Carson Hocevar took the advantage with 40 laps remaining to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 on Friday night at Nashville Superspeedway.
Hocevar successfully fended off every threat in the closing laps, including a furious push from rivals on a re-start with three laps left to win for the second time in his career.
In a closely fought final push to the finish line, Hocevar outlasted the series champion in the standings, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith and Friday’s polesitter Nick Sanchez by a slim margin of 0.271 seconds.
With this victory, the 20-year-old Niece Motorsports Chevrolet driver becomes the fourth multiple-race winner of the year as Hocevar has been in the top five for an astonishing fifth time in a row.
Surprisingly, Hocevar’s first victory in his professional career occurred after Smith and Sanchez collided at the front of the pack on the last lap of double overtime at Texas Motor Speedway. The Michigan native’s outstanding speed in the lead throughout the final laps was the only drama this time.
Thanks to the Truck Series’ Triple Truck Challenge program, the young driver’s efforts not only netted him the one-of-a-kind Nashville winner’s guitar but also an additional $50,000. He shares the season’s three-race bonus money wins with Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes.
“I’m so excited I can finally put that other to rest,” Hocevar said of his first win. “And hopefully I can win a lot more races for them (Neice Motorsports).”
The top five finishers were rounded out by Corey Heim and Bayley Currey. In the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, Heim won stage two and led 57 of the 150 laps completed that evening.
Sanchez still had a strong night as he secured his third pole position of the year despite missing out on winning his first trophy.
Sanchez and Rajah Caruth, former ARCA contenders and NASCAR Drive for Diversity alums set the early pace racing in close contact for the first few laps. The first 35 laps were led by Sanchez, 22, in his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet.
The two engaged in several battles for position before the 21-year-old Caruth finally overtook Sanchez on lap 36 to take the lead for the first time in his career in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. However, Caruth’s No. 24 GMS Chevrolet slowed down forcing him to pit and he lost the lead a lap later.
Caruth rejoined the race many laps later and settled for a 32nd-place finish. Similar drama played out in the opening stage’s conclusion, which saw Smith pass Sanchez in the last laps to secure the second stage win the second this year.
The other five drivers finishing in the top 10 were Chase Purdy , Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Ankrum, Ben Rhodes and Jake Garcia rounding out the top ten .
Veteran Stewart Friesen had a difficult day as he was involved in a pair of incidents that prompted the use of caution. With only three races left in the regular season to determine the 10-driver Playoff field, he slid from ninth to eleventh in the standings.
The Miami rookie surged into that crucial 10th place spot with a six-point lead over Friesen thanks to Sanchez’s performance in Nashville and Friesen’s unlucky night.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is the series’ first race back after a week off.
