UNOH 225 CWTS Race Recap

Last night, we entered into the 150-lap, UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway with only two Camping World Truck Series regulars previously winning this season: Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Johnny Sauter; many were wondering if there would be a third name added to that list by the end of the night. 

Credit to Google

In qualifying, Johnny Sauter, piloting the No. 13, was the dominant car, putting down a lap of 31.015 with a speed of 174.109 mph – enough to knock Austin Dillon off the pole.  Dillon was followed by Nelson Piquet, Jr., Elliott Sadler and Parker Kligerman; rounding out the top-five.   

When the Green flag waved, Sauter brought the field to the Start/Finish line.  By lap five, Sadler, a rookie to Kentucky Speedway, grasped the lead.  On lap seven, the first caution came out when there was contact between Justin Marks and Johanna Long – both trucks were damaged.  Not ten laps later, the second caution came out when the engine of the No. 88 of Matt Crafton blew up, spreading some debris on the track.  The result?  Crafton was done for the night.  Thirty-two laps after the restart, it was time for the first green-flag pit stops of the night; but by lap fifty-nine, John King spun, causing the third caution of the night.  On the restart, Kyle Busch, who went to the rear of the field due to missing the driver’s meeting for Cup testing, had the lead. 

On lap seventy-one, the No. 10 of Jennifer Jo Cobb hit the wall.  She was clearly upset with the truck because she said, “I will never ever, ever, ever race this truck again!”  The one we were all waiting for, “Big One” came on lap seventy-seven when Hornaday got loose and spun, taking out rookies: Josh Richards, John King, Jack Smith and Cole Whitt. 

Credit to Google

With twenty-eight to go, the “field mixer,” green-flag pit stops, cycled through; which wasn’t a good thing for Johnny Sauter.  During his pit stop, when they let the jack down, the rear axle broke; the chance of finishing the race was over for him.  Another early race contender, Austin Dillon, had the hood of his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy, come up onto his windshield while coming up to the rear bumper of Kyle Busch for first.  Dillon managed to get to Pit Road and have his crew tear the tether off, removing the whole hood of the truck.  It’s a good thing NASCAR has spotters, and in Austin’s case, it’s a good thing he has Andy Houston.  On lap one forty-six, Timothy Peters, Nelson Piquet, Jr.(another race winning contender), and Miguel Paludo all wrecked, causing yet another caution, this one, which would send us to a Green-White-Checkered. 

When the Checkered flag was in the air, Kyle Busch, starting dead last, who said he didn’t have a truck to win, led the field. 

• Unofficial Results click here
• Point Standings click here