After a highly-contested season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads out west for the second event of the 2022 season, the Victoria’s Voice 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Zane Smith – competing in his first event for Front Row Motorsports — claimed the victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, after the race was dominated by the Toyota Tundra’s of John Hunter Nemechek and Ty Majeski.
With 37 trucks on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s race, there will only be one team that is sent home without getting a chance to participate in the 134-lapper, which means the competition will be fierce to get every tenth of a second possible in qualifying.
G2G Racing – a new two-truck operation for 2022 owned by Tim Viens — are the only two trucks that don’t have owner points from last season, which means both drivers will have to post a time inside the top-31 to avoid missing the race.
Loris Hezemans (No. 33) and Matt Jaskol (No. 47) are the two drivers that will attempt to make their series debuts at Las Vegas, while Todd Bodine returns to the series for the first time in nine years, driving a second truck for Halmar Friesen Racing.
LOCKED IN:
| # | Driver | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | 1st in 2021 NCWTS OP 2021 NCWTS Champion (PCP 1) |
| 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | 2nd in 2021 NCWTS OP (was GMS 21) |
| 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | 3rd in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 4th in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | 6th in 2021 NCWTS OP 2019 NCWTS Champion (PCP 2) |
Just like at Daytona, Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek, and Zane Smith are all guaranteed a spot into the field on Friday night, by virtue of their 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner point rank.
Matt Crafton – sixth in 2021 NCWTS OP — is locked into the field, based on being the most recent eligible past champion not inside the top-four in owner points. However, the odds of Crafton needing the PCP are low, due to his points position.
FEELING GOOD:
| # | Driver | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 5th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | 6th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 98 | Christian Eckes | ThorSport Racing | 7th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 66 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | 8th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | 9th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | 10th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | 11th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | 13th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 17 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing | 14th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | 15th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | 16th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 02 | Jesse Little | Young's Motorsports | 17th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | 18th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | 19th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
| 44 | Kris Wright | Niece Motorsports | 20th in 2022 NCWTS OP |
With only one truck set to miss Friday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there are a lot of drivers in the mid-field portion, in terms of owner points, that are likely feeling really good about their points position heading into qualifying.
Therefore, it’s likely that fifth to 30th in 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner points will be solidly in the field, should things go smoothly in qualifying on Friday. However, should multiple prominent teams find mechanical issues, the bottom of this list may begin to feel weary.
THE DANGER ZONE:
| # | Driver | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Matt Mills | Young's Motorsports | 32nd in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 3 | Jordan Anderson | Jordan Anderson Racing | 34th in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 32 | Bret Holmes | Bret Holmes Racing | 35th in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | 36th in 2021 NCWTS OP (was #11) |
| 62 | Todd Bodine | Halmar Friesen Racing | 45th in 2021 NCWTS OP |
| 46 | Brennan Poole | G2G Racing | *Must Qualify on Speed* |
| 47 | Matt Jaskol | G2G Racing | *Must Qualify on Speed* |
The aforementioned seven trucks (Mills, Anderson, Holmes, Alan, Bodine, Poole, and Jaskol) are nervous heading into Friday’s qualifying session. Even if they’re confident a top-31 lap is imminent, one small issue could see any of these teams headed home.
Of the trucks listed, the most unfavorable positions belong to G2G Racing teammates Brennan Poole and Matt Jaskol, as neither entry accumulated/acquired owner points from last season, forcing both entries to be inside the top-31 in qualifying.
In the event that Matt Jaskol AND Brennan Poole aren’t able to post times inside the top-31 in single-truck qualifying, the fastest of the two entries will qualify for the race, with the other going home.
