LAST-LAP PASS LEADS MOFFITT TO VICTORY AT MICHIGAN

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- In five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, Brett Moffitt had never led a lap.

But in Saturday's Careers for Veterans 200 at Michigan International Speedway, Moffitt picked the perfect time to take the point for the first time.

Powering around Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters and five-time series winner William Byron off the second corner of the final lap at the two-mile track, Moffitt held off Peters by .098 seconds to win a NASCAR national series race for the first time.

Moffitt's victory, however, left Shane Huffman, Peters' crew chief, slapping his seat on the pit box in frustration. Peters, who led a race-high 42 laps, could have locked himself into the inaugural Camping World Truck Series Chase with a victory. Running a limited schedule this season, Moffitt is ineligible for the championship this year.

But Moffitt made no apologies for taking advantage of the opportunity that presented itself when Byron pushed Peters into Turn 3 on the white-flag lap, cut to the inside and slowed both trucks down. Moffitt cruised around the outside off Turn 2 on the final lap and kept Peters behind him.

"I'm here to win," Moffitt said. "I said it earlier and I'll say it again. I'm not going to wreck him (Peters) for it. I'm going to race him clean because I know he needs to get in the Chase, but this team needs to win and these guys deserve to win.

"That's what we come to do, and our partners at Toyota want to do the same, and we got it."

Daniel Hemric passed Byron on the last lap to come home third, with Byron following in fourth and Cameron Hayley in fifth.

The good news for both Peters and Hemric was the wide margin both drivers opened over their closest pursuers in the race to make the Chase. Though winless this year, Hemric and Peters lead Cameron Hayley by 55 and 47 points, respectively, in the battle for the last two Chase spots.

If no new winner surfaces in the final two regular-season races, both Hemric and Peters are highly likely to qualify on points.

"It's a good day for Red Horse Racing," Peters said. "Congrats to Brett Moffitt. One-two finish. I wish we were 'one,' but all in all, the company brings the trophy back. The 9 (Byron) locked onto our bumper there in Turn 2 and pushed us really hard down into Turn 3.

"We had to do all we had to do to stay in front. ... Tough to swallow right there, but it felt good to run the way we did all day."

Both Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick entered the race needing to win to make the Chase. Reddick's Ford bounced off the side of Johhny Sauter's Chevrolet on Lap 70 and sustained heavy damage during contact with the Turn 3 wall.

Custer, however, had the lead for a restart on Lap 84, only to lose control and spin into the Turn 4 wall, grazing the left rear of Moffitt's No. 11 Toyota in the process.

"We didn't have the raw speed of the guys up front, but it drove pretty well, and it was hard to keep those guys off of me," Custer said. "The 11 (Moffitt) stopped pushing me -- which it's his right to do that.

"We were kind of losing the 17 (Peters) there. He (Moffitt) went to the outside and I started getting tight. Once he got on my door, I got loose and over-corrected it. I just hate it for my guys that brought a great truck."

Like Hayley, Custer and Reddick will have two more chances to force their way into the Chase by winning one of the final two regular-season races.

Truck series rookie William Byron’s fourth win sets record for Kyle Busch Motorsports

SPARTA, Ky. – William Byron scored his fourth Camping World Truck Series victory through 10 starts this season, capturing the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Byron’s No. 9 Toyota held off a charge by John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 0.190 seconds behind in the first NASCAR race on the 1.5-mile oval’s repaved and reconfigured surface. Byron, 18, moved onto the truck circuit this year after winning the 2015 K&N East championship last year as a rookie.

“It just keeps going, man,” Byron told FS1. “I’ve got a great team behind me.”

The win marked a truck series-record 51st for Kyle Busch Motorsports, whose team owner also was racing Thursday. The defending Sprint Cup champion finished 30th after crashing but still reveled in Byron’s win.

“I’ve tried to assemble a great group of guys,” said Busch, who started the team in 2010. “I feel like we have a great group of guys now.

“It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been a lot trying times, it’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears by both my wife and myself and all these guys that are on this team now and all the people that have been a part of Kyle Busch Motorsports in the years past. We wouldn’t be here without all them. This is a special moment.”

Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by Christopher Bell and Johnny Sauter.

HOW BYRON WON: He took first from Timothy Peters on the 82nd of 150 laps and didn’t relinquish the lead over the final 69 laps.

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Nemechek’s runner-up finish was his first top five since a second at Martinsville Speedway three months ago. … Daniel Suarez started from the pole and led 59 laps in an 11th-place finish … Hemric tied his season-best finish with his second consecutive third.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Brett Moffitt completed only 26 laps before being finishing 31st with an engine failure. … Rookie Austin Wayne Self suffered a transmission failure just past the halfway mark.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was self-inflicted, I guess. Got back in traffic, and I don’t know. Going down the backstretch I thought I had enough room on the inside, but I know who I crashed with. That doesn’t surprise me. Now I know how John Wes Townley feels. It’s just a shame. Brand new truck and really good piece. Destroyed..” – Busch after his crash with Spencer Gallagher (who was involved in a memorable wreck and fight with Townley two weeks ago).

WHAT’S NEXT: The series will return Wednesday, July 20 at Eldora Speedway (green flag is 9:16 p.m. ET).

Brett Moffitt making first NASCAR start of year subbing for Matt Tifft in Truck race

Brett Moffitt, the 2015 Sprint Cup rookie of the year, will drive Red Horse Racing’s No. 11 truck for Matt Tifft in Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Tifft is out indefinitely as he recovers from brain surgery July 1 to remove a low-grade tumor. Moffitt, who hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race since the 2015 Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will be driving in his third Truck race but his first since 2013.

“Obviously, we’re thinking of Matt and can’t wait for him to return, so we’re sending him our best wishes and we hope to see him back at the track soon,” said Moffitt in a press release. “I hate that it’s under these circumstances, but I’m really grateful for this opportunity with Red Horse Racing and I hope it can lead to more.”

Tifft was replaced by German Quiroga two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway.

Moffitt, 23, earned the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year honor last season after making 31 starts for Michael Waltrip Racing and Front Row Motorsports as a substitute driver for Brian Vickers and David Ragan.

Moffitt’s best finish in those 31 races was eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The native of Grimes, Iowa, made the first of his two 2013 Truck starts at Kentucky Speedway driving for ThorSport Racing. He started 34th and finished 14th.