Latest news with #TriconGarage
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Brent Crews Sells Micro Sprints to Fund New NASCAR Truck Team, Friends Zilisch and Love Not Involved
After three races with Tricon Garage in the No. 1 Toyota Tundra, Brent Crews has gone all in on NASCAR Truck Racing. The rising Toyota development driver sold his Micro Sprints to fund his own Truck team, Brent Crews Motorsports, as an owner and driver. The 17-year-old's first race in the No. 70 Toyota Tundra will be next weekend at Watkins Glen, as he's decided that he doesn't want to sit on the sidelines of the sport. "I don't really know where this is going to go, but with all the buzz around road course guys right now, it didn't seem right to miss Watkins Glen," Crews said in a press release. "I love the track. Watching on TV was NOT an option." Crews is following in the footsteps of mentors Brian Keselowski and Nick Tucker, who both funded truck teams on shoestring budgets at portions of their careers. Tucker now owns and operates Nitro Motorsports, where Crews will run BCM out of in the early stages of the team before investing in a race shop. I grew up going to dinner on race weekends with guys like Nick Tucker and Brian Keselowski listening to stories about building race cars and engines out of spare parts and barely getting to the track,' Crews said in his press release. 'Even though everyone would tell them they were crazy, it always sounded like so much fun to me. When we started talking about me buying a truck to run Watkins Glen, no one was willing to tell me it was a bad idea and it just kind of snowballed from there. I sold all my micro sprints to raise some of the money and here we are." Before Friday's ARCA race at Iowa Speedway, Crews had to clarify one misunderstanding. When he announced that he was starting his own team, he overexaggerated the roles of his friends and racing competitors Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch, who both race for Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. "Connor and Jesse are great friends of mine, but we went a little overboard in exaggerating their roles," Crews wrote on X. "To be clear, they have no official capacity, other than they are friends who want me to do well." Brent Crews would go on to finish second in the Atlas 150 ARCA race at Iowa Speedway. Both Zilisch and Love posted on X similar explanations, sharing their teams and manufacturers to clear the air about their involvement. Clearly, making it known that neither of them has any association with Toyota. Crews has one more race with Tricon scheduled this season at Richmond, that weekend he'll strap into the No. 1 truck instead of the No. 70. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Gulf Today
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Layne Riggs claims first Truck Series win
Layne Riggs capped one of the best race weekends of his young career, claiming his first ever pole position then leading the final 20 laps of Friday's MillerTech Battery 200 to take his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season in the opening race of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway. Riggs' No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford beat Tricon Garage driver Tanner Gray to the checkered flag by a healthy 3.64 seconds, delivering the young star his third career series win. Riggs had been fast all day and was running second to championship leader Corey Heim coming to a restart with 19 laps to go only to have Heim's No. 11 Toyota suffer a flat tire just as the field was about to take the green flag. Just after Heim pulled off the track for a quick tire change, NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar moved his No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck forward and into the lead on the restart -- but was handed a penalty for the move. Layne Riggs celebrates in victory lane. Riggs, as the second-place car, was the "control" car when Heim pit -- not Hocevar -- and Riggs assumed the lead for good when Hocevar pit with 18 laps remaining to serve the stop-and-go penalty for his restart violation. "That's just a testament to this team, that thing was bad fast especially that last run right there," said Riggs, the 23-year-old son of former NASCAR Cup Series standout Scott Riggs. "I really hate the 11 (Heim) fell out and not sure what the seven (Hocevar) was doing on the restart there, but made sure to take advantage of it. "But, hey, I'm a happy man right now. ... this is not what I had circled. Last year we wrecked in practice, didn't qualify and ran dead last all day. And today we were the best. It's amazing." For much of the early race -- before the tire problem -- it appeared the season's four-race winner Heim would essentially turn in a repeat performance of his work a year ago at the 2.5-mile Pocono track when he swept both stages and won the race. Heim did lead a race-best 48 of the 90 laps and set an all-time series record claiming his 12th stage win. But to his credit, Riggs -- who also took a stage win -- kept Heim honest all day. And that's what put him in position to capitalize. Layne Riggs and crew celebrate in victory lane. Photos: AFP Kaden Honeycutt, who started on the front row alongside Riggs, finished third in the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. Brandon Jones in the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota and Daniel Hemric in the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet rounded out the top five. Rookie Connor Mosack, Riggs' teammate Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, reigning series champion Ty Majeski and Rajah Caruth completed the top 10. Heim rallied to a 23rd-place finish and leads Smith by 124 points in the championship standings. With the victory, Riggs claims the seventh playoff position based on race wins. Only four more regular-season races remain to decide which 10 drivers will compete for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. The series heads to the historic Lime Rock Park road course in Connecticut for next Saturday's inaugural LIUNA 150 (1 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Associated Press
Fox Sports
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Martin Truex Jr. competing in Daytona 500 in No. 56 his late father drove
When Martin Truex Jr. started discussing a deal to compete in the Daytona 500, he had a unique request: Could he drive the No. 56? It was a resounding yes from Tricon Garage, and the decision has become even more special for Truex in the weeks since. A day after Truex formally announced his entry into "The Great American Race," his father died unexpectedly at age 66. Truex Sr. drove the No. 56 for much of his racing career, which included 15 starts in the second-tier Xfinity Series and 135 starts in the ARCA Series in the 1990s. "It probably means more. It probably hits home more with me of just what it means to us and our family," said Truex Jr., who drove the No. 56 for four seasons (2010-13) at Michael Waltrip Racing. "A lot of people are going to be excited to see it out there." [Read more: Who are the 10 greatest Daytona 500 drivers of all time?] It might be most emotional for the Truex family, specifically Martin and younger brother Ryan. "Everything I've ever learned was from him," Martin said. "He was my hero growing up and still is. He made a lot of things happen for me. Taught me a lot of things with racing and really the opportunity to get here and what I've accomplished is all because of him and his sacrifices. Hopefully, we'll go win this thing for him on Sunday." It would be the ultimate tribute. And no one should count Truex out even though he's winless in 39 starts at Daytona International Speedway. Truex has the longest active losing streak in the Daytona 500, having failed to win in 20 starts. But he came close in 2016, coming up inches short of Denny Hamlin in the closest finish in the history of "The Great American Race." Truex hasn't been nearly as close since, although he has finished in the top 15 in each of the last three years. Those came while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. [Read more: How to watch 2025 Daytona 500: Updated start time, TV channel, schedule, date, streaming] The 2017 Cup Series champion retired from full-time racing at the end of last season but chose to do a one-off event with Tricon in hopes of finally winning the 500. They still have an alliance with JGR. "In the grand scheme of things, this is probably the easiest one to do as far as being a driver in a series," Truex said. "You couldn't do a one-off and go to Richmond or Dover or somewhere and expect to have a chance to win, honestly. It's just not really feasible. … Speedway racing is the best opportunity to come out and have a true shot at winning. "That's why guys do it. That's why I wanted to do it and especially because it's the Daytona 500. It's such a big race. It's such a big deal." [Read more: FOX Super 6 NASCAR contest: Bob Pockrass' Daytona 500 picks, predictions] It could be Truex's final chance. And what a feat it would be to win the Daytona 500 in his 21st try a month after his dad's death and driving a car number that evokes memories for his family. "We have as good a shot to win as anyone to win," Truex said. "If you're in it, you can win it. I've always said that. One of these days I'm going to be right about it." Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Truex welcomes another shot at the Daytona 500, this one in the No. 56 his late father drove
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — When Martin Truex Jr. started discussing a deal to compete in the Daytona 500, he had a unique request: Could he drive the No. 56? It was a resounding yes from Tricon Garage, and the decision has become even more special for Truex in the weeks since. A day after Truex formally announced his entry into 'The Great American Race,' his father died unexpectantly at age 66. Truex Sr. drove the No. 56 for much of his racing career, which included 15 starts in the second-tier Xfinity Series and 135 starts in the ARCA Series in the 1990s. 'It probably means more. It probably hits home more with me of just what it means to us and our family,' said Truex Jr., who drove the No. 56 for four seasons (2010-13) at Michael Waltrip Racing. 'A lot of people are going to be excited to see it out there.' It might be most emotional for the Truex family, specifically Martin and younger brother Ryan. 'Everything I've ever learned was from him,' Martin said. 'He was my hero growing up and still is. He made a lot of things happen for me. Taught me a lot of things with racing and really the opportunity to get here and what I've accomplished is all because of him and his sacrifices. Hopefully we'll go win this thing for him on Sunday.' It would be the ultimate tribute. And no one should count Truex out even though he's winless in 39 starts at Daytona International Speedway. Truex has the longest active losing streak in the Daytona 500, having failed to win in 20 starts. But he came close in 2016, coming up inches short of Denny Hamlin in the closest finish in the history of 'The Great American Race.' Truex hasn't been nearly as close since, although he has finished in the top 15 in each of the last three years. Those came while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. The 2017 Cup Series champion retired from full-time racing at the end of last season but chose to do a one-off event with Tricon in hopes of finally winning the 500. They still have an alliance with JGR. 'In the grand scheme of things, this is probably the easiest one to do as far as being a driver in a series,' Truex said. 'You couldn't do a one-off and go to Richmond or Dover or somewhere and expect to have a chance to win, honestly. It's just not really feasible. … 'Speedway racing is the best opportunity to come out and have a true shot at winning. That's why guys do it. That's why I wanted to do it and especially because it's the Daytona 500. It's such a big race. It's such a big deal.' It could be Truex's final chance. And what a feat it would be to win the Daytona 500 in his 21st try a month after his dad's death and driving a car number that evokes memories for his family. 'We have as good a shot to win as anyone to win," Truex said. 'If you're in it, you can win it. I've always said that. One of these days I'm going to be right about it.' ___ AP auto racing: Mark Long, The Associated Press
Washington Post
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Truex welcomes another shot at the Daytona 500, this one in the No. 56 his late father drove
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Martin Truex Jr. started discussing a deal to compete in the Daytona 500 , he had a unique request: Could he drive the No. 56? It was a resounding yes from Tricon Garage, and the decision has become even more special for Truex in the weeks since.
