The 2023 Heart of America 200 was the 8th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Kansas City, Kansas at Kansas Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 134 laps to complete. Grant Enfinger, driving for GMS Racing, would make a three-wide pass for the lead with 30 laps to go, and eventually held on to score his eighth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first of the season. Enfinger also dominated a portion of the race, leading a race-high 65 laps.[1] To fill out the podium, Corey Heim, driving for Tricon Garage, and Zane Smith, driving for Front Row Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 23 of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 6, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 23rd Annual Heart of America 200 | ||
| Location | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 134 laps, 250 mi (403 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 134 laps, 250 mi (403 km) | ||
| Average speed | 101.005 mph (162.552 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | ||
| Time | 30.932 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | |
| Laps | 65 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Kevin Harvick, and Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
Background
editKansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The NTT IndyCar Series also raced there until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editThe first and only practice session was held on Saturday, May 6, at 11:05 AM CST, and would last for 20 minutes.[2] Christian Eckes, driving for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.084, and an average speed of 173.723 mph (279.580 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 31.084 | 173.723 |
| 2 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.290 | 172.579 |
| 3 | 43 | Daniel Dye (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 31.313 | 172.452 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, May 6, at 11:35 AM CST.[2] Since Kansas Speedway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[4] Christian Eckes, driving for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 30.932, and an average speed of 174.576 mph (280.953 km/h).[5] No driver would fail to qualify.
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | Rajah Caruth (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 30
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | Rajah Caruth (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 74
| Fin[6] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 134 | 65 | Running | 56 |
| 2 | 12 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 134 | 13 | Running | 46 |
| 3 | 7 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 134 | 6 | Running | 48 |
| 4 | 14 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 134 | 1 | Running | 35 |
| 5 | 17 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 2 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 134 | 11 | Running | 40 |
| 8 | 4 | 35 | Jake Garcia (R) | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 9 | 19 | 17 | Taylor Gray (R) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 134 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 23 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 134 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 11 | 21 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 134 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 16 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 134 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 13 | 10 | 43 | Daniel Dye (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 28 | 32 | Bret Holmes (R) | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 24 | 1 | Toni Breidinger | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 133 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 5 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 133 | 17 | Running | 30 |
| 17 | 34 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 8 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 133 | 3 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 27 | 04 | Johnny Sauter | Roper Racing | Ford | 133 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 26 | 46 | Brennan Poole (i) | G2G Racing | Toyota | 133 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 31 | 20 | Nick Leitz | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 30 | 56 | Tyler Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 132 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 32 | 90 | Justin Carroll | TC Motorsports | Toyota | 132 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 29 | 22 | Josh Reaume | AM Racing | Ford | 132 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 9 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 131 | 12 | Running | 22 |
| 26 | 36 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 131 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 33 | 33 | Mason Maggio | Reaume Brothers Racing | Ford | 131 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 25 | 02 | Kris Wright | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Accident | 9 |
| 29 | 18 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | DVP | 8 |
| 30 | 1 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 78 | 6 | Accident | 12 |
| 31 | 20 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 78 | 0 | Accident | 8 |
| 32 | 22 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 78 | 0 | Accident | 6 |
| 33 | 3 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 78 | 0 | Accident | 13 |
| 34 | 13 | 24 | Rajah Caruth (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Accident | 15 |
| 35 | 15 | 9 | Colby Howard | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 35 | 47 | Tim Viens | G2G Racing | Toyota | 2 | 0 | Transmission | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ Cook, Garrett (May 6, 2023). "Grant Enfinger Runs Away with Win at Kansas". Frontstretch. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kansas Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Practice Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Heart of America 200 at Kansas". TobyChristie.com. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ Cook, Garrett (May 6, 2023). "Christian Eckes Wins Pole for Kansas Truck Race". Frontstretch. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Heart of America 200 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved May 6, 2023.