Ken Schrader started on the pole. He had won his heat race after qualifying on pole in the qualifying session for the race. His heat race victory allowed him to start at the front of the feature event and lead the field to history. The race went green and Schrader jumped out to the lead. He was able to lead the historic first lap. Early on in the race, the drivers fanned out through the field and raced side by side and sometimes three wide. Timothy Peters, one of the many surprises in the race, took the lead from Schrader on lap 16. Peters was able to hold the lead until one of the expected contenders in the race, Kyle Larson, made his way from a thirteenth place starting spot to take the lead on lap 39. One key thing here was how Larson was able to make his way around Peters. Larson used lap traffic to make his way past Peters and this was a theme a lot in the race. The race continued on until the first caution on lap 54. Debris off Scott Bloomquist's truck was spotted in turn 4. Max Gresham received the lucky dog. This led to the end of the first segment and the first pit stops of the race. The drivers could not race off pit road so the lineup stayed the same between segments with Kyle Larson leading. Stops finished and it was time for the race to go back green.
The race went back green and it was a short time before one of the dirt track ringers would have trouble. Jeff Babcock, a dirt driver who was pulling double duty at Eldora, lost an engine on lap 63. He would retire from the race and finish in last spot. The race continued on until another lead change on lap 89. Austin Dillon finally made his way to the front of the field and was able to get past Kyle Larson for the lead. Immediately after the pass, the second caution of the race came out on lap 89. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3. Max Gresham received the lucky dog. The field was lined back up and the race went back green. Larson and Dillon began an extremely hard fought battle that would last until the end of the second segment. Dillon was able to hold off Larson to lead at the third caution of the race on lap 110. This caution was used to signify the end of the second segment for pit stops. Ryan Blaney received the lucky dog. Once again, the drivers were unable to race off pit road which left Austin Dillon in the lead for the beginning of the third and final segment. It was sure to be the best segment of the night and one that would be remembered for a while.
The race went back green and it was a short time before the fourth caution of the race on lap 114. Jared Landers got loose coming out of turn 2 after contact with Joey Coulter and slid down the track. Landers slid into the right rear of Ty Dillon which caused Dillon to slam into the outside wall. Johnny Sauter and Jeb Burton also received damage in the wreck. Sauter would have to retire from the race after a hole was punctured in the radiator of his truck. German Quiroga received the lucky dog. The field was lined back up and the race went back green. Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Newman entered a hard fight for the lead as the field raced behind them. Larson worked hard to get by Newman and he finally did, but he could not catch Dillon as the fifth caution of the race waved on lap 139. Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track. Miguel Paludo received the lucky dog. The field lined up once again and the race restarted. Austin Dillon moved out to the lead and it looked like he would take the victory, but the sixth and final caution of the race waved on lap 148. Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track. Now, the race would end under a green-white-checkered that would definitely be full of hard racing.
The race went green for the final time and Austin Dillon was able to jump out to the lead. Ryan Newman fell into second and Kyle Larson battled with Newman for the spot. The two made good charges at each other with Larson eventually taking the spot. Because of this, Austin Dillon was able to cruise to the win. It was definitely a memorable win for Dillon as he and his crew scooped up dirt from the start/finish line and took many pictures. Many drivers had hoped to win the first dirt race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but they came just short. Others, Brendan Gaughan, Joey Coulter, and Darrell Wallace Jr., were just happy they made it out of Eldora with good finishes.
This is one race that Austin Dillon will always rank as one of best wins in his career. Kyle Larson will always remember that he finished second in the inaugural Mudsummer Classic and will look to one day put his name in history as winning the race. The dirt ringers in the race will look to put their first truck race on dirt behind them. Jared Landers had an incident that took away a good finish, Tracy Hines was never a factor in the race, Ken Schrader fell back after starting up front, Kenny Wallace fell way back after starting up front, Scott Bloomquist fell laps down early after handling problems didn't allow him to move up, and Jeff Babcock lost an engine early in the second segment. Still, even for the drivers who finished in the back, it will be a cool thing to say in the future that they raced in the first dirt race in NASCAR since 1970. In fact, Austin Dillon's memorable week might not be finished. He has a chance to win both the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to complete the sweep. That would be extremely memorable if he could pull of the feat. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to the Pocono Raceway next week for a battle at The Tricky Triangle. Will Joey Coulter repeat at the place he won his first NCWTS race, will James Buescher rebound and continue his hopes for a title repeat, or will another driver come out with the victory at Pocono? We will have to wait until next week to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 54- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 4.
2nd Caution: Lap 89- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3.
3rd Caution: Lap 110- Caution to end the second segment for pit stops.
4th Caution: Lap 114- Jared Landers got loose in turn 2 and slid down the track into Ty Dillon. Dillon slammed the outside wall after Landers made contact with him. Johnny Sauter and Jeb Burton also received some damage.
5th Caution: Lap 139- Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track.
6th Caution: Lap 148- Debris was spotted on the frontstretch of the track.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Max Gresham
2nd Caution: Max Gresham
3rd Caution: Ryan Blaney
4th Caution: German Quiroga
5th Caution: Miguel Paludo
6th Caution: John Wes Townley
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Austin Dillon
2nd: Kyle Larson
3rd: Ryan Newman
4th: Joey Coulter
5th: Brendan Gaughan
Notables Not in Top 5:
8th: Matt Crafton
9th: Dave Blaney
14th: Ken Schrader
16th: Ty Dillon
17th: Kenny Wallace
19th: James Buescher
25th: Scott Bloomquist
29th: 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_Inaugural_Mudsummer_Classic/C
-Image:
http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/22/72/56/4959131/3/628x471.jpg
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