Following in the footsteps of Supercars champions Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki , Australian racer Cam Waters made his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Truck series race. However, his hopes of a solid finish came crashing down when he was caught up in the clash between Layne Riggs and Jake Garcia. It cut short his debut race to only 176 laps.
Cam Waters had his eyes set on clinching a top-10 finish on his debut. The Australian Supercar star was in 12th position when the final 100 laps began and looked on track to achieve this goal. However, to his dismay, his race ended when an incident ahead in the pack took him by surprise and slammed into the back of his ThorSports teammate, Jake Garcia.
Subsequently, his Ford’s engine was seen smoking after being squashed between a high-speed Aussie and the rear bumper of Garcia, with a mere 23 laps remaining before the checkered flag. He had retired his Ford driving into the garage, while smoke and steam were coming of his engine like from an old coal train.
Here's a look at what happened: https://t.co/HUcbdeAb91 pic.twitter.com/HiWeTOdS4y
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2024
The 200-lap race packed quite a punch, as drivers across the field were involved in huge car wrecks. Waters was involved in two of those pileups, which later became the reason for his retirement from the race. However, he did not let this sour ending overshadow the excitement and joy that he had during the race.
The No.66 driver had qualified 22nd and was happy with his progress during the race. He claimed that despite racing in a different format, he was at ease with the car. Moreover, he enjoyed his time in the Truck series and reckoned that he could have achieved quite a bit more if it was not for the late race incident.
Look I had so much fun tonight, even today. Totally different racing than what I usually do, just wanted to learn and I learned so much. And yeah, just at the end there, a bit of a concentrator. But I mean, I had nowhere to go… It was a bit of a shame but it was all about just having fun and learning and had some awesome battles there too. Cam Waters said.
Despite the crashed out ending, Cam Waters had fun in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville pic.twitter.com/kgI5NggxSL
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) April 6, 2024
Apart from this, the Aussie has been speculated to be stepping in for the race in Kansas. However, he has been refusing to accept such rumors despite ThorSport Racing hierarchy wanting the Aussie to make a return soon.
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