In what is being called “The Race To The Race”, two truck drivers hauling the No. 78 car to the NASCAR Championship Race in Homestead, Florida are running hard to beat blizzard conditions in Colorado and make it to the track on time.
NASCAR Truckers Race the Clock — And the Weather
NASCAR’s deadline for the truck drivers is 7 p.m. today — but in addition to being parked in the proper area, they need to make sure their truck is cleaned up from the trip.
Truck driver Barry Huston and Chuck Lemay left Denver on Tuesday at 2 p.m., hauling the primary and backup cars for Martin Truex Jr. to make the 36 hour trip to Florida — but the weather created complications. Tuesday night, snow and ice on I-25 forced them to head back to Pueblo.
Weather Forces Drivers to Park It
Weather conditions were bad enough to justify parking it, but Lemay and Huston decided to push through, using GPS to help them navigate to Highway 50 East. Unfortunately, the detour was a bust — roads were closed there too. The drivers were forced to park until 4 a.m. Wednesday.
As of 1 p.m. local time, the drivers told reporters that they were “eastbound and down” and should make it to Homestead around 3 p.m. today — with just enough time for a truck wash.
Loaded up and haulin’: @fr78racing crew should have time to get the truck washed at #homestead #nascar https://t.co/VN8sXQKzSg via @9News
— Adele Arakawa (@AdeleArakawa) November 19, 2015
Sources:
9 News