Butcher Leads During And Relishes Truck Debut With HFR

Cole Butcher in action Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Declan Wayman/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – It may not have been the night that Nova Scotia’s Cole Butcher wanted, but he hung in, led laps, and got to the end of his maiden NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Butcher entered the UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics with plenty of anticipation, and delivered a steady performance on one of NASCAR’s toughest short tracks.

After placing his Halmar Friesen Racing-prepared No. 62 Atlantic Tiltload Toyota Tundra TRD Pro 21st on the grid, the reigning and two-time Oxford 250 winner maintained and picked his battles carefully among the 36-truck field for the majority of the first two stages.

For a driver accustomed to dominating in late model circuits, the Truck Series provided Butcher a much bigger learning curve, but also a chance to prove himself on a national stage.

Butcher played the long game for the second half of the race, electing to pit for the final time during the third caution of the race on lap 93, which led Butcher to the front when he then stayed out during the second stage break.

Following what turned out to be the final restart of the race, Butcher struggled to get up to speed on the bottom lane as the leader, backing up stage two winner Corey Heim and other contenders in the process.

The current ASA STARS National Tour point leader fell back just outside the top 20 as the closing, 110-lap green flag run played out, dropping two laps behind eventual race winner Layne Riggs and coming home in 23rd place.

“I had a great time,” Butcher said after his long-anticipated Truck Series debut. “We probably should have pitted that last caution and at least given ourselves a shot to get a top 15, maybe a top 10.”

Butcher took his skills from his longtime presence in the short track scene, including time in both the CARS Tour and ASA, to manage his pace down the stretch on 40-lap older tires than the other frontrunners.

Running tracks similar to Bristol, including Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, a place where he’s won before, helped gauge where Butcher could find his stride and areas where he could improve as well.

Cole Butcher (Declan Wayman/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

“Just this tire [and] not being used to it was a challenge,” said Butcher, who raced Thursday as a teammate to fellow short-track ace and playoff contender Kaden Honeycutt. “Running at the top feels a lot like Winchester, it's just a different animal in itself.

“But besides the learning curves, I can't thank everybody at HFR and Toyota enough for the opportunity. It’s a really special night, both to represent all the Canadian fans and to get to a level I’ve dreamed of for my entire career.”

His start illustrates what several short-track racers are doing presently, using success at the local and touring late model levels as a springboard into the Craftsman Truck Series.

In fact, Butcher shared the track with fellow Canadian Treyten Lapcevich, who also made his Truck Series debut at Bristol in the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado RST prepared by Young’s Motorsports.

“We're all trying to make our way up here,” Butcher added. “It’s just depending on who has the budget to keep going.”

Butcher next looks to preserve his point lead in the ASA STARS National Tour Saturday evening, when the 10th round of that season takes flight at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway live on TrackTV.com.