A thirsty Truex Jr. picks up first win in the desert, Lanigan ninth at Smoky Mountain, Lucas Oil TV schedule

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    Martin Truex Jr. didn’t have a great start to the race as kissed the wall early and had to make a pit stop for repairs that lasted over 50 seconds. It was a move that paid off later as he used cautions and passing to work his way back up through the field and capture the win over Joey Logano, who led them most laps of the race. Truex Jr. becomes the fifth different winner this season in the series.
    The Hendricks cars who were sent to the back due to peerage violations all drove their way back towards the front and ended up with strong finishes. A lot of expected drivers were back up near the front this weekend. Reason could be because Phoenix is hard to pass on and there are not many multi-car wrecks leaving the newer drivers to learn as they go in searching for the preferred line. Next week the Cup cars pick up their speed as they head back to the East coast and Atlanta.
    Austin Cindric put his car into the lead early in the race and pretty much stayed there the entire time. After a late caution in the final stage Justin Algaier communicated “it might get dirty” over the scanner to his chief, but instead it was Cindric who squeezed Algaier up through the PJ1 into the loose marbles and into the wall. Ty Gibbs continues to be a threat every race he is driving as he started Phoenix in the middle of the pack and was putting pressure on Cindric at the checkered flag. Brown again this week ended up in third in another great race for him and his small team. Jr. Motor sports had a terrible day as Noah Gragson went out with car troubles and Josh Berry was helped into the wall by Ferrucci. Berry returned the kindness as he stood by his wrecked car and gave Ferrucci the double eagle salute as he passed by the next time. A pretty good race overall as the series heads to Atlanta.
    Ty Gibbs won his first race in the Xfinity Series at Daytona. Back in the ARCA Series this weekend, he started on the pole and stayed in front, dominating the race. You know Grampa Joe isn’t going to put him on the track in subpar equipment. Corey Heim seemed to have a strong car and battled in second most of the night but finished third behind second place finisher Thad Moffitt, the grandson of Richard Petty. Jesse Love cannot even drive at all the tracks in the series this season because he is only 15 years old, but age didn’t matter as he battled in the top 10 most of the night coming in sixth.
    Fans of the Lucas Oil Late Model series should be on cloud nine as they announced that 35 of their races will be available streamed on MAVTV Plus. Along with 15 races on CBS Sports and 13 on NBC Sports that is a total of 83 Lucas Oil races that fans can view this season.
    The World of Outlaws Late Models were back on the track in Tennessee at Smoky Mountain Speedway. Fifty one cars showed up for the event Local racer Darrell Lanigan ran the fourth fastest time in his group during qualifying and made it through the heat to start in the 50 lap main feature for $12,000. Lanigan fought through the loaded field to capture a ninth place finish while the event was won by Chris Madden.
    The World of Outlaws Sprints had a big race down at The Rev in Louisiana this past weekend. In what was a thriller finish David Gravel beat Brad Sweet. The two fought cleanly and exchanged the lead numerous times. Former NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne started on the pole looking for his first win as a WoO driver, but finished ninth as Donny Schatz, who drives for Tony Stewart came in third.