The NASCAR Truck series had a cold one – weather that is – for the Fr8 208. The second race of the season was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was unseasonably chilly. Connor Mosack was fastest in qualifying giving him his first career pole. Grant Enfinger started on the outside pole. Kyle Busch, racing for Spire Motorsports, started the race in ninth. Corey Heim, who was last week’s winner, started in 19th. The race began with an air temperature 15 degrees cooler than qualifying.
Slippin’ and Slidin’
Mosack got a great jump at the drop of the green flag. He and Daniel Hemric were able to clear Enfinger and slide in front of him. Kyle Busch did not waste any time as he began his passing ways. Enfinger fell to fifth and the field singled out on the top line. Matt Crafton got loose but was able to save it. Corey Heim tried to make a pass on the inside but could not complete it. He fell from 11th but was able to slide into line in 15th.
Ben Rhodes kept his aggressive ways. He managed to make some passes on the inside but also lost some spots. The outside line proved to be dominant. The leaders caught lapped traffic and were able to stay in a straight line to pass them. Enfinger and Layne Riggs tried to make a late-stage push for the lead while Mosack blocked two lanes of trucks as long as he could. Riggs and Jack Wood made a last-lap effort and took Mosack three wide. Wood would ultimately prevail to get the first stage win of his young career.
There was bad news for Riggs after the stage ended. While he was probably the fastest truck in the field at that point, he suddenly lost power. To add insult to injury, he was also penalized for his last lap pass. He made his pass below the double white lines that indicate track limits.
Corey Heim and Ty Majeski stayed out during that caution while Enfinger won the race off of pit road.
The Big Dog is Back
Heim and Busch restarted the race on the front row. Heim got a great push from Majeski to take the lead. Majeski used a big run off of turn two to take the lead. Matt Crafton blew his right front tire which sent him into the wall. He was able to get to pit road before a caution could be thrown. While that happened, Busch took the lead after making the pass on the inside.
Mosack, leading the inside line, seemed to be one of the fastest trucks. His problem was that the inside line seemed to gain some trucks and then lose them immediately. They could not keep the momentum to move forward. Enfinger slid down in front of Mosack to lead the inside. Heim ran out of fuel with two to go in the stage, but he was able to get his truck onto pit road. Busch stayed out front and won stage two!
Heim’s crew went under the hood while he was in his pit stall. When he tried to leave his stall, he could not get it fired back up. They eventually did manage to get his truck started and he resumed the race. All of the trucks pitted for fuel during the yellow. Rajah Caruth was the first truck out of the pits.
Lengthy Cleanup
Caruth and Hemric brought the field back to green. Hemric got passed on both sides after getting caught in the middle of the track. He did not fall too far as he was able to get back up to the front with Busch pushing. Mosack snagged the lead back from Caruth. Busch finally got back out front with help from Enfinger.
Coming out of turn four, the rear of Caruth’s truck snapped around. He cut a tire which sent him around in front of the field. Hemric was in the worst spot as he ran into Caruth. William Sawalich, Tyler Ankrum, and Andres Perez were also involved in the wreck. NASCAR red-flagged the field to allow for cleanup.
The red flag was lifted with 57 laps to go in the race. Most of the trucks pitted under the yellow, although the strategies were mixed between four, two, and no tires and fuel.
Clean Race Track
With 50 to go the green flag came out. Busch and Enfinger were on the front row. Mosack pushed Busch out in front. Gio Ruggiero was behind Enfinger. The inside line did not have enough speed and lost ground to the outside. Ruggiero was able to get on the outside of Enfinger to make the pass. The trucks lined up on the outside. Rhodes stuck his nose on the outside of Mosack. Mosack began to lose spots quickly. He fell from second to outside the top fifteen.
Busch led the charge with 30 laps to go in the Fr8 208. Frankie Muniz (he was in the middle) got into the wall after Hemric got tight off of turn two. Muniz got into Mosack on the outside. He turned the truck around and tried to get it around the track.
Busch and Ruggiero restarted the race out front. Ruggiero got passed on both sides and fell back to 10th. Enfinger took command of the inside line and snagged the lead from Busch, but not for long. Busch quickly got the lead back after sliding in front of Enfinger. Chandler Smith got a hard push from Stewart Friesen but not a single driver lifted. Smith was able to keep the truck straight and even got out in front of Busch.
Side by Side
Smith rode in line behind Busch. Hemric and Tyler Ankrum, both with a bunch of nose damage, were able to link up and drive into the top five. Hemric was unable to keep it because of his damage. Friesen moved to the outside line, but Busch held off both the outside and inside line at bay. Friesen cleared Busch into turn three to take the white flag. Busch got underneath to battle back. Side by side they crossed the finish line with Kyle Busch out front!
Kyle Busch got the job done in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was a fantastic drive for Busch from start to finish. He did a great burnout to close out a great race. Friesen finished the race in second. Ankrum, Bayley Currey, and Smith rounded out the top five.
Marvin’s Moment:
A great race across the board with very few wrecks due to inexperience. The trucks looked loose and hard to drive for all. I was not a fan of the new layout at Atlanta, but the truck race showed the track is loosening up a bunch. It looked genuinely hard to drive. Even the great Kyle Busch looked on edge. The next truck series race is in Las Vegas on March 14th.
