Moffitt, a legitimate title contender this year driving the No. 16 Tundra for Hattori Racing, said he was glad he could pull of the move as planned.
“We were running wide open the whole last stint there, once Johnny (Sauter) got out front and I knew his truck was really fast. I was making sure that if I was going to pass him, don’t give him enough time to get back by. I was able to time it right and side draft him to the line there and get off of him and pull away by a fender.”
The driver being passed, Sauter, was not happy with himself and how the race turned out, as can be expected in these scenarios.
"I should have run the bottom," Sauter said. "I'm pretty (upset) at myself for giving away a win. I just blew it."
What the final results don’t show is that neither Sauter or Moffitt was the dominant car Saturday at MIS. Early the race, Grant Enfinger looked to be the truck to beat, but he ended up finishing in 7th. Also contending all day was Stewart Friesen, who made his own bad luck with a pit penalty and ended up in 8th. Rookie Todd Gilliland, who would have upset the playoff picture with a win, also led laps Saturday, as did Noah Gragson.
In the second half of the race, though, Johnny Sauter came alive -- which was good news for his team after a few off weeks where he didn’t run up front. With the playoffs near (the final regular season race is Thursday at Bristol), he continues to be a favorite to win the title..
Moffitt’s team has had sponsorship issues this year, but he has still managed four wins (tied with Sauter for most wins in the truck series) and eight top-5s. He said that’s a testament to their work ethic.
“We work hard, we never give up. Can’t thank Hino and Toyota Industrial and Aisin Group for being on board this week – that’s another piece to the puzzle, we have great partners. The more success we have on track, the more success off the track. We still have a few races that we need to get filled, but hopefully this was a step in the right direction.”
=====
Matt Myftiu can be reached via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @MattMyftiu.
