The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series saw the track for two rounds of practice this morning at Gateway Motorsports Park. Defending winner Christopher Bell and Matt Crafton topped the charts across the two practice sessions on Saturday.
In Camping World Truck Series practice one, Bell posted a 33.081, 136.030 mph. to lead the practice charts. The young driver comes into the weekend with momentum after scoring the win last Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 4 JBL Toyota, Bell led 92 of the 167 circuits to capture his second win of the year.
Noah Gragson, a teammate to Christopher Bell at Kyle Busch Motorsports, sat second in practice when the session had expired. Gragson posted a 33.109, 135.915 mph. and sat 0.028 seconds behind his teammate.
Gragson comes into the event sitting 10th in driver standings. The young driver holds one top five and four top 10 finishes through seven events.
Chase Briscoe rounded out the top three finishers in the opening practice session. Briscoe, driving the No. 29 Ford for Brad Keselowski Racing, posted a 33.150, 135.747 mph. and sat 0.041 seconds behind the practice leader.
In Camping World Truck Series final practice, Matt Crafton showed the way upfront. Crafton, driving the No. 88 FVP / Menards Toyota Tundra, posted a 33.094, 135.976 mph. when the session had concluded. The series veteran goes into the Drivin’ for Linemen 200 looking to capture his first win of the year.
John Hunter Nemechek sat runner-up on the leaderboard at the conclusion of final practice. Nemechek, son of former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran Joe Nemechek, posted a 33.156, 135.722 mph. The driver comes into the event sitting 11th in Camping World Truck Series driver standings. He sat 0.257 seconds behind the practice leader.
Rounding out the top three in final practice on Saturday was Ben Rhodes. Rhodes, driving the No. 27 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra, posted a 33.245, 135.359 mph. around the Gateway Motorsports Park. The native of Kentucky comes into the event looking to capture his first career victory.
Two on-track incidents in final practice stopped the on-track action briefly. The No. 83 of Camden Murphy stopped on the track with a brake issue. Then later in final practice the No. 10 of Bryce Napier brought out the red after making contact with the wall in turn two.
Series points leader Johnny Sauter ended both practice sessions sitting eighth in practice one and 16th in final practice. Sauter, the defending Camping World Truck Series champion, comes into Gateway looking to capture his second victory of the season.
Qualifying for the Drivin’ for Linemen 200 will take place at 5:45 p.m. ET. With 30 drivers on the weekend entry list, there will be no DNQ’s. Television coverage of qualifying will take place at 7:00 p.m. ET. on FOX Sports 1.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
- NCTS: Eckes Scores Second Victory of 2024 at Martinsville - April 5, 2024
- NWMT: Justin Bonsignore Noses Ron Silk for 41st Career Victory at Richmond - March 29, 2024
- NCS: William Byron Scores EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Victory in Austin - March 24, 2024