GMS Racing NCWTS Bristol Recap

Johnny Sauter, No. 21 GMS Fabrication Chevrolet

START: 4th

FINISH: 1st

POINTS: 1st

Notes:

–– Thursday night’s victory is Sauter’s first NCWTS win at Bristol Motor Speedway.

– Sauter’s fifth win of the season marks a new career-best season win total for the Necedah, Wis., native and also places him fifth on the all-time NCWTS wins list with 22 career truck wins in 237 starts.

– As regular season champion, Sauter earned an additional 15 Playoff Points to give him a 42-point advantage heading into next weekend’s NCWTS Playoffs opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Quote:

“Last week was the ultimate kick in the pants for me and I’ve been beating myself up pretty hard all week. I knew we had to come to Bristol and win this thing. I don’t think we ever got complacent with the wins we got earlier in the season, we just got off our game a little. I made some mistakes and I just knew I had to pull it together because these guys are doing a great job.

“I can’t think everyone at GMS enough, everyone at GMS Fabrication. We had them on the truck tonight which was really cool, got to take them to Victory Lane. We’ve got to just keep digging. Winning races is the ultimate and there’s nothing in the world that feels as good as this, especially at Bristol. A lot of things have to go right here to get a win. I’m a short track guy and to come and win here, at a place that is so historic and that I’ve raced at for so long, it’s just awesome.”

Justin Haley, No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet

START: 11th

FINISH: 6th

POINTS: 7th

Notes:

-Haley’s sixth-place finish at Bristol extends his streak to seven consecutive races with a top-10 finish, and his 12th top-10 finish of the 2018 NCWTS season.

-After the last NCWTS race of the regular season, Haley is locked in to The Playoffs for the first time in his NCWTS career, seeded seventh with nine Playoff points.

Quote:

“It was a good night. I thought we would easily have a top-five truck during the race, but the handling mixed with how the PJ1 was wearing threw our handling off just enough. I was just way too loose the last run and that made it a challenge to get back to the top-five. I wish we could have left here tonight with a top-five finish but what matters is we’re in the Playoffs and we’re ready to head to Mosport. My Fraternal Order of Eagles team brought me a fast Chevy tonight and I know we’ll have a really good truck when we unload for the first race of The Playoffs next weekend. It’s a dream come true though to be in this position and be able to run for a championship.”

Dalton Sargeant, No. 25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet

START: 16th

FINISH: 11th

POINTS: 10th

Notes:

– Sargeant’s 11th -place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway moved him into 10th-place in the NCWTS driver point standings.

Quote:

“We knew coming into the race that we had to take some chances and use strategy to get up front and compete for a win to make The Playoffs. The Performance Plus Motor Oil team did an amazing job and Doug (Randolph, crew chief) made a great call to get us track position early on but we just didn’t quite have the handling right to be there at the end. The more I get to run up front, the more I learn, so overall, it was a good night for the No. 25 team.

Cody Coughlin, No. 2 JEGS.com Chevrolet

START: 15th

FINISH: 19th

POINTS: 12th

Notes:

– After tonight’s race at Bristol, Coughlin is now 12th in the NCWTS driver point standings.

Quote:

“I was very hopeful going into tonight’s race at Bristol. We spent a lot of time off-track trying to put a plan together for the race. I was really hoping to have a chance to win but unfortunately it just wasn’t our night.”