Jeff Hoffman of Phoenix, Arizona would jump out to a commanding lead late in Sunday’s SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Perth SuperSprint Finale to race to his first ever victory in 26 series starts.
Pole sitter Bill Hynes of Nazareth, Pennsylvania driving the LIVE/ Think Loud Development truck would quickly jump out to the early lead over Penola, South Australia driver Greg Gartner, but that would not last long as Scottsdale, Arizona driver Cole Potts driving the HallmarkTrust.com truck would quickly work his way into the second position past Gardner, and work his way into the lead on Lap-4 past Hynes.
The race was briefly yellow flagged on Lap-5 when multiple water barriers were kicked out onto racing service.
Potts would lead the field as they took the competition caution on Lap-8.
As a slight rain shower would move over the race course Hoffman would move past his LIVE/Think Loud Development teammate of Hynes on the restart to work his way into the second position.
As Hynes would struggle to find grip on the damp racing service, Yucca Valley, California driver Blade Hidlebrand in the Empire Destructive entry would find it as a perfect time aggressively move past Hynes on the inside. Moments later Hynes would fall back even more spots, as the slick conditions would become a challenging factor for the veteran SST racer.
At the front of the field, Hoffman would run down Potts for the lead as the two Arizona natives would battle back and forth half way across the globe. With clean hard racing Hoffman would eventually work his way by Potts on Lap-11 to go on, and capture his first race win in Stadium SUPER Trucks competition.
Potts would cross the finish line ahead Morris in third, while Matt Brabham, and Blade Hildebrand would round out the top five.
However, after the race USAC officials reviewed a situation where Paul Morris of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia would miss a ramp on the front straight away, but continued to advance ahead of Blade Hildebrand. In the drivers briefing before the event it was stated any driver doing that would be removed of the position, and penalized one other for the infraction.
The final results would have Matt Brabham moved up into the third position, with Hildebrand in fourth, and Paul Morris rounding out the top five.
Gavin Harlien of Mesa, Arizona would encounter electrical issues throughout the race really hurting his chances of advancing through the field, and competing for the win. When the final flag was flown the Road Pod entry was scored in the sixth position.
Eighth starting Travis Milburn of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia driving the VP Racing Fuels and Lubricants/ TRG Transport truck would fall back at the beginning of the race, and ultimately would get scored in the seventh position after making contact with Robby Gordon on the last lap.
Saturday’s race winner Arie Luyendyk Jr. from Scottsdale, Arizona would remain stuck mid-pack from his fifth starting position and would get banged around for majority of the race to finish in the eighth position, while Penola, South Australia off-road veteran Greg Gartner driving the R&J Batteries/ Fuchs truck would fall back from his second starting position after getting roughed up to ultimately finish ninth.
First Starting Bill Hynes would jump out to an early lead, and hold off the ten SST trucks behind him for the first two laps showing strong signs of driving the LIVE backed entry to victory. Hynes would go on to be recorded in tenth place after an impressive drive three quarters of the race.
Orange, California driver Robby Gordon driving the SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires/ KMC Wheels entry would make contact with Travis Milburn on the last lap, and would spin his truck into the grass. By the time Gordon would get back on track the entire pack was long gone. Gordon would go on to cross the finish line in the eleventh position.
After his catastrophic roll over on Saturday a very sore Matt Nolan would not be able to compete in Sunday’s SST Finale in his beaten and battered Clipsal/Haymans Electrical & Data Wholesaler truck.
The overall standings over the two races, two shootouts, and qualifying would see Matt Brabham first, Jeff Hoffman second, Paul Morris third, while Blade Hildebrand would capture the fourth overall position.
SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks will continue the 2018 SST World Championship with Rounds No. 9 & 10; June 1-3 at the Detroit Grand Prix Street Circuit in Detroit, Michigan.
Advanced tickets for the Detroit Grand Prix can be purchased online at http://www.stadiumsupertrucks.com
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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