TC Daily Pit Stop: Busch Scores Texas Truck Win; Sanchez Wins Pole; Love Earns Pole for Xfinity Race; Plus Friday Texas Highlights
TC Daily Pit Stop: Friday, April 13th, 2024
Kyle Busch Wins SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway
Author: Dewey Schramm III
Kyle Busch already has the largest trophy case in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, but he’ll need to make room for another, following his victory in Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Driving the No. 7 Realtree Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports, Busch led a race-high 112 of 167 laps in Friday’s race, holding off a hard-charging Corey Heim to score his second win of the season.
“Corey [Heim] kept us honest right there, he started to find that top over there and to get some momentum over there,” Busch said about his late-race battle. “I tried it with three to go and I chattered really bad, so my front wasn’t working over there. I just needed more laps on my tires to be able to get up there and make that work.”
Corey Heim came home in second place, with Nick Sanchez third, Christian Eckes fourth and Zane Smith rounding out the top-five in fifth. Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray, Stefan Parsons and Ty Majeski rounded out the top-10.
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
DRIVER POINTS
OWNER POINTS
INSPECTION REPORT
Video: Kris Wright Crashes with Stewart Friesen at Texas
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Video: Thad Moffitt Crashes, Collects Ankrum, Villarreal, and Wright
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Nick Sanchez Earns Truck Series Pole at Texas
After a near-miss at Texas Motor Speedway last season, Nick Sanchez is looking for redemption at the 1.5-mile intermediate facility, and it starts by scoring the pole for Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 250.
Putting down a lap time of 29.219 seconds (184.811mph), the REV Racing driver will lead the field to green for the sixth time in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career, and for the first time this season
Sanchez had a substantial advantage over second-place qualifier Christian Eckes, who won the last NASCAR Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway. Stewart Friesen will start third, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in fourth and Grant Enfinger in fifth place.
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STARTING LINEUP
PRACTICE RESULTS
Tyler Ankrum Crashes After Turning Second-Fastest Practice Lap
Tyler Ankrum has been one of the more impressive drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage in 2024, and the speed continued to show through for the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. Ankrum recorded the second-fastest lap of the practice session (29.867 sec.), but a couple of laps later he found trouble.
Following the crash, Ankrum explained that he wasn’t quite sure what happened to cause him to go into the outside wall.
“It was so weird. It was so early in the corner. I think I hit the splitter and lost the nose,” Ankrum said following his trip to the infield care center. “Just real weird. Had all the grip in the world. It was really fast. I only needed three laps to run that lap. I hate it for my guys, [on the] LiUNA! Chevrolet, we had a really good truck and I junked it. We’re going to roll off the backup, see how it is, and get ready for the race.”
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Video: Tanner Gray Crashes on Opening Lap of Practice at Texas
It’s going to be a long day for Tanner Gray and the No. 15 TRICON Garage team as the driver lost control of his Toyota Tundra in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, and slammed hard into the outside wall on the exit of Turn 2 on the opening lap of practice.
With the race set to go green just after 7:30 PM ET, the No. 15 team will have to get a lot of work done prior to Friday night’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.
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Jesse Love Scores Third Career Pole for Xfinity Race at Texas
19-year-old Jesse Love just has a knack for laying down a fast qualifying speed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, scoring the pole for Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway in his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.
For Love, the defending champion of the ARCA Menards Series, it’s the third pole position in his first eight NASCAR Xfinity Series events, with the other two coming back-to-back at the beginning of the season at Daytona and Atlanta.
In Friday’s single-vehicle qualifying session, Love posted a time of 29.093 seconds (185.612mph) around the 1.5-mile facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The Menlo Park, California-native clocked in ahead of Cole Custer, the defending champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, who came up just short of the pole position.
Taylor Gray, Chandler Smith, and Riley Herbst completed the top-five.
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STARTING LINEUP
PRACTICE RESULTS
Thad Moffitt, Faction46 Honoring Bobby Hamilton with Darlington Throwback Scheme
Faction46, a first-year team competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will honor both Bobby Hamilton and Petty Enterprises in next month’s event at Darlington Raceway, as part of NASCAR’s annual Throwback Weekend.
Thad Moffitt, grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty, will pilot the silver No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado during Throwback Weekend, a scheme that resembles the STP 25th Anniversary vehicle that Bobby Hamilton debuted in 1996 while driving for Petty Enterprises.
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NASCAR TV Schedule: Saturday, April 13th at Texas Motor Speedway
With the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event in the books at Texas Motor Speedway, it's time to move into the NASCAR Xfinity Series portion of the weekend, with Saturday's running of the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 at the 1.5-mile facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
10:30 AM ET - NASCAR Cup Practice at Texas - FS1 / FOX Sports App / PRN
11:20 AM ET - NASCAR Cup Qualifying at Texas - FS1 / FOX Sports App / PRN
12:30 PM ET - NASCAR Xfinity RaceDay at Texas - FS1 / FOX Sports App / PRN
1:30 PM ET - NASCAR Xfinity Race at Texas - FS1 / FOX Sports App / PRN
8:00 PM ET - NASCAR Cup Practice at Texas (re-air) - FS2
8:45 PM ET - NASCAR Cup Qualifying at Texas (re-air) - FS2
10:00 PM ET - NASCAR Xfinity Race at Texas (re-air) - FS2