What do Moffitt, Reddick, and Logano Have in Common?
First Time Champions
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Brett Moffitt, driver of the #16 AISIN Group Toyota, celebrates
in victory lane with the trophy after winning the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 and the NCWTS Championship
at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 16, 2018
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#NCWTS - Brett Moffitt Cruises to First Truck Series Title At Homestead
In a race that featured a minimum two cautions, both for planned stage breaks,
Brett Moffitt drove away from the rest of the field after taking the lead from fellow Championship 4 contender Noah Gragson on Lap 99 of 134.
Moffitt finished 2.000 seconds ahead of pole winner Grant Enfinger, who passed Gragson for the runner-up spot during a cycle of green-flag pit stops at the 103-lap mark. Gragson ran third, 5.006 seconds back.
Driving for underfunded Hattori Racing Enterprises, owned by former driver Shigeaki Hattori of Japan, Moffitt picked up his sixth victory of the season (and second straight) and the seventh of his career. More than 20 years ago, Hattori won the first of his two Indy Lights races at Homestead after leading 64 of 67 laps in a Lola/Buick.
"That was the longest 20-30 laps of my life," Moffitt said of the final run to the checkered flag. "Man, I was just glad we could get to the white flag without a caution and clean sailing. We had a great truck all day.
"It's unreal. We all know the story by now. We didn't know if we were going to race this whole year. I didn't if I would have the opportunity to run for a championship, even after we got our first win. Everyone pulled together hard here.
"We've had so many partners who came in at clutch moments and got us to the race track."
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Tyler Reddick, driver of the #9 BurgerFi Chevrolet, celebrates with
the trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series
Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on
November 17, 2018 in Homestead, Florida.
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#NXS - Tyler Reddick Wins at Homestead In Stunning Xfinity Championship Run
Tyler Reddick was the only driver of the Championship 4 who really liked it on top, and his willingness to run the wall paid off with a race win and a NASCAR Xfinity Series title.
Charging forward in the top lane, even though it meant an occasional brush with the outside wall, Reddick pulled away from pole winner Cole Custer during a long green-flag run to the finish to win Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 by 6.902 seconds.
"I picked a really good time to get my life together and decide to win a race," and elated Reddick said in Victory Lane.
In fact, Saturday’s win was the third in Reddick’s career and his second of the season. Reddick won the 2018 opener at Daytona International Speedway by .0004 seconds over JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler, who finished 14th on Saturday in his final start as a full-time driver.
At Daytona, Reddick’s margin of victory translated to roughly three inches. At Homestead, it was a no-doubter. Once he passed fellow Championship 4 competitor Christopher Bell for the lead on Lap 164 of 200 and stayed within inches with the wall lap after lap, he quickly pulled away for the win, the championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
- "I just knew we had to execute," Reddick said. "I thought we had a chance if we just made it to Homestead. I like this track—it rewards my aggression. Tonight, we hit the wall a lot, but the car kept in one piece, enough for me to get to the end."
Pit strategy also played out in Reddick’s favor. Bell came to pit road under green on Lap 141, and Reddick followed a lap later. Custer didn’t bring his No. 00 Ford to pit road from the lead until Lap 147, after losing roughly two seconds per lap, and exited 8.006 seconds behind Reddick.
Bell passed Reddick for the lead on Lap 154 but within 10 laps the seven-time winner had used up his short-run speed and surrendered the top spot back to Reddick.
"He went out and attacked, attacked, attacked all night, and it paid off for him," Bell said of Reddick’s effort. "I was good on the bottom, and I had glimpses of hope, but we just weren’t fast enough."
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Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in
victory lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Ford EcoBoost 400 and the MENCS Championship at Homestead
-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018 in Homestead, Florida
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#MENCS - Late Charge Gives Joey Logano Homestead Victory And First Cup Championship
On Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it was "The Big Three and Me" — with the "Me" being
Joey Logano waging vehicular war against the three most prolific winners in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Now "Me" is a champion.
In a thrilling finish that featured all four Championship 4 drivers battling for the race victory and the title—and finishing 1-2-3-4 in the Ford EcoBoost 400—Logano charged past defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 256 of 267 and pulled away to win his first championship.
"Oh, my God, yes!" Logano screamed on his radio as his No. 22 Team Penske Ford flashed across the finish line 1.725 seconds ahead of Truex, establishing a handful of milestones in the process.
"We did it! We won the championship! I can’t believe it. I don't know what to say. This team, (owner) Roger Penske, (crew chief) Todd Gordon, the pit crew. Oh, my God! They gave me the car I needed at the end to do my job. Put me in position to do my job. I couldn’t be more proud of them. We won the championship! Oh, my God!"
The victory was Logano’s third of the season, his first at the 1.5-mile track and the 21st of his career. With the win, he sealed the first manufacturer’s championship for Ford since 2002 and the first driver’s championship for the car maker since Kurt Busch won the first Playoffs in 2004.
🏁 🏆 Last Five Posts 🏆 🏁
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- Kevin Harvick On Thriving In The Face Of Adversity
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- Brett Moffitt - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4
