NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams return to action on Saturday, October 22, 2016 for 94 laps covering 250.04 miles in the fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway. Television coverage is on FOX at 12:30 pm ET with radio coverage also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
What to Watch For: Timothy Peters goes for his third straight win at Talladega.
Timothy Peters (2014, 2015), Johnny Sauter (2013) and Parker Kligerman (2012) are the only drivers in the field who have won at Talladega.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase field cuts down from eight to six following Saturday’s fred’s 250.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase Update
A second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase-eligible driver did not clinch an automatic berth to the Round of 6 in the DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 1 as non-chaser Tyler Reddick took the checkered flag. The highest finishing Chase driver was runner-up Daniel Hemric, who was followed by Ben Kennedy (fourth), William Byron (fifth, clinched berth in Round of 6 with win at New Hampshire), Christopher Bell (sixth), Johnny Sauter (seventh), Matt Crafton (eighth), Timothy Peters (ninth) and John Hunter Nemechek (16th).
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads next to Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 22 for the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola – the Round of 8 cut of race. Byron sits first in the Chase standings and is the only driver who has clinched a spot in the Round of 8. He is trailed by Bell (25 points above Hemric on the cutoff line), Crafton (+24), Kennedy (+18), Peters (+16), Sauter (+15), Hemric (15 points below Sauter on the cutoff line) and Nemechek (-15).
Talladega Dreamin’
Here’s a look at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase drivers’ stats at Talladega:
- William Byron – Byron has never made a start at Talladega.
- Christopher Bell – Bell finished 13th in his lone start at Talladega last season.
- Matt Crafton – In ten starts at Talladega, Crafton claims one top-five, three top-tens, a 16.2 average finish and 50 laps led. His best finish at the 2.66-mile behemoth was a fourth-place showing in 2010.
- Ben Kennedy – Kennedy has made two starts at Talladega, finishing 28th (2014) and 25th (2015).
- Timothy Peters – Peters has won the last two races at Talladega. In seven starts there, he boasts two wins, three top-fives, four top-tens and an 11.0 average finish.
- Johnny Sauter – In seven starts at Talladega, Sauter owns one win (2013), three top-fives, four top-tens and a 15.7 average finish.
- Daniel Hemric – Hemric finished 28th at Talladega in his lone start there last year.
- John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek finished 11th at Talladega in his lone start there last year.
Speaker Box: What the Chase Drivers Think of Talladega
Talladega Superspeedway can easily ruin a driver’s day, but it can also serve as a land of opportunity. Here’s what the NASCAR Camping World Chase drivers have to say entering the series’ first-ever cutoff race.
- William Byron
“I’m just going to try to go as hard as I can. I want to learn more restrictor-plate racing styles and techniques that I wasn’t really able to learn in the beginning of the year since it was my first race. I think we’ll just go with that mindset and hopefully try and get a win and do a good job.”
- Christopher Bell
“I’m glad I’m not in (crew chief) Jerry (Baxter’s) position because once the green flag drops on Saturday he’s going to have a stressful job. We’ve sat down and talked about it — Jerry’s asked me what my opinion is, I’ve asked Jerry what his opinion is, and the best plan that we’ve figured out is to just go out there and race our race. If we end up getting caught up in a crash while running near the front, more than likely there are going to be other Chase drivers involved. So I don’t think we are going to deviate any from if this was any other race, we are just going to go out and do our job and however it plays out, it plays out.“
- Matt Crafton
“The mental aspect (of restrictor-plate racing) is just unbelievable. You try to play out every scenario – trying to put yourself in the right position, which we do every week, but Talladega, and Daytona are just so much worse.”
- Ben Kennedy
“Talladega has not been my friend the last two years. I was doing well last year but got caught in The Big One toward the end. I’m pretty confident this team will run well though. I saw what GMS was able to do at Daytona, winning the pole and the race, and how they ran at Talladega last year so I know their superspeedway trucks can compete.”
- Timothy Peters
“I’m ready to get back to a place where the last two years have been really successful for us and with this being the elimination race, we’re looking forward to carrying the momentum from previous years. I think we can get our first win of the season and move on to the Round of 6.”
- Johnny Sauter
“I want to win more, whether it’s the Chase or not. A lot of things are out of your control at Talladega so you have to be smart. Despite being in the last transfer spot going in, I feel really good about this. Really comfortable.”
- Daniel Hemric
“I’m looking forward to going to Talladega Superspeedway, and I know there’s a lot on the line for this No. 19 team. I think we learned a lot for our superspeedway package from the third truck we ran in Daytona with Austin Theriault, and hopefully that transfers over to myself, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric. Having an extra teammate to work with, especially given our current Chase points situation, definitely won’t hurt. We’ve got to utilize each other to maximize our day and show what we can do together. We have to unload with decent speed and follow the process of everything it takes to get to the front in a superspeedway race from the very first practice, both on the racetrack and on pit road. That’s the key to having a solid day.”
- John Hunter Nemechek
“I’m looking forward to going to Talladega, my third superspeedway race. And in the current position we’re in for points, I’m actually glad we’re going to a superspeedway. Anything can happen. So we just have to go out, execute, not make mistakes, do the best that we can do, run up front and try to win the race. Just try not to get caught up in any of the wrecks and be able to be there at the end when it counts and have a shot at the win.”
Gragson to Run Full-Time with Kyle Busch Motorsports
NASCAR Next member Noah Gragson will compete full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2017.
Gragson, 18, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has six wins the last two seasons in 41 starts across the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West the last two seasons. He also owns 18 top-fives and 31 top-tens. This season, Gragson raced full-time in both series, finishing third in the West standings in fifth in the East ranks.
“It’s hard to believe that about four years ago I toured Kyle Busch Motorsports as a young fan and aspiring driver in awe of the massive trophy collection, how immaculate the shop was and getting the chance to meet Darrell Wallace Jr. – now just a short time later I’m going to be competing for them full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” Gragson said. “The last few years KBM has developed some of the best young talent in all of NASCAR and I know that I’m going to be stepping into fast Toyota Tundras that are capable of running up front, competing for wins and that if I’m able to do my part that I’ll be able to add to the trophy cases I gazed into not long ago. As an up-and-coming driver that is all I can ask for as I try to continue my climb up the racing ladder with the ultimate goal of one day following in Kyle’s path from Las Vegas to the Cup Series.”