The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition at Pocono Raceway for the CRC Brakleen 175 on Friday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 14th race of the 16 race regular season.
Nestled in the Pocono Mountains, the 14 previous CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at the triangular 2.5-mile track have produced 12 different race winners and 9 different pole winners. Four races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Kyle Busch in 2018.
Since the track’s inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, Cup Series regular Kyle Busch has been the only repeat winner (2015, 2018, 2023). No full-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver has ever returned to Victory Lane.
A surplus of talented drivers have engraved their names in the Pocono Raceway record books:
- Race record: Kyle Busch 136.813 mph (07/28/2018)
- Qualifying record: Austin Hill 171.347 mph (07/27/2019)
- Most races: Matt Crafton (14)
- Most poles: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Nelson Piquet Jr., Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Ben Rhodes, Austin Hill, Nick Sanchez (1)
- Most wins: Kyle Busch (3)
- Most top fives: Kyle Busch (5)
- Most top 10s: Matt Crafton (8)
- Laps led: Kyle Busch (155)
The CRC Brakleen 175 will be broken up into three stages. The first stage will be 15 laps, followed by another 15 in the second stage, and the final stage will be 40 laps for a race total of 70 laps (175 miles).
CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice will begin Friday, July 12 at 2:00 p.m. ET on FS2 followed by Cometic Gasket Pole Qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: CRC Brakleen 175
The Place: Pocono Raceway
Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Tri-Oval
The Date: Friday, July 12
The Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $757,128
TV: FS1, 5:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 175 miles (70 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 70)
Clinch Scenarios: Pocono Raceway – Just three races to go
As the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend, four drivers have earned their spot in the Truck Series Playoffs by virtue of their wins – Christian Eckes, Corey Heim, Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth – leaving six spots in the 10-driver Playoff field still available.
With only three races in the regular season remaining, time is running out to secure the final postseason transfer spot. Following Nashville Superspeedway, Daniel Dye is ranked 11th in the Playoff outlook, 14 points back from Tanner Gray in the 10th and final postseason transfer spot on points. Just behind Dye is Stewart Friesen in 12th, -17 points back from the postseason cutoff, and three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton is 13th, -54 points back from Gray.
Below are the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff clinch scenarios for Pocono:
Can Clinch Via Points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 111 points above the 5th winless driver in the standings.
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 45 points
The following drivers could clinch on points with a win by Tyler Ankrum:
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 47 points
The following drivers could clinch on points with a win by Taylor Gray:
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 49 points
The following drivers could clinch on points with a win by Ben Rhodes or a new winner lower in the standings still eligible for the Playoffs:
- Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 50 points
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
- Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, Tanner Gray, Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Chase Purdy, Jake Garcia, Layne Riggs, Dean Thompson, Ty Dillon, Bayley Currey, Bret Holmes, Timmy Hill, Matt Mills, Mason Massey, Lawless Alan, Spencer Boyd.
Victors of the ‘Tricky Triangle’
Although only one previous winner in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (Ross Chastain, 2019) is entered this weekend at Pocono Raceway, five current full-time drivers have experience winning at Pocono Raceway outside of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Grant Enfinger (2016), Christian Eckes (Spring 2019), Ty Majeski (Fall 2019), Corey Heim (2021), and Taylor Gray (2022) have each taken the checkered flag in the ARCA Menards Series at Pocono.
Notably, all five competitors recorded a top-10 finish in last year’s Truck Series race.
Eckes and Heim are already multi-winners this season and have locked themselves into the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs. Enfinger, Majeski, and Gray will look to grab their first victory of the season at the Tricky Triangle.
Let’s take a look at each driver’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series performance history at the 2.5-mile track:
Grant Enfinger: The veteran behind the wheel of the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet has made seven starts at Pocono Raceway recording one top five and three top 10s. Last year, the 39-year-old finished fifth.
Christian Eckes: The series’ points leader, who pilots the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet, has consistently ran in the top 10 each week – the only exception being at Atlanta (32nd) due to brake failure. The Middletown, New York native has made five Pocono starts posting one top five and three top 10s as well as led 15 laps.
Ty Majeski: The driver of the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford has made four starts at the Tricky Triangle racking up two top 10s. Despite starting 34th last year, the Seymour, Wisconsin native persevered to a sixth-place finish.
Corey Heim: Undergoing a tremendous season thus far, the driver behind the wheel of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota is on the hunt to become the first driver to win multiple Regular Season Championships in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Marietta, Georgia has posted two top fives and two top 10s in just two starts at the 2.5-mile track as well as led 27 laps. The 22-year-old finished second last year.
Taylor Gray: The driver of the No. 17 TRICON Garage Toyota is on track to a have a career-best season. In just one start at Pocono Raceway, the Denver, North Carolina native has posted one top five and one top 10. The 19-year-old finished third last year.
Eckes can almost taste the Regular Season Championship with three to go
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes continues his breakout year after a historic run at Nashville Superspeedway, leading flag-to-flag becoming the fourth driver in NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series history to complete the feat.
| Track | Winner | Start | Finish | Date | Led | Completed | |
| 1 | Bristol | Timothy Peters | 2 | 1 | 8/22/2012 | 204 | 204 |
| 2 | Louisville | Ron Hornaday Jr | 4 | 1 | 7/12/1997 | 225 | 225 |
| 3 | Bristol | Ron Hornaday Jr | 1 | 1 | 6/21/1997 | 200 | 200 |
| 4 | LOR | Mike Skinner | 1 | 1 | 8/1/1996 | 200 | 200 |
| 5 | Sonoma | Ron Hornaday Jr | 1 | 1 | 10/7/1995 | 40 | 40 |
| 6 | LOR | Mike Skinner | 1 | 1 | 8/3/1995 | 150 | 150 |
| 7 | Portland | Mike Skinner | 1 | 1 | 5/5/1995 | 200 | 200 |
| 8 | Nashville | Christian Eckes | 3 | 1 | 6/28/2024 | 150 | 150 |
Eckes currently holds the driver points lead in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series with three races left in the regular season.
The 23-year-old, Eckes, is currently 40 points up on Corey Heim in second as the series heads to Pocono Raceway for the CRC Brakleen 175 on Friday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
If Eckes can hold on and win the Regular Season Championship, he will get an additional 15 Playoff points to take with him into the postseason and will become the eighth different driver to win the regular season title; joining Christopher Bell (2017), Johnny Sauter (2018), Grant Enfinger (2019), Austin Hill (2020), John H. Nemechek (2021), Zane Smith (2022) and Corey Heim (2023).
The Middletown, New York native has accumulated three wins, seven top-five, and 12 top-10 finishes this season. He also leads the series in laps led this season with 612.
But the driver of the No. 19 Chevrolet cannot yet clinch the Regular Season Championship since there are still three wins and 180 points available.
Regular Season Championship Clinch Scenarios:
Christian Eckes (or whoever’s first in points) needs to be up in points over second by the corresponding number after the race to clinch:
Pocono – 120 or 121 points, depending on tie-break
Indianapolis – 60 or 61 points, depending on tie-break
Richmond – 0 or 1 point, depending on tie-break
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Etc.
Conor Daly nabs three-race deal with Niece Motorsports – NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Conor Daly will rejoin Niece Motorsports for a three-race deal in his return to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, piloting the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet.
The Noblesville, Indiana native’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series campaign will see stops in Indianapolis (July 19), Kansas (September 27), and Homestead-Miami (October 26).
The 32-year-old has competed in some of the world’s most prestigious racing events, including the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the ROLEX 24 At DAYTONA.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get back into a truck with Niece Motorsports,” said Daly. “Al Niece and Cody Efaw have always been great to me and supportive of my Indy 500 efforts as well over the years as we’ve got to know each other. We’ve been working on putting a program together for a while and I’m happy we could finally work out the details to go racing together once again. I have a lot to learn but I want to compete, and I know these guys will give me a great chance at that.”
Thad Moffitt joins Young’s Motorsports for second half of season – 2024 Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Thad Moffitt will have a fresh start to the remainder of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season beginning immediately.
The 23-year-old will still retain his No. 46 Chevrolet but with Young’s Motorsports this weekend at Pocono Raceway and throughout the remainder of the season.
“This will feel a little bit like Daytona this weekend,” mentioned Moffitt. “Everything will be a little bit new for us as a team with new people. But it’s exciting, too. We have a great program and now it’s time to really show what we can do. The new team gives me a lot of hope of some great finishes for the rest of the season.”
Multiple CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers hopeful for double duty in Pocono – Four full-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers will attempt double duty this weekend: Corey Heim (No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota), Taylor Gray (No. 17 TRICON Garage Toyota), Daniel Dye (No. 43 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet), and Mason Massey IV (No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet)
2023 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Regular Series Champion, Corey Heim, will attempt his ninth NASCAR Xfinity Series start behind the wheel of the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota. In his previous eight starts, Heim has recorded two top-five, three top-10 finishes, and has led 15 laps. The 22-year-old had a career-best finish of third at Iowa Speedway, matching Sam Hunt Racing’s best finish in the Xfinity Series.
On track to have a career-best season in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Taylor Gray will look to attempt his eighth Xfinity Series start piloting the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. This season, the 19-year-old has posted one top-five and one top-10 finish – a career-best third-place finish at Richmond Raceway.
Driving the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, Daniel Dye hopes to attempt his fifth Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season. In his previous four attempts, the 20-year-old has posted one top-10 finish (10th at Iowa).
Mason Massey IV will get behind the wheel of the No. 14 SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet this weekend hoping to make his third start of the season. The 27-year-old recorded a best-finish of 11th at Talladega in April.
