Pit Stops : North Wilkesboro Speedway

• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Tyson 250
• Pole Winner: Corey Heim
• Age: 20
• Team : No. 11 - Safelite Toyota
• Owner: TRICON Garage
• Crew Chief: Scott Zipadelli
• Corey Heim won the Cometic Gaskets Pole Award for the Tyson 250 with a lap of 20.072 seconds, 112.096 mph.
• This is his fourth pole in 29 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
• This is his second pole and fifth top-10 start in 2023.
• This is his first pole in his series debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Carson Hocevar (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2023 and his first at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Ty Majeski (third) posted his first top-10 start at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It is his ninth in 10 races this season.
• Bret Holmes (sixth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Corey Heim becomes the third different driver to win a NCTS pole at North Wilkesboro; joining Mike Skinner (1995) and Johnny Benson (1996).

• Saturday, May 20th, 2023
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Super sub Kyle Larson dominates NASCAR Truck race at North Wilkesboro

Kyle Larson proved an admirable substitute on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Subbing for injured Alex Bowman, who had been scheduled to race the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Larson led 138 of 252 laps in winning the Tyson 250 in overtime.

Larson is the first driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race at revitalized North Wilkesboro in 27 years. The victory was Larson's third in 15 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts.

At the end of the two-lap overtime, Larson beat ThorSport Racing's Ty Majeski to the finish line by .974 seconds. Matt DiBenedetto ran third, followed by Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and pole winner Corey Heim.

"It was a really fun track there, especially in the truck where you can use the apron and such at both ends," said Larson, who was making his first Truck Series start of the season. "I had a good time. That was a lot of fun on the long runs.

"I wasn't supposed to run. Unfortunately, Alex got hurt (in a sprint car accident), and I got the opportunity to run this."

Larson made the most of his opportunity, dominating the action and charging from sixth after a Lap 228 restart on which the first three cars in the running order stayed on the track during the 11th caution, and fourth place Majeski gained track position with a two-tire pit stop.

On Lap 238, Larson passed Wallace for the lead and held it through one more caution and the overtime.

Thanks to the pit strategy, Majeski salvaged the runner-up finish.

"Yeah, we just missed it today," Majeski said. "Sometimes when you're in the back with nothing to lose, you make gutsy calls, jumping on two tires there, and we were just able to hold off guys who put four tires on. So, a subpar day for us turned into a good finish."

The race was the first in the series at North Wilkesboro since 1996, when the CRAFTSMAN Trucks ran at the .625-mile short track for the second time. Saturday's renewal produced a record 12 cautions for 81 laps.

The severest of the on-track incidents came on Lap 201, when the truck of Tyler Ankrum was forced into the outside backstretch wall. As Ankrum slowed, the Chevrolet of Rajah Caruth and the Fords of reigning series champion Zane Smith and Ben Rhodes suffered a chain-reaction collision that eliminated the three trailing trucks.

Before the wreck, Smith had suffered a pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field.

"Just a product of what happens when you get put back there," said Smith, who started the race in the rear of the field because of three failed inspections and had worked his way into the top five before the speeding penalty.

• Drivers Entered: 40 (4 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 250
• Laps Actual: 252 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
• Margin of Victory: 0.974 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 17 Minutes 25 Seconds
• Average Speed: 68.769
• Cautions: 12 for 81 laps
• Lead Changes: 6
• Green Flag Passes: 1,227 (7.2 passes per green flag lap)

• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Tyson 250
• Race Winner: Kyle Larson
• Age: 30
• Team : No. 7 - HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
• Owner: Spire Motorsports
• Crew Chief: Kevin Manion
• Kyle Larson won the Tyson 250, his third victory in 15 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2023.
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in his series debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Ty Majeski (second) posted his first top-10 finish in his series debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2023.
• Matt DiBenedetto (third) posted his first top-10 finish in his series debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Daniel Dye (14th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Kyle Larson becomes the third different winner in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway; joining Mike Bliss (1995) and Mark Martin (1996).
• This is Spire Motorsport's second victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (William Byron at Martinsville 2022 and Kyle Larson at North Wilkesboro 2023).
• This is crew chief Kevin Manion's ninth career victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.