Brett Winningham

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series crowned a series champion Friday, or Saturday on the east coast, in a chaos-filled event that took four overtime attempts to finish. Corey Heim, one of four drivers racing for the title, had a leg up on the field after securing the pole for the championship event. 

Ty Majeski quickly snatched the lead away from Heim to lead the first 48 circuits. Heim later reclaimed the top spot over the next 47 laps of the event before losing it to Christian Eckes under yellow at lap 95.

Eckes went on to lead the next 26 circuits until all hell broke loose at lap 121.

Championship contenders Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim tangled in turn two. The seventh yellow of the night between the two championship drivers also collected Stewart Friesen at no fault of his own.

Hocevar apologized to Heim over his in-car radio. Heim and the No. 11 crew, however, weren’t pleased with Hocevar. 

The field went back green at lap 125 with Sanchez leading.

Zane Smith two laps later passed Sanchez for the top spot with 23 to go … or so he thought.

The Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar feud were far from over.

Heim allowed Hocevar to pass the No. 11 Toyota machine on the top side before forcing Hocevar into the outside wall. The incident that forced the event into NASCAR Overtime also involved Taylor Gray.

Zane Smith, Christian Eckes and Chase Purdy all traded the lead throughout the four overtime attempts. Eckes took the lead from Purdy in the final overtime attempt to score the win in the series finale.

Meanwhile, further back in the field, the championship battle was flaming hot between Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes.

Enfinger sustained damage on one of the overtime restarts that forced the No. 23 Chevrolet team to pit road on lap 158. This placed 2021 NCTS champion Ben Rhodes into the catbird seat.

Enfinger methodically worked into the top 10 through the next two overtime restarts to challenge Rhodes on the last lap for the series title.

Picking off positions one by one, Enfinger eventually found himself at the back tailgate of the 99 of Rhodes coming to the checkered. Despite this challenge by Enfinger, Rhodes held Enfinger off to claim the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.

“To go 25 laps into overtime, you know what that feels like? Almost lose it three times? Look at the front of the truck. It's crazy,” said Rhodes. “I didn't think we were going to make it. I thought we were going to pop a tire. I thought anything that could have gone wrong was going to go wrong Grant almost got me. Hats off to him. He ran a great race.”

Rhodes and Enfinger finished fifth and sixth while Jake Garcia, Chase Purdy and Jesse Love claimed second through fourth. 

“I don't know, maybe if he didn't have such a run down the back straightaway, but I needed to get under him to make that pass,” said Enfinger.

The championship race also marked a bittersweet end for GMS Racing as they’ll cease operations.

“Championship racing, it's just incredibly unfortunate to end GMS Racing like this,” Enfinger added. “I really felt like we had that championship in grasp, and to be honest with you, I don't know if I'd have done anything different. Just wasn't meant to be.”

Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez finished seventh through 10th..

The series will now enter the long off-season. Be sure to follow Speedway Digest on X, formerly known as Twitter, or Facebook to keep up with all the off-season news.

The ARCA Menards Series West capped the season Friday at Phoenix Raceway with many teams contending for various championships. Sean Hingorani entered the weekend 30 points ahead of Trevor Huddleston in the driver's championship, while the No. 17 entry of Kaden Honeycutt led the owners' standings by 18 points over the No. 15 entry of Sean Hingorani.

Sawalich, 2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion, began the weekend pacing practice before later winning the pole for Friday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100. Hingorani and Huddleston, vying for the west championship, qualified second and 21st for the event on Thursday.

Sawalich had really two concerns going into the event: Sean Hingorani and Dean Thompson.

Sawalich led the opening 25 circuits of the event before Hingorani took the top spot on a restart with 25 laps complete. Then, as the field went back green following a yellow at lap 29, Sawalich re-took the top spot from Hingorani.

Surviving two more restarts and holding off Thompson in the closing laps, Sawalich scored his first ARCA West victory by 0.850 seconds over Thompson—his fifth win of 2023 across the East and West platforms.

Hingorani, finishing third, clinched the series title. From Newport Beach, California, Hingorani finishes the championship season with seven top five and eight top 10 finishes, along with four victories and two poles.

Jack Wood and Tyler Reif rounded out the top five.

Taking home top 10s were Landen Lewis, Bradley Erickson, Tanner Reif, Kaden Honeycutt and Sebastian Arias.

The series now enters its offseason. Stay tuned to Speedwaydigest.com all winter long for news regarding the 2024 ARCA Menards Series West season!

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series took to the 1.5-mile Homestead Miami Speedway Friday for practice and qualifying ahead of Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200. Zane Smith paced the practice session while Nick Sanchez captured the pole for the 201-mile event.

Zane Smith posted a 32.263 / 167.374 mph to lead the practice session. Dean Thompson, Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top five drivers.

Sanchez captured his fourth pole of the season posting a 32.319 / 167.084 mph. The driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet has only finished inside the top 10 once (finishing third at Nashville) when starting on the pole.

Carson Hocevar sat second fastest followed by Grant Enfinger in the qualifying session. Hocevar and Enfinger both enter the weekend with three victories this year.

Ty Majeski and Dean Thompson will round out the top five starters.

Drivers Trevor Bayne, Jonathan Shafer, and Armani Williams did not post lap times in qualifying.

No DNQs for the event as there are only 34 entries.

The ARCA Menards Series capped its 2023 season on Saturday at Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio. Jesse Love, clinching the series title the last time out at Salem Speedway, sat quickest in practice before winning the pole in qualifying. The Shore Lunch 200 featured 18 entries.

William Sawalich started beside 2023 national champion Jesse Love on the grid at the green flag. Sawalich, winning the ARCA Menards Series East championship three weekends ago at Bristol Motor Speedway, took the lead from Love with about 45 laps complete.

The two drivers traded the lead a couple of times more before Sawalich took the checkered flag for the fourth time of the season. The driver ends the ARCA national series season with four wins, 11 top five, and 12 top 10s. 

2023 champion Jesse Love finishes second by 1.162 seconds behind Sawalich. 

Winning 10 of 20 races, or precisely 50% of the events in 2023, Love finished the year with 17 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

Sean Hingorani finished third while Andres Perez and Christian Rose rounded out the top five.

Taking top 10s were Mason Ludwig, Andy Jankowiak, Frankie Muniz, Dylan Smith, and Stephanie Moyer. 

Four caution flags slowed the Shore Lunch 200 with two being for on-track incidents.

The No. 06 of Nate Moeller spun on lap 98 while the other incident included Dylan Smith, Jon Garrett, and Jankowiak in turn two on lap 144. Moeller finished 13th while Garrett finished 15th.

The ARCA Menards Series moves into its offseason. Stay tuned to SpeedwayDigest.com all winter long for updates!

Treyten Lapcevich woke up Sunday morning with one thing on the agenda for the day: winning the 2023 NASCAR Pinty’s Series title. Entering the season finale at Delaware Speedway with six wins, 10 top five, 13 top 10s and four poles, Lapcevich looked to continue his season dominance and secure the title by just taking the green flag.

Lapcevich started the day by leading practice before later qualifying second behind pole winner Kyle Steckly. Piloting the No. 22 Chevrolet entry, Steckly earned his first career NASCAR Pinty’s pole with a 19.164s / 93.926 mph.

Lapcevich and Steckly traded the lead calmly throughout the event before problems struck the No. 22 team. Lapcevich took control of things the rest of the way to score the championship and win his seventh victory, winning 50% of the races.

Donald Theetge finishes runner-up with his third top five of the year.

DJ Kennington showed strength upfront throughout the day in the No. 17 entry following a fifth-place start. Kennington, a two-time Pinty’s series champion, finishes the year with 11 top 10 finishes.

Andrew Ranger and Kevin Lacroix rounded out the top five.

Picking up top 10s were Alex Guenette, Thomas Nepveu, JP Bergeron, Dexter Stacey and Noah Gragson.

Thomas Nepveu, 19, from Oka, Quebec, captures the Josten’s Rookie of the Year title. Nepveu finishes the year holding five top 10s.

Noah Gragson joined the series north of the border for the second time of his career Sunday. Gragson, who made his Pinty’s debut in 2018 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park finishing third, finishes 10th piloting the No. 30 Dodge entry.

The off-season for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series begins. Stay tuned to Speedwaydigest.com for the latest news regarding the 2024 season!

The NASCAR XFINITY Series invaded the Texas Motor Speedway Saturday for round two of the playoffs. Featuring 40 entries with Garrett Smithley and Blaine Perkins not making the field, Justin Allgaier scored the pole position for the event that later had 12 caution periods.

Despite overcoming adversity throughout the day, Allgaier, sweeping both stages, had one of the strongest cars in the field on the Texas oval Saturday. The Illinois native dominated 133 of the 200 completed circuits. Unfortunately for the team, the No. 7 Chevrolet faded late.

Three drivers fought for the victory on a restart with 10 to go. Kligerman pinched race leader Justin Allgaier up the track to take the top spot for a lap before John Hunter Nemechek entered the picture.

Then, with seven to go, Nemechek made a power move to re-take the lead and cruise to his seventh victory. 

Nemechek, leading 38 of the 200 laps, started 11th on the grid.

Kligerman ties his best finish of the year with a second-place run, last coming at Road America in July.

Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.

Securing top 10s included Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones, and Brett Moffitt.

Sam Mayer, one of twelve drivers racing for an XFINITY Series championship in 2023, had one of the most frustrating days of any driver in the field. Not even a lap into the race, the No. 1 machine suffered an issue that forced the JR Motorsports team to the garage early. Because Mayer was on DVP, that meant that the No. 1 Chevrolet was done for the day.

Josh Berry also faced issues in the No. 8 JR Motorsports entry. Along with Kyle Weatherman, Parker Chase, and Austin Hill, Berry tangled in turn four drawing the seventh yellow flag. The driver heading to the Cup Series for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024 finished 27th on the pylon.

Unofficial driver points leaving Texas: Nemechek 2148, Allgaier -11, Custer -31, A. Hill -50, C. Smith -62, S. Smith -76 Creed -85, Hemric -93, Kligerman -94, J. Burton -112, Berry -120 and Mayer -127.

The series will tackle the Charlotte Roval on October 7th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Coverage of the Drive for the Cure 300 will air live on USA and PRN Radio at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The ARCA Menards Series tour kicked off a quadruple weekend of racing at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway on Friday. Series dominator Jesse Love started on the pole for the event that featured 22 entries.

Despite entering as the favorite to win, winning nine of the 16 events in 2023 entering Kansas, Love led only one circuit of the 150-mile event before being relegated further back in the top five. Dean Thompson took the lead away from the No. 20 entry on the second lap while the No. 18 of Connor Mosack took the top spot from Thompson on lap three.

Through turn two on lap 24, Love had some sort of suspension or tire issue on the right front that sent the No. 20 Toyota hard into the outside wall ending their day. The series points leader finishes 19th as a result of just their second DNF finish of the year.

Later in the event, Thompson, leader of 35 circuits, also had problems with his No. 25 entry. Thompson quickly came to pit road for the crew to diagnose issues before rejoining the field.

Thompson finishes two laps down in the eighth position.

That left only Connor Mosack and Carson Kvapil in contention for the win.

Mosack took the lead from Thompson on lap 42 and never looked back.

Mosack captured his first career ARCA Menards Series victory Friday at Kansas by 3.202 seconds over Kvapil. In six ARCA starts in 2023 with the Joe Gibbs Racing team, Mosack, from Charlotte, NC, has five top-five and six top-10s.

Kvapil finishes second in his ARCA Menards Series national debut.

Toni Breidinger, Lavar Scott, and Jake Finch rounded out the top five.

Christian Rose, Scott Melton, Dean Thompson, Mandy Chick, and Andy Jankowiak finished top 10.

The series heads next to Bristol Motor Speedway in an ARCA East combination event on September 14th. The Bush’s Beans 200 airs live on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The ARCA Menards Series slung dirt for the second time of the season on Sunday at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Featuring 18 entries on the entry list, Will Kimmel sat fastest in practice prior to William Sawalich starting on the pole for the event.

Jesse Love leaves the one-mile dirt facility in Illinois victorious with his ninth win of the season. Piloting the No. 20 GEARWRENCH Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, Love took the lead away from Sawalich on lap 21 and never looked back.

Surviving six restarts, including a one-lap dash to the checkered flag, Love continues his series dominance by earning his ninth trip to victory lane in 2023. His totals going into Kansas Speedway next week now include 14 top-five and 15 top-10s through sixteen races.

Brent Crews takes home the runner-up position behind Love at the checkered flag. The driver from Oklahoma City, OK, earns his third top-five finish through three ARCA starts.

Joining the series for the first time since Salem Speedway last season, Will Kimmel impressed many folks by racing inside the top five all night long. Kimmel led practice earlier in the day before posting the second-fastest lap in qualifying prior to the race. 

Kimmel leaves the track with a third-place run - capturing his 20th career top-five.

Andres Perez de Lara and William Sawalich rounded out the top five.

Taking home top 10s were Kelly Kovski, Christian Rose, Tim Monroe, Alex Clubb, and Brayton Laster.

The field slowed six times as a result of the caution flag. The most notable incident impacted Sean Corr, Sean Hingorani, and Frankie Muniz down the backstretch before turn three. The incident forced all three drivers out of the race.

The series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150 on September 8th. The 100-lap, 150-mile event airs live on FS1 and MRN Radio at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The ARCA Menards Series got dirty Sunday at Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. The Dutch Boy 150 on the one-mile dirt oval featured 18 entries with Brent Crews and Sean Corr leading the field to green.

Crews piloting a third Venturini Motorsports car led the first 18 circuits of the event before series points leader Jesse Love took the top spot. Love went on to lead the next 35 laps before Crews would use the bumper to take the lead again following a restart with 47 to go.

Crews then cruised to victory, leading the remaining 47 laps.

“He (Love) was super fast to start off. The second we came to pit road and came back off I knew it would be a super quick car,” said Crews after the race. “Jesse had us held up in one and two and I got under him. I knew he was gonna run me really hard and I stuffed the inside and we didn’t make it work.”

Crews, finishing third in his debut Friday at Watkins Glen, scored his first career ARCA win at just 15 years old. As he first noted in his interview with FS1 after the race, the win was quite special for the young racer.

“This is the highest caliber stuff I’ve ever done,” Crews stated in his TV interview. “To be able to win here just means a lot.”

Andres Perez de Lara sat 20.717 seconds behind crews at the checkered flag. The runner-up result now serves as Perez de Lara’s best career ARCA Menards Series finish across 15 starts. The event also marked Perez de Lara’s first race ever on dirt.

“It was really fun out there!” Perez de Lara exclaimed after the race. “It was my first time ever on dirt so I didn’t know what to really expect. We progressed throughout the day, which was really important because practice and qualifying weren’t as good as the race.”

It won’t be the only time this year the series will visit a dirt track. In Just a few short weeks the series will visit DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on September 3rd.

“I know a lot more stuff going to DuQuoin. So we can start from there and just keep working,” Perez de Lara added.

Jesse Love finishes third after leading 35 of 100 circuits.

Kelly Kovski and William Sawalich rounded out the top five.

Finishing top 10 were Ken Schrader, Frankie Muniz, Taylor Reimer, Jon Garrett and Brayton Laster.

Two cautions slowed the Dutch Boy 150 Sunday at Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Sean Corr spun in turns one and two on lap 32 of the event. Corr, after earning his best starting spot of second since winning the pole at Daytona in 2012, finished 13th.

Taylor Reimer spun all by herself on lap 47 in turns three and four. Reimer continued, earning an eighth-place finish.

The series will join the ARCA Menards Series East for a combination event at Milwaukee Mile on August 28th. The Sprecher 150 airs live on FOX Sports 1 and FloRacing at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The ARCA Menards Series West invaded the Pacific Northwest Saturday night at Evergreen Speedway. Evergreen, a 0.625-mile paved oval located in Monroe, Washington, hosted 15 entries for the NAPA Auto Parts ARCA 150 with Tyler Reif starting on the pole.

Reif led the first 55 circuits of the event until Sean Hingorani took over the top spot with 95 laps to go. Hingorani held off Landen Lewis and others the rest of the way through a restart following the halfway break and then a restart on lap 87 due to Tanner Reif bringing out the yellow. Hingorani and Co. earned their fourth trip to victory lane this season.

Tyler Reif finished runner-up sitting 2.484 seconds behind the winner.

Kole Raz finishes third in just his second ARCA West start. Raz also finished third in his series debut last month at Shasta Speedway.

Landen Lewis and Eric Nascimento Jr. rounded out the top five.

Finishing inside the top 10 were Trevor Huddleston, Kyle Keller, Jacob Smith, Bradley Erickson, and Todd Souza.

Defending winner Tanner Reif brought out the lone yellow outside of the lap 75 halfway break. Reif either cut a right front tire or had part of the right front suspension break that sent the No. 16 entry straight into the turn-one wall. The driver climbed from his car and walked to an awaiting safety truck.

Rief finishes 15th as a result of the DNF.

The ARCA Menards Series West heads to Roseville next month for the NAPA Auto Care 150. The event will take place on September 30th live on FloRacing.