With a speed of 177.043 mph, Rajah Caruth claimed the top spot for tonight’s (March 1) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by the slimmest of margins.
“It’s pretty special. It was a pretty uncertain winter with everything, but to be here and get my first pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was super special,” said an emotional Caruth, who cleverly deflected the suggestion that tears were forming in his eyes during the interview. “Nah, it’s windy. It’s windy.”
The Spire Motorsports driver will start alongside Christian Eckes, who missed the pole by a thousandth of a second in his McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 and will start second. Stewart Friesen, last week’s winner Kyle Busch and Tyler Ankrum round out the top five in third through fifth, respectively.
Completing the top 10 starters are Ty Majeski, NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year candidate Zane Smith, Daytona International Superspeedway winner Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Grant Enfinger.
Christopher Bell, the third Cup regular in the field, qualified 14th.
Strong, sustained winds and unpredictable gusts made the track difficult to navigate, however, no incidents occurred during the qualifying session. With only 32 drivers entered for tonight’s race, all will compete as the field is four shy of a full field.
Truck Series Starting Lineup
Coverage for tonight’s Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 begins at 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
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