Dippel Earns First Career Top-Five at Michigan

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent

Young’s Motorsports driver Tyler Dippel came close to becoming a playoff upset and earned his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series top-five finish.

In overtime, Dippel’s No. 02 Jersey Filmmaker Chevrolet Silverado lined up on the outside. The rookie driver followed fellow rookie Sheldon Creed as the duo challenged Austin Hill for the lead of the Corrigan Oil 200. Creed and Dippel cleared Brett Moffitt and Harrison Burton by the exit of turns one and two.

However, neither driver were close enough on the high banks of the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway to pull alongside Hill. Dippel cruised to take the checkered flag in third.

The top-five finish came shortly after the 19-year-old avoided a multi-truck crash on lap 98. Dippel squeaked through as Tyler Ankrum spun from the lead. As the No. 02 emerged from the smoke unscathed, nine trucks were damaged or destroyed on the frontstretch.

Prior to the wreck avoidance, Dippel drove deep into turn three. He almost cleared Ankrum and Hill for first and second before he lost momentum. Dippel drifted backward behind Moffitt and others before a caution waved for Christian Eckes. Now in sixth, the position kept the Young’s Motorsports truck out of trouble on the ensuing restart melee.

The third-place finish is not only Dippel’s best career finish, but also the best finish in the history of Young’s Motorsports. It’s the organization’s fourth top-five finish and the first since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Dippel’s third-place finish was not good enough to make the playoffs. He slipped from 11^th to 13^th in the championship points standings after reseeding. The Rookie of the Year title is also out of reach as fellow rookie Ankrum is the only driver on the playoff grid.