16th race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Motor car race
The 2023 Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation was the 16th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series , the final race of the regular season, and the 4th iteration of the event . The race was held on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Richmond, Virginia at Richmond Raceway , a 0.750 miles (1.207 km) permanent quad-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 250 laps to complete. Carson Hocevar , driving for Niece Motorsports , would make a late-race pass for the lead on Ty Majeski with under five laps to go, and held on to earn his third career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win.[ 1] Majeski would dominate the entire race, starting from the pole, winning both stages, and eventually came back from an early pit road speeding penalty. Majeski's pit road strategy to stay out for the remainder of the final stage would be unsuccessful, as Hocevar would take advantage in the final laps. To fill out the podium, Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing , and Zane Smith , driving for Front Row Motorsports , would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The ten drivers that would qualify for the NASCAR playoffs are Corey Heim , Zane Smith , Carson Hocevar , Christian Eckes , Grant Enfinger , Ty Majeski , Ben Rhodes , Nick Sanchez , Matt DiBenedetto , and Matt Crafton .[ 2] Heim would also claim the Regular Season Championship during the race.[ 3]
Background
Richmond Raceway (RR), formerly known as Richmond International Raceway (RIR), is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D -shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia , in Henrico County . It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series , the NASCAR Xfinity Series , NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the IndyCar series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:05 PM EST , and would last for 20 minutes.[ 4] Ty Majeski , driving for ThorSport Racing , would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.813, and an average speed of 118.354 mph (190.472 km/h).[ 5]
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:35 PM EST .[ 4] Since Richmond Raceway is a short track , the qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[ 6] Ty Majeski , driving for ThorSport Racing , would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 22.689, and an average speed of 119.000 mph (191.512 km/h).[ 7]
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 70
Pos.
#
Driver
Team
Make
Pts
1
98
Ty Majeski
ThorSport Racing
Ford
10
2
99
Ben Rhodes
ThorSport Racing
Ford
9
3
11
Corey Heim
Tricon Garage
Toyota
8
4
19
Christian Eckes
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
7
5
88
Matt Crafton
ThorSport Racing
Ford
6
6
1
William Sawalich
Tricon Garage
Toyota
5
7
35
Jake Garcia (R)
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
4
8
4
Chase Purdy
Kyle Busch Motorsports
Chevrolet
3
9
51
Matt Mills
Kyle Busch Motorsports
Chevrolet
2
10
25
Matt DiBenedetto
Rackley WAR
Chevrolet
1
Stage 2 Laps: 70
Pos.
#
Driver
Team
Make
Pts
1
98
Ty Majeski
ThorSport Racing
Ford
10
2
99
Ben Rhodes
ThorSport Racing
Ford
9
3
11
Corey Heim
Tricon Garage
Toyota
8
4
19
Christian Eckes
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
7
5
42
Carson Hocevar
Niece Motorsports
Chevrolet
6
6
35
Jake Garcia (R)
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
5
7
88
Matt Crafton
ThorSport Racing
Ford
4
8
1
William Sawalich
Tricon Garage
Toyota
3
9
2
Nick Sanchez (R)
Rev Racing
Chevrolet
2
10
51
Matt Mills
Kyle Busch Motorsports
Chevrolet
1
Stage 3 Laps: 110
Fin[ 8]
St
#
Driver
Team
Make
Laps
Led
Status
Pts
1
17
42
Carson Hocevar
Niece Motorsports
Chevrolet
250
64
Running
48
2
1
98
Ty Majeski
ThorSport Racing
Ford
250
168
Running
55
3
15
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
Ford
250
0
Running
34
4
12
35
Jake Garcia (R)
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
250
0
Running
42
5
5
51
Matt Mills
Kyle Busch Motorsports
Chevrolet
250
0
Running
35
6
2
11
Corey Heim
Tricon Garage
Toyota
250
9
Running
47
7
8
88
Matt Crafton
ThorSport Racing
Ford
250
0
Running
40
8
14
2
Nick Sanchez (R)
Rev Racing
Chevrolet
249
0
Running
31
9
13
23
Grant Enfinger
GMS Racing
Chevrolet
249
0
Running
28
10
3
1
William Sawalich
Tricon Garage
Toyota
249
0
Running
35
11
6
19
Christian Eckes
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Chevrolet
249
0
Running
40
12
4
99
Ben Rhodes
ThorSport Racing
Ford
249
9
Running
43
13
21
16
Tyler Ankrum
Hattori Racing Enterprises
Toyota
249
0
Running
24
14
19
17
Taylor Gray (R)
Tricon Garage
Toyota
249
0
Running
23
15
25
13
Hailie Deegan
ThorSport Racing
Ford
249
0
Running
22
16
7
15
Tanner Gray
Tricon Garage
Toyota
249
0
Running
21
17
10
25
Matt DiBenedetto
Rackley WAR
Chevrolet
249
0
Running
21
18
11
41
Bayley Currey
Niece Motorsports
Chevrolet
248
0
Running
19
19
16
24
Rajah Caruth (R)
GMS Racing
Chevrolet
248
0
Running
18
20
24
66
Conner Jones
ThorSport Racing
Ford
248
0
Running
17
21
18
43
Daniel Dye (R)
GMS Racing
Chevrolet
248
0
Running
16
22
9
4
Chase Purdy
Kyle Busch Motorsports
Chevrolet
248
0
Running
18
23
30
56
Timmy Hill
Hill Motorsports
Toyota
248
0
Running
14
24
27
9
Colby Howard
CR7 Motorsports
Chevrolet
247
0
Running
13
25
20
5
Dean Thompson
Tricon Garage
Toyota
247
0
Running
12
26
29
02
Will Rodgers
Young's Motorsports
Chevrolet
247
0
Running
11
27
23
52
Stewart Friesen
Halmar Friesen Racing
Toyota
247
0
Running
10
28
22
45
Lawless Alan
Niece Motorsports
Chevrolet
247
0
Running
9
29
26
32
Bret Holmes (R)
Bret Holmes Racing
Chevrolet
247
0
Running
8
30
28
30
Ryan Vargas
On Point Motorsports
Toyota
246
0
Running
7
31
34
90
Justin Carroll
TC Motorsports
Toyota
245
0
Running
6
32
35
22
Christian Rose
AM Racing
Ford
244
0
Running
5
33
31
33
Derek Lemke
Reaume Brothers Racing
Ford
243
0
Running
4
34
33
20
Mason Massey (i)
Young's Motorsports
Chevrolet
242
0
Running
0
35
32
12
Spencer Boyd
Young's Motorsports
Chevrolet
240
0
Running
2
36
36
34
Josh Reaume
Reaume Brothers Racing
Ford
239
0
Running
1
Official race results
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos
Driver
Points
1
Corey Heim
2,030
2
Zane Smith
2,022 (-8)
4
3
Carson Hocevar
2,021 (-9)
2
4
Christian Eckes
2,019 (-11)
2
5
Grant Enfinger
2,017 (-13)
1
6
Ty Majeski
2,014 (-16)
3
7
Ben Rhodes
2,013 (-17)
1
8
Nick Sanchez
2,005 (-25)
1
9
Matt DiBenedetto
2,002 (-28)
10
Matt Crafton
2,002 (-28)
Official driver's standings
Note : Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
^ Skala, Chris (July 29, 2023). "Carson Hocevar Steals Truck Series Win at Richmond" . Frontstretch . Retrieved July 30, 2023 .
^ "2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff field set" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023 .
^ "Corey Heim wins regular season Truck Series championship" . Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023 .
^ a b "2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Richmond Race Page" . Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site . Retrieved July 24, 2023 .
^ "Practice Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond" . TobyChristie.com . July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures" . Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site . Retrieved July 24, 2023 .
^ Watson, Wyatt (July 28, 2023). "Ty Majeski Earns Richmond Truck Pole" . Frontstretch . Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ "2023 Worldwide Express 250 - Racing Reference" . Racing-Reference.info . Retrieved July 30, 2023 .