Roulette Recap follows a randomly selected driver throughout a race to break down their efforts. There is no telling ahead of time how the race will go. The driver could face calamity on the opening lap or start from the rear and win the race. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Memorial Day weekend is a special time in the world of motorsports. All NASCAR drivers decend on Race City, USA and go the extra mile in honoring those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our country.
Matt Mills rolled into Charlotte Motor Speedway with a season best P11 finish two weeks’ prior at Darlington Raceway.
In practice, Mills finished P14, and went on to qualify P15. Additionally, he sat fourth on the 10 lap averages chart.
He would face the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 with crew chief Jon Leonard calling the shots and veteran spotter, Tab Boyd as his eyes in the sky.
Stage 1
With the green flag in the air, there was a great deal of beating and banging throughout the field. In the opening two laps, Mills gained a spot and set his eyes on more ground. Unfortunately, he lost a spot on Lap 4, but immediately got back to work with the help Boyd’s navigation.
Lap 6 had NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Matt Crafton on his bumper, but Mills manage to put some distance between him and the No. 88. Ahead of him, on Lap 8, the Nos. 41 of Bayley Currey and 17 of Taylor Gray were pinballing all over the track. In the chaos, numerous drivers got around Mills setting him back to P18, but Boyd encouraged his driver, “Get your momentum back!”
Halfway through the stage, Mills maintained P18 and was settling in and learning how the track had changed after very slick practice and qualifying sessions.
As Mills took 10 to go in the stage, Leonard radioed in to encourage his driver noting his good lap times. Four laps later, Mills radioed in with an update on his truck saying he was “free in traffic.”
With three to go, Mills was back to holding off Crafton and succeeded in getting around Stewart Friesen to claim P17 on the final lap of the stage. At the last second, Friesen got around Mills and bumped him back to P18.
Mills was finally able to share more on the handling of his truck under caution. “I’m never at all tight behind someone. On exit of (Turn) 2, I get kind of snappy free off, but it enters really good.”
Boyd encouraged Mills, “You’ve got a good truck! You ride the bottom better than anyone. Get you some track position and you’ll set sail!”
Leonard came on the radio and said, “You did great. Those last few laps, you were a top-five truck. We’ll tighten you up a little bit!”
Stage 2
Following a stop for tires, fuel, and adjustments, Mills returned to the track in P14. He fell to P20 after a three-wide battle in the opening laps. On Lap 41, Boyd finally got his driver by the wall to gain some momentum.
Twelve laps into the stage, the No. 88 was back on Mills’ bumper and he was working hard to once again hold off the cagey vet. Mills gained another position as Boyd said, “Keep it wound up!”
As Christian Eckes and Niece Motorsports teammate, Currey got around Mills, he fell back to P19. Boyd reminded his driver to be a bit more aggressive with the drivers around him.
With five to go, Mills took advantage of a bobble by Eckes. He got around Currey and was making ground on Eckes, but before he could claim the spot, Currey got back around Mills.
Trouble on the final lap allowed Mills to get around some slower trucks and claim P18 for the end of Stage 2.
Mills radioed in, “Still a little free on the start. I just couldn’t get going.”
The game plan changed after discussion. Earlier in the race, the team wanted the inside lane, but the track was favoring the top lane. They opted to take the high lane, even if it meant losing a couple rows.
Stage 3
Another stop for tires and fuel set Mills up to start the final stage in P18. An early caution for multiple issues allowed Mills to move up to P16.
Problems for multiple cars entering Turn 3! pic.twitter.com/1wuR8aEKDH
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 25, 2024
Following a lengthy caution, Mills got back to work from P16. Drivers immediately took their trucks three and four wide. Mills found himself in one of these three-wide battles and received slight contact from the No. 88 after Crafton bounced off the wall.
With 55 to go, he gained a spot after getting away from Crafton. Before more ground could be made, the No. 88 blew a tire and brought out the caution.
Leonard opted to bring Mills in for fuel from P15 which set him up for a P26 restart. It was a mixed bag of strategy with some teams staying out, others opting for two tires, some for four, and some fuel only.
The green waved for the Lap 87 restart and drivers managed to keep it green. He gained four spots in as many laps. With Crafton no longer a thorn in his side, Mills now had to battle hard with Dean Thompson.
With 33 to go, Mills broke back into the top 20, and within the same lap moved to P19. He had to side-draft the No. 43 of Daniel Dye, but once he got around him, he set his sights on P17.
He went to work, battling Connor Mosack. Then he got around Thompson and was working on Ty Dillon. With 28 to go, he was sitting 17 after Thompson got back around him.
25 To Go
As Mills worked to get around Dillon in P16, Boyd encouraged his driver on the moves he had been making.
With 15 to go, the caution came out as Chase Purdy hit the wall. Leonard made the decision to bring Mills in from P15 for four-lap scuffed tires. Mills returned to the track in P14 with nine laps to go.
It was another choatic restart with drivers banging doors and going three wide. Within two laps, Mills was up to P7 and running behind 2023 NCTS Champion, Ben Rhodes.
With six to go, he got around Rhodes and claimed P5. For two laps, Rhodes was running right in the tire tracks of the No. 42 but Mills held him off and brought home his first top-five finish of the season.
Mills thanked his team and said, “I was starting to doubt myself a bit there.”
Leonard said, “I’m proud of you. One week at a time. We’ll keep building!”
Shortly after the checkered flag waved, it was announced that Corey Heim was disqualifie. Three loose lug nuts were discovered on his truck. This afforded Mills the opportunity finish P4.
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to J.F. Electric who played a huge part of the weekend for Matt and the No. 42 team.
Be sure to give Matt Mills (Facebook, Instagram, X) and Niece Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
