Justin Lofton ends night with a late-race incident

Justin Lofton and the No. 6 Imperial Valley Full Plate Chevrolet finished 20th on Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While running inside the top five with 30 laps to go, Lofton was involved in a multi-truck incident on the front stretch resulting in heavy damage to his Silverado and eliminating him from contention.

 

Lofton rolled off eighth in the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A series of cautions early in the race kept the field close and allowed Lofton to pick up positions on the 1.5-mile oval. Lofton was running seventh when the caution flag waved on lap 30. With his truck handling perfectly, Lofton brought the No. 6 Imperial Valley Full Plate Chevrolet down pit road for four tires and fuel. Several competitors in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) opted to take just two tires beating Lofton off pit road and relegating him to the 12th position.

 

Pleased with the Imperial Valley Full Plate Chevrolet, Lofton utilized the bottom groove of the race track to maneuver through the field and pick up positions on the 1.5-mile oval. Lofton came back down pit road on lap 76 for another four-tire stop. By lap 80, Lofton had moved into the fifth position and picked up two additional positions to be scored third by lap 100.

 

Lofton was racing inside the top five on lap 115 when he made contact with the No. 32 trying to navigate around lap traffic. The Imperial Valley Full Plate Chevrolet wiggled as Lofton tried to correct the steering, but the truck hooked to the left and Lofton went spinning across the track. With nowhere to go, the No. 13 made heavy contact with the left side of Lofton’s Chevrolet sending the Imperial Valley Full Plate Silverado airborne. Lofton’s truck landed with all four tires on the ground and the two spun through the tri-oval. Lofton climbed unhurt from his Chevrolet and was checked and released from the infield care center. By the conclusion of the Smith’s 350, Lofton was credited with a 20th-place finish.

 

“We had a really good truck for the No. 6 Imperial Valley Full Plate Chevrolet team tonight,” commented Lofton. “I felt as though we had a truck that was good enough to win. We’ve just had a little bit of bad luck lately, and I’m hoping that we can turn that around soon. I was disappointed for all of the supporters that came out from my home community in the Imperial Valley. I really wanted to get a solid finish in front of them.”

 

JL PR