TRUCK Series North Wilkesboro Speedway

NASCAR TRUCK Series

Previous Race Race 10 of 23 Next Race

Practice #1

The 2024 Wright Brand 250 NASCAR TRUCK Series practice results offer insights into driver performance, including lap times, top speeds, and practice session leaders at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Wright Brand 250

Saturday, May 18th, 2024

North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, NC

Previous race at North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • 9 Toyota
  • 21 Chevrolet
  • 8 Ford

  • Thursday, May 16th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race will feature a varied field

After a hiatus of 26 years, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returned to North Wilkesboro Speedway for last year’s points race, won by Kyle Larson.

Larson, however, won’t be around to defend his victory in Saturday’s Wright Brand 250 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

That doesn’t mean there won’t be interlopers. CARS Tour late model stock car star Brenden “Butterbean” Queen will make his series debut in the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota.

Aric Almirola will attempt to qualify for his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race since 2012 in the No. 16 Hattori Enterprises Toyota.

NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Sammy Smith will make his second start of the season in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

Dawson Sutton, 18, the Pro Late Model rookie of the year, will attempt to make the field for his series debut in the No. 26 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet.

Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain will pilot the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, hoping to improve on last year’s ninth-place finish at North Wilkesboro.

The drivers enumerated above will be competing against Truck Series regulars, among them Ty Majeski, the 2023 runner-up, and Corey Heim, who led 75 laps in last year’s race (second to Larson’s 138) in finishing fifth.

Las Vegas winner Rajah Caruth will make his second start at North Wilkesboro, hoping to improve on last Friday’s 30th-place result at Darlington.

“Honestly, it’s really special to go to North Wilkesboro, because I know the history and I am a nerd about NASCAR as a whole,” Caruth said. “It’s been really cool to be part NASCAR’s return to a track with such a deep history.”

  • North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • Wright Brand 250
  • Pole Winner: Christian Eckes
  • Age: 23
  • Team: No. 19 - Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet
  • Owner: McAnally Hilgemann Racing
  • Crew Chief: Charles Denike
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Christian Eckes won the Pole Award for the Wright Brand 250 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Sunday, May 19th, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Corey Heim dominates rain-delayed NASCAR Truck race at North Wilkesboro

Corey Heim dominated Saturday’s weather-delayed Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota had to share the spotlight with his teammate, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, who finished fourth in his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut.

Heim grabbed the lead from Jake Garcia after a restart on Lap 186 of 250 and held it the rest of the way to win for the third time this season, the first time at North Wilkesboro and the eighth time in his career.

Crossing the finish line 2.474 seconds ahead of runner-up Grant Enfinger, Heim trimmed the series lead of sixth-place finisher Christian Eckes to four points in a race that was halted on Saturday by extreme weather after 81 laps and resumed on Sunday after a red-flag period of 21 hours, six minutes, 14 seconds.

When five inches of rain fell during a 90-minute stretch on Saturday, Heim’s truck was all but submerged at the legendary short track, which experienced drainage issues during the deluge.

“Of course, we hoped for no water damage,” Heim said. “The truck was submerged in almost three feet of water—we picked probably the worst pit box in that scenario, but obviously you can never really intend on something like that happening.

“I’ve never seen so much rain come down in an hour in my life. That was crazy, but eventually we were able to wipe it down and make sure there was no damage, and I was able to recover from that, for sure.”

Layne Riggs came home third, holding off Queen in the late going, but Queen enjoyed the raucous support of “Bean Nation” as soon as he climbed from his No. 1 Toyota. To finish fourth, Queen had to overcome a pit road speeding penalty incurred under caution on Lap 118.

“Oh, man, I can’t believe it,” said Queen, who restarted 26th on Lap 124 and worked his way back through the field. “We got that speeding penalty. I thought I was conservative on the lights, and it just got us—rookie mistake.

“But I told the team I was going to get ‘em back in position, and we did.”

The season-best second-place finish was a welcome result for Enfinger, who leaves the 0.625-mile short track eighth in the series standings, 170 points behind Eckes.

“We haven’t been performing to our ability or our standards,” said Enfinger. “I feel like last week at Darlington was the turning point in our season (despite a 16th-place finish). I’m standing by that.

“Very, very proud of this truck. Proud of our pit crew all year long. Finally, we have a little bit of a result to show for it.”

Riggs got his first top five of the season in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

“We really, really needed this finish,” Riggs said. “It was a great day for us, and I hope we can continue to build on this momentum.”

Varying pit strategies produced considerable movement with the field throughout the race. Heim restarted 13thon lap 124 but methodically worked his way up the running order. On Lap 175 he passed Riggs for second place, and after Conner Jones spun in Turn 4 to cause the sixth of seven cautions on Lap 177, Heim shot past Garcia on the Lap 186 restart.

Staying out on older tires, Ty Majeski won the first stage of the race. Using the same strategy, Tyler Ankrum triumphed in Stage 2. But Heim had the fastest truck and quickly proved it after the second stage break.

Moonlighting from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Sammy Smith finished fifth, followed by Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Ankrum, Daniel Dye and Stewart Friesen.

  • Drivers Entered: 38 (2 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 250
  • Margin of Victory: 02.474 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 1 Hours 53 Minutes 2 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 82.940
  • Cautions: 7 for 58 laps
  • Lead Changes: 7
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,648 (8.6 passes per green flag lap)

  • Wright Brand 250
  • Race Winner: Corey Heim
  • Age: 21
  • Team : No 11 - Safelite Toyota
  • Owner: Johnny Gray
  • Crew Chief: Scott Zipadelli
  • Corey Heim won the Wright Brand 250, his eighth victory in 51 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races
  • This is his third victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2024
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • Grant Enfinger (second) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at North Wilkesboro Speedway It is his third top-10 finish in 2024
  • Layne Riggs (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • Layne Riggs (third) was the highest finishing rookie
  • Christian Eckes leads the point standings by 4 points over Corey Heim
Bayley Currey and Matt Crafton drive during practice
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina - May 17, 2024 : Bayley Currey, driver of the #41 AutoVentive/Precision Chevrolet, and Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Jack Links/Menards Ford, drive during practice for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
Entry List
Qualifying
Lineup
Results
Loop Data
Draftkings Pts
Practice-Qualifying
Pit Stall Selections
Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway Practice results
# DRIVER MAKE RNK SPD TME BHND LAP LAPS 5- 10- 15- 20- 25- 30- 10-LAP FRM TO
16 Aric Almirola Toyota 24 122.389 18.384 0.473 49 52 18.850 18.913 0 0 0 0 118.971 37 46
9 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 22 122.542 18.361 0.450 21 44 18.520 18.605 0 0 0 0 120.937 32 41
88 Matt Crafton Ford 21 122.576 18.356 0.445 39 39 18.656 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
56 Timmy Hill Toyota 32 119.446 18.837 0.926 31 41 18.894 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
25 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 16 123.092 18.279 0.368 36 36 18.745 19.089 0 0 0 0 117.906 4 13
45 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 27 120.598 18.657 0.746 6 23 18.814 18.893 0 0 0 0 119.103 11 20
41 Bayley Currey Chevrolet 4 124.626 18.054 0.143 39 43 18.751 18.824 0 0 0 0 119.529 13 22
76 Spencer Boyd Chevrolet 35 118.540 18.981 1.070 16 30 19.207 19.621 0 0 0 0 114.735 2 11
42 Matt Mills Chevrolet 19 122.803 18.322 0.411 31 32 19.410 19.477 19.580 0 0 0 115.534 6 15
02 Mason Massey Chevrolet 30 120.128 18.730 0.819 49 49 19.072 19.083 0 0 0 0 117.905 36 45
22 Josh Reaume Ford 34 119.186 18.878 0.967 38 39 19.257 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
75 Stefan Parsons Chevrolet 23 122.429 18.378 0.467 43 43 18.861 18.902 0 0 0 0 119.039 21 30
52 Stewart Friesen Toyota 28 120.347 18.696 0.785 20 39 18.818 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
99 Ben Rhodes Ford 17 123.025 18.289 0.378 22 28 18.410 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
14 Trey Hutchens Chevrolet 37 117.242 19.191 1.280 50 51 19.483 19.873 0 0 0 0 113.238 23 32
18 Tyler Ankrum Chevrolet 12 123.620 18.201 0.290 47 49 18.643 18.720 18.959 19.068 0 0 120.197 27 36
19 Christian Eckes Chevrolet 26 121.222 18.561 0.650 8 30 18.679 18.724 0 0 0 0 120.167 13 22
77 Chase Purdy Chevrolet 10 123.681 18.192 0.281 59 59 18.740 18.817 18.799 0 0 0 119.582 27 36
98 Ty Majeski Ford 5 124.564 18.063 0.152 37 38 18.788 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
15 Tanner Gray Toyota 3 124.917 18.012 0.101 46 48 18.664 19.005 19.052 0 0 0 118.404 8 17
11 Corey Heim Toyota 2 125.348 17.950 0.039 36 37 18.480 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
33 Lawless Alan Ford 29 120.186 18.721 0.810 27 54 18.873 19.483 0 0 0 0 115.496 2 11
5 Dean Thompson Toyota 8 124.337 18.096 0.185 43 43 18.751 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
32 Bret Holmes Chevrolet 31 119.802 18.781 0.870 51 55 18.823 19.283 19.496 0 0 0 116.729 31 40
91 Jack Wood Chevrolet 7 124.337 18.096 0.185 50 51 18.547 18.713 18.750 0 0 0 120.251 27 36
17 Taylor Gray Toyota 6 124.378 18.090 0.179 45 48 18.601 18.748 18.848 18.903 0 0 120.020 25 34
46 Thad Moffitt Chevrolet 33 119.325 18.856 0.945 51 53 19.129 19.308 19.897 0 0 0 116.545 27 36
2 Nicholas Sanchez Chevrolet 9 124.261 18.107 0.196 46 47 18.605 19.195 19.238 0 0 0 117.226 6 15
71 Rajah Caruth Chevrolet 25 121.268 18.554 0.643 35 40 18.637 18.697 18.904 0 0 0 120.341 24 33
13 Jake Garcia Ford 13 123.450 18.226 0.315 50 50 18.647 18.810 18.822 0 0 0 119.629 25 34
7 Sammy Smith Chevrolet 14 123.274 18.252 0.341 56 57 18.707 18.778 19.070 19.074 0 0 119.828 23 32
38 Layne Riggs Ford 15 123.132 18.273 0.362 41 41 18.658 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
43 Daniel Dye Chevrolet 18 122.991 18.294 0.383 36 37 18.651 18.777 0 0 0 0 119.834 8 17
66 Conner Jones Ford 20 122.663 18.343 0.432 46 46 18.791 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
1 Brenden Queen Toyota 1 125.621 17.911 0.000 29 30 18.670 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
04 Clayton Green Chevrolet 36 118.390 19.005 1.094 30 36 19.079 19.329 0 0 0 0 116.417 18 27
26 Dawson Sutton Chevrolet 11 123.633 18.199 0.288 28 29 18.616 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0