2026 Team EJP 175
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Team EJP 175 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 189 laps—extended from 175 laps due to a double overtime finish on the 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval, it was the 18th race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the second running of the event. It was also the final race of the regular season, as the top ten drivers in points after this race advanced to the Chase, a seven-race postseason to determine the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 25 in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
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| Date | August 22, 2026 | ||
| Location | New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.058 miles (2.426 km) | ||
| Distance | 189 laps, 199.96 mi (321.808 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 175 laps, 185.15 mi (297.97 km) | ||
| Average speed | 86.325 miles per hour (138.927 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Front Row Motorsports | ||
| Time | 29.346 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Laps | 106 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Connor Zilisch | Spire Motorsports | |
| Time | 30.270 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Brent Stover, Regan Smith, and Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | NRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Nick Yeoman | ||
| Turn announcers | Andrew Kurland (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Layne Riggs, driving for Front Row Motorsports, dominated the final stage, leading the final 71 laps and surviving a chaotic double overtime restart to score his 11th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his sixth of the season.[10] Connor Zilisch swept both stages, and Riggs led the race-high 106 laps. At race's end, Chandler Smith finished second, and Kaden Honeycutt finished third. Stewart Friesen and Zilisch rounded out the top five, while Tristan McKee, Christopher Bell, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, and Parker Eatmon rounded out the top ten.
The 2026 Chase field was set; the 10 drivers that qualified were Riggs, Honeycutt, Smith, Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Hemric, Ben Rhodes, and Ankrum.[11]
Report
Background
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval.
The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, August 21, at 4:00 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[12]
Gio Ruggiero, driving for Tricon Garage, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.799 seconds, and a speed of 127.816 miles per hour (205.700 km/h).[13]
Practice results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 29.799 | 127.816 |
| 2 | 71 | Connor Zilisch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.806 | 127.786 |
| 3 | 77 | Tristan McKee | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.996 | 126.977 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, August 21, at 5:05 PM EST.[12] Since New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a mile oval, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, one-lap system with one round. Drivers were on track by themselves and had one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever set the fastest time won the pole.[14]
Layne Riggs, driving for Front Row Motorsports, qualified on pole position with a lap of 29.346 seconds, and a speed of 129.789 miles per hour (208.875 km/h).[15]
Five drivers failed to qualify: Frankie Muniz, Mason Massey, Derek White, D. L. Wilson, and Toni Breidinger. Dawson Sutton, who originally failed to qualify in his No. 27 truck, would move over to the No. 26 truck, replacing Breidinger, who originally made the race.[16] Luke Baldwin, who originally failed to qualify in his No. 2 truck, would move over to the No. 33 truck, replacing Muniz, who originally made the race.[17]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 55
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Connor Zilisch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 6 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 77 | Tristan McKee | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Gavan Boschele | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 55
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Connor Zilisch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Gavan Boschele | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 7 | Connor Mosack | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage Three Laps: 79
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 189 | 106 | Running | 72 |
| 2 | 12 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 189 | 10 | Running | 51 |
| 3 | 2 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 13 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 189 | 4 | Running | 34 |
| 5 | 4 | 71 | Connor Zilisch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 55 | Running | 0 |
| 6 | 5 | 77 | Tristan McKee | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 7 | 17 | 62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 8 | 6 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 41 |
| 9 | 25 | 16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 189 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 18 | 42 | Parker Eatmon | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 16 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 189 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 21 | 72 | Mike Christopher Jr. | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 8 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 14 | 9 | 98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 189 | 14 | Running | 31 |
| 15 | 24 | 10 | Corey LaJoie | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 189 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 15 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 14 | 13 | Cole Butcher (R) | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 189 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 10 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 189 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 23 | 5 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 20 | 26 | 12 | Brenden Queen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 189 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 20 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 27 | 4 | Connor Hall | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 33 | 14 | Mini Tyrrell (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 189 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 30 | 25 | Colin Braun | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 189 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 34 | 26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R. | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 3 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 189 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 27 | 29 | 44 | Andrés Pérez de Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 19 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 189 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 31 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 187 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 11 | 7 | Connor Mosack | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 179 | 0 | Accident | 9 |
| 31 | 36 | 33 | Luke Baldwin | Team Reaume | Ford | 177 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 22 | 45 | Landen Lewis | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 177 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 7 | 1 | Gavan Boschele | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 169 | 0 | Accident | 8 |
| 34 | 28 | 81 | Kris Wright | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Vibration | 3 |
| 35 | 32 | 22 | Patrick Emerling | Team Reaume | Ford | 131 | 0 | Suspension | 2 |
| 36 | 35 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet | 75 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 6 among 5 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 9 for 56 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 18 minutes and 59 seconds
- Average speed: 86.325 miles per hour (138.927 km/h)
Standings after the race
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