Brett Moffitt began the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Playoffs by recording an impressive third-place finish on Sunday afternoon at Bowmanville, Ontario’s Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The opening round of the seven-race playoff reached a crescendo on the last lap as Moffitt navigated his way through a wreck on the last corner and tallied his ninth top-five finish of the season. The driver of the No. 16 Don Valley North Toyota, Weins Canada Tundra sits third on the playoff grid with two races remaining in the first round, 29 points above the cut line.
Moffitt started 17th after qualifying was held in wet track conditions on Saturday evening. From the outset on Sunday afternoon, Moffitt displayed the raw speed in his No. 16 Toyota Tundra and quickly broke into the top 10 by lap six. Moffitt continued his quest towards the front and advanced to sixth position to earn five points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 20. Crew chief Scott Zipadelli called for a four-tire pit stop to add fuel and make air pressure adjustments on the stage break, and Moffitt restarted ninth on lap 25 as multiple trucks elected to not pit.
Stage 2 went in similar fashion, as Moffitt was consistently one of the strongest trucks in the field and entered the top five on lap 27. The four-time race winner this season steadily posted the fastest laps as Stage 2 wore on, nearly erasing the gap with the race leader. Moffitt picked up nine critical championship points by running second at the end of Stage 2 on lap 40. As multiple trucks employed varying pit strategies behind Moffitt, he rejoined the field in 12th after making a pit stop for four tires, fuel, and air pressure changes under the caution.
The intensity ratcheted up on lap 52 with the race’s final stage restarted. Moffitt was pushed off course in Turn 5 and slipped back to 14th, but immediately recovered. Moffitt advanced through the field with a calculated aggression and quickly rejoined the top-five on lap 60. A caution on lap 61 set up an overtime restart shortly after he gained the fifth position. Moffitt entered the final three corners in fifth on the last lap as the two race leaders made contact ahead and spun in the final corner. Moffitt picked his way through the chaos of spinning trucks, smoke, and dirt to take the checkered flag in third position. The ninth top-five finish of the season marks his career-best NCWTS road course finish and positioned him third on the playoff grid.
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