Carson Hocevar didn’t win the race he dominated, but his teammate took full advantage. Hocevar led 57 out of 143 laps during the Truck Series race at Charlotte, but lost the lead on an overtime restart and wrecked himself and Ryan Preece in the process. Chastain capitalized on the second overtime restart and won by just .103 seconds.
“Carson Hocevar and that team, they dominated all night,” Chastain said. “I hate it so much for Carson,” he added, saying he was “so proud” of his drive. “I’ll say that over and over. That guy’s a future star. He’s such a goofy kid, but I love him. He learns so quick.”
Chastain’s win came in large part because of a push from Grant Enfinger to get around John Hunter Nemechek, who jumped to the lead of the second overtime restart.
Enfinger emphasized that he expects to get the push in the future. “I’m glad to push my buddy Ross to a win,” he said. “In my book, he owes me one.”
For his part, Nemechek said he’s happy “just racking up top fives,” especially considering his team “struggled all day, from the time that we unloaded.”
Christian Eckes and Zane Smith rounded out the top five. Eckes restarted in the front row next to Chastain, but wasn’t able to make the pass for the win and lost positions. “It sucks, but it is what it is,” he said. “That’s two races in a row that we’ve been in position to win a race at the end and just came up a little short.”
Ryan Preece and Carson Hocevar ended up eleventh and sixteenth respectively, and neither were happy about it.
A despondent Hocevar said it was a bad move, and added: “It sucks. I mean I tried really hard—I tried too hard. I didn’t get a good restart. I tried too hard, tried to wash [Preece] up and just crashed myself. I feel like just crying.”
For his part, Preece didn’t mince words. “Don’t wreck the guy on the outside of you trying to win your first race,” Preece said. “Don’t do it.”
Photos: NASCAR Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday, May 27, 2022
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Results North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Friday, May 27, 2022
1. (5) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 143.
2. (11) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 143.
3. (15) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 143.
4. (9) Christian Eckes, Toyota, 143.
5. (2) Zane Smith, Ford, 143.
6. (6) Tanner Gray, Ford, 143.
7. (3) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 143.
8. (7) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 143.
9. (13) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 143.
10. (12) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 143.
11. (8) Ryan Preece, Ford, 143.
12. (16) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 143.
13. (1) Ty Majeski, Toyota, 143.
14. (20) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 143.
15. (17) Chase Purdy, Toyota, 143.
16. (4) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 143.
17. (10) Matt Dibenedetto, Chevrolet, 142.
18. (18) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 142.
19. (22) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 142.
20. (25) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 142.
21. (30) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 141.
22. (33) Lawless Alan #, Chevrolet, 141.
23. (19) Jack Wood #, Chevrolet, 141.
24. (27) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 141.
25. (26) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 141.
26. (31) Max Gutierrez, Chevrolet, 140.
27. (35) Hailie Deegan, Ford, 140.
28. (24) Dean Thompson #, Chevrolet, 139.
29. (21) Tate Fogleman, Toyota, 139.
30. (29) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 139.
31. (32) Josh Reaume, Toyota, 138.
32. (14) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, Accident, 128.
33. (34) Keith McGee, Toyota, Suspension, 67.
34. (23) Matt Mills(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 57.
35. (28) Brennan Poole, Toyota, Driveshaft, 38.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 125.827 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 42 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.102 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Majeski 1;Z. Smith 2-8;T. Majeski 9;Z. Smith 10-54;D. Kraus 55-56;B. Rhodes 57-61;C. Eckes 62-65;R. Preece 66-71;C. Hocevar 72-99;T. Majeski 100-101;M. Crafton 102-106;C. Hocevar 107-135;R. Preece 136-138;R. Chastain(i) 139-141;C. Eckes 142;R. Chastain(i) 143.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar 2 times for 57 laps; Zane Smith 2 times for 52 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 9 laps; Matt Crafton 1 time for 5 laps; Christian Eckes 2 times for 5 laps; Ben Rhodes 1 time for 5 laps; Ty Majeski 3 times for 4 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 4 laps; Derek Kraus 1 time for 2 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 38,66,17,42,41,51,25,98,88,23
Stage #2 Top Ten: 99,98,17,42,4,38,25,41,66,19
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