Matty D Wins First Truck Race at Talladega

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TALLADEGA, AL – RIS – Matt DiBenedetto won his first Camping World truck race when the “Big One” happened on the last lap. As the field swept to the finish line in overtime, a multi-car crash developed as Corey Heim lost control of his truck in the trioval. Several trucks crashed approaching the finish as the caution flag flew.
NASCAR officials studied video of the final lap to determine that DiBenedetto was in front when the caution lights were turned on, although Bret Holmes appeared to beat him to the finish line by inches. When caution lights appear, the field is frozen at that point, so any position changes after the caution are irrelevant.
The only lap DiBenedetto led was the final lap. He been racing in NASCAR national series since 2009 but scored his first win. Following DiBenedetto, a non-playoff driver, at the finish were Ben Rhodes, Holmes, Ryan Preece and Christian Eckes.
With one race remaining in the Round of 8, Ty Majeski has locked in a spot in the final four at Phoenix. Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and Rhodes are above the cutline. Below the line are Stewart Friesen, Eckes, John Hunter Nemechek and Grant Enfinger.
A string of accidents left only two playoff drivers — Eckes and Rhodes — in the top 10 with 10 laps remaining.
Carson Hocevar dropped out of the lead group with five laps to go when he lost a tire, prompting a caution flag and pushing the race into overtime.
The race started from the beginning. Early o a fiery crash on lap as Jordan Anderson‘s truck exploded in flames while running in the top five in a tight draft.
Anderson steered the truck to the inside as flames fired up on both sides of the vehicle. The truck crashed into the inside wall even as Anderson climbed from the driver-side window. He was transported to an area hospital.
On Lap 35, Lawless Alan hit the wall hard after his right front tire blew. He was evaluated and released from the infield medical center.
Another dangerous situation developed on Lap 63 as numerous trucks pitted at the same time under green. As Hailie Deegan attempted to stop in her pit, one of the crew members lost control of a tire, and it rolled into traffic and onto the grass area separating pit road from the track. A Deegan crew member chased down the tire in the grass and later was ejected from the track by NASCAR officials for a safety violation.
On Lap 79, Enfinger’s truck blew a tire and slammed the wall, starting a crash that collected Tanner Gray, Johnny Sauter and Austin Wayne Self.
John Hunter Nemechek led the first stage and Chandler Smith the second stage.
The Truck Series is off for three weeks before racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway Oct. 22. The series’ final race is scheduled Nov. 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
Unofficial Results: 17th Annual Chevy Silverado 250 - October 1, 2022 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps , Stage 1 Pos, Stage 2 Pos, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts
1) 30, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 95, , , 40, Running, , , 5
2) 15, Ben Rhodes (P), No. 99 Kubota Toyota, 95, 7, 4, 46, Running, 1, 2,
3) 23, Bret Holmes, No. 32 Golden Eagle Syrup Chevrolet, 95, , , 34, Running, 3, 7,
4) 10, Ryan Preece (P), No. 17 RaceChoice/Tavern on the Trax Ford, 95, , , 33, Running, , ,
5) 13, Christian Eckes (P), No. 98 Farm Paint/Curb Records Toyota, 95, 10, 6, 38, Running, 7, 25,
6) 27, Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Monster Energy Ford, 95, , , 31, Running, , ,
7) 26, Chase Purdy, No. 61 Ole Miss Toyota, 95, , , 30, Running, 3, 6,
8) 7, Colby Howard, No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet, 95, 6, , 34, Running, , ,
9) 21, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Food Country USA/Tide Chevrolet, 95, , , 28, Running, , ,
10) 20, Tyler Ankrum, No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota, 95, 9, 7, 33, Running, , ,
11) 36, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 30 Rangeline Group Toyota, 95, , , 26, Running, , ,
12) 25, Clay Greenfield, No. 84 Backyard Blues Pools Toyota, 95, , , 25, Running, , ,
13) 8, Derek Kraus, No. 19 Adaptive One Caliper Chevrolet, 95, , , 24, Running, 1, 3,
14) 2, Chandler Smith (P), No. 18 iBuyPower Toyota, 95, 4, 1, 40, Running, 2, 17, 1
15) 33, Timmy Hill, No. 56 UNITS Storage Toyota, 95, , , 22, Running, , ,
16) 29, Parker Retzlaff(i), No. 20 FunkAway Chevrolet, 95, , , 0, Running, , ,
17) 4, Zane Smith (P), No. 38 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 95, 2, 9, 31, Running, 1, 1,
18) 28, Kaz Grala, No. 02 RANDCO Chevrolet, 95, , , 19, Running, , ,
19) 14, Jack Wood #, No. 24 Logitech Chevrolet, 95, , , 18, Running, , ,
20) 18, Stewart Friesen (P), No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 95, , 3, 25, Running, , ,
21) 32, Bayley Currey(i), No. 44 Chasco Contractors Chevrolet, 95, , , 0, Running, , ,
22) 5, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Jack Links/Menards Toyota, 95, , , 15, Running, 1, 1,
23) 6, Ty Majeski (P), No. 66 Tenda/Quarter Horse Congress Toyota, 95, , 10, 15, Running, 1, 1,
24) 1, John Hunter Nemechek (P), No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 95, 1, 2, 32, Running, 2, 20, 1
25) 19, Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota, 95, , , 12, Running, , ,
26) 12, Corey Heim # (P), No. 51 JBL Toyota, 94, 8, 8, 17, Accident, , ,
27) 24, Blaine Perkins #, No. 9 RACELINE Chevrolet, 94, , , 10, Accident, , ,
28) 3, Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 94, 3, , 17, Running, 4, 12,
29) 16, Grant Enfinger (P), No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, 94, , 5, 14, Running, , ,
30) 17, Austin Wayne Self, No. 22 AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet, 78, , , 7, Accident, , ,
31) 11, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Fluid Logic/Factory Canopies Ford, 78, 5, , 12, Accident, , ,
32) 31, Jennifer Jo Cobb, No. 10 Fastener Supply Company Chevrolet, 73, , , 5, Clutch, , ,
33) 34, Lawless Alan #, No. 45 AUTOParkit Chevrolet, 32, , , 4, Accident, , ,
34) 35, Dean Thompson #, No. 40 WWEX Racing Chevrolet, 32, , , 3, Accident, , ,
35) 22, Bryan Dauzat, No. 28 FDNY/National Police Association Chevrolet, 32, , , 2, DVP, , ,
36) 9, Jordan Anderson, No. 3 Dometic Outdoor Chevrolet, 18, , , 1, Accident, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Race Length: 95 Laps - 252.7 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 12 Mins, 40 Secs.
Average Speed: 114.286 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Stage 1 Top 10: 4, 38, 42, 18, 15, 91, 99, 51, 16, 98
Stage 2 Top 10: 18, 4, 52, 99, 23, 98, 16, 51, 38, 66
Comments: Matt Dibenedetto won the Chevy Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.
Prior to the start, the following truck dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 30 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: (4) 46 Tim Viens, 12 Spencer Boyd, 33 Jason White, 43 Natalie Decker(i).
Cautions: 9 for 36 laps;
Laps: 20-26 (#3 Incident Turn 2 / Stage 1 Conclusion [84]);
28-31 (Debris [84]);
34-38 (#28, 42, 45 Incident Turn 3 [None]);
42-45 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]);
65-68 (Loose Tire on Track [None]);
74-76 (#91 Spin Turn 4 [None]);
80-84 (#13, 15, 22, 23, 30 Incident Turn 3 [None]);
91-93 (#42 Stopped on Track [13]);
95-95 (#9, 51, 13, 4, 52 Incident Frontstretch [None]).
Lead Changes: 25 among 11 drivers;
J. Nemechek (P) 1-2;
Z. Smith (P) 3;
T. Majeski (P) 4;
J. Nemechek (P) 5-22;
M. Crafton 23;
C. Smith (P) 24-37;
B. Rhodes (P) 38-39;
C. Smith (P) 40-42;
C. Purdy 43-45;
B. Holmes 46-48;
C. Purdy 49;
C. Eckes (P) 50;
C. Purdy 51-52;
B. Holmes 53-54;
C. Eckes (P) 55-56;
C. Hocevar 57;
C. Eckes (P) 58-62;
D. Kraus 63-65;
C. Eckes (P) 66-70;
C. Hocevar 71;
C. Eckes (P) 72;
C. Hocevar 73-75;
C. Eckes (P) 76-77;
C. Hocevar 78-84;
C. Eckes (P) 85-93;
B. Holmes 94-95.
Unofficial Points Report: 17th Annual Chevy Silverado 250 - Talladega Superspeedway
Pos, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Chandler Smith (P), 18, 21, 0, 3116, 0, 0, 3, 6, 28
2) Zane Smith (P), 38, 21, 0, 3104, -12, 12, 3, 7, 37
3) Ben Rhodes (P), 99, 21, 5, 3089, -27, 15, 1, 8, 17
4) Christian Eckes (P), 98, 21, 2, 3086, -30, 3, 0, 1, 7
5) Stewart Friesen (P), 52, 21, -2, 3086, -30, 0, 1, 1, 13
6) John Hunter Nemechek, 4, 21, -1, 3084, -32, 2, 2, 7, 24
7) Ty Majeski (P), 66, 21, -3, 3068, -48, 16, 1, 3, 8
8) Grant Enfinger (P), 23, 21, -1, 3060, -56, 8, 1, 0, 7
9) Matt Crafton, 88, 21, 0, 2140, -976, 920, 0, 0, 1
10) Carson Hocevar, 42, 21, 0, 2134, -982, 6, 0, 2, 5
11) Derek Kraus, 19, 21, 0, 547, -2569, 1587, 0, 0, 0
12) Tyler Ankrum, 16, 21, 0, 534, -2582, 13, 0, 0, 0
13) Matt DiBenedetto, 25, 21, 0, 488, -2628, 46, 1, 0, 0
14) Tanner Gray, 15, 21, 0, 446, -2670, 42, 0, 0, 0
15) Corey Heim # (P), 51, 14, 0, 425, -2691, 21, 2, 1, 0
16) Chase Purdy, 61, 20, 0, 411, -2705, 14, 0, 0, 0
17) Colby Howard, 91, 21, 1, 373, -2743, 38, 0, 0, 0
18) Parker Kligerman, 75, 11, -1, 370, -2746, 3, 1, 2, 0
19) Ryan Preece (P), 17, 9, 0, 368, -2748, 2, 1, 3, 0
20) Timmy Hill, 56, 21, 0, 341, -2775, 27, 0, 0, 0
21) Hailie Deegan, 1, 21, 0, 323, -2793, 18, 0, 0, 0
22) Lawless Alan #, 45, 21, 0, 272, -2844, 51, 0, 0, 0
23) Jack Wood #, 24, 21, 0, 265, -2851, 7, 0, 0, 0
24) Dean Thompson #, 40, 21, 0, 249, -2867, 16, 0, 0, 0
25) Austin Wayne Self, 22, 16, 0, 248, -2868, 1, 0, 0, 0
26) Jesse Little, , 13, 0, 213, -2903, 35, 0, 0, 0
27) Kaz Grala, 02, 11, 2, 202, -2914, 11, 0, 0, 0
28) Spencer Boyd, , 20, -1, 202, -2914, 0, 0, 0, 0
29) Kris Wright (i), , 17, -1, 195, -2921, 7, 0, 0, 0
30) Blaine Perkins #, 9, 20, 1, 176, -2940, 19, 0, 0, 0
31) Tate Fogleman, , 12, -1, 167, -2949, 9, 0, 0, 0
32) Bret Holmes, 32, 7, 1, 144, -2972, 23, 0, 0, 0
33) Taylor Gray, , 7, -1, 125, -2991, 19, 0, 0, 0
34) Kaden Honeycutt, 30, 7, 2, 112, -3004, 13, 0, 0, 0
35) Johnny Sauter, 13, 5, 0, 107, -3009, 5, 0, 0, 0
36) Todd Bodine, , 6, -2, 98, -3018, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Jordan Anderson, 3, 5, 0, 75, -3041, 23, 0, 0, 0
38) Max Gutierrez, , 3, 0, 56, -3060, 19, 0, 0, 0
39) Tyler Hill, , 5, 0, 55, -3061, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Layne Riggs, , 2, 0, 51, -3065, 4, 0, 0, 0
41) Chris Hacker, , 5, 0, 51, -3065, 0, 0, 0, 0
42) Jake Garcia, , 4, 0, 49, -3067, 2, 0, 0, 0
43) Danny Bohn, , 2, 0, 44, -3072, 5, 0, 0, 0
44) Rajah Caruth, , 3, 0, 41, -3075, 3, 0, 0, 0
45) Buddy Kofoid, , 2, 0, 40, -3076, 1, 0, 0, 0
46) Thad Moffitt, , 4, 0, 38, -3078, 2, 0, 0, 0
47) Matt Jaskol, , 3, 0, 37, -3079, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Brad Perez, , 2, 0, 32, -3084, 5, 0, 0, 0
49) Josh Reaume, , 6, 0, 31, -3085, 1, 0, 0, 0
50) Clay Greenfield, 84, 1, 55, 25, -3091, 6, 0, 0, 0
51) Mike Marlar, , 1, -1, 20, -3096, 5, 0, 0, 0
52) Dylan Westbrook, , 1, -1, 20, -3096, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Mason Maggio, , 3, -1, 19, -3097, 1, 0, 0, 0
54) Jason White, , 1, -1, 17, -3099, 2, 0, 0, 0
55) Loris Hezemans, , 1, -1, 17, -3099, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Bryan Dauzat, 28, 2, 1, 16, -3100, 1, 0, 0, 0
57) Stefan Parsons, , 2, -2, 15, -3101, 1, 0, 0, 0
58) Stephen Mallozzi, , 1, -2, 15, -3101, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Chad Chastain, , 2, -1, 14, -3102, 1, 0, 0, 0
60) Chase Janes, , 2, -1, 13, -3103, 1, 0, 0, 0
61) Nick Leitz, , 2, -1, 12, -3104, 1, 0, 0, 0
62) Blake Lothian, , 2, -1, 11, -3105, 1, 0, 0, 0
63) Brayton Laster, , 1, -1, 10, -3106, 1, 0, 0, 0
64) Logan Bearden, , 1, -1, 9, -3107, 1, 0, 0, 0
65) Ryan Huff, , 1, -1, 9, -3107, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Connor Mosack, , 2, -1, 9, -3107, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) Brennan Poole, , 6, -1, 8, -3108, 1, 0, 0, 0
68) Trey Hutchens, , 1, -1, 8, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Leland Honeyman, , 1, 1, 8, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
70) Armani Williams, , 2, -2, 8, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
71) Justin Marks, , 1, -2, 8, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
72) Devon Rouse, , 1, -1, 7, -3109, 1, 0, 0, 0
73) Keith Mcgee, , 2, -1, 7, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
74) Dillon Steuer, , 1, -1, 5, -3111, 2, 0, 0, 0
75) Andrew Gordon, , 1, -1, 5, -3111, 0, 0, 0, 0
76) Dylan Lupton, , 1, -1, 5, -3111, 0, 0, 0, 0
77) Jennifer Jo Cobb, 10, 1, 33, 5, -3111, 0, 0, 0, 0
78) Bryson Mitchell, , 1, -2, 4, -3112, 1, 0, 0, 0
79) Kenko Miura, , 1, -2, 4, -3112, 0, 0, 0, 0
80) Jessica Friesen, , 1, -2, 3, -3113, 1, 0, 0, 0
81) Camden Murphy, , 1, -2, 3, -3113, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Trey Burke, , 1, -2, 2, -3114, 1, 0, 0, 0
83) Akinori Ogata, , 1, -2, 1, -3115, 1, 0, 0, 0
84) Tyler Carpenter, , 1, -2, 1, -3115, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) Mason Filippi (i), , 1, -2, 1, -3115, 0, 0, 0, 0
86) Kyle Busch (i), , 5, -2, 0, -3116, 1, 1, 0, 0
87) Ross Chastain (i), , 5, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 1, 0, 0
88) William Byron (i), , 1, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 1, 0, 0
89) Todd Gilliland (i), , 1, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 1, 1, 0
90) Austin Hill (i), , 2, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Joey Logano (i), , 1, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Chase Elliott (i), , 1, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Riley Herbst (i), , 2, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Harrison Burton (i), , 2, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Austin Dillon (i), , 2, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Bayley Currey (i), 44, 3, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
97) Matt Mills, , 4, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Parker Retzlaff (i), 20, 1, 0, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Will Rodgers (i), , 1, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Joey Gase (i), , 2, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Alex Bowman (i), , 2, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) Josh Bilicki, , 1, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Brett Moffitt (i), , 2, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Jade Buford (i), , 1, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Jesse Iwuji (i), , 1, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Sheldon Creed (i), , 1, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Justin Carroll, , 0, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) John Atwell, , 0, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Garrett Smithley (i), , 0, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Braden Mitchell, , 0, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Tim Viens, , 0, 6, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Norm Benning, , 0, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Mark Lecomte, , 0, -2, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Natalie Decker, , 0, -114, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
115) Jason Kitzmiller, , 0, -3, 0, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Ron Fleshman and John Davison
Senior Editors at RIS-news.com