Clean Harbors 150 Explained

Race Title:Clean Harbors 150
Series Long:NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Venue:Knoxville Raceway
Location:Knoxville, Iowa
Sponsor:Clean Harbors
First Race:2021
Last Race:2022
Distance:75miles
Laps:150[1]
Stage 1: 40
Stage 2: 50
Final stage: 60
Previous Names:Corn Belt 150 presented by Premier Chevy Dealers (2021)
Surface:Dirt
Length Mi:.5
Turns:4

The Clean Harbors 150 was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing event at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. The inaugural running of the race was on July 9, 2021, the first NASCAR national touring event to be held at the historic facility. This is the third dirt track that the Truck Series has raced at, with the first being Eldora Speedway and the second being the dirt iteration of Bristol Motor Speedway.

History

In 2013, the Camping World Truck Series raced the Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway in NASCAR's first national touring series dirt track race since 1970;[2] the event ran from 2013 to 2019, before being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then not renewed for 2021 as NASCAR shuffled its national touring series schedules.[3]

On November 19, 2020, NASCAR revealed the 2021 Camping World Truck Series schedule, which featured two dirt-track events, one being the Pinty's Dirt Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, and the other at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa,[4] a historic one-half-mile dirt oval track that began competition in 1901 and is best known for hosting the Knoxville Nationals sprint car championships, which led to the moniker "Sprint Car Capital of the World".[5]

The event, scheduled to take place on July 9, has the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series anchoring the weekend's races, accompanied by the Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Clash for the United States Auto Club's AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series and the POWRi W.A.R. Sprint Car Series.[6] The race, scheduled to run for 150 laps on the half-mile dirt track,[7] is the first time an event sanctioned by one of NASCAR's national touring series – the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series – has been held in the history of Knoxville Raceway.[8] [9] On June 25, 2021, the association of Iowa Chevrolet dealerships (Premier Chevy Dealers) was announced as the presenting sponsor of the 150-lap race.[10]

In 2022, the race was moved from July (on the same weekend as the Cup and Xfinity Series races at Atlanta) to June (on the only off weekend of the year for the Cup Series and Xfinity Series off weekend). On April 29, 2022, Clean Harbors was announced as the race's title sponsor.[11]

The race was removed from the schedule in 2023

Past winners

YearDayDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
Reference
LapsMiles (km)
2021FridayJuly 916Austin HillHattori Racing EnterprisesToyota179*89.5 (144.393)2:25:5536.802[12]
2022SaturdayJune 1817Todd GillilandDavid Gilliland RacingFord15075 (120.999)2:12:0734.061[13]

Notes

Notes and References

  1. News: Stage lengths for 2021 NASCAR season. NASCAR. January 25, 2021. January 31, 2021.
  2. News: Billing . Greg . November 28, 2012 . Eldora to host first NASCAR dirt race since 1970 . . January 7, 2021.
  3. News: Orner . Ben . November 18, 2020 . Ohio's famed Eldora Speedway loses NASCAR race, gains event in owner's new series . . January 2, 2021.
  4. News: Estrada . Chris . December 15, 2020 . How Knoxville Raceway made the 2021 NASCAR Truck Series schedule . . January 11, 2021.
  5. Web site: Pryson . Mike . November 20, 2020 . NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Schedule for 2021 Includes 2 Dirt Short Tracks . January 11, 2021 . Autoweek.
  6. News: November 19, 2020 . NASCAR truck race coming to Knoxville Raceway . . January 11, 2021.
  7. News: Birch . Tommy . November 19, 2020 . NACAR Truck Series coming to Knoxville Raceway in 2021 . Des Moines Register . January 11, 2021.
  8. Web site: November 19, 2020 . Knoxville Raceway to Host NASCAR Truck Series in 2021 . January 11, 2021 . Dirt Track Digest.
  9. Web site: November 19, 2020 . Knoxville Raceway Headlines Truck Series Calendar . January 11, 2021 . Speed Sport.
  10. Web site: Premier Chevy Dealers partners with Knoxville Raceway to present inaugural NASCAR Truck Series event . . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC . June 25, 2021.
  11. Web site: Truck Series Race at Knoxville Raceway Named Clean Harbors 150 . . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC . April 29, 2022.
  12. Web site: 2021 Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 10, 2021.
  13. Web site: 2022 Clean Harbors 150. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. June 19, 2022.