By Anddy Veltman
(Fontana, CA)Tuesday night, the ASRS Sam Maxwell Customs Truck Series returned to action in Southern California for the #CancerSucks 125 Pres. by Fred’s .

At 125 miles, the event would entail 63 laps and be showcased under the lights. Purple was the theme, as teams designed their racecars in a display to support cancer awareness and honor families of those affected. In an additional gesture, racers offered a 4-wide salute to the fans in attendance.

Cutting the field from 47, the Open Qualifier saw 17 drivers transfer to the show, joining the newly minted Top-20 (based on 2018 points and participation). In racking the field for the main event, Mitch Brown (18) would turn the fastest lap at 40.569s to edge Devin Serra’s (20) 40.601s for the pole. It would be Brown’s first pole of the 2018 season and 2nd of his SMCTS career, the other coming at Dover last year.

Brown and Serra would lead the field to green, Brown getting the jump and clearing Serra headed into Turn 1. Serra would fight back by the next lap, racing side-by-side with Brown as both drivers would swap the lead multiple times over the next few laps.

Lap 8; Sam Maxwell (98), after starting 5th, would pressure Brown for 2nd, quickly passing him and moving in on Serra. Within a lap, Maxwell would then take a look to the inside of Serra’s lead truck and clear him by the backstretch. Serra would fight back, but Maxwell would hold strong in the top spot.

In a close call, Michael Chrobok (72) would take a ride on Lap 14, losing control on the backstretch and making hard contact to the inside wall. Chrobok would take his vehicle to the garage, however, the race would remain green with Maxwell at the helm.

Brian Yaczik (55) looked to shake up the Top-5, making a move past Mitch Brown on Lap 18. Nick Kohan (57) would follow suit, going to work on Brown.

Ahead, Devin Serra would make another attempt to get around leader Sam Maxwell on Lap 21. Both drivers would make contact, with Serra losing momentum and falling prey to Yaczik. They would battle for the next few laps, allowing Maxwell to pull away, with Yaczik eventually emerging the momentary victor.

Lap 28; Brian Yaczik would make a run for the lead, but Maxwell would hold the position. Nick Kohan would take advantage of the battle, working past Yaczik and then Maxwell for the lead on Lap 29.

Green flag pit stops would begin on Lap 32. Kohan, Maxwell, and Serra would lead the first wave down pit road, as Yaczik would continue on to inherit the lead. A portion of the field had serviced their trucks when caution would fly for Allan Young’s (24) solo spin while trying to slow for pit road entry.

Under caution, Sam Maxwell would return to the lead. Restarting on Lap 39, Maxwell would clear 2nd-place Joseph Saville (63). Green would be short-lived as Brian Yaczik would lose control of his truck after clipping the Turn 2 apron, triggering the yellow flag.

Lap 44; another short restart for Maxwell as Brandon Boyd (60) would also catch the apron, overcorrecting and making contact with David Howard Jr. (14) Howard would make hard contact with the outside wall to bring out another caution.

With 15 laps left, Saville would stick with Maxwell on the restart. There would be a minor incident behind as a few trucks would get together, but the race would continue as Maxwell would lead Saville and Randy McCanney (17).

Tyler Saville would look to the inside of leader Maxwell with 12 laps to go, passing on the inside to move into the 1st position. Behind, Mitch Brown and Jim Foose (42) would get together in Turn 3, triggering a multiple truck incident to bring the field together once more. With pit road open, Sam Maxwell would be the only leader to pit, as the top drivers chose to stay out.

There would be 9 laps left once the field restarted. Joseph Saville would get the jump on 2nd-place McCanney, as McCanney would feel pressure from Andrew Garrels (19). Behind the leaders, a few trucks would tangle, but the race would remain green as Saville would extend his lead. 2 to go; Shawn Musick (1) would flip as a result of Devin Serra and Jason Stewart (11) making contact in Turn 4, essentially locking Saville in as the race winner with the drop of the yellow.

In his bid for victory, Saville would lead 13 laps to seal the victory. Randy McCanney finished in the runner-up position, followed by Jarred Haggerty (6). Notably, polesitter Mitch Brown would be credited with a 31-place finish after suffering damage from an earlier incident; Sam Maxwell finishes 16th after leading the most laps, at 36; Devin Serra, John Kennedy (89), Brian Yaczik, Nicholas Kohan and Mitch Brown would receive bonus points for laps lead.

Following the #CancerSucks 125 Pres. by Fred, Jared Mogard (00) would become the new points leader, bumping Tom Giannini (44) down by 2 points. Randy McCanney returns to the top-3 after a podium finish, 11 points off of the lead, while Brian Yaczik and Devin Serra complete the top-5. Justin Rector (09) gains the most positions this week, up 29th in his first start. Danny Rodgers (02), Jim Foose, and Brandon Boyd drop 8 each.

Next week, the ASRS Sam Maxwell Customs Truck Series will get a rest as the ASRS Twitchy Race Reports Premier Cup Series is scheduled to take to Texas Motor Speedway for the Last Car Loaded Motorsports 200. Race coverage will begin at 9:00PM EST via league partner Prime Time Racing TV.

Race feed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ15CTwa5R8