The checkered flag at the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale in Phoenix didn’t signal just the end of the season; it ignited a firestorm of criticism and doubt. Instead of celebrating Ben Rhodes‘ second Truck Series championship, fans were left with a bitter taste of 29 chaotic overtime laps, fueled by retaliation, questionable calls, and an anticlimactic finish.

While its history whispers of thrilling competition, the 2023 season finale of the Truck Series at the Phoenix Raceway painted a starkly different picture. It started innocently enough. Drivers engaged in aggressive bumper-to-bumper racing; emotions ran high, but it all appeared to be part of the high-stakes competition. Then, with 31 laps to go, the gloves came off. Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim tangled, sending both spinning and collecting innocent bystanders in the process. This became the catalyst for a domino effect of wrecks, each more frustrating than the last.

From ‘Ridiculous’ to ‘Carrots and Dumb Decisions’: Truck Series drivers voice their doubts for 2024

The caution flag became a revolving door, with four overtime attempts failing to produce a clean finish. The frustration was palpable as the checkered flag finally waved in a race that felt more like a demolition derby than a championship showdown. In a recent video posted on Twitter by NASCAR correspondent for FOX, Bob Pockrass, several key figures from the chaotic Phoenix finale shared their honest opinions and concerns for the upcoming season, with a collective emphasis on the fact that none of them “see it changing.”

Three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton held back no punches. “Yeah, ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” he stated. “instead of trying to pass people, they would just drive through people, and if it was going to be like that, you might as well get some rental go-karts and go have this running all over each other and wreck each other because that is basically what it became…”

Grant Enfinger, the 2023 runner-up who seemed poised for victory until the chaos in Phoenix, offered a grim yet cynical prediction. He said, “I don’t see it changing. You know, I think we’ve had a lot of chaos.”.

“Some of it’s somewhat manufactured; some of it, you know, they put these carrots out in front of us and, you know, ask us to be dumb. So sometimes we take the bait, and I’m as guilty as the next guy. It’s the world we live in now. So I do not personally see it changing. Hopefully we don’t have anything like that happen in our championship race again. But I am sure that between all three series, we’ll have a few races like that this year,” he further added.

The defending champ warns of more mayhem

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His thoughts resonate with many in the NASCAR community, who are concerned that incidents like those in Phoenix will become the new norm for the Truck Series. As NASCAR deals with the consequences of the 2023 season finale, worries about the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season emerge. With drivers expressing worries about a lack of respect and discipline on the track, NASCAR must restore order to maintain the credibility of the Truck Series.

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The 2024 Truck Series schedule offers a mixed bag. While it features 11 short tracks accessible to younger drivers, a potential breeding ground for exciting, close racing, the overwhelming majority (22 out of 23) are support races for other series. This raises concerns about the Truck Series’ own identity and its ability to stand out from its bigger siblings like the Cup and Xfinity Series.

Additionally, the schedule lacks geographical diversity, with a majority of the races taking place on the East Coast. The lack of off-the-beaten-path dirt tracks that once characterized the gloried competition further fuels anxieties about its potential direction.

Ben Rhodes, the reigning champion himself, acknowledges the unsettling prospects, summarizing aptly, “The pressures are there to make it close so chaos will happen. It’s kind of cause and effect nowadays.” Ultimately, the question remains: will NASCAR heed the warnings of its drivers and fans, or will the Truck Series continue down a path of unchecked mayhem?

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