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Weekend Blog - Saturday
11:55 pm - And that’s a wrap on this weekend’s racing action at LVMS.
Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Tanner Foust were the big winners and the fans were treated to two extremely different but very exciting events. Thanks for joining us….and good night!
11:45 pm - Tanner Foust wins the GRC Main Event.
2nd-8th: Deegan, Isachsen, Heikkinen, Verdier, Millen, Block, Lasek.
Ericksson and Pastrana did not finish.
11:20 pm - Andreas Eriksson wins the last chance qualifier followed by Pastrana Verdier, Lasek, Moro, Hubinette, Mirra and Binks. The top four advance to the Main Event.
The lineup for the Main Event (6 laps): Foust, Block, Deegan, Heikkinen, Millen, Isachsen, Eriksson, Pastrana, Verdier, Lasek
10:50 pm – Brian Deegan wins the third heat race. 2nd -5th: Heikkinen, Verdier, Hubinette, Pastrana.
The lineup for the last chance qualifier is: Mirra, Verdier, Moro, Eriksson, Lasek, Hubinette, Pastrana, Binks
10:31 pm – Ken Block wins the second heat race. Millen, Moro, Erickson and Binks finish 2nd through 5th.
Binks spun in the dirt on the final lap while leading and falls to last place.
10:17 pm - Tanner Foust wins the first heat race followed by Isachsen, Mirra and Lasek.
Richard Burton misjudged the gap jump on his first attempt on the 1st lap and lands hard between the ramps. He is awake and alert but is being transported to UMC by ambulance for observation and further evaluation.
9:25 pm – The track crew is busy reassembling the GRC course and the drivers are getting ready for the heat races.
Bracket 1A: Tanner Foust, Sverre Isachsen, Bucky Lasek, Dave Mirra, Richard Burton
Bracket 1B: Ken Block, Rhys Millen, Andreas Erikssen, David Binks, Pat Moro
Bracket 1C: Travis Pastrana, Toomas Heikkinen, Brian Deegan, Samuel Hubinette, Stephan Verdier
9:10 pm - Despite his run-in on pit road during the 6th caution, Ty Dillon held onto the points lead after a 10th place finish. “We had an awesome truck tonight,” said Dillon, who leads James Buescher by 1 point with five races to go. “I’m disappointed that our night kind of got ruined on pit road. I’m proud of the team. We fought back but it still hurts. We still have the points lead. Everything’s going to be all right.”
9:00 pm - Nelson Piquet, Jr. started 13th and posted his 2nd career victory. His first was at Michigan, 5 races ago. He led four times for 30 laps.
“I have no idea what happened,” said Piquet, Jr. about his last lap pass on Matt Crafton. “I stuck it in there and God gave me the grip I needed. We really needed this win. For sure, it’s one of the best wins of my career. It’s difficult to put into words what I felt when I crossed the checkered flag and even on the back straight when I was in front of the No. 88 (Crafton). I hit the wall 10 laps from the end but I wasn’t giving up. Luckily, it didn’t damage the truck enough to run down the tires. It’s for sure one of the best feelings I’ve had in 19 years of my career. Winning in Vegas is amazing.”
Crafton’s runner up finish was his 12th top 10 finish of the season. “That sucks,” said Crafton, who led twice for 15 laps. “Just plain and simple sucks. My God, that’s a tough one to lose on the last lap.”
7:52 pm - Piquet takes a run at Crafton with 5 laps to go but loses his momentum and falls back. Piquet has a faster truck but Crafton isn’t going to make it easy. White flag – Piquet peeks underneath Crafton in Turn 2 and takes the lead. Piquet wins for the second time this season. 2nd-5th are Crafton, Coulter, Gaughan and Bodine.
7:45 pm - The green flag waves on Lap 131. Coulter takes the lead. Crafton goes three wide on the inside and takes the lead on Lap 133. Gaughan takes ‘em 4 wide and comes out 4th. Piquet is back to 3rd. Gaughan and Bodine are side by side for 4th. Gaughan gets the position. With 9 laps to go the top 5 are Crafton, Piquet, Coulter, Gaughan and Bodine.
7:34 pm - Back to green on Lap 121. Kligerman scrapes the outside wall on Lap 124. He hits it again one lap later and now he’s falling backwards from 14th place. Crafton gets underneath Piquet trying to take the lead but Piquet fights back and keeps it. Kligerman blows a tire and brings out the Caution for the 8th time on Lap 127.
Pastrana gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap, running 17th. The top five under caution: Piquet, Crafton, Coulter, Bodine and Mayhew. Gaughan is running 6th.
7:27 pm - A handful of drivers pit including Kligerman, Dillon and Townley. Up front the top five under caution are Piquet, Bodine, Crafton, Mayhew and Coulter. Vegas’ own Brendan Gaughan is running 9th. Sauter and Lofton were evaluated and released from the infield care center. “We’ve got people out here that just shouldn’t be racing,” said Sauter. “That’s just the way I feel.” Lofton’s take on the deal: “I should have just turned right and put into the fence,” said Lofton. “Bummer it had to end this way. I really think we had a chance to win this.”
7:21 pm - Piquet takes the lead from Mayhew. Bodine gets around Mayhew as well and sets his sights on Piquet. Dillon is mired back in 16th after the mishap on pit road. Crash on the front stretch on Lap 114 involving Johnny Sauter and Lofton. Yellow #7. Lofton lost control and Sauter had nowhere to go. Buescher barely makes it by with no contact. Kligerman gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
7:11 pm - Brennan Newberry (running 14th) crashes in Turn 4 to bring out the 6th caution of the race. Peters and Kligerman battle for the free pass spot and Peters gets it to put himself back on the lead lap. The leaders pit. Piquet takes 2 tires and 1 can of fuel. Bodine and Dillon take 2 tires. Coulter takes 4 tires. Mayhew and Dillon make contact on pit road. Dillon has a flat tire after contact on pit road and has to come in again. Green flag with 40 laps to go. The top five are Mayhew, Bodine, Miguel Paludo, Lofton.
7:00 pm - Kligerman gets the free pass and is now 1 lap behind the leaders. Dillon takes the lead off of pit road followed by Coulter, Piquet, Crafton and Gale. Back to green on Lap 80. Dillon gets loose and falls all the way back to 8th. Coulter takes the lead. Crafton gets around Piquet for 2nd. Lap 95: Coulter has a 2.0 second lead over Piquet, Justin Lofton, Bodine and Crafton.
6:51 pm - Kligerman gives up the lead to pit on Lap 71. He only took 1 can of fuel on an early stop and he needs more. He loses a lap. Piquet takes over the top spot. Kligerman gets a penalty for speeding on entry to pit road. He heads back in for a stop and go penalty and loses a 2nd lap. The caution flag flies for the fifth time on Lap 77 for debris in Turn 4. Brian Silas gets the free pass putting 17 trucks on the lead lap. Piquet leads the field onto pit road.
6:40 pm - Peters heads to pit road under green on Lap 52. He thinks he has a tire going down. The crew changes all four tires. He rejoins the race in 21st , 1 lap behind the leaders. Coulter and Dillon are back up to 3rd and 4th , respectively. Peters’ crew lets him know he did not have a flat tire and he is still complaining the truck is loose. Hornaday is out of the race with a blown engine.
6:31 pm - Some drivers take two tires to shake up the running order. The top three before pit stops take 4 tires and restart 8th through 10th . Back to Green on Lap 36: Kligerman, Buescher, Grant Enfinger are now 1st through 3rd. Enfinger takes the lead briefly but Kligerman grabs it right back. The top 5 on Lap 42 are Kligerman, Gale, Piquet, Coulter and John Wes Townley. Lafferty was checked and released from the infield center.
6:15 pm - Travis Pastrana gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Several trucks come to pit road for service. The top 13 stay out on the track. Back to green on Lap 19. Coulter and Dillon get around Peters for 1^st and 2nd.
Ron Hornaday is off the pace on Lap 22. Bodine slides up the track and scrapes the wall off Turn 4 on Lap 28. Chris Lafferty slams the wall in Turn 4 and Parker Kligerman gets sideways to avoid the contact and makes it through. Yellow #4 flies on Lap 30. Top 5: Coulter, Dillon, Peters, Mayhew and Nelson Piquet, Jr.
6:06 pm - Pastrana says there is nothing wrong with his truck. He lost control because the air pressure in the tires hasn’t had time to build up yet. Green flag on Lap 8. Chris Lafferty spins off Turn 4 and Yellow #3 flies on Lap 15. He doesn’t hit anything and drives around to the attention of his crew. Peters continues to lead followed by Coulter, Dillon, Mayhew and Crafton.
6:00 pm - Back to green on Lap 5. Timothy Peters takes the lead. Travis Pastrana spins off Turn 4 in almost the same place where Bodine spun and we’ve got Yellow #2 on Lap 7. The top five are Peters, Coulter, Ryan Reed, Ty Dillon and Matt Crafton.
5:50 pm – Green Flag! Todd Bodine spins off Turn 4 as the field completes Lap 1 and under caution for the first time. Joey Coulter leads the first lap followed by Timothy Peters and David Mahew. Bodine heads to pit road with a flat left, front tire.
5:40 pm – We’ve just wrapped up driver introductions and we’re ready to go racing. The fans, drivers and crew members observed a moment of silence for Chris Economacki, the undisputed Dean of Motorsports, who passed away earlier yesterday morning. Julianna Erdesz performed the National Anthem and Tate Jorgensen, account manager for Smith’s is about to give the command to start engines.
2:30 pm – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Pre-Race Stats:
- This is the 16th series event at LVMS
- Joey Coulter is the 11th different pole winner.
- There have been 13 different winners with Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague the only repeat winners.
- This race has been won from the pole 7 times. Ron Hornaday was the last driver to do it in 2011.
- Ten drivers in the field are making their LVMS debut. Of them, Ty Dillon posted the best qualifying effort and starts 5th .
- Matt Crafton, Brendan Gaughan and Ron Hornaday lead the all-time list with 11 starts each. Hornaday (2011) and Gaughan (2003) have 1 victory apiece while Crafton’s best finish was a 3nd in last year’s event.
1:30 pm – The GRC drivers have finished their seeding session with Tanner Foust at the top of the list with a lap completed in 25.447 seconds. Ken Block was second in the Monster World Rally Ford at 25.640 seconds. Travis Pastrana was third at 25.651 seconds.
11:25 am – Tanner Faust, from Dana Point, CA, was the fastest GRC driver during the morning’s first practice session. Faust toured the course in 29.617 seconds in his Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta. Sweden’s Andreas Eriksson was second fastest at 30.106 seconds in the Best Buy Ford Fiesta. UK driver David Binks made it a top three sweep for Ford in the eBay Motors entry with a lap of 30.227 seconds.
10:45 am – GETTING TO KNOW GLOBAL RALLYCROSS – Take some highly modified all-wheel-drive turbocharged compact cars generating 600 hp. Add some water and a little dirt, throw in drifting, jumping and aggressive drivers with big…uh…talent and you get Global Rallycross.
The course is oval-ish and is laid out with half of it on the LVMS frontstretch and the other half on pit road. Drivers negotiate a variety of elements, including the car wash, a dirt turn, a chicane, a tabletop that looks like a giant speed bump and a 70-foot gap jump. Drivers have a choice of going over the gap or turning hard left and going under it but they can only take the shortcut once per event and must time it strategically to take full advantage.
Heat races feature multiple cars competing from a standing start for four laps. Winners advance to the A Main, which is a five-lap race. Described by some drivers as motorcross with a roll cage, the sport debuted at the X games in 2010.
10:00 am – Welcome back for Day 2 at LVMS. The Global Rallycross cars are practicing for tonight’s main event. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will get the command to start engines at 5:40 pm this evening with RCR Racing’s Joey Coulter leading the field to green. Ticket gates and the Neon Garage open at 3 pm. There are still tickets left and we’ve got great weather, so come on out and join us!
Weekend Blog - Friday
9:45 - That will do it for Day 1. Join us tomorrow for the Truck Series and Global Rallycross series main events.
9:37 pm – Joey Coulter backed up his fast practice times by winning the pole for tomorrow night’s Smith’s 350. Coulter lapped the track in the No. 22 Chevy in 30.572 seconds for a speed of 176.632 mph.
The is the third pole for the Richard Childress Racing driver in 2012 and his second in a row after leading the field to green last weekend at Kentucky Motor Speedway.
“I had a fantastic truck from the time we unloaded,” said Coulter. “It’s a really good day when you don’t have to mess with it. As good as the truck was in practice, I really would have been disappointed if we couldn’t back it up. It’s definitely cool for me. Last year we qualified 12th or 14th and wrecked. Our goal was to come back and try to forget about last year.”
Timothy Peters qualified the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota 2nd fastest with a lap of 175.856 mph completed in 30.707 seconds. David Mayhew, Matt Crafton and Ty Dillon rounded out the top five. Hometown hero Brendan Gaughan starts sixth in the No. 2 South Point Chevrolet.
5:37 pm - Practice is over and Joey Coulter hangs onto the top spot as the only driver to crack the 176 mph barrier. Timothy Peters, Grant Enfinger, Johnny Sauter and David Mayhew round out the top 5. Ty Dillon was 8th fastest.
The crews will get ready for qualifying while their drivers head to the Neon Garage to meet the fans for a one-hour autograph session starting at 7 pm. Tonight's qualifying session will get underway at 8:35 pm.
5:15 pm - DILLON 4TH HOTTEST IN NASCAR – Apparently Ty Dillon has impressed a lot of people this year…both on and off the track. The series points leader was surprised, flattered and pleased to learn he was named the 4th Hottest Dude in NASCAR by BuzzFeed.com and the only CTS regular to make the list.
“Is that hot, like, good looking hot?” he asked. “Awesome. Was that after Danica, so really it’s like third?” he joked. “Well, that’s cool. I’m sure my girlfriend will be happy about that.”
For the record, Danica – not being a dude – was not in the running. The top three ahead of Ty are Sprint Cup stars Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray.
5:00 pm – We’ve had our first incident on the track. Chris Lafferty spins his Chevrolet off Turn 4 and manages to avoid contact with the wall. Coulter continues to lead the way with a 175.234 mph lap.
4:30 pm – Joey Coulter has jumped to the top of the speed chart at the halfway point of the practice session. Coulter’s fastest lap so far is 174.622, more than 1 mph faster than Todd Bodine in second place. David Mayhew is third, followed by Parker Kligerman and Justin Lofton.
4:20 pm – FROM WINNER TO DARK HORSE – Ron Hornaday does not plan on resting on the laurels of last year’s victory at LVMS. Hornaday is winless so far in 2012 with his best finish a 2nd at Iowa Speedway in July. He would like nothing better than to make it back-to-back victories in Sin City.
“The way this track weathers and the sand and the wind we get out here, it ages fast,” said Hornaday. “What you think you had here last year is not gonna work. This is the only track that I’ve felt comfortable enough where I can get to the top groove. We had a good enough truck last year where we kind of dominated the race and I could drive it anywhere. The odds are definitely against this team coming into this weekend but I would like to consider us a dark horse.”
3:45 pm – The Truck Series teams are 15 minutes into their first and only practice session. Ty Dillon was the first on track and is currently second fastest behind Parker Kligerman. Joey Coulter, Cale Gale and Justin Lofton round out the top five.
2:25 pm - PASTRANA DOUBLES DOWN IN VEGAS - Travis Pastrana is the only driver pulling double duty at LVMS this weekend. He’ll make his Craftsman Truck Series debut in the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota before climbing into the Red Bull Rallycross Dodge Dart to race for the 2012 Global Rallycross Series championship Saturday night.
Pastrana has been racing part time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with his most recent start earlier this month at Richmond International Racing where he finished 17th and led his first NNS laps driving for Roush Racing.
“I’m trying to get my future more into NASCAR and I always wanted to race here,” said Pastrana. “I watched last year’s Smith’s 250 (Truck Series race) here from the grandstands.”
BUESCHER’S DRIVE FOR FIVE – James Buescher comes into LVMS fresh off his fourth victory of the season at Kentucky Motor Speedway. All four wins have been on 1.5 mile intermediate tracks. He is 2nd in points and with just four markers separating him from series leader Ty Dillon, he’s looking for victory number five.
“The team and I are really confident that we can go to Vegas and win this race after last weekend’s performance,” said Buescher. “Las Vegas Motor Speedway falls right into our wheelhouse with it being an intermediate track.”
11:30 am - Good morning from Las Vegas Motor Speedway where we’re gearing up for two days of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Global Rallycross action.
The Truck Series teams roll in with rookie Ty Dillon leading the championship standings by a scant 4 points over last week’s winner James Buescher. Dillon is competing for the first time at LVMS while Buescher has a best finish of 3rd in three races at America’s Racing Showplace. Ron Hornaday is the defending race winner and is hoping to dance with Lady Luck once again for his first victory of the season. The truck teams take to the track at 3:30 pm for two hours of practice with qualifying scheduled to start at 8:35 pm. Fans will get a chance to meet their favorite driver at this evening’s autograph session in the Neon Garage from 6-7 pm.
The Global Rallycross drivers are competing in their 2012 season finale tomorrow night with 12 drivers still in the hunt for the $25,000 grand prize and championship title. Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan are tied for the lead with Samuel Hubinette second and Travis Pastrana third.
Ticket gates open at 3 pm, so there’s still plenty of time to come on out and join us. The Truck Series drivers will be hosting an autograph session in the Neon Garage from 6-7 pm.
Get ready for a doubleheader: Smith's 350 and GRC are coming to Vegas
We’re hosting a doubleheader: The Smith’s 350 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, paired with Global RallyCross Championship – on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Traditional auto racing fans know the Camping World Truck Series has earned a reputation of producing first-time winners and thrilling green-white-checkered finishes. And sometimes, when the pass for the lead – or the finish – is a little too close, someone goes home angry. It sets the stage for the next race: redemption, a breakthrough like a first win, maybe a little payback. It’s exciting racing with lots of new names and some familiar friendly faces.
This year, the Truck Series race is paired with the Sylvania SilverStar zXe Las Vegas Global RallyCross Championship. Two races for the price of one.
Star driver Tanner Foust describes Global RallyCross as “Racing for people with A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder). It’s all of the best, most entertaining parts of racing packed together in a short track. There’s jumping, sliding, door-to-door action in insanely-fast cars and the stars of the X Games – all packed into the track.
“It’s kind of like Supercross, where there are qualifying heats – five or six cars together in short races – in cars though. Small cars, like Ford Fiestas, Subarus and Hyundais.
“Early in my career I worked as an ice driving instructor. I got addicted to car control. The kind of driving you do once you’ve lost grip and you’re sideways.
If you’re a traditional fan who likes watching fast Trucks race on ovals or the new generation of motorsports enthusiast who likes to see cars flying through the air – then screaming sideways – our NASCAR Truck/GRC Saturday has you covered. Come for Onion, stay for Tanner.
Super Chevy Show: What's in a name?
Car enthusiasts have given the Chevrolet brand many nicknames, including: Chevy, shoebox (the ’55-’57 body shapes), stovebolt (referring to the 6 cyl engine), “rat” (their big-block V-8 engine) and bowtie (shape of the logo).
No matter what you call them, there will be a huge amount of them on the premises this weekend. It’s time for the annual Super Chevy Show (www.superchevyshow) and it’s a wonderland for lovers of all things Chevrolet.
Car show. Drag racing. Swap meet. Car corral. Manufacturers’ midway. Autocross. All Chevrolet.
El Caminos, Corvettes, Corvairs, Chevelles, Camaros, 210s, Bel Airs, Impalas, Monte Carlos, Caprices, and, as the P.T. Barnum of drag racing Bill Doner used to say, “the list goes on and on and on!”
We invite you to participate with your Chevrolet, or simply come down to the drag strip this weekend to celebrate the great American muscle car era.
John Bisci