Austin Hill holds off Sheldon Creed for Gander Trucks win at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 25: Austin Hill, driver of the #16 Weins Canada Toyota, drives drives during the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Austin Hill advanced into the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs with a victory in Saturday’s World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Hill, the regular-season champion, led the final 39 laps to earn his second victory of the 2020 season and the sixth Gander Trucks race of his career.

The No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota driver held off Sheldon Creed in the closing laps. Creed put the heat on Hill until the No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet truck hit the wall with 11 laps remaining, hindering his shot at victory.

“Well the ironic thing was right after the checkered flag I said, hey, let’s keep our heads up,” Hill said. ‘We’re gonna go to Vegas and win it. Heck, we did it.”

Creed, who won both stages, held on to finish second. Rookie Tanner Gray finished third, tying his career best finish in the Gander Trucks. Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith rounded out the top five.

“Just frustrated, the best track I’ve ever had,” Creed said. ”We’re all racing hard, this is the playoffs. I think I showed my hand too early.”

Other playoff drivers who finished in the top 10 included Grant Enfinger (sixth), Zane Smith (seventh), Matt Crafton (ninth) and Tyler Ankrum (10th).

Ben Rhodes was the lowest finishing playoff driver, finishing 23rd after a difficult night. Rhodes fought oil pressure and power issues the majority of the 134-lap event. Things turned worse when he spun the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford coming out of Turn 2, backing the truck into the inside wall but was able to continue.

Next up for the Gander Trucks is the Round of 12 elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sat., Oct. 3.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Race Results World of Westgate 200
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday, September 25, 2020

1. (11)  Austin Hill (P), Toyota, 134.

2. (4)  Sheldon Creed (P), Chevrolet, 134.

3. (12)  Tanner Gray #, Ford, 134.

4. (17)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 134.

5. (5)  Chandler Smith, Toyota, 134.

6. (3)  Grant Enfinger (P), Ford, 134.

7. (7)  Zane Smith # (P), Chevrolet, 134.

8. (9)  Christian Eckes # (P), Toyota, 134.

9. (6)  Matt Crafton (P), Ford, 134.

10. (2)  Tyler Ankrum (P), Chevrolet, 134.

11. (13)  Johnny Sauter, Ford, 134.

12. (23)  Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 134.

13. (10)  Todd Gilliland (P), Ford, 134.

14. (34)  Dylan Lupton, Ford, 134.

15. (1)  Brett Moffitt (P), Chevrolet, 134.

16. (18)  Tate Fogleman #, Chevrolet, 134.

17. (26)  Tyler Hill, Chevrolet, 134.

18. (27)  Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 133.

19. (32)  Spencer Davis, Toyota, 133.

20. (15)  Raphael Lessard #, Toyota, 133.

21. (29)  Travis Pastrana, Chevrolet, 133.

22. (21)  Clay Greenfield, Toyota, 133.

23. (8)  Ben Rhodes (P), Ford, 132.

24. (25)  Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 132.

25. (19)  Danny Bohn, Toyota, 132.

26. (35)  Ray Ciccarelli, Chevrolet, 131.

27. (16)  Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 131.

28. (24)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 129.

29. (30)  Josh Reaume, Toyota, 127.

30. (14)  Derek Kraus #, Toyota, 125.

31. (31)  Jesse Iwuji, Toyota, 115.

32. (20)  Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Track Bar, 85.

33. (36)  Tim Viens, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 69.

34. (28)  Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Oil Tank, 62.

35. (33)  Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, Accident, 16.

36. (22)  Natalie Decker, Chevrolet, Fatigue, 0.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  119.861 mph.
Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 40 Mins, 37 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.546 Seconds
Caution Flags:  5 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes:  4 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   B. Moffitt (P) 1;S. Creed (P) 2-67;C. Eckes # (P) 68-72;S. Creed (P) 73-95;A. Hill (P) 96-134.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Sheldon Creed (P) 2 times for 89 laps; Austin Hill (P) 1 time for 39 laps; Christian Eckes # (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Brett Moffitt (P) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,23,19,98,21,99,18,15,88,51
Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,21,23,19,99,13,18,88,16,15

Greg Engle