NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Crashes Send 2 Drivers to Hospital

Two separate accidents in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 250 Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway won by Brett Moffitt on Saturday sent Stewart Friesen and Greg Van Alst to the hospital for further examination after they were checked at the 2.66-mile track’s infield care center.

Friesen, who was involved in an accident with David Gilliland, Tyler Ankrum and Jake Garcia on lap 39, was the first driver that at-track medical personnel decided needed additional examination.

During the accident the front end of Friesen’s Toyota slammed into the third-turn wall, came across the track and stopped on the grassy apron. Friesen slowly pulled himself out of the truck, sat down on the grass and waited for NASCAR’s medical team. Ankrum and Gilliland were examined and released from the infield care center. Garcia continued in the race and finished 29th in the 36-car field.

Van Alst’s Chevrolet was one of the 10 trucks involved in the massive crash that occurred with two laps remaining. The harsh impact from his Chevrolet’s front end slamming head-on into the trioval wall lifted all four-wheels off the ground. He, too, was taken to the infield care center before being transported to the hospital.

Both trucks were taken to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C., for a safety inspection.

Tire Carrier Escapes Injury

Zane Smith’s tire carrier Charles Plank escaped injury during the race’s first pit stop when he attempted to jump onto the No. 38 Ford as it slid sideways into its pit. Plank, who had a tire in each hand, threw the one in his right hand into the truck and then released the one in his left hand onto pit road as he jumped onto the back of the truck as it slid into him.

“I thought I could clear it and I didn’t, but it looks like I almost cleared it jumping over,” Plank told Fox Sports during an on-camera interview shortly after the incident.

“I’m glad I made it on the decklid instead of getting underneath it.”

Smith said he thought everything was normal when he came down pit road, then when he hit the brake, it went “super soft”, and the truck spun.

Results

NASCAR Craftsman ruck Series Race - Love’s RV Stop 250

Talladega Superspeedway

1. (31) Brett Moffitt(i), Ford, 99.

2. (8) Ben Rhodes (P), Ford, 99.

3. (4) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 99.

4. (28) Chandler Smith(i), Chevrolet, 99.

5. (9) Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 99.

6. (29) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 99.

7. (2) Nick Sanchez # (P), Chevrolet, 99.

8. (23) Hailie Deegan, Ford, 99.

9. (13) Parker Kligerman(i), Chevrolet, 99.

10. (21) Lawless Alan, Chevrolet, 99.

11. (7) Carson Hocevar (P), Chevrolet, 99.

12. (14) Rajah Caruth #, Chevrolet, 99.

13. (25) Grant Enfinger (P), Chevrolet, 99.

14. (6) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 99.

15. (32) Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 99.

16. (15) Bret Holmes #, Chevrolet, 99.

17. (33) Ryan Vargas, Toyota, 99.

18. (24) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 99.

19. (16) Christian Eckes (P), Chevrolet, 99.

20. (10) Jake Drew, Toyota, 98.

21. (5) Ty Majeski (P), Ford, Accident, 93.

22. (35) Cory Roper, Ford, DVP, 93.

23. (17) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, Accident, 92.

24. (12) Matt Crafton, Ford, Accident, 91.

25. (19) Tanner Gray, Toyota, Accident, 91.

26. (26) Greg Van Alst, Chevrolet, Accident, 91.

27. (36) Jason M White, Ford, 88.

28. (1) Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, Accident, 84.

29. (3) Jake Garcia #, Chevrolet, 79.

30. (34) Tyler Hill, Toyota, Accident, 59.

31. (27) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, Accident, 58.

32. (18) Zane Smith (P), Ford, 55.

33. (22) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, Accident, 50.

34. (20) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, Accident, 38.

35. (11) David Gilliland, Toyota, Accident, 38.

36. (30) Bryan Dauzat, Chevrolet, Handling, 5.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.136 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 26 Mins, 7 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.089 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 41 laps.

Lead Changes: 23 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Purdy 1-4;N. Sanchez # (P) 5-22;M. Crafton 23;N. Sanchez # (P) 24-27;P. Kligerman(i) 28-31;C. Hocevar (P) 32-36;P. Kligerman(i) 37-42;B. Currey 43;T. Gray 44-45;T. Gray # 46;T. Gray 47-48;N. Sanchez # (P) 49;T. Gray 50-57;N. Sanchez # (P) 58-59;B. Holmes # 60-62;B. Moffitt(i) 63-67;C. Purdy 68;B. Moffitt(i) 69;C. Purdy 70-75;B. Moffitt(i) 76-84;C. Eckes (P) 85-91;B. Moffitt(i) 92-97;C. Eckes (P) 98;B. Moffitt(i) 99.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Nick Sanchez # (P) 4 times for 25 laps; Brett Moffitt(i) 5 times for 22 laps; Tanner Gray 3 times for 12 laps; Chase Purdy 3 times for 11 laps; Parker Kligerman(i) 2 times for 10 laps; Christian Eckes (P) 2 times for 8 laps; Carson Hocevar (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Bret Holmes # 1 time for 3 laps; Taylor Gray # 1 time for 1 lap; Bayley Currey 1 time for 1 lap; Matt Crafton 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,42,11,98,32,9,75,15,1,5

Stage #2 Top Ten: 75,2,42,98,99,15,17,32,5,11