Bearden Breakdown: Lucas Oil 150

By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Post-race review and analysis from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at ISM Raceway. 

Who Won? 

Brett Moffitt. He claimed his fifth victory of the year in classic Moffitt fashion, with a late charge to the front.

Who Claimed the Stages?

Moffitt and Harrison Burton.

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Back at it again

Brett Moffitt’s earned a reputation for late-race surges this year, stealing wins and top-fives with multiple overtakes in the final laps.

He supplied another bold charge on Friday.

One more could result in a championship.

Entering Friday’s race the Iowan had claimed three of his four victories on the year with a combined 24 laps led. Only in a summer Iowa Speedway romp had the Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) star actually proven dominant, leading the final 76 laps en-route to victory.

The penultimate race of the season saw Moffitt throw in a fifth win in a dramatic fashion, soaring to the lead in the final sprint to the finish at the expense of two playoff rivals. Moffitt’s triumph thrust him into next weekend’s Championship 4, capping off an emotional weekend for HRE that carried elevated significance.

“We have a steering wheel here and it’s got Torie Costa Foundation on it, which is Scott Zipadelli’s (crew chief) daughter who passed away from pancreatic cancer,” Moffitt said. “It was her birthday yesterday so I’m glad she was in the car with me and I know this is going to mean a lot to our race team.”

Moffitt’s victory came in his traditional fashion, but it masked the strength of his No. 16 Toyota. He was fast throughout the day — qualifying fifth early on and driving off to a Stage 1 win — but a speeding penalty on the opening round of pit stops left Moffitt trapped deep in the field as the race entered the middle stages.

Passing proved difficult on the unique ISM Raceway oval. But Moffitt methodically marched his way back to the front, rising to top two rows for a pair of late restarts. On the first the Iowan managed to move up one spot to third.

On the second he pulled off another unexpected win.

The victory means Moffitt will have an opportunity to compete for his first NASCAR championship – a feat that seemed unlikely as recently as one year ago, when Moffitt was driving part-time while Ryan Truex competed for HRE.

It’s a renaissance the 26-year-old doesn’t take for granted.

“This is definitely a second revival of my career really,” Moffitt said. “I was racing Cup, but it wasn’t really in winning equipment and now I came back to the Truck Series and (HRE owner) Shige Hattori has built a great race team here and obviously a winning race team. It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent and it’s just fun working with these guys.”

With his spot secured, Moffitt can set his sights on next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Whether it be from another race-ending surge or a dominant effort, the star can prove he’s championship material with one final victory.

“Next Friday the pressure’s off, the gloves are off and we just have to go out there and fight and execute and try to win a race,” he said. “I think it’s a race win to win the championship and that’s what we need to do.”

Much ado about motors

Moffitt’s latest rise to victory was a feel-good story for many in the sport, but for GMS Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Justin Haley the run signaled something far more troublesome.

Friday’s win — and the four before it — came in a Toyota-Gibbs OEM motor built my Mark Cronquist. HRE are the final contenders in the series to utilize an OEM motor. All other teams have moved on to the NT1 spec motor implemented this year.

https://twitter.com/MarkCronquist/status/1061098609943498752

HRE themselves utilized the spec engine last week at Texas Motor Speedway, with Autoweek reporting the move came due to rules updates that hurt the motor’s power. But the team elected to revert to the OEM motor at Phoenix en-route to victory.

Sauter voiced concern that Moffitt and HRE could drive off unchallenged if they’re allowed the same option in next week’s finale.

“If it’s a race like tonight where you’ve got built motors running against spec motors, who the hell knows? It’s a joke,” Sauter said. “I’ve got nothing good to say about it. It’s embarrassing.

“You race guys with built motors and they just drive away from you here. If they do that next week, who knows what the advantage will be? Torque is a huge advantage at a place like that, and gear. I like to call it torque multiplication. We’ll just go down there, race our tails off and see what happens.”

Haley shared his teammate’s sentiment.

“I agree with Johnny on the motor,” Haley said. “When Ilmor runs sim through the motors, everything is pretty accurate. In qualifying we’re very close, but we get 20-30 laps into the race. The (No.) 16 truck had a built motor, the (No.) 19, Derek Kraus, it was his first race, had a very strong truck.

“On places that wear tires, tonight and especially next weekend at Homestead where there’s going to be more tire wear, it’s going to be game over for us and the guys at Ilmor. We can only do as much as we can.”

The GMS duo raised a compelling argument, but HRE crew chief Scott Zipadelli remained unconvinced. He pointed to his team’s trucks — not just motors — as a key to their recent success.

“Well, I would say they (GMS Racing) didn’t have very good trucks today honestly,” Zipadelli said. “I would love to stir the pot right now because that’s all they do is whine about our engines, but if you look at the race itself, we kill them through the corners.

“Our truck drives better than their truck. The engine has some advantages in some spots. All I’ll say is, yes, it does rev higher, but it only revs higher when you’re shifting from second, third and fourth. Once you get in high gear, it doesn’t rev any higher.”

Politicking aside, GMS Racing has enjoyed a wealth of success this year. Sauter and Haley have combined for nine wins in 22 starts this year, conceding five victories to Moffitt along the way.

Both sides will get an opportunity to prove their strength next weekend, with the trio all cemented into the Championship 4.

One in, one out

The final Championship 4 position went to Noah Gragson. But it didn’t come without a fight.

Gragson entered the day well ahead on points, and was never in danger of elimination without a surprise win. But in the final run to the checkered flag the Nevadan found himself at risk of falling out of the playoffs in favor of Grant Enfinger.

A 2015 ARCA Racing Series champion, Enfinger entered Friday’s race in need of a win to contend for the Truck title after running out of fuel on the final lap at Texas Motor Speedway. Through stout strategy and and a steady drive forward, the Alabamian found himself in position to do just that in the final run to the checkered flag.

John Hunter Nemechek led the way as the field took 25 to go, but he did so with only two fresh tires and Enfinger mounting a fierce challenge. The veteran’s pressure ultimately proved to be too much, causing Nemechek to spin out and force a caution.

After stalking him for a number of laps, @GrantEnfinger gets around @JHNemechek when he goes around.

The No. 8 brings out the caution! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/WlfqOaoBFe

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 10, 2018

Nemechek’s spin left the battle for the final playoff spot to be contested at the front of the field.

Enfinger led Gragson coming to the ensuing restart on Lap 137, but a slow restart on the inside allowed Gragson to take over the lead. The sophomore quickly drove away, leaving Enfinger to defend second against a charging Moffitt.

A late caution for a spinning Riley Herbst gave Enfinger one final shot at a playoff-advancing win, but it wasn’t meant to be. He and Gragson collided on the restart, and a three-wide dive from Moffitt on the inside allowed the Iowan to steal the lead.

Moffitt secured the win. Gragson held on to finish second – a disappointing result, but one that helped him advance to the final round.

“Main focus was to get to next weekend in Homestead and obviously I wanted this win, led a lot of laps early in the race and slid through my pit box and had to restart in the back just a mistake on my part,” he said. “We’re on to the next round and that’s what we came here to do obviously. Can’t thank all the Safelite AutoGlass KBM guys – they worked their tails off on this Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra and I’m so thankful

Enfinger dropped to fourth, bringing his playoff run to an end.

“That’s all we had,” he said afterward. “It just wasn’t meant to be. I’m really proud of this year. We’re not running for a championship next wehe said. “We’re on to the next round and that’s what we came here to do obviously. Can’t thank all the Safelite AutoGlass KBM guys – they worked their tails off on this Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra and I’m so thankful

Enfinger dropped to fourth, bringing his playoff run to an end.

“That’s all we had,” he said afterward. “It just wasn’t meant to be. I’m really proud of this year. We’re not running for a championship next wei>Matt Crafton has been a perennial contender in the Truck Series for the past five years, but the veteran bowed out of the playoffs quietly in the Round of 6 finale. Crafton finished a distant 11th, failing to contend for the win in a race he had to claim to pursue a third title.

• Harrison Burton’s first truck start at Phoenix was arguably the best of his young career. The son of former Cup Series star Jeff Burton claimed a stage win and led a career-high 46 laps before tying his best finish with a third-place result.
• Derek Kraus caught the eye of many in the garage. The 17-year-old made his debut with Bill McAnally Racing on Friday, bringing home an eighth-place run that resulted in a cheerful photo post-race. Kraus can add his Truck Series top-10 to a season that saw four K&N West wins.
• Stewart Friesen had another strong run, finishing fifth with Halmar Friesen Racing. But the dirt ace wasn’t happy post-race, having lost out on a chance to win due to a speeding penalty he voiced frustration over afterward.
• Friday saw strong showings for many prospects from K&N and ARCA. Pro Series East champion Tyler Ankrum finished a career-best sixth, giving the past two champions (Burton won in 2017) impressive results. ARCA Racing Series champion Sheldon Creed slotted in 10th after announcing a full-time truck effort with GMS Racing for next year, while fellow series regulars Christian Eckes and Chase Purdy finished ninth and 13th, respectively.
• Dawson Cram notched a career-best finish of 16th on Friday, one spot better than the 17th-place run he made in his spring Martinsville debut.