Sheldon Creed, No. 2 LiftKits4Less Chevrolet Silverado
START: 9th
FINISH: 36th
POINTS: 5th
- Sheldon Creed began the Round of 8 with high hopes of securing maximum points after riding a wave of momentum throughout a dominant opening of the Round of 10 in which he scored two wins.
- Creed started ninth due to a disappointing finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, but gained a spot early on to finish eighth in Stage 1. As the race progressed, the No. 2 LiftKits4Less Silverado drove into the Top 5, gaining valuable stage points to finish 5th in Stage 2.
- Disaster struck on lap 71 of 134, when Creed was involved in a multi-truck crash off turn two, ending his night early with a huge hit that led to a fire. Thankfully, Sheldon walked away from the crash uninjured, but the end result was a dismal 36th place finish. Not the way that the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion hoped to open up the Round of 8.
#Back2Back: Sheldon Creed finds himself on the outside looking in as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway, currently scored in fifth place, five points below the cutline. The No. 2 crew will have to rally back in the next two races in order to advance to the season finale in Phoenix.
Quote: “Man, restarts were a lot of fun all night, I had a lot of fun on the restarts early but we got shuffled back when we didn’t pit there. I just wasn’t able to see the 18 truck through the wreck and destroyed both of our trucks. We didn’t have a great truck, but I thought we had a top 8 truck. Unfortunate, but it’ll make Talladega interesting and fun.”
Zane Smith, No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet Silverado
START: 4th
FINISH: 29th
POINTS: 7th
- After narrowly advancing into the Round of 8 via a clutch late race rally at Bristol Motor Speedway, Zane Smith began the Round of 8 in fourth place above the cutline after the points reset. Smith would start the Victoria’s Voice 200 from the fourth position, eyeing a good points night in Sin City.
- The No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet showed speed early on, contending for the lead and finishing sixth in Stage 1. Just as it appeared that Smith would turn his luck around and have a good finish, contact from another competitor early on in Stage 2 cut his left rear tire down, shredding debris down the back straightaway and ripping out battery terminal cables.
- Smith’s crew feverishly went to work to repair the damage and replace the battery, but the No. 21 Silverado would lose many laps behind the wall, effectively knocking the team out of contention. Zane completed the race with a disappointing 29th place finish.
#21in21: Zane Smith now finds himself below the cutline ahead of the next race at Talladega Superspeedway, 19 points out. Driver No. 21 has to climb out of a sizable hole in order to compete in the Championship 4 round, but make no mistake, the team is ready to overcome adversity once again.
Quote: “Man, it would be nice if things could go our way in one of these races. My guys brought me a fast No. 21 Allegiant Silverado tonight, we fired off pretty loose but I thought that as the night went on that we were going to be in good shape. I did everything I could to hold onto it as my left rear tire got cut down, but we just lost too much time trying to fix it. Hopefully Talladega will be nicer to us next weekend.”
Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado
START: 19th
FINISH: 13th
POINTS: 19th
- Chase Purdy made his third career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night, a track that hadn’t quite been to kind to the rookie in his previous starts, with a best finish of 23rd earlier this season in March.
- Purdy started from the 19th position but had to overcome early adversity on a restart, finishing 22nd in Stage 1. The No. 23 driver gained some spots in Stage 2, where he finished 18th. As the race progressed, Purdy was able to avoid others’ misfortunes as he climbed the leaderboard.
- The rookie continued to pass trucks late in the race and came home with a 13th place finish in Las Vegas, the top-finishing GMS Racing driver on the evening. The run was Purdy’s second-highest finish of the season.
Quote: “Really crazy night. We got put behind early with nose damage on an early restart, but somehow survived the wrecks and fought hard. I’m proud of my No. 23 guys’ efforts and for never giving up. It’s not the finish we wanted but we will take it with all things considered that happened to us tonight.”
Jack Wood, No. 24 Martin Auto Color Chevrolet Silverado
START: 20th
FINISH: 30th
POINTS: 30th
- Jack Wood had high hopes of welcoming new sponsor Martin Auto Color to the sport with a bang, as the 21-year-old rookie made his first start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Qualifying 20th, Jack would stay consistent throughout Stage 1, where he crossed the line in 20th as he continued to adapt to the track. Pit strategy towards the latter part of Stage 2 had the No. 24 Silverado running as high as fifth as the laps wound down, and Wood finished 13th.
- Wood continued to gain track position through the final laps of the race, dodging large crashes and passing other trucks on merit. Unfortunately, with just over twenty laps to go, Jack was involved in a crash with another competitor, cutting down his right front tire and sustaining heavy right side damage. The No. 24 team tried to fix the damage, but ultimately he had to park with a disappointing 30th place finish.
Quote: “Definitely not the way that I was looking to end my night here in Las Vegas. I felt that we were able to gain speed throughout the night, whether it was adjustments in the pits or myself as a driver. As we headed into the final stage, I thought that we were going to be in good shape, but unfortunately we got involved and weren’t able to finish. Onto Talladega next weekend.”
Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado
START: 16th
FINISH: 34th
POINTS: 15th
- 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: “I was racing the 22 truck there, and he faded high and I was going to try and grab his right rear quarter panel, but I got up in the marbles and lost it. I know Sheldon was involved in that wreck, so I want to apologize to him, he’s in the Playoffs and I’m not, so it sucks. We had a pretty fast truck, but will just have to go to the next race.”
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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