Boston Earns His First Top-10 Finish at Martinsville

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In: NASCAR Truck Series News

Martinsville Speedway is notoriously difficult, even for the most seasoned drivers. The paper clip-shaped half-mile track can be especially tough on rookies, but Justin Boston overcame a mid-pack starting position, and a cut left-rear tire early in the race to earn his first top-10 finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

 

Boston started the 250-lap race 21st and used two cautions in the first 56 laps to bring his No. 54 ZLOOP® Tundra to the pits for adjustments. He had worked his way up to 14th by lap 50, but suddenly fell back to 21st telling the team the truck was very loose. Crew chief Shannon Rursch called for four tires which was the right call, as the team discovered a cut in the left-rear tire which could have ruined Boston’s day had it not been changed.

 

Restarting the race 21st on lap 70, Boston began picking off competitors one by one and was up to 13th by halfway. The long green-flag run helped him catch several drivers, but it also enabled the leader to put several trucks one lap down. Boston was lapped while running 12th, but another break came his way with a caution eight laps later. He was awarded the lucky dog which allowed him to return to the lead lap.

 

Boston continued making progress and was as high as sixth with 56 laps to go. His ZLOOP Tundra was getting loose again which cost him some track position. During a caution with 34 laps to go Rursch called Boston to pit road for an adjustment and to put newer (25-lap) tires on the truck. Although they gave up a few positions, the gamble paid off as Boston moved from 13th to ninth before the final caution of the race with two laps to go.

 

Boston was ninth for the green-white-checker finish. The final two laps were filled with hard racing, but Boston did not back down and finished the race 10th. He is now 13th in the driver point standings, gaining five positions with the top-10 finish.

 

“We overcame a lot today and ended up 10th,” Boston said. “The first 100 laps were not where we needed to be, but the ZLOOP Tundra really came around after some adjustments.  It was a solid day overall and we had good pit stops, but there are definitely some things to improve on. It was my first top-10 finish in the Truck Series so I’m excited about that. I can’t wait for our next race in Kansas.”

Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano won the race after leading 150 laps. Matt Crafton, KBM teammate Erik Jones, Johnny Sauter and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five finishers. Boston’s other KBM teammate, Daniel Suarez, also took home a top 10 with a sixth-place finish.

 

The Truck Series returns to action at Kansas Speedway on May 8. Live coverage of the Truck Series race will air on Fox Sports 1 beginning with the Truck Series Setup Show at 8 p.m. ET.

KBM PR

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