Ty Dillon Dominates at Texas En Route to His First Win at the Track

           After taking the lead on the first lap and leading one hundred and thirty of the one hundred and forty seven laps, Ty Dillon was able to cruise to the victory at Texas. After taking the lead from James Buescher on the final restart, Dillon was able to run away from the field, but he did have to dodge a few almost cautions. Jeb Burton and Bryan Silas almost stopped on track in the final ten laps, but both drivers made it to pit road and a possible restart was avoided for Dillon. It was definitely a dominating race for Dillon. With the exception of a couple of restarts, Dillon led pretty much every stint in the race.  He did get a little bit lucky because the two Cup drivers in the race had some trouble. Brad Keselowski went around early and got stuck a lap down. He could not catch a break and get the lucky dog, which handed him a terrible finish. Kyle Busch overheated during the middle part of the race and his engine eventually went up in smoke. These were nice breaks for Dillon in terms of staying out front, but he had the truck to beat everybody on the track whether he was leading or not. Even though Dillon led most of the race, it was still a very competitive battle all night long. Drivers slipped and slid all around the track, drivers battled two and three wide in the turns, and some ran completely sideways every single lap. All in all, it was a race with a lot of great battles and a lot of slips and slides.

         Jeb Burton started on the pole. It was his seventh NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole in his rookie year in the series. The race went green and Burton took the lead heading into turn 1, but he would not hold it long. Ty Dillon made a three wide move underneath Burton and Justin Lofton in turn 2 to take the lead. Dillon came around and led the first lap of the race. Behind him, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski began their push to the front. Both drivers moved to near the top 5 with only twenty laps completed after both started outside the top 10. It looked like both would be in the battle for the win shortly, but it would quickly go downhill for Keselowski with the first caution on lap 24. Keselowski was making a move underneath Justin Lofton on the frontstretch when Keselowski broke loose passing the start/finish line. His truck slid around and drifted down the track. He went through the frontstretch grass and came out on the other side of the second dog leg. Somehow, all the other drivers behind him avoided and he was able to come to a stop without hitting anything. He was able to get back going, but he would have to be careful since all four tires were flat. He was able to coast around and make it to pit road without receiving any damage, but he had lost a lap and he would need a huge break. Scott Riggs received the lucky dog. During the caution, the leaders made their first stops of the race. All of the drivers took four tires except for Kyle Busch, who took two tires. It would be interesting to see if this move worked for Busch.

        The race went back green and Ty Dillon began battling hard with Kyle Busch. The two ran side by side for the lead for a couple of laps, but Dillon eventually overtook Busch for the lead. After passing Busch, Dillon began to streak away from the field once again. Dillon continued to lead as the laps clicked by. The race would go a little while before some trouble erupted for Kyle Busch. On lap 47, Busch had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to water coming out of the overflow just in front of the windshield. This was an obvious sign that the truck was overheating and he had debris on the grille. His team cleaned off the grille and made sure the temperature was down. Busch returned to the track with a problem avoided, but he lost a lap and a bunch of spots. The race continued a few laps after this before the second caution waved on lap 59. Bryan Silas got loose exiting turn 2 after German Quiroga took air off of Silas's spoiler. This caused Silas's truck to slid around. He slid down the track toward the inside wall. He came to a stop before hitting the inside wall, but drivers were still racing around him. Somehow, all of them avoided him and he was able to make it to pit road without damage. Scott Riggs received the lucky dog. Brad Keselowski came within a driver of getting the lucky dog, but he would stay a lap down. Another rash of stops occurred during the caution. All of the drivers came to pit road for four tires with Justin Lofton coming out as the leader. It would be interesting to see if Lofton could take over the lead from Ty Dillon.

        The race went back green and Ty Dillon quickly proved this was a tough task. He began to battle hard with James Buescher and Dillon finally took the lead after a quick fight. Dillon once again cruised away from the field with the lead. The race would only go a few laps before Kyle Busch would once again have trouble. His truck began to slow on track on lap 73 and he reported to pit road. The overheating problem earlier had caused him to lose some engine power and it would be a matter of time before it went up in smoke. He returned to the track, but he was slow and he would not have a chance for a win. As Busch returned to the track, Ty Dillon continued to lead. Dillon ran lap after lap ahead of everybody until the third and final caution waved on lap 99. Kyle Busch's engine finally let go on the frontstretch of the track. Smoke poured out the back and a little fire erupted, but it went out quickly. Busch coasted to the pit road and then to the garage, but he would not return to the event. Spencer Gallagher received the lucky dog. Brad Keselowski once again missed the lucky dog by a spot and he finally ran out of chances. The final pit stops of the race occurred under the caution. All of the drivers took four tires with Ty Dillon coming out as the leader. It would be interesting to see if his dominating truck would lead him to a victory.

        The race went back green and Dillon's domination immediately went into question. On the backstretch, Ryan Blaney made a three wide move underneath Dillon and Johnny Sauter to take the lead. He distance himself a bit as Sauter and Dillon ran side by side behind him for second. Dillon eventually cleared Sauter and set his sights on Blaney. It would not take Dillon long to surpass Blaney as he took the lead on lap 117. Now, he would have to hold off a raging group of truck drivers behind him. He began to stretch his lead out and the laps started to click by. Thirty laps to go, twenty five laps to go, twenty laps to go, and fifteen laps to go all clicked off on the board as Dillon continued to dominate. His win almost went up in smoke as Bryan Silas slowed on the backstretch with ten laps to go. Silas had a possible engine problem and he would have to make it to pit road without power. He was able to coast through turns 3 and 4 to make it to the garage. Dillon had dodged a huge bullet, but he would have one last one to dodge. With six laps to go, Jeb Burton slowed on the backstretch. His truck was out of fuel and he was even slower than Silas. His truck creeped around the race track and hit the entrance to pit road. He made it to his stall without stopping and Dillon dodged his final bullet. He took the white flag and cruised around to his second checkered flag of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. It was a very much needed performance for Dillon after the fight that was the race at Martinsville one week ago.

         There is only one word to describe Ty Dillon's win at Texas: domination. His truck was great while leading and could even fight the few moments he was stuck in traffic. It was definitely a welcome sight for him and Richard Childress, his owner and grandfather, after the battle the two had with Kevin Harvick after the race one week ago at Martinsville. With his win, Dillon sits forty seven points away from Matt Crafton and still in the championship hunt, but a long way away still. Give a call to Ron Hornaday Jr. and John Wes Townley. Hornaday took a top five finish and Townley took a top ten finish. Both of these drivers have looked great in the past few weeks and it is very amazing to see. Plus, give a huge call to Justin Lofton. Lofton, who broke his thumb in the crazy last lap at Talladega, returned at Texas and was able to take a top 5 finish. That is an absolutely amazing accomplishment for Lofton and one that should give him a lot of momentum. Matt Crafton continued to prove he deserves the title. He struggled all night long and did not touch the top ten at all. Somehow, his truck came on in the last few laps and he took a top ten finish. This allowed him to hold his lead in the points and practically guarantee a championship for the team. It is not over yet, but Crafton looks in complete control. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Phoenix next week for the penultimate round of the regular season. Will Matt Crafton assure his first career championship in the series, will Ty Dillon or James Buescher make it close heading into the final round, or will another driver show all of them up and take the win? We will have to wait until next Friday night to find out these questions and more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 24- Brad Keselowski broke loose on the frontstretch while running side by side with Justin Lofton.

2nd Caution: Lap 59- Bryan Silas spun out exiting turn 2 after contact with German Quiroga.

3rd Caution: Lap 99- Kyle Busch blew a motor on the frontstretch.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Scott Riggs
2nd Caution: Scott Riggs
3rd Caution: Spencer Gallagher

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Ty Dillon
2nd: Johnny Sauter
3rd: Ron Hornaday Jr.
4th: Brendan Gaughan
5th: Justin Lofton

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: James Buescher
7th: Darrell Wallace Jr.
10th: Matt Crafton
15th: Ryan Blaney
21st: Brad Keselowski
26th: Jeb Burton
28th: Kyle Busch




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://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/live-standings.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Winstar_World_Casino_350/C
-Image:
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/truck/story/_/id/9914563/ty-dillon-dominates-trucks-race-texas

Ty Dillon Passes Kyle Busch Late For the Win at Kentucky

        After passing Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go, Ty Dillon cruised away from the field and took the win. Brad Keselowski attempted to chase him down late in the race, but Dillon was too fast to catch. It almost didn't happen for Dillon. Ryan Blaney was much faster than Kyle Busch when Busch was leading late in the race, but Blaney hit the wall when he tried to pass Busch on the outside in turn 4 with about 30 laps to go. This allowed Dillon to catch Busch and pass him for the win. One story line to follow is the amount of problems for contenders in the championship. Jeb Burton, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, and Darrell Wallace Jr. all finished outside the top 8. A final story line to follow is the amount of strategy in the race. Many drivers took two tires on certain pit stops, four tires on others, and some didn't take tires on some stops. It was interesting to see whose strategy would work and if others would lose the race because of it.

        Ryan Blaney started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole. Before the race could even go green, one of the championship contenders would have trouble. On the pace laps, Johnny Sauter slowed in turn 3. The engine had shut off due to a kill switch problem. He got a push back to pit road and he stopped in his pit box. His truck immediately got started, but he would have to start at the back of the field. The race went green and Ryan Blaney was able to lead the first lap. The race continued on until the first caution of the race came out on lap 26. Brendan Gaughan's truck began to smoke after an oil line broke. He pulled down pit road and there was a small fire underneath the truck. It was put out quickly and the crew was eventually able to get him back on the track, but his chances for a win were lost. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. This is where strategy began to be a part of the race. Darrell Wallace Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ty Dillon, and Matt Crafton got two tires. Now, the drivers were on edge to see if they could win the race.

        The race went back green and it was a very short time before the second caution of the race on lap 31. Brennan Newberry lost a transmission on the restart and it began to drag the track causing a small fire underneath the truck. It was not a major fire, but his night was finished. C.J. Faison received the lucky dog. The race went back green and one of the race contenders would have trouble. Brad Keselowski began to fall back in the field due to a tire going down. He was about to pit when the third caution of the race on lap 40. Max Gresham got loose in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall. His truck was really damaged and he did not continue on in the race. Scott Riggs received the lucky dog. Keselowski got a break and was able to pit under the caution, but he lost a lot of track position since no other front runners pitted. It would be interesting to see if he could make his way back to the front with speed or if he would resort to strategy to move up through the field. 

        The race went back green and continued on until the fourth caution of the race on lap 80. John Wes Townley got loose in turn 4 and slid up the track. Somehow, he made a great save and avoided the wall. He continued on without damage. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. Brad Keselowski, who had taken four tires during the previous caution, decided to take two tires. He would have to come back to pit road during the caution due to overheating problems. The race went back green and another race contender would have trouble. Darrell Wallace Jr., who had led a good portion of the race, got loose underneath Ryan Blaney in turn 3. Wallace slid up the track and slammed the outside wall. He received a good bit of damage and his chances for a win were lost. This resulted in the fifth caution of the race on lap 86. C.J. Faison received the lucky dog. Now, Brad Keselowski and Ron Hornaday Jr. were going to try to run the rest of the race without pitting. Time would tell if this strategy would work.

        The race went back green and it was  a short time before all strategy was thrown out the window with the sixth and final caution of the race on lap 107. Bryan Silas got loose in turn 3 and made slight contact with the outside wall. He had a little bit of damage, but he continued on. Jeff Agnew received the lucky dog. Now, the race would be all about speed and car control since drivers would not have to pit again. The race went back green for the final time and Kyle Busch took the lead. On lap 119, Ryan Blaney finally made it to Busch's back bumper. Blaney went to the outside coming out of turn 4 and he got really high. The truck made contact with the outside wall and he lost a lot of momentum. He fell back and lost his chance for a win. Now, Busch looked like he could run away, but Ty Dillon had something to say about that. Dillon made it up to Busch and was able to pass him with 25 laps to go. Dillon cruised away from the field. Brad Keselowski made a late charge, but it did not seem to be enough. The race almost had one final caution. Joey Coulter got loose in turn 4 with two laps to go and slammed the wall. Coulter was able to make it down pit road and avoid a caution. This allowed Dillon to make it to the checkered flag and win his second career NCWTS race.

        It was an impressive show for Dillon. He used a bit of strategy from earlier in the race to win and he made it look easy doing so. Plus, he moved back into the chase for the championship with his win and struggles from other contenders. Once again, Brad Keselowski was unable to win his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. It should be a short time before he is able to capture this victory, but it could be a little while before he jumps back into the truck. Jeb Burton continued his magical season with another top 10, but he only finished one spot ahead of Matt Crafton, the championship leader. It is always good to finish ahead of the point leader, but you can not gain points finishing one position ahead. It will be interesting to see if Burton can finish ahead of Crafton the rest of the races this season. The NCWTS takes a week off and then heads to the Iowa Speedway. Will Timothy Peters repeat, will Ryan Blaney win at the site of his first NCWTS win, or will another driver move up in the points? We will have to wait a couple weeks to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 26- Brendan Gaughan's truck began to smoke on track.

2nd Caution: Lap 31- Brennan Newberry lost a transmission and left pieces on the track.

3rd Caution: Lap 40- Max Gresham got loose in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall.

4th Caution: Lap 80- John Wes Townley got loose in turn 3 and made an incredible save to avoid the wall.

5th Caution: Lap 86- Darrell Wallace Jr. got loose underneath Ryan Blaney in turn 3. Wallace slid up the track and slammed the outside wall.

6th Caution: Lap 107- Bryan Silas got loose in turn 3 and made slight contact with the outside wall.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Ryan Sieg
2nd Caution: C.J. Faison
3rd Caution: Scott Riggs
4st Caution: Ryan Sieg
5st Caution: C.J. Faison
6st Caution: Jeff Agnew

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Ty Dillon
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Kyle Busch
4th: James Buescher
5th: Ryan Blaney

Notables Not in Top 5:
9th: Jeb Burton
10th: Matt Crafton
12th: Johnny Sauter
16th: Joey Coulter
27th: Brendan Gaughan
28th: Darrell Wallace Jr.




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_UNOH_225/C
-Image:
http://binaryapi.ap.org/e1611bc80f4b4fe796c711e90291b849/512x.jpg