NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will race 181.5 miles over 175 laps in the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 24th at 1 pm ET. Television coverage begins at 12:30 pm ET on FOX Sports 1 with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
What to Watch For: Eight drivers will compete for the championship in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. Chase drivers Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hemric finished second through sixth, respectively, in last year’s New Hampshire race.
Kaz Grala, from nearby Westborough, Massachusetts, makes his seventh career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start.
NASCAR Next alum Cameron Hayley goes for his seventh top-ten finish in the last eight races.
Cole Custer, who became the youngest winner in NASCAR national series history in the New Hampshire race two years ago, attempts to visit Victory Lane for the third time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Set to Launch Inaugural Chase
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicks off its inaugural Chase with Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The eight-driver field (with their point differential for advancement to the Round of 6) includes: William Byron (+15 points above Daniel Hemric on the cutoff line), Matt Crafton (+6), John Hunter Nemechek (+6), Christopher Bell (+3), Johnny Sauter (+3), Ben Kennedy (+3), Hemric (-3) and Timothy Peters (-3).
Last season, drivers in the current Chase finished second through sixth at New Hampshire: Crafton, Sauter, Peters, Nemechek and Hemric. Byron and Bell did not compete, while Kennedy placed 23rd.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will sum up its Round of 8 with races at Las Vegas and Talladega. At the conclusion of the Talladega contest, two lowest drivers in points who did not win in the Round of 8 will be dropped from the Chase field.
Byron Hopes to Win inaugural Camping World Truck Series Chase
With ten races left in the season, William Byron already boasts a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie-record five wins.
When the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase kicks off with Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the 18-year-old Liberty University student will attempt to join Erik Jones (Camping World) and Chase Elliott (XFINITY) as the only rookies to capture NASCAR national series championships.
“I think it’s going to be intense, especially with it being the first Chase race anyone has ever done in the Truck Series,” Byron said. “I think drivers will start out pretty conservative, but by the end the intensity is going to ramp up since winning is the only way to be locked into the next round. I think New Hampshire is one of my better race tracks. I really like it and hopefully that translates to some speed this weekend. We need to get our Liberty University Tundra fast in practice to make sure we qualify well because track position is pretty important there. We want to start out the Chase with a really solid run and just have the right focus and mentality as we get going.”
Byron registered one of his four wins at New Hampshire on the way to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship last season.
He explained he has to be aggressive during the Chase, but also needs to be careful if the opportunity isn’t there.
“I think you go for the win if you are in that position, but if your truck is not that good that day you can’t cost yourself a finish,” Byron said. “You just can’t make mistakes that way. If you do have a chance for a win, you go for it, but if you don’t, you have to get a top-five or top-10 finish. The important thing for us is to try and be solid.”
Homecoming For New England Native Grala
Westborough, Massachusetts native Kaz Grala will make his seventh career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, and the first on his home track, in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Grala, who finished seventh in the final NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings the last two seasons, has a career-best NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finish of eighth (Gateway Motorsport Park, 2016).
The 17-year-old began racing at the age of 4, winning two karting championships in the northeast before setting his sights on North Carolina to advance his career. From 2009-12, Grala won championships at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Summer Shootout Series and the Winter Heat Series.
Grala became the youngest winner in UARA history when he won the Banjo Matthews Memorial 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway. He is also the youngest driver to ever compete in an IMSA race.
Hayley On A Roll
Although he couldn’t make the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, even after a valiant effort at Chicagoland Speedway last week, Cameron Hayley has been on quite the run lately. Beginning with his sixth-place showing at Kentucky, the Canadian NASCAR Next alum has six top-ten finishes in his last seven starts, including three top-five showings. On the season, he owns five top-fives and nine top-tens in 16 starts.