2023 XPEL 225
The 2023 XPEL 225 was the 4th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Austin, Texas, at Circuit of the Americas, a 3.426 miles (5.514 km) permanent asphalt road course. The race took the scheduled 42 laps to complete. Zane Smith, driving for Front Row Motorsports, would hold off the field in the final 10 laps, and earned his 9th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, along with his second of the season. Smith would also dominate a portion of the race, leading 16 laps.[1] To fill out the podium, Kyle Busch, driving for his own team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, and Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 23 of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 25, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 3rd Annual XPEL 225 | ||
| Location | Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 3.426 mi (5.514 km) | ||
| Distance | 42 laps, 140 mi (226 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 42 laps, 140 mi (226 km) | ||
| Average speed | 77.000 mph (123.919 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Niece Motorsports | ||
| Time | 2:13.613 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Laps | 16 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Jamie Little, Kevin Harvick, and Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
Background
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a grade 1 FIA-specification motorsports facility located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. It features a 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road racing circuit. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship. It previously hosted the Supercars Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and IndyCar Series.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Notes
- Due to travel issues, Stefan Parsons practiced and qualified Boyd's No. 12 truck, Boyd made the race.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, March 24, at 3:30 PM CST, and last for 20 minutes.[2] Kyle Busch, driving for his own team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 2:15.582, and an average speed of 90.543 mph (145.715 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:15.582 | 90.543 |
| 2 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:16.009 | 90.259 |
| 3 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 2:16.458 | 89.962 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, March 24, at 4:00 PM CST.[2] Since Circuit of the Americas is a road course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in that round will win the pole.[4]
Under a 2021 rule change, the timing line in road course qualifying is ''not'' the start-finish line. Instead, the timing line for qualifying will be set at the exit of Istanbul 8. Ross Chastain, driving for Niece Motorsports, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest lap in Round 2, with a lap of 2:13.613, and an average speed of 91.877 mph (147.862 km/h).[5]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Samuel LeComte, Alex Bowman, and Mason Massey.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 12
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Kaz Grala (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 14
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 75 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | 04 | Kaden Honeycutt | Roper Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 9 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 16
| Fin[6] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 42 | 16 | Running | 52 |
| 2 | 2 | 51 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 12 | Running | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 42 | 1 | Running | 43 |
| 4 | 12 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 5 | 1 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 10 | Running | 0 |
| 6 | 11 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 8 | 9 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 9 | 10 | 1 | Kaz Grala (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 10 | 13 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 11 | 19 | 17 | Taylor Gray (R) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 8 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 20 | 24 | Rajah Caruth (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 15 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 24 | 04 | Kaden Honeycutt | Roper Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 16 | 16 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 17 | 18 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 18 | 36 | 43 | Daniel Dye (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 32 | 35 | Jake Garcia (R) | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 30 | Colin Garrett | On Point Motorsports | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 35 | 02 | Kris Wright | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 14 | 22 | Logan Bearden | AM Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 31 | 32 | Bret Holmes (R) | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 27 | 9 | Colby Howard | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 29 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 30 | 34 | Mason Filippi | Reaume Brothers Racing | Ford | 42 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 21 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 42 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 46 | Dale Quarterley | G2G Racing | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 28 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 41 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 30 | 5 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 31 | 3 | Suspension | 17 |
| 31 | 17 | 75 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26 | 0 | Electrical | 12 |
| 32 | 26 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 12 | 0 | Electrical | 5 |
| 33 | 34 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 11 | 0 | Accident | 4 |
| 34 | 6 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 | 0 | Axle | 3 |
| 35 | 22 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 4 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 23 | 20 | Ed Jones | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Suspension | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Skala, Chris (March 25, 2023). "Zane Smith Scores 2nd Straight COTA Truck Series Win". Frontstretch. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
- "2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series COTA Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- "Practice Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPEL 225 at COTA". TobyChristie.com. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- Rutherford, Kevin (March 24, 2023). "Ross Chastain Claims COTA Truck Pole". Frontstretch. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- "2023 XPEL 225 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved March 25, 2023.