Matt Stallknecht Survives Wreck-Filled Truck Race at Talladega for Monday Night Racing Victory

Any time a racing series heads to Talladega Superspeedway, you expect to see chaos. Monday’s Sim Seats 215 presented by Rowdy Energy for the Monday Night Racing League was no exception, as Matt Stallknecht battled through some early troubles to take the checkered flag.

After leading the race’s first lap, Stallknecht was involved in an early-race accident with country music singer Tim Dugger, a wreck that would take out a number of contenders early in the event. From there, Stallknecht would have to work his way back through the field, after being relegated to the back of the pack.

Stallknecht’s triumph at the 2.66-mile superspeedway is a much-needed one for Crypto Autosport, who failed to put one of their drivers into the Monday Night Racing Playoffs, as the culmination of a season-long struggle.

However. the team showed some significant speed at Talladega Superspeedway, with a pair of top-five results from Stallknecht and Mark Reilas – a photographer from USA Today — and teammates TJ Majors, DJ Cummings, and Ford Martin all running up front at different points throughout the event.

“We came in here with a chip on our shoulder,” Stallknecht said in a post-race interview. “We were determined to come out here and show that we are a top-flight team in this league and a force to be reckoned with, and I felt like we made a huge statement tonight.”

The race featured a total of six caution flags, with the majority of the field finding trouble at some point throughout the event. Multi-car accidents at laps 12, 18, and 43 each caused major shuffles in the running order.

David Schildhouse and Collin Fern – two Monday Night Racing Playoff contenders — elected to drop to the back of the lead draft, in order to avoid any major accidents at the conclusion of the event, a strategy that resulted in both drivers collecting top-10s.

Schildhouse brought his TobyChristie.com sponsored entry home in eighth, while Fern recorded a solid 10th-place finish. Josh Bilicki, Adam Cabot, and Kyle Busch would all see their playoff hopes take a hit, after using fast repairs in early accidents and ended up 23rd, 32nd, and 37th, respectively.

Rajah Caruth was able to make a more aggressive driving style work at Talladega, making moves and giving pushes throughout the entire event, which left him at the center of many incidents. Caruth was turned from the race lead on lap 24 but rebounded to be second in the outside lane on the final restart.

Said final restart came as a result of a spin by Tim Dugger with six laps left in the event. Stallknecht and Justin Melillo lined up on the front row and stayed side-by-side for the majority of the two-lap run before their tandem partners made contact and triggered a huge accident.

Dodging the accident, Steven Ellis recorded a third-place finish, with Garrett Smithley finishing in fourth. However, Caruth and Brown earned 20th and 24th-place finishes, respectively.

Monday Night Racing Sim Seats 225 Final Results:

1. No. 41 – Matt Stallknecht
2. No. 53 – Justin Melillo
3. No. 46 – Steven Ellis
4. No. 52 – Garrett Smithley
5. No. 99 – Mark Rebilas
6. No. 19 – Robby Lyons
7. No. 23 – Anthony Alfredo
8. No. 20 – David Schildhouse
9. No. 21 – Max Kennon
10. No. 86 – Colin Fern
11. No. 6 – Ryan Vargas
12. No. 50 – Gabe Wood
13. No. 14 – Dillon Welch
14. No. 42 – Preston Pardus
15. No. 4 – Brett Baldeck
16. No. 22 – TJ Majors
17. No. 24 – Will Rodgers
18. No. 13 – Gary Sexton
19. No. 57 – Seth Eggert
20. No. 44 – Rajah Caruth
21. No. 07 – Ford Martin
22. No. 11 – Steve Auffant
23. No. 53 – Josh Bilicki
24. No. 12 – Brandon Brown
25. No. 60 – Brad Perez
26. No. 26 – Chris Wilner
27. No. 84 – Kase Kallenbach
28. No. 91 – Cole Irvan
29. No. 29 – James Bickford
30. No. 33 – Tim Dugger
31. No. 27 – Michael Massie
32. No. 17 – Adam Cabot
33. No. 64 – Drew Welker
34. No. 10 – DJ Cummings
35. No. 1 – Josh Slate
36. No. 77 – Devon Henry
37. No. 51 – Kyle Busch
38. No. 25 – Stefan Wilson
39. No. 93 – Garrett Miller
40. No. 63 – Bryan Boris Cook