2023 North Carolina Education Lottery 200

2023 North Carolina Education Lottery 200

Race details
Race 11 of 23 of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Date	May 26, 2023
Official name	20th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	134 laps, 201 mi (323 km)
Scheduled Distance	134 laps, 201 mi (323 km)
Average speed	116.898 mph (188.129 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Tanner Gray	Tricon Garage
Time	29.936
Most laps led
Driver	Corey Heim	Tricon Garage
Laps	49
Winner
No. 99	Ben Rhodes	ThorSport Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Adam Alexander, Phil Parsons, and Michael Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2023 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was the 11th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the first race of the Triple Truck Challenge, and the 20th iteration of the event.

The race was held on Friday, May 26, 2023, in Concord, North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 134 laps to complete. Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, took advantage of a pit road strategy and dominated the final portion of the race to earn his 7th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win and his first of the season. He also earns the additional $50,000 for winning the first Triple Truck Challenge race. Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar dominated the majority of the race, leading 49 and 43 laps, respectively.^[1]

To fill out the podium, Heim, driving for Tricon Garage, and Dean Thompson, also driving for Tricon Garage, finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, 13-mile (21 km) outside Charlotte. The complex features a 1.500 mi (2.414 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, and the Bank of America Roval 400. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports with Greg Walter as track president.

The 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) complex also features a state-of-the-art 0.250 mi (0.402 km) drag racing strip, ZMAX Dragway. It is the only all-concrete, four-lane drag strip in the United States and hosts NHRA events. Alongside the drag strip is a state-of-the-art clay oval that hosts dirt racing including the World of Outlaws finals among other popular racing events.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first and only practice session was held on Friday, May 26, at 1:35 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.^[2] Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.100, and an average speed of 179.402 mph (288.720 km/h).^[3]

Qualifying was held on Friday, May 26, at 2:05 PM EST.^[2] Since Charlotte Motor Speedway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.^[4] Tanner Gray, driving for Tricon Garage, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.936, and an average speed of 180.385 mph (290.302 km/h).^[5]

Stage 1 Laps: 30

Stage 2 Laps: 30

Stage 3 Laps: 74

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Corey Heim 425 2 Ty Majeski 399 (-26) 3 Zane Smith 382 (-43) 4 Grant Enfinger 362 (-63) 1 5 Ben Rhodes 349 (-76) 1 6 Christian Eckes 343 (-82) 7 Matt Crafton 315 (-110) 3 8 Carson Hocevar 302 (-123) 1 9 Tanner Gray 287 (-138) 10 Matt DiBenedetto 281 (-144) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.