William Byron wins first-ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase race
Sept. 24, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LOUDON, N. H. – William Byron stole a page from his mentor and team owner, Kyle Busch.
Leading
161 of 175 laps in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway –
the first race in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase
– Byron cruised to victory, the way Busch
has done so many times before, and punched his ticket into the Chase's
Round of 6.
Not
that runner-up Christopher Bell, Byron’s stablemate at Kyle Busch
Motorsports, didn’t make it interesting in the closing laps. As Byron
worked traffic in the late going, Bell closed from
1.325 seconds behind with five laps left to .430 seconds down on the
next-to-last lap.
But
Bell ran out of time and crossed the finish line .446 seconds behind
his No. 1-seeded teammate, who won for a series-best sixth time.
“I
wore myself out passing some lappers,” Byron said. “But with the amount
of laps we had left, I thought I’d be OK. I was afraid the 4 (Bell) was
going to catch us there at the end. We started
to get tight, but that’s what happens sometimes when you get out front.
“It
was really good – just a great race for us. I can’t thank these guys
enough. Everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it’s just really
cool to get a win here in the Chase. It feels
awesome.”
Two-time series champion Matt Crafton came home third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Timothy Peters.
With
the Chase field to be trimmed from eight to six drivers two races hence
at Talladega Superspeedway, Ben Kennedy and Daniel Hemric fell below
the provisional cut line. Kennedy finished 11th
and trails Johnny Sauter (10th on Saturday and sixth in the standings)
by one point.
If
Kennedy’s result was only mildly disappointing, Hemric’s was a
catastrophe. With his left rear tire cut down to the rim, Hemric spun in
Turn 1 on Lap 25 to bring out the third caution of the
race. His truck suffered a cut brake line and consequent fire in the
left rear wheel well.
Hemric
lost 33 laps under repairs, finished 28th and fell to last in the Chase
standings, 21 points behind Sauter with two races left in the Round of
8. In all probability, Hemric will have to
win one of those two events, at Las Vegas and Talladega, to advance to
the Round of 6.
After
leading the first 54 laps, Byron lost the top spot briefly when Cody
Coughlin stayed out under the fourth caution and Bell, Kennedy, Crafton
and Spencer Gallagher leap-frogged ahead of
Byron with two-tire and fuel-only calls in the pits.
But
Byron regained the lead from Bell on Lap 69 and held it the rest of the
way. As Bell gained ground in the final laps, Byron was trying to save
his equipment to prepare for a possible late
caution.
“I
was expecting it, so I didn’t push too hard,” Byron said. “I was
expecting to get a caution, hopefully save something, but we gave it all
we had there the whole race, and I just can’t thank
these guys enough.”
Byron
leaves New Hampshire with a 16-point lead in the standings and
guaranteed admission to the next round of the Chase. Crafton (+11 points
above the cutoff line) is second in the Chase standings,
followed by Bell (+10), John Hunter Nemechek (ninth on Saturday, +5),
Peters (+3), Sauter (+1), Kennedy (-1) and Hemric (-21).
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race - UNOH 175
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, New Hampshire
Saturday, September 24, 2016
1. (1) William Byron #, Toyota, 175.
2. (3) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 175.
3. (7) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 175.
4. (4) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 175.
5. (2) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 175.
6. (14) Cole Custer #, Chevrolet, 175.
7. (9) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 175.
8. (6) Brett Moffitt, Toyota, 175.
9. (15) John H Nemechek, Chevrolet, 175.
10. (10) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 175.
11. (12) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 175.
12. (17) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 175.
13. (19) Stewart Friesen, Chevrolet, 175.
14. (18) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 175.
15. (5) Ben Rhodes #, Toyota, 175.
16. (20) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 174.
17. (21) Rico Abreu #, Toyota, 174.
18. (31) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 174.
19. (8) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 174.
20. (16) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 173.
21. (25) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 172.
22. (23) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 171.
23. (24) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 171.
24. (27) Alon Day, Chevrolet, 171.
25. (28) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 170.
26. (29) Timothy Viens, Chevrolet, 160.
27. (26) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 147.
28. (13) Daniel Hemric, Ford, Brakes, 127.
29. (22) Austin Wayne Self #, Toyota, Accident, 126.
30. (11) Austin Hill, Ford, Oil Line, 105.
31. (32) Akinori Ogata, Chevrolet, 75.
32. (30) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Accident, 0.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 95.343 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 31 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.446 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 41 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: W. Byron # 1-54; C. Coughlin # 55-57; C. Bell # 58-68; W. Byron # 69-175.
Leaders
Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): W. Byron # 2 times for 161
laps; C. Bell # 1 time for 11 laps; C. Coughlin # 1 time for 3 laps.
Top
10 in Points: W. Byron # - 2,052; M. Crafton - 2,036; C. Bell # -
2,035; J. Nemechek - 2,030; T. Peters - 2,028; J. Sauter - 2,026; B.
Kennedy - 2,025; D. Hemric - 2,005; C. Custer # - 369;
T. Reddick - 363.
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