Tate Fogleman wins maiden Truck race in wild finish

Delivering your post-race interview when you win your first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is a special feeling. Doing so from the infield medical centre is still special, but also very bizarre.

Tate Fogleman did not quite get to celebrate his maiden Truck Series win in Victory Lane in traditional fashion after being involved in a chaotic finish that saw him spin leader John Hunter Nemechek before beating Tyler Hill to the line. The top two alone make for an unusual duo as Fogleman had never scored a top ten on a paved track (his lone top ten was a ninth at the Knoxville dirt track in July) while Hill had zero top tens entering Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250. But Talladega Superspeedway is infamous for its crazy wrecks and surprise winners, and Saturday was no different.

Ben Rhodes, winner of the other superspeedway race at Daytona in February, started on the pole while Fogleman and Hill were mid-pack. Rhodes dominated the opening stage ahead of Austin Hill, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, Johnny Sauter, Nemechek, Drew Dollar, Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, and Austin Wayne Self.

Bryan Dauzat brought out the first caution on lap 33, which also turned out to be the only yellow flag of Stage #2. Although Toyotas led much of the segment, Creed took the win. Sauter, Zane Smith, Crafton, Hill, Chandler Smith, Tanner Gray, Nemechek, Friesen, and Bret Holmes rounded out the top ten.

Ten laps into Stage #3 marked the largest wreck of the day when Hill was clipped on the backstretch and sent up into Zane Smith, triggering a massive crash that officially dragged in nineteen other drivers. Both Smiths, Dollar, Fogleman, Gilliland, Gray, Sauter, Self, Lawless Alan, Willie Allen, Tyler Ankrum, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Hailie Deegan, Clay Greenfield, Parker Kligerman, Derek Kraus, Dylan Lupton, Cory Roper, Jason White, and Kris Wright all suffered some form of damage in the carnage that resulted in a red flag for cleanup.

Gilliland took the lead for the ensuing restart and continued to hold it through another large wreck involving Alan, Crafton, Deegan, Friesen, Greenfield, and Grant Enfinger. Chase Purdy caught Gilliland and sparred with him for the lead before being turned through the tri-oval shortly before the finish to set up overtime.

On the final lap, Nemechek reached Gilliland’s rear bumper as multiple drivers wrecked behind them in turn three. Fogleman and Hill then joined the two leaders and shuffled Gilliland back. After bumping between Fogleman and Nemechek coming to the finish, the former clipped the latter and spun him. Hill tried to capitalise but instead collided with Fogleman as they crossed the line, causing the two to wreck each other.

“I know we missed that first big wreck, got through the second one, and it kind of felt like things were finally going right on a superspeedway,” Fogleman told FS1 in his post-race interview after being released from the care centre. “I never finished a superspeedway race before.”

It is Young’s Motorsports’ second victory. Incidentally, the first was also a surprise first-time victor at Talladega with Spencer Boyd in 2019.

Race results