Carson Hocevar grabs win number two of 2023, Zane Smith runner up again, Bayley Currey shows his talent, and Deegan wrecks on lap five. Here are five takeaways from the Rackley 200 at Nashville Superspeedway
1. Carson Hocevar gets his second win of the year:
Carson Hocevar got his second career victory in a clean fashion, leading forty laps and holding off a charging Zane Smith and Nick Sanchez. Qualifying seventh, he worked his way up to fourth by the end of stage one and second in stage two. His dominance showed on the lap 110 restart where he drove around Corey Heim on the outside to take the lead on the backstretch. When the trucks of Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, and Grant Enfinger spun on the front stretch, Hocevar held strong, getting a great push by Chase Purdy.
Carson celebrated in spectacular fashion, with a great burnout in front of the fans at Nashville Superspeedway. His entire family joined him to grab the checkered flag. He even climbed into the grandstands to celebrate with long-time friends and fans.
best advice i’ve ever seen, the celebration isn’t for you, it’s for the fans. thankful i’ve been able to celebrate with great crowds and give them a reason to stay and be invested after the checkered flag flew. not done yet. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/dZd2KIa6N5
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) June 27, 2023
2. Zane Smith is runner-up for the second year in a row at Nashville Superspeedway:
Zane Smith has never finished outside of the top five at Nashville Superspeedway. In 2022, he ran second to Ryan Preece, this year he ran second to Carson Hocevar. Smith qualified the #38 Ford in eighth. He won stage one, earning some vital points given the last four races he has not finished higher than 20th. When the checkered flag waved, he lead eleven laps and scored 52 points. With those points earned, he climbed from fourth to second in the points standings, sixteen behind Corey Heim. A massive rebound for the #38 team.
3. Nick Sanchez earns pole and finishes third:
The most impressive rookie award goes to Nick Sanchez, who earned his second pole award this season. The #2 Chevrolet turned a 29.571 second lap, at a speed of 161.915 miles per hour. In stage one, he finished runner-up to Smith and missed out on stage points in the second. On the final lap, with two turns left, Sanchez got right alongside the #38, and in what had to be a photo finish, Smith just barely outran the #2. If NASCAR had not thrown an extra caution lap, I believe we could have seen a three-way race for the win at Nashville.
Nick Sanchez is currently tenth in points, and if his current pace is any prediction, I believe he can make a solid playoff run. A win is coming for this rookie driver
4. Bayley Currey’s talents displayed at Nashville Superspeedway:
Running part-time for Niece Motorsports, Bailey Currey showed us his incredible talent on Friday night. In qualifying, he put the #41 Chevrolet on the outside pole. During the race, he finished third in stage one and sixth in stage two. He brought the truck home in fifth, leading a single lap. Currey, driving the #41 for Niece this season has finished in the top five twice, first at Atlanta.
Currey, hailing from Driftwood, Texas, has an incredible portfolio for a 26-year-old driver. He drove ten races for Rick Ware Racing in the Cup Series in 2019. He has 111 Xfinity Series starts and 37 Truck Series starts, and is currently part-timing for both JD Motorsports and Niece Motorsports in 2023. With rumors of Carson Hocevar leaving to go Xfinity Series racing in 2024, I believe we have the new driver of the #42 for Niece Motorsports in 2024.
Qualified second, led laps and ran up front all race.
A great run by @BayleyCurrey!👏 pic.twitter.com/lEHbYFypd4
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) June 24, 2023
5. Deegan and Alan collide on lap 5:
2023 has not been a good year for Hailie Deegan, and the bad luck continued at Nashville Superspeedway. She qualified her #13 Ford in 20th, and the bad luck started as soon as the green flag flew. On lap five, she was on the bottom in turn three, when she just touched the apron of the track, shooting her up and into Lawless Alan. Deegan and Alan wrecked, collecting the #51 of Jack Wood. Deegan would repair the damage and so would Alan, but a cut tire would end his night. She kept her F150 on track all night, finishing 28th.
The Trucks are heading to Mid-Ohio in two weeks, where Deegan got a top-ten last year. Hopefully, she can qualify well enough to get out of the trouble in the back of the pack and finally have a clean race.
Another weekend off for the Craftsman Truck Series means we will next have trucks on track at Mid-Ohio on July 8th.
Featured image credit: Andrew Nelles/The Tennesseean
