Newton, IA – Timothy Peters won a Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway for the second year in a row after making a late-race pass on Austin Dillon in the American Ethanol 200.
Peters, who won at this 0.875-mile racetrack one year ago, passed Dillon for the lead following a restart with 27 laps to go. He capitalized on pit strategy late in the race when he changed just two tires during his last stop.
An accident involving German Quiroga, the pole sitter, and Ryan Blaney, who won a truck race at Iowa last September, occurred with less than 10 laps remaining. It set up a six-lap shootout to the finish.
Erik Jones grabbed second from Dillon after the final restart and then challenged Peters for the lead. But Peters held off Jones at the finish by just 0.225 seconds for his sixth career truck victory. Five of his wins have come on short tracks.
"I was kind of fussy all night, because I really couldn't drive the truck the way that I wanted to in the corners," said Peters, who led twice for a total of 39 laps. "It would get really, really loose. (Crew chief) Butch (Hylton) made a good call at the end to put two (tires) on. It tightened the truck up enough to where I could get that great restart and hustle it into (turn) 1 like I needed to."
With three laps remaining, Dillon made contact with the wall while he was attempting to reclaim second from Jones. Dillon fell back in the field and ended up finishing as the last truck on the lead lap in 16th. He won the most recent truck race last month at Kentucky.
Jones, a 17-year-old, drove the No. 51 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in this 200-lap race.
"At the end there, I had to be a little aggressive on the restart, and that's what I did," Jones said. "I got up into the second position and actually started running Timothy down there at the end. I thought I had a shot at him but couldn't quite get there."
Dillon led a race-high 65 laps. After the race concluded, Dillon approached Jones to discuss their multiple incidents on the track. They also had a run-in on the frontstretch earlier in the race.
"When I would get under (Jones), he would start at the bottom of the racetrack and then shoot right up to the top in the middle of the corner, thinking that I was going to lift," Dillon said. "The first time he did it, we almost wrecked on the frontstretch. Then he did it again. I didn't have any more room. For me to move on the outside of him, I was in the marbles. And that sent me into the wall."
James Buescher, the defending series champion, finished third, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. and rookie Chase Elliott, who is the 17-year-old son of 1988 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bill Elliott.
Matt Crafton, the current points leader, Miguel Paludo, Darrell Wallace Jr., Joey Coulter and Dakoda Armstrong completed the top-10.
Crafton widened his lead to 38 points over rookie Jeb Burton, who finished one lap down in 22nd. Burton was involved in an incident with Joey Coulter on lap 120.
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