It’s been a tough season for Connor Mosack and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
The problem hasn’t been raw speed, though. Several times throughout the year, Mosack and the No. 81 Chevrolet team have been strong, but a small mistake or an uncontrollable circumstance has taken away a solid result.
That wasn’t the case, however, in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Pocono Raceway, where Mosack collected a season-high sixth-place result in the MillerTech Battery 200.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mosack had a lightning-fast NAPA Nightvision-sponsored Chevrolet from the moment it first hit the racetrack in practice, pacing the session ahead of several strong drivers and teams.
P1 in NASCAR Truck Series Practice: @connormosack
Qualifying for the #MIllerTech200 is LIVE! #NASCAR | ?: @ParkerW95 pic.twitter.com/NLzq1PUh4D
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When the pressure was being applied in qualifying, Mosack made a small error in Turn 3, which relegated the No. 81 Chevrolet to a disappointing, but still respectable, starting position of 12th.
“I feel like we were one of the best trucks in practice, even on the long run,” Mosack said post-race. “A little disappointed with qualifying 12th, had a pretty big moment in Turn 3 over there.”
From the drop of the green flag, Mosack was on the attack, trying to recover some of the track position he forfeited with his mistake in qualifying. By the end of the first stage, the No. 81 would be in third — after some teams elected to flip the stage.
As the race went on, Mosack got closer and closer to the front of the pack and maintained a top-10 spot throughout the afternoon, and during the final stage, the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver had a shot at a top-five, or maybe even a victory.
When the race’s final restart unfolded — and the chaos of Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar’s misfortune presented itself — Mosack was lined up second on the inside lane, behind eventual winner Layne Riggs.
But, as the outside lane got the better jump (courtesy of Hocevar’s jumped restart), Mosack lost four positions to Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Kaden Honeycutt, and Tanner Gray, dropping him back to sixth as the dust settled.
“In the race, [it] felt like we were somewhere between a third to eighth-place truck most of the race, just needed track position,” Mosack added. “Then we got there at the end, the start of our lane didn’t get going like we needed to on the last restart, otherwise we probably could have been third or fourth there.”
“Just a solid day for our team that we really needed, so we’ll take it.”
The sixth-place result at Pocono jumps Mosack forward two spots in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, to 16th, albeit an insurmountable gap behind the postseason cutline.
But, the NASCAR Truck Series is entering a stretch that Mosack may find favorable, as two of the last four events of the regular-season are on the road courses of Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen International.
The 26-year-old driver has found incredible success in his limited road course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, earning a top-five at Watkins Glen for Sam Hunt Racing in 2023, and most recently, a sixth for JR Motorsports at the Chicago Street Course in 2024.
With momentum on his side, the No. 81 Chevrolet Silverado may be an underdog to park it in Victory Lane next weekend in the NASCAR Truck Series’ inaugural event at Lime Rock Park.
