(MADISON, IL) The winning train of Zac Bozanich made a stop in Madison, Illinois Tuesday evening and in the shadows of the “Gateway Arch” put on a show for the ages.
Bozanich led the field to the green flag in the #91 Toyota Tundra and seemed unstoppable until pit strategy came into play midway through the 100 mile race at Gateway Motorsports Park, for a period of time (14 laps to be exact), it seemed as if Bozanich would not take home the victory after a dominating run at the 1.25 mile oval.
Early on the race pace was slowed by four cautions in the first 34 laps, Jordan Harnish and Shawn Musick suffered damage in the lap 14 crash that collected others including Ty Hester, John Kennedy and Steven Trombly. Championship leader Robby Baskins suffered damage when his #46 made heavy contact with the outside wall early in the going. Championship runner-up Jim Foose spun on lap 34 and collected Eric Barile’s #14.
Despite the incidents early, many drivers continued on and the race ran relatively close between drivers. The challenging corners of Gateway provided close action as drivers tried different lines and shifting patterns to maximize handling and speed.
Jason Stewart’s #1 took it’s turn leading on lap 28 before giving way to Bozanich on lap 32. Jared Mogard and Zac Bozanich traded the lead seven times between themselves before Bozanich took the lead for the final time on lap 64.
Bozanich took the checkered flag, his third in a row in the Camping World Truck Series with Mogard second, Alex Bates battled back to third after early trouble. Mitchell Brown and Curtis Aho rounded out the top five.
Robby Baskins continues to lead the championship standings, as he has after all the Camping World Truck Series races in 2016, extending his lead to 32 over Foose as the series takes a week break before returning to action at Kentucky Speedway July 5th.