Cole Custer – Connor Hamilton photo
Cole Custer won the 2nd Annual Drivin’ for Lineman 200, his second victory in 12 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Races. This is his first victory and first top-10 in 2015.
For Custer he was in the right place at the right time. At the last restart, Tyler Reddick who had taken the lead prior to the last caution could not get his car back up to speed on the last restart thus opening the door for Custer to charge to the lead and hold off Spencer Gallagher to win the race.
“We did not have the best car,” said Custer. “But we had the best race.”
For Spencer Gallagher who finished in 2nd, this was his second top-10 finish in 2015 and his best overall finish of his career. He was challenged by Johnny Sauter in the waning laps of the race. When asked after the race what he was thinking when he saw Sauter coming on strong, Gallagher replied “Don’t screw up” four times.
Sauter settled for third and it was his fourth top-10 finish in four races at Gateway Motorsports Park.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – American Ethanol presents the Drivin for Linemen 200 brought to you by Ameren
Gateway Motorsports Park
Madison, Illinois
Saturday, June 13, 2015
1. (2) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 160, $45121.
2. (14) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 160, $30147.
3. (4) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 160, $23559.
4. (12) John H. Nemechek #, Chevrolet, 160, $21400.
5. (9) Cameron Hayley #, Toyota, 160, $18346.
6. (13) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 160, $17162.
7. (15) Ben Kennedy, Toyota, 160, $16306.
8. (6) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 160, $15757.
9. (7) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 160, $15701.
10. (10) Austin Theriault #, Ford, 160, $16596.
11. (11) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 160, $15591.
12. (5) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 160, $15451.
13. (18) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 160, $15396.
14. (20) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 160, $15340.
15. (17) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 160, $15601.
16. (21) Tyler Tanner, Chevrolet, 159, $15262.
17. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 157, $14952.
18. (23) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 157, $14813.
19. (27) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 156, $13452.
20. (25) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 156, $13897.
21. (3) Matt Crafton, Toyota, Accident, 151, $13230.
22. (24) Korbin Forrister #, Chevrolet, 148, $12119.
23. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, Electrical, 145, $11980.
24. (26) Tommy Regan, Chevrolet, Electrical, 108, $11897.
25. (8) Matt Tifft, Toyota, Accident, 92, $12019.
26. (29) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Brakes, 56, $11841.
27. (19) Justin Boston #, Toyota, Accident, 51, $11786.
28. (16) Mason Mingus, Chevrolet, Accident, 51, $11539.
29. (22) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, Brakes, 26, $11511.
30. (31) Michael Affarano(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 13, $11011.
31. (30) Adam Edwards, Chevrolet, Brakes, 6, $9511.
32. (32) Joey Gattina, Chevrolet, Engine, 0, $8511.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 96.97 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 03 Mins, 45 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.871 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 35 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: E. Jones # 1-55; M. Crafton 56-62; E. Jones # 63-82; M. Crafton 83-93; J. Sauter 94-97; C. Custer 98-110; E. Jones # 111-119; M. Crafton 120-150; T. Reddick 151-154; C. Custer 155-160.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): E. Jones # 3 times for 84 laps; M. Crafton 3 times for 49 laps; C. Custer 2 times for 19 laps; T. Reddick 1 time for 4 laps; J. Sauter 1 time for 4 laps.
Top 10 in Points: M. Crafton – 329; T. Reddick – 317; J. Sauter – 299; E. Jones # – 296; J. Townley – 260; C. Hayley # – 254; S. Gallagher # – 251; D. Hemric # – 246; T. Peters – 245; B. Kennedy – 238.
Story by Kevin Proot
Photos by Connor Hamilton