Power issues plague Truck race; Erik Jones winner

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Call it the night the lights went out in Phoenix.

Roughly 20 minutes before the start of Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, the lights around the 1-mile track suddenly went out.

Though the frontstretch lights came back on, Turns 3 and 4 were still dark at the scheduled 8:48 p.m. ET start time.

Phoenix International Raceway released a statement regarding the power outages.

"We are extremely disappointed that tonight's race was delayed and ultimately shortened by failures in the local power grid," the statement read.

"We want to thank the devoted race fans who stayed throughout the race, however PIR and NASCAR both agreed that it was in the best interest of the drivers to call an end to the race after the second power outage, as safety of the competitors is paramount. While we appreciate the efforts of APS and its repair crews to restore service as quickly as possible, having to end the race prematurely is not the experience that our fans expect and deserve.

NASCAR trucks can't race on a dimly lit or dark track because they don't have headlights (they are just stickers).

The race got underway 1 hour, 16 minutes after the scheduled start only to be plagued by one caution after another as drivers tried to adjust to a hard tire compound.

At about 11:45 p.m. ET, with 24 laps remaining, the track lost power again while drivers were running under green.

NASCAR red-flagged the race and drivers got out of their cars. About midnight, NASCAR called the race with Erik Jones leading.

Jones, 18, was declared the winner after pacing 114 of 126 laps.

Matt Crafton, who came into the race with a 23-point lead over Ryan Blaney and was hoping to clinch the title, finished second but could not wrap up the crown. He won the title in 2013.

The season finale will be next Friday night at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1).

NASCAR's Nationwide race Saturday and Sprint Cup race here Sunday are scheduled in the afternoon.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

*****

Lucas Oil 150

Friday's results at Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.

Lap length: 1 mile (Start position in parentheses)

1. (1) Erik Jones, Toyota, 126 laps, 150 rating, 48 points, $41,870.

2. (2) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 126, 123.1, 42, $26,060.

3. (19) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 126, 91.3, 41, $20,576.

4. (17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 126, 96.2, 40, $15,400.

5. (4) Ben Rhodes, Chevrolet, 126, 92, 39, $13,275.

6. (9) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, 126, 94.7, 39, $11,875.

7. (8) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 126, 113, 37, $11,525.

8. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 126, 100.4, 0, $9,225.

9. (14) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 126, 90.5, 35, $11,425.

10. (7) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 126, 93.2, 34, $13,625.

11. (3) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 126, 102.1, 33, $11,175.

12. (16) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 126, 80.8, 32, $8,800.

13. (18) Mason Mingus, Chevrolet, 125, 68.5, 31, $8,750.

14. (20) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 125, 72.3, 30, $10,925.

15. (25) Korbin Forrister, Chevrolet, 125, 55.9, 29, $11,700.

16. (11) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 124, 79.3, 28, $10,800.

17. (15) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 124, 70.7, 27, $10,750.

18. (23) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 124, 58.7, 26, $10,700.

19. (10) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 124, 63.7, 25, $10,650.

20. (21) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 124, 59.3, 24, $8,975.

21. (29) Tyler Tanner, Ram, 123, 43.6, 23, $8,250.

22. (31) Jody Knowles, Ford, 122, 42.9, 22, $8,200.

23. (32) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 119, 39, 21, $10,350.

24. (30) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, electrical, 105, 37.3, 20, $10,250.

25. (13) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 102, 48.6, 19, $9,050.

26. (24) German Quiroga, Toyota, 83, 33.9, 18, $8,800.

27. (34) Wendell Chavous, Chevrolet, 80, 37.3, 17, $7,675.

28. (33) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, steering, 54, 38.2, 16, $7,575.

29. (28) Akinori Ogata, Toyota, rear gear, 45, 44.6, 15, $7,475.

30. (5) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, accident, 38, 77.4, 14, $7,875.

31. (6) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, accident, 27, 54.4, 13, $7,325.

32. (27) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, axle, 21, 36.3, 12, $7,300.

33. (22) John Wes Townley, Toyota, accident, 1, 33.2, 11, $7,275.

34. (26) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, accident, 0, 31.3, 10, $7,245.

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Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 76.364 mph.

Time of Race: 1 hour, 39 minutes, 0 seconds.

Margin of Victory: Under Caution.

Caution Flags: 7 for 48 laps.

Lead Changes: 2 among 2 drivers.

Lap Leaders: E.Jones 1-91; D.Wallace Jr. 92-103; E.Jones 104-126.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): E.Jones, 2 times for 114 laps; D.Wallace Jr., 1 time for 12 laps.

Top 10 in Points: 1. M.Crafton, 798; 2. R.Blaney, 773; 3. D.Wallace Jr., 752; 4. J.Sauter, 739; 5. T.Peters, 705; 6. J.Coulter, 659; 7. G.Quiroga, 654; 8. B.Kennedy, 652; 9. J.Burton, 648; 10. M.Mingus, 530.