{"id":20225,"date":"2018-07-12T17:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T22:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=20225"},"modified":"2018-07-13T14:55:59","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T19:55:59","slug":"nascar-thursday-kentucky-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/12\/nascar-thursday-kentucky-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Thursday Kentucky Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Haley ready to bounce book from near Xfinity miss<\/b><\/p>\n

SPARTA, Ky.–Justin Haley<\/strong> isn\u2019t pining over the win that got away.<\/p>\n

Yes, the 19-year-old nearly scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series<\/a> victory with a last-lap pass at Daytona International Speedway last Friday.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Justin Haley, driver of the #24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

TV and radio broadcasters proclaimed Haley the winner, but upon further review, the driver of the No. 24 GMS Chevy was penalized for going below the double-yellow line to advance his position. He was scored 18th, the last driver on the lead lap.<\/p>\n

Although Haley started his celebration on the frontstretch, at what point did he realize Kyle Larson was officially declared the winner of the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I did cross the start-finish line first,\u201d Haley said. \u201cIn my belief, I still won \u2013 unofficially. But I don\u2019t know when it sunk in. It was just kind of how it went. I don\u2019t get the opportunity to go Xfinity Series racing much. How it was put to me this year is I\u2019ve got Iowa, Daytona and Watkins Glen from GMS and those were my three shots to make something happen. And if I didn\u2019t, then I wasn\u2019t going to go too far in my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I had to make the most of it. I think I have to this point. Just really fortunate to get these opportunities because they don\u2019t come along very often. I\u2019m just super thankful that GMS \u2013 Mike Beam (general manager) and Maury Gallagher (owner) \u2013 put me in the car. It really means a lot to me. And they continue to support me in the truck series, so I\u2019m super blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haley is currently sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He scored his first career truck win on June 23 at Gateway Motorsports Park in dramatic fashion over Todd Gilliland.<\/p>\n

Since last weekend\u2019s defeat, Haley hasn\u2019t had time to dwell on last Friday\u2019s disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been good,\u201d Haley said. \u201cI flew out to the Fraternal Order of Eagles convention. They\u2019ve been my sponsor the last two to three years. And they’ve been my primary sponsor in almost everything I\u2019ve drove. Got the pleasure of seeing all them. Didn\u2019t spend much time in the shop this week, but flew in out of Texas last night, got back to Charlotte, hopped on a plane and led first practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s been a pretty good week. We\u2019ve got a fast truck, we won Gateway a few weeks ago. We\u2019ve got more wins coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seavey looks to follow Larson and Bell’s path to NASCAR\u2019s top tiers<\/b><\/p>\n

Logan Seavey will make his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway on July 18.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Columbus, Indiana, native will pilot the No. 51 Mobil 1 Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports under the direction of crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.<\/p>\n

Seavey, the 2017 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series champion, comes from the same fertile farm club \u2013 Keith Kunz Motorsports \u2013 that produced Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell under the Toyota Racing Development banner.<\/p>\n

“Running the Truck Series race at Eldora for Kyle Busch Motorsports is the chance of a lifetime and I can’t thank everyone at Mobil 1, Toyota and TRD enough for having the confidence to put me in this position,” Seavey said. “Not many people get the chance to run a stock car on dirt and it’s definitely going to be a big challenge racing something so much heavier than what I’m used to.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, I’ll have a little bit of an advantage just knowing what dirt racing is like and how the dirt changes and I’ve already leaned on Christopher for some advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seavey, who currently leads the midget standings, has never raced at the half-mile dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. However, in the five previous Dirt Derby\u2019s at Eldora, KBM trucks have won twice. Bubba Wallace won the second truck race at the Big E in 2014 and Bell won the following year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been able to get Mobil 1 to Victory Lane a few times in my Midget this year and hopefully I can do it again in the Truck Series to reward them for their support of not only myself, but the entire Toyota Racing Development program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhodes tries to turn his season around at Kentucky<\/b><\/p>\n

Ben Rhodes has endured his share of bad luck lately.<\/p>\n

When his engine soured at Kansas Speedway, his disappointment was compounded by wrecking his street truck leaving the track.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ben Rhodes, driver of the #41 The Carolina Nut Co. Ford, signs a autograph for a fan prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s just the little things that have bitten the No. 27 ThorSport Racing Ford.<\/p>\n

And although Rhodes raced to a second-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in his last truck start, a win would go a long way for the 21-year-old Louisville native.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, we\u2019re a lot better off,\u201d said Rhodes, who is currently eighth in the standings. \u201cThe morale has been down, but that\u2019s somewhat out of our control. But no one has given up. They\u2019ve been working a crazy amount of hours \u2013 more hours than anyone else at ThorSport. They\u2019re staying and working through the night. They\u2019re working through the holidays.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to see that but I can\u2019t fix it. We need the bad stuff to quit happening. As a whole, morale has been down but Chicagoland gave them the shot in the arm they needed. They\u2019re back to where they need to be. Our trucks have been phenomenal all season long. I wouldn\u2019t change anything on the team. But it would be nice to get our fleet built back up because of Iowa, Gateway \u2013 bad things that put us behind with our trucks. But that\u2019s racing. It happens. We just need to focus forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Communication has been key for Rhodes and crew chief Eddie Troconis. Rhodes believes their  rapport has improved over last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first year I didn\u2019t do a good job of tuning him out when I needed to,\u201d Rhodes said. \u201cThe second year, I\u2019ve really found my edge with him. I know when he goes crazy on the radio \u2013 and almost starts speaking Spanish \u2013 I just turn it down a little bit and keep doing my thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the emotional one on the team. He\u2019s the spitfire. I\u2019m more easy-going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Ben Rhodes – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/KYS_NCWTS_Rhodes_071218.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Justin Haley, Bo LeMastus and Brett Moffitt – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/KYS_NCWTS_Hayley_LeMastus_Moffitt_071218.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/KYS_NXS_Custer_Hemric_Reddick_071218.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   Haley ready to bounce book from near Xfinity miss SPARTA, Ky.–Justin Haley isn\u2019t pining over the win that got away. Yes, the 19-year-old nearly scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory with a last-lap pass at Daytona International Speedway last Friday. TV and radio broadcasters proclaimed Haley the winner, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[282,16],"class_list":["post-20225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-kentucky-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/356723.jpg?fit=4871%2C3248&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5gd","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20225"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20244,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20225\/revisions\/20244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}