CUP: Kyle Larson the first All-Star retiree since 2019

PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

Kyle Larson finished last in Sunday’s All-Star Race at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 36 of 140 laps.

Larson, the defending series champion, secured his starting spot with an incredible ten-win season that began in the third round of the year at Las Vegas. Larson, crew chief Cliff Daniels, and the Hendrick Motorsports crew have made the adjustment to NASCAR’s NextGen car, taking the checkered flag just two races into the season at the Auto Club Speedway. The year since has been rather hot-and-cold, racking up six Top Fives, but also four DNFs, most recently a blown engine on a fast Tim Richmond “throwback” scheme in Darlington that left him last.

On Saturday evening, Larson turned the second-fastest lap behind Denny Hamlin, then made the eight-car cut in single-car qualifying to make it into the “knock-out” shootout for the pole. There would be three rounds with the top eight matched head-to-head in four groups of two. A drag-race start, four-tire stop, and single lap at speed would decide each winner. Third in line and paired with Kurt Busch, Larson prevailed in Round 1, only to stall his car in Round 2. Larson thus secured 4th while Kyle Busch, who bested Larson in Round 2, went on to beat Ryan Blaney for the pole.

Starting 24th and last was “fan vote” winner Erik Jones in the #43 Focus Factor Chevrolet, though he’d be joined at the back by 20th-place starter Alex Bowman, his #48 Ally Chevrolet slowest in single-car qualifying, for unapproved adjustments. “Obviously, we can only go forward from here,” said Bowman’s crew over the radio.

When the race started, Bowman’s car was last across the stripe, 1.911 seconds back of the lead with Jones now 22nd, just ahead of All-Star Open Segment 3 winner Daniel Suarez in the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet. Bowman and Suarez dropped Jones to last by the end of Lap 1, while Jones cleared Chris Buescher’s #17 Fastenal Ford by the start of Lap 3. Buesher, the winner of Open Segment 2, remained locked in a side-by-side battle with Jones, just 0.056 behind the #43 to start Lap 4. Jones shook of Buescher the next time by, but the #17 stayed within two-tenths of his competitor.

On Lap 8, Michael McDowell had slipped to 23rd in his #34 WISE-EV Ford, and Buescher set to work trying to pass him. The pair were 0.014 apart in a side-by-side battle at the stripe, then remained just 0.072 apart two laps later. McDowell finally inched ahead the next time by as McDowell now dropped Brad Keselowski to 23rd in his #6 Kohler Generators Ford. Buescher couldn’t quite catch his teammate, though Keselowski now found himself locked in a side-by-side battle with Jones, the pair seven-thousandths apart on Lap 17. Buescher steadily lost ground to 0.477 back of Keselowski on Lap 20 while Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the Open Segment 1 winner, dropped to 23rd in the #47 Kroger / Viva Towels Chevrolet. On Lap 25, just before the end of the opening sage, Jones dropped to last, 1.595 back of Buescher, who then caught Stenhouse for 23rd. This put the #43 back where he started when the stage ended.

Under the ensuing caution, Jones endured a lengthy stop along with Kevin Harvick, whose crew raise the hood of the #4 #BuschBacon Ford. When Stage 2 began on Lap 26, McDowell slipped to last spot 3.061 seconds back of the lead, but now neck-and-neck with Bubba Wallace in the #23 Dr. Pepper Dark Berry Toyota. The next time by, Wallace dropped 16.1 seconds back of the lead and 10.844 back of McDowell. The #23 had made an unscheduled stop for a loose right-front wheel on his previous stop, putting him a lap down. Wallace remained in last, hoping for a quick caution to earn the Lucky Dog, when trouble broke out up front.

On Lap 35, Kyle Larson was running 2nd to a dominant Kyle Busch. Heading through Turns 3 and 4, the right-front tire blew on Larson’s car, putting him hard into the outside wall. Larson came off the fence and drove through the grass, revealing significant damage to the passenger side of his Chevrolet as he pulled into his pit stall. The driver climbed out under his own power, done for the day. Cliff Daniels had the tow truck bring the car to their garage stall, Stall 21, so the crew could ready the car for loading on the hauler. Wallace got the Lucky Dog under the caution, dropping Larson to last in the process.

On the ensuing restart, another tire went down, triggering another series of hard hits. This time, it was race leader Kyle Busch, whose #18 M&M’s Crunchy Cookie Toyota slowed off Turn 4 and pulled to the inside of the quad-oval. Closing fast behind was Ross Chastain, who elected the inside lane in his #1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet. Chastain struck Busch’s car in the left-rear, sending him straight up the track into Chase Elliott’s #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Elliott spun off Chastain’s car into the outside wall, knocking the front-end geometry out of alignment. All three drivers climbed from their cars, done for the night. Erik Jones rounded out the Bottom Five after he spun and backed into the outside wall off Turn 4 while running 14th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the third time the #5 has finished last in the All-Star Race. The first occurrence was in the inaugural on May 25, 1985, when Geoffrey Bodine’s #5 Levi Garrett Chevrolet lost the engine after 14 laps. The most recent occurrence was May 21, 1994, when Terry Labonte had a transmission failure after 36 laps in his #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet.

*Larson is the first driver to fail to finish on the lead lap under power in an All-Star Race since 2019.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

24) #5-Kyle Larson / 36 laps / crash

23) #9-Chase Elliott / 47 laps / crash

22) #1-Ross Chastain / 47 laps / crash

21) #18-Kyle Busch / 47 laps / crash

20) #43-Erik Jones / 103 laps / crash

CUP: After Stenhouse transfers, Cassill first driver out of the Open for a hard crash

PHOTO: @TheLTFiles

Landon Cassill finished last in the All-Star Open at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #77 Shelton Energy Solutions Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 25 of 50 laps.

After a difficult start, Cassill has begun to reap the rewards of his double-duty effort running full-time in the XFINITY Series for Kaulig Racing with a partial schedule in fellow Chevrolet effort Spire Motorsports’ #77 Chevrolet. Following a last-place finish after an engine fire in the XFINITY race in Fontana, Cassill finished 9th or better the next three races, then came within a few carlengths of beating Brandon Jones for the win in Martinsville, ultimately taking a career-best 2nd. The Cup side has seen more modest results, though in all five of his starts, he brought the car home under power with two top-twenty finishes, capped by a 15th in the Daytona 500. 

Cassill would also run the #77 in the All-Star Open, taking over for Kansas starter Josh Bilicki, in what would be his first pen start since 2019. His best finish in the race came in 2016, when he drove to an 8th-place finish for Front Row Motorsports. Shelton Energy Solutions would make their debut as sponsor for the non-points event.

Cassill’s Texas weekend began with the XFINITY race, where his #10 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet was involved in the first incident in practice. Contact with the wall sent him to a backup car, leaving him last on the grid without a single lap completed. In the wild 167 laps that followed, Cassill clawed his way to 10th at the checkered flag. He faced similar adversity on the Cup side, ranking slowest of the 16 drivers in practice, but then improved to 11th in time trials with a lap of 184.382mph (29.287 seconds).

Starting 16th and last in the second-shortest Open field in the history of the event was B.J. McLeod in the #78 B.J. McLeod Pala Casino Ford. He’d be joined by two drivers sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments – Justin Haley in the #31 Leaf Filter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, and Tyler Reddick in the #8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet, who had steering issues that would later be suffered by teammate Austin Dillon in the race. Both McLeod and 15th-place starter Garrett Smithley in the #15 Trophy Tractor Ford decided not to start ahead of Haley and Reddick, so the last row remained the same at the start.

When the race started, McLeod and Smithley remained locked in a side-by-side battle for the 16th spot. At the end of Lap 1, they were one-thousandth apart, then six-thousandths on Lap 2, 0.016 of a second on Lap 3, followed by five-thousandths on Lap 4. It wasn’t until the fifth lap that Smithley finally shook off McLeod, who remained just 0.284 back of the #15. The gap between the two grew to 0.525 on Lap 17, but in the final laps, McLeod began to close the gap, reaching 0.394 at the last lap of the stage, then 0.319 as it ended. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won the stage, technically handing him last place as the first driver to transfer into the main event.

Under caution, both McLeod and Haley incurred tail-end penalties for uncontrolled tires, putting them in the tail end of the pack to start behind the longest line. Stenhouse inherited last when Stage 2 began on Lap 21, and this time Smithley pulled ahead of McLeod more easily, opening up a 0.263 second advantage the first time by. McLeod was still 0.327 behind on Lap 26, when the caution fell for the first incident of the race. Cassill, running through Turns 3 and 4, was told by his team to try the high line, but it didn’t work. He lost control and backed into the outside wall, spinning down to the apron. Cassill climbed out uninjured, his day done.

Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez won the race’s two remaining stages with Erik Jones earning the Fan Vote. Tyler Reddick, who like Haley had been climbing through the field, ended up spinning in the same spot as Cassill, then was struck by a slowing Harrison Burton in the #21 Motorcraft / Dex Imaging Ford. Both Reddick and Burton were done for the race, ultimately filling the Bottom Five. 

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for both Cassill and the #77 in the Open.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

16) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 20 laps / led 20 laps / advanced stage 1

15) #77-Landon Cassill / 25 laps / crash

14) #17-Chris Buescher / 40 laps / led 9 laps / advanced stage 2

13) #21-Harrison Burton / 42 laps / crash

12) #8-Tyler Reddick / 42 laps / crash

OPINION: The time has come for NASCAR to ban Cup drivers from the lower series

PHOTO: @WilliamByron

Despite multiple rule changes that have allowed the lower series to develop unique identities of their own, there remains a concerted effort to get Cup Series regulars into the lower series, and the XFINITY Series in particular. 

As with too many things these days, this subject has become a war of semantics. Those happy with Kyle Busch running fewer XFINITY races have been dismissed by their detractors as obsessed with “the Kyle Busch problem,” as if the source of their frustration was just from Kyle Busch running in the lower series, and not the presence of any Cup regulars. This forgets that Busch made himself the problem by staying in the series longer and for more races per season than the other post-2001 “Buschwhackers.” The culmination of this was the perversion of Richard Petty’s 200-win mark that allowed Busch’s combined top three series wins to be made part of the same conversation. But the concept of a “Kyle Busch problem” has now been used to silence these same critics as other Cup drivers creep back into the XFINITY series unchecked.

Some “Buschwhackers” are brought in under the guise of helping smaller teams evaluate their competitiveness. This occurred in February at the Auto Club Speedway, where SS-Green Light Racing brought on Stewart-Haas Racing driver Cole Custer, and this past Saturday in Texas, where Big Machine Racing brought on Richard Childress Racing driver Tyler Reddick. Both drivers were far from picked at random – SS-Green Light is as closely aligned with SHR as Big Machine (thanks to a renegotiation last October) is to RCR. These technical alliances have undoubtedly helped these teams become more competitive – both Custer and Reddick brought those teams their first wins. 

But, as with anything, this benefit has not been given freely. Running Cup level equipment has cost these smaller teams some of their identity and autonomy. Custer and Reddick's wins, while tremendous for their respective teams, are not equal stories to Jeremy Clements' win at Road America in 2017, nor David Gilliland's at Kentucky in 2006. Only the latter were true examples of series regulars sticking it to the big teams. Instead, too many small teams have become Trojan Horses, creating a path for Cup drivers to more easily slide into the XFINITY Series and at a direct detriment to series regulars. For barely over a season’s work, Jade Buford’s full-time schedule has now been reduced to just one more regular season race, to be replaced by not one, but both of RCR’s Cup drivers. Say what you will about Buford's performance in just 44 series starts, but other up-and-coming drivers for Cup-affiliated programs should be concerned if this becomes a trend.

In another case, Cup drivers are being airdropped into the field with impunity. Enter the case of JR Motorsports’ #88, which in April decided to expand its part-time schedule to allow the last two series champions Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott – plus current point leader William Byron – to run a combined five additional XFINITY races. This announcement came while Hendrick drivers were also entered in Truck Series races for fellow Chevrolet team Spire Motorsports. In both cases, none of the traditional excuses for Cup guys running the lower series adds up. There's no sponsor demanding the drivers be entered - both the XFINITY and Truck efforts carry logos for HendrickCars.com. The selected races are not at new venues, negating a reason to familiarize themselves with the track. Even if they were, the Hendrick quartet are all championship winning or title-caliber drivers. Each drive new NextGen cars in Cup that are radically different from any other vehicles raced in NASCAR national competition. This feels no different than the 2001-era “Buschwhackers” – a means of racking up easy victories by taking spots from other teams trying to qualify.

Neither of these phenomena are entirely new, but this steady escalation this season should raise an eyebrow. I personally believe that Kyle Busch finally scaling back has encouraged other Cup teams to stuff the field with their own drivers. NASCAR has not responded by making any changes to their current rules. Part of this is because, to some, there is no issue. Many XFINITY drivers themselves have been on record saying they like having Cup guys in the field to match their skills. But just because someone wants something doesn’t mean they should have it. The very reason we have XFINITY drivers capable of regularly contending for wins is because Cup drivers are not allowed to earn points and are limited in their number of starts. But these are passive measures, and teams will continue to find workarounds for as long as they’re able. 

The time has finally come for NASCAR to make things black-and-white. If their intent with past rule changes has been to keep Cup drivers out of the lower series, then they need to ban Cup drivers outright. Anything less will only encourage Cup teams to come up with even more workarounds to get their Cup drivers into races where they don’t belong, which will remain a threat to both the identity and health of the lower series.

XFINITY: Ryan Vargas shows speed early before engine lets go in Texas

PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

Ryan Vargas picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s SRS Distribution 250 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #6 Twin Liquors Chevrolet lost the engine after 21 of 167 laps.

The finish, which came in Vargas’ 53rd series start, was his first of the season and first since April 9, 2021 at Martinsville, 38 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 18th for the #6, the 273rd from engine issues, and the 594th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 69th for the #6, the 1,120th from engine woes, and the 1,841st for Chevrolet.

Last year marked Vargas’ first bid at running nearly a full season, ultimately starting 29 of 33 races with a best finish of 14th in the summer race at Atlanta. Using his social media presence to welcome new sponsors like Monarch Roofing and Swann Security, Vargas also led the first three laps of his XFINITY career during the spring race at Talladega. This also proved to be a transitional year for team owner Johnny Davis, whose four-car lineup was reduced to just two. Vargas has returned this year in the #6, joined by former Mike Harmon Racing driver Bayley Currey, who started running for Davis midway through last season.

Through this season’s first 11 races, both Vargas and Currey have fought to finish inside the Top 20. Vargas’ best run of the year again came at Atlanta, this time taking 12th on the reconfigured speedway. Currey’s best remains a pair of 17th-place showings in consecutive races at Martinsville and Talladega. Vargas has also run a few special paint schemes, including a “throwback” to Jeff Gordon’s Pepsi car at Darlington, and a continued effort with Craniosysnostosis outfit Cranio Care Bears to honor the life of Brentley Ehmann.

For Texas, Vargas would welcome returning sponsorship from Twin Liquors Fine Wine & Spirits along with the company’s sister company Siegel’s, which previously backed him at COTA in March. The result was a different look from a traditional JD Motorsports entry, this time running a black car with a red roof and white rims. The scheme would be run on Chassis 059, which had to be rebuilt following a three-car tangle with Jesse Iwuji and Stefan Parsons at Las Vegas. It was at this same Texas track on October 24, 2020 that Vargas – running another distinctive paint scheme for TikTok – flew to an 8th-place finish in the closing laps, which remains his career-best performance. 

This year, Vargas’ weekend began with a spin 13 minutes into the lone practice session, though he managed to keep his car out of the wall. The resulting tire change would incur him a tail-end penalty for Saturday’s race after he qualified 31st with a lap of 175.558mph (30.759 seconds). 

Vargas was far from the only driver to find trouble on Friday. Before his incident, Landon Cassill bounced off the Turn 3 wall with his #10 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, sending him to a backup car and preventing him from turning a qualifying lap. A.J. Allmendinger couldn’t turn a lap in practice when NASCAR suspected a height issue with his #16 Action Industries Chevrolet, requiring another trip though the inspection queue. In the time trials themselves, Anthony Alfredo bounced his #23 First Phase Chevrolet off the Turn 4 fence and cancelled his lap. Kyle Weatherman secured the 17th starting spot when he was swapped into the #34 Equity Prime Mortgage Chevrolet due to a military obligation. Iwuji would still start Saturday’s race at team co-owner Emmitt Smith’s home track. The lone DNQ was Brennan Poole, whose #47 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet carried new backing from apparel company American Scroll.

On race day, Allmendinger didn’t incur a tail-end penalty after securing 13th in qualifying with no practice. But last-place qualifier Cassill was docked for his backup car along with 37th-place Alfredo’s repaired #23 and 17th-place Iwuji’s driver change. This is not counting another five drivers sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments: 7th-place Ty Gibbs for a tire change on the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, 18th-place Stefan Parsons in the #45 Market Rebellion / Sokal Chevrolet, 22nd-place Bayley Currey in the #4 Chasco Constructors Chevrolet, 23rd-place Brandon Brown in the #68 BrandonBilt Foundations Chevrolet, and 29th-place David Starr in the #08 Ticket Smarter Ford.

By the end of Lap 1, Iwuji had taken last from 37th-place Cassill, and the gap was already 1.961 seconds between the two. The gap continued to grow in the early laps as Iwuji turned his first laps of the weekend, growing to 2.791 seconds on Lap 4, 3.549 on Lap 7, and 4.152 on Lap 11. By Lap 13, Iwuji began to find his footing, and for the next two laps closed the deficit on new 37th-place runner Timmy Hill in the #13 TX Remodeling / CrashClaimsR.us Toyota. Hill was struggling with a vibration, and had himself started to lose ground with new 36th-place runner Matt Mills in the #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet. Hill’s deficit to 36th place grew to 4.157 seconds on Lap 15, then 5.4 on Lap 18. In between, Iwuji became the first driver lapped on the 16th circuit followed by Hill, who was caught in Turns 1 and 2.

On Lap 22, just moments after Emmitt Smith was interviewed about Iwuji by the FS1 crew, Ryan Vargas had clawed his way to 31st on the track. Earlier in the run, he’d fought Ty Gibbs’ high powered Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota off Turn 4, running the high line as he defended the position. He’d climbed to 23rd in just five laps, the biggest mover in the early stages. But this time off the fourth corner, the engine suddenly and violently let go, resulting in a massive plume of white smoke from the pipes and underneath the car. Vargas coasted to a stop on the apron of Turn 1 as the first caution came out. The broadcast estimated that the engine may have let go because of his spin in practice. NASCAR officially declared Vargas out on Lap 48.

Taking 37th was Mills, whose #5 was collected in a multi-car pileup off Turn 2 seconds after the Lap 88 restart. Noah Gragson was likewise involved in his #9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC Chevrolet, but continued on, only to wreck a second time four laps later, shoving in the rear clip of his car. Ryan Sieg’s day went a similar trajectory, suffering early damage to the right-rear of his #39 CMRroofing.com / A-Game Ford before he was involved in two more accidents in consecutive cautions, ultimately ending his day. Iwuji also didn’t escape the Bottom Five when he became the last car involved in the day’s biggest accident off Turn 4, sliding into a pair of stopped cars in the infield grass.

Among those involved in the same wreck as Iwuji was J.J. Yeley. Yeley came into Saturday’s race with one of his best cars. According to Bob Pockrass, his #66 Workpro Ford was a former Penske Racing car the team sold to Motorsports Business Management after CarlLong helped Penske with backup parts during the West Coast Swing. The car showed tremendous speed, ranking 4th-fastest in opening practice behind Ryan Truex, Justin Allgaier, and Tyler Reddick, then qualified in 14th. After 10 cautions, most of them for multiple wrecks, Yeley was battling between 11th and 13th in the final stage. But with just 30 laps to go, Alex Labbe broke loose by himself off Turn 4. Yeley cut low, only for Labbe to clip him in the right-rear, sending him head-on into the outside wall and triggering a massive pileup. Yeley climbed out uninjured, but was left a disappointing 31st with his car in shambles.

Taking the checkered flag for the first time was Scott Borchetta’s second-year team Big Machine Racing, which over the last four races has re-evaluated their program by benching Jade Buford in favor of Kaz Grala, then Richard Childress Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and soon, Austin Dillon. In his second start for Big Machine, Reddick in the #48 Big Machine Racing / JAG Metals Chevrolet started outside-pole, led 31 laps, and took the checkered flag over the JR Motorsports entry of William Byron. For now, Buford’s future remains up in the air beyond  planned start in the upcoming road race in Portland. Reddick and Dillon will share the car in the remaining races leading into the Playoffs, with the driver from the Playoffs moving forward to be determined at a later date.

Damon Lusk wrecks after the first lap of the Busch Series race at Texas.
SCREENSHOT: FOX

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #6 in a XFINITY race at Texas since March 29, 2003, when Damon Lusk’s #6 Sta-Rite Pumps Dodge, entered by Tommy Baldwin Racing, crashed in Turn 2 after completing just the opening lap of the O’Reilly 300. The other occurrence was on April 4, 1998, when Joe Bessey’s #6 Power Team Chevrolet tangle with Doug Reid III in Turn 3 after 2 laps of the Coca Cola 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #6-Ryan Vargas / 21 laps / engine

37) #5-Matt Mills / 87 laps / crash

36) #9-Noah Gragson / 95 laps / crash / led 32 laps / won stage 1

35) #39-Ryan Sieg / 129 laps / crash

34) #34-Jesse Iwuji / 137 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Alpha Prime Racing, JD Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing (2)

2nd) Big Machine Racing, Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (2)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: A rough night for the McAnally team in Texas as Derek Kraus takes first last-place finish

ALL PHOTOS: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

Derek Kraus picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 220 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet fell out due to crash damage after 88 of 149 laps.

The finish came in Kraus’ 59th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it as the 4th for the #19, the 422nd from Chevrolet, and the 171st for a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 82nd for the #19, the 1,289th from a crash, and the 1,840th for Chevrolet.

Continuing the legacy of impressive drivers from the state of Wisconsin, including Dave Marcis and Matt Kenseth, Kraus burst onto the NASCAR scene in 2017, when the 15-year-old claimed his first series win in the K&N Pro Series West finale at Kern County. He drove for longtime regional team owner Bill McAnally, and soon became the latest from that team to carry sponsorship from NAPA. Over the next two seasons, Kraus and McAnally stormed to nine more West wins and three in the East, culminating with another win in Kern County as he was crowned series champion.

By then, Kraus made his Truck Series debut in the penultimate round at Phoenix on November 9, 2018, bringing McAnally back to the series for the first time since his 2001 campaign with Brendan Gaughan. Kraus qualified 8th for the race, and even more impressively also finished there, beating two of the championship contenders. Following a part-time campaign in 2019, he went full-time Truck Series racing in 2020, kicking things off with his first Top Five in his first-ever Daytona start, finishing 4th. He finished the year a strong 11th in points with 13 top-ten finishes. But his 2021 campaign was somewhat of a disappointment. Though he scored his first two poles, he earned just one Top Five and four Top Tens. 

This year, the McAnally-Hilgemann team has made a manufacturer change from Toyota to Chevrolet, and brought on XFINITY Series competitor Colby Howard as Kraus’ teammate in the #91. But coming into Texas, Kraus’ 8th-place run at Kansas the previous week had been his best of 2022 so far.

Texas offered the opportunity for a turnaround. Kraus had one of the fastest trucks, taking 5th in opening practice and securing 9th on the grid with a lap of 179.856mph (30.024 seconds), fastest of the Chevrolets. He also avoided the misfortunes faced by many of his fellow competitors. 

Taking the 36th and final starting spot was the #33 Dal Dirt Chevrolet of Chris Hacker, whose spin into the Turn 2 wall, combined with teammate Armani Williams’ DNQ due to mechanical troubles on the #43 Ice Cold Technologies Toyota, continued what has been a frustrating May for the Reaume Brothers Racing team. While Williams joined Garrett Smithley in the #20 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet on the early ride home, Hacker’s team completed repairs, and would incur a redundant tail-end penalty prior to the start. 

Three other trucks didn’t turn a lap in qualifying. Matt DiBenedetto in the #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet was prohibited from qualifying when his crew adjusted the wedge bolts under the hood after practice, an adjustment NASCAR had just prohibited. Lawless Alan’s #45 MG Machinery Chevrolet likewise rolled off in the back after he did not complete a timed lap. Colby Howard in the #91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet was another victim of Turn 2 when he spun in qualifying, sending him to a backup truck. Howard incurred a tail-end penalty for his backup, joining the unapproved adjustments penalties for polesitter John Hunter Nemechek after a crew member was spotted stepping on the splitter of his #4 Tom Thumb / Albertson’s Toyota, 11th-place Grant Enfinger in the #23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, 23rd-place Austin Wayne Self in the #22 AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet, 27th-place Jordan Anderson in the #3 Dometic Outdoor Chevrolet, 31st-place Bret Holmes in the #32 Holmes II Excavation Chevrolet, and the aforementioned Chris Hacker.

Across the stripe, Hacker remained in the 36th spot, 4.199 seconds back of the leader with Howard and DiBenedetto the next two trucks in front. On Lap 3, Hacker passed Kris Wright in Al Niece’s #44 America’s Auto Auction Chevrolet, but Wright passed Hacker back on Lap 7. From there, Hacker dropped to 1.897 seconds back of Wright before he spun by himself, again in Turn 2, drawing the first caution of the day on Lap 10. Hacker avoided hitting the wall this time – and also any other trucks by running last – though the crew admonished him to drive more carefully until they could make adjustments. Now one lap down, Hacker reported he’d been driving at 80%, but would run more conservatively on the next run. The crew made significant adjustments when he pitted by himself after the leaders.

The race restarted on Lap 15 with Hacker looking for a quick caution to secure the Lucky Dog. But the rest of Stage 1 ran without incident, putting him nearly two laps down by the 29th circuit. Then with three to go in the stage, the leaders lapped 35th-place Spencer Boyd in the #12 Montucky Cold Snacks Chevrolet, followed by 34th-place Jordan Anderson at the stripe with the one to go signal. This secured Anderson the Lucky Dog when the yellow fell moments later. By the restart on Lap 43, Hacker was shown two laps down to Boyd’s one, each still tying to maintain pace.

But on Lap 47, current LASTCAR Truck Series championship leader Dean Thompson faced another issue on his #40 Worldwide Express Chevrolet. He made at least one unscheduled pit stop under green for a fender rub, then believed he had a right-rear tire going down. Losing multiple laps in the process, Thompson fell to last on Lap 48, and now reported his water temperature sat at 250 degrees. The team wasn’t concerned about this, saying the stop-and-go of pitting increased his temperature, and now four laps down on Lap 50, focused on improving his truck’s handling. By Lap 59, he said the #40 was loose on exit.

Hacker continued to struggle as well. On Lap 61, he suddenly slowed on the frontstretch with other trucks flying around him at speed. The #33 resumed race pace without incident, but soon fell into the leader’s clutches. By Lap 67, he’d lost a fourth lap, putting him on the same circuit as Thompson just before the end of Stage 2. Under the ensuing caution, Hacker’s team pulled out a spring rubber and gave their driver a water bottle while Thompson’s team continued to examine the tire they’d changed earlier. The #40 crew said it was a mistake to not change four tires earlier, perhaps contributing to the issue.

On Lap 75, Thompson dropped Hacker back to last, and soon after the #33 was sent to the tail end for bringing equipment over the wall too soon. When the green flag dropped to begin the final stage, Hacker was now shown four laps down to Thompson’s three, again separating the two competitors. 

Next to enter the last-place battle was Colby Howard, whose backup truck apparently made contact with the wall but did not draw the caution flag. He dropped off the pace on Lap 81 and came down pit road, the crew clearing the fenders with particular focus on the right-rear. The team then discovered a fluid leak, and narrowed this down to the brake lines. Howard had no brake pressure, and the crew lifted the hood as they attempted to clamp the line. But on Lap 86, just as Howard took last from Hacker, the caution came out for his teammate.

Kraus on pit road after the tangle with Majeski.

Derek Kraus had finished 9th in Stage 1 and 6th in Stage 2. His #19 was still among the leaders in the final stage when he and Ty Majeski entered the treacherous second corner. Majeski broke loose and slid up into Kraus, whose #19 pounded the outside wall enough to dislodge the rear decklid. Kraus joined his teammate on pit road, dropping three laps down by the 88th circuit. On Lap 92, when Majeski’s #66 Road Ranger Toyota was determined to have met minimum speed, Kraus’ truck was pushed behind the wall, out of the race under NASCAR’s “Damaged Vehicle Policy,” or DVP. Around this time, Howard returned to the race 11 laps down with the brake issue apparently solved. He’d only climb to 34th by the checkered flag, passing Kris Wright, whose #44 wrecked after a tangle with Tyler Hill’s unsponsored #5 Toyota entering Turn 3. Wright pulled behind the wall on Lap 108, also out under the DVP. 

Rounding out the Bottom Five were Tyler Ankrum, whose #16 Toyota Tsusho Toyota had an incident leaving pit road before he spun on track, ultimately citing overheating issues, and Zane Smith, involved in the same pit road incident, who later bounced his #38 Speedy Cash Ford off the outside wall.

Some of the drivers sent to the back before the start bounced back with solid finishes. Matt DiBenedetto climbed from 34th to finish 10th, his second-straight top-ten finish and fourth of the year. Jordan Anderson recovered to finish 14th – a new season-best and his strongest performance since last fall at Talladega, where he ran 11th. Right behind came Bret Holmes, who clawed his way from 31st to 15th – his second-best finish of the season so far.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*The 88 laps completed by Kraus stands as the second-most of the 48 last-place finishers of Truck Series races at Texas, trailing only Ross Chastain’s disqualification from this race last year after a lead-lap finish.

*This marks the first last-place finish for the #19 in a Truck Series race in exactly 21 years. This dates back to May 20, 2001, when Ricky Sanders’ #19 Trucktrix.com Ford lost the engine and was pushed behind the wall before the green flag dropped to start the Jelly Belly 200 Presented by Dodge at the Pikes Peak International Raceway. CORRECTION: It is the first last-place finish for the #19 in a Truck Series race since August 11, 2007, when Travis Kittleson’s #19 Xpress Motorsports Ford had ignition trouble after 1 lap of the Toyota Tundra 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #19-Derek Kraus / 88 laps / crash

35) #44-Kris Wright / 106 laps / crash

34) #91-Colby Howard / 139 laps / running

33) #16-Tyler Ankrum / 139 laps / overheating

32) #38-Zane Smith / 143 laps / running

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing, Niece Motorsports (2)

2nd) AM Racing, David Gilliland Racing Ford, Front Row Motorsports, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford (2)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP