As the field exited turn four to take the white flag in NASCAR Overtime at Martinsville Speedway, it looked as though a fantastic battle was shaping up between Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, and Todd Gilliland, two of which were fighting for their chance at capturing the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
However, Gilliland’s No. 38 and Friesen’s No. 52 made contact just after the start-finish line, turning the Front Row Motorsports driver around in front of the entire pack. The Sherrills Ford, North Carolina-native then started to slide down the track, into the path of oncoming traffic, where he was CLOBBERED by Tyler Ankrum and a number of others.
Michael Cosey Jr. (@windVOW8820) captured a video of the last-lap accident from the stands, which shows the No. 38 getting clobbered by Ankrum, Timmy Hill, and a number of other drivers.
HAVE YOU EVER pic.twitter.com/orI4TP1Sz5
— Michael Cosey Jr. (@windVOW8820) October 30, 2021
Following the end of the race, the series’ official Twitter account (@NASCAR_Trucks) posted a video of the accident from pit road, where you can really see the violence of the impacts that Gilliland took on the final lap of the event.
Big hits punctuated the end of the action at @MartinsvilleSwy. pic.twitter.com/S1jIedEQll
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) October 30, 2021
Gilliland – who led 133 of the race’s 204 laps — recorded a finish of 25th-place, while Zane Smith was able to punch his ticket to Phoenix Raceway with a clutch victory at the half-mile paperclip.