) and Ben Kennedy (ninth). Its fourth driver, Spencer Gallagher, finished 22nd.
Grala’s showing was a career-best performance.
At the moment, GMS has Sauter locked into the Camping World Truck Series Chase. Kennedy would earn the last Chase berth on points (+1 points above Tyler Reddick on the cutoff line) if the season ended today. Gallagher, only 16 points behind Kennedy for the final berth, ranks 11th on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid.
Kyle Busch Motorsports is the lone other team that would have two drivers in the Chase if the season ended today.