LAS VEGAS – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) veteran Timothy Peters said he wanted track position and he found it by winning the pole for tonight’s DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
After turning the ninth quickest lap in single-truck qualifying during round 1, Peters in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra found just over a tenth of a second to edge fellow NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chaser Matt Crafton for the top spot.
It was Peter’s first pole of 2016, eighth of his NCWTS career. Peters scored his last pole at Talladega Superspeedway in Oct. 2015, where the Danville, Virginia native edged Brandon Jones for his ninth series win and second from the pole.
Behind Peters and Crafton was Cole Custer, Chaser Ben Kennedy and Las Vegas native Spencer Gallagher to complete the top-five.
Daniel Hemric, the fastest in Round 1 of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying will start sixth ahead of last year’s winner John Wes Townley, ThorSport Racing’s duo of Ben Rhodes and
Cameron Hayley and last week’s winner William Byron to comprise the top-10.
Hemric, the fastest in opening practice Saturday morning at Las Vegas is looking for a win after a disappointing finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where a mechanical failure left the Brad Keselowski Racing driver with a 28th place finish. Byron automatically advanced to the Round of 6 with his seventh triumph of the year.
Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Cody Coughlin earned his fourth top-12 start of 2016 with GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger rounded out the top-12 competitors.
Three months to the day of having brain surgery to remove a brain tumor, Matt Tifft makes his second consecutive start in trucks, qualifying 13th in his No. 11 Brain Gear / Surface Sunscreen Toyota Tundra.
Several Chasers will start deep in the field tonight at Las Vegas with Johnny Sauter (14th), John Hunter Nemechek (15th) and Christopher Bell (18th).
Canadian driver Stewart Friesen will make his fourth start of 2016 qualifying 19th in his No. 16 Halmar International Chevrolet. Friesen, an accomplished dirt racer in the northeast is expected to make two more starts this season at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway respectively.
Jennifer Jo Cobb had one of her better qualifying performances of the season on Saturday afternoon lining up 24th in her No. 1 Waldo’s Painting Chevrolet Silverado.
Wayne Edwards, Norm Benning, Timothy Viens and Caleb Roark all took provisionals to make the 18th race of the season. With only 31 trucks entered, no one failed to qualify.
The second installment of the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series chase lifts off from the 1.5-mile oval just after 8:30 p.m. ET or 5:30 p.m. PT with live coverage on FS1 (FOX Sports 1), MRN Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
