Suarez wins Truck race at Phoenix, championship field set

Posted November 12, 2016 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Daniel Suarez hoists the trophy after winning the NASCAR Trucks auto race at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso) The Associated Press

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Daniel Suarez won the Truck Series race Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway, where four drivers advanced to the inaugural championship finale.

Johnny Sauter won a pair of races in this round of the playoffs to earn one of the berths next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Christopher Bell, two-time series champion Matt Crafton and Timothy Peters took the other three on points Friday.

William Byron led 112 laps and dominated the race until his engine failed with under 10 laps to go. A six-time winner this season and a favorite to win the title, Byron was instead eliminated.

Byron was leading when his engine failed, and it opened up the opportunity for three other drivers to make the finale.

The win was the first for Suarez, a regular in the Xfinity Series, after finishing second four times in a truck.

Sauter finished second. Crafton, Cameron Haley and Peters rounded out the top five, while Bell clinched his place at the Homestead table with a seventh-place finish.

Eliminated from the Chase on Friday night where Byron and Ben Kennedy.

William Byron (9) races Daniel Suarez through Turn 4 during the NASCAR Trucks auto race at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso) The Associated Press

Timothy Peters (17) races Ben Rhodes out of Turn 4 during the NASCAR Trucks auto race at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso) The Associated Press

Daniel Suarez celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Trucks auto race at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso) The Associated Press

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