All posts by Luis Torres

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was the race of a lifetime for Puyallup, Washington’s Angela Ruch, who dealt with an overheating truck and going down a cylinder throughout Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona, to finish eighth in just her second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start, becoming the second ever woman to score a top-10 in the series. Perhaps more special about Ruch’s performance was the support from NEMCO Motorsports and Kaulig Racing’s Chris Rice, who gave her the opportunity to run theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lap 54 was the moment an intense NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway turned into a nightmare for 11 drivers, including Jordan Anderson, who’s predicament is worse than most considering the circumstances of his own team. Coming off Turn 3, Anderson, who was running on the bottom, was drafting with Cory Roper and running inside the top-five until he began bottoming out and the rest of the draft caught up to him. As the field bunched up, Anderson was losingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Justin Haley returns to Daytona International Speedway with a chip on his shoulder and after topping the speed chart at 189.581 mph (47.473 seconds) during final practice before Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300, he’s eyeing for redemption. “Daytona has always been good to me. I finished second here in Trucks last year and I’ve been good on superspeedways my whole career,” Haley told Motorsports Tribune. “We had fast speed and we were up there in final practice and made some mock runsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Winning can provide the biggest opportunity for a driver, more so when a competitor is part-time. That’s been the case in the NASCAR Xfinity Series all of last season when drivers such as Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek won for Chip Ganassi. For one driver, it turned into a full-time gig at Stewart-Haas Racing and that driver was Chase Briscoe. At age 24, Briscoe has dreams of someday running the Knoxville Nationals, but for now, it’s making the most of anRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season, Grant Enfinger was one of the stronger drivers on the tour with a win at Las Vegas and fifth-place points finish, which was the highest among the Ford camp. Now entering Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, ThorSport Racing’s top points finisher hopes to build their stride they began building after losing out to Chase Briscoe at the Eldora Dirt Derby last August. Enfinger stated that from thatRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was a Valentine’s Day heartbreak for Ryan Truex and the entire Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 71 Chevrolet team, as they failed to beat Parker Kligerman in the first Gander RV Duel Race Thursday, which would’ve been Truex’s first Daytona 500, and was one of two cars that failed to make the race. “I mentally prepared to not make it, just so the letdown wasn’t so big,” Truex on how handling missing the show. “I’ve missed this race before, so I know howRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Heading into Speedweeks, one team that’s stirred some buzz in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for making a crucial driver switch, which was the ultimate case for Hattori Racing Enterprises, as they released defending champion Brett Moffitt in favor of Austin Hill of Winston, Georgia, and already has hit his stride when he topped the speed chart during final practice. The 24-year-old clocked in at 46.646 seconds (192.943 mph), and while he’s satisfied of putting up an excellent lap, there’s still roomRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes is entering his fourth season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series, and once again, changes are the norm with his team as they went through a complete overhaul, including another number change. No longer its the No. 41 Ford F-150, which upset some fans as it’s now the No. 99 instead. All thanks to an initiative by owner Duke Thorson to maintain continuity on his five-truck operation. Rhodes told Motorsports Tribune that at a young age, heRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s quite the journey both Richard Childress Racing drivers Daniel Hemric and reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick has had. From both running Brad Keselowski Racing’s No. 19 Ford F-150 in the Gander Outdoor Truck Series at some point to now making their Daytona 500 debuts Sunday. Each have their own tale on how they’re approaching this race, but their goal are the same. That is going out to join a slim list of rookies that have won the biggest raceRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For 51 out of the first 56 laps in last Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash, it was all Paul Menard, but as everyone knows, that dominant race evaporated after Jimmie Johnson ran into the back of his No. 21 Ford Mustang, causing a 17-car pileup that led to a win for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. Menard wasn’t pleased with Johnson’s actions, but during Daytona 500 Media Day Wednesday, he reflected more on what happened after spending the previous day withRead More