Chandler Smith put on an absolute clinic at Richmond Raceway on August 13, leading 176 of the 250 laps en route to the win, punching his ticket into the Round of 8.
He was followed by his teammate John Hunter Nemechek in second, while polesitter Ty Majeski finished third. Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
This race was relatively calm compared to the first playoff race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, which saw Enfinger take the win in a classic truck series race. There was only one caution for incident late, but Smith was able to hold off Nemechek and pick up his third win of the season.
Majeski is Early Favorite
Majeski had won the pole earlier in the day and showed that he had race winning speed, dominating stage one and getting another playoff point. He ended up leading 73 laps on the night, the second most out of the three lap leaders (Nemechek lead one lap).
But a scary pit stop set Majeski back from which he could never recover. Majeski was pulling into his pit box when his jackman, Paul Steele, fell right into his path as he was jumping off the wall to service the truck. Majeski slammed the brakes but still hit Steele. However, the incident could have been a lot worse if it were not for Majeski’s quick actions.
Man of Steele.
Incredible by jackman Paul Steele to still finish @TyMajeski‘s stop after this. pic.twitter.com/WETHtNQkjQ
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) August 14, 2022
The setback dropped Majeski back in the field, and the lack of cautions never gave him a chance to contest for the win. Despite finishing third and having a solid points day, this seems like a race that Majeski would like to have back.
Playoff Drivers Struggle
Despite some playoff drivers having a good day, others had struggled to find speed. Ben Rhodes was the worst finishing playoff driver, finishing two laps down in 18th. Rhodes struggled the entire night with brake issues, mainly brake issues.
Another driver who found himself in trouble was Carson Hocevar. Remember that one caution for an incident I mentioned earlier? That came courtesy of Hocevar running into the back of lapped truck Nick Leitz, sending the latter hard into the outside wall and leaving Leitz as the only truck to not finish the race.
While Hocevar still managed to finish 10th, Leitz was not too happy with the move.
That’s one way to stay in the leap lap I guess @CarsonHocevar
— Nick Leitz (@NickLeitz_) August 14, 2022
Does the Championship Run…
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