LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Landen Lewis’ best finish of his still-budding NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career came with a significant detour midway through. Re-routing proved successful.
Lewis’ No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet wound up facing the wrong way when a Stage 2 restart on Lime Rock Park’s long main straight bogged down the front of the pack, creating a maelstrom of trucks in the wake. “Sorry, guys,” Lewis told his crew on the radio as he righted his truck, but after a sizable rally, the 20-year-old driver had little reason to apologize.
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Lewis came home with a career-best second place in Saturday’s LiUNA 150, which marked just his seventh Truck Series start. Lewis also notched his second consecutive top-five run in his partial schedule with the Niece group, backing up his solid fourth-place effort from Naval Base Coronado near San Diego.
There was elation from Lewis as he spoke from the back of the No. 45 hauler, but also the bittersweet feeling of finishing just 0.483 seconds behind race winner Grant Enfinger in a bid for his first career Truck Series win. But it also marked another step toward putting him more squarely on NASCAR’s national-series radar.
“Definitely mixed emotions, for sure, getting spun out and just all these different things going on,” Lewis told NASCAR.com. “But like I told my guys, we’re gonna keep fighting till the very end. I think we had 30-something laps to go, so plenty of time to get back to the front, and we all rallied together. Just so proud to be a part of this group.”
Lewis started sixth in Saturday’s 100-lap show, and he worked his way to third place by the end of the first stage — right behind early dominators Layne Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt, the front-runners in the Craftsman Truck Series standings. He was in the same position when the yellow flag flew for Ty Majeski’s Turn 1 crash at the midpoint of Stage 2.
Lewis was in the inside lane behind Riggs’ No. 34 Ford for the next restart, where bedlam broke out. The Niece No. 45 was one of four trucks involved, but a quick assessment showed the damage to be tolerable — steering-wheel alignment still straight, new tires needed, and a patched-up hole on the truck’s nose.
That’s when veteran crew chief Phil Gould pivoted on strategy, saying he had no choice but to flip the stage and skip the trip to pit road in the approaching break. Staying out when other contenders pitted placed Lewis in the seventh spot for the start of the final stage, in front of both Riggs and Honeycutt and in position to make up late-race ground on slightly older tires.
“Keeping pace with the 34 (Riggs) and the 11 (Honeycutt), I’d like to have run the whole race straight up,” Gould told NASCAR.com. “I think with one more adjustment, we might’ve had something for them.”
Lewis’ Truck Series opportunity comes after a championship march last season in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Series. While that short-track bullring background might not seem to mesh with the challenges presented by Lime Rock’s twisty layout, Lewis’ versatility primed him for a fast-paced romp through the Connecticut countryside.
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Lewis has also excelled in karting, dirt modifieds, Legend Cars and ARCA’s regional tours on his way up the motorsports ladder. He’s also learned from working with NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. as a mentor, and the youngster also has the backing of Kevin Harvick’s agency in his corner. The support system and his raw talent were part of why Niece signed him last October as one of the team’s “anchor drivers” with a part-time schedule for 2026.
“I mean, his talent is high-level, right?” Gould said. “I think he’s an A-level driver. He has a lot of experience in different disciplines, so I think the road-course stuff kind of played into his hands. And I think three of his first four races have been road courses. So, we get to go short-track oval racing in the next couple weeks, and I know he’s excited about that.”
Lewis does so carrying a head of steam into the final stretch of the Truck Series’ regular season.
“Obviously, just a huge amount of confidence with my truck and my team,” Lewis said. “I feel like it’s not just me; it’s all of us together. We have a lot of confidence and momentum building, so just want to continue to build that and not go backward.”