NASCAR Trucks: Tough Day for old faces at Naval Base Coronado

CORONADO, CALI. — It was a tough day for returning faces in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Navy 250 at The Naval Base Coronado on QUALCOMM circuit.

With the NASCAR mandated absence of NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitors, some old faces took full advantage of the open seats available.

Parker Kligerman made his second consecutive Truck Series start. But this time he returned to his familiar Henderson Motorsports No. 75 outfit. After running inside the top 10 throughout practice, he was able to qualify in tenth for the race.

Kligerman ran inside the top ten for most of the early going. Eventually, he charged to the front late in Stage 2 and led six laps to capture his fourth career Truck Series stage win.

His day unraveled from there, however. Multiple on-track incidents left the broadcaster with a damaged truck and an 18th-place finish. Still, Henderson Motorsports showed impressive speed, with its nearly four-year-old chassis holding its own against the series’ powerhouse teams.

Jimmie Johnson also turned heads.

In his second ever Truck Series weekend, he posted a top-five speed in practice before qualifying his No. 1 Carvana Toyota Tundra TRD fourth.

The seven-time Cup Series champion spent much of the first half of the race running in the top three and even inherited the lead after a Kaden Honeycutt tire lockup. He lead two laps because of the ordeal for his first NASCAR laps led since his final Cup Series start at Phoenix in 2020.

Johnson’s promising run came undone after his final green-flag pit stop. Trapped in traffic, he was involved in a spin with Nathan Nicholson that sent him to the rear. Another incident following a late restart piled on more damage. He ultimately finished a disappointing 30th.

The result didn’t reflect the performance. Despite the finish, the seven-time Cup Series champion looked sporty in the truck. His overall optimistic day could set the 50-year-old up for more trucking in the near future.

It Can Get Worse

While the first two veterans had high notes during the race, the others failed to leave San Diego with much, if any, positive notes.

Brendan Gaughan returned to the truck series for the first time in 13 years in the MHR No. 20. He had an accident in practice and had crunched his right-side against the wall before the caution with 17 laps remaining.

His troublesome day ended in 16th after he fought back from two laps down for the position.

Then, the road course ringer who is better known as Trackhouse Racing’s owner Justin Marks had a day to forget.

Marks found the outside barriers while exiting the final corner which sent him to a backup car. Finally, he hit it once more during the race for the final blow. His day was practically done before it truly began. But the Spire Motorsports team made repairs for him to limp around for a critical 25th for their owners points battle.

Jamie McMurray rejoined the series as the Kaulig RAM “Free Agent Driver”. He suffered nearly the same fate as Marks but worse. He felt uncomfortable in the driver’s seat the whole day and scraped the wall in practice.

During the race, he found that same piece of wall on exit turn 16 with a massive hit that totaled his truck.

The DNF in 34th place meant he officially lost his placement bet with Clint Bowyer. The 50-year-old will ride a mechanical bull.

Those names on the entry list made the initial event of the NASCAR San Diego Street Course Weekend worth while for fans of all ages. Despite their hardships, all of them made the Truck Series race have additional merit and every NASCAR fan would welcome them back with open arms to future series races.

MORE:

• Layne Riggs wins late thriller in the Truck Series race at Naval Base Coronado.