KANSAS CITY, Kan.— Carson Hocevar survived last-lap contact from the Ford of Layne Riggs, bouncing off the skin wall earlier than taking the checkered flag half a lap later to win Saturday evening’s Coronary heart of Well being Care 200 at Kansas Speedway.
The victory was Hocevar’s first of the season in his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Collection begin this 12 months, his first on the 1.5-mile observe and the fifth of his profession.
However Hocevar needed to maintain the fast-closing truck of Riggs behind him. On the ultimate lap, Riggs steered to the within of Hocevar’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, obtained to the left rear quarter of the Silverado and slid up the observe into Hocevar’s truck.
After the contact, each Hocevar and Riggs maintained management, and scraped the skin wall earlier than persevering with towards the end line. With William Byron trying on from third place, Hocevar arrived 0.262 seconds forward of Riggs, who completed second at Kansas for the second straight time.
“I used to be simply hoping they might crash, however they didn’t,” mentioned Byron, who fought a tight-handling No. 07 Spire truck as the ultimate run progressed and completed 0.718 seconds behind the race winner.
“I simply thought I’d make it entertaining,” Hocevar quipped after climbing from his truck for a frontstretch interview. “That 34 truck (Riggs) was tremendous, tremendous good. This truck was actually good on the brief runs—I didn’t assume he would get to us for the way far again he was, however he was tremendous good.
“Yeah, it’s been some time since I’ve been in a end like that the place it’s been all on the market. So credit score to him. I do know he was going for every little thing there.”
Riggs and fourth-place finisher Corey Heim misplaced observe place on the unsuitable aspect of a cycle of green-flag pit stops halfway by means of the ultimate stage. Riggs recovered to problem for the lead, whereas Heim incurred a penalty for an improper restart to squander his possibilities at victory.
“Man, I gave it my all,” Riggs mentioned. “We had been actually down unhealthy with the observe place there. Within the third section, we had been about to take the lead, and we did a green-flag pit cease and that actually harm us—needed to come from sixteenth on that green-flag run to get all the way in which again to him.
“I obtained to him, obtained into him somewhat bit. We each hit the wall, and he gained the race. I believe he was mad at me. I believe he flipped me off all the way in which down the frontstretch coming to the checkered. However how will you be mad whenever you win the race?”
Heim led 52 of the primary 53 laps and gained the primary stage however misplaced 15 positions on pit street below warning on Lap 53 when the rear tire changer’s air gun broke. Heim charged again to fourth within the operating order, however misplaced all his progress when the sixth warning, for Frankie Muniz’s spin into the infield grass, interrupted the cycle of green-flag stops on Lap 97, trapped Heim a lap down and compelled him to take a wave-around.
That’s when Hocevar, who remained on the lead lap after pitting, gained management of the race, which featured seven cautions for 33 laps. Hocevar led 3 times for 75 laps.
Heim did additional injury to his personal possibilities by altering lanes to the skin behind the truck of Toni Breidinger earlier than the beginning/end line on a Lap 103 restart. Thwarted in his try to win a 3rd straight race at Kansas, Heim charged again to fourth on the end.
“Began out with that pit gun breaking—no fault to my pit crew there,” Heim mentioned. “They did an superior job all evening. It appeared like a situational form of deal there after which caught on the precise unsuitable time on the green-flag cycle.
“Needed to take the wave and begin from the again once more and obtained out of line for a penalty on my half. A curler coaster form of day at present.”
Rookie Gio Ruggiero ran fifth, adopted by Stewart Friesen, Brandon Jones, pole winner Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt and Grant Enfinger.
