TALLADEGA, Ala. – For a minute, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Wendell Chavous thought he won Saturday afternoon’s Fr8Auctions 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
When Timothy Peters and leader Noah Gragson tangled on the backstretch, Chavous’ No. 49 Chevrolet skated by the inside lane in a pack of thundering trucks trying to escape the scene.
By the time the trucks had slowed to come to the checkered flag, Chavous’ truck was the first truck to cross the start-finish line. However, in a last-lap situation, NASCAR reverts back to scoring loops and video to determine the final rundown.
After a few short minutes, Chavous learned that he did not earn what would have been a staggering upset victory, but the Premium Motorsports driver did finish fifth in his 50th career start.
“It was awesome,” said Chavous. “A great day. We didn’t have a truck that was fast on single speed. We got in the pack and we were real good. First of all, I gotta give this to Jesus, God, he made this happen. Sobriety Nation, Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports and all my crew guys.
“We got lifted out of the draft one time and got behind and my guys said nah, nah, there will be another wreck and just hang out there for a few minutes. On that last restart we were going with 10 to go, then we got to four to go and he said ‘man, it’s time to go and he was telling me to pick whatever line was best.
“Come white flag, we went to the top and we were three wide and he said your clear all the way to the bottom, so I yanked (the wheel) left and came out like fifth on the back straightaway and man I thought we won. We passed them coming to the line. We ended up fifth. It’s great. A good way to leave.”
But it was more than just his career-best finish in the Truck Series for the Hephzibah, Ga. native.
Last week, the 33-year-old announced on social media that Talladega would be his last race as in the Truck Series for Premium Motorsports.
Running a successful business in Georgia, being a father to a young child and the demanding schedule of being a professional race car driver has left him to make the tough decision to give up his love for racing.
“It’s a tough decision,” he added. “I have an older boy that’s four years old. I have a wife and a business that’s very successful, it’s doubling big time in sales. You gotta spend time with your family. I looked at it, get the business the best you can be.
“You can always come back here. If your business goes south, you may never get the chance to come back here. Just do the best you can do. Make some money and then you can come back one day and race again.
However, the Georgian didn’t rule out a possible return down the road.
“I’m not saying I’m not ever going to race again,” he said. “There may be times I come back. It would have been so awesome to go out and win that race. We’ll take the fifth. That’s a win for our little team.”
Talladega, however, will be a race that he won’t soon forget – even if it’s his last.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
