Adam Cabot, the defending champion of Monday Night Racing, is the only driver in the Playoffs that has nothing to worry about heading into the next elimination race at Daytona International Speedway, which is expected to be chaotic, action-packed, and wreck-filled.
Cabot dominated Monday’s TUFCO 100 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, capturing the victory and locking him into the ‘Round of 7’ in the Season 5 Playoffs.
The race started off in a chaotic nature, with points leader Presley Sorah being spun around on the first lap of the race, tagging fellow playoff contender Collin Fern. As a result of the accident, Sorah would have to use his fast repair after one lap.
It didn’t take long for more chaos to break out, as Max Kennon – another driver in the S5 MNR Playoffs – would be spun on the restart, but the incident didn’t call a caution flag, costing Kennon valuable time.
Just 15 laps into the race, more contact occurred on track, with Ryan Vargas and George Balfanz Jr. colliding and sending Balfanz into the outside wall, and eventually, down the pit road. Vargas received significant damage, tossing him down the running order.
The trouble would continue for Ryan Vargas just five laps later, getting turned by Dakotah Curtis. Brett Baldeck would slam into him. Vargas would be forced to use his fast repair as the caution flag flew.
Following pit stops, Adam Cabot would take the top spot away from James Bickford, as the two most competitive vehicles on the track would swap positions back and forth. Corey Heim, a part-time driver in both the NASCAR Truck Series and Monday Night Racing, would use a push from Bailey Turner to move past Bickford shortly thereafter.
Bickford rebounded quickly, getting back into the conversation for the lead after a couple of laps, creating a three-way battle for the lead between Cabot, Heim, and Bickford, with Cabot eventually getting the edge.
Cabot and Bickford slowly began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, while Heim, Anthony Alfredo, and David Schildhouse would have a heated battle for the third spot on the track.
Later in the event, Corey Heim would make his way around James Bickford to grab second-place and start putting pressure on Adam Cabot. The pass sent Bickford onto pit road, attempting to make the undercut, but that didn’t last long as others came in shortly after.
While Bickford’s undercut strategy worked, he was at a tire disadvantage over Cabot, who appeared to have the best truck throughout the event. Heim would lose over three seconds on pit road, coming out third, with Schildhouse and Cummings rounding out the top five.
Bickford’s lead lasted about three laps, before Cabot blew by him, gapping him by over a second within a five-lap spin. Behind them, Heim, Schildhouse, and Alfredo continued a heated battle for third.
After the final round of pit stops has happened, Schildhousehad moved into second three seconds behind Cabot, with Heim, Alfredo, and Bickford completing the top-five.
From there, Cabot was able to cruise away with the victory, holding off David Schildhouse to capture the victory. The TobyChristie.com-sponsored driver picked up his fifth top-three finish in the last six races, finding his stride in the playoffs.
Corey Heim and Anthony Alfredo recorded finishes of third and fourth place, while Presley Sorah rebounded from an early-race accident to score a top-five result.
