Blaney edges Quiroga at the line to win Canadian truck race

Aug 31, 2014 - 9:30 PM Bowmanville, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Blaney nipped German Quiroga at the finish line to win Sunday's Chevrolet Silverado 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Following the second and final restart with eight laps to go in this 64-lap race, Blaney and Quiroga staged a thrilling battle for the lead. Blaney ran in front, while Quiroga had made several attempts to overtake him.

On the last lap at this 2.459-mile road course, Quiroga passed Blaney for the lead in turn 9, but Blaney quickly reclaimed the position in the 10th and final turn.

Blaney beat Quiroga to the line by only 0.049 seconds to score his first win of the season and the third of his Truck Series career.

"I noticed since that last restart that [Quiroga] would get huge tows down the backstretch," Blaney said. "There was a huge draft there. I was protecting the best I could. He was able to get to my left side, and I didn't think he could stay out there, but I got really, really loose underneath him there in that [9th] corner.

"Old-school, short-track racing crossover move worked on him, I guess. That was really cool. It was awesome racing German. We've had our problems, but it was nice to go out there and race clean with him. We put on a great finish for the fans."

Blaney led the most laps with 34, while Quiroga ran in front for a total of eight laps.

"The last pass, I really drove it hard in the brake zone, and I tried to pass [Blaney] without wrecking," Quiroga said. "We came close. We can't come any closer on a road course."

Blaney, the 20-year-old son of NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney, drives the No. 29 Ford for Brad Keselowski Racing. It's the second straight win for BKR. Brad Keselowski drove his No. 19 Ford to victory in the Aug. 21 race at Bristol. Ryan Blaney won the Nationwide Series race at Bristol on the following day, driving the No. 22 car for Team Penske.

Quiroga, the driver of the No. 77 Toyota for Red Horse Racing, has yet to win a truck race in 42 career starts.

"It hurts. We've come so close so many times," Quiroga said. "We just have to keep on trying. Hopefully, I can get a win soon. I really want it, and I'm really trying hard."

Erik Jones finished third, followed by rookie Gray Gaulding and Canadian Andrew Ranger.

Matt Crafton's sixth-place finish coupled with an eighth-place run for Johnny Sauter allowed Crafton to trim Sauter's points lead from eight to seven.

With the win, Blaney moved to within 13 points of the lead.

Darrell Wallace Jr. is 38 points behind following his 12th-place run, while Quiroga trails by 48.

There are eight races left in the season.

Alex Tagliani, who hails from Montreal, started on the pole in his first career truck start. Tagliani led the first seven laps. He finished one lap behind in 16th after he spun out and stalled in turn 5 on lap 54, forcing the last caution.

Tagliani was Blaney's teammate in this race, driving the No. 19 truck for BKR.