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Cole Custer started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole in only his third career series start. The race went green and Custer looked to lead his first lap of Truck competition, but he was quickly passed by Darrell Wallace Jr. for the lead. Wallace looked to run away from the field, but the first caution of the race waved on lap 3. Tayler Malsam made slight contact with Justin Jennings exiting turn 4. Jennings sailed up the track and backed into the outside wall hard. He slid back down the track and the field managed to avoid Jennings as he came to a stop next to the inside wall. He was okay, but his truck was destroyed. No drivers received the lucky dog. The accident scene was cleaned up and the field stayed on track during the caution. The race went back green and Darrell Wallace Jr. once again held onto the lead over the field. He looked to run away again as the field battled behind him, but the second caution of the race waved on lap 15. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 2. None of the drivers received the lucky dog. The caution brought a little bit of strategy. Ryan Blaney and a few other drivers with handling problems decided to come down early for fuel. It would be interesting to see how this move worked for these drivers.
The race went back green and Darrell Wallace Jr. once again held onto the lead on the restart. The race began to enter a green flag feel and Wallace looked like the dominate driver in the event. He was running away from all competitors and it would be hard for the rest of the drivers to move around him. The laps began to click away on the race and Wallace was setting a torrid pace as he began to lap drivers all over the back part of the leaderboard. The race hit the forty lap mark and it looked like pit stops were fast approaching for the field. The race hit the fifty lap mark and everyone's attention turned to the impending green flag stops. It didn't seem to affect Wallace as he was still setting a blistering pace in his first visit to Gateway. After a few more laps, the first green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 59. The drivers began to hit pit road and these stops turned out to be the stops that changed the complexion of the race. The first driver to find problems on his stop was the leader, Darrell Wallace Jr. Wallace came down pit road and his team performed a routine stop. When the jack dropped, the left rear tire wasn't on and he tried to pull away. The tire damaged his left rear fender and his team was forced to attempt and jack up his truck. They did and replaced the tire, but he had damage and he lost a ton of time. Gray Gaulding and German Quiroga also had trouble on pit road. Both of the drivers ran out of gas before hitting pit road and they had to slowly coast towards the pit entrance. Quiroga managed to make it to his box after losing a little bit of time, but Gaulding wasn't as fortunate. He came to a stop on pit road and NASCAR was forced to wave the third caution on lap 65 due to Gaulding stopping on pit road. His team pushed the truck to their pit box and they managed to get it running again, but Gaulding lost a couple of laps. Erik Jones, who had pitted under green, received the lucky dog. This caution was bad timing for some drivers. Many drivers who had pitted under green were now a lap down and they needed to take the wave around. This put them back in the pack and they would have to fight their way to the front. Matt Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Blaney, and others, on the other hand, hadn't pitted under green and they were able to come to pit road under caution. This put them out front for the restart and they would have a chance to battle for the lead and, possibly, the win.
The race went back green and Matt Crafton, who came off pit road first, held onto the lead over the field. Crafton looked to run away, but the fourth caution of the race quickly waved on lap 73. Cole Custer broke loose underneath Ray Black Jr. in turn 3. The two made contact and Black went for a spin. He slid up the track and rode along with outside wall after slamming it hard. He came to a stop on track and he was able to drive away slightly, but his truck was damaged. German Quiroga received the lucky dog. Due to the close proximity of pit stops, the lead lap drivers stayed on track and the field was lined back up. The race went back green and John Hunter Nemechek managed to pass Matt Crafton to take the lead. It was Nemechek's first laps led in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and he was looking good out front. Matt Crafton was contesting for the lead every lap, but Nemechek continued to hold him off for the lead. The laps began to click away and it began to look like Nemechek was ready to win the race. The one hundred lap mark passed and the field was battling at Gateway. Laps still continued to click off as green flag pit stops loomed for the second time in the event. Everyone was anticipating those stops because of the troubles on the first set for most of the drivers. Lap 115 came and the field began to head towards the pit lane. The second round of green flag pit stops of the race began a couple of laps later on lap 117. A few drivers began to run out of fuel, but they quickly made it to pit road and a caution was avoided. On lap 122, Matt Crafton was able to take the lead from John Hunter Nemechek and he began to pull away slightly. In only a few laps, though, his race and night would change with the fifth caution of the event on lap 124.
Matt Crafton had a tire problem entering turn 4. His truck immediately pointed straight and he piled into the outside wall hard. His truck rode the outside wall down the frontstretch still with heavy damage. Crafton was able to drive away towards pit road, but he had heavy race ending damage and his night was over. Ron Hornaday Jr., who had pitted under green, received the lucky dog. The caution brought what turned out to be the final pit stops of the race. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with John Hunter Nemechek beating Darrell Wallace Jr. off of pit road. Nemechek returned to his spot out front, but it would be interesting to see if he remained there for the remainder of the race. The race went back green and Nemechek began to battle hard with Wallace. Wallace was able to take the lead after a short battle with Nemechek and he looked to sail away from the field. The laps began to click away in the final part of the event and Wallace was flying. He was setting a torrid pace as only twenty five laps remained at Gateway. All the drivers were good on fuel, but cautions could decide the winner of the event if they did come. With about fifteen laps to go, it looked like the cautions were going to stay away, but the sixth caution of the race waved on lap 146 and the outcome of the race began to change.
John Hunter Nemechek went up the track in turn 3 due to a tire going down. His truck slid up the track and it spun around. He was able to corral his truck and slightly back into the outside wall. He managed to drive away and he would continue on after replacing his tires, but his chance for his first Truck win were over. Ben Kennedy received the lucky dog. The caution brought an opportunity for some drivers to come down pit road, but all the leaders stayed on track. This meant most of the field would have to rely on their current equipment to head to the win. The race went back green and Darrell Wallace Jr. immediately began to battle with his teammate, Erik Jones. The two were battling hard on the first restart lap and German Quiroga moved into the battle. He took the two teammates three wide down the frontstretch and heading into turn 1. Erik Jones prevailed on the outside heading into the turn while Quiroga fell into second place. Quickly, though, Jones's lead and possible win would disappear with the seventh and final caution on lap 157.
Jones broke loose exiting turn 2. Quiroga tried to slow up, but he bumped him. The contact sent Jones spinning down the track towards the grass. He piled into the inside wall hard and slid back up the track. He came to a stop on the apron with heavy damage and his race was finished. Jones was very heated when exiting his truck, but he calmly jumped in the back of an ambulance. His crew raced down to Quiroga's pit box, but the situation was quickly calmed down. John Hunter Nemechek received the lucky dog while the accident scene was cleaned up. Quiroga lined up as the leader and he would have to survive a three lap green flag run to win. The race went green one final time and Quiroga looked to hold the lead, but Darrell Wallace Jr. was coming. Wallace managed to negotiate around Quiroga and he took the lead as they crossed the line with two laps to go. Wallace looked to run away, but Quiroga was staying close to his back bumper. They flew back to the white flag and Quiroga was looking to make the move. They made it through the first two turns and Quiroga closed slightly. Into turn 3, Quiroga tried to make a move, but Wallace did not allow him through. They made it onto the frontstretch and Wallace was still the leader. He crossed the finish line first and grabbed his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win. It was an impressive victory for Wallace and one that will add to his statistics for the future.
Darrell Wallace Jr. has only completed one full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but he has proven he belongs in NASCAR. Last year, he took a win at Martinsville and became the first African American to win a NASCAR race since 1963. It took dedication and toughness for him to face challenges last season and he faced them well. This year, though, has tested him some more. He has struggled throughout the start of the season with only three top tens in seven races. Still, he managed to go out at a track he has never been to in Gateway and win the race in style. Darrell Wallace Jr. has a great future and it will only be a few years before his name is spread throughout all households. German Quiroga has been on the edge of his first Truck win all season long, but he came short at Gateway with a second place finish. Timothy Peters wrecked a week ago at Texas, but he rebounded at Gateway with a third place finish. Johnny Sauter complained about his truck for the entire night, but he fought his way to a fourth place finish and the ever important points lead. Ron Hornaday Jr. was caught by strategy at one point in the event, but he fought back to a fifth place finish. One of the youngest drivers in the field, Cole Custer, came home sixth after starting on the pole. NASCAR's return to the mile and a fourth Gateway Motorsports Park was one to remember. The field had battles all night and each driver fought hard for the win. After that contest, the trucks take a week off before heading to Kentucky for a rare Thursday night shootout on the mile and a half speedway. Will Johnny Sauter remain the points leader, will Matt Crafton rebound after his Gateway crash, will German Quiroga take his first win in a truck, or will another driver head to victory lane in Kentucky? We will have to wait one week to find out this information and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 3- Justin Jennings slammed the outside wall in turn 4 after contact with Tayler Malsam.
2nd Caution: Lap 15- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 2.
3rd Caution: Lap 65- Gray Gaulding stopped on pit road after running out of fuel.
4th Caution: Lap 73- Ray Black Jr. spun and slammed the outside wall in turn 3 after Cole Custer broke loose underneath him.
5th Caution: Lap 124- Matt Crafton had a tire problem entering turn 4 and immediately slammed the outside wall.
6th Caution: Lap 146- John Hunter Nemechek had a tire go down in turn 3 and he went for a spin.
7th Caution: Lap 154- Erik Jones broke loose in turn 2 and German Quiroga bumped him. The contact sent Jones spinning into the inside wall hard.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: None
3rd Caution: Erik Jones
4th Caution: German Quiroga
5th Caution: Ron Hornaday Jr.
6th Caution: Ben Kennedy
7th Caution: John Hunter Nemechek
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Darrell Wallace Jr.
2nd: German Quiroga
3rd: Timothy Peters
4th: Johnny Sauter
5th: Ron Hornaday Jr.
Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Ryan Blaney
11th: Joey Coulter
15th: John Hunter Nemechek
18th: Jeb Burton
23rd: Erik Jones
26th: Matt Crafton
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_Drivin_for_Linemen_200/C
-Image:
http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/26/a3/26a3c87fe0dbed15bc22552742b0c7c3.jpg?itok=65dteFUu
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