A rain delay didn’t stop Ben Kennedy from claiming victory Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The UNOH 200 was delayed for more than an hour from unrelenting evening rain on Wednesday night. Nevertheless, the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. drove to his first ever Camping World Truck Series win. Although still numbed by his surprising win, Ben Kennedy said he was thrilled to add his Camping World Truck Series triumph to the family lore.
“I can’t put it into words,” said Ben Kennedy. Kennedy had placed no better than 15th in three previous Truck starts at BMS. “Someone asked me earlier today what it’s like going to Bristol for your first time and to win here, I’m speechless. This is the coolest thing in my life. I don’t know how to say it any other way. My family is supportive. It was kind of cool growing up, anything I wanted to do they were behind me as long as I got my education. I’ll remember this night my entire life.”
Ben Kennedy hadn’t even led one lap in the Camping World Truck Series this season. Furthermore, he spent the better part of the first 150 circuits out of the top five. Kennedy muscled his way out front for the first time on lap 180.
The speedster managed to keep his Jacob Chevrolet in front until the checkered flag was raised. He also managed to survive a ninth and final re-start with six laps left. As a result, Kennedy sealed a spot in the first year of the Chase in the Camping World Truck Series. Kennedy also became only the sixth driver to claim a victory in the 2016 season.
“This is exactly what we needed,” said Joey Cohen, the crew chief for Ben Kennedy’s No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet. “We’re going to race for a championship now.”
Brett Moffitt finished second and was near Ben Kennedy’s bumper in the closing laps. Although the second-place finish was the best career showing for the 24 year old Moffitt, he said it was still tough not to get his hot-rod out in front of the pack. Finishing behind Kennedy and Moffitt were Daniel Hemric, William Bryon and Johnny Sauter. Moffit commented on the closing laps of the event.
“We had a good truck, a strong truck all day but it wasn’t quite good enough,” Moffitt said. “He needed one more mistake and I think we would have had a shot at it. Second place sucks because we’re here to win,” he said. “I’m happy, but I’m not.”
Kyle Busch Motorsports fielded three very fast trucks on Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, they couldn’t manage to drive on to glory. Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez had the Trucks to beat all night long. As a result, the Kyle Busch Motorsports’ teammates combined to lead 178 of the 200 laps turned.
Christopher Bell drove to the front for the first time on Lap 40. The young speedster lead all the way until lap 144. Bell spun on a re-start while leading in Turn 2 but did not hit anything. Bell would pit for one final time and guided his # 4 Toyota home in sixth. It was a frustrating ending because he led a race high 101 revolutions.
Daniel Suarez took advantage of Christopher Bell’s mishap and jumped out in front in the process. He also led the opening stages of the race when he took drove his #51 Toyota from the second starting spot into the lead two passes in. Suarez then lead until the competition caution on Lap 40 and then took back over the lead on Lap 135. The Mexican born competitor would find his way out in front for the last time on lap 144. Suarez stayed out in front until his teammate William Byron overtook him on Lap 180.
William Byron was passed by the eventual race winner Ben Kennedy on the very next lap. Eventually, Suarez crashed with only 14 revolutions to go and finished a disappointing 29th. The Joe Gibbs Racing phenom led 77 laps in the Unoh 200. Byron also had a left rear shock break while leading the event. He had to re-adjust his line just to keep his Truck going towards the front. As a result, he hung on to end the race with a fourth place finish.
Final Results for the Unoh 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway:
1. (13) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 107.3 rating, 36 points.
2. (8) Brett Moffitt, Toyota, 200, 110.4, 31.
3. (12) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 200, 84.6, 30.
4. (6) William Byron, Toyota, 200, 94.5, 30.
5. (7) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 200, 94.4, 28.
6. (9) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 200, 79.1, 27.
7. (5) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 200, 129.2, 28.
8. (16) John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, 200, 84.0, 25.
9. (15) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200, 74.1, 0.
10. (19) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 200, 80.1, 23.
11. (10) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 200, 68.4, 22.
12. (14) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 200, 62.5, 21.
13. (25) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 200, 69.5, 20.
14. (1) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 200, 93.4, 20.
15. (21) Caleb Holman, Toyota, 200, 85.6, 18.
16. (22) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 200, 53.0, 17.
17. (11) Jesse Little, Toyota, 200, 58.5, 16.
18. (27) Austin Cindric, Ford, 199, 39.5, 15.
19. (18) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 199, 56.9, 14.
20. (24) Parker Kligerman, Ford, 199, 46.8, 13.
21. (26) Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, 198, 41.5, 12.
22. (23) Stewart Friesen, Chevrolet, 198, 40.0, 11.
23. (28) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 197, 47.1, 10.
24. (3) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 197, 87.6, 9.
25. (30) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 197, 34.4, 8.
26. (20) Rico Abreu, Toyota, 194, 44.4, 7.
27. (31) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 191, 28.6, 6.
28. (32) Bryce Napier, Chevrolet, 191, 27.8, 5.
29. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, accident, 186, 113.8, 0.
30. (4) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, engine, 128, 88.4, 3.
31. (29) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, garage, 71, 29.0, 2.
32. (17) Matt Crafton, Toyota, engine, 70, 56.3, 1.
Race Statistics:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 74.382 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 25 minutes, 59 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.274 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 55 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers.
