Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Truck race at Bristol

While it is a far cry from the fast two-mile Michigan track we raced at last weekend, I expect to see Gibbs cars again at the front.

Johnson City driver Zeke Shell crossed the finish line first, but his No. 97 Ford failed post-race inspection which handed the win to Kres VanDyke, who had been disqualified each of the past two weeks. As the points stand, all five would qualify for the Chase, but a first-time victor at one of the three remaining races before the grid is set could cause a considerable shake-up.

Heading into Saturday’s race, Clint Bowyer holds down the final spot on the Chase grid. Had Harvick not won at Homestead, and with a break or two along the way, Newman potentially could have won last year’s championship.

John Hunter Nemechek finished third, Daniel Hemric, was fourth and Brandon Jones was fifth.

The think about Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth this week is they should be be considered co-favorites to win, which is a big statement because Harvick has been that “it” guy favored in nearly every race other than the roads and restrictor-plates. After a 45-minute rain delay, Blaney, back on the lead lap, powered up to second and was suddenly presented a second chance to take the lead when Ty Dillon wrecked and brought out a caution flag with four laps remaining. I was just trying to be focused on the 29 (Blaney) and continue to drive up there and try to get him.

On the restart, Blaney roared away from the field, but a few laps later, NASCAR black-flagged him on lap 37 for jumping the restart, forcing a pass-through penalty, giving the lead to Cole Custer. Our truck was fast tonight.

“But I really like Bristol, especially the night race”.

I’m not going to recommend a wager on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.at 100-to-1 odds, but I couldn’t fault anyone for taking a shot with him in match-ups or the daily fantasy stuff.

Kenseth won the April 19 race at Bristol, but Harvick led a race-high 184 laps before being involved in an accident that relegated him to a 38th-place finish. “There weren’t enough laps to catch the #29, and we were just in the wrong position”.

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, just seven points covers the top three with Reddick narrowly ahead of Crafton and Erik Jones in third. And aside from Blaney and second place Kyle Busch, rookies ruled the top five, finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th.

The next Truck Series race will be the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario on August 30.