Phoenix Raceway

In one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent memory, longtime fan favorite Justin Allgaier at last claimed the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship trophy Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway – coming from a lap-down mid-race in a back-up car to hoist the shiny hardware.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Ford passed Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race win on the last lap of double-overtime for his second win of the season and joined the new series champ Allgaier in twin celebratory burnouts on the front stretch of the mile-track.

“I said all weekend, I don’t know what the plan is, but HE has a reason for everything and tonight is true of that, this is mind-blowing, it really is,” said Allgaier, his voice already hoarse and strained from screaming in happiness, but the smile unshakable as his young daughters came in for a hug for dad.

“This team never gave up. [Crew chief] Jim Pohlman and his leadership skills are second to none. He told me all weekend that we were going to have a chance and we tried to give it away every way we could.”

It was an emotional outcome for the 38-year old Allgaier, who joked that he was just trying to make the race exciting for the fans. He has qualified for the Championship 4 seven times, finishing runner-up twice including last year.

And now he could finally celebrate. Allgaier’s team owners, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelly Earnhardt Miller joined Allgaier’s longtime sponsor Rick Brandt on pit road. They were overjoyed to congratulate their driver who overcame a weekend of obstacles to finally claim this historic moment – and it came on a night when the sport observed a moment of silence to honor another great champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, who passed away earlier Saturday.

The obstacles Allgaier faced happened well before the race’s green flag. His primary car was destroyed in a crash four laps into Friday’s opening practice session after running over oil on track from another car that ultimately forced four drivers into back-ups for the race. The car swap meant Allgaier started last in the 38th car field Saturday night, but the always upbeat 14-year veteran of the series, had moved into the top 10 by lap 26.

Then, after all that work, Allgaier was called for a re-start violation on Lap 101 and sent down pit road for a penalty … only to be called for speeding on the way out and penalized with another trip down pit road – both penalties served during green flag racing. After the penalties, Allgaier dropped to 35th on-track and was a lap down on Lap 107 of the scheduled 200-lapper.

He got a huge break in fortune with a caution period with 45 laps remaining – opting to stay out and get back on the lead lap. He stayed in the top-10 and worked his way forward – moving from sixth place to second on the first overtime restart. He started on the front row of the second overtime restart, but was passed on the final lap by Herbst for the race win. Allgaier’s second place finish still good enough to land the championship, however.

It marked the third career win for the 25-year old Las Vegas native Herbst, who crossed the line .247-second ahead of Allgaier and led a dominating 167 of the 213 laps.

“I knew we were going to have a fast race car, these guys have been working on this race car and I knew we were going to be really really fast,” said Herbst, whose SHR team is closing at the conclusion of the season. “It’s been a really tough week at the shop, really emotional time. I’m forever grateful to every man and woman at Stewart-Haas Racing they gave me a really fast car today and I can’t thank everyone enough.”

It was actually fellow championship contender – reigning champ Cole Custer – who mounted the most consistent challenge to Herbst. He ran up front for most of the race, just off the pace of his SHR teammate and ultimately finished eighth in the No. 00 SHR Ford – his effort answered last year’s title with a runner-up in this year’s championship standings.

The other two championship contenders, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished ninth and 10th. And as disappointed as the three title contenders were in not claiming the season championship, each conceded the night had a positive ending with their longtime competitor Allgaier finally getting that trophy after 14 years of competition in the series.

“I’m really happy for Justin, that was a long time coming,” said Custer, who will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series fulltime next season. “He’s definitely a deserving champion and they ran a great race, especially there at the end.”

Hill, making his first Championship 4 appearance, agreed with the sentiment.

“Justin Allgaier has been doing this for a really long time and to see him finally get it done, I’m really happy for him and happy for his family,” he said. “He’s a great guy to be around, a great competitor.

“He’s going to be a great champion for the Xfinity Series. I’ve enjoyed racing that 7 team all season long. If I couldn’t have gotten the championship, I’m glad he was the one that got it done.”

After an overtime restart that saw title contenders engage in a breathtaking three-wide battle down the backstretch, Cole Custer deftly negotiated a tightly bunched pack of cars to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race and the series title on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.

The victory was the third of the season for Custer, who returned to full-time Xfinity Series racing this year after a lackluster three-year stint in the NASCAR Cup Series that produced a single victory.

But Custer proved his mettle after slipping from first to third in the running order moments after the final restart. Championship 4 driver John Hunter Nemechek held a fleeting lead but couldn’t turn his No. 20 Toyota in Turn 1 and lost the top spot to title contender Just Allgaier.

Custer steered his No. 00 Stewart Haas Racing Ford to the inside of Allgaier’s Chevrolet as the three championship hopefuls raced side-by-side down the backstretch before Custer emerged with the lead. A lap later, Custer crossed the finish line 0.601 seconds ahead of charging Sheldon Creed and another 0.007 seconds ahead of Allgaier to win for the first time at Phoenix and the 13th time in his career.

“I thought it was over,” said Custer, who had two previous runner-up finishes in the series standings. “I mean, went from first to third, and I was able to shift the car all night. And Doug Yates horsepower worked out, pulled me off the corner. I can't believe we won that thing after going back to third on that restart.

“Man, I can't say enough about these guys (his Stewart Haas team). We started the year off and it was a struggle, and we had to kind of dig deep with each other, really talk about how to get better and to see how much this group has grown through the year.

“I've been waiting to hear (congratulations from Xfinity Series director) Wayne (Auton) on the radio for a few times now, so I'm pumped.”

Allgaier spun underneath Nemechek on Lap 3 and worked his way back to the front from 38th in the running order, but Custer had the superior car on short runs and proved it after the final restart.

“I don't know if I'll get another shot at it again next year,” said the 37-year-old Allgaier. “We at least will have a shot at it, but I don't know if we'll make it. But so proud of the effort of this team and what we were able to accomplish. The restart was fantastic. I thought we did everything right.

“The 20 (Nemechek) kind of missed the bottom and drove all the way up, and honestly, I was afraid I was going to run into the back of him. When I tried to turn back down the hill, it just was enough to let the 00 (Custer) get back to my inside and ultimately getting down into Turn 3...

“I don't know, I'm going to replay this one back in my head a couple times. I drove in there pretty deep and just kind of washed up. The 00 had the turning car all night, and we were just a little bit too free.”

Riley Herbst ran fourth on Saturday, followed by title contender Sam Mayer. Nemechek, a series-best seven-time winner this season, suffered a flat tire after the final restart, slammed the outside wall and finished 28th.

“Drove in, and it didn't turn,” Nemechek said of Turn 1 after the final restart. “I don't know if we had a right front (tire) start going down or what exactly it was, but just drove in and didn't turn.

“Toyota GR Supra was really fast, but drive down, it doesn't turn, it's not a very good thing. Then once we got pinched in the fence there off of (Turn) 2, it kind of hurt the right sides even more. I think we had a right rear start going down, as well.

“It sucks to end up where we finished. Had a really strong effort all day. Proud of this whole 20 crew. Proud of this whole group. Just sucks to end our season this way, but overall, a really successful season for this 20 team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Was proud to be behind the wheel of this 20 car all year, and seven wins is a lot to be proud of.”

In a race that produced eight cautions for a total of 46 laps, Custer led 96 of 202 laps to 66 for Nemechek.

Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, pole winner Sammy Smith and Kaz Grala completed the top 10.

High school senior Sammy Smith made the most of the fastest car in Saturday’s United Rentals 200, becoming the youngest NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Phoenix Raceway at age 18.

In a race that featured 11 cautions for 69 laps, Smith held off teammate Ryan Truex after a restart with 15 of 200 laps left to give Joe Gibbs Racing its 16th victory at the 1.0-mile track.

Smith led a race-high 92 laps, including the last 52, taking the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 149. To secure his first victory in the series in his 13th start, Smith had to survive restarts on Laps 157, 177 and 186.

"That was tough with all of those restarts—and going against some of the best," said Smith, who takes his high school classes online. "I just have to thank everybody on Pilot/Flying J, Toyota, JGR guys and everybody on this 18 team for giving me an awesome car. This is awesome.

"This is a dream come true, and I did know that at some point this was coming. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of great people around me. Without all of these guys, I wouldn’t be here."

In a part-time role with JGR, Truex matched his career-best finish after restarting seventh on Lap 186.

"That was a good restart at the end," Truex said. "I thought I could at least try to make it exciting. Congrats to Sammy—he was the class of the field all day. His car was so good. He could really kind of do whatever he wanted.

"Sammy was just a little bit faster, but I’ll try again next time."

Sheldon Creed ran a miraculous third after spinning and losing track position on Lap 148 to cause the ninth caution. Creed got help from Kaulig Racing teammates Busch and Chandler Smith, who tangled on the last lap while racing for fourth.

Smith got the better of the exchange, finishing fifth to Busch’s ninth.

Busch and Chandler Smith weren’t the only teammates who traded paint on Saturday. JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry spun off the bumper of Sam Mayer on Lap 84 and fought back to finish eighth.

Justin Allgaier, who won the race’s first two stages, crashed hard on Lap 178 after contact from JR Motorsports teammate Brandon Jones and Sam Hunt Racing’s Kaz Grala. The accident eliminated Allgaier and set up Smith’s triumphant run to the checkered flag.

Riley Herbst ran fourth. John Hunter Nemechek recovered from a restart penalty—dipping below the yellow line on the apron before the start/finish line—to come home sixth. Austin Hill was seventh, followed by Berry, Busch and Daniel Hemric.

Mayer finished 11th and pole winner Cole Custer 12th.

Hill leads the series standings by 30 points over second-place Nemechek.

One week after igniting a maelstrom of controversy with his brutish tactics at Martinsville Speedway, Ty Gibbs held off charging Noah Gragson to win Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race and the series title that goes with it.

Starting from the pole, Gibbs won the first and second stages and led a race-high 125 of 200 laps, but those statistics belie how intensely competitive the race was.

Gragson and JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier led 35 and 26 laps, respectively, and traded the lead with Gibbs as the sun went down and the track cooled.

But Gibbs's No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was strong enough to win the day, giving the 20-year-old prodigy his seventh victory of the season and his 11th in 51 career starts. 

Nevertheless, a large faction of the crowd greeted his victory celebration with catcalls and boos, the memory of the way Gibbs had wrecked teammate Brandon Jones to win last Saturday's race at Martinsville still on top of mind.

"You know, what I did last week was unacceptable," Gibbs said after climbing from his car. "And I apologize once again, but it was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal, and it was stupid from an organization standpoint. All my fault.

"I can sit here and tell you I'm sorry as much as I can, but it's not going to fix it. I've got to fix my actions. I felt like today I had a good race, felt like I made some good moves. Me and the 7 (Allgaier) were racing really hard. I felt like hopefully we put on a great show for you guys, the fans, and thank you for all that you guys do.

"Yeah, I don't want to be the one with the boos, and I'm the one that put myself in that position. But I don't want this championship to be remembered for boos; I want it to be remembered for hard work and our team. Awesome job." 

With all the breathtaking side-by-side racing, lap after lap, the difference came down to performance on pit road. When the Championship 4 drivers pitted under the seventh caution on Lap 160, an 18.8-second stop dropped Gragson from third to eighth for a restart on Lap 165.

Gibbs' crew, in contrast, had its best stop of the day-13.7 seconds-and grabbed the lead from Allgaier off pit road. 

After a subsequent caution for Brandon Jones' spin off the bumper of Gragson's No. 8 Chevrolet on Lap 165, Gragson gained five spots on a Lap 171 restart, soon passed Allgaier for second and launched a ferocious pursuit of the eventual race winner.

Gragson closed within two car lengths through Turns 3 and 4 with two laps left but couldn't get to Gibbs bumper. He crossed the finish line .397 seconds behind Gibbs.

"I gave it my best," Gragson said. "I drove my ass off and gave it everything I had. Just got beat...;

"He (Gibbs) raced like a champion tonight. He deserved it."

Allgaier rolled home in third place. Kaulig Racing teammates Landon Cassill and AJ Allmendinger were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill and Sammy Smith completed the top 10.

Championship 4 competitor Josh Berry was running in the top four in the late going but contact with the backstretch wall shortly after the final restart on Lap 171 dropped him to 13th at the finish.

Noah Gragson came heartbreakingly close a week ago to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2022 season. On Saturday, his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet left no doubt as to who would be hoisting the winner's trophy.

Gragson led 72 of the final 87 laps - a race best 114 of 200 laps on the day - to earn the win in the United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway. He passed race runner-up Brandon Jones with 15 laps remaining, negotiated lapped traffic and ultimately pulled away to an impressive 2.555-second win.

The 23-year old Las Vegas native and his team celebrated the victory by scaling the wire fence on the front straightaway and pumping their fists at the cheering crowd. It was not only the first win of the year, but it was the fourth straight top-five finish for the team and increased his Xfinity Series championship lead to a more substantial 39 points over rookie Ty Gibbs, who finished sixth Saturday.

"Feels great," said a grinning Gragson, who now has six career Xfinity Series wins.

"Pit crew executed great and this team has been on a roll so far this year," he added. "Top three finishes in all four races. Can't thank everybody enough for all their hard work."

Jones, who used a short-pit strategy to close out the race, just couldn't hold off Gragson in the final laps of a race that had only four caution periods - and none in the final 101 laps of competition.

"I'm still all-in-all very happy to come home second," said Jones, whose season got off to a rough start with a crash two weeks ago and a 17th place in the Daytona season-opener.

There were 16 lead changes - primarily among Gragson, Jones - a former Phoenix winner - and Trevor Bayne, who won the 2011 DAYTONA 500 in his first try, but has raced sparingly in the last few years. Bayne won the pole position for Saturday's race and his third-place finish is his second top-five in as many starts in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this year.

Gragson's teammate Josh Berry, Bayne, and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-five. The 19-year old Gibbs, who races for his grandfather Joe Gibbs' team, won last week at Las Vegas and finished sixth on Saturday. The three Kaulig Racing teammates A.J. Allmendinger, reigning Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and Landon Cassill finished seventh, eighth and ninth respectively and Gragson's veteran JR Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier completed the top-10.

Allgaier, a two-time Phoenix winner, had been running top-five all day - even leading five laps - but was penalized for a pit infraction on the final pit stop and had to race back through the field.

Bayne won Stage 1 and Gragson won Stage 2 for a series best third stage victory of the season.

Daniel Hemric picked the perfect time to win his first NASCAR national series race—and a title came with it.

Executing an aggressive bump-and-run in Saturday night's NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race, Hemric passed Austin Cindric in the final two corners at Phoenix Raceway.

Approaching the finish line, the cars collided side-to-side, with Hemric crossing the stripe .030 seconds ahead of Cindric—roughly five feet—denying the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford a second straight championship.

The victory came in Hemric's 208th NASCAR national series start, silencing critics who kept asking, "Will Hemric ever win a race?"

The answer came from crew chief Dave Rogers moments after the winning driver crossed the stripe and clinched the title.

"How about that, champion?" Rogers said. "You'll never have to hear that stupid question again."

"Never again!" Hemric shouted in reply.

Hemric, who is leaving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in favor of a ride with Kaulig Racing next year, was unapologetic about moving Cindric's Ford up the track to win the race at the end of a two-lap overtime that extended the event from 200 to 204 laps.

"I'm blacked out, blacked out," Hemric said at the start/finish line after turning a back flip off the roof of his car. "Just knew I had to be the first one to the line. I thought I let him get too much of a run off of (Turn) 4 (on the first lap of overtime).

"Drove into (Turn) 1, knew I was close, not to completely use them up, but we work our asses off for an opportunity like this—excuse my language. This is what it's all about, winning at the second highest level in all of motorsports. What an honor...

"How about those race fans? That back flip good enough for you? I've been waiting a long damn time to do that."

Cindric took the loss with consummate grace.

"Until you spin somebody out, it's not dirty racing," said Cindric, who entered the championship event with five wins to his credit this season. "If everyone in the stands enjoyed it, it's good racing.

"I'm appreciative of the opportunity to race on such a big stage, race for Roger Penske, represent Ford Performance, all of our sponsors that helped us this season. It would have been awesome to finish this out. I felt like we had a dominant race car, felt like we did everything right. Come up a little short."

As a consolation prize, Cindric secured the Xfinity Series Owners Championship for Roger Penske with his runner-up result.

The other two Championship 4 drivers - Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger - were in contention at the end. Gragson slammed the wall shortly after a restart on Lap 193 and fell to 12th at the finish.

Allmendinger suffered a loose wheel late in the race and spun in Turn 2 on Lap 181, causing the eighth of 10 cautions. Cindric, who led a race-high 113 laps, had a commanding lead at the time, but the yellow bunched the field and set up the late-race shootout.

Harrison Burton ran third on Saturday, followed by Riley Herbst and Justin Haley. John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10.

All Ty Majeski needed was a green-flag run to finish off his domination of Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race—a victory that earned him his first series title.

Majeski led 132 of 150 laps at one-mile Phoenix Raceway, and when the race-ending 27-lap green-flag run finally came, Majeski pulled away to a 3.945-second victory over Corey Heim, who recovered from a restart violation to finish second.

“I can’t believe it,” said Majeski, who won for the first time at Phoenix, the third time this season at the sixth time in his career. “Huge thank you to (ThorSport Racing team owners) Duke and Rhonda Thorson, (crew chief) Joe Shear Jr.—he’s one bad dude.

“This is so much fun racing with this group. I’m so proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. There’s a lot of times in my career when this looked like a far dream. Duke and Rhonda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities that failed—man, I can’t thank them enough.”

The championship was the second for Shear, who guided Johnny Sauter to the title with GMS Racing in 2016. For ThorSport, it was a series-record sixth championship, adding to three with Matt Crafton and two with 2023 champion Ben Rhodes.

ThorSport has won three of the last four Truck Series titles.

Heim restarted 19th on Lap 108 after his penalty and quickly moved forward, but the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota couldn’t overcome the speed in Majeski’s No. 98 Ford.

“I’m really disappointed to come up short like that,” said Heim, who will return for a third season with TRICON next year. “It’s hard to even be upset. I did almost everything right except for that restart violation (changing lanes before the start/finish line).

“But we were able to get our track position back pretty quick and make the most of it. I just had nothing for the 98. All day, he was so fast… We’ll move forward with our heads up high, a six-win season—career highs for myself my team, organization, everybody—just one spot short of the championship.”

Championship 4 drivers Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger finished third and fifth, respectively, after pitting for fresh tires on Lap 113. Though they were able to move through the field, they had nothing for the race winner.

Before the final green-flag run, three quick cautions—including a six minute, nine second red flag for a nine-truck wreck on the backstretch—interrupted the action at the start of the final stage, bringing the total for yellows to six for 43 laps. After Majeski got away in clean air from a restart on Lap 124, however, the race was over.

Starting from the pole position, Majeski streaked to a lead of more than two seconds, but Heim tracked him down in traffic and passed the No. 98 Ford for the top spot on Lap 39.

Three laps later the Ford of Frankie Muniz spun after contact with William Sawalich’s Toyota, ending the first 45-lap stage under caution.

But Majeski reclaimed the lead, with Eckes advancing to second, after Heim slid past the marks in his pit stall under the caution for the stage break and came out third.

Heim complained on the team radio channel that the concrete pit stall was one of the slickest he had ever experienced.

Majeski flipped the script in Stage 2, passing Heim for the top spot on Lap 71, six circuits after a restart that followed Jack Wood’s hard crash into the Turn 2 wall.

By the end of the stage at Lap 90, Majeski had expanded his advantage to 3.597 seconds. But stage wins were inconsequential to the Championship 4 contenders, who would settle possession of title in the frenetic final segment of the race.

Nick Sanchez finished fourth as the only non-Championship 4 driver to crack the top five. Taylor Gray was fifth, followed by Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Rhodes and Layne Riggs.

Cautions, re-starts, retribution, extra laps and high-action marked Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And that was just the final 50 laps.

In the end, ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes claimed his second series championship in the last three years with a hard-earned fifth-place finish in the No. 99 Ford while McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes raced to his fourth win of the season by a slight .421-seconds over rookie teammate Jake Garcia in four dramatic overtime periods.

That’s the conclusion to an evening that featured 12 caution periods, 29 laps of overtime competition and plenty of high-stakes racing – especially among the four championship contenders that earned a chance to settle the season title.

Perhaps indicative of the night, Rhodes’ finish and ultimate trophy haul wasn’t secure until the checkered flag with championship runner-up Grant Enfinger giving it his all in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet coming off Turn 4 in an all-out pursuit to the very end.

Both Rhodes and Enfinger had survived close calls in the overtime laps. Rhodes collided with Zane Smith racing for the lead – hitting Smith’s truck when it appeared Smith missed a shift out front in the second overtime restart. Enfinger had close calls in two of the four extra-lap periods and still was able to pull off that final push forward; ultimately finishing one position behind Rhodes in the standings.

The Regular Season Champion and race polesitter Corey Heim finished 18th after contact from fellow Championship 4 driver Carson Hocevar with 30 laps of regulation remaining in the scheduled 150-lap race.

“I can’t even believe it," the 26-year-old Kentucky native Rhodes said of his dramatic title win. “It’s just so awesome, man. To go 25 laps into overtime, do you know what that feels like? It’s crazy. I didn’t think we were going to make it. I thought we were going to pop a tire, that anything that could have gone wrong was going to go wrong.

“Grant [Enfinger] almost got me. But hats off to him, he ran a great race. I wouldn’t’ want to race against anybody else for the championship. He raced me clean and I respect the heck out of him for it."

“I saw him," Rhodes said of Enfinger’s final push forward in the last corner. “He went for everything, but he ran me clean and I thank him for that. That’s what these championships are all about."

Enfinger, whose GMS Racing team is closing shop at the end of the season, was especially gutted to come so very close to his first championship.

“I don’t know," Enfinger said of doing anything differently on that last lap.

“Obviously we got loose there at the end," he continued. “Maybe if he didn’t have such a good run down the backstretch, we’d be able to make that pass. It’s a shame the championship came down to a race like that with 15 green-white-checkers or whatever it was. I feel like we did everything we could to win this and just got used up."

The other two championship contenders, Heim and Hocevar had a more contentious situation on-track. Heim, whose 47 laps out front in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota were second most laps led on the night, was actually leading the championship-eligible drivers when Hocevar hit him going into Turn 2 with 30 laps remaining. The contact sent Heim’s Toyota into Stewart Friesen’s Toyota which hit the wall and brought out a caution. Hocevar continued on and Heim had to pit for repairs and went down a lap.

Heim viewed the hit as intentional and later in the race, collided with Hocevar bringing out another caution period. Heim insisted his car just wasn’t steering properly at the time, while Hocevar said he had fully expected the payback. It was enough to sideline Hocevar’s No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet which was credited with a 29th-place finish from the garage.

“My only goal was to try slow him down," Hocevar said. “I didn’t want to do that at all. With my track record, I can’t sit here and say I didn’t mean to. I just messed up. I was trying really hard to slow him up and just messed it up.

“I feel bad I robbed him of that and feel sorry for that," an apologetic Hocevar added of Heim’s championship chances. “I just messed up."

The 21-year-old Heim had a streak of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes coming into the race and was considered the favorite by many. He had three wins on the season in only his first fulltime year of competition.

“It was a great year, a phenomenal year for us and our worst finish in like six months," a disappointed Heim said. “Really put together a good race and really hoped the guys would race clean, I have a lot of respect for everybody in the field. But clearly, I don’t anymore. It is what it is, it’s part of racing.

As for the later contact with Hocevar, Heim said it was purely coincidental, “It wasn’t retaliation. I had no side force, he put it on my door and I wrecked [into him]."

“I’ve been racing Carson for a long time, racing since I was eight or nine years-old," Heim said later. “That’s kind of just what he does. He’ll wreck you and apologize and do it again the next week. So that’s not going to be the last time he does it and certainly the first time he’d done it. I’ve known him for a long time. … it is what it is. I completely expected it."

As for his victory, the 22-year-old Eckes tried to reconcile the championship race win with having just been eliminated from Playoff contention. He had a win (at Kansas) and a pair of runner-up finishes (Indianapolis Raceway Park and Bristol, Tenn.) during the Playoff stretch but was eliminated after finished of 19th and 20th in the two races leading into the championship finale.

“Those two races that killed the whole Playoffs pretty much and that’s just kind of the nature of it," Eckes said. “I didn’t do my job last week and really the week before either.

“That gets us out and that puts us in this situation, but it’s motivating for next year and it was motivating for this race too.

“This one kind of stings, I know it’s a win, but the stupid mistakes the last two weeks of a near perfect Playoffs cost us a championship," Eckes added.

“It’s kind of hard to be happy right now, but overall, just super proud of everybody for the year that we’ve had and just ready for 2024.

Chase Purdy, Jesse Love and Rhodes rounded out the top five. Enfinger, Dean Thompson, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10. It was a career best finish for the runner-up Garcia as well as Love and Honeycutt.

After two frustrating runner-up finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, Zane Smith finally won his first title in a two-lap overtime shootout.

Holding off defending champion Ben Rhodes by .236 seconds at the end of a wild final two laps of Friday night's Lucas Oil 150, Smith put it succinctly after a celebratory burnout at Phoenix Raceway.

"The third time's the charm," exulted an emotional Smith, who said he was crying throughout the final lap after wresting the lead from Rhodes one circuit earlier.

For the final restart, Smith chose to line up behind Rhodes, rather than to his outside. That enabled Smith to shortcut the backstretch dogleg and pull even with Rhodes to the inside. From that position he was able to edge ahead of eventual third-place finisher Chandler Smith to the outside.

"I'm going to win this," Zane Smith said of his mind-set in overtime. "There was no other option. I was either backing it in the fence wrecking, or I was leaving tonight with a championship trophy. There were no other options, and when I saw the 18 (Chandler Smith) get underneath me I was worried that I got him too loose underneath me.

"Fortunately, he stayed off of me. I have a lot of respect for all three of (the other title competitors). It's pretty impressive for some of the racing we've seen lately for us three to go at it that hard and that clean."

Under caution for Hailie Deegan's hard contact with the Turn 3 wall on Lap 134, Rhodes opted for right-side tires only, while the other three Championship 4 drivers-Zane Smith, Chandler Smith and Ty Majeski-took fresh rubber on all four corners.

Rhodes restarted third behind Stewart Friesen and Carson Hocevar on Lap 141 and charged past Friesen into the lead on Lap 144. Rhodes stayed out front with the other Championship 4 drivers in tow until Majeski lost control of his No. 66 Toyota as he tried to move to the inside of Zane Smith.

The subsequent overtime restart enabled the race winner to capitalize on his tire advantage. Rhodes got to Zane Smith's bumper in the final corner and crossed the finish line less than a truck-length behind. Chandler Smith was third, .259 seconds back of the winner.

"I don't know, two tires versus four, that was the name of the game," Rhodes said. "We didn't have the pace all night that we needed to be up there and repeat so it was a great heads-up call by my crew chief (Rich Lushes). Ultimately, we just didn't need that last caution. I think we could have held them off for the final few laps. I was giving him (Zane Smith) all the dirty air he could handle. I think we were going to be fine until that caution got us.

"On that last restart, I tried to get a jump, but two tires versus four, I just didn't have the grip I needed. I did the best I could and threw a move on him but didn't have enough grip to make it stick... We just need to go back and do our homework, and second is not fun. I'm going to mope my way back to Kentucky (his home state)."

The victory was Smith's fourth of the season, and it was a clean sweep. Smith earned the pole position in Friday's time trials and won both stages before claiming the victory and the series title.

He'll return to Front Row Motorsports next season, where he'll defend his championship and compete in selected NASCAR Cup Series races, starting with the Daytona 500.

John Hunter Nemechek ran fourth on Friday night, followed by Friesen. Majeski came home 20th after the spin that sent the race into overtime.