With most of the focus on the Camping World Truck Series playoff picture, Spencer Boyd patiently managed the Talladgea draft to finish 13th, a career high. Boyd has spent the latter part of the season running in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for SS Green Light Racing in the No. 07, but had an opportunity to run his 3rdTruck race this year in DJ Copp’s No. 83.
“We had a conservative approach to this race,” Boyd said. “At this point in the season it is all about the playoffs, but for me it was about getting more experience. Copp Motorsports prepared a truck that was good in the outside lane for us and we were able to stick to our strategy. I’m super thankful for the opportunity that DJ gave me.”
Boyd would qualify 27th for fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola with 94 laps in front of him around the 2.66 mile track. It would only be 5 laps into the event though when there would be playoff implications with the No. 29 of Chase Briscoe being black flagged for an engine issue. As Stage One neared the end, the first caution of the race came out when the No. 47 of Fontaine and the No. 33 of Grala got together when trucks in front of them checked up. Johnny Sauter would take the Stage One win under yellow as Boyd was in 25th and the free pass position.
The No. 83 crew would put on four Goodyears and take a round out of the rear of the truck under yellow and Boyd would restart Stage Two in 23rd. The next 20 laps would be uneventful with Johnny Sauter again winning the stage and Boyd moving up one spot to 22nd.
The third and final stage would not be so uneventful. The third caution of the day involving Crafton, Nemechek, Rhodes, and Greenfield allowed Spencer to again be the recipient of the free pass. After taking right side tires and filling up with Sunoco race fuel, the No. 83 Grunt Style Silverado would be in 15th position with 35 laps to go. In the subsequent laps, Spencer would duck to the inside lane and take advantage of some green flags stops to race up to 6th while narrowly missing the big one that brought out the fourth yellow flag of the day.
In the closing laps of the race Spencer was as high as 4th and in the lead pack looking at 2 laps to go in overtime. As the pack came to the white flag, the No. 18 of Noah Gragson went high, squeezing Justin Haley and Johnny Sauter causing a chain reaction of accidents. Spencer was caught up in it despite ducking below the double yellow line, as the No. 63 of Bobby Gerhardt tried to avoid other wrecking trucks slamming into Boyd causing him to spin.
Parker Kligerman was declared the winner with Boyd able to drive his Chevy back to pit road earning a 13th place finish.
“I’m not going to lie, I love this type of racing,” an excited Boyd admitted. “I made some mistakes early in losing the draft, but by the end of the race I could see the air better. I felt comfortable running toward the front at the end of the race. Our strategy worked well, but wish we didn’t get caught up in the mess at the end as I like bringing a clean truck home to the shop. All in all, it was a great weekend with a solid finish for a small team and I got to enjoy a little Talladega Boulevard for the first time!”
The 13th-place finish in Boyd’s third start of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition this season would be his personal best. His previous best was 17th in his Xfinity debut at Iowa Speedway in 2016. Boyd will return to SS Green Light Racing next week to race the No. 07 Grunt Style Camaro at Kansas Speedway on October 21, 2017.
Spencer Boyd Racing PR
