Down to the wire

ROSSBURG - A month ago Chase Briscoe did not even think he would get the chance to race in the 2018 Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway.

Briscoe, who now competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, found a ride and drove his Ford to a classic, fender-rubbing victory over his ThorSports Racing teammate Grant Enfinger, edging Enfinger at the line by a scant .038 seconds.

"It certainly means a lot to me to win here," Briscoe said. "This is the most important race on the truck series schedule in my mind and I really wanted to win it."

It was Briscoe's second career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and he becomes the sixth different winner in the six Eldora events.

"The main reason Ford and ThorSport let me do this was to win," Briscoe said. "I am really glad I could do it for them. That was the most determined I have ever driven."

Briscoe won the second stage of the event, leading 45 of the 50 laps in the second stage which concluded on lap 90, with Briscoe holding off Enfinger in the closing laps of the second stage in what would prove to be a precursor to the final laps. Briscoe's team decided to pit for fresh tires to tackle the final 60 lap segment, and while the driver may have doubted the move at the time, it proved to be a key to victory.

With 15 trucks staying on the track to gain track position, Briscoe and Enfinger, started the final segment in 15th and 16th respectively. From the drop of the green flag they methodically worked their way forward while rookie Logan Seavey, driving in his first career truck race, was out front dominating in his Kyle Busch Motorsports machine.

"I thought we were done," Briscoe said. "There were a lot of good trucks that we had to get around."

Enfinger jumped ahead of Briscoe early in the final stage as the duo raced back into the top 10 by lap 100 and the top five by lap 120; but still trailed Seavey by more than three seconds. They were in second and third on lap 131 when the caution flag flew when Tyler Dippel and Austin Self, both running in the top 10, crashed.

"Without that caution, we really didn't have a chance," Briscoe said. "So whoever that was that wrecked, 'thank you.' "

On the ensuing restart, Seavey, Briscoe and Enfinger along with Stewart Friesen raced four-wide into the first turn and while all four survived, afour-car pile-up behind them brought out another caution flag.

On the following restart, Briscoe and Enfinger moved around Seavey to take over the top two positions, but then another caution flag flew for another pile up in turn two.

"Not sure what I could have done different," Seavey said. "At the end of 2nd stage the track was getting abrasive and I tried to save as much as I could, but I knew I was going to get eaten up on the restarts."

With NASCAR rules requiring a green-white-checkered flag finish, Briscoe and Enfinger lined up side-by-side for the two-lap shootout for the famed golden shovel.

The teammates raced side-by-side the final two laps without touching but racing just inches apart. That all changed coming off turn four with the checkered flag in the air. The duo bounced off one another, Enfinger got into the outside wall, and Briscoe won.

"I knew if I didn't drift all the way out to the wall, he was going to use the momentum and win," Briscoe said. "It really wasn't how I wanted to race him but I really wanted to win this thing. I am a little disappointed for our fabrication guys, because until that last corner, I don't think either of us had a scratch on our trucks."

"He used me up pretty good," Enfinger said. "But it was good, hard racing and I would have done the exact same thing to him, if the roles had been reversed."

After finishing second last year, Friesen came across the line in third ahead of defending race winner Matt Crafton and Brett Moffitt. Noah Gragson, John Hunter Nemechek, Seavey, Justin Haley and UMP Modified standout Nick Hoffman rounded out the top 10.

Ben Rhodes, who won the first stage, was the fastest qualifier of the 39 entrants after having turned a lap in 20.737 seconds. Heat races were won by Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Briscoe, Crafton and Friesen. Nemechek won the Last Chance Qualifying race.

Following the win, Briscoe was asked if he felt NASCAR should bring the Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Cup Series to Eldora.

"Absolutely," Briscoe said before the question was even finished. "We have races on super speedways, intermediate tracks, short track and road courses and there are guys that are specialist on all of them. Why shouldn't the dirt guys have a race here too?"

Jacob Hawkins continued his dominance of Eldora's UMP Modified division by capturing the $5,000 top prize in winning the 20-lap Modified feature event that preceded the Dirt Derby. Hawkins, of Fairmont, West Virginia, took the lead from race-long leader Dean Hoffman at the races midway point and went on to his fourth win of 2018 and his 11th career win at Eldora.

Tuesday night's winner Taylor Cook finished second ahead of Hoffman and former NASCAR Cup Series drivers David Stremme and Kenny Wallace. Ray Bollinger, Ken Schrader, Evan Taylor, Dylan Woodling and Brian Ruhlman completed the top 10. Coldwater's Ryan Sutter finished 16th.

Dayton's Donnie Jeschke made a last-lap pass of Chris Douglas to capture the 15-lap Eldora Stock Car main event. Douglas led the first 14 laps only to have Jeschke slip under him coming off of turn four on the final circuit.

Douglas held on to finish runner-up over Paul Pardo, Craig Swartz and Daniel Sanchez. Completing the top 10 were Tony Anderson, Dean Pitts, Nick Bowers, Andy Welch and Rob Trent.

After a busy week-long stretch, Eldora officials will take off a couple weeks before returning to action August 4 with the second and final Family Fireworks Night of the season. The UMP Modifieds and the Eldora Stock Cars will both be in action.