James Buescher started on the pole. It was his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole of 2013. The historic green flag waved and Buescher came back around to lead the first lap. Chase Elliott immediately proved he would be a factor in the race by passing Buescher for the lead on lap 3. On lap 4, Timothy Peters became the first driver to have a little trouble on the track. Peters got loose exiting turn 5 and went for a spin. He went in the grass, but he was able to get back going without damage. This led to the first bit of strategy in the race. Ryan Blaney and Johnny Sauter decided to come to pit road on lap 6 for fuel. This was a scheduled stop to help prepare for the end of the race. Since it was a brand new race on the schedule, not many people knew what would happen at the end and the teams wanted to prepare for anything. Shortly after this, the first caution of the race waved on lap 7. Max Gresham stopped on the track at the exit of turn 5. No drivers received the lucky dog. Even more strategy occurred during this caution period. Mike Skeen, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, Darrell Wallace Jr., German Quiroga, and others came down pit road. Some drivers took four tires, some drivers took two tires, and others just took fuel. Chase Elliott, James Buescher, Miguel Paludo, and others decided to stay on track. It would be interesting to see which strategy would lead to a win.
The race went back green and Chase Elliott held the lead on the restart. It was a short time after this that another Truck regular had trouble. On lap 9, Joey Coulter got loose exiting turn 9 and slid off course. Coulter slammed the outside tire barrier with the front of his truck. He was able to get unstuck from the tire barrier and get to pit road, but his chances in the race were hurt due to the damage. At the same time, another truck regular had trouble. Johnny Sauter reported to pit road and his team lifted the back decklid of his truck. Sauter had been having a fuel pump issue on track. His team kept him on pit road for a few laps and were able to temporarily fix the problem, but Sauter lost a lot of laps. This led to some more strategy in the race. All the drivers who had not pitted under the first caution made the move to pit road. Max Papis and Ron Hornaday came on lap 13, Alex Guenette came on lap 14, Chad Hackenbracht came on lap 15, James Buescher came on lap 16, and Jeb Burton came to pit road on lap 17. Chase Elliott and Miguel Paludo decided to stay on track for a few laps after these drivers pitted. Shortly after this, another Truck regular would have trouble. On lap 20, Jeb Burton went to the garage. He had broken the transmission in his truck and it had to be replaced. Burton was able to get back on track, but he had lost a lot of laps and did not have a chance for a good finish. This led to Miguel Paludo, who was running second, coming to pit road on lap 23. Chase Elliott, who was leading, finally came to pit road on lap 24. The race was now going to be a strategy race and only the best strategy would lead to the win.
Ryan Blaney took the lead from Chase Elliott when Elliott pitted, but Ty Dillon quickly passed him on lap 26. Blaney decided to come down on the same lap with Matt Crafton. This led to the second caution of the race on lap 32. Jennifer Jo Cobb stalled on the track in turn 2. Martin Roy received the lucky dog. Even more strategy occurred during this caution session. Ty Dillon, Mike Skeen, Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Newberry, and Matt Crafton pitted for four tires while Chase Elliott and Timothy Peters took two tires. German Quiroga, Max Papis, Miguel Paludo, James Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr., and Ron Hornaday stayed out on track. The race went back green and German Quiroga jumped out to the lead. It was a short time after this that Quiroga made the move to pit road on lap 36. Max Papis made the move to pit road three laps later on lap 39. James Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr., Matt Crafton, Chase Elliott, and Chad Hackenbracht came to pit road between laps 40-41 to top off with fuel. This led to the third caution of the race on lap 45. Alex Guenette's truck began to smoke and he ended up stalled at the exit of turn 2. Derek White received the lucky dog. A little bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Miguel Paludo, Brendan Gaughan, and others came to pit road. Ty Dillon, Mike Skeen, and other drivers decided to stay on track and see if they could make it to the finish. It would be interesting to see if they could make it to the end.
The race went back green and Ty Dillon jumped out to the lead. The race went a little while before the fourth caution waved on lap 57. Johnny Sauter stalled on the Mario Andretti Straightaway. Derek White received the lucky dog. A final bit of strategy was used during the caution. Ross Chastain, Ron Hornaday, Matt Crafton, and John Wes Townley decided to come down pit road. The race went back green for the final time with Ty Dillon leading Chase Elliott, Mike Skeen, Max Papis, and the rest of the field. Chase Elliott charged hard to get to Dillon and Elliott was running in Dillon's tracks. Behind them, German Quiroga had trouble on lap 60. Ron Hornaday and James Buescher made contact with Quiroga in turn 5 and caused him to spin out. Quiroga was able to get back going and the caution did not wave. At this point, Mike Skeen and Max Papis began to battle and Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott were able to get away. The winner of the race would be one of these two if they did not wreck together. Elliott tried hard to get past Dillon on the Andretti Straightaway with two laps to go, but Dillon had enough momentum to hold the lead. The white flag waved and the race to the finish would be crazy. Dillon and Elliott battled in each others tire tracks through all of the final trips through all ten turns. With two turns left to go, Dillon still held the lead. Elliott was able to get a run coming out of turn 9 and he had one final chance to pass for the win. The craziest post race of the year began at this moment.
Elliott and Dillon were side by side as they entered turn 10. Dillon made a bold move at tried to shut the door on Elliott. Instead, Elliott was forced to spin Dillon out. Dillon ended up hitting the outside tire barrier while Elliott went sliding through the grass on the outside. Elliott was able to keep his truck straight and come across the line for his first win as the caution and checkereds waved. At the same time, Mike Skeen drove really hard into turn 10 and made contact with Max Papis as he went past. This propelled both drivers into the outside tire barrier. Skeen's hit was much harder, but both drivers were able to get back going and cross the line. This was called the fifth caution of the race on the last lap. The craziness was still yet to come. As Chase Elliott started his victory cool down lap, Ty Dillon's crew and Chase Elliott's crew began to share words. The NASCAR officials did a good job to hold off the crews and avoid an altercation. At the same time, Max Papis and Mike Skeen drove side by side on the cool down lap. The two unhappy drivers were sharing words, pointing fingers, and bumping and banging as they made their way to pit road. German Quiroga had already made it to pit road and was looking to jump in James Buescher's truck. The NASCAR officials pulled him away and the situation did not result in a fight. Chase Elliott did his victory burnouts and pulled onto pit lane. Ty Dillon ran up to his truck and the two shared a few words. Dillon had some pretty angry comments in his post race interview, but the two did not fight. The situation between Max Papis and Mike Skeen was just starting to heat up. The two made it to pit road and came to a stop. Papis was taking his helmet and belts off when one of Skeen's crew members jumped in his truck and tried to set off the fire extinguisher. The NASCAR officials pulled him away and Papis was able to get out of his truck. Papis did his post race interview and the craziest thing I have seen would occur. He finished the interview and began to walk away when an unknown female (Reports say it was Mike Skeen's wife or girlfriend or even a fan of Skeen, but I will not assume) walked up to Papis and got him to turn around. She reached up and slapped Papis extremely hard on the left side of his face. Papis shared the same shocked look that fans, including myself, had on their face. The femal was able to walk away without anybody having to grab her. The slap was actually very terrible for Papis as his left ear began to ring and his jaw was dislocated. With that, the tempers and crazy post race pretty much ended and Chase Elliott could celebrate his first NCWTS victory.
The first trip for the series to a road course since 2000 was one not to forget. You had the youngest winner in series history, a last corner spin for the win, tempers flaring at the end of the race on pit road, and a slap that was heard around the world. It was one race that I will never forget as long as my love for racing lasts. But the effects of this race could last for a good little while. German Quiroga and James Buescher are Truck regulars and will be racing side by side for at least the rest of the season. The situation could come up again very soon and could have huge implications for the championship. Chase Elliott is going to race a truck again this year and Ty Dillon will be in all the races looking for a a championship. This situation could really blow up based on Ty Dillon's post race interview. The championship standings also stayed pretty much the same. Matt Crafton was able to continue his top 10 streak over the season due to all the drivers crashing on the last lap. Because of this, Crafton was able to enlarge his advantage over the rest of the series regulars and could be a sure pick to win. In the final few races, James Buescher, the defending champion, will have to work hard to get good finishes and overtake Crafton in points. The series heads to Iowa next week for a Sunday afternoon battle. Will Timothy Peters repeat at Iowa this season, will Matt Crafton increase his hold on the series, or will James Buescher pull closer to grabbing his second Truck title? We will have to wait until next Sunday to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 7- Max Gresham stopped on the track at the exit of turn 5.
2nd Caution: Lap 32- Jennifer Jo Cobb stalled on the track in turn 2.
3rd Caution: Lap 45- Alex Guenette's truck began to smoke and he ended up stalled at the exit of turn 2.
4th Caution: Lap 57- Johnny Sauter stalled on the Mario Andretti Straightaway.
5th Caution: Lap 64- Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon made contact in turn 10. Dillon slid off track and slammed the tire barrier. Mike Skeen and Max Papis also made contact in turn 10 and both drivers ran into the tire barrier.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Martin Roy
3rd Caution: Derek White
4th Caution: Derek White
5th Caution: None
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Chase Elliott
2nd: Chad Hackenbracht
3rd: Miguel Paludo
4th: Darrell Wallace Jr.
5th: Ron Hornaday
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Max Papis
9th: James Buescher
10th: Matt Crafton
16th: Ryan Blaney
17th: Ty Dillon
22nd: Jeb Burton
28th: Johnny Sauter
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Chevrolet_Silverado_250/C
-Image:
http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297461670085_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x&stmp=1378079379364
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