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With the popularity of pickup trucks among consumers, it seemed only natural that NASCAR could successfully introduce a series for these vehicles. The concept of a championship using tube-frame trucks made its debut in 1995 with twenty events. Winning the first NASCAR SuperTruck title was Mike Skinner in a Chevrolet.
With sponsorship from Gander Outdoors, the current schedule is made up of twenty-three events with most races taking place on the traditional paved ovals – the two exceptions are the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Eldora Speedway which is a dirt track. The 2019 race season begins in February at Daytona International Speedway and ends at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. In 2016, the championship adopted the playoff format used by the NASCAR Cup Series. In the first sixteen races, drivers who finish in the top eight of the standings will compete in rounds seventeen to nineteen. The six highest finishing drivers will move on to the second round of the playoffs. Races twenty to twenty-two will determine the final four competitors advancing to the championship event for the NASCAR Gander Outdoor title. The trucks are constructed using a formula that is similar to the cars. Bodies are hung on a steel tube-frame chassis built to NASCAR specifications. The vehicles are powered by 6-liter (366-cu.in.) V8 engines which produce approximately 700-horsepower using the unrestricted regulations and about 450-horsepower in the restricted configuration. These naturally aspirated motors are fitted with a four-barrel carburetor and run on 98-octane E15 unleaded gasoline. The minimum weight for a truck without a driver is 3,400-pounds. Vehicles participating in the series are Ford F150, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra. Drivers would compete for sixty-four laps around the ten-turn 2.459-mile track. 2019 was the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series sixth visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was not the first road course to host a NASCAR Truck race but is the only event of this type on the current schedule. Drivers would compete for sixty-four laps around the ten-turn 2.459-mile track in an event called the Chevrolet Silverado 250.
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Twenty-nine NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series competitors, funnel into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s corner one for the first lap of the Chevrolet Silverado 250. Leading the way and getting a good jump on the field is the pole-sitter, Brett Moffitt. Immediately behind Moffitt is the second-place starter, Todd Gilliland in a Toyota Tundra. Trailing Gilliland is third-fastest qualifying and playoff contender, Ross Chastain. |
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Brett Moffitt’s season started poorly. In the opening round at Daytona International Speedway, he finished twenty-sixth. After this character-building result, his year improved, and he scored two victories. In the first race of the playoffs at Bristol, Moffitt earned another win. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he qualified on the pole. Moffitt won Stage One and dominated the all-important Final Stage for the victory. |
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In addition to the series regular, Stewart Friesen there were six Canadians entered in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 – Alex Tagliani, Raphael Lessard, Gary Klutt, DJ Kennington, Jason White and Dan Corcoran. Fairing the best was NASCAR Pinty’s series regular, Tagliani. He qualified sixth fastest driving one of three Toyota Tundras entered by Kyle Busch Racing. Tagliani chased the eventual winner in the final Stage and finished second. |
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Third place in the first round of the playoffs was Stewart Friesen. The Canadian scored his first series victory this year at Eldora Speedway. During the first practice session at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Friesen went for a wild ride in the track’s corner two. Damage to the Chevrolet was extensive and he had to go to a back-up truck. As a result, Friesen was required to start from the rear of the field but managed to finish seventh. |
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Starting fifth in the No. 99 Ford F150 with backing from Havoline oil was Ben Rhodes. This was Rhodes fourth season competing in the NASCAR truck series. Unfortunately for him, he finished ninth in the regular season which meant he topped the list of drivers to miss the Playoffs’ cut-off. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Rhodes was ninth in Stage Two but moved up the order in the final Stage to finish third. |
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Sheldon Creed won the ARCA Racing Series championship in 2018 with MDM Motorsports. This year, Creed joined GMS Racing for his first full season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado, his best results to date are runner-up finishes at Eldora and Michigan. Creed started the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park event from the seventeenth grid position and advanced to finish fourth. |
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A local dealership, Don Valley North Toyota, sponsored the No. 16 Toyota Tundra of championship contender, Austin Hill. To qualify for the Playoffs, Hill won both ends of the regular season – race one at Daytona and round sixteen at Michigan. He was gridded sixth for the start at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Hill captured a third and second in the first two Stages and at the end of sixty-four-laps was in fifth place. |
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2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Johnny Sauter has competed full-time in the truck division since 2009. This year, Sauter won the JEGS 200 at Dover International Speedway and qualified for the Playoffs. After the first round at Bristol, he was sixth in the championship hunt. Sauter was gridded thirteenth for the start of the Chevrolet Silverado 250 and finished sixth – which dropped him to seventh in the standings. |
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Ross Chastain was disqualified at Iowa when NASCAR Officials discovered the truck was too low. Despite this setback, Chastain made it into the first round of the Playoffs and is second in the title chase. In qualifying at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he was third fastest. Chastain would finish second in Stage One and win the next Stage. At the finish, he was in eighth place and is still maintained second in the championship. |
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Todd Gilliland in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra was fourth quickest during the final qualifying session. During Stage one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Gilliland moved into second place but an error at Moss corner sent him into the tire-wall. He dropped down the race-order and was never able to recover. Gilliland finished outside the top-ten in the first two-Stages and was in eighteenth place at the checkered flag. |
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The 2015 ARCA Series champion, Grant Enfinger joined the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series full-time in 2017. Driving the No. 98 Ford F150 prepared by ThorSport Racing, Enfinger made the first round of the Playoffs and is fourth in the standings. His best finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was thirteenth in 2017. During this year’s contest, he was tagged by his teammate, Johnny Sauter and recovered to finish thirteenth. |
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Tyler Dippel was scheduled to drive the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado but has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. As a result, his seat was filled by Canadian stock car veteran, D.J. Kennington. Kennington’s racing resume includes two Canadian NASCAR championships and starts in the Monster Energy and Xfinity series. Driving the Lobas Productions / Jersey Filmmaker sponsored truck, he qualified and finished fifteenth. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | SPONSOR / CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Brett Moffitt | TBD / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 2 | 4 | Alex Tagliani | RONA / Toyota Tundra | 64 | - |
| 3 | 5 | Ben Rhodes | Havoline / Ford F150 | 64 | - |
| 4 | 17 | Sheldon Creed | Chevrolet Accessories / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 5 | 6 | Austin Hill | Don Valley North Toyota / Toyota Tundra | 64 | - |
| 6 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Tenda Heal / Ford F150 | 64 | - |
| 7 | 12 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar International / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 8 | 3 | Ross Chastain | Carshield / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 9 | 8 | Tyler Ankrum | May's Hawaii / Toyota Tundra | 64 | - |
| 10 | 9 | Raphael Lessard | Lessard FRL Express / Toyota Tundra | 64 | - |
| 11 | 10 | Matt Crafton | Menards / Ford F150 | 64 | - |
| 12 | 11 | Gary Klutt | TBD / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 13 | 14 | Grant Enfinger | Curb Records / Ford F150 | 64 | - |
| 14 | 18 | Austin Wayne Self | GO TEXAN / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 15 | 15 | DJ Kennington | Lobas! Productions / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 16 | 20 | Jordan Anderson | Bommarito.com / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 17 | 21 | Gus Dean | OverkillRV.com / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 18 | 2 | Todd Gilliland | Mobil 1 / Toyota Tundra | 64 | - |
| 19 | 16 | Spencer Boyd | TBD / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 20 | 19 | Jason White | Corcoran Excavating / Chevrolet Silverado | 64 | - |
| 21 | 7 | Harrison Burton | Safelite Auto Glass / Toyota Tundra | 62 | Engine |
| 22 | 23 | Bobby Reuse | WCIParts.com / Chevrolet Silverado | 62 | - |
| 23 | 24 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Driven2Honor.org / Chevrolet Silverado | 60 | - |
| 24 | 29 | Norm Benning | H & H TRANSPORT / Chevrolet Silverado | 60 | - |
| 25 | 26 | Roger Reuse | Preferred Industrial Contractors / Ford F150 | 58 | - |
| 26 | 25 | Joe Nemechek | Joe Nemechek / Chevrolet Silverado | 50 | Suspension |
| 27 | 22 | Dan Corcoran | Powder Ventures / Chevrolet Silverado | 27 | Accident |
| 28 | 27 | Greg Rayl | Colonial Countertops / Chevrolet Silverado | 4 | Transmission |
| 29 | 28 | Ray Ciccarelli | Driven2Honor.org / Chevrolet Silverado | 2 | Engine |
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