Lofton wins first career Truck Series race, Keselowski and Hornaday argue
CONCORD, N.C. - On October 11, 2009, Justin Lofton won the ARCA championship for Eddie Sharp Racing, while driving under veteran crew chief Daniel Bormann. Three years later, the trio stood together in victory lane on Friday night as winners in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
It wasn’t an easy journey. The trio went their separate ways after winning that championship and didn’t reunite until this season, after Sharp had purchased the Truck Series assets of Kevin Harvick Inc.
Lofton has a reputation of being overly confident, a trait not fitting for a guy with such limited success in NASCAR. But with Friday’s win, everything could change for the 26-year old Californian, who now assumes a one-point championship lead over Timothy Peters. Lofton is surging with success and confidence and has started the season with five consecutive top-five finishes.
Lofton could easily enjoy a David Reutimann-style career, getting signed by a Sprint Cup team just before his 30’s and scratching out several Cup wins against guys with considerably larger checks. As long as he sticks with Sharp and Bormann, the trio could accomplish great things moving forward, something all three parties appear agreeable to.
“People have always credited me for standing behind young guys and I’m in full support of Justin,” Sharp said. “If the day has to come where I’m on the outside of the fence looking in the garage, asking that Justin come get me, I’m okay with that because I’m proud of what he’s accomplished.”
Speaking of success, that’s exactly what Jeb Burton accomplished all night prior to placing in eighth - the top finishing rookie.
He was even more impressive in the media center where he was thankful to everyone on his team and answered questions to the tune of ‘yes ma’am and ‘no sirs.’ This prompted many in attendance to draw comparisons to his father - 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton.
“A chip off the old block,” NASCAR moderator Kerry Tharp confirmed.
The complete finishing order can be found after the jump!
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Number 5
Unofficial Race Results for the 10Th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery
200 - Friday, May 18, 2012
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 134 Laps - 201 Miles - Purse: $485,978
Unofficial Race Results for the 10Th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery
200 - Friday, May 18, 2012
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 134 Laps - 201 Miles - Purse: $485,978
| Fin | Str | Trk | Driver | Team | Laps | Pts | Bns | Driver Rating | Winnings | Status | Tms | Laps |
| 1 | 2 | 6 | Justin Lofton | CollegeComplete.com Chevrolet | 134 | 48 | 5 | 126.9 | $42,625 | Running | 2 | 44 |
| 2 | 9 | 19 | Brad Keselowski(i) | Cooper Standard RAM | 134 | 0 | 134.2 | $25,765 | Running | 2 | 32 | |
| 3 | 17 | 11 | Todd Bodine | Toyota Care Toyota | 134 | 41 | 89.7 | $21,235 | Running | |||
| 4 | 5 | 18 | Jason Leffler | Dollar General Toyota | 134 | 40 | 114.4 | $15,825 | Running | |||
| 5 | 15 | 9 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Joe Denette Motorsports Chevrolet | 134 | 40 | 1 | 99.7 | $14,900 | Running | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 7 | 23 | Jason White | JW Demolition / GunBroker.com Ford | 134 | 38 | 96.3 | $12,200 | Running | |||
| 7 | 3 | 22 | Joey Coulter | RCR Chevrolet | 134 | 37 | 92.0 | $11,700 | Running | |||
| 8 | 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton # | State Water Heaters Chevrolet | 134 | 36 | 78.8 | $14,800 | Running | |||
| 9 | 4 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Tire Kingdom Toyota | 134 | 36 | 1 | 100.9 | $11,475 | Running | 1 | 17 |
| 10 | 1 | 3 | Ty Dillon # | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate Chevrolet | 134 | 35 | 1 | 106.3 | $14,950 | Running | 1 | 25 |
| 11 | 14 | 29 | Parker Kligerman | Draw-Tite / MOPAR RAM | 134 | 33 | 85.5 | $10,950 | Running | |||
| 12 | 11 | 2 | Brendan Gaughan(i) | Southpoint Hotel & Casino Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | 78.6 | $10,775 | Running | |||
| 13 | 24 | 98 | Dakoda Armstrong # | EverFi.com Toyota | 134 | 31 | 61.9 | $10,650 | Running | |||
| 14 | 12 | 32 | Miguel Paludo | Duroline Brakes Chevrolet | 134 | 30 | 79.0 | $10,550 | Running | |||
| 15 | 6 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Menards / Fisher Nuts Toyota | 134 | 29 | 89.7 | $11,325 | Running | |||
| 16 | 22 | 09 | John Wes Townley # | Toyota - Save in May Sales Event Toyota | 134 | 28 | 65.5 | $10,550 | Running | |||
| 17 | 34 | 81 | David Starr | Build Your Future / Zachry Toyota | 134 | 27 | 61.1 | $10,300 | Running | |||
| 18 | 31 | 92 | David Reutimann(i) | FleetHQ.com/BTSTire/QMI/FatbacksTire Chev | 134 | 0 | 61.1 | $8,000 | Running | |||
| 19 | 8 | 33 | Cale Gale # | Rheem Chevrolet | 134 | 25 | 63.5 | $10,200 | Running | |||
| 20 | 26 | 99 | Bryan Silas # | Rockingham Speedway Ford | 134 | 24 | 44.5 | $10,775 | Running | |||
| 21 | 35 | 75 | Caleb Holman # | Food Country USA / Morning Fresh Farms Chevrolet | 134 | 23 | 46.3 | $7,830 | Running | |||
| 22 | 10 | 31 | James Buescher | EXIDE Batteries Chevrolet | 134 | 23 | 1 | 89.8 | $8,775 | Running | 1 | 10 |
| 23 | 28 | 01 | Jake Crum | BanditChippers.com Chevrolet | 132 | 21 | 52.5 | $7,750 | Running | |||
| 24 | 23 | 24 | Max Gresham # | BugBand.net / Made in USA Brand Chevrolet | 131 | 20 | 61.0 | $8,725 | Running | |||
| 25 | 13 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Hot Honeys / Curb Records Toyota | 127 | 19 | 92.2 | $8,825 | Running | |||
| 26 | 25 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Driven2Honor.org RAM | 126 | 18 | 31.6 | $7,650 | Running | |||
| 27 | 29 | 14 | Brennan Newberry | The Jeremy Staat Foundation Chevrolet | 125 | 17 | 33.2 | $7,625 | Running | |||
| 28 | 27 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts Chevrolet | 101 | 17 | 1 | 60.7 | $7,600 | Engine | 1 | 5 |
| 29 | 16 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Alpinestars Chevrolet | 98 | 15 | 62.4 | $7,550 | Accident | |||
| 30 | 20 | 5 | Paulie Harraka # | Child Help 1-800-4-A-CHILD Ford | 84 | 14 | 45.2 | $8,025 | Accident | |||
| 31 | 30 | 60 | Chad McCumbee | Turn One Racing Chevrolet | 61 | 13 | 34.1 | $7,500 | Overheating | |||
| 32 | 32 | 84 | Chris Fontaine | Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet | 40 | 12 | 37.1 | $7,450 | Engine | |||
| 33 | 19 | 7 | John King # | CONSOL Energy Toyota | 24 | 11 | 37.8 | $7,425 | Accident | |||
| 34 | 36 | 38 | Dennis Setzer | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 19 | 10 | 30.6 | $7,400 | Overheating | |||
| 35 | 18 | 08 | Ross Chastain # | Florida Watermelon Association Toyota | 12 | 9 | 32.3 | $7,370 | Engine | |||
| 36 | 33 | 68 | Clay Greenfield | @claygreenfield RAM | 6 | 8 | 27.4 | $7,350 | Power |
Race Comments: Before an estimated attendance of 25,000, Justin Lofton won the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: #14 (engine change), #81 (adjustments outside impound), #92 (missed drivers meeting).
Failed to Qualify: (5) 07 Johnny Chapman, 70 Jeff Agnew, 57 Norm Benning, 93 B J McLeod, 28 Wes Burton.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 49 Mins, 51 Secs. Average Speed: 109.786 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.261 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 36 laps: Laps: 4-6 (#10, 14 accident frontstretch [None]); 13-17 (Oil on the track from the #08 [38]); 25-30 (#7 accident turn 2 [None]); 72-75 (#14 spin turn 4 [19]); 85-90 (#5, 31, 92 accident turn 2 [22]); 95-99 (Debris [33]); 121-124 (#30 accident turn 1 [31]); 127-129 (Debris [31]).
Lead Changes: 8 among 7 drivers: T. Dillon # 1-25; R. Sieg 26-30; J. Buescher 31-40; B. Keselowski(i) 41-66; R. Hornaday Jr. 67; T. Peters 68-84; J. Lofton 85-118; B. Keselowski(i) 119-124; J. Lofton 125-134.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) J. Lofton 200;(2) T. Peters 199;(3) T. Dillon # 184;(4) J. Buescher 182;(5) P. Kligerman 170;(6) R. Hornaday Jr. 169;(7) J. White 158;(8) N. Piquet Jr. 155;(9) T. Bodine 151;(10) J. Coulter 145.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver : Jeb Burton, #27 28 Places Keystone Light Pole Award : Ty Dillon, #3 181.616 mph
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt-Childress Racing, #6 Mobil 1 Oil Driver of the Race : Justin Lofton, #6
Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Jeb Burton, #27
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Jun. 1, 2012 - Dover International Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
Failed to Qualify: (5) 07 Johnny Chapman, 70 Jeff Agnew, 57 Norm Benning, 93 B J McLeod, 28 Wes Burton.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 49 Mins, 51 Secs. Average Speed: 109.786 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.261 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 36 laps: Laps: 4-6 (#10, 14 accident frontstretch [None]); 13-17 (Oil on the track from the #08 [38]); 25-30 (#7 accident turn 2 [None]); 72-75 (#14 spin turn 4 [19]); 85-90 (#5, 31, 92 accident turn 2 [22]); 95-99 (Debris [33]); 121-124 (#30 accident turn 1 [31]); 127-129 (Debris [31]).
Lead Changes: 8 among 7 drivers: T. Dillon # 1-25; R. Sieg 26-30; J. Buescher 31-40; B. Keselowski(i) 41-66; R. Hornaday Jr. 67; T. Peters 68-84; J. Lofton 85-118; B. Keselowski(i) 119-124; J. Lofton 125-134.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) J. Lofton 200;(2) T. Peters 199;(3) T. Dillon # 184;(4) J. Buescher 182;(5) P. Kligerman 170;(6) R. Hornaday Jr. 169;(7) J. White 158;(8) N. Piquet Jr. 155;(9) T. Bodine 151;(10) J. Coulter 145.
Featherlite Most Improved Driver : Jeb Burton, #27 28 Places Keystone Light Pole Award : Ty Dillon, #3 181.616 mph
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt-Childress Racing, #6 Mobil 1 Oil Driver of the Race : Justin Lofton, #6
Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Jeb Burton, #27
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Jun. 1, 2012 - Dover International Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
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