NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip
The Place: Road America
The Date: Sunday, July 4
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250 miles (62 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 14),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 29), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 62)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Henry 180
The Place: Road America
The Date: Saturday, July 3
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 182.16 miles (45 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 10),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 20), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 45)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers
The Place: Knoxville Raceway
The Date: Friday, July 9
The Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 75 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
NASCAR Cup Series
After nearly 65 years, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Road America
For the first time in nearly 65 years, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin to compete on the world famous Road America this Sunday, July 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip race marks just the second time in series history that Road America has hosted a Cup event.
In the early 1950’s, sports car races were being run on the streets in and around Elkhart Lake, but the state legislature banned racing on the public roads soon after. A man named Clif Tufte organized a group of local citizens and leaders of the Chicago Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). This group developed plans and sold stock to build a permanent racecourse. The overall vision of Road America grew out of the dreams of Tufte, a highway engineer, who chose 525 acres of Wisconsin farmland outside the Village of Elkhart Lake for the track. Ground broke for Road America in April of 1955 and the track’s first SCCA national race weekend was held later that same year (September 10, 1955).
At 4.048-miles in length, with 14 turns, the track is virtually the same today as it was when it was first laid out. The natural topography of the glacial Kettle Moraine area was utilized for the track, sweeping around rolling hills and plunging through ravines making it one of the most challenging tracks in the world.
The first, and up until this weekend, the only, NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America was on August 12, 1956. An estimated crowd of 10,000 braved terrible weather to watch the event. And in an unusual ruling, NASCAR limited the cars to 10 gallons of fuel at start the race.
The August 12, 1956, race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock driving a Mercury for car owner Bill Stroppe. Flock led 17 laps of the 63-lap event, making just two pit stops en route to his win; his fourth victory of the 1956 season. Flockwon with an average speed of 73.858 mph and did it in 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 50 seconds. He won the race by a 17 second margin of victory over second place. Bill Stroppe’s cars actually finished 1-2 in the race with Flock winning and his teammate Billy Myers finishing second.
Road America will be the fourth of seven road courses on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won the first road course race of the season at the Daytona Road Course, followed by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and 2020 series champion Chase Elliott won at Circuit of The Americas and then Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson won at Sonoma Raceway.
Previous experience at Road America could be advantageous
For drivers and teams when it comes to approaching how to prepare for the debut of a track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, any previous experience or knowledge of the facility can be advantageous to the process. With this weekend’s venue, Road America, brand new to the series, drivers with experience at the 4.048-mile course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series might have a slight upper hand.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has competed 11 times at Road America (2010-Present) and 28 of the 40 drivers entered in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race have competed in the Xfinity Series at Road America, led by 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain and Josh Bilicki with five Xfinity Series Road America starts each.
Road America is one of eight tracks this season that have been chosen to hold practice and qualifying. The lone practice for the weekend is scheduled for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. ET – 1:25 p.m. and the qualifying session will be on Sunday prior to the race at 11:05 a.m. ET. Two of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend have won at least one pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America – AJ Allmendinger (two poles: 2013, 2019) and Michael McDowell (one pole: 2011).
The 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Road America have produced 11 different winners. Four of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend at Road America have won in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 4.048-mile road course – Austin Cindric (2020), Christopher Bell (2019), Michael McDowell (2016) and AJ Allmendinger (2013).
Clinch Scenarios: Just seven races left to make the Playoffs
The race to the Playoffs is on and time is running short for drivers to clinch their spot in the postseason. A win gets you in, but drivers must still clinch their spot on points by accumulating enough points that even with a win they do not fall out of the top 30 and become ineligible for the Playoffs.
Eleven drivers have won already and earned their spot in the Playoffs. Four of the 11 winning drivers have already clinched their spot in the postseason on points as well.
Already Clinched
The following 4 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field – Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman.
Can clinch via win
The following drivers could clinch on a win this weekend alone – William Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski.
The following drivers could clinch with a win and clinching a Top 30 position – Christopher Bell: Could only clinch with help; Michael McDowell: Could only clinch with help.
Denny Hamlin is the only driver that can clinch with a win and enough points to ensure he will not be left out of the Playoffs due to not all winning drivers having a slot available – Hamlin: Could clinch with 49 points.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock, Road America’s lone Cup winner
When looking back at the one NASCAR Cup Series race held at Road America in 1956, one name rises above the rest – the winner – NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock. Flock was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and he was one of the sport’s first dominant drivers.
In 187 starts, Tim Flock had 39 victories, a total that still ranks 18th on the all-time wins list.
Tim Flock won his first series title in 1952 while driving Ted Chester’s Hudson Hornet, and his second in 1955 driving Carl Kiekhaefer’s Chrysler. Flock dominated the 1955 season, posting 18 wins, 32 top fives and 18 poles in 39 races.
Flock’s 18 wins stood as a single-season victory record until Richard Petty surpassed it with 27 wins in 1967. His 18-win 1955 season, still to this day, ranks third-most in single season Cup win totals, tied with Richard Petty’s 1970 season.
In addition, Flock won NASCAR’s only sports car race, in 1955, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.
The entire Flock family raced at times during NASCAR’s formative years. In 1949, brothers Bob and Fonty and sister Ethel joined Tim to become the only four siblings to drive in the same NASCAR premier series race.
Flock, who died on March 31, 1998, was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers that same year. He was enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014.
NASCAR’s Most Popular is up for ESPN’s Best Driver ESPY
Last season’s NASCAR Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, has been nominated for the ESPN ESPY, “Best Driver”, for the first time in his six-year Cup series career.
Elliott, who was voted the NMPA’s Most Popular Driver for the third consecutive time this past season, drives the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Elliott finished the 2020 season with five wins, 15 top-five finishes and 22 top 10s. Finishing 96% of his laps attempted in 36 starts, the 25-year-old series champion could join the likes of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson as NASCAR drivers who have taken home the hardware during the annual ESPY Award show.
The 29th edition of the ESPY Awards will take place this year on Saturday, July 10th at 8 pm ET. Fans can cast their votes for their favorite driver here, up until Friday July 9th at 8 pm ET.
Looking ahead to this weekend at Road America, Elliott has made two NASCAR Xfinity Series career starts at the track posting fourth-place finishes in both outings.
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Pulling Double Duty at Road America – AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Josh Bilicki, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch will all be competing in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, July 3, and the NASCAR Cup Series race on July 4 at Road America.
Hendrick Motorsports winning pace – Hendrick Motorsports is at the top of their game this season already winning nine races in the first 19 events of the 2021 season. Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 set the Modern Era record for the most wins by an organization in a single season with 18 victories, until it was surpassed in 2019 when Joe Gibbs Racing scored 19 Cup victories in a single season.
What is interesting is that at this point in the 2007 season (19 races completed), Hendrick Motorsports had produced nine wins just like this year heading into to the 20th race on the schedule at Road America.
Hendrick Motorsports is coming off a streak of six consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins – a record in the Modern Era that the organization has accomplished twice (2007, 2021).
With 17 races left in the 2021 season and so many similarities to the 2007 season, it will be fascinating to see if the Hendrick camp can make a run at the Joe Gibbs Racing single season wins record.
SportsCar stars Tilley, Eversley are entered this weekend – Two drivers that cut their teeth in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Kyle Tilley and Ryan Eversley will be attempting to make the NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend at Road America.
This will be Kyle Tilley’s second start in the series this weekend and he will be piloting the No 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford with crew chief Frank Kerr. Tilley made his series debut earlier this season at Circuit of the America’s for Live Fast Motorsports, starting 39th and finishing 31st. Tilley is no stranger to Road America, he has one IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship start at the track where he started fourth and finished third in the ORECA LMP2 07 for Era Motorsports last season.
Ryan Eversley on the other hand will be attempting to make his NASCAR Cup Series career debut at Road America this weekend driving the No. 53 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet. It will also be Eversley’s career track debut at Road America.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Up Next: Left and right turns at Road America
It’s a Fourth of July weekend full of road-course racing in Wisconsin at Road America. The 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course spread across 640 acres in Elkhart Lake has been home to 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. This season, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Road America as well after the Xfinity Series kicks off the weekend Saturday afternoon with the Henry 180 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, the Xfinity Series saw Austin Cindric holding off a hard-charging Ty Gibbs to capture his fourth victory of the season. Justin Allgaier finished third, Noah Gragson finished fourth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five. There were six cautions for 21 laps and 11 lead changes. Cindric topped Gibbs crossing the finish line by 0.331 seconds.
This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete in practice and qualifying at Road America for the fourth time this season. All other lineups have been set by metric qualifying due to COVID-19 procedures at the start of the 2021 season.
The Xfinity Series first and only practice at Road America will be on Friday, July 2 at 4:05 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the qualifying session will be on Saturday, July 3 at 11:35 a.m. ET on NBCSN beginning at 12 p.m. ET.
Can Road America’s Xfinity different winners streak continue?
Count ‘em up. A total of 11 different NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers have visited Road America’s Victory Lane in as many races and in this weekend’s Henry 180 will be on at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio we could see an 11th.
The top two different winner streaks by track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series belong to Road America (11 different winners) and Michigan (10 different winners).
The record for the most consecutive different winners a single track is 23, set at New Hampshire Motor Speedway between the 1990-2009 seasons.
Road America currently holds the longest active Xfinity Series different winners streak at 11 – dating back to the 2010 season.
Three former Xfinity Series Road America winners are entered this weekend – Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements and Justin Allgaier.
| Road America’s Xfinity Different Winners | ||
| Season | Race Winner | Organization |
| 2010 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2011 | Reed Sorenson | HScott Motorsports |
| 2012 | Nelson Piquet Jr | HScott Motorsports |
| 2013 | AJ Allmendinger | Team Penske |
| 2014 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2015 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2016 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2017 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing |
| 2018 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports |
| 2019 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 2020 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske |
Facts & Numbers: Road America
Saturday’s Henry 180 will be the 12th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America. There have been six different pole winners and 11 different race winners. Only three of the 11 races have been won from the pole position including the inaugural race in 2010, won by Carl Edwards. And four of the 11 victors are entered this weekend.
Most recently, Austin Cindric won the race in 2020 at the road course and he’ll look to go back-to-back and two in a row after his win last weekend at Pocono Raceway. Cindric’s Road America win last season made him the youngest winner at 21 years, 11 months, six days.
The last race that was won from the pole was in 2013 by AJ Allmendinger, also marking his first career Xfinity Series victory. He will once again take on the track this weekend for Kaulig Racing.
Jeremy Clements is the other active driver who got their first Xfinity win at Road America. His win was in 2017.
JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier grabbed the win at Road America back in 2018. The veteran has made nine Xfinity series starts at Road America and leads the series in top-10 finishes in the 4.048-mile track.
In last season’s Road America race, Allmendinger finished second to Cindric followed by Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, Andy Lally, Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain, Preston Pardus, Ryan Sieg and Michael Annett. There were seven cautions for 15 laps and 13 lead changes with a Margin of Victory of 1.318 seconds. The average speed was 61.83 mph.
Grala, Lally and Pardus will all be back this weekend competing at Road America along with Allmendinger, Cindric, Gragson, Sieg and Annett who are fulltime in the Xfinity Series.
Of note, Kris Wright will run for Sam Hunt Racing in the No. 26 Toyota and veteran road ace Boris Said will run for Hattori Racing Enterprises.
NASCAR Cup Series regulars Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will also compete this weekend – both for the first time at Road America. They will use their experience in the Xfinity Series to help them for the Cup Series race.
Clinch Scenarios: NASCAR Xfinity Series
With 10 races left in the regular season it is time to take a look at the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff clinch scenarios heading into this weekend’s race at Road America, the Henry 180 on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. A win gets you in, but drivers still need to clinch their spot on points by accumulating enough points that even with a win they do not fall out of the top 30 and become ineligible for the Playoffs.
Already Clinched:
The following two drivers have clinched a spot in the 12-driver Xfinity postseason field: Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger.
Can clinch via points at Road America:
Justin Allgaier could clinch with 21 points. Allgaier would clinch on wins if he can clinch a spot in the top 30 and there is a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, he would clinch on wins and clinching a spot in the top 30. With another win, he would clinch a Playoff spot on wins.
Jeb Burton could clinch a top 30 spot with 58 points. With another win, Burton could clinch a Playoff spot on wins if he also clinches a top 30 spot.
Clinching for Regular Season Championship:
Austin Cindric cannot clinch the regular season championship this weekend with his four wins and 680 points because second-place has 579 and can still reach 1,179 points.
Joe Gibbs Racing running fifth entry at Road America
As the entry list came out for this weekend’s racing at Road America, it is noted that Joe Gibbs Racing has added an additional entry to the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and will look to run five cars.
Harrison Burton in the No. 20, Brandon Jones in the No. 19 and Daniel Hemric in the No. 18 will be joined by Kyle Busch who is slated to run the No. 54 Toyota for his final Xfinity Series start of the season. The fifth entry will be the No. 81 Toyota for Ty Gibbs, the grandson of Joe Gibbs. Originally Gibbs was going to run the No. 54 but Busch has never competed at Road America so he will use the opportunity to get more laps and practice at the track before the Cup Series race on Sunday.
Chris Gayle, primary crew chief for the No. 54, will join Gibbs and the No. 81 and Mark McFarland will crew chief for Busch.
Josh Berry holds onto his Sunoco rookie standings lead
After making his 14th start of the season last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Josh Berry held onto the lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie driver standings from Joe Gibbs Racing’s rising star Ty Gibbs. Berry is 26 points ahead of Gibbs after Pocono, where Gibbs finished runner-up and Berry finished ninth.
Gibbs is entered to run this weekend at Road America, but Berry is currently not on tap to run as his half season with JR Motorsports has come to an end and Sam Mayer has taken over the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
Mayer made his first start of the season at Pocono, the day after he turn 18 and has officially got his first points in the rookie standings.
| Sunoco Rookie of the Year | ||
| Rookies | Points | Awards |
| Josh Berry | 348 | 5 |
| Ty Gibbs | 322 | 5 |
| Ryan Vargas | 162 | 4 |
| Jade Buford | 87 | 1 |
| Sam Mayer | 19 | 0 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Harvick in for BJ McLeod Motorsports this weekend – NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick will be back in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend at Road America for BJ McLeod Motorsports. Harvick, who has never made a start at Road America in all his NASCAR national series starts, will pilot the No. 99 Henry Repeating Arms Ford this weekend. Earlier this season at the inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas, Harvick piloted the No. 5 Ford for BJ McLeod. Harvick has made 347 starts in the series, won 47 Xfinity Series races and has 186 top fives and 260 top 10s to his name. At COTA, Harvick started 12th and finished fourth for the team.
Ryan Ellis competing in No. 78 for BJ McLeod – Ryan Ellis will make his fourth start of the season at Road America for BJ McLeod Motorsports. Ellis will be behind the wheel of the No. 78 and will be sponsored by Rich Mar Florist. Ellis made three starts earlier this season and has a best finish of 16th at Darlington Raceway. In five previous starts at Road America, Ellis has a best finish of 17th in 2018, when he was also running for BJ McLeod Motorsports.
Kaz Grala running for Jordan Anderson Racing – Kaz Grala is back this weekend and will run at Road America for Jordan Anderson Racing in the No. 31 Chevrolet. Grala, who has become somewhat of a road course ace in the last few years, will pilot the No. 31 for the first time. He has 12 road course races to his name throughout all three NASCAR national series. He holds an average finish of 12.25 with seven top 10s and four top-five finishes. His best finish of runner-up came earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Grala has made starts in the Cup Series and Truck Series this season, but this will be his first Xfinity start in 2021. The No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing machine has earned four top-15 finishes in five starts with Tyler Reddick, Josh Berry and Jordan Anderson driving. Grala has 32 Xfinity Series starts with four top fives and nine top 10s. Last season, Grala ran at Road America in the Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing and finished fourth.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Up Next: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Knoxville Raceway in two weeks
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be taking this Independence Day weekend off but will be returning to action the following weekend in the Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa on Friday, July 9 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in the series’ debut at the famously historic dirt track.
Knoxville Raceway is a half-mile dirt oval with eight degrees of banking in the four turns. The width of the track varies from 60 to 80 feet and the surface is comprised of black Iowa soil. Over the years Knoxville Raceway has been aptly nicknamed the ‘Sprint Car Capitol of the World’. The track was constructed in the 1800s on the Marion County Fairgrounds and was originally a horse racing track.
Knoxville Raceway will be the second dirt track the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will compete on this season joining the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track. Much like that weekend in Bristol, the series will once again compete in a special format that will include Qualifying Races. Full details of the rules and procedures will be included in next week’s News & Notes package.
The tentative weekend schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Knoxville Raceway is as follows:
Thursday, July 8
Random Qualifying Draw (6 p.m. ET)
Final NCWTS Practice (7:05 p.m. – 8:25 p.m. ET)
Friday, July 9
1st Qualifying Race (7 p.m. ET)
2nd Qualifying Race (7:15 p.m. ET)
3rd Qualifying Race (7:30 p.m. ET)
4th Qualifying Race (7:45 p.m. ET)
NCWTS Race (9 p.m. ET)
Kyle Busch Motorsports, John H. Nemechek are setting up for a strong run in the postseason
One thing has been made very clear this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and that is Kyle Busch Motorsports has brought John Hunter Nemechek back to the series for wins and sadly for the competition they are doing just that – winning.
Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, John Hunter Nemechek scored his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season leading fifth victory of 2021 – a new single season career-high for Nemechek. In total, Nemechek has amassed five wins (Las Vegas, Richmond, Charlotte, Texas and Pocono), eight top fives and 11 top 10s in 12 starts.
Nemechek also leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver standings following Pocono Raceway by 86 points over second place Ben Rhodes. With only two races left Nemechek looks poised to lockup the Regular Season Championship as well which will grant him an additional 15 Playoffs points to add to his already series leading 34 Playoff points bringing his total to 49 to start the postseason if he doesn’t collect anymore at Knoxville and Watkins Glen. Nemechek can clinch the Regular Season Championship with 34 points or by being 60 points above the second-place driver in the standings following Knoxville.
Since the inception of the Playoffs in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2016, no Playoff driver has accumulated more than 42 Playoff points heading into the postseason. Nemechek is on path to surpass that record this season.
The 2016 Playoffs began with the No. 1 seed William Byron entering the postseason with 15 Playoff points. The 2017 Playoffs began with the No. 1 seed Christopher Bell entering the postseason with 40 Playoff points. The 2018 Playoffs began with the No. 1 seed Johnny Sauter entering the postseason with 42 Playoff points. The 2019 Playoffs began with the No. 1 seed Brett Moffitt entering the postseason with 22 Playoff points. The 2020 Playoffs began with the No. 1 seed Sheldon Creed entering the postseason with 26 Playoff points.
Also working in Nemechek’s favor, is four of the five No. 1 seeds entering the Playoffs earned a spot in their respective season’s Championship 4 Rounds, with the lone exception being William Byron. But of the five No. 1 seeds, only two took home the series title – Christopher Bell (2017) and last season’s champion Sheldon Creed.
Two vastly different tracks left to close out the Camping World Trucks’ regular season
When it comes to the last two tracks on the schedule the differences between the two couldn’t be vaster.
Next weekend the series heads to Knoxville, Iowa for the Truck debut at Knoxville Raceway in the Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa on Friday, July 9 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Knoxville Speedway is a half-mile dirt track with eight degrees of banking in the turns. The track is largely known for its Sprint Car races and will be unlike any other dirt track the series has competed on.
Then nearly a month later following the Olympic break, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head north to Watkins Glen International located just outside Watkins Glen, New York for the race on August 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. To wrap up the regular season the competitors will be tasked with navigating the multi-elevational, seven turn road course. It will be sixth time Truck Series has competed at the 2.45-mile course and the first time in 20 years (last race was on June 24, 2000).
Playoff Bubble: Two chances remain to win and get into the Playoffs
With just two races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season, it’s time to start talking clinch scenarios and identify the drivers locked in and those still fighting to get in to the 2021 Playoffs.
The following five drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-driver postseason NASCAR Camping World Truck Series field: John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Austin Hill, Todd Gilliland, Sheldon Creed. Hill is the first driver to clinch a spot solely on points, the other four have won already this season.
Can clinch via points
If there is a new winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fifth winless driver in the standings – Zane Smith: Would clinch with 18 points; Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 53 points; Stewart Friesen: Could only clinch with help.
If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the sixth winless driver in the standings. They would also clinch if there was a new winner among (drivers) and being 56 points above the 5th winless driver in the standings – Zane Smith: Would clinch regardless of finish; Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 33 points; Stewart Friesen: Could only clinch with help; Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help
Can clinch via win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone – Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Johnny Sauter, Tyler Ankrum, Austin Wayne Self, Derek Kraus, Ryan Truex.
The following drivers could clinch with a win and clinching a Top 20 position – Hailie Deegan: Would clinch with 41 points; Tanner Gray: Would clinch with 59 points; Chase Purdy: Could only clinch with help.
Additionally, John Hunter Nemechek could clinch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Regular Season Championship with 34 points or by being 60 points above the second-place driver in the standings following Knoxville.
