Speedway Digest Staff - Results from #120

NASCAR Truck Series News

RACE RECAP: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, Mar 19

Hailie Deegan - No. 13 AdventHealth Ford F-150

Atlanta Race Information

Started: 32nd

Stage 1: 25th

Stage 2: 19th

Finished: 12th

Laps: 137/137

Laps Led: 0

Status: Running

Driver Points: 21st

Owner Points: 26th

“I think it was a great day. I think our goal going into this race was to hang back until it really means something. It means something at the end in the third stage, so we just hung back and waited, and I think it worked because there were a few times where I’d be in a good position to keep going forward and I’d tell myself, ‘This doesn’t feel good. Something is gonna happen.’ And then like a lap later all of a sudden something would happen, so I think we put ourselves in a good position to bring home a clean truck and be able to have it for Texas. That’s great because we have something to build off of and we’re not repairing something.”

Matt Crafton - No. 88 Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford F-150

Atlanta Race Information

Started: 8th

Stage 1: 4th

Stage 2: 1st

Finished: 9th

Laps: 137/137

Laps Led: 29

Status: Running

Driver Points: 2nd

Owner Points: 2nd

"I didn’t want to take the bat off my shoulder until I had to go to the bottom and try to see if I could make something work because we kept picking the top and the top would go, but then the bottom would slow as soon as we got all of those yellows in that quick spurt and we kept losing track position. So, as soon as I did it we ran a lot longer green, and I sank big time. All in all, this Menards Ford F-150 was good. It handled great and we just made very minor adjustments. We’re already up front. We led laps and did everything we needed to do today, but we just made that one mistake.”

Ty Majeski - No. 98 Curb Records Ford F-150

Atlanta Race Information

Started: 2nd

Stage 1: 6th

Stage 2: 2nd

Finished: 11th

Laps: 137/137

Laps Led: 0

Status: Running

Driver Points: 3rd

Owner Points: 3rd

“We just got behind. Our pit crew couldn’t get the gas engaged and we lost a lot of track position on that fuel only pit stop. We just never could recover. I tried the top and tried the bottom, but couldn’t really recover to get over that hump. All in all it was a solid points day. We wanted a top 10, but have to settle for 11th.”

Ben Rhodes - No. 99 FarmPaint.com Ford F-150

Atlanta Race Information

Started: 3rd

Stage 1: 8th

Stage 2: 4th

Finished: 5th

Laps: 137/137

Laps Led: 3

Status: Running

Driver Points: 4th

Owner Points: 4th

What were you thinking on the final restarts? “I thought we were in really good shape. The 2 and the 19, although they’re Chevy’s, I don’t think wanted to really work together. The 19 and I, Christian, we get along really good off the track. We worked really well together at Daytona and he’s kind of become my satellite teammate, I guess, and just comes from his time at ThorSport of being real teammates there. Congrats to Christian on winning it. I pushed him as hard as I could down the backstretch, but, again, I had a big run and I tried to take it. I lost my momentum getting loose like that, but there was no need for the whole truck to be destroyed for sixth place. I think right now it should be a top five and a fairly clean truck.”

ThorSport PR

NASCAR Truck Series News

Chase Purdy Collects Back-to-Back Top-10 Finishes for First Time in Career

Sunday, Mar 19

Chase Purdy was in the mix for the win late in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, running second with 15 laps remaining before getting shuffled back a few positions on a pair of late-race restarts. In the end, he would finish eighth as the race ended under caution in NASCAR overtime, giving him back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time in his career.

Chase Purdy, Driver of the No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet:

Talk about being up front competing for the win today.

“We had a really fast Bama Buggies No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Silverado – I thought we were going to have a shot there riding around in second letting laps die down. I was just riding waiting on the right opportunity when it was time to go – unfortunately we had some restarts that made things challenging. Some rows pushed harder than others and made it really hard for us. Overall, I’m really proud of everybody on this Bama Buggies Kyle Busch Motorsports Silverado. Everybody at KBM – we’ve got really fast trucks and I’m excited to go to COTA (Circuit of the Americas) and these next few races, I think we have something to prove.”

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Fr8 208 Recap:

Christian Eckes won Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was his first win of 2023 and the second of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. Nick Sanchez finished second, while John Hunter Nemechek, Bayley Currey and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top five.
There were 11 cautions for 58 laps and 17 lead changes among nine drivers.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Point Standings:

Purdy leaves the second event on the 2023 schedule eighth in the driver point standings, 34 tallies behind points leader Christian Eckes.

KBM PR

NASCAR Truck Series News

Jack Wood Rallies for Top 10 After Getting Spun While Leading

Sunday, Mar 19

Shortly after taking the lead with 20 laps remaining in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jack Wood got one too many bumps from John Hunter Nemechek and went spinning down the backstretch bringing out the caution. Wood would rally back in the closing laps to earn his first top-10 finish of 2023 and second across 37 career Craftsman Truck Series starts.

Jack Wood, Driver of the No. 51 Logitech Chevrolet:

Talk about being up front competing for the win today.

“I think to start off with I was definitely a little conservative with the piece that we had. We were able to work some strategy and get ourselves to the front. When we got there, I thought the Logitech Silverado had plenty of speed to start on the bottom like we did, and two times in a row go up and take the lead. Overall, it was a good day. Kind of a bummer what happened with us and the 17 truck, but it’s another confidence builder for us. First top 10 for me this year, and all of our trucks were in the top 10. I think there are good things coming. We just need a little more time a little more time and we will be there. Proud of everybody!”

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Fr8 208 Recap:

Christian Eckes won Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was his first win of 2023 and the second of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. Nick Sanchez finished second, while John Hunter Nemechek, Bayley Currey and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top five.
There were 11 cautions for 58 laps and 17 lead changes among nine drivers, including Wood who led twice for two laps.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Owner Point Standings:

The No. 51 team leaves the third event on the 2023 schedule 9th in the Craftsman Truck Series owner point standings

KBM PR

Xfinity Series News

Hill earns 3rd win of 2023 in thrilling fashion

Sunday, Mar 19

Austin Hill led for 103 of the 163 laps during the Xfinity Series RAPTOR King of Tough 250, but it was his efforts during the race’s final seconds which earned the Georgia native his second straight win at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Hill, who grew up an hour from the 1.54-mile track and raced at the venue as a junior, held off a charging pack down the homestretch. Runner-up Daniel Hemric crossed 0.085 seconds behind Hill and Ryan Truex placed third. Parker Kligerman slid into fourth with Riley Herbst holding on for fifth.

“I knew it was going to be tough today,” Hill said. “We were on it all night. Once I got the lead, I knew that it was wreck-it-or-check-it.”

Hill joined Mark Martin and Kyle Busch as the only drivers to win three of the season’s first five Xfinity Series races.

Hemric made a valiant charge into the mix on the final lap and made contact with Kligerman moments before the finish.

“Obviously, mayhem happened on the (last) corner,” Hill added. “I have no idea how I saved it.”

Filling out the top-10 were Brett Moffitt, Josh Berry, John Hunter Nemechek, Sam Mayer and Justin Haley.

A track-record 12 caution periods extended the race well into the evening hours, but the action-packed finish undoubtedly made it well worth the wait.

Racing weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway culminates Sunday with the Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Tickets remain available at AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com or by calling 877-9-AMS-TIX.

AMS PR

Xfinity Series News

RCR NXS Post Race Report: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, Mar 19

Richard Childress Racing's No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Shows Speed at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Sheldon Creed

21st

7th

12th

“We had a fast Whelen Chevrolet tonight at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I feel like I worked on this pretty hard because I’m normally not good at speedways. I did a lot of work at this one to be better and I think it showed by winning Stage 1 and finishing fourth in Stage 2. Being able to pick up stage points will go a long way come NASCAR Playoffs time. We had a right-front tire go flat under green flag conditions late in the race and with the long pit road that killed our day. I’m proud of the work Richard Childress Racing puts into my cars and I’m looking forward to going back to road course racing next week at Circuit of the Americas.”

-Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill Claims Third Win of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Season in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet at Atlanta Motor Speedway

1st

3rd

1st

“We basically came here with the same setup as last year. We finished second in the first race and won the second one, so we thought we were at a really good spot on what we needed setup-wise. We knew that our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet was going to drive a little bit different just because of the new rear package that we have this season. During Stage 1 we knew that we were going to have to figure that out to see if I was going to be a little too loose or a little too tight and make whatever adjustments we needed to get the car where we needed it. Our Chevrolet Camaro wasn’t that far off when we unloaded, which shows that everybody at Richard Childress Racing puts in the work and pays attention to all those minor details that need to be done to be fast.”

-Austin Hill

RCR PR

NASCAR Truck Series News

Eckes Captures Milestone Win for MHR and the NAPA Auto Care Team

Sunday, Mar 19

Christian Eckes returned to victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) in thrilling fashion to give McAnally-Hilgemann Racing the organization’s first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) victory on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST reclaimed the points lead after racking up 50 points and capturing his second stage win of the year. The victory gives Eckes and his team a virtual lock to the NCTS playoffs for the third time in his career.

The Middletown, N.Y. native started the 137-lap event from fourth position after inclement weather washed out qualifying on Friday afternoon. Eckes boldly asserted himself as a threat by taking the lead on the opening lap and dominated Stage 1. The NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet paced the field on the outside of AMS’ high banks until a caution flew on lap 24. Crew chief Charles Denike kept Eckes on track to go for the stage win, and the call paid off. Eckes held off all challengers on lap 30 to earn 10 points and one playoff point with his second stage win of 2023 by leading every lap.

Eckes pitted under the stage caution for right side tires and restarted 20th on lap 38 as the running order flip-flopped due to contrasting pit strategies. Eckes stayed in the lead draft for the majority of Stage 2 and ran as high as ninth but was scored 14th at the end of the segment on lap 60. Denike put four tires on Eckes’ Chevrolet which allowed him to restart 11th on lap 68. Another quick caution on lap 79 offered Eckes the chance to top off with fuel for the final run, but was caught speeding on pit road.

Eckes started his march back to the front from 28th position on lap 84 and took advantage of every opportunity to claw his way back into contention. A restart on lap 103 saw him rocket to 11th, which included a four-wide maneuver to cut through the pack. Eckes worked the less-preferred bottom lane to perfection as he capitalized on the restarts to crack the top five on lap 121 and claimed the runner-up spot on lap 123. A late caution set up an overtime restart and Eckes elected to take the bottom of the front row, which proved to be the winning decision. Eckes traded the lead with fellow Chevrolet driver Nick Sanchez on the overtime restart and used a surge of momentum on the final lap to pull alongside for the lead down the backstretch. Eckes held the lead on the final lap as a caution waved coming out of Turn 4 to secure the victory, his third playoff berth, and his first victory at AMS.

Christian Eckes Quote:

“Just really happy. Thanks to Charles (Denike), everybody on this team. They work so damn hard and this is what makes it all worth it. Thanks to NAPA, Chevrolet, everybody. I’m pumped. It’s going to be a really good year.”

“I think this is just what I kind of figured was going to happen coming here. I knew the potential of Charles (Denike), and I knew the potential of the race team, and Bill’s passion to win, so it made my decision to come here really easy.”

MHR PR

NASCAR Truck Series News

Garcia Fights Back for 18th-Place Finish at Atlanta

Sunday, Mar 19

Jake Garcia battled through a shock issue and came back from a three-lap deficit for a lead lap finish in 18th position in his home race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 35 Quanta Services Chevrolet Silverado RST remains 17th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) championship standings after two starts in 2023.

Inclement weather forced the cancellation of qualifying on Friday, which placed Garcia 12th on the starting grid per the rulebook. Garcia didn’t skip a beat from his 10th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as he quickly joined the top-10 in the opening laps. As the majority of the field paced the first stage in single-file formation, Garcia held the eighth position for the bulk of the first 30-lap segment. After briefly being shuffled to 12th, Garcia took advantage of a one-lap dash to finish Stage 1 and collected one point in 10th position at lap 30.

Crew chief Mark Hillman brought Garcia in for left side tires and fuel under the stage break but discovered an issue with the left rear shock. The Georgian took the green flag in Stage 2 from 22nd on lap 38, but quickly pitted under a subsequent caution on lap 39 to troubleshoot the issue. Garcia lost a lap during the repair, but was also nabbed with a pit road speeding penalty, which trapped him three laps down to the leader.

A caution on lap 84 allowed Garcia to “wave by” the pace car and regain one of his laps. Two cautions in the final 20 laps allowed Garcia to earn the Lucky Dog and rejoin the lead lap. He restarted outside the top-20 as the race went to overtime, but took advantage of the afternoon's final chaotic restart and avoided a multi-truck accident on the final lap to salvage an 18th-place result.

Jake Garcia Quote:

“I’m proud of our team for sticking with it and taking advantage of the wave around and putting ourselves in position to get back on the lead lap at the end. We had a fast Quanta Services Chevrolet today and felt good about our speed during the first stage running inside the top-10. We had an issue with the left rear shock and lost some laps, plus got caught speeding on pit road. Our trucks are fast, and that’s the main thing. Hopefully we can keep that going next week at COTA and score some more points there. Big congratulations to my teammate Christian (Eckes) on the win. That’s big for the whole the whole team and everyone involved with MHR.”

MHR PR

NASCAR Truck Series News

GMS Racing NCTS Race Recap: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, Mar 19

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 7TH

FINISH: 19TH

POINTS: 6TH

Post-Race Quote: "We had really good speed and driveability out of our Champion Power Equipment Chevy. I feel like we were choosing most of the right lanes in the first stint and a half. We lost a little track position and I thought it would be a little easier to get it back than it was. Spent the rest of the race getting it back. We finally got up there around 10th or so and they spun out in front of us and I just got run over from behind.

The guys did a great job changing the tires and everything and not going a lap down. Then I went back out there and just tried to make whatever happen and got to the outside of the No. 51. I think he thought I wasn’t quite there yet, but I was. It just squeezed us into the wall and next thing you know the right front went down. We were playing catch-up after that and the guys did good getting us back on the lead lap to at least salvage something. Definitely let an opportunity slip away today and I think we had a good enough truck. If the situation let us and the stars lined up we would have had a shot at it.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 22ND

FINISH: 25TH

POINTS: 22ND

Post-Race Quote: "It started out pretty nicely, we missed out on stage points but got our track position back for later in the race and got up to fourth. If I had to choose a lane again, I would have definitely chose behind Christian. And then, at the end, we just cut a tire. It really stunk, but our Wendell Scott Foundation Chevy was really nice, and I can’t thank the men and women at GMS Racing and GMS Fabrication enough for their hard work. We’ll just keep on digging and do well at COTA next week!"

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Heise LED Lighting Systems / Orlando Longwood Auto Auction Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 19TH

FINISH: 16TH

POINTS: 19TH

Post-Race Quote: I had trouble there early with the motor being down. Went two laps down I think and finally got it fixed, then we made our way back. Running half the race under caution made it hard to make moves. We were right on the edge of a top-15 spot. I finished 16th which is not a terrible day. I am very proud of my GMS Racing team for not giving up and fighting to make something happen. Our focus now shifts to COTA next weekend!"

GMS Racing PR

Xfinity Series News

Stewart-Haas Racing: NXS Race Report from Atlanta

Sunday, Mar 19

Race Winner: Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Parker Kligerman of Big Machine Racing (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Riley Herbst (Started 5th / Finished 5th, completed 163 of 163 laps)

● Cole Custer (Started 8th / Finished 12th, completed 163 of 163 laps)

SHR Points:

● Riley Herbst (3rd with 202 points, 46 out of first)

● Cole Custer (9th with 147 points, 101 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Herbst earned his second straight top-five of the season and his second top-five in six career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta.

● This was Herbst’s third straight top-10 finish at Atlanta. He finished fourth and ninth, respectively, in last year’s races.

● Herbst has not finished outside the top-20 at Atlanta in his six Xfinity Series starts.

● Herbst is one of only three Xfinity Series drivers to finish in the top-10 in every race so far this season.

● This was Herbst’s eighth straight top-10 finish in the Xfinity Series, a streak dating back to an eighth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 22, 2022.

● Herbst finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and second in Stage 2 to earn nine more bonus points.

● Herbst led two times for 11 laps – his first laps led at Atlanta

● Custer earned his fourth top-15 of the season and his third top-15 in four career Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta.

● Custer has only finished outside the top-15 at Atlanta once in the Xfinity Series.

● This was Custer’s second straight top-15 at Atlanta. He finished second in his last start there in February 2019.

● Custer finished ninth in Stage 1 to earn two bonus points and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Austin Hill won the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 to score his fifth career Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season, and his second at Atlanta. His margin over second-place Daniel Hemric was .085 of a second.

● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 68 laps.

● Twenty-five of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Austin Hill remains the championship leader after Atlanta with a 46-point advantage over second-place John Hunter Nemechek.

Sound Bites:

“That one was tough. We had such a great Ford Mustang, and the speed to win. I saw a chance there coming to the checkered flag, but we got caught up in an incident. I’m proud of this No. 98 Monster Energy team for all of their hard work. It’s paying off, and I think people are taking notice. Hopefully, we can make it to victory lane soon.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

“You know, it was just an up-and-down day. We were kind of running toward the front and trying to make moves, but then a run wouldn’t work, and we would get shuffled back. I thought we had a solid No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang, but we just couldn’t get it all to work together. We learned a lot for the next time though.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today on Saturday, March 25 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The race begins at 5 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TSC PR

Speedway News

Drake Edwards Wins Western Midget Racing Debut Race at Mohave Valley Raceway

Sunday, Mar 19

Drake Edwards of Surprise, Ariz. drove the Kevin Felkins-owned No. 4 Western Midget to victory in Saturday’s debut appearance for WMR at Mohave Valley Raceway. A series-best 22 car field assembled for the 25-lap feature, serving as round two for the Western Midget Racing championship season.

“We got to the lead pretty fast. I was able to slide (AJ Hernandez). A couple laps later Isaiah showed me the bottom, then the power steering went out. He tried a couple of different times but we got lucky enough to get the win,” Edwards said. “This track is awesome. We will definitely be back.”

Edwards drove from seventh to win the opening eight lap heat race. Henderson, Nevada’s Racin Silva drove the No. 5s Spike to victory in heat two while AJ Hernandez of Phoenix won heat three in Mike McCluney’s No. 11 Triple-X Chassis.

Kyle Huttenhow of Surprise, Ariz. in the No. 57 Triple-X shared the front row with Hernandez on the one-third mile dirt track before a vocal and excited crowd. Hernandez grabbed the lead at the start. Brian Corso suffered a flip in Cameron Beard’s No. 42 but was uninjured. Edwards slid past Hernandez on the restart for the lead. The caution came out a lap later for Tyler and Chloe High tangled in turn four.

Hernandez fell backwards with Isaiah Vasquez of Rio Linda moving up to second position. Lodi’s Nate Wait charged from 14th to third by lap 18. Tyler High flipped in turn three for a red flag on lap 18. Vasquez briefly challenged Edwards to no avail. Edwards topped Vasquez, Wait, Peoria’s Cory Brown, and 12th starting Kyle Hawse of Las Vegas.

Western Midget Racing has its first NorCal double header slated for March 31 at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville and April 1 at Antioch Speedway.

For more information on Western Midget Racing, visit them at www.WesternMidgetRacing.com or follow them on Facebook!

March 18, 2023 – Mohave Valley Raceway (Mohave Valley, Ariz.) Results

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 4-Drake Edwards[4]; 2. 7-Isaiah Vasquez[6]; 3. 76-Nate Wait[14]; 4. 29-Cory Brown[5]; 5. 20-Kyle Hawse[12]; 6. 50S-Rocky Silva[16]; 7. 21-Brody Wake[9]; 8. 57-Kyle Huttenhow[1]; 9. 28-JR Wood[17]; 10. 31-Todd Hawse[13]; 11. 3AZ-Chloe High[10]; 12. 81K-Rickey Kinney Jr[18]; 13. 66-Darin Horton[22]; 14. 01-Nathan High[11]; 15. 33-Tyler High[8]; 16. 11-AJ Hernandez[2]; 17. 48-Gary DeWitt[20]; 18. 68-Gene Sigal[21]; 19. 96X-Logan Mitchell[7]; 20. 5S-Racin Silva[3]; 21. 42-Brian Corso[15]; 22. (DNS) 50K-Patrick Kop

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Drake Edwards[7]; 2. 57-Kyle Huttenhow[3]; 3. 96X-Logan Mitchell[4]; 4. 3AZ-Chloe High[5]; 5. 31-Todd Hawse[1]; 6. 50S-Rocky Silva[6]; 7. 68-Gene Sigal[8]; 8. 48-Gary DeWitt[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5S-Racin Silva[2]; 2. 29-Cory Brown[3]; 3. 33-Tyler High[5]; 4. 01-Nathan High[6]; 5. 76-Nate Wait[1]; 6. 28-JR Wood[7]; 7. 50K-Patrick Kop[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11-AJ Hernandez[2]; 2. 7-Isaiah Vasquez[6]; 3. 21-Brody Wake[5]; 4. 20-Kyle Hawse[1]; 5. 42-Brian Corso[3]; 6. 81K-Rickey Kinney Jr[4]; 7. 66-Darin Horton[7]

WMR PR