After a week to get their trucks ready for Championship Weekend, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers are gearing up for the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, Nov. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to decide who of the Championship 4 contenders – Ty Majeski, Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes and Chandler Smith – will finish the highest this weekend and win the 2022 title.
Phoenix Raceway has hosted 31 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races producing 21 different race winners and just as many pole winners. Seven of the 31 series races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Chandler Smith in 2021.
Kevin Harvick holds the race record at 108.014 mph, a feat he accomplished in 2002, and also has the most wins under his belt (four). Ron Hornady Jr. has the most top fives (10) and top 10s (13) while three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton sits with the most lead lap finishes (18) and laps completed (3,097).
The 2022 season will mark the third time (2020-2022) that Phoenix Raceway has hosted the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Race (Lucas Oil 150). From 2016 to 2019, the Playoffs’ season finale was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway before it was moved to Phoenix in 2020. Since the inception of the Playoffs in 2016 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, two of the six winners of the Championship Race have also claimed the championship that season – Brett Moffitt (2018) and Sheldon Creed (2020).
| Track | Championship Race Winners | Date | Race No. |
| Homestead | William Byron | Friday, November 18, 2016 | 23 |
| Homestead | Chase Briscoe | Friday, November 17, 2017 | 23 |
| Homestead | Brett Moffitt | Friday, November 16, 2018 | 23 |
| Homestead | Austin Hill | Friday, November 15, 2019 | 23 |
| Phoenix | Sheldon Creed | Friday, November 6, 2020 | 23 |
| Phoenix | Chandler Smith | Friday, November 5, 2021 | 22 |
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will kick off the Championship Weekend with practice at 8:05 p.m. on Thursday, Nov.3 (not televised). They will make their qualifying runs on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.
The Stage Is Set: Phoenix Raceway up next for the Championship 4 Round
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series concluded the Playoffs Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 22 and locked in the four drivers that will compete to take home the title and be named the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
With another win by ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski at Homestead-Miami, the remaining spots were filled on points. The three drivers joining Majeski at Phoenix Raceway will be Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Chandler Smith and ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes.
All four drivers have given the one-mile Arizona track a go at least once so let’s dive into how these four drivers have done in their Camping World Truck Series careers to get them to this point.
Ty Majeski (No. 66 ThorSport Racing Toyota)
Ty Majeski heads to Phoenix Raceway this week to make his first career appearance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Championship 4 Round. Majeski is looking to become the third different driver to win a Camping World Truck Series title for ThorSport Racing joining Matt Crafton’s three (2013, 2014, 2019) and Ben Rhodes’ one (2021). Below are Majeski’s stats heading into Phoenix this weekend.
2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season Stats:
- Two wins (Bristol, Homestead)
- 10 top fives, 15 top 10s, three poles
- 306 laps led
- Average start – 7.8
- Average finish – 9.6
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career (2019 – Present):
- 42 starts, two wins, 10 top fives, 20 top 10s
- 306 laps led
- Average start – 11.4
- Average finish – 13.4
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Stats (2022):
- Two Playoff wins (Bristol and Homestead-Miami)
- Six starts, three top fives and five top 10s
Phoenix Raceway Stats:
- One start, 11th-place finish
Crew Chief Joe Shear Jr.:
Joe Shear Jr. has crew chief experience dating back to 1995 and has made a mark in all three NASCAR national series. He first began as a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1998, and since has made 330 total series starts winning the 2016 championship with driver Johnny Sauter. Plus, over the last 18 years in those 330 starts, he has posted 26 wins, 108 top fives, 174 top 10s and 14 poles.
This is his first full time season with Majeski, but he did have a one-off race with him during the 2021 season as well. The duo have combined to put up two wins, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in 23 series starts.
Zane Smith (No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford)
Zane Smith heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend hoping the third-time is ‘the charm’ as he will be competing in the Championship 4 Round for the third consecutive season, the previous two have resulted in runner-up finishes in the championship standings. Smith is hoping to deliver Front Row Motorsports its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title. Below are Smith’s stats heading into Phoenix this weekend.
2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season Stats:
- Three wins (Daytona, COTA, Kansas)
- 13 top fives, 18 top 10s
- 415 laps led
- Average start – 10.1
- Average finish – 8.0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career (2018 – Present):
- 68 starts, six wins, 24 top fives, 46 top 10s
- 922 laps led
- Average start – 8.7
- Average finish – 10.4
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Stats (2020 – 2022):
- One Playoff win (Martinsville, 2021)
- 20 starts, nine top fives, 13 top 10s
Phoenix Raceway Stats:
- Two starts, two top fives, two top 10s
- 48 laps led
- Average start – 7.5
- Average finish – 3.5
Crew Chief Chris Lawson:
Chris Lawson has five years of experience in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and is in his first full-time season with driver Zane Smith and his third with No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team.
In his 81 career starts as a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Lawson has led two drivers to wins (Todd Gilliland, COTA 2021 and Zane Smith, Daytona, COTA 2022, Kansas). His teams have also finished in the top-five 26 times and the top-10 45 times.
Ben Rhodes (No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota)
Ben Rhodes, the defending series champion, will have his chance at becoming just the second driver in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history to win back-to-back championships; joining his other ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton (2013, 2014) this weekend at Phoenix. This is just the second-time he has qualified for the Championship 4 Round in the series. Below are Rhodes’ stats heading into Phoenix this weekend.
2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season Stats:
- One win (Bristol Dirt)
- Seven top fives, 12 top 10s
- 263 laps led
- Average start – 11.2
- Average finish – 12.1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career (2014- Present):
- 163 starts, six wins, 48 top fives, 88 top 10s, five poles
- 1,098 laps led
- Average start – 9.0
- Average finish – 11.6
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Stats (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022):
- One Playoff win (Las Vegas, 2020)
- 34 starts, 11 top fives, 18 top 10s, two poles
Phoenix Raceway Stats:
- Seven starts, three top fives, four top 10s
- 48 laps led
- Average start – 5.1
- Average finish – 9.3
Crew Chief Rich Lushes:
Rich Lushes got his first start as crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2016 when he ran one race with driver Ryan Truex. Lushes then ran a full-time season with Myatt Snider in 2018 before joining Rhodes and the No. 99 ThorSport Racing team full-time in 2021. In the first full season together, Rhodes and Lushes won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title and are now looking to go back-to-back.
In his five years in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as a crew chief, Lushes has made 70 starts posting three wins, 18 top fives and 36 top 10s.
Chandler Smith (No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota)
Chandler Smith heads to Phoenix this weekend with a mountain of confidence because he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale last season but was eliminated from the Playoffs in the Round of 8. This season, for the first-time in his Truck Series career he has a shot at the title. Below are Smith’s stats heading into Phoenix this weekend.
2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season Stats:
- Three wins (Las Vegas, Pocono, Richmond)
- Eight top fives, 15 top 10s
- 440 laps led
- Average start – 7.3
- Average finish – 9.0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career (2019 – Present):
- 60 starts, five wins, 22 top fives, 33 top 10s, one pole (2021)
- 746 laps led
- Average start – 8.9
- Average finish – 12.8
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Stats (2021 – 2022):
- Three Playoff wins (Bristol, Phoenix – 2021 & Richmond – 2022)
- 13 starts, four top fives and eight top 10s
Phoenix Raceway Stats:
- Three starts, one win (2021), three top fives, three top 10s
- 40 laps led
- Average start – 9.3
- Average finish – 2.3
Crew Chief Danny Stockman Jr.:
Danny Stockman Jr. has made his way around NASCAR, having experience in all three national series. He first joined the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010 leading driver Austin Dillon. The dup would win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in 2011. Stockman also led Dillon to a NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2013. Stockman joined Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2020 collaborating with several drivers on the No. 51 team. Then he switched to No. 18 team in 2021 and has worked fulltime with Chandler Smith ever since.
In Stockman’s 115 Camping World Truck Series starts as a crew chief, he has posted 13 wins, 41 top fives, 66 top 10s and 14 poles.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year update – Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Corey Heim leads the rookie class with 459 points. Coming in second is Niece Motorsports’ Lawless Alan with 275 points followed by GMS Racing’s Jack Wood with 271 points. In fourth is Niece Motorsports’ Dean Thompson with 263 points and closing out the rookie class is Blaine Perkins from CR7 Motorsports with 191 points.
2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion Layne Riggs back in Trucks – The youngest NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion in series history, Layne Riggs, will be making his third start of the 2022 season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend at Phoenix Raceway piloting the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota.
Layne Riggs is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Riggs. Layne Riggs has two previous Camping World Truck Series starts this season, both for Halmar Friesen Racing. In his series debut at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, he started 23rd and raced his way up to a seventh-place finish. Then in his second career start in the Trucks at Richmond, he started fourth and finished 19th.
Riggs will look to build on his first two starts in his series track debut at Phoenix this weekend.
