An ironic name for the Weather Guard Truck Race, with practice and qualifying being rained out. With that being said, Daniel Hemric got the pole for the NASCAR Truck Series as the order was set up by the rulebook. Tyler Ankrum joined him on the front row. Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, and Jake Garcia rounded out the top five. The stage lengths were 65 laps for the first and second stages and 120 laps for the final one.
Struggle for a Front Runner
Hemric got the better launch on the start. He and Heim cleared Ankrum for the top two spots. Ben Rhodes, who started sixth, was aggressive early and passed his way to the top three. Smith, with a similar strategy to Rhodes, got to the second spot after five laps. He immediately went on the offensive, taking it to Hemric. He made quick work of the leader and took the top spot for himself. Nathan Byrd, being lapped by the field, got loose and slid into Rhodes. Rhodes paid the price and lost several spots.
Connor Mosack brought out the first caution after getting turned around in Turn 4 on Lap 17. He may have had some help from Tanner Gray. He did not hit the wall and was able to get it turned back around and keep going. That caution was used as the competition caution, which was scheduled for Lap 30.
Smith and Hemric brought the field back to green. Smith got the better jump on the outside line. Ankrum used a good restart to take second. Heim struggled on the outside line. He was able to get to the bottom line, but only after losing several spots. As the stage went on, he continued to struggle. He restarted in fourth but fell outside the top ten over the long green flag run.
“Malcolm in the Middle” Of It
The trucks were spread out all across the half-mile track. That proved difficult for the trucks on the lead lap. As he passed lapped trucks, Matt Crafton had to use the apron just to make passes. Just when the run was playing out, Frankie Muniz and Ty Majeski brought out the second caution of the day. The two ended up stopped with the driver’s side door to door in Turn Four. Stewart Friesen and Brandon Jones were also involved in the mess.
Smith and Ankrum restarted the race with two to go in the first stage, and Smith got the better launch of the two. Rhodes passed Ankrum for the runner-up spot as Smith got the stage win! Ankrum, Layne Riggs, and Hemric rounded out the top five. Kyle Larson, after starting the race in eleventh, finished the stage in sixth.
Fresh Tires Prevail
Smith and Rhodes took the field back to green. Smith got the better jump and retook the lead. Ankrum, on the outside, was able to get beside Rhodes but could not make the pass. Rajah Caruth brought out the fourth caution of the day as he spun off of the nose of Kaden Honeycutt. Honeycutt got the better run off of turn four and got into the back of Caruth.
Smith and Rhodes restarted the race on the front row. Again, Smith got the better jump and retook the lead. Larson fought through restart traffic to get into the top five. Bayley Currey, on much newer tires, passed his way into the top three. He had around 70-lap newer tires, however, the new tires did not seem to help him out as much as it would at a different track. The tires were not wearing as expected. Currey passed Ankrum to take second from Ankrum.
With 20 to go in the stage, Currey was over two seconds behind Smith in the lead. Larson seemed to have overdriven his tires and fell from fifth to ninth. A parade of trucks passed him to drop him down. Smith caught a line of lapped traffic, and Currey closed the gap on the lead. Currey took the lead on the outside. Traffic proved to be too tough for Smith on tires that were over 120 laps old.
Currey took the lead to the house, getting the Stage Two win! He carved through the lapped traffic while Smith could not. Honeycutt used the high line to move his truck into the third spot. Heim and Tanner Gray rounded out the top five. Larson and Andres Perez got penalties after both were speeding on pit road.
Moisture and Intensity in the Air
Caruth and Currey brought the green back out. Both of them got good restarts. Caruth used the high side to take the lead for the first time of the night. Currey settled himself in second. Larson, after restarting the race in 20th, began passing his way through the field. Toni Breidinger brought out the sixth caution of the evening after backing her truck into the outside wall. She was turned after Freisen got loose and spun Breidinger around.
Currey and Caruth took the field back to green. Smith restarted in fifth and Larson in 14th. Caruth retook his lead. Heim used a great restart to take second place from Currey. With 77 laps to go, Larson was able to get back into the top ten. The field singled out on the bottom line of the track.
Caruth, Heim, and Currey were neck and neck with 55 laps to go. Enfinger, in fourth, was over a second behind the third-placed Currey. While in the lead, Caruth had a severe tire deficit. His tires were over 50 laps older than the other two. The leaders were slicing through the lapped traffic, which allowed Smith to close the gap to third.
With 27 to go, Heim passed Caruth on the outside and brought Smith with him. Smith began to fight Heim for the lead. Larson got back to the top five with fresher tires. Just when the battle was intensifying, the caution came out for weather. Some very light mist came over the track.
The Race to the End
Smith and Heim brought the field back to green. Currey immediately sunk to the back of the field. Smith was able to retake the lead as the caution came out. Perez got damage from an incident. Currey had mechanical issues with his truck and had to bring it down pit road. Transmission issues forced an early exit from the race.
With seven laps to go, Smith took the outside on the restart with Heim on the inside. Smith got the better jump. Larson used the outside line to take second from Heim. Smith took the lead and did not look back.
He held off Larson for the win! Larson finished second, with Heim, Ankrum, and Rhodes rounding out the top five. Smith won the second race of the Triple Truck Challenge and earned himself $50,000.
Marvin’s Moment:
Chandler Smith had the fastest truck in the field and used it to get the win. He ran a great race. Following the Martinsville madhouse, I was surprised at how clean the race was. Everyone seemed to race with respect. It was a great race and showing for the trucks at one of the toughest tracks on the circuit.
Next week, the trucks make a return to Rockingham!
