Lofton and the No. 6 Imperial Valley Full Plate/J.D. Heiskell & Co. Team Finish 18th in Las Vegas

Justin Lofton and the No. 6 Imperial Valley Full Plate/J.D. Heiskell & Co. team started Saturday night’s Smith’s 350 on the front row, but the changing track conditions as the sun set over the Las Vegas Motor Speedway resulted in handling issues, relegating them to a 18th-place finish. Lofton started the 17th event on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule from the second position, but fell to fourth by the first caution of the night on lap 13 reporting a tight-handling condition on both ends of the 1.5-mile racetrack. With crew chief Bryan Berry absent due to illness, Director of Competition Gere Kennon sat atop the pit box, calling for a series of chassis and air pressure adjustments throughout the evening. The truck was handling much better by the halfway point and the No. 6 team was faced battling for track position. They gambled and remained on the track during under the lap 92 yellow flag while the field came to pit road for service. Lofton restarted first and remained in the top five following cautions on laps 97 and 109. The Kennon-led team rolled the dice, but during the long green-flag run, Lofton fell in the running order as he wrestled with no grip thanks to the well-worn tires. The final caution on lap 139 gave the Westmorland, Calif., native the opportunity to bring the No. 6 machine to pit road for four new tires and much-needed fuel. Restarted 19th with two laps remaining in the 146-lap race, Lofton gained one position to finish 18th.

 

Justin Lofton Quote:

“We had a fast No. 6 Silverado today and almost had the pole position. We knew we’d have to adjust to the track and we did, we just lost track position before we could get the truck dialed in. It’s Vegas so we took a chance and gambled by staying out a few times. I just couldn’t hold the track position on the old tires and then we had to come in for fuel on that last stop. I want to thank everyone who came to Las Vegas from Imperial Valley Full Plate and J.D. Heiskell & Co. to support us. They are great groups and I’m proud to represent them.”
 
SGR PR