Erik Jones starts on the front row with Cole Custer
RELATED: Full starting lineup
A quick downpour at Gateway Motorsports Park covered the track with rain, delaying the start of the American Ethanol Presents the Drivin’ for Linemen 200 brought to you Ameren. The green flag was set to drop at 8:43 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM.
There was racing on Saturday night as the action got underway at 10:44 p.m. ET after a delay of approximately two hours and one minute.
The race is scheduled to go 160 laps and 200 miles.
Johnny Sauter told FOX Sports 1 that he didn’t anticipate the rain changing the track much from all the rain.
“I don’t think this race track is going to change a whole lot from what we had in practice even though we’ve had a couple rain showers. I really don’t I don’t know how much rubber could really be put on there in a two-hour period.”
Rookie Daniel Hemric told FS1 that with the track losing all the rubber that “everybody is in the same boat now.”
Rain washed out qualifying just minutes into the three-round knockout style format at the 1.25-mile track. Only 16 drivers made a lap and after qualifying was canceled, the starting lineup was set by practice speeds, per the NASCAR rule book.
In the series’ lone practice session earlier in the day, Erik Jones topped the charts, followed by Cole Custer, Matt Crafton, Sauter and Brandon Jones. Custer won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award for this race last year, which was won by Darrell Wallace Jr.
There is no Air Titan at the track but jet dryers got to work to dry the track as quickly as possible.
The Gateway race is the eighth race of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. Crafton holds the points lead over Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones.