RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings
John Wes Townley won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by coasting to the finish line as drivers such a Erik Jones, Matt Crafton and Cameron Hayley ran short of fuel or needed to make a late stop.
For Townley it was his first career victory in a major NASCAR series, but it didn’t come without some tense moments as his crew chief was advising him to use three-quarters throttle in the race’s final three laps.
However, it turned out to be enough as race leader Crafton (eighth place) had to pit for a spalsh-and-go with five laps remaining and Jones (ninth) and Hayley (10th) were seen wiggling their trucks short on fuel in the final laps.
“I would have run out of gas if it hadn’t been for (spotter) Terry (Cook),” Townley said after the race. “I took care of this thing (truck) tonight and it took care of me. This is amazing; awesome.”
Said crew chief Michael Shelton, a former series championship crew chief, “It’s been a lot of time coming. He’s (Townley) had a tough career at times.”
Timothy Peters finished second, followed by Ben Kennedy, John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones to round out the top five.
Erik Jones leads Crafton by four points in the driver standings, with Tyler Reddick, who finished seventh, 16 points down.
Reddick wrecked with teammate Austin Theriault on Lap 13. Theriault, whose truck went head-on into the wall, was airlifted to a nearby hospital for observation. According to a post on the driver’s Facebook page, Theriault was alert and communicating.
RELATED: Theriault airlifted after Vegas wreck
The Truck Series will return to the track on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Talladega Superspeedway for the Fred’s 250 Presented by Coca-Cola (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).