Bristol Truck Series Recap

    What a week for Sam Mayer! The seventeen-year-old rookie won his first ever truck race at Bristol a few days after announcing he would race for the Xfinity Series powerhouse JRM in the second half of 2021 and 2022. 

    In a race dominated by the GMS trucks, and the young stars of the Truck Series, some of NASCAR's best shined bright under the lights of Bristol. Even though track position seemed to matter more than other factors, it created interesting strategy calls when drivers were trying to position themselves for the final stage.

    Stage 1 was dominated by Brett Moffitt; he took the lead early on in the race and never looked back. GMS went first through fourth at the end of stage 1. Early in stage 1 there was an incident between Stewart Freissen and Austin Hill; Hill ended up with a 25th place finish 5 laps down. 

    Stage 2 was dominated by another GMS driver, Tyler Ankrum. At the stage break, half of the field pitted, including Brett Moffitt. He only recovered to a 5th place finish in stage 2. The end of Stage 2 showed the value of track position, not because it was hard to pass, but it was difficult to navigate lapped traffic. 

    Stage 3 was setup with Moffitt in the lead, and he initially drove away, but the young Sam Mayer lurked behind ready to pounce. Mayer made his move towards the lead with 29 to go. After earning the lead, he cruised to victory, and Moffitt held on to second. The finishing order had a few surprising finishes including Tanner Gray in third, and Parker Kligerman in fourth. 

    With Sam Mayer winning and not being a playoff contended,  the playoffs standings received an interesting shake up. Brett Moffitt moved to the point lead 36 points to the good, but the major note is Austin Hill falling to only 2 points above the elimination line. Ankrum's big points night helped him rise from 10th to 5th in the standings. The truck series returns next week with an event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.