A total of five New York drivers will race at Oswego, three of whom, Vargo, Derek Northrup, and Tyler Bate, will have to be the fastest part-timer in their heat to advance.
Here's who learned the dirt quickest in the first session: 1) Cameron Vargo (i) - 19.566 (206 laps) 2) Moses Osborne - 19.588 (230) 3) Josh McCoy - 19.601 (169) 4) Kyle Langeland (i) - 19.602 (117) 5) Essentia - 19.612 (174) T6) Aaron DuMatte - 19.620 (204) T6) Barry Watson - 19.620 (181) 8) Luke Evans (i) - 19.621 (212) 9) Tania Brayer (i) - 19.622 (205) 10) Carter Friesen - 19.630 (201)
That strategy move propelled Wise to victory lane.
"Everybody on the same tires at the start, it was a lot different in practice where I thought passing would be a lot easier," Wise said. "When we got stuck where we were, [crew chief] Davey [Nelson] decided we should come down a lap earlier than he thought the leaders would go. We dragged several guys behind us, but my crew was perfect on the stop and we just barely got ahead of Jason [Langley]." It was no sour day for the runner-up Langley, who grabbed the spot from a starting spot a couple rows back from Wise. The #68 went from 39th to 26th in point standings. For Fowler, though, a pit road miscue was the root of his problems that took him from the lead to 18th, eventually gaining a few spots to finish 14th. "Our jack slipped on the left side tire change," crew chief Pryce Owen said. "I haven't checked our pit cam yet and I don't know if it was avoidable, but we can't have that stuff happening when we're in the prime position to lock ourselves into the playoffs." The race ran caution-free but not without incident. Derek Hamill ran up high off turn 2 and clipped Ryan Parsings, taking out Derek Anderline in the process. That was the second week in a row Parsings was spun from his left rear. "Feels like the guys out here are blind if you can't spot the bright truck directly in front of you," Parsings said. Clint McComb assumed the points lead after finishing 4th in the race. Tyler Reid finished 35th and fell out of the lead spot all the way to 8th in standings.
Only 10 part-timers per group go onto the final determining round for qualifying into the feature event, where only six make the show, so despite the fast times from Group 1 drivers, they'll be faced with challengers in Group 2 on similar track conditions.
Daniel Voyles was the fastest full-timer this session, laying down a time of 35.256 seconds. Race #2 and #3 winners, Mike Simpson and Clint McComb, were 2nd and 4th, respectively. McComb was the fastest full-timer in first practice. Here's the fastest in second practice at Trenton: 1) Zach Griffin (i) - 34.876 (85 laps) 2) Diego Yepez (i) - 34.886 (83) 3) Tyler Bate (i) - 34.903 (85) 4) Kris Stottlemire (i) - 34.909 (85) 5) Justin Garza (i) - 34.915 (86) 6) Cameron Vargo (i) - 34.922 (85) 7) Tristan Ludet (i) - 34.925 (87) T8) Nick Raill (i) - 34.927 (88) T8) Isaac Nicholls (i) - 34.927 (88) 10) Derek Northrup (i) - 34.944 (85)
Carter Thiessen was the fastest of those Group 1 trucks, running a fast lap just under 153 mph.
"It'd be great if the weather were consistent across all the groups to know where we stack up to the other two-thirds of the field, but right now we know we're fast in our duel group and that should help us get to the next round," crew chief Calvin Beau said. Clint McComb was the fastest full-timer at 35,091 seconds for 24th overall, behind all Group 1 trucks. Here's the fast laps for Practice #1 at Trenton: 1) Carter Thiessen (i) - 34.833 (130 laps) 2) Richard Fridge (i) - 34.848 (129) 3) Tyler Bate (i) - 34.859 (128) 4) Isaac Nicholls (i) - 34.868 (125) 5) Zach Griffin (i) - 34.879 (126) 6) Derek Hamill (i) - 34.886 (128) 7) Kris Stottlemire (i) - 34.889 (126) 8) Vincent Stomberg (i) - 34.894 (130) 9) Derek Northrup (i) - 34.899 (128) 10) Kyle Langeland (i) - 34.912 (122)
Previously, the top six in a field filled with the part-timers would qualify, much like the part-time qualifying for NFRN Elite Cup Series and NFRN Amateur Cup Series.
"The system was built under the impression that drivers coming in late would be few and spread out, but we're not allowed to have fields above 42 cars or trucks, so we needed this adjustment," league commissioner Collin Denton said. The races will still be shown in highlights rather than its entirety.
"Luck plays a part sometimes," crew chief Herb Pierce said. "We knew we had a good enough truck, and our entire organization plays a part in that, but the caution worked right in our favor."
That caution came at the expense of Ryan Parsings, when eventual runner-up Ross Kispin caught him in the quarter panel off turn four and turned him into teammate Josh McCoy. "I wasn't crazy about that," said Parsings, who ended up 19th. "We're running tight, but he can back off when needed." Kispin was apologetic post-race. "I just had Josh on my inside and the space I had was pretty limited," he said. "In the end, I'm just going as all-out as I can and my team put together a great car to give us a chance." Another driver who ended up doing great was part-timer Jeff Cabico, who finished 4th in an unsponsored machine. "It has just been a great day for us," Cabico said. "Our #03 truck has been extremely great during the part-time race and the actual race. I am just really proud of this top-five." Cabico dodged a bullet when polesitter Adam Louis spun and made contact with the #03 as the field slowed down for a caution on the first lap. Louis would strike the SAFER barrier hard and end up in 40th place.
The four-race series of exhibition races will also visit Portland Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, and Lonesome Pine Raceway.
"We're getting extremely crowded in the number of competitors trying to race their way in that some might never see the track in 2017," league commissioner Collin Denton said. "By re-opening our modified division, we won't be giving out another championship, but any fresh drivers wanting an opportunity to race for a win and get some face time will be able to in this short set of races." The NOMS was originally slated for a 12-race schedule at the start of the season before folding due to a lack of demand. "We wanted to have this to start off, but we didn't have the field to fill it unless we waited even longer to start season two," Denton said. "We won't rule out a full, points-paying series next year if the demand stays this high." Drivers that enter for part-time NTS competition will be automatically entered and do not need to undergo a separate process. Over 40 entries will be running for both the debut NOMS race and attempt to qualify for Trenton Speedway at the Truck Series' fourth race. Full-timers are not eligible for this competition. The deadline for signing up to both races is Sunday, May 13th, 11:59pm ET.
"That's very encouraging," crew chief Richard Sepp said. "That means the team and our driver is hitting all their marks, the truck is handling well in every situation. That's exactly what we need right now."
Recency is currently 40th in standings after a pair of poor performances to start the season, but a big day could be in store for the team if it keeps pace and stays out of trouble. Here's where everyone else stacked up this session: 1) Recency - 34.207 (87 laps) 2) Trevor Nicks - 34.212 (84) 3) Robbie Bell - 34.220 (86) 4) Steve Rea - 34.248 (85) 5) Kevin Knight - 34.256 (86) 6) Justin Lisonbee - 34.261 (82) 7) Carter Friesen - 34.262 (89) 8) Andy Quinn - 34.271 (90) 9) James Smith - 34.274 (85) 10) Ryan Parsings - 34.277 (87)
See who cracked the top 10:
1) Recency - 34.653 (128 laps) 2) Dalton Wise - 34.659 (135) 3) Jason Langley - 34.673 (128) 4) Mike Simpson - 34.701 (127) 5) Jim Fowler - 34.702 (131) T6) Barry Watson - 34.707 (130) T6) Ryan Parsings - 34.707 (129) 8) Aaron DuMatte - 34.709 (126) 9) Roger Rey - 34.714 (130) 10) Benny Seitzer - 34.717 (128)
"We had a few candidates that we looked at, but ultimately, the race had to support a full field and Oswego was able to do that for us," league commissioner Collin Denton said.
The race will run heat races and last chance qualifying as a contrast to the normal schedule of a Truck weekend, but the specifics of that format will be revealed at a later date.
"In practice, there was a lot more passing happening, but everyone was running with different laps on their tires," Simpson said. "Having the pole felt good, but I wasn't feeling comfortable until we got further into a run and realized all I needed to do was hold my line."
Derek Anderline stayed trapped behind Simpson and came home to a second-place finish, but for part-time driver Derek Northrup, a third place run was very satisfactory. "I'm happy to get that top 5 finish, and I'll tell you, those two in front of me were hard chargers," Northrup said. Another part-timer, Cameron Vargo, finished 4th, and Carter Friesen went from wrecking out at Columbia International Speedway to a top-five run. "We didn't have the best qualifying run, and then in practice, we had that spin and then hit the wall pretty hard, so we had to pull out that backup truck, but overall, I'm happy with our finishing result," Friesen said. The #92 was turned halfway through final practice by Taylor The Pig and could not repair the main truck. On the other end of the spectrum, Jesse Makana had to handle some heat from other drivers angry with him after having part in both accidents that took place on the first lap of the race. "I don't know what to tell them," said Makana, who ended up finishing 22nd. "My car was fast but my qualifying effort didn't reflect that. I still think you have to look at the video and see I got put in situations that I shouldn't have been in."
Here are the best times from final practice:
1) Ryan Parsings - 26.385 (111 laps) 2) Hunter Cox - 26.393 (112) 3) Jim Fowler - 26.406 (101) 4) Carter Friesen - 26.408 (112) 5) Kevin Knight - 26.409 (103) 6) Moses Osborne - 26.412 (109) 7) Benny Seitzer - 26.418 (109) 8) Hollywood McComb - 26.419 (104) 9) Andy Quinn - 26.435 (111) 10) Mike Simpson - 26.455 (103)
Here are the top 10 times from first practice at Pikes Peak:
1) Jim Fowler - 26.331 (163 laps) 2) Hunter Cox - 26.350 (158) 3) Kevin Knight - 26.362 (168) 4) Benny Seitzer - 26.363 (166) 5) Ryan Parsings - 26.391 (165) 6) Carter Friesen - 26.394 (166) 7) Andy Quinn - 26.410 (165) 8) Dalton Wise - 26.411 (165) 9) Billy Thompson - 26.412 (167) 10) Hollywood McComb - 26.421 (174)
"It just took a lot of patience," Watson said. "I make that move down the backstretch, someone gets up behind me and pulls the same one on me. I wasn't letting that happen."
A victory right off the top of the season means Watson also holds onto a potential Chase birth so long as he stays in the top 25 in points. While the #38's day went without a hitch, other drivers were not as lucky. Multi-car accidents occurred three times throughout the race, and several involved were heated coming out of the infield care center. "Stupid," said Carter Friesen, his #92 Chevrolet involved in an accident on lap 2. "Absolutely stupid. To get taken out on the second f---ing lap, I mean come on. I just hate it for our team." Pit road also presented major issues for the race teams as many made contact with one another entering and exiting their stalls. Daniel Voyles actually flipped leaving his stall. "Whose idea was it to make a pit road that narrow?" Roger Rey said.
Here are the top 10 practice times from final practice:
1) Steven Carmona - 43.462 (63 laps) 2) Taylor The Pig - 43.521 (61) 3) Keith Young - 43.531 (60) 4) Mike Simpson - 43.542 (57) 5) Robbie Bell - 43.602 (66) 6) Trevor Nicks - 43.607 (59) 7) Blake Andrews - 43.608 (60) 8) Hunter Cox - 43.624 (61) 9) Derek Northrup - 43.642 (63) 10) James Smith - 43.654 (63)
Recency was involved in an accident during the session that was full of crashes and had to bring out a backup truck. However, that truck appeared to travel significantly faster than the rest of the field, slowing down only when catching up to multi-groove packs. In fact, he posted a time of 37.729, five and a half seconds faster than Rey's time.
"We determined that the number 69 pulled out a truck that did not have a restrictor plate, which we require all race cars to have this weekend," said Brian Weaver, NFRN's Executive Inspection Officer. "The truck was a safety hazard to everyone else making a run, so we forced him to park it for the session and the team will need to either install the plate or find another truck for the race." Crew chief Richard Sepp said the issue was an oversight on their part. "Pigcency Racing had trucks prepared for either situation because the league didn't inform us until late whether we would use restrictor plates or not," Sepp said. "Our backup apparently didn't have it, so we're getting a plated truck sent from the shop." The league is not expected to hand down penalties for the incident since it was outside of qualifying or race sessions. Recency's time was disallowed on today's charts. Here are the top 10 practice times that counted in the first NTS session of 2017: 1) Roger Rey - 43.177 (95 laps) 2) Derek Anderline - 43.264 (92) 3) Trevor Nicks - 43.305 (93) 4) Jim Fowler - 43.334 (88) 5) Jasper Rowles - 43.452 (96) 6) Jason Langley - 43.466 (89) 7) Dalton Wise - 43.544 (91) 8) Moses Osborne - 43.591 (92) 9) Adam Coon - 43.684 (93) 10) Dylan Lexton - 43.707 (93) |
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