Moffitt Moves on in Playoffs After Tough Day at Talladega

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Brett Moffitt’s career year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series nearly came unraveled Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, but luckily for him and the No. 16 team, they live to play another day.

Starting in eighth, the team ran into issue after issue, including damage to his truck in one of the many crashes throughout the day and having to bounce back from two different pit road penalties. Though he only finished 17^th, Moffitt fared better than some of the other Playoff contenders and was able to keep his championship hopes alive.

“It sucked,” Moffitt said of how the day played out. “I thought we were in a good position and then someone got hit into me early which caused tire rub on the right rear and right front. We ended up blowing a couple of right rears there. Fortunately, we’re able to hang on to the truck and fix it.

“I am just thankful we made it through. It was a stressful day and I am not a big fan of restrictor-plate races. I am looking forward to going to some tracks where we have some more confidence. I am proud of this Hattori Racing team.”

Moffitt noted that restrictor plate racing is nowhere near his favorite type of racing and having the Fr8Auctions 250 serve as the first elimination race of the Playoffs only added to the stress. Though he entered the day with an 18-point advantage, comfort in being able to move on was the farthest thing from his mind on Saturday

“I wasn’t comfortable at all. Every single speedway race I’ve been whether it’s Cup Series or Truck Series, I have been leading and gotten wrecked. I’ve been running in the back and have tried to be conservative and have gotten wrecked.

“Today, I was a middle man and got wrecked. It happens. That’s the stressful part about Talladega. A lot is out of your control. We were trying to mind our own business and people run into you, it almost cost us a shot at the title.

“Thankfully things worked out they were supposed to. That could have been a blessing in disguise. I could have been caught up with some of the wrecks and been completely out of the race. We’ll move on to some races we’re confident in and try to win races.”

Now that Talladega is in the rear-view mirror, Moffitt and his team can move onto the next round with the slate wiped clean and some tracks that they have more confidence in on the horizon. Though they have won four races this season, execution will be the name of the game if they are to race their way into the championship race at Homestead.

“It was a crapshoot here but we need to execute better. Las Vegas I couldn’t get the fuel box full, which was my fault. We couldn’t get going on the restart. The road course I felt we had a really good truck but I couldn’t keep it all day. I think we’ve had the speed but we need to execute the races better.”