The 2021 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was the 10th stock car race of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the 19th iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, May 28, 2021 in Concord, North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. John Hunter Nemechek of Kyle Busch Motorsports would win his third race of the year and his 9th of his career.[1] Carson Hocevar of Niece Motorsports and Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing would finish in the rest of the podium positions, taking 2nd and 3rd, respectfully.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 22 of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 28, 2021 | ||
| Official name | North Carolina Education Lottery 200 | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 134 laps, 201 mi (323.476 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 134 laps, 201 mi (323.476 km) | ||
| Average speed | 114.331 miles per hour (183.998 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Front Row Motorsports | ||
| Time | N/A | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | |
| Laps | 71 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Vince Welch, Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The race was marred by a late race crash including Trey Hutchens, Johnny Sauter, and Drew Dollar. Coming into Turn 3, Hutchens would blow a tire and was slow on the track- crucially, he could not get to pit road, and was stuck on the frontstretch, meaning he could not get to pit road for an extremely long time, or until the caution came out. Sauter and Dollar were in a battle for position coming off Turn 4 when Sauter, who could not see Hutchens, slammed the back side of Hutchens car with the right side of his, causing both cars to be destroyed in the incident. Dollar would also be involved, but was able to continue. The crash would lead to major controversy, with critics saying that NASCAR should have noticed Hutchens' car on track being slow, and that the caution should have been put out.[2][3]
Background
edit
The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track that was utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.
Entry list
edit*Withdrew due to a private family matter.[4]
**Withdrew due to sponsorship issues.[5]
Practice
editThe first and final practice would take place on May 28, 2021 at 12:34 PM EST. Austin Hill of Hattori Racing Enterprises would set the fastest time, with a 30.391 and an average speed of 177.684 miles per hour (285.955 km/h).[6]
The practice had numerous incidents occur, including incidents with Drew Dollar, Danny Bohn,[7] Timothy Peters,[8] C. J. McLaughlin,[9] and Akinori Ogata.[10]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 30.391 | 177.684 |
| 2 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 30.408 | 177.585 |
| 3 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.409 | 177.579 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Starting lineup
editQualifying was to be originally held on Friday, May 28 after practice- however, rain would fall on the track, and qualifying was canceled. Therefore, NASCAR reverted to the metric system they had been using- a formula based on the previous race, this being the 2021 Toyota Tundra 225. As a result, Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports would win the pole.[11]
Race
editPre-race ceremonies
editRace recap
editPost-race driver comments
editFollowing the lap 116 wreck, Hutchens spoke to the media, looking visibly shakened. He would report that "I cut a tire getting into (Turn) 3 and tried to slow down to get to pit road and the hole closed up, so I ended up slow down the frontstretch and (Sauter) just ran into the back of us. … They were coming pretty hard. They probably needed to throw the yellow a little sooner.”[3]
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 30
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 30
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 66 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 40 | Ryan Truex | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 74
References
edit- ^ "John Hunter Nemechek wins Charlotte Truck race - NBC Sports". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "Drivers walk away from savage Truck crash in Charlotte race - NBC Sports". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ a b "NASCAR takes fault in delayed caution resulting in scary crash (Video)". Racing News. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "Due to a private family matter, Spencer Davis Motorsports has withdrawn from Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team plans to return to competition at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. #NASCAR". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-05-28.
- ^ "Due to sponsorship issues we were force to withdraw the Charlotte event. #NASCAR". Twitter.
- ^ "Chaotic Charlotte Truck Practice Led By Austin Hill". SPEED SPORT. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ 2021 NC Education Lottery 200 Practice Drew Dollar and Danny Bohn Crash, retrieved 2021-09-23
- ^ 2021 NC Education Lottery 200 Practice Timothy Peters hits wall, retrieved 2021-09-23
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (2021-05-28). "Austin Hill Jumps to Top of Speed Charts in Final Seconds of Truck Series Practice at Charlotte". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ 2021 NC Education Lottery 200 Practice Akinori Ogata Crash, retrieved 2021-09-23
- ^ Tomlinson, Joy (2021-05-28). "Todd Gilliland On Truck Charlotte Pole After Qualifying Rains Out". www.frontstretch.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.