Associated Press
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. ó Austin Dillon passed NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Johnny Sauter on lap 127 and cruised to his first win of the season at the Lucas Deep Clean 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday night.
About the only thing he messed up was his post-race victory slide across the infield.
ěI stuck it a little hard on my landing,î Dillon said. ěYou wouldnít want to see what I did after that.î
He said he ran back to the truck and vomited on the in-truck camera.
Dillon, the grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, was able to close in on Sauter and pass him with 23 laps to go in turn four, and didnít look back.
ěI knew that if he could get to me heíd get me loose because I was loose all night,î Sauter said.
Dillon, who was the pole-sitter, took two tires on the last pit stop while Sauter took four.
ěYou gotta do it. Two tires against four and he got me on that restart,î said Dillon, who remained second in the points chase, 18 behind Sauter. ěBut I just kept coming. I knew he was loose so I took advantage of that.î
Dillon took the lead on the opening lap and held it until Timothy Peters passed him the 30th lap.
Peters looked to have the dominant truck leading a race-high 67 laps until a caution on lap 102 for debris on the track. Peters suffered a slow pit stop and dropped to fifth after building a 7-second lead to that point.
ěWe missed it on the right rear. I donít know what happened,î said Peters, who finished third. ěHe might have slipped coming around the back of the truck. Itís an honest mistake that came at the wrong time.î
Dillon took the lead in the flurry of action in the pits, but he didnít hold it for long. On the restart on lap 107, Sauter beat Dillon and took his first lead of the race.
The third, and most dramatic, caution of the race happened on lap 107 when Max Papisí truck caught fire on a restart along the backstretch. The safety crew was on the scene and quickly and extinguished the flames that were shooting from the front of the truck, underneath it and out the back.
Papis was not injured in the fire and waved to the fans after he got out of the truck.
Nelson Piquet Jr. was the highest finishing rookie in fourth place. Fellow rookie Parker Kligerman rounded out the top five.
On lap 61, rookie Cole Whitt locked up his brakes and missed the pit entrance. Whitt was leading the race at the time as the leaders were filing through their pit stops. Whitt continued on and pitted the next time by.
The first caution of the race occurred on lap 5 when Johanna Long nearly lost control of her truck in turn two. She may have had slight contact with Cole Whitt, which brought out the yellow for three laps.