NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will race 300 miles over 200 laps in the DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 8:30 pm ET Saturday, October 1st. Television coverage is on FOX Sports 1 with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
What to Watch For: Every Chase driver except for William Byron competed in last year’s race at Las Vegas. The highest finishing Chaser was Timothy Peters (second), followed by Ben Kennedy (third), John Hunter Nemechek (fourth), Daniel Hemric (sixth), Matt Crafton (eighth) and Christopher Bell (14th).
Defending winner John Wes Townley tries to visit Victory Lane again on Saturday.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year frontrunner and overall standings leader William Byron goes for his seventh win of the season.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase Barrels into Las Vegas
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase heads to Las Vegas on Saturday for its second race and penultimate contest of the Round of 8 – the DC Solar 350.
William Byron enters the race with Chase security, having already advanced to the Round of 6, which begins at Martinsville, by winning last weekend’s contest at New Hampshire.
Byron Blazes to Sixth Victory, Advances in Chase Following 1-2 KBM Finish
William Byron led a race-high 161-of-175 laps on his way to victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He advances to the Round of 6 with the win.
Byron’s Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate followed him across the line at New Hampshire in second. The 21-year-old Oklahoman has one win, eight top-five and 12 top-tens on the season.
Byron, 18, has had a short learning curve in his Sunoco Rookie season. He leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in wins (6), top-fives (9), average finish (tied, 9.1), laps led (572) and driver rating (107.0).
Saturday’s race will be his Las Vegas debut.
Hemric in Need of a Win
Arguably the most consistent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver all season with a series-best 13 top-ten finishes, Daniel Hemric ran into trouble last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing driver logged his lowest finish of the season (28th), which dropped him to 21 points behind Johnny Sauter on the cutoff line for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase Round of 6.
With two races left until the Round of 6, Hemric pretty much has to win a race, or hope multiple Chase drivers run into trouble. Hemric has never won a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, but does have the talent to do it, evidenced by his six top-three finishes in the last nine races, including a career-best runner-up in the regular season finale at Chicagoland Speedway.
Hemric finished sixth in his lone start at Las Vegas last year and is now running far superior equipment for Brad Keselowski Racing.
Homecoming for Spencer Gallagher
Las Vegas native Spencer Gallagher gets to return to Sin City for Saturday’s DC Solar 350.
Gallagher began his career racing at the famous Bull Ring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which also produced Kyle and Kurt Busch.
This season, Gallagher ranks 12th in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points on the strength of six top-ten finishes. His six top-tens tie his total from his Sunoco Rookie year of 2015.
Fun fact: Gallagher is an ordained minister who can marry couples. On Aug. 25, he performed a wedding ceremony at Michigan International Speedway.
In two starts at LVMS, Gallagher has finished 13th and 15th.
Mighty Chicken: Townley Returns to Site of First Win
John Wes Townley earned the first win of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career when he wheeled his No. 05 Zaxboy’s Chevrolet to Victory Lane in last year’s DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The victory was part of a career season for Townley, who set personal bests with three top-fives, nine top-tens and an eighth-place championship finish.
This year, Townley claims just two top-tens and has an average finish of 18.6. He is 15th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings.
GMS Racing Supporting Domestic Violence Awareness
During the month of October, the GMS Racing drivers and teams will show their support for domestic violence awareness in various ways.
Spencer Gallagher will pilot the No. 23 Shade Tree / Noah’s Animal House Chevrolet Silverado for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) DC Solar 350 on October 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gallagher’s teammates, Johnny Sauter, Ben Kennedy and Grant Enfinger, will all run a purple ribbon decal and all crew members will wear purple ribbons in support of the cause.
“The Shade Tree and Noah’s Animal House are both really great organizations and to have them on the truck for the Las Vegas race is a honor,” said Spencer Gallagher. “Las Vegas is always a big race for me since it’s my home track and to show support to local charities is really rewarding. It’s awesome to see the whole GMS Racing team play a role in supporting the cause and raising awareness for domestic violence.”
The Shade Tree and Noah’s Animal House are two local non-profits that serve families and their pets that are victims of domestic violence in Southern Nevada.
“We are very pleased to spotlight October as Domestic Violence Awareness month with this message on Spencer’s truck. What a great way to spread the word to the NASCAR fans, to our Las Vegas community, and to the entire country,” says Marlene Richter, Executive Director of The Shade Tree. “Thank you to Spencer and his GMS crew and to all our local supporters for making this happen — you are performing an important public service and maybe even saving lives. We are also extremely pleased to join with the National Domestic Violence Hotline on this project.”