By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
In his first race since fracturing both of his femurs in a motocross accident in March, Brett Moffitt earned a top-15 finish at Darlington Raceway.
The Grimes, IA native hovered around the tail-end of the top-10 for much of the Toyota 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. The accomplishment to run that well was big for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series regular. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Moffitt had no practice or qualifying time to prepare for the event.
Moffitt’s No. 02 FR8 Auctions Chevrolet Camaro SS battled with Justin Haley, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Brown, and Anthony Alfredo. During the final nine lap run to the finish, the Our Motorsports driver held off Richard Childress Racing’s Alfredo and driver-owners Brown and Clements. However, Moffitt could not get by Justin Haley for 10th and took the checkered flag in 11th.
Moffitt took to Twitter to express his emotions about his successful return:
Man what a emotional day after breaking both femurs two months ago to a p11 finish our first race back I am PUMPED UP! I can’t thank everyone @OurMotorsports enough for the effort they have put in during this time and stuck behind me through it all! That is a damn win for us! 🍻
— Brett Moffitt (@Brett_Moffitt) May 21, 2020
Moffitt started 22nd after the starting grid at Darlington was chosen by random draw. The young organization entered 18th in owner points. As Moffitt climbed up the running order, he found himself battling Kyle Busch, Brandon Jones, and others. The 2018 Truck Series Champion kept his nose clean and charged forward.
The 11th-place finish is the best finish in the Xfinity Series for team owner Chris Our. It is also the best for Moffitt in Xfinity Series competition since he finished 11th at Iowa Speedway in 2017 for his Truck Series team, GMS Racing.
Both of Moffitt’s teams, GMS and Our, along with longtime sponsors such as FR8 Auctions and Plan B Sales stuck with him through his recovery. One part of that recovery included competing in the eNASCAR Saturday Night Thunder races on iRacing.
Moffitt made sure to recognize the help Marcus Barela, founder of FR8 Auctions, has given the veteran driver:
Also want to give a big shoutout to my buddy Marcus and his family @fr8auctions he has helped more than most know through the years. Look forward to many more good runs with them!
— Brett Moffitt (@Brett_Moffitt) May 21, 2020
The next race for the Xfinity Series is the Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday, May 24.