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| Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports claimed another victory at Gateway on Saturday night (Google Images) |
One week after having their win stripped at Iowa Speedway, Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports headed to World Wide Technologies Raceway at Gateway on a mission. As the journeyman driver put it on the Fox pre-race show, "we're gonna stop 'em again and keep the hammer down."
''Phil Gould, Lonnie Rush they believed in me,'' Chastain said following his second (or third, if you ask the team) victory of the season. ''I didn't want to take tires and then it was up to me to freakin' hold them off, I don't know how.''
That's exactly what they did Saturday night at Gateway, claiming a dramatic playoff-clinching victory in the CarShield 200.
Chastain's crew chief Phil Gould opted to take no tires on the team's final pit stop, leaving the Alva, Fla. native to hold off Todd Gilliland, Stewart Friesen, and several other drivers with much faster trucks and much fresher tires.
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| Chastain celebrates his Gateway win (Google Images) |
In victory lane, before answering any questions, Chastain made his way past FS1's Hermie Sadler and pointed to his truck's front splitter, as his crew erupted into cheers, a clear reference to their disqualification following their Iowa victory.
"These guys went home, and we were mad," he told Sadler. "We felt like we had one taken from us... I'm going to take that money home, and they're not taking it from us this time." Chastain then grabbed the suitcase with the $50,000 bonus from Gander Outdoors for winning the third Triple Truck Challenge event and handed it off to a crewman.
The race was also a good one for Todd Gilliland. Thought by many to be on the hot seat at Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), Gilliland brought his No. 4 Toyota Tundra home in second place. Dirt track ace Stewart Friesen was third, KBM part-timer Chandler Smith finished fourth, and Iowa winner Brett Moffitt drove across the line in fifth.
While the race was relatively clean, there were some tense moments for Chastain in the closing laps. On lap 147, Sheldon Creed and Harrison Burton got together in turn four. Burton got into the third turn a little wide, causing him to slide up into Creed. Burton's Tunrda then slid across the nose of Creed's Silverado and into the outside wall.
When asked if he was nervous about the ensuing restart, Chastain said he was more than a little bit worried about keeping the lead.
“Of course, scared to death, that’s the last thing I wanted to see,” he explained. “Buzzed my tires like crazy on the restart and got to thank Todd (Gilliland) for pushing me and not wrecking me. Other guys earlier, when you fade to block, they try to wreck you.
"Other than that, man, execution on these guy's part. We didn’t have the fastest truck today, but we executed, and we believed in each other. Man, that feels really good.”
The Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the Camping World 225. Coverage begins at 8:30 pm ET Friday night on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Nascar Radio.
"These guys went home, and we were mad," he told Sadler. "We felt like we had one taken from us... I'm going to take that money home, and they're not taking it from us this time." Chastain then grabbed the suitcase with the $50,000 bonus from Gander Outdoors for winning the third Triple Truck Challenge event and handed it off to a crewman.
The race was also a good one for Todd Gilliland. Thought by many to be on the hot seat at Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), Gilliland brought his No. 4 Toyota Tundra home in second place. Dirt track ace Stewart Friesen was third, KBM part-timer Chandler Smith finished fourth, and Iowa winner Brett Moffitt drove across the line in fifth.
While the race was relatively clean, there were some tense moments for Chastain in the closing laps. On lap 147, Sheldon Creed and Harrison Burton got together in turn four. Burton got into the third turn a little wide, causing him to slide up into Creed. Burton's Tunrda then slid across the nose of Creed's Silverado and into the outside wall.
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| The No. 45 Niece Motorsports team pose in victory lane with the Mike Mittler Memorial Trophy (Google Images) |
“Of course, scared to death, that’s the last thing I wanted to see,” he explained. “Buzzed my tires like crazy on the restart and got to thank Todd (Gilliland) for pushing me and not wrecking me. Other guys earlier, when you fade to block, they try to wreck you.
"Other than that, man, execution on these guy's part. We didn’t have the fastest truck today, but we executed, and we believed in each other. Man, that feels really good.”
The Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the Camping World 225. Coverage begins at 8:30 pm ET Friday night on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Nascar Radio.
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