By Lori Vizza
8:10 pm - DC Solar 350 Good Night - That's a wrap on this year's NASCAR Truck event at LVMS. Another race and another new face in Victory Lane, plus a 1-2 finish makes this a special night for Brad Keselowski and drivers Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric.
The Truck Series teams will take a couple weeks off before returning to action at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct.
We'll see you back here next spring when we host the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series. Until then, good night!
7:55 pm - Tyler Reddick Wins DC Solar 350 - Tyler Reddick parlayed a 16th place start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway into his third career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory after a dominating run. Reddick led 5 times for a race high 70 of 146 laps and finished 1.404 seconds ahead of teammate Daniel Hemric, who completed the first 1-2 sweep for Brad Keselowski Racing.
The victory also marked BKR's first every victory on a 1.5 mile speedway.
"This is an incredible accomplishment not just for this team but for the whole organization," said Reddick, who became the 10th different race winner in the last 10 series events at Las Vegas. "I'm just really happy to be the pilot and bring these guys to Victory Lane. We were spot on from the drop of the green flag."
Hemric, who is one of eight drivers fighting for the championship, led twice for 38 laps and bounced back nicely after a 28th place finish at New Hampshire last week.
"It's tough to run second in this situation," Hemric admitted, "but Reddick did a great job and this is huge for Brad Keselowski Racing."
7:25 pm - DC Solar 350 Checkers! - With 10 laps to go, Reddick has a 1.307 second lead over his teammate Hemric, who is still in 2nd. Custer is running 3rd, a full 4.5 seconds behind the leader.
5 laps to go: This is Reddick's race to lose and the top 10 drivers are spread out with no battles for position going on as the laps wind down.
Reddick takes the white flag as Hemric closes in but he's still 1.0 second behind the 29 truck.
Reddick wins the DC Solar 350!
2nd-5th: Hemric, Custer, Kennedy, Byron
7:15 pm - Lap 125 Update - We've got less than 25 laps to go and Reddick continues to lead while Hemric and Custer swap 2nd and 3rd back and forth.
Kennedy is running 4th with Byron in 5th.
6th through 10th: Bell, Sauter, Crafton, Peters, Gallagher
7:05 pm - Lap 110 Update - Reddick's crew wins the battle on pit road and their driver retakes the lead. 2nd through 5th on the restart on Lap 99 are Hemric, Kennedy, Custer, Byron
Bell gains 6 positions on pit road to restart 7th but he'll have trouble on the restart due to that missing gear.
Custer and Reddick are side-by-side for the lead and give it to Custer at the line on Lap 102. The two continue the battle and Reddick takes the lead back as Custer loses momentum.
Top five on Lap 110: Reddick, Hemric, Custer, Byron, Kennedy
6:52 pm - Lap 93 Update, Yellow #3 - The caution clock expires with 93 laps complete and we're under caution for the third time tonight.
Top 10 under caution and before pit stops: Hemrick, Reddick, Kennedy, Custer, Peters, Byron, Johnny Sauter, Gallagher, Crafton, Townley
6:50 pm - Lap 90 Update - Crafton is steadily making his way back up toward the front after that earlier pit road miscue. On Lap 74 he is running 10th.
On Lap 75, back up front, Hemric continues to run on the point with his Brad Keselowski Racing teammate, Reddick, 0.05-second behind him in second.
Top 5 on Lap 90: Hemrick, Reddick, Kennedy, Custer, Peters
6:40 pm - Lap 65 Update - Under caution, Bell comes to pit road. He lost third gear.
Parker Kligerman is the beneficiary.
We go back to green on Lap 56 with Reddick still leading the race.
Hemric takes the lead on Lap 60.
Top five on Lap 65 - Hemric, Reddick, Kennedy, Custer, Peters
6:25 pm - Lap 50 Update - Yellow #2 - Reddick retakes the lead.
Rico Abreu makes an unscheduled pit stop for a vibration.
Caution flies for the 2nd time on Lap 50 as Wayne Edwards makes contact with the outside wall. He'll drive straight to the garage.
Top five under caution: Reddick, Hemric, Peters, Kennedy, Spencer Gallagher
6:20 pm - Lap 44 Update - Penalties under the first caution: Crafton (uncontrolled tire)
Kennedy's pit crew gets their driver the lead back with a fast stop. Lining up behind him for the restart are Reddick, Hemric, Peters, William Byron
Stewart Friesen is the beneficiary
Back to green on Lap 44.
Christopher Bell's truck fails to come up to speed and he loses a bunch of positions but avoids making contact with anyone.
6:15 pm - Lap 39 Update - Yellow #1 - Reddick wrestles the lead away from Kennedy on Lap 33 as the leaders start to creep up on some traffic.
We're under caution for the first time as the caution clock expires. This competition caution will allow the teams to make adjustments on their trucks to keep up with the setting sun.
Top five under caution and before pit stops are: Reddick, Kennedy, Custer, Hemric, Peters
6:05 pm - Lap 25 Update - After leading the first 13 laps, Peters loses the top spot to Kennedy and one lap later falls to 3rd behind Custer.
Tyler Reddick is flying up through the field and is already running 2nd after starting 16th.
Running order on Lap 25: Kennedy, Reddick, Custer, Peters, Hemric
6:00 pm - Lap 10 Update - Crafton's truck is not handling well as he has slipped all the way back to 10th in the first 10 laps.
Peters continues to lead and runs less than 0.05-second in front of Kennedy.
5:50 pm - DC Solar 350 Green Flag - UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin gives the command to start engines and the trucks lined on the frontstretch roar to life.
This twilight race will end under the lights after 350 kilometers (or 219 miles), which translates to 146 laps around this 1.5 mile speedway.
Timothy Peters and John Wes Townley are the only two drivers in the field with a Truck Series victory at LVMS. Townley won last year's race to record his first career victory after starting 2nd on the grid. Tonight he'll start a little further back in 7th.
Matt Crafton would likely trade in his three runner-up finishes at LVMS (and all those wouldas, couldas, shouldas) for just one victory. He starts on the row to the inside of Peters.
Christopher Bell starts the deepest of all the eight Chase drivers after an 18th place qualifying effort.
We have had 9 different winners in the past 9 races and there are 29 drivers in the field who would love to make that 10-for-10.
Timothy Peters leads the field to green and they're off into Turn 1.
Peters pulls out front and leads Lap 1, followed by Crafton, Ben Kennedy, Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer
4:05 pm - Timothy Peters Wins the Pole - Timothy Peters recorded his eighth career pole with a fast lap of 175.953 mph and will lead the field to green for tonight's DC Solar 350. It was Peters' first pole in nine attemptsat LVMS.
Matt Crafton will line up beside Peters on the first row. Rookie Cole Custer, Ben Kennedy and Las Vegas native Spencer Gallagher will start 3rd through 5th.
3:55 pm - Second Round of Qualifying - Cody Coughlin kicks off the battle for the pole with a 174.182 mph,
Spencer Gallagher is next up and goes to the top with a 175.376 mph lap.
Ben Kennedy takes is up a notch to 175.461 mph.
Timothy Peters posts a 175.953 mph lap and takes over the top spot.
Cole Custer settles in 2nd place with a 175.593 mph.
Cameron Hayley's 174.780 mph lap puts him 5th fastest so far.
Ben Rhodes takes over the fifth spot with a lap of 174.876 mph.
Grant Enfinger sets the 8th fastest time with a lap of 174.020 mph.
William Byron finishes his lap of 174.278 mph and slides into the 7th spot.
Matt Crafton takes his turn on the track and he can't quite beat Peters with a 175.661 mph lap but he is 2nd fastest.
John Wes Townley takes over the 6th spot with a 175.154 mph lap
Daniel Hemric is the final driver on the track and he'll wind up 6th fastest overall with a lap at 175.353 mph
Timothy Peters wins the pole.
3:40 pm - Hemric Fastest in First Round of Qualifying - The first round of qualifying is in the books and Daniel Hemric backed up practice performance with the fastest lap of the round at 175.758. The remaining 11 drivers transferring to the Second Round are:
John Wes Townley
Matt Crafton
William Byron
Gran Enfinger
Ben Rhodes
Cameron Hayley
Cole Custer
Timothy Peters
Ben Kennedy
Spencer Gallagher
Cody Coughlin
Matt Tifft
3:10 pm - First Round of Qualifying Underway - Qualifying for tonight's DC Solar 350 has just begun. The 12 fastest trucks will advance to Round Two and compete for the pole. Drivers will be shooting for the track qualifying record of 178.065 mph set by Mike Skinner in 2006.
2:00 pm - Keeping Pace with the Chase - Tonight's race is Race 2 of 3 in the Round of 8 in the inaugural NASCAR Truck Series Chase for the Championship so the stakes are especially high for the eight drivers vying for this year's title. Of course, in this format, points don't count as long as you win and rookie driver William Byron is the only racer in the field who is locked in to advance.
William Byron - Byron is making his first stop at team owner Kyle Busch's home track. Byron won the inaugural NASCAR Truck Series race at New Hampshire last week to become the first driver locked in for the second round of the Chase.
Christopher Bell - Bell is Byron's teammate, giving Kyle Busch Motorsports two chances at this year's championship. Bell, who is 3rd in the point standings, is coming off a strong runner-up finish at New Hampshire last week. Last year's race at LVMS marked one of Bell's seven starts during the season and he is surely seeking redemption after running out of gas in the closing laps. After running in the top five for most of the race, Bell was running 4th with 5 laps to go and had to coast down pit road for a splash 'n go. He returned to the race just in time to finish 14th.
John Hunter Nemechek - Nemechek is making his second start at LVMS. He battled back to the top five after a slow pit stop and finished 4th in last year's event. The young driver is seeking his third victory of the season.
Timothy Peters - Peters is making his ninth start at LVMS and recorded his lone victory here in 2013.
Daniel Hemric - Hemric's disappointing 28th place finish at New Hampshire last week was his worst of the season and pretty much ensures Hemric has to record his first Series victory either this weekend or on Oct 22nd to advance to the next round in the Chase. Hemric finished 6th in his first start at LVMS in 2015 but has the resources and experience of Brad Keselowski Racing in his corner this time around.
Johnny Sauter - Sauter has 7 starts in the Truck Series at LVMS and raced to Victory Lane in his series track debut in 2009 after leading 62 laps.
Ben Kennedy - Kennedy joins teammate Johnny Sauter in the Chase for the Championship. Kennedy has two previous starts at LVMS. He finished 7th in 2014 and 3rd in last year's race.
Matt Crafton - Crafton is ranked 2nd in the championship standings and leads all drivers starting tonight's race in about every track stat category except victories. Crafton has the most starts (15), the most top 5s (6), the most top 10s (10) and the most laps completed (2,132) but has, so far, failed to notch the win column in Sin City. He has been the bridesmaid three times at LVMS, most recently in 2012. With his start tonight, Crafton extends his streak of consecutive starts to 379, an all-time Series record.
11:05 am - Abreu Fastest in Practice #2 - Rico Abreu's lap of 176.603 mph held up as the fastest of the session. Daniel Hemric settled in second fastest after setting the fastest lap of the day (176.980 mph) during this morning's session. Rounding out the top five were Spencer Gallagher, Matt Crafton, Williams Byron
10:25 am - Meanwhile, Outside the Track... - The race teams will have 4 hours after this final practice session to prepare their truck's for tonight's main event but there is plenty of action going on outside Turn 1, including kookaburras, wallabies, and bushbabies, oh my!
The 350 Fest pre-race festival in the Fan Engagement offers a beer garden, car show, pet adoption opportunities and a spectacular Kid Zone and petting zoo featuring the aforementioned exotic furry creatures.
The Show & Shine Car Show awards will take place from 3:00-4:00 pm.
10:10 am - Second Practice Underway - We're just 10 minutes into this final one-hour session and Rico Abreu is leading the way early at 176.603 mph. Second through fifth are Matt Crafton, John Wes Townley, Cole Custer and William Byron.
9:35 am - Hemric Fastest in Practice #1 - The first practice session has just come to an end with Daniel Hemric on top of the speed chart with a 176.980 mph lap. Matt Crafton was second fastest, followed by Ben Rhodes, John Wes Townley and William Byron.
The teams will take the next 30 minutes to make adjustments before we turn them loose for a final hour of practice at 10:00 am.
8:45 am - First Practice Underway - Early into today's first practice, Matt Crafton is currently fastest at 176.499 mph. He's followed by Ben Kennedy, Williams Byron, Rico Abreu and Johnny Sauter.
8:25 am - Good Morning - The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams have made their annual trek to Las Vegas and we're getting ready to go racing.
This is a one-day show with one hour of practice starting at 8:30 am and a final hour starting at 10:00 am.
Qualifying takes place at 3:00 pm and the green flag for the DC Solar 350 is scheduled to drop at 5:30 pm.
Tickets for today's activities are still available, so come on out and join us.
If you can't make it, we'll be here all day long bringing you the action as it happens, so stay tuned for frequent updates.
