NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are ready to race the Villa Lighting Delivers the Eaton 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park, Saturday, June 23rd at 8:30 pm ET. Television coverage begins at 8 pm ET on FOX Sports 1 with radio coverage available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Distance: 200 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
Iowa Native Becomes an Iowa Winner
It was hot and humid on Saturday at Iowa Speedway but that didn’t stop Brett Moffitt, an Iowa native, from fighting for his spot in Victory Lane at the M&M’s 200 sponsored by Casey’s General Store.
Moffitt, who led the final 76 laps, had to fight to hold off Noah Gragson after a competitive last-lap attempt to pass him failed and sent him into the wall. Moffitt flew under the checkered flag and claimed his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of his career.
Harrison Burton, who started at the pole for the first time in his career in only his tenth career start in the series, finished with a career-best third-place result.
The race was completely up for grabs when a crash on lap 135 took out four top contenders. Matt Crafton’s left front tire went flat and caused him to slide up the track into John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek won at Iowa last year and had just claimed Stage 1 of the race. Ben Rhodes had big damage to his truck in the wreck as well.
Stewart Friesen got caught up in the mess but came out of it with only a few minor issues.
That incident allowed Moffitt, who started 16th, to take over and win his second race of the 2018 season. Moffitt, third in the standings, also gained points and shortened the gap between him and second-place Gragson to only 14 points.
Johnny Sauter remains the points leader with 419 points followed by Gragson and Moffitt. Friesen and Grant Enfinger close out the top-five.
Off to Gateway They Go
This weekend, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing returns to Gateway Motorsports Park on Saturday, June 23 for the Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power.
Last year, John Hunter Nemechek won at Gateway, making it his fourth career win The track has seen a lot of young rising stars in their Victory Lane. Before Nemechek, Christopher Bell was the winner in 2016, Cole Custer in 2015 and Bubba Wallace in 2014. Nemechek already has one win under his belt so far this year, could Gateway be where he gets his second?
Ted Musgrave is the only driver in history to win two times at Gateway Motorsports Park and 2006 and 2007 are the only years that a manufacturer won back-to-back.
First Timers at Gateway Motorsports Park
As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to the tenth race of the season, there have been a lot of firsts for drivers along the way.
This weekend is no different.
Of the 34 drivers entered, so far, 11 of them have never raced at Gateway before.
They are – Myatt Snider, Bobby Reuse, Brett Moffitt, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Fontaine, Christian Eckes, Riley Herbst, Chad Finley, Stewart Friesen, Zane Smith and Jesse Little.
Snider, Sargeant, and Fontaine are all rookies – Todd Gilliland, another NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver in his rookie year, is the only one who has raced at Gateway before. It was his second career race in 2017 where he started fourth and finished 21st because of a transmission issue. This weekend will be his second visit to Gateway Motorsports Park.
Harrison Burton Posts Career Bests at Iowa
Harrison Burton started from the pole position for the first time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career and ended the race with his career-best third-place finish in the series.
The pole position was the first in ten series starts for Burton, who led the first 30 laps of the race. Those 30 laps were his first out front in the series. However, he finished Stage 1 in third-place.
Burton experienced a throttle issue under a caution after Lap 60 brought him down pit road while it was closed. This resulted in a penalty for Burton and forced him to start at the tail end of the field. By the end of Stage 2, Burton made his way up to sixth-place, which put him in the front with eventual race winner Brett Moffitt and teammate Noah Gragson, who finished second.
This third-place finish was Burton’s second top five of the year and third top 10 in as many starts. We won’t see Burton behind the wheel of a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck again until the series heads to Bristol on August 16.
Also Noteworthy…
NASCAR Next Driver To Make Truck Series Debut: Huntington Beach, Calif. native Zane Smith, a member of NASCAR Next, will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park. He will pilot the No. 54 Crosley Brands/LaPaz Margarita Mix Toyota Tundra. The 19-year-old is currently competing full-time in the ARCA Racing Series where he’s had a career-best season. He gathered his first win this year at Nashville followed by two more wins at Talladega and Toledo. So far in his ARCA career, Smith has three wins under his belt along with 14 top fives, 19 top-tens, and two poles. He has led 500 laps in his career.
Can Crafton Get a Win at Gateway?: Matt Crafton has visited Gateway Motorsports Park 14 times in his career, the most of any driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Although he has not won at Gateway before, he has posted two top fives and eight top-tens. Last year, Crafton tallied his best finish at the track in fourth. The three years prior to 2017, Crafton crashed in each race and was unable to finish. In 2015, he crashed with nine laps to go after leading 49 laps at Gateway. The veteran is still looking for his first win this season.
Tyler Young Enters Second 2018 Race: Tyler Young is entered in the Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power; his second race of the season. He competed at Texas Motor Speedway, where he made a good run starting 20th and finishing seventh. The 27-year-old has yet to post a win or a top-five in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series but is making progress toward one. He has six career top-tens under his belt.
Chad Finley Is Back: Chad Finley has raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series twice and both times were in 2015. This weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park, Finley will race for the first time since then and for the first time at the track. In his career, he has been to Michigan International Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. He finished 21st at both tracks. He’s entered to drive the No. 42 Auto Value Certified Service Center Chevrolet with crew chief Bruce Cook.
Riley Herbst Making Two Debuts In Two Weeks: Riley Herbst will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut this weekend at Gateway in the No. 51 Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet of Kyle Busch Motorsports. Herbst has had a very important two weeks, as he raced in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway, where he clinched a top-ten finish.
Gateway Motorsports Park by the Numbers
As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend for the Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power on Saturday, June 23 for a showdown under the lights, here are some quick facts you should know about the track.
0.222 – Second was the closest margin of victory (07/18/03)
1 – Three races winners started in the No. 1 position
1.25 – Miles track length
2 – Most wins at Gateway Motorsports Park (Ted Musgrave)
3 – Fewest cautions (4 times, most recently 06/17/17)
5 – Five races were won from the No. 2 position
6 – Most top fives at Gateway (Johnny Sauter)
8 – Most top 10s (Rick Crawford, Matt Crafton)
9 – Most leaders (07/17/04)
10.428 – Seconds was the greatest margin of victory (05/06/01)
11 – Pole winners at Gateway Motorsports Park
13 – Fewest caution laps (05/06/01)
14 – Winning truck owners at Gateway Motorsports Park
15 – Most lead changes (07/17/04)
16 – Different race winners at Gateway Motorsports Park
50 – Most caution laps (04/29/06)
200 – Mile race (160 laps)
1,922 – Feet is the length of the front stretch
1,976 – Feet is the length of the backstretch