Raphael Lessard, Ben Rhodes lead Truck Bristol dirt practices

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hit the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt for the first time with a pair of practice sessions on Friday. Raphaël Lessard led the entirety of the first practice while Ben Rhodes did so later in the afternoon.

For Saturday’s four heat races to set the grid ahead of the evening’s Pinty’s Dirt Truck Race, Lessard will start third in Heat #3. Rhodes has more of an uphill battle in tenth in Heat #4.

First practice

Sheldon Creed, the reigning series champion and an off-road expert, was the first on track. Various drivers brought out cautions for spins starting with Brett Moffitt. Hailie Deegan—also a former off-road racer who has won on dirt in NASCAR’s regional series—and Jake Griffin also did so, with Griffin hitting the “dirtle”, a white rumble strip along the apron that discourages drivers from racing that low on the track (similar to turtles at the Daytona and Charlotte infield road course chicanes). Griffin, entering his first Truck race since 2019, would spin again.

With approximately eight minutes left, Andrew Gordon‘s left-rear tyre came off, resulting in him spinning and a red flag to come out. Gordon, one of two CMI Motorsports drivers, is hoping to make his NASCAR début.

By the end of the session, Lessard topped the charts with a fastest lap time of 19.384 seconds at 92.860 mph ahead of Carson Hocevar (19.396 seconds, 92.803). Cup Series rookie and former Eldora winner Chase Briscoe was the fastest non-Truck regular in fourth. Cody Erickson turned the most laps at fifty-eight and was thirty-fifth.

“This has been a weekend that I had big X’s through, and honestly, that’s as much fun as I’ve had in a race car in a long time,” Kevin Harvick told FS1 after recording fifty-one laps and setting the sixteenth-fastest time. “Just getting over my anxiety and being able to do something way outside my comfort zone was rewarding.”

Along with Stewart-Haas Racing team-mate Briscoe, Harvick is one of nine drivers running Saturday’s Truck race and Sunday’s Cup Series event. Kyle Larson (twelfth), Bubba Wallace (twenty-second), Martin Truex Jr. (twenty-ninth), Ryan Newman (thirty-eighth), and Daniel Suárez (forty-second) are all Cup full-timers entering the Truck race, while Stewart Friesen (fifth) and Mike Marlar (twenty-ninth) will run their maiden Cup races on Sunday. John Hunter Nemechek, who finished eleventh, is having Cup driver Christopher Bell on standby in the event that his wife goes into labour.

Jennifer Jo Cobb is the only driver to not record a practice lap.

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps
1	24	Raphaël Lessard	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	19.384	92.860	31
2	42	Carson Hocevar	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.396	92.803	32
3	1	Hailie Deegan	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	19.418	92.698	23
4	04	Chase Briscoe*	Roper Racing	Ford	19.432	92.631	23
5	52	Stewart Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Toyota	19.465	92.474	33
6	15	Tanner Gray	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	19.483	92.388	44
7	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	19.502	92.298	67
8	2	Sheldon Creed	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	19.525	92.190	51
9	26	Tyler Ankrum	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	19.579	91.935	37
10	45	Brett Moffitt	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.588	91.893	50
11	4	John Hunter Nemechek	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	19.592	91.874	38
12	44	Kyle Larson*	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.603	91.823	31
13	23	Chase Purdy	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	19.620	91.743	74
14	88	Matt Crafton	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	19.688	91.426	45
15	21	Zane Smith	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	19.695	91.394	49
16	17	Kevin Harvick*	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	19.706	91.343	51
17	22	Austin Wayne Self	AM Racing	Chevrolet	19.725	91.255	40
18	99	Ben Rhodes	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	19.729	91.236	40
19	62	Jessica Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Toyota	19.760	91.093	51
20	33	Myatt Snider*	Reaume Brothers Racing	Chevrolet	19.811	90.859	33
21	98	Grant Enfinger	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	19.821	90.813	53
22	11	Bubba Wallace*	Spencer Davis Motorsports	Toyota	19.849	90.685	48
23	34	Jake Griffin	Reaume Brothers Racing	Toyota	19.879	90.548	31
24	75	Parker Kligerman	Henderson Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.881	90.539	44
25	56	Mike Marlar*	Hill Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.883	90.530	35
26	13	Johnny Sauter	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	19.899	90.457	32
27	18	Chandler Smith	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	19.901	90.448	41
28	49	Andrew Gordon	CMI Motorsports	Chevrolet	19.935	90.294	26
29	51	Martin Truex Jr.*	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	19.970	90.135	44
30	30	Danny Bohn	On Point Motorsports	Toyota	19.993	90.032	40
31	9	Codie Rohrbaugh	CR7 Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.036	89.838	33
32	3	J.R. Heffner	Jordan Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	20.069	89.691	45
33	16	Austin Hill	Hattori Racing Enterprises	Toyota	20.069	89.691	32
34	40	Ryan Truex	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.104	89.534	31
35	41	Cody Erickson	Cram Racing Enterprises	Chevrolet	20.113	89.494	58
36	25	Timothy Peters	Rackley WAR	Chevrolet	20.145	89.352	8
37	19	Derek Kraus	McAnally-Hilgemann Racing	Toyota	20.205	89.087	46
38	39	Ryan Newman*	DCC Racing	Ford	20.233	88.964	41
39	6	Norm Benning	Norm Benning Racing	Chevrolet	20.635	87.230	13
40	12	Tate Fogleman	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.734	86.814	36
41	83	Trevor Collins	CMI Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.841	86.368	16
42	02	Daniel Suárez*	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.894	86.149	28
43	20	Spencer Boyd	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.169	85.030	32
44	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing	Chevrolet	No Time	No Time	N/A

Final practice

Six minutes into the session, J.R. Heffner, running his first Truck race in two years, lost his steering and hit the backstretch inside pit wall, forcing his truck to be towed away. Unlike the incident-plaged first practice, the final session featured just two cautions for Heffner and debris.

Rhodes dominated the second and final practice session from start to finish, ending it with a lap time of 20.703 seconds and speed of 86.943 mph. Newman, who was unable to set a strong time due to cautions, was the second fastest at 20.716 seconds and 86.889 mph.

Among the other eight Double Duty drivers, fellow Ford drivers Briscoe and Harvick finished with top-ten times in sixth and tenth, respectively. After not practicing earlier in the day, Cobb set a time in the practice, meaning all forty-four drivers were on track.

Zane Smith, the twenty-first-fastest driver, turned the most laps of the session with seventy-one.

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps
1	99	Ben Rhodes	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	20.703	86.944	39
2	39	Ryan Newman*	DCC Racing	Ford	20.716	86.889	11
3	15	Tanner Gray	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	20.721	86.868	43
4	52	Stewart Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Toyota	20.784	86.605	56
5	88	Matt Crafton	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	20.797	86.551	57
6	04	Chase Briscoe*	Roper Racing	Ford	20.798	86.547	40
7	75	Parker Kligerman	Henderson Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.840	86.372	63
8	26	Tyler Ankrum	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	20.904	86.108	46
9	13	Johnny Sauter	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	20.906	86.100	45
10	17	Kevin Harvick*	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	20.910	86.083	26
11	2	Sheldon Creed	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	20.915	86.063	71
12	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	20.929	86.005	50
13	42	Carson Hocevar	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.937	85.972	48
14	18	Chandler Smith	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	20.942	85.952	52
15	44	Kyle Larson*	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.944	85.944	43
16	24	Raphaël Lessard	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	20.957	85.890	57
17	02	Daniel Suárez	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	20.960	85.878	53
18	51	Martin Truex Jr.	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	20.968	85.845	31
19	16	Austin Hill	Hattori Racing Enterprises	Toyota	20.982	85.788	41
20	3	J.R. Heffner	Jordan Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	20.993	85.743	8
21	21	Zane Smith	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	21.010	85.674	71
22	4	John Hunter Nemechek	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	21.011	85.669	50
23	23	Chase Purdy	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	21.012	85.665	32
24	98	Grant Enfinger	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	21.013	85.661	48
25	45	Brett Moffitt	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.052	85.503	46
26	83	Trevor Collins	CMI Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.054	85.494	24
27	62	Jessica Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Toyota	21.055	85.490	56
28	56	Mike Marlar*	Hill Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.074	85.413	44
29	40	Ryan Truex	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.080	85.389	36
30	33	Myatt Snider*	Reaume Brothers Racing	Chevrolet	21.087	85.361	55
31	11	Bubba Wallace*	Spencer Davis Motorsports	Toyota	21.096	85.324	46
32	19	Derek Kraus	McAnally-Hilgemann Racing	Toyota	21.102	85.300	33
33	1	Hailie Deegan	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	21.147	85.119	52
34	12	Tate Fogleman	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.160	85.066	40
35	34	Jake Griffin	Reaume Brothers Racing	Toyota	21.209	84.870	16
36	22	Austin Wayne Self	AM Racing	Chevrolet	21.216	84.842	49
37	41	Cody Erickson	Cram Racing Enterprises	Chevrolet	21.283	84.575	37
38	6	Norm Benning	Norm Benning Racing	Chevrolet	21.294	84.531	29
39	9	Codie Rohrbaugh	CR7 Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.323	84.416	32
40	30	Danny Bohn	On Point Motorsports	Toyota	21.332	84.380	49
41	20	Spencer Boyd	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.426	84.010	47
42	49	Andrew Gordon	CMI Motorsports	Chevrolet	21.445	83.936	52
43	25	Timothy Peters	Rackley WAR	Chevrolet	21.631	83.214	10
44	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing	Chevrolet	22.701	79.292	11