HAMPTON, Ga. – Sophomore NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Cameron Hayley didn’t win Saturday afternoon’s Great Clips 200 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, but the ThorSport Racing driver did make a lot of noise after wheeling to a career-best finish.
The celebratory noise of a runner-up effort could be heard hundreds of thousands of miles from Hayley’s home turf of Calgary, Alberta, Canada — but it could also be tuned to just a few feet from Hayley himself at the thunderous applause from his ThorSport Racing team led by new crew chief Eddie Troconis.
Many expected the pairing to grow and become potent as the season pressed into its busy chaotic months, but the duo quickly showed last weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway they immediately would be a force to reckon with. A late race incident dashed the team’s hope of starting the year off on a good note, but Saturday’s second-place finish surely eased the disappointment of restrictor plate racing and delivered a welcomed windfall of momentum.
“It was a great run for our Cabinets by Hayley Tundra – best-career finish,” said Hayley. “I can’t complain about that, but I just know in the back of my head if Matt Crafton was in my truck, he could have won that. I just – I needed a run a little bit harder, but great run to start up this year.”
Crafton or not, Hayley wheeled his truck like his two-time champion teammate.
With no points to fall on, Hayley and his team had to rely on its equipment to hold together and Hayley to sport his craft to guarantee their placement into the field the last two weeks. A fifth place qualifying run Saturday morning put the ink on paper that the Calgary, Alberta native would likely be a factor for the 130-lap showdown.
When late race contenders Matt Crafton and Daniel Suarez were eliminated in crash, Hayley found himself in the race lead with a hungry pack of hunters behind him. Ultimately, Hayley lost the lead to Christopher Bell on the restart, but when the leader lost a right front tire in the winding laps, Hayley found himself back in the hunt.
A two-lap shootout between John Hunter Nemechek, John Wes Townley and himself put the forefront of the future stars of NASCAR in the limelight, but Townley bobbled, stacking the group around him and ultimately giving Nemechek the clean escape to earn his second career victory.
Less than three-tenths of a second behind Nemechek, Hayley took the checkered flag and delivered his best outing in 28 races. Previously, Hayley finished a personal best of third at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last October. Before Saturday, his best on a 1.5-mile track was a fifth at Kansas Speedway last May.
“I was just afraid to go to the high side there in one and two,” Hayley explained. “I think I could have gone high, got a run on John Hunter (Nemechek) getting down the back straight and maybe passed him into three and four. I was just – my truck was not that great on the outside all day and I was just afraid that if I went up there, I’d lose more positions than I was going to gain, but that’s just part of learning and something I need to learn.”
Of course winning is everything to Hayley, but escaping the carnage of blown tires and air-hopping trucks had the 19-year-old counting his blessings and appreciating the moment, even if he wasn’t hoisting the trophy in Victory Lane.
“This was my hardest track all year,” offered Hayley. “I needed to get this one over with and to come out of here second I’m pretty happy with the team and proud of everything Toyota, everybody has done for me. It’s just an amazing start to the year.”
While the newly adopted championship format awarding race winners an automatic berth in the playoffs, winning has become essential for drivers – but for Hayley – it’s not just about winning, it’s tallying the points.
The points that could very easily push the likable Canadian icon into championship like status.
“It’s never too early to think about a championship,” sounded Hayley. “That’s why I was kinda beating myself up, because I think we had an opportunity to lock ourselves in the championship today (Saturday). But, at the same time it gives a great point’s base after wrecking out at Daytona last week. It was just a good run for our guys. All of our emotions are on a high now and now we can go to Martinsville and focus on getting in the chase.”
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action on Apr. 2 at Martinsville.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
