(Truck Tour Race 11) Salem

Seven Trucks Finish Wreckfest @ Salem Speedway: Vincenzo Fochesato Survives the Carnage

Sophomore driver Vincenzo Fochesato was among the few who escaped the destruction at the Salem Speedway in last weekend's FARC LoBo Truck Tour race, at least to some degree.

A mere 18 trucks took the green flag for the start of the race, and a series of accidents and engine failures eventually forced over half of them to drop out, including Fochesato's teammate Luc Pellerin (this would be Pellerin's first DNF of the season in his 8th start). Fochesato would not get away unscathed, either, as he was sent spinning into the wall during the wreck that brought out the third of four cautions on lap 54. Despite this, he would find himself in 4th place by the time that the final restart occurred on lap 73. A 4th-place finish would have tied his season best, but the damage that he had sustained in the third caution caused a tire rub that forced him to pit during the final quarter of the 100-lap event and lose 4 laps in the process. He would finish the race as the last truck on the track, in the 7th position.

"This is a very challenging track, and I think that I learned a lot about it for the Elite Series race. It's so fast for a half-miler and you really have to focus on driving the truck with each end of the track being so different, but at the same time you have to try to pay attention to what's happening ahead of you; It's so narrow here and a wreck will grow into a road block in an instant. The damage that we got in the crash that I was in cut a tire down, so we didn't get quite as good of a finish as we should have but, all in all, I guess that I was pretty lucky tonight. I had a fast truck at the start and it survived the race! It's got a few, uh, battle scars, though, but the crew has been making my trucks better and better the last few months, and I'm really happy with the work that they've done. I'm very excited for the FARC Lone Star Championships. I'm hoping to end the season as good as I possibly can!"

This is Fochesato's fifth top ten of his 2014 season. He enters the season finale - the FARC Lone Star Championships - ranked fourth in the points standings in a tie with Lucstar Motorsports driver Angel Gray.