Jimmy Spencer

Ronda Greer Photo

Jimmy Spencer drove the No. 2 Team ASE/Ultra Wheels Dodge to an eleventh-place finish in the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. Spencer, who started 12th, was able to stay out of the numerous incidents that plagued the middle stages of the event to pick up another solid finish that keeps him sixth in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship standings.

Spencer, who had never raced at the mile and a half Kentucky Speedway previously, quickly picked up positions on the start, moving to ninth by lap 10. However, as the green flag laps ticked off and the handling on his truck changed, Spencer faded back a couple of positions. As his team made changes on the first pit stop of the day, during a caution flag after leader Jack Sprague crashed, Spencer dropped a couple more positions for the restart. But the extra time spent on pit road was worth it, as he again gained positions once the green flag dropped.

Spencer was able to keep the No. 2 Team ASE/Ultra Wheels Dodge out of the mess shortly after the restart when several trucks collided in turn two. When the smoke cleared following the accident which sent Brendan Gaughan, Bobby Hamilton, Chase Montgomery, and Boris Said to the garage Spencer had picked up a few positions.

Numerous additional cautions throughout the middle of the race kept the field behind the pace truck. Spencer worked his way up to eleventh at the halfway point, and with more pit stops to make further chassis adjustments later in the race, Spencer dropped back to 17th. But again, the time spent making the changes was worthwhile as he quickly moved back to 13th. Spencer was able to move to 12th with just a handful of laps remaining, and when leader Terry Cook had a tire deflate and he hit the wall, Spencer cruised on past to pick up one more position.

Spencer leaves Kentucky in sixth position in the Championship standings. Spencer gained ground on Ricky Craven to move within 4 points of the top-5. Spencer is now 217 points behind leader and Kentucky race winner Dennis Setzer.

Next up for the No. 2 Team ASE/Ultra Wheels Dodge is the O’Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday July 23. Speed Channel will have the live telecast starting at 8 pm Eastern, while Motor Racing Network will have live coverage on selected radio affiliates nationwide.