Lofton involved in last-lap accident at Talladega to finish 24th

Justin Lofton and the No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions / Lofton Cattle Chevrolet finished 24th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon after being involved in ‘the big one’ on the final lap of the fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola. With solid pit strategy and a fast truck, Lofton led the field for 20 circuits with his pink and black Chevrolet. During the final laps, Lofton was shuffled out of line and made vulnerable in the back of the field where he was collected in a multi-truck accident coming to the checkered flag.

 

Lofton rolled off 13th in the 94-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at Talladega Superspeedway. Lofton held his position during the opening laps as the field calmly drafted around the 2.66-mile oval. By lap 36, Lofton had fresh left-side tires and was restarting the race in the seventh position. He quickly raced into the top five with the No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions / Lofton Cattle Chevrolet and continued his battle toward the front.

 

Lofton had raced up to second-place when the caution flag waved on lap 61. With a fast fuel-only stop, Lofton passed the competition on pit road to lead the field to the green in first-place. Lofton maintained the point position for the next 20 laps until two competitors in a tandem-draft made a run in the upper groove. Lofton fell into the third position and continued to hold his line around the bottom of the track. When the second-place truck started to pull into the upper groove, Lofton followed his lead pulling into the high line. Unfortunately the Weekend Warriors Productions / Lofton Cattle Chevrolet was left with no help as the second-place truck pulled back into line and Lofton fell several positions.

 

During the closing laps, Lofton teamed up with his Eddie Sharp Racing teammate Cale Gale to race back through the field. The pair fought to stay connected as they raced through the competition. With just two laps remaining, Lofton pulled around Gale to lead the pair. The move left Lofton racing in heavy traffic as everyone fought for position during the final moments. Racing three-wide on the final lap a truck lost control in the upper groove, which resulted in another truck making contact with Lofton and sending him hard into the inside retaining wall. Unable to continue, Lofton was credited with a 24th-place finish.

 

“The Weekend Warriors Productions / Lofton Cattle team had a really fast Chevrolet,” commented Lofton. “We meshed really well as a team and battled up front throughout the race. We got out of line late in the race and got shuffled toward the back. When ‘the big one’ happened, there was nothing we could do and nowhere we could go. It was just one of those racing incidents.”

 

Justin Lofton PR