NASCAR

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200: Qualifying, Pole Position, Lineup At Charlotte

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. While our content features sponsored links, from which we may earn a commission, this does not influence our recommendations.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Gio Ruggiero continues to serve notice, along with TRICON Garage. 

The rookie driver captured his first pole position Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, clocking a hot qualifying lap of 30.177 seconds.  Ruggiero, who leads the first-year drivers in points (260), top-five finishes (2) and top 10s (5), will start Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on the inside of teammate Tanner Gray (30.215 seconds), who earned the previous two poles at the 1.5-mile quad oval. 

Circuit points leader Corey Heim (30.217) placed third Friday, 0.002 seconds behind Gray. This marked the first time in TRICON’s eight-year history that the Mooresville, North Carolina-based organization opened an event with the top three qualifiers. 

“Pretty cool,” Ruggiero told Fox Sports.

Corey Heim Sends Stern Message To Layne Riggs

Was the message sent? 

Following last Saturday’s event at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Heim pulled Layne Riggs aside and scolded the second-year driver.  

““You are racing like a f***ing idiot,” Heim said, via Fox Sports. “Calm down or someone is going to take care of you.” 

As Chandler Smith celebrated in Victory Lane, Heim, who led 162 of 250 laps, fumed over Riggs’ aggressive overtime move.  

“I got really loose into Turn 3, we struggled with being loose on the short runs, and he had an opportunity and he wrecked me,” said Heim, who entered Friday as the series’ points leader. 

Riggs, who fell to P17 last Saturday, disagreed with Heim’s assessment. 

“They’re going to be displeased with me,” he said, “but I feel like he got really loose into (Turns 3 and 4) and kind of gave the bottom up, and we were side-by-side on the frontstretch, and I had a huge run and went bottom.”

Starting Lineup for North Carolina Education Lottery 200     

Here is a look at the lineup for Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:  

Starting Position, Driver, Car No.  

  • 1, Gio Ruggiero, No. 17 Toyota 
  • 2, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Toyota 
  • 3, Corey Heim, No. 11 Toyota 
  • 4, Ross Chastain, No. 44 Chevrolet 
  • 5, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 45 Chevrolet 
  • 6, Daniel Hemric, No. 19 Chevrolet 
  • 7, Layne Riggs, No. 34 Ford 
  • 8, Rajah Caruth, No. 71 Chevrolet 
  • 9, Chandler Smith, No. 38 Ford 
  • 10, Jake Garcia, No. 13 Ford 
  • 11, Ty Majeski, No. 98 Ford 
  • 12, Kyle Busch, No. 7 Chevrolet 
  • 13, Brandon Jones, No. 1 Toyota 
  • 14, Andres Perez de Lara, No. 77 Chevrolet 
  • 15, Connor Mosack, No. 81 Chevrolet 
  • 16, Matt Mills, No. 42 Chevrolet 
  • 17, Dawson Sutton, No. 26 Chevrolet 
  • 18, Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Chevrolet 
  • 19, BJ McLeod, No. 07 Chevrolet 
  • 20, Stefan Parsons, No. 02 Chevrolet 
  • 21, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Ford 
  • 22, Jack Wood, No. 91 Chevrolet 
  • 23, Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 Chevrolet 
  • 24, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Chevrolet  
  • 25, Toni Breidinger, No. 5 Toyota 
  • 26, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Ford 
  • 27, Timmy Hill, No. 56 Toyota 
  • 28, Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Chevrolet 
  • 29, Cody Dennison, No. 2 Ford 
  • 30, Justin Carroll, No. 90 Toyota 
  • 31, Frankie Muniz, No. 33 Ford 
  • 32, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Toyota 
  • 33, Luke Fenhaus, No. 66 Ford 
  • 34, Mason Maggio, No. 22 Ford 
Author photo
Jeff Hawkins
Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He ed the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on Get to know Jeff Hawkins better

Author photo
Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He ed the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on All posts by Jeff Hawkins