Rackley Roofing 200
A hot weekend set up slick concrete racing in Nashville. The trucks had been off most of July, so the drivers were antsy to get back out there. Stewart Friesen started the race from the best spot, on pole. Grant Enfinger joined him on the front row with Christian Eckes and Ty Majeski behind them. Clint Bowyer started the race in 11th.
The stage lengths were 45 laps, 50 laps, and 55 laps for a total of 150. Timmy Hill, Ty Dillon, Nick Sanchez, Tanner Gray, and Matt Mills started the race in the rear. This was the final race of the triple truck challenge where Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez won the other two races.
Cautions on Repeat
Friesen slipped up the track on lap one in turn one and Eckes pounced on the mistake, snagging the lead. The first caution came out before the lap was finished. Dean Thompson got turned by Mason Maggio and was sent up the track, collecting Hill, Bret Holmes and Akinori Ogata.
Eckes restarted the race with Enfinger behind him. Holmes brought out the second caution, as he had damage from the previous wreck.
Then, Friesen and Eckes restarted on the front row. Layne Riggs quickly got beside Friesen and moved into second. Meanwhile, Kaden Honeycutt had to drive to the garage with mechanical issues.
Enfinger passed Friesen with Daniel Dye in tow. The track changed dramatically as the sun went down. Sanchez, in a backup truck, got lapped with three to go in the first stage.
However, Rajah Caruth was able to maintain right outside the top five for the duration of the stage. Eckes spent most of the stage in the lead and won stage one! Bowyer used the stage to move into the top ten.
Cautions, Continued
Bowyer lost some spots coming out of the pits, but Eckes and Heim restarted on the front row. They barely got going before Taylor Gray got turned off of Rhodes’ nose. Rhodes apologized for his mistake and Gray had to take it behind the wall for damage.
On the restart, another stack up caused Bowyer to run into the back of Chase Purdy. Dawson Cram was sent through the grass. Bowyer sustained damage to his front nose. He brought it down the pits and his team taped him back up.
Eckes and Riggs restarted on the front row, and everyone got away safely. Heim passed Riggs for second and set his sights on the leader. Stefan Parsons got into the wall and Riggs, very obviously, spun Parsons out. That caution ended the stage. leaving Eckes with another stage win on the day. Riggs was held for two laps for wreckless driving.
Finally Clean Racing
Eckes, again, restarted on the front row with Caruth next to him. Heim lost seven spots during the pit stops when he stalled his truck.
The restart was clean – Eckes took back his lead over the field Rhodes made up a few spots, and Jack Wood spun around by himself. He turned coming out of turn four and was able to slide it down the pits. He had some help from Conner Jones.
On the restart, Eckes moved out to his lead. Dye stayed close behind him with Heim in tow. Bowyer gave Riggs a little bit of a nudge and got past him.
The battle of the day was with less than ten to go. Heim, Caruth, and Dye battled for several laps as the race came to a close.
Eckes, who started third, led every lap to win in Nashville, marking his third win of the year but probably the most fun one. Dye finished in third, Heim, Caruth, and Ankrum rounded out the top five. Seven cautions consumed 42 laps.
Marvin’s Minute
A great race was won by Eckes. He dominated, even with the high number of cautions. I do not enjoy all of the cautions. They are a result of, in my opinion, a lack of talent with money putting these drivers into the seats. However, Bowyer did very well for his first race in several years. I enjoy watching some older veterans get into the junior series.
