NCTS Race Recap: FaithFest 250

North Wilkesboro played host to the FaithFest 250. Layne Riggs continued to impress after getting the pole. Cup series regulars, Carson Hocevar and Christopher Bell, started in second and third. Corey Heim got the race started from fourth. The stage lengths were 70 laps for the first and second, with the final stage being 110 laps.

Hurricane Winds

Hocevar got a great launch and took the lead out of turn two. Riggs fought back on the inside. Heim got to the inside of them and made it three wide. Hocevar powered back to the lead on the outside.

He was able to hold onto the lead for a handful of laps. Riggs did not let him run away with it. He eventually would pull away from Riggs by half a second.

The first caution came out on lap 14 when Donovan Strauss got turned around on the back stretch. He had some help from Corey Lajoie.

Hocevar and Riggs restarted from the front row. Hocevar, again, took the lead quickly. Bell tried to get to the runner-up spot, but did not have enough speed. Hocevar slid up the track, which allowed Riggs to challenge for the lead. Riggs could not make the pass, but settled for second.

The leaders pulled away from Bell in third. Riggs could keep up with Hocevar, but not get alongside him.

Hocevar stayed out front of Riggs. Riggs had a better truck, but just did not have the space to take the lead.

Riggs to the Front

Behind them, Smith finally got around Heim for fourth. They battled for several laps before Smith was finally able to take it. Chandler Smith, who started in ninth, drove forward through the top ten. After getting into the top five, he was consistently one of the fastest trucks.

Riggs finally got around Hocevar after they caught a lapped truck. Riggs quickly pulled away by over half a second. He went on to take the green-white-checkered flag, winning stage one in the FaithFest 250! Hocevar, Smith, Bell, and Elliott finished in the top five.

Garcia Held On

Jake Garcia joined Riggs on the front row for the restart. Garcia pulled away in the lead. Riggs drove up the track and got into the side of Garcia. Hocevar got to the outside of Riggs to challenge for runner-up. They stayed side by side.

Elliott joined the fray. After starting in sixth, he stayed in the top ten and battled for a top spot.

Hocevar took second and tried to pull away from third. He slowly caught the leader, then drove into turn four and squeezed Garcia to take the lead.

Smith took second after passing Garcia. Garcia was able to stay ahead of Riggs for a while.

Elliott got around Riggs and then passed Garcia to take third. Garcia fell to fifth with Riggs also getting around him.

The third caution came out when Luke Baldwin spun from the 26th position. He hit the outside wall.

To the Stage End

Ty Majeski and Andres Perez, who stayed out under the caution, restarted the race from the front row. Majeski surged to the lead after a great restart.

Hocevar used his front bumper to move Riggs out of the way.

Perez fell out of the top five.

Hocevar slowed on the track with a flat left front tire and fell a lap down.

Majeski took the field to the stage two win in the FaithFest 250! Smith, Rhodes, Christian Eckes, and Stewart Friesen finished the stage in the top five.

Mr. Smith Goes to Victory Lane

Eckes and Smith got stage three underway from the front. Smith shot out of a cannon to take the lead into turn one. Eckes fell to fourth after Gio Ruggiero and Friesen got around him.

Smith pulled away by over a second.

Shane Van Gisbergen got around Bell to take eighth. In front of him, Riggs charged forward through the top ten. SVG got to the inside of Riggs. He could not complete the pass.

With 75 to go, Smith had his lead at almost two and a half seconds. Ruggiero tried to keep up in second, but continued to fall back from the fastest truck on track.

Riggs and SVG continued to pass the front. Riggs got around Eckes for second. SVG got around Ruggiero for fourth.

With 20 to go, Smith had his lead at over seven seconds. He continued to pull away. Ben Rhodes was the last driver on the lead lap in 16th.

Smith dominated the final stage to win the FaithFest 250! His lead at the end was almost nine seconds – the largest margin of victory on a short track in series history.

Riggs, SVG, Eckes, and Landen Lewis finished in the top five.

Marvin’s Minute:

Chandler Smith is a good racecar driver. He dominated the late stages and was the fastest truck by far. After the Hocevar tire issue, Smith was shot out of a cannon. No one on the track could keep up. He was able to cut through lapped traffic much easier than anyone else.

Kaden Honeycutt had mechanical issues that hampered his race.

The series continues its schedule at Indianapolis Raceway Park next week.