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NASCAR’s Thursday schedule at Kentucky Speedway

By Daniel McFadinJul 12, 2018, 7:00 AM EDT

Today marks the start of NASCAR’s race weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Both the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series are in action, with the Trucks holding their 12th race of the season.

Here’s the full schedule for today with TV and radio info.

(All times are Eastern)

7 a.m. – Truck garage opens

9:05 – 9:55 a.m. – Truck practice (No TV)

11:05 – 11:55 a.m. – Final Truck practice (No TV)

1 – 9 p.m. – Xfinity garage open

4:05 – 4:50 p.m. – Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)

5:10 p.m. – Truck qualifying; single truck/two rounds (Fox Sports 1)

6 p.m. – Truck driver-crew chief meeting

7 p.m. – Truck driver introductions

6:05 – 6:50 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)

7:30 p.m. – Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225; 150 laps/225 miles (Fox Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

NASCAR’s weekend schedule for Kentucky Speedway

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By Daniel McFadinJul 11, 2018, 3:00 PM EDT

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NASCAR heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend with all three of its national series.

The weekend is capped off by the Cup Series’ Quaker State 400 on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

It is preceded by the Xfinity Series on Friday night (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN) and the Camping World Truck Series on Thursday.

Here’s the full schedule with TV and radio info.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, July 12

7 a.m. – Truck garage opens

9:05 – 9:55 a.m. – First Truck practice (No TV)

11:05 – 11:55 a.m. – Final Truck practice (No TV)

1 – 9 p.m. – Xfinity garage open

4:05 – 4:50 p.m. – First Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)

5:10 p.m. – Truck qualifying; single truck/two rounds (Fox Sports 1)

6 p.m. – Truck driver-crew chief meeting

7 p.m. – Truck driver introductions

6:05 – 6:50 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (NBC Sports App)

7:30 p.m. – Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225; 150 laps/225 miles (Fox Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Friday, July 13

9 a.m. – 10 p.m. – Cup garage open

Noon – Xfinity garage opens

Noon – 12:50 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN)

2 – 2:50 p.m. – Final Cup practice (NBCSN)

5:05 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN)

6:15 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting

6:40 p.m. – Cup qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

7:30 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions

8 p.m. – Xfinity Alsco 300; 200 laps/300 miles (NBCSN, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Saturday, July 14

2 p.m. – Cup garage opens

5:30 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting

6:50 p.m. – Driver introductions

7:30 p.m. – Quaker State 400; 267 laps/400.5 mils (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Ryan Newman pairs with Jordan Anderson for Eldora Truck race

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By Daniel McFadinJul 10, 2018, 1:53 PM EDT

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CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Newman will return to the Camping World Truck Series next week to compete for Jordan Anderson Racing in the July 18 race at Eldora Speedway.

Anderson and Newman made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during the Cup Series test at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, where they unveiled the No. 3 Chevrolet Newman will drive.

Newman will be sponsored by VRX Simulators.

Newman will make his seventh career Truck Series start and his second at the dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio.

Newman competed in the inaugural Eldora race in 2013 and finished third.

The Richard Childress Racing driver has finished in the top five of every one of his Truck starts, including a win in his series debut in 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“It’s kind of going back home, it’s going back to dirt racing. I enjoy all of that,” Newman said. “Ultimately, it’s just a good experience, it’s a lot of fun. I’m glad NASCAR has put a Truck race on the dirt. Still look forward to a Cup race on dirt at some point. I don’t know if it will be next year or 10 years down the road, but I might come out of retirement at some point for that one.”

Newman and Anderson, who has 68 series starts since 2014, were connected through a mutual friend.

“There’s a lot of things that have happened in this sport since (his last Truck start) with the spec motor deal and all that stuff,” Newman said, “It kind of commonizes some of the sport, which is good for some people, like Jordan who doesn’t have a huge budget, but it gives us the opportunity to work together. Him to gain some experience. … He’s got a lot of respect for me and my past, him being a college graduate and all that stuff says a lot.”

Anderson has competed full-time this season prior to Eldora. Through 11 races his best finish is ninth at Daytona.

The 27-year-old driver has made one Eldora start. He finished 32nd in 2016 due to engine problems.

iRacing to sponsor Brett Moffitt for truck race at Eldora

Hattori Racing Enterprises

By Daniel McFadinJul 10, 2018, 12:47 PM EDT

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Brett Moffitt hopes of pursuing a Camping World Truck Series championship got a little bit better Tuesday.

Hattori Racing Enterprises announced iRacing, the popular online racing simulator, will sponsor Moffitt’s No. 16 Toyota in the July 18 race at Eldora Speedway.

The race on the dirt track was one of three – including Bristol (Aug. 15) and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway – the team said two weeks ago it was still seeking sponsorship for.

NASCAR rules dictate that Moffitt, who has three wins this season, must attempt to qualify for every regular season race to keep his playoff berth.

“To have this support from iRacing to step up and partner with this race team is really special,” Moffitt said in a press release. “I have some dirt experience running modifieds back in Iowa, but have never run a truck on dirt, so racing at Eldora on iRacing is definitely going to be a benefit. It’s pretty cool to be part of iRacing’s 10-year anniversary. I was just a teenager when iRacing first went live to the public and I joined right away. I raced online a ton for a few years and really enjoyed the racing and community aspects of iRacing. It will be fun to get back in it again with the fans to see how far they have come and to experience running the Toyota Tundra at Eldora before we race there later this month.”

Truck championship contender still hunting for money this season

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By Nate RyanJun 30, 2018, 10:00 AM EDT

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JOLIET, Ill. – Brett Moffitt continued the feel-good story of the 2018 Camping World Truck Series, winning Friday night’s Overton’s 225 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The victory happened when leader John Hunter Nemechek lost power on the final lap, but Moffitt’s chances of taking the checkered flag for the third time this year were uncertain long before that.

With Hattori Racing still struggling to secure sponsorship, the team considered parking early in Friday’s race.

“We have discussed many, many scenarios,” crew chief Scott Zipadelli said. “That was probably the least favorable one.

“But at the end of the day there was probably a good chance that we would have to do something like that. It’s never good to be in a position to where you don’t know if you’re going to go race or you had the funding for this week or next week, but we did talk about that. … I hope we don’t have to have that conversation again.”

The team picked up a last-minute sponsorship deal with Fr8Auction to race at Chicagoland. Moffitt said the No. 16 Toyota still needs money to run Bristol Motor Speedway, Eldora Speedway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Per NASCAR rules, the team must attempt to qualify for every regular-season race to maintain its playoff berth (with three wins ranking second on the circuit, Moffitt is a virtual lock to contend for the championship.

Team owner Shige Hattori said the team was getting closer to being funded for the season finale.

“Every win definitely helps,” he said. “We’re working really hard to find more money. It’s tough. We’re a really good team. We want to keep going. Definitely, Moffitt is a really good driver and racer. That’s a big help for sponsorships.”

Moffitt is a 25-year-old from Grimes, Iowa, who has 71 starts across the Cup, Xfinity and truck series but is in the midst of what would be his first full-time shot at a title in NASCAR’s top three national series.

He said the key to Hattori Racing’s success is “badass people. That’s the truth. We didn’t start the race that good tonight. I gave the team one adjustment, and we were great. It goes all the way from the bottom up in our shop and we have quality people. Quality pit crew.

“And we’re all passionate and work really hard. That’s all that matters.”