By Chris Knight
NASCAR Wire Service
Distributed by The Sports Xchange
LAS VEGAS -- He isn't old abundant to gamble, but Erik Jones played his cards appropriate on Saturday night and won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Jones, 18, the youngest champ in NASCAR Truck Series history, fabricated a late-race canyon on his Kyle Busch Motorsports assistant Darrell Wallace Jr. with 13 laps to go and calm his additional achievement in nine starts this season.
"It was a blast," said Jones, who recovered from an aboriginal chase discharge on pit alley to win in his admission at Las Vegas. "I abstruse a ton. To get a win on a mile-and-a-half, that's awesome.
"It collection so acceptable at the end, I couldn't ask for any added than this. I capital to win out actuality so bad, I had this apparent bottomward as one I was attractive advanced to. This is absolutely surreal for me appropriate now."
Jones, who alveolate KBM's 10th NCWTS win of 2014 accustomed aggregation arch Eric Phillips with the appropriate adjustments on the final stop that becoming him his third-career achievement in 14 NCWTS starts.
"It was perfect," he said. "We were way, way too apart in cartage afore it, but we had a able Tundra. It was a absolute adjustment. We fabricated a big exhausted at it, it aloof formed out."
For Wallace Jr., afterwards a ascendant performance, he took the defeat as a huge bust.
"Just got beat, collapsed out," Wallace Jr. said afterwards his fifth runner-up accomplishment of the season. "Congrats to the 51 (Jones), abhorrence that it's not the 54. We charge a win. (It's) frustrating, I abhorrence finishing additional so bad.
"Thanks to my guys, though. I anticipation it was ours. Another KBM ascendancy for sure. We'll go assimilate Talladega and try to accomplishment one atom better."
Ryan Blaney won his additional Keystone Light Pole of the division and led the acreage to green, but Wallace Jr. acclimated drive to accomplish the canyon for the advance on Lap 1.
Blaney, though, reclaimed the top atom for six laps on Lap 2 afore Wallace Jr. retook ascendancy on Lap 8 and led for 10 laps.
German Quiroga fabricated a move on the additional restart of the night. His Red Horse Racing assistant Timothy Peters channelled his muscles, demography the advance on Lap 19, afore Jones muscled advanced for bristles laps, until the appointed antagonism attention on Lap 30.
When the leaders hit pit road, Jones almost overshot his pit stall, which amount him the lead, acceptance Peters to put his No. 17 Toyota Tundra aback on the point.
Peters controlled the acreage for 17 laps afore Wallace Jr. muscled aback about him on Lap 51. The fourth and final attention of the chase waived on Lap 57 for an blow in Turn 4, which beatific the leaders to pit road.
Peters' aggregation won the chase off pit lane, but Wallace Jr. soared advanced on the restart, which set the accent for the additional bisected of the event, until blooming banderole pit stops began on Lap 105.
Wallace Jr. cycled aback through to the advance on Lap 114, but Jones already on the cruise bent him, authoritative the move on the frontstretch on Lap 133, sealing his triumph.
With bristles contest remaining, the NCWTS will booty a three-week breach afore abiding to activity at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 18.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase - Rhino Linings 350
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, September 27, 2014
1. (13) Erik Jones, Toyota, 146, $37770.