Brett Moffitt won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win is Moffitt’s second Truck Series win, and Hattori Racing’s first win as a team. It was only Moffitt’s second race with the team.
On the initial start, third-place starter Noah Gragson got by teammate Kyle Busch to take the lead early on. On the second lap of the race, Norm Benning spun his No. 6 truck, bringing out the caution. On the following restart, Gragson easily pulled up front again, followed this time by Matt Crafton. Ben Rhodes reported that his engine was bogging down, but he continued to run inside the top five. With only nine laps to go in stage one, Justin Haley came down pit road to address a tire issue. About five laps later, Rhodes began to lose pace. He’d make it to the end of the stage, but would lose a few positions, raising questions about whether he’d survive the race. Noah Gragson led all 40 laps to win stage one.
Unfortunately for Gragson, a slow pit stop set him back to fifth, putting Matt Crafton at the top of the chart. At the start of stage two, Crafton and Johnny Sauter battled for a while. Kyle Busch caught the two, passing Crafton first. Sauter threw a block, breaking Busch’s momentum.
Not happening, man.@FS1 I #Active200CHOA pic.twitter.com/N0fB5D3yv3
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 24, 2018
Busch would finally pass Sauter on lap 53. On lap 60, the caution would be thrown for debris on the track. During the caution, Ben Rhodes’ No. 41 team struggled to diagnose his engine issue. Rhodes restarted 19th.
On the restart, Kyle Busch was able to get back to the lead, followed by Brett Moffitt and Johnny Sauter. Noah Gragson remained fifth. Kyle Busch dominated stage two and won it, but Johnny Sauter, in second, seemed to be charging, as the fading daylight increased the grip in his truck.
Sauter was able to take the lead on pit road, and pulled away on the restart. Sauter, though, would have to fight for it as Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch both closed on him quickly. Ben Rhodes, who had solved his engine issues, pulled up to fourth. Kyle Busch climbed to second, passing Matt Crafton, and shortly after, Busch took the lead from Johnny Sauter. Over the course of the final stage, Brett Moffitt worked his way up, taking third from Ben Rhodes with 20 laps remaining.
With only six laps left, Josh Reaume spun and was hit by Dalton Sargeant, bringing out the caution and throwing Busch for a loop.
#NASCARreplay: Here's a look at why we're under yellow. #Active200CHOA pic.twitter.com/8d9UO9Lspq
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 24, 2018
Everyone came down pit road, and Kyle Busch had a left rear tire come off. Busch was forced to back down pit rad to put the tire back on. He would fall a lap down and out of contention.
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 24, 2018
Myatt Snider took two tires on pit road, putting him first for the restart. Unfortunately for Snider, Brett Moffitt took the bottom in a three-wide to steal the lead. The field went three wide behind him, allowing Moffitt to pull away. He would earn the victory after a good day and a stellar final restart.
Here are the full results of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200
- Brett Moffitt
- Noah Gragson
- Johnny Sauter
- Ben Rhodes
- Matt Crafton
- Stewart Friesen
- Myatt Snider
- Jesse Little
- Grant Enfinger
- Austin Dillon
- Parker Kligerman
- Joe Nemechek
- Spencer Davis
- Dalton Sargeant
- Austin Wayne Self
- Korbin Forrister
- Bo LeMastus
- Austin Hill
- Justin Fontaine
- Cody Coughlin
- Kyle Busch
- Justin Haley
- Wendell Chavous
- Jordan Anderson
- Robby Lyons
- Jennifer Jo Cobb
- Josh Reaume
- Clay Greenfield
- Norm Benning
- Akinori Ogata
- Joey Gase
- Scott Stenzel
