Blaney holds off Dillon for truck win at Iowa
Newton, IA (Sports Network) - Ryan Blaney became the youngest driver to win a
race in the 18-year history of the Camping World Truck Series by taking
Saturday night's American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.
Blaney, the 18-year-old son of NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney, claimed his first
victory in the series in just his third start. He grabbed the lead with 50
laps remaining and then held off the field in four late-race restarts.
The ninth and final caution for an incident involving James Buescher set up a
four-lap shootout to the finish. Rookie Ty Dillon challenged Blaney but came
up 0.168 seconds short.
Blaney drove the No. 29 RAM for Brad Keselowski racing.
"This is pretty incredible," Blaney said. "I have to thank Brad Keselowski for
this opportunity. (Crew chief) Doug (Randolph) made some great calls there at
the end. This is pretty unbelievable, so hopefully we can get a few more
(wins) here."
Blaney broke Kyle Busch's record of being the youngest winner in the series.
At age 20, Busch scored the victory in the May 2005 truck race at Charlotte.
Blaney's father attended the race. He is competing in Sunday's 400-mile Sprint
Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.
"He did such a great job, and thanks to everybody that has helped him all
along the way," Dave Blaney said. "He does so good, because he catches on so
quick. It was fun to watch."
With his second-place finish, Dillon grabbed the points lead. The 20-year-old
grandson of NASCAR multi-team owner Richard Childress holds an eight-point
lead over Timothy Peters, who finished 19th.
"I wanted it bad there at the end," Dillon said. "I was coming, but Ryan
Blaney is an amazing driver. I'm glad we didn't have to race against him all
of this year. He's a great guy, and he really deserves this. I'm really proud
of him."
Todd Bodine finished third, followed by Johnny Sauter and Cale Gale, who is
also a rookie in the series this season.
Nelson Piquet Jr., Drew Herring, Jeff Choquette, Matt Crafton and Miguel
Paludo completed the top-10.
Parker Kligerman started on the pole and led the most laps with 107, but
Kligerman crashed 20 laps from the finish and ended up placing 23rd.
09/15 23:57:16 ET
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