GMS Racing Camping World Truck Series Darlington Raceway II Recap

Sheldon Creed, No. 2 LiftKits4Less Chevrolet Silverado

START: 1st 

FINISH: 1st

POINTS: 1st

  • Sheldon Creed entered Darlington with one goal: earn Playoffs points and win. Having locked himself into the Round of 8 with a win in Gateway, the No. 2 team had no stress about Sunday’s In It To Win It 200.
  • Creed led the field to the green from the pole position, but had to overcome adversity early as his Silverado received heavy rear end damage on the lap 21 restart. The crew went to work on fixing as much of the damage as possible, and miraculously, the truck never skipped a beat.
  • Pure domination by the GMS Racing team resulted in Creed’s third win of the season. An incredible drive by Sheldon, as he led a total of 104 of 147 laps. Notably, Creed swept both of the Darlington races this season. Perfect momentum to start the Playoffs!

Back2Back: Sheldon Creed is the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship points leader after his win at Darlington Raceway. Creed looks to continue to build on his momentum and go for a clean sweep of the Round of 10 next time out at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Quote: “Gosh, what a tough race! We certainly earned that one, even though my truck wasn’t handling great early on, the crew kept working on it and we got better each time out. I drove super hard to stay in the clean air, that damage really hurt us early on. Pit crew was phenomenal all race long, best they have been all year. It feels so great to go back to back and open up the Playoffs with two wins!”

Zane Smith, No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Silverado

START: 10th

FINISH: 9th

POINTS: 9th

  • Zane Smith entered Darlington on the outside looking in for the Playoffs picture, as a disappointing early end at Gateway put the No. 21 behind the eight ball. Early on, it was evident that Smith would stand a fighting chance at competing for the win at Darlington.
  • Smith finished an impressive third place in Stage 1, and backed it up with a sixth place finish in Stage 2. With bonus points at a premium, the two stage finishes assisted his Playoffs bid. The No. 21 team fought through adversity on pit road multiple times, forcing Smith to drive through the field twice.
  • Ultimately, Smith rebounded to a ninth place finish in the South Carolina heat. Though the results might not show the entire story, it is undeniable the fight that his team brought to the table.

21in21: Zane Smith continues to find himself below the cutline entering the final race of the Round of 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Smith needs to gain five points on his nearest competition to advance to the Round of 8, a task that is very doable.

Quote: “More mistakes today. Jack failed on the second stop, then I made a big mistake trying to maximize pit road trying to get around the 88 and spun myself. We came from the back three times to finish ninth. Just five points out heading into Bristol.”

Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado

START: 17th

FINISH: 15th

POINTS: 19th

  • Chase Purdy returned to Darlington with a vengeance after he did not receive the finish he deserved in May due to contact with a lapped truck. Riding the high of his best-career finish at Gateway, Purdy was eager to have two solid finishes in a row. A 17th place starting spot meant that Chase would have to dig deep from the drop of the green flag.
  • The No. 23 Bama Buggies Silverado fought hard from start to finish, running 17th in Stage 1 and 14th in Stage 2. Towards the end of the race, Purdy made up even more spots as he continued to tame the historic track, even breaking into the Top 10 at one point.
  • Purdy brought his Chevrolet home with a respectable 15th place finish at Darlington, and heading into the series’ next event at Bristol, the No. 23 team has some solid momentum behind them. Purdy is thirty points behind his nearest competitor in the standings.

Quote: “We had a fast Silverado today! I spun the tires on a late restart that cost our team some valuable track position, and ultimately, our chances at a solid Top 10 finish. Regardless, it was a great effort from my No. 23 guys today, onto Bristol in less than two weeks!”

Jack Wood, No. 24 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Silverado

START: 15th

FINISH: 30th

POINTS: 29th

  • Jack Wood made his first ever start at Darlington Raceway in Sunday’s In It To Win It 200. As a rookie with no previous track time and minimal experience, Jack faced a tough battle ahead of himself with the Lady in Black.
  • Wood faded back early on as he learned the track layout, but kept his nose clean through Stage 1, where he finished 24th. In Stage 2, the No. 24 was on the move, as it began to pick up spots one by one. Unfortunately for Jack, however, disaster struck on lap 67, as he was forced into the wall by another competitor. With major front, rear, and side damage, Jack was knocked out of contention for the remainder of the race.
  • Wood and the No. 24 crew continued to fight and never gave up, but their day resulted in a disappointing 30th place finish. Jack will return to NCWTS competition in Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 24th, as Doug Coby takes over the reigns next time out at Bristol for his series debut.

Quote: “Man, what a wild first race at Darlington. It was tough to get all of that damage in Stage 2, but it was still a good learning experience as we were able to run all the laps today. We will move onto the next one!”

Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado

START: 25th

FINISH: 18th

POINTS: 13th

  • Tyler Ankrum raced his heart out at Darlington, starting deep in the field in 25th. As the No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet passed several trucks through the pack, it appeared as if Ankrum was going to have a good finish.
  • Early on, Ankrum found out pretty quickly why the track is labeled “Too Tough to Tame”, as he made contact with the wall in turn 3 and earned his first Darlington stripe. The damage was enough to hinder Ankrum’s Silverado in a significant way, as he was not able to recover. Stage 1 had the No. 26 positioned in 16th, but by Stage 2, he had dropped to 19th.
  • Officially, Ankrum was scored with an 18th place finish. Not the finish that he was looking for, but with all things considered, it could have been worse. The team will try to rebound in the series’ next outing at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Quote: “We started off decently today, made up a good amount of spots in Stage 1, but that was unfortunately the highlight of my day. Our truck really never had the long run speed needed to contend up at the front. Definitely not the finish we were looking for, but we will move onto the next one and keep on working.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Chase Purdy and Jack Wood. The team also competes in the ARCA Menards Series with Daniel Dye. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks Championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championship. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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