News Director 
Column By: AMY HARROP / RPW – LOUDON, NH – The UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a race that’s typically dominated by Cup Series drivers, but that statistic was guaranteed to change in 2017.
Due to rule changes implemented at the beginning of the NASCAR season, Cup drivers are prohibited from competing in playoff races in the lower divisions of the sport. With a field containing no previous race winners at NHMS, the UNOH 175 was bound to be a showdown from the start.
19-year-old Noah Gragson started on the pole after posting the fastest lap of 131.811 mph in qualifying. This was Gragson’s third pole this season, making him the top qualifying rookie in the field. Points leader Christopher Bell started the race from the outside pole. New England native and fan-favorite Kaz Grala started the race in twelfth while 2-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton started in tenth. New Hampshire veteran Joe Nemechek started the race back in eighteenth position, four spots behind his son and playoff contender, John Hunter Nemechek.
The race was set to have three stages, stage 1 ending at lap 55, stage 2 ending at lap 110 and stage 3.
Gragson held onto the early lead as the #29 of Chase Briscoe fell to the back of the pack early, falling from ninth to fifteenth. By lap 10, Gragson and Bell had distanced themselves from the rest of the field and began lapping slower cals on the tail end of the lead. Chris Bell pulled up next to Noah Gragson on lap 24 and wound up leading lap 25, but he didn’t have enough power to stay in the lead. John Hunter Nemechek made an unexpected pit stop on lap 33, taking two right side tires. This incident caused Nemechek to go one lap down. Chris Bell jumped back into the lead on lap 44, making it stick the second time around. John Hunter Nemechek’s frustrating afternoon only got worse on lap 46, where he brought his #8 truck behind the wall for a Drivetrain Malfunction. His father John Nemechek pulled his own truck behind the wall, jumping in to help the #8 team. Christopher Bell went on to win stage one and capture 10 stage points. Under the caution, the #51 of Todd Gilliland ran over equipment, forcing him to come back down the pits to serve a pass-through penalty.
Matt Crafton and Kaz Grala both elected to take two tires under caution, leaving the two drivers on the front row for the restart. Crafton held onto the lead as Grala quickly fell back to third. Pole winner Noah Gragson faced troubles on lap 65, spinning around in turn 3 after making contact with the #33 of Kaz Grala. Gragson then made contact with chase contender Johnny Sauter, banging up the left side of the #21. This incident left Gragson with extensive cosmetic damage and a hole in his splitter. Miraculously, Gragson managed to stay on the lead lap after the incident. Although he stayed out on track after the caution, parts were dragging from Sauter’s undercarriage, eventually leading to his exhaust pipe falling off of his car on lap 73 in turn 1. This led to the third caution of the day for debris. Johnny Sauter elected to stay out under caution once again, leaving his team to worry about fumes, excessive noise and other issues that Sauter could face inside of the #21 with no tailpipe attached to his machine. Matt Crafton elected the outside line for the restart, but Christopher Bell powered to the inside for the lead. John Hunter Nemechek pulled back onto the track on lap 80, attempting to salvage some championship points. Christopher Bell went onto win his second consecutive stage, earning himself another ten stage points after pulling out in front of Matt Crafton by 3.5 seconds.
Johnny Sauter finally came down to the pits under caution, resulting in an extended pit stop and the the #21 falling back to 13th place. Ben Rhodes, Austin Cindric and Austin Wayne Self all elected for two tires under caution, while Kaz Grala and Ryan Truex managed to beat Bell off of pit road. Christopher Bell restarted back in fifth place, which is the furthest he fell back all day. Playoff contender Austin Cindric spun on lap 125 in turn 4 after Kaz Grala made contact with the left rear of the #19, but Cindric managed to keep it out of the wall. Grala and Cindric are no strangers to on-track drama, seeing that Cindric took out Grala to win on September 3rd at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.
Ryan Truex powered to the lead on the restart, pulling away from the #4 of Bell. Ben Rhodes got bent out of shape shortly after the restart, falling from third to eighth on lap 133. Christopher Bell surged into the lead again on lap 159, using lap traffic as a tool to get in front of the #16 of Truex. Dirt track connoisseur Stewart Friesen gradually climbed through the field throughout the race, sitting in the top-5 by lap 160. Christopher Bell went on to sweep all three stages to win the 175-lap race after leading 73 laps total, finishing 1.24 seconds ahead of Ryan Truex. The victory was Bell’s fifth on the season, a win that further solidifies his points lead and punches his ticket to the second round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs.
Ryan Truex praised Christopher Bell for his clean racing in his post-race interview, also saying that he “didn’t have enough grip” to keep up with the #4. “We’ve come so far with this group…I’m so proud of them. I’m glad a Toyota could win,” he said.
Christopher Bell had nothing but praise for his KBM team in Victory Lane. “It’s a dream come true to race for Kyle Busch Motorsports. These guys work so hard,” he said in his victory speech. KBM cars finished first, third and fifteenth in the 175-lap race.
Catch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next Saturday, September 23rd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race broadcasts at 8:00 pm EST on FS1.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – UNOH 175
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, New Hampshire
Saturday, September 23, 2017
1. (2) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 175.
2. (7) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 175.
3. (5) Todd Gilliland, Toyota, 175.
4. (8) Grant Enfinger #, Toyota, 175.
5. (11) Stewart Friesen #, Chevrolet, 175.
6. (10) Matt Crafton (P), Toyota, 175.
7. (4) Ben Rhodes (P), Toyota, 175.
8. (6) Austin Cindric (P) #, Ford, 175.
9. (3) Johnny Sauter (P), Chevrolet, 175.
10. (12) Kaz Grala (P) #, Chevrolet, 175.
11. (9) Chase Briscoe (P) #, Ford, 175.
12. (23) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 175.
13. (13) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 175.
14. (19) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 174.
15. (1) Noah Gragson #, Toyota, 174.
16. (16) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 173.
17. (21) Josh Reaume, Chevrolet, 169.
18. (22) Wendell Chavous #, Chevrolet, 168.
19. (27) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Brakes, 144.
20. (14) John H. Nemechek (P), Chevrolet, 139.
21. (24) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Electrical, 126.
22. (15) Austin Hill, Ford, Brakes, 125.
23. (20) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, Engine, 116.
24. (29) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Electrical, 27.
25. (17) Gray Gaulding(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 25.
26. (18) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, Vibration, 11.
27. (26) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, Brakes, 8.
28. (28) Mike Senica, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 3.
29. (25) Ray Ciccarelli, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 0.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 104.72 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 46 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.248 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 24 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: N. Gragson # 1-24; C. Bell (P) 25; N. Gragson # 26-41; C. Bell (P) 42-58; M. Crafton (P) 59-75; C. Bell (P) 76-114; B. Rhodes (P) 115-131; R. Truex 132-159; C. Bell (P) 160-175.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): C. Bell (P) 4 times for 73 laps; N. Gragson # 2 times for 40 laps; R. Truex 1 time for 28 laps; B. Rhodes (P) 1 time for 17 laps; M. Crafton (P) 1 time for 17 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 4,27,18,19,21,88,16,51,98,52
Stage #2 Top Ten: 4,88,16,98,33,52,27,51,24,21
