Ryan Preece wins at Nashville Superspeedway in his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start on Friday night.

Ryan Preece took the lead from Grant Enfinger with seven laps remaining in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway to earn his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory Friday night in his first race in the series.

Ryan Preece Wins at Nashville

Preece, the 30-year old Connecticut native who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, is only the fifth driver in history to win in his truck series debut.

“That was a lot of fun,” Preece said, adding, “Really I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know anything.

“I was just taking the guidance from [crew chief] Chad [Johnston] and my teammates and told them I’d be better in the race than I was in qualifying and practice. And fortunately, I lived up to that.”

Gilliland Rallies from Pre-Race Violation to Grab Second

Preece’s teammate Todd Gilliland – who started at the rear of the field following a pre-race inspection violation – rallied all the way to second place, passing Enfinger with four laps remaining.

“It stings not to get that last spot especially because I was under the 17 [Preece] and got too loose, but that’s racing,” said Gilliland, whose father David served as his crew chief after his normal crew chief was suspended as part of the inspection penalty.

The Best of the Rest

The Preece-Gilliland work gave Ford its first one-two finish of the season. Enfinger finished third followed by Zane Smith and Stewart Friesen, whose top-five finish was only his second top-ten in the past eight races of the season.

Veteran Matt Crafton, two-race winner Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Austin Hill, and championship leader John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-ten.

Three Cup Drivers on Entry List

Preece, who drives the No. 37 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, was one of three full-time Cup Series drivers entered Friday – all wanting to get some extra laps at the 1.333-mile Nashville track which is hosting its first Cup race Sunday. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ross Chastain finished 22nd and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished last in the 36-truck field, his No. 27 Chevrolet truck experiencing a motor problem shortly after the first stage break.

Up and Down Day for Kraus

Nineteen-year old Derek Kraus, who won his first career Camping World Truck Series pole position Friday afternoon, followed it up by leading the first 48 laps of the race and earning the Stage 1 victory – his second career stage win.

During that stage break, a slow pit stop forced Kraus to play catch-up, but he rallied back inside the top ten. His race ended early after contact with the Josh Berry truck sent Kraus’ No. 19 Toyota hard into the wall with only 40 laps remaining.

The Camping World Truck Series Point Standings

Nemechek’s tenth-place finish retained the lead in the championship standings for the second-generation driver. A four-race winner so far in 2021, he leads Rhodes by 78 points with only three races remaining to set the ten-driver Playoff field.

Chandler Smith, who finished 13th Friday, sits in the final Playoff transfer position with a slim 15-point edge on former series champion Johnny Sauter, who finished 12th at Nashville.

Up Next

The series next race is in the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (Saturday, June 26, 12 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

               1. (6)  Ryan Preece(i), Ford, 150.

               2. (35)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 150.

               3. (4)  Grant Enfinger, Toyota, 150.

               4. (9)  Zane Smith, Chevrolet, 150.

               5. (17)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 150.

               6. (15)  Matt Crafton, Toyota, 150.

               7. (16)  Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 150.

               8. (13)  Ty Majeski, Toyota, 150.

               9. (3)  Austin Hill, Toyota, 150.

               10. (34)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 150.

               11. (2)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 150.

               12. (8)  Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 150.

               13. (5)  Chandler Smith #, Toyota, 150.

               14. (24)  Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 150.

               15. (21)  Chase Purdy #, Chevrolet, 150.

               16. (11)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 150.

               17. (18)  Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 150.

               18. (36)  Tanner Gray, Ford, 150.

               19. (12)  Josh Berry(i), Chevrolet, 150.

               20. (22)  Tate Fogleman, Chevrolet, 150.

               21. (14)  Hailie Deegan #, Ford, 150.

               22. (23)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 150.

               23. (7)  Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 150.

               24. (20)  Drew Dollar, Toyota, 150.

               25. (30)  Spencer Davis, Toyota, 150.

               26. (19)  Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 150.

               27. (27)  Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 150.

               28. (31)  Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, 150.

               29. (25)  Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 150.

               30. (32)  Danny Bohn, Toyota, 149.

               31. (33)  Cory Roper, Ford, 148.

               32. (29)  Kris Wright #, Chevrolet, 148.

               33. (28)  Trey Hutchens III, Chevrolet, 146.

               34. (26)  Lawless Alan, Toyota, 142.

               35. (1)  Derek Kraus, Toyota, Accident, 110.

               36. (10)  William Byron(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 78.

The Rackley Roofing 200 Stats

Average Speed of Race Winner:  114.637 mph.

Time of Race:  One Hr, 44 Mins, 25 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.950 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  Five for 29 laps.

Lead Changes:  Eight among six drivers.

Lap Leaders:   D. Kraus 1-48;A. Hill 49-50;C. Smith # 51-98;G. Enfinger 99-103;S. Friesen 104-108;G. Enfinger 109-117;R. Preece(i) 118;G. Enfinger 119-143;R. Preece(i) 144-150.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chandler Smith # one time for 48 laps; Derek Kraus one time for 48 laps; Grant Enfinger three times for 39 laps; Ryan Preece(i) two times for eight laps; Stewart Friesen one time for five laps; Austin Hill one time for two laps.

Stage 1 Top-Ten: 19,16,18,98,24,17,21,13,27,26

Stage 2 Top-Ten: 18,21,19,13,88,99,24,15,98,17