The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series begins its inaugural Chase on Saturday, September 24th in the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Fox Sports 1 Network.
The CWTS will complete its Round of 8 with races at Las Vegas and Talladega. After the race at Talladega Super speedway the two lowest drivers in points who did not win in the Round of 8 will be dropped from the playoffs.
The eight racers that complete the Chase field are as follows. William Byron sits in the top spot for the beginning of the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Menards Toyota of Matt Crafton is second. He is followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Ben Kennedy, Hemric and Timothy Peters.
Last season, drivers in the current Chase finished second through sixth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. They were Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hemric. William Byron and Christopher Bell did not compete, while Ben Kennedy finished in 23rd.
There are only ten events left in the season and Kyle Busch Motorsport’s William Byron already has a NASCAR CWTS rookie-record five victories. When the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway starts, the 18-year-old speedster will attempt to join some impressive company.
William Byron will hope to be mentioned with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones and Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott, as the only rookies to capture NASCAR titles. Byron collected one of his four wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on his way to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship last season.
“I think it’s going to be intense, especially with it being the first Chase race anyone has ever done in the Truck Series,” Byron said. “We think drivers will start out pretty conservative, but by the end the intensity is going to ramp up. Winning is the only way to be locked into the next round.
“I think New Hampshire is one of my better race tracks. We really like it and hopefully that translates to some speed this weekend. I need to get our Liberty University Tundra fast in practice to make sure we qualify well. Because track position is pretty important there. We want to start out the Chase with a really solid run and just have the right focus and mentality as we get going.” Byron stated.
Cameron Hayley has been on quite the run lately. Although he didn’t qualify for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase after a valiant effort at Chicagoland Speedway. Starting with his sixth place effort at Kentucky, the Canadian born drive has six top 10’s in his last seven starts. Finally, Hayley has notched three other top five’s in 2016. On the season, he owns five top five’s and nine top 10’s in 16 starts.
Cole Custer became the youngest victor in NASCAR series history at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two years ago. Furthermore, Custer attempts to visit the Winner’s Circle for the third time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.
The JR Motorsports Driver’s ninth place result at Chicagoland Speedway ended his chance to make the inaugural CWTS. In the final seven races left this season, he has victories at two of the tracks. He won here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and again at Phoenix. A duplicate performance in the UNOH 175 on Saturday would top off a disappointing finish to the regular season.
“We were in contention at Chicago, but we had to win it to get in and we didn’t. I hate missing the Chase, considering how close we came to doing it, but we can still win races. New Hampshire is a place I’ve won at before, and we’re going there with the mindset that we’re going to do it again. This Haas Automation Chevrolet team has been solid all year long. We can make some noise and win some races before the end of the season.” Custer commented.
Daniel Hemric has 13 top 10 finishes in 2016. The CWTS racers is also tied for the most top five’s this season (8). The Brad Keselowski Racing driver’s average finish is 7.93. That average is the best of any Chase driver. Furthermore, he has finished third or better in the last four races.
“I’m really excited to be kicking off the Chase at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. We’re bringing a truck I feel really good about, and I think we are exceptionally prepared going into this race. Our team has been looking ahead and preparing for these final seven races all year, because, ultimately, that trophy depends on them.” said Hemric.
