Race Weekend Central

Tyler Reddick Paces Opening Truck Series Practice at Eldora

Frontstretch’s Truck Series content is presented by American Trucks

The opening round of practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Eldora Speedway went, unsurprisingly, to drivers with dirt racing backgrounds.

Tyler Reddick led the way in the session, posting a 20.977-second circuit early that held throughout the final 45 minutes.

Behind Reddick, a slew of dirt racers made their presence known. Still searching for his first NCWTS win on dirt, Kyle Larson ended the session in second, posting a time of 20.979 seconds. Defending winner Christopher Bell followed with a 21.161-second circuit, while Rico Abreu (21.229) and Bobby Pierce (21.239) rounded out the top 5.

Matt Crafton, Daniel Hemric, Jake Griffin, Ben Kennedy and Stewart Friesen completed the top 10.

While he’s been dominant in his rookie year, dirt newcomer William Byron struggled in his first practice session on the half-mile oval. Byron managed only 20th on the leaderboard, posting a time of 21.866 seconds.

The caution flag fell multiple times as drivers struggled to find grip on the loose racing surface. Wayne Edwards spun four times during opening practice, with Cody Coughlin, Sheldon Creed and others also looping their trucks to force yellows.

A few drivers suffered setbacks during the session. Series regular Jordan Anderson was left working on his No. 66 Chevrolet after suffering damage in an early crash. With no backup, Anderson’s team will be forced too fix their machine to continue on.

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Donnie Levister suffered a similar fate during the session, coming to the garage with extensive left-front damage after a crash in turn 2.

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Coughlin and Sean Corr were also left with damage after colliding in the waning moments of the session. Coughlin looped his No. 51 JEGS Toyota coming out of turn 4 and Corr, unable to see what was occurring ahead of him due to harsh sunlight and dust, ran directly into Coughlin. Both drivers made their way to pit road after the crash.

The Truck Series will return to the racing surface for another practice under the lights at 9 p.m. ET.

Results, via NASCAR

About the author

A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.

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