Stats:
Started: 6th
Finished: 10th
Laps: 145/146
Status: Running
Driver Points: 7th
Owner Points: 11th
Las Vegas, NV (October 4, 2015) – Making his NASCAR Camping World Truck (NCWTS) debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), Cameron Hayley, driver of the No. 13 Monte Carlo/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra, got off to a fast start. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender was eighth in the lone NCWTS practice session on Saturday morning, and qualified sixth for his LVMS debut Saturday night. Hayley went on to lead the 32-truck field for 23 laps and brought home his ninth top-10 finish of the 2015 season, finishing 10th in Saturday night’s Rhino Linings 350.
When the green flag dropped for the 146-lap event, it was clear that the 19-year-old driver had quite a bit of speed under the hood of his No. 13 Tundra. Under the first caution of the night, on lap 15, crew chief Jeff Hensley made the call to bring Hayley down pit road for a fuel-only stop, gaining the Sunoco Rookie of the contender valuable track position when he restarted the race from the second position at lap 25. Shortly there after, on lap 38, the yellow flag was displayed again for fluid on the backstretch. Hayley visited pit road for four tires and fuel, and due to a mix of pit strategies, Hayley would restart 14th when the field took the green at lap 41. However, the Canada native didn’t waste any time making up ground, picking up multiple positions on the restart.
Racing his way back to the lead on lap 69, Hayley held command of the field for 23 laps, for just the fifth time in his young career. Relinquishing the lead to come down pit road on lap 92 for a scheduled green-flag pit stop, Hayley would slide threw his pit box, costing him valuable time on the track as the crew had to push him back before completing his pit stop. When green-flag pit stops finally cycled through, the ThorSport Racing driver found himself running third, chasing down the leaders once again.
As the laps winded down in the 19th annual event, the No. 13 machine continued to gain ground on the leaders. However, a caution-free race in the last 94 laps, brought fuel mileage into play for the 32-truck field as the race neared the scheduled distance. Unfortunately, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender came up two laps short, and was forced to pit for a splash of gas at lap 144.
Hayley would cross the finish line in the 10th position, one lap down to race winner, John Wes Townley. This solid effort marked the ThorSport Racing driver’s ninth top-10 finish in his 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign.
Quote:
“We had a great Toyota Tundra all night. It was awesome to have Monte Carlo on the truck and I think we represented them well on the track tonight. We ran among the leaders the entire race, led some laps, and had a really fast Tundra. I’m not a fan of fuel mileage races but it’s apart of the sport. This is the second fuel mileage race we’ve lost and hopefully our luck can turn around for the rest of the season.”
Notes:
- Cameron Hayley qualified sixth and finished 10th in his at Las Vegas Motor Speedway debut in Saturday night’s Rhino Linings 350.
- The ThorSport Racing driver led the field once for 23 laps in the 146-lap event. Hayley has now led 77 laps in 2015, a career-best.
- The No. 13 Monte Carlo/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra qualified sixth for the Rhino Linings 350.
- In 2015, Hayley has three top-five and nine top-10 finishes
- The ThorSport Racing driver is currently seventh in the 2015 NCWTS driver point standings just 11 points back from sixth.
- John Wes Townley won the Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by Timothy Peters (second), Ben Kennedy (third), John Hunter Nemechek (fourth) and Brandon Jones (fifth). ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton was eighth and Johnny Sauter was 12th.
- Up Next: The NCWTS takes two weeks off before heading to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 24 for the fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola