Date: June 8, 2018
Event: PPG 400 (Race 8 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 40 laps/40 laps/87 laps
Start/Finish: 4th / 9th (running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
Winner: Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Spencer Davis had never raced at Texas Motor Speedway before, but most people would not have known that based on his performance Friday night at the 1.5-mile oval. Davis started fourth, led seven laps to start the second stage of the race and brought his JBL/SiriusXM Tundra home in ninth place.
Stage One Recap:
- Davis started fourth and ran in the top five much of the first stage.
- A caution shortly before the end of Stage One brought him to pit road for right-side tires.
- He was up to seventh when the stage ended, but once the trucks which had not pitted earlier cycled through pit road, Davis moved into the lead.
Stage Two Recap:
- Davis started the second stage from the lead and paced the field for seven laps until he was passed by his KBM teammate, Todd Gilliland.
- He settled into fourth until a caution on lap 75. He told the team his Tundra was pretty neutral, so he pitted for four tires and a slight air pressure adjustment.
- He returned to the track 11th since six trucks opted not to pit. He was 11th when the stage ended on lap 80, but when the other trucks pitted, it moved him up to fifth.
Stage Three Recap:
- Davis started the final 87-lap stage in fifth.
- He was up to third by lap 114, but became loose and fell back to eighth with 40 laps to go.
- Since he was unable to finish the race with the fuel he had, a caution on lap 150 helped allow Davis to pit for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.
- He was seventh with 10 to go, but another caution with seven to go slowed the race. He had trouble on the final restart and finished the race in ninth for a solid top-10 finish.
Spencer Davis, driver of the No. 51 JBL/SiriusXM Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Talk about your race today:
“Our JBL/SiriusXM Tundra was real strong all night, especially in the first two stages and the start of the third stage. We led some laps in the second stage and got some stage points throughout the race. I got loose after we put on the second-to-last set of tires and fell back to ninth. When we put on different tires we got up to seventh, but I got kind of jacked up on that last restart. There’s not much you can do when your rear tires are spinning up off the ground.
“We rebounded and finished ninth which is a little disappointing for how strong we were all day, but I’d like to thank everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports. There’s no “i” in team, so we’ll go get them at Michigan.”
PPG 400 Recap:
- Johnny Sauter won the race followed Stewart Friesen, Justin Haley, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured nine cautions for a total of 44 laps. There were 12 lead changes among nine drivers. KBM’s Todd Gilliland led the most laps with 62, while Noah Gragson led 19 and Davis led seven.
How Davis’ KBM Teammates Fared:
- Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 6th
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 10th
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team remains second in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, 76 points out of first.
Next Race:
Harrison Burton returns to the No. 51 Tundra when NCWTS action resumes on Saturday, June 16 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Live coverage of the race begins at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Davis’ next race will be at Michigan International Speedway on August 11.
