MADISON, Ill. – A week after being disqualified from Iowa, Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports found redemption by winning the CarShield 200 presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Friday night.
Chastain won the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Iowa Speedway last week, but his truck was too low in post-race technical inspection. As a result, the win and $50,000 Triple Truck bonus were stripped away, and Chastain was disqualified, earning last-place points.
On Friday night at Gateway, Chastain led the final 19 laps of the race in his No. 46 CarShield.com Chevrolet. The win marked his second of the 2019 season. Chastain was also awarded the $50,000 Triple Truck bonus cash in its final promotional race of the year. To Make the NASCAR Playoffs, Chastain will need to be within the top-20 in the standings. He currently sits in 26th.
“These guys went home, and we were mad,” Chastain said. “Felt like we had one taken from us. Holy cow! Phil Gould (crew chief) believed in me. I didn’t want to take tires, and then it was up to me to freaking hold them off. I don’t know how, but I’m going to take that money home, and they’re not taking it from us this time.”
On the final lap of the race, the drivers battling for second-place were racing hard, beating and banging on each other. Todd Gilliland solidified the runner up position as his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, Christian Eckes spun off the nose of Stewart Friesen who finished in third.
“In practice I thought this was going to be our night,” said Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota. “Starting in the back didn’t help us there. We had to do some pit strategy. We executed a really good race, so that’s one thing I’m really proud of and I felt like I drove a good race. Overall, like I said, just a well-executed weekend, really smooth. This is a brand-new truck so a good job to everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports. This is one of the fastest Tundras I’ve had yet, and we just need to keep this momentum rolling.”
Eckes won the pole and led a race high of 57 laps throughout the night in only his sixth series start. He was looking to capture a solid top-five finish until the last-lap chaos. Eckes went from a top-five finish to 14th on the final lap.
“The 4 (Todd Gilliland) got by me and I was looking to make a crossover move and I’m not really sure what happened,” said Eckes, driver of the No. 51 SiriusXM Toyota. “Man, it’s unfortunate. These SiriusXM guys work too hard for this. I got a few more and I’m really looking forward to getting back with Rudy (Fugle, crew chief). We had a great run tonight. I honestly felt like we had the best truck there at the end. I just need to work on myself a little bit as far as the aero aspect of it. We’ll do that and move on to Pocono.”
Finishing behind Chastain, Gilliland and Friesen, were Chandler Smith and Brett Moffitt. Rounding out the top-10 was Grant Enfinger, Sheldon Creed, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton and Myatt Snider.
During the race, there were 14 lead changes among eight leaders and five cautions for 30 laps.
Enfinger leads Friesen in the standings by 54 points.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will visit Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, June 28 for the Camping World 225. Live coverage will broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and the Motor Racing Network (MRN) at 9 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/Getty Images
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