The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season was filled with exciting moments and intense competition. Here are the top three moments of the season:
Kyle Busch Motorsports Earns 100th Win: In 2023, Kyle Busch Motorsports made the switch from Toyota to Chevrolet. The team didn’t miss a beat to start the season, as owner Kyle Busch won the second race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As the season continued, however, the KBM trucks and drivers did not show their typical race-contending speed. Entering the event at Pocono Raceway in late July, KBM still needed one more victory to earn their 100th win. TRICON’s Corey Heim led a race-high 27 laps, but a restart with five laps remaining left Busch drew a bead on the lead. On the final lap, Busch brazenly drove deep into the tunnel turn, making his way past Heim and into the lead. As fate would have it, the last-lap heroics helped KBM earn its last major milestone of its championship-winning history.
Carson Hocevar’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Season: Carson Hocevar had a season of ups and downs in 2023. He started the season with a 10th place finish at Daytona, but then struggled in the next few races. However, he bounced back with a win at Texas Motor Speedway in June. After that, he had a string of top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at Gateway. But then he had a rough patch again, finishing outside the top 10 in the next three races. He finished the season strong, though, with a win at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Matt Crafton, Nick Sanchez Fight: The Truck event at Talladega Superspeedway followed a typical, run-of-the-mill format with slightly less carnage as Brett Moffitt took the victory for Front Row Motorsports. In the garage after the race, Frontstretch’s Wyatt Watson caught footage of what became a bloody altercation between Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez. The two drivers were seen exchanging words before Crafton threw a punch at Sanchez. Sanchez then retaliated with a punch of his own, and the two drivers had to be separated by crew members. The incident was a reminder of the intense competition and emotions that can arise in the Truck Series.
These were the top three moments of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. The season was filled with many other exciting moments and storylines, but these three stood out as the most memorable. It will be interesting to see what the 2024 season has in store for fans of the Truck Series.