The Toyota Tundra 225 was the 9th stock car race of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, and the inaugural running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 22, 2021 in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas. The race took 41 laps to complete. At the end, Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports would win the race, the second of his career and his first of the year.[1] Kaz Grala of Young's Motorsports and Tyler Ankrum of GMS Racing would fill in the rest of the podium positions, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 22 of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 22, 2021 | ||
| Official name | Toyota Tundra 225 | ||
| Location | Austin, Texas, Circuit of the Americas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 3.426 mi (5.513 km) | ||
| Distance | 41 laps, 140.507 mi (226.115 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 41 laps, 140.507 mi (226.115 km) | ||
| Average speed | 70.790 miles per hour (113.925 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | GMS Racing | ||
| Time | 2:43:591 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | |
| Laps | 19 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Vince Welch, Michael Waltrip, Andy Lally | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a grade 1 FIA-specification motorsports facility located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. It features a 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road racing circuit. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship. It previously hosted the Supercars Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and IndyCar Series.
On September 30, 2020, it was announced that COTA would host a NASCAR Cup Series event for the first time on May 23, 2021.[2] The lower Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series were also added as support events.[3] On December 11, 2020, it was announced that NASCAR would run the full 3.41 mile course.[4]
Entry list
edit*Withdrew due to a stolen truck.[5]
Practice
editThe first and final practice took place on Friday, May 21 at 4:05 PM EST. Zane Smith of GMS Racing would win the pole with a 2:17.395 with an average speed of 89.348 miles per hour (143.792 km/h).
One incident would happen during practice: Brad Gross would spin with 26 minutes left in practice.[6] Gross would receive damage from the spin and would not set a lap time.
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:17.395 | 89.348 |
| 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:17.735 | 89.128 |
| 3 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:18.472 | 88.653 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying would take place under torrential downpour on Saturday, May 22 at 10:06 AM EST. Qualifying consisted of two rounds- the first round would be 25 minutes long, and everyone would have a chance to set a lap time. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round- a 10 minute round in which whoever set the fastest time in Round 2 won the pole. While Kaz Grala of Young's Motorsports would set the fastest time in Round 1, Tyler Ankrum would win the pole, beating Grala in Round 2 with a 2:40:401 with an average speed of 76.533 miles per hour (123.168 km/h).[7]
Logan Bearden, Dawson Cram, Spencer Boyd, Samuel LeComte, John Atwell, Brad Gross, and Jennifer Jo Cobb would all fail to make the event.
There were numerous incidents in qualifying. First, Chase Purdy and Derek Kraus would crash into each other, sending Kraus spinning.[8] Cobb would crash in qualifying in Turn 13, causing substantial damage to her vehicle.[9] Samuel LeComte would spin after going wide exiting turn 20, hitting the curbs and spinning.[10] Cory Roper would spin in Turn 11 after also going wide. Finally, Kraus was involved with another incident, this time with Roger Reuse.[11]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:40.401 | 76.533 | 2:43.591 | 75.041 |
| 2 | 02 | Kaz Grala | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:39.978 | 76.736 | 2:43.720 | 74.982 |
| 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:41.745 | 75.897 | 2:44.176 | 74.773 |
| 4 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2:41.917 | 75.817 | 2:44.210 | 74.758 |
| 5 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2:42.055 | 75.752 | 2:44.624 | 74.570 |
| 6 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 2:40.738 | 76.373 | 2:44.969 | 74.414 |
| 7 | 33 | Cameron Lawrence | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 2:42.827 | 75.393 | 2:45.517 | 74.168 |
| 8 | 51 | Parker Chase | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 2:42.469 | 75.559 | 2:45.870 | 74.010 |
| 9 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 2:42.709 | 75.448 | 2:46.869 | 73.567 |
| 10 | 98 | Christian Eckes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2:42.763 | 75.423 | 2:47.808 | 73.155 |
| 11 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2:42:417 | 75.583 | 2:48.615 | 72.805 |
| 12 | 40 | Ryan Truex | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:42.589 | 75.503 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||
| 13 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:42.950 | 75.336 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 14 | 45 | Bayley Currey | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:43.215 | 75.214 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 15 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:43.220 | 75.211 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 16 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 2:43.318 | 75.166 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 17 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:43.470 | 75.096 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 18 | 25 | Timothy Peters | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 2:43.590 | 75.041 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 19 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota | 2:43.597 | 75.038 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 20 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 2:44.098 | 74.809 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 21 | 32 | Sam Mayer | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 2:44.126 | 74.796 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 22 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:44.153 | 74.784 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 23 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:44.272 | 74.730 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 24 | 11 | Camden Murphy | Spencer Davis Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:44.327 | 74.705 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 25 | 30 | Michele Abbate | On Point Motorsports | Toyota | 2:44.811 | 74.485 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 26 | 66 | Paul Menard | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2:44.978 | 74.410 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 27 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 2:45.069 | 74.369 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 28 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 2:45.114 | 74.349 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 29 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | Chevrolet | 2:45.322 | 74.255 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 30 | 12 | Tate Fogleman | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:45.690 | 74.090 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 31 | 23 | Chase Purdy | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:45.867 | 74.011 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||
| 32 | 34 | Lawless Alan | Reaume Brothers Racing | Toyota | 2:47.447 | 73.313 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 33 | 24 | Jack Wood | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2:47.998 | 73.072 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 34 | 04 | Cory Roper | Roper Racing | Ford | 2:49.825 | 72.286 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 35 | 3 | Roger Reuse | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 2:54.909 | 70.185 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 36 | 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||
| 37 | 44 | Logan Bearden | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:46.121 | 73.898 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 38 | 41 | Dawson Cram | Cram Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet | 2:46.478 | 73.739 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 39 | 20 | Spencer Boyd | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:46.611 | 73.681 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 40 | 72 | Samuel Lecomte | CMI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:53.122 | 70.910 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 41 | 49 | John Atwell | CMI Motorsports | Ford | 2:54.396 | 70.392 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 42 | 83 | Brad Gross | CMI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3:03.193 | 67.011 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 43 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 3:06.406 | 65.856 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Official first and second round results | ||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||
Race
editPre-race comments and ceremonies
editRace recap
editPost-race driver comments
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 12
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 02 | Kaz Grala | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 32 | Sam Mayer | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 14
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 02 | Kaz Grala | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 45 | Bayley Currey | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 32 | Sam Mayer | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Camden Murphy | Spencer Davis Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 15
References
edit- ^ "Todd Gilliland wins inaugural Truck race at COTA and 50k bonus". us.motorsport.com. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ "Circuit of the Americas to host Cup for first time in 2021 - NBC Sports". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ "Xfinity and Trucks to join Cup Series at COTA". RACER. 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ "NASCAR opts for F1 track layout for Circuit of the Americas round". www.autosport.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ "You've probably noticed we were not at COTA last week and not on the entry for this week's race at Charlotte. We Have been in negotiations with the insurance company regarding the stolen truck. Long story short, they are not helping out much. However, that has not (continued)". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02.
- ^ Brad Gross Spin - 2021 Truck Series Practice at COTA, 21 May 2021, retrieved 2021-09-29
- ^ "COTA Truck starting lineup: Tyler Ankrum wins pole - NBC Sports". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ Derek Kraus Spin - 2021 Truck Series Qualifying at COTA, 22 May 2021, retrieved 2021-09-29
- ^ Jen Jo Cobb Crash - 2021 Truck Series Qualifying at COTA, 22 May 2021, retrieved 2021-09-29
- ^ Samuel Lecomte Spin - 2021 Truck Series Qualifying at COTA, 22 May 2021, retrieved 2021-09-29
- ^ Cory Roper and Derek Kraus Spin - 2021 Truck Series Qualifying at COTA, 22 May 2021, retrieved 2021-09-29