Brett Moffitt won his fourth race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season with a thrilling last-corner, last-lap pass at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The victory ties Moffitt for the most wins on the tour with Johnny Sauter and gives him a total of 21 Playoff Points with one race remaining before the NCWTS Playoffs. Moffitt trailed Sauter by three truck lengths at the white flag and muscled his way to the inside off Turn 4. He took the lead on the front stretch coming to the checkered flag to capture his fifth-career NCWTS race win by 0.025 seconds.
Moffitt had to slice his way through traffic in the No. 16 Hino, AISIN Group Tundra after qualifying 21st. As the first stage ran under the green flag, Moffitt worked his way inside the top-15 to 13th on lap 20. Crew chief Scott Zipadelli kept Moffitt on track during the stage caution and inherited the race lead on lap 23. Stage 2 was slowed twice for caution flags, and showcased Moffitt’s ability to navigate the chaotic restarts and remained in the top five. The stage came to a close at lap 40 as Moffitt ran third, collecting eight points.
After a pit stop under caution on lap 43 for four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment, Moffitt restarted 19th and quickly began his methodical march back to the front. During the long green flag run from laps 47-78, Moffitt carved his way through the field and into the top five when green-flag pit stops began on lap 71. Zipadelli stayed true to his strategy plan and kept Moffitt on track under green in second position until a caution flew on lap 79. Moffitt pitted for two tires and fuel under the yellow, which proved to be the final caution period of the afternoon. Moffitt restarted third on the final restart at lap 84 and began stalking the race lead.
On lap 88, Moffitt made his first bid for the race lead and began to set up a race-winning move. Moffitt kept the No. 21 truck in his sights for the final 11 laps and pulled the trigger into Turn 3 on the final lap. The Grimes, Iowa dove to the bottom of the speedway in the middle of Turns 3 and 4 and got alongside the No. 21’s left rear quarter panel. Moffitt used the side draft to perfection to inch ahead coming to the checkered flag and capture his second NCWTS victory at MIS. Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 was the second NCWTS race Moffitt has won with a last-lap pass this season and has him positioned as one of the championship favorites leading into the regular-season finale.
Brett Moffitt Quote:
“I knew Johnny (Sauter) was fast and our Toyota engine, we were lacking a little bit of raw speed today with that, but I was just really waiting to time it. Hino, AISIN Group, and Toyota Industrial (Equipment), Toyota and TRD – everything they do for us, they give us the right tools to get the job done. Pretty amazing that this little team has gone to victory lane four times now this year. I can’t thank Shige Hattori (team owner) and all these guys enough.”
“That’s just a testament to Shige Hattori (team owner) and all these guys on this team. We work hard, we never give up. Can’t thank Hino and Toyota Industrial and Aisin Group for being on board this week – that’s another piece to the puzzle, we have great partners. The more success we have on track, the more success off the track. We still have a few races that we need to get filled, but hopefully this was a step in the right direction.”
“The whole last however many laps that I was behind him, I was running wide open and I would push him with that air bubble between our bumpers so I tried to back up (turn) one and let him get out there a little bit. I knew the 8 (John Hunter Nemechek) was behind us and I was hoping he would get to us and be able to push us. I was able to plan it right and play it right – it’s just great to get here.”
