Timothy Peters wins Truck race at Phoenix

Timothy Peters edged Mooresville’s John Hunter Nemechek to win Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Peters took the lead when points leaders Erik Jones and Matt Crafton – racing for the lead – crashed entering the front stretch on Lap 121 of 150 laps.

Peters led the rest of the way, but had to deal with Nemechek at the end, eventually winning by a scant .309 seconds.

Jones finished ninth and now has a 19-point lead over Tyler Reddick heading into next week’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Crafton, the 2013 and ’14 champion, dropped to 32 points behind Jones. That essentially eliminates Crafton from winning his third consecutive title.

Turning point

The race – and probably the championship picture – turned when Matt Crafton squeezed Erik Jones into the wall on Lap 121. Peters took over from there and won his second race of the season.

Three who mattered

Timothy Peters: Takes advantage of wreck involving Jones and Crafton, wins for second time in last four races.

Erik Jones: Could have been a lot worse for points leader. Overcomes late wreck to finish ninth and takes sizable lead into season finale. All he needs to do is finish 15th or better at Homestead and the championship is his.

Matt Crafton: Took full blame for wreck that probably cost him a chance at third consecutive title.

Observations

▪ Charlotte’s William Byron finished 31st after a wreck with Brandon Jones on the sixth lap. It was the first Truck race for Byron,17, who will run full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports next season.

▪ Rico Abreu, the 4-foot, 4-inch driver making his first Truck start, crashed on Lap 44 and finished 28th. Abreu finished fifth in this season’s K&N Pro East Series.

They said it

“I just got loose. It was 100 percent my fault. Mistakes happen. We’re all human.” – Crafton, on the accident he started.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 11:36 PM with the headline "Timothy Peters wins Truck race at Phoenix."