Rookie Austin Dillon became a first time winner in the Camping World Truck Series by taking Sunday’s Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway.
Dillon, the grandson of NASCAR multi-team owner Richard Childress, put on a dominating performance by leading 187 of 205 laps. However, he had to hold off Johnny Sauter in a green-white-checkered finish to capture his first truck win in just 12 starts. Jason White blew a right-front tire in the closing laps, which setup the two-lap overtime finish.
Dillon made his series debut last September in the inaugural race at Iowa. MiamiHerald.com
The 20-year-old Dillon won from the pole, becoming the second-youngest driver to win a truck series race behind Kyle Busch.
It was also the first time the black No. 3 won in any series since Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001, a fact not lost on the promising Dillon.
“It’s pretty awesome. Like I’ve said from the beginning of the year, I wanted to do it for the fans too. I know they want to see it out front,” Dillon said. “I’m glad to sit in the No. 3. It’s my favorite number to run, and hopefully I can run it for a long time.”
He will if he runs like he did on Sunday, expertly piloting a truck third-place finisher Matt Crafton called “stupid fast.”
The grandson of longtime NASCAR owner Richard Childress kept his car clean while a number of top drivers ran into trouble.
The top four in the points standings — Todd Bodine, Aric Almirola, Timothy Peters and Ron Hornaday, Jr. — all experienced issues that hampered their shots at catching Dillon. The Associated Press
Dillon’s dominant run was nearly spoiled by Sauter, who was able to snatch the lead on a restart on Lap 150 after a caution for Jason White’s accident in Turn 3.
“I saw sparks coming from the 23 truck [White], and I knew there was about to be a caution, and I was trying to make those last few laps in about 2 seconds instead of 24 seconds because I knew that Sauter was going to be tough,” Dillon said.
Dillon was able to reclaim the lead on Lap 154, but there were two more late-race restarts—including one that pushed the race beyond the scheduled 200 laps—but Sauter was unable to mount a serious challenge.
Sauter thought he had a chance to reel in Dillon on the final restart but a stumble at the line when Dillon checked up caused him to get off the throttle and broke his momentum.
“[Sauter] had beat me on a restart earlier, so I mixed up my pickup point for the green just like I did when I was dirt racing,” Dillon said. “I had a little advice from Pop Pop [Childress] on the radio coming to the green, and the experience he has definitely helped.”
It allowed Dillon to cruise to victory in the final two laps. NASCAR.com
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa - Race Results
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