One week after a series of bizarre post-race events overshadowed their inaugural run at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series got back to work in the cornfields today at Iowa Speedway.
Today’s Truck race came down to a pair of green-white-checkered attempts on the Iowa bullring, but when the dust settled, James Buescher had come away with the checkered flag over pole sitter Ross Chastain.
The race’s conclusion was set up by contact between Buescher and Timothy Peters, which put the latter in the wall at Lap 194. Chastain held the point for G-W-C attempt No. 1 at Lap 203, but that would not be enough to settle the race as an incident involving Brendan Gaughan and Joey Coulter triggered G-W-C attempt No. 2.
Buescher, now up front, was able to keep ahead of Chastain on the second attempt and went on to take his second NCWTS win of the year.
As for the two main figures in last weekend’s drama north of the border, Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott, they had very different days between them. Dillon led 46 laps before settling for a third-place finish, while Elliott had a poor opening stint that ended with a right rear tire failure and a subsequent hit with the wall at Lap 36. He finished 31st.
Benny Bloss will race for the factory Beta Motorcycles team in 2024 as that manufacturer joins SuperMotocross as the ninth brand to compete in the series. Beta Motorcycles will make their debut in the Monster Energy Supercross opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California in January.Benny Bloss finished among the top 10 twice in Pro Motocross, in 2016 and 2018. – Beta Motorcycles
“The wait is over and we can finally share everything we have been working towards,” said Carlen Gardner, Race Team Manager in a press release. “It has been a great experience being a part of this development and seeing the progression. The only missing part was finding a rider that would mesh well with our Beta Family.
“After a one phone call with Benny, we knew it would be a good fit for him, and for us. We are happy to have him on board for the next two years and can’t wait to see everyone at Anaheim in January.”
Bloss has a pair of top-10 rankings in the division with a sixth-place finish in the Pro Motocross Championship in 2016 and a seventh in 2018. His best Supercross season ended 15th in the standings in 2018.
“I’m extremely excited to join the Beta Factory Racing team,” Bloss said. “It’s cool to see a brand with such a rich history in off-road racing to come into the US Supercross and Motocross space. I know this team will be capable of great things as we build and go racing in 2024.”
Bloss is currently 22nd in the SuperMotocross rankings and has not raced in the first two rounds of the Motocross season.
Testing for Beta Motorcycles is scheduled to begin in August and the team expects to announce a second rider at that time.
The family-owned brand adds to the international flare of the sport. The company was founded in Florence, Italy in 1905 as Società Giuseppe Bianchi as they built handmade bicycles, The transition to motorcycle production in the late 1940s.
Beta Motorcycles competed and won in motocross competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Jim Pomeroy and other riders.
