Mike Skinner beat Erik Darnell by .02 seconds in a drag race to the line in the Qwik Liner 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but Johnny Benson stole the headlines as his 74-point advantage in the points standings evaporated in the blink of an eye.
Benson crashed after blowing his right-front tire on Lap 65, sending him hard into the wall. The team tried to repair the damage but quickly decided they wouldnt be able to and Benson posted a DNF for just the second time this season, finishing 27th.
Defending Truck Series champ Ron Hornaday took advantage of Bensons woes, finishing fifth and moving 73 points closer in the standings, trailing Benson by just one point as the series heads to Talladega in two weeks.
The race was halted by a record 12 cautions, forcing the race to go to a green-white-checkered finish. Darnell held the lead on the restart, but before the white flag came out, Skinner was able to pass him. On the final lap, Darnell made a big run in Turns 3 and 4 but Skinner beat Darnell down the straightaway for his first win on the season
Matt Crafton, John Andretti and Hornaday rounded out the top five.
More fireworks came courtesy of Jack Sprague and Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan drifted up into the left-rear of Sprague on Lap 78, sending Sprague into the wall, ending his night. As Sprague climbed out of his car, he pushed a NASCAR official away from him and walked up the track towards Gaughan, who was driving with the rest of the field under caution.
Sprague pointed at Gaughan and threw his hands in the air, with Gaughan driving by pointing at Sprague. Gaughan was able to continue and finished 20th while Sprague came home 26th with his first DNF of the season.
Credit: NASCAR.com
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