The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series completed a thrilling milestone this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Taking the green flag for the 700th time since its inception, Truck Series veterans were eager to become a part of history. But perhaps no man was looking forward to the race more than Rev Racing’s veteran Truck Chief, Chris Showalter.

Since the very first day that the Truck Series started taking shape at Phoenix Raceway in 1995, Chris Showalter has been present for all 700 races run. With that being said, the #2 Rev Racing team pulled out all the stops to ensure the veteran had the time of his life at Charlotte. After Nick Sanchez slotted his Chevrolet Silverado into the lead and took to victory lane, the 22-year-old took a moment to honor his Truck Series mentor.

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When the first stage of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 came to an end, Nick Sanchez was nowhere near the front-runners. For much of the stage, Corey Heim dominated in his Tricon Garage Challenger, leading 72 laps. Unfortunately, late-race pit-stop woes meant that Heim would lose out to Nick Sanchez on the final 9 laps. To maintain their lead, frontrunners such as Christian Eckes and Rajah Caruth opted to stay out on 40-lap old tires.

This certainly worked in Sanchez’s favor, whose pit crew made the call to put on fresher rubber for a final push. Since we aren’t at short tracks where the Next-Gen car just can’t overtake, Nick Sanchez was able to fly past the leaders and bring home victory at Charlotte, along with a bonus of $50,000 as part of the Triple Truck Challenge.

For the first time since the season opener at Daytona, the #2 Rev Racing Silverado had come out on top against all odds. While Sanchez drove cautiously and deserved much of the credit for his performance, the #2 driver felt the need to highlight how vital Chris Showalter’s presence was to their success.

Nick Sanchez shared with FOX after the race, “It’s awesome and you know, my #2 Gainbridge Chevrolet, what can I say more about the team? I mean, we started off bad, we knew it. But it did not affect us, we went to work and put ourselves in a position when it mattered the most, so this is for Chris Showalter, my car chief. Birthday today and 700 Truck Starts, so this is for him and, yeah, victory #2.” 

Reflecting on the $50,000 bonus, Nick Sanchez had a rather mature response as to where he would put it. The driver added, “I don’t know, probably put it in savings. Totally forgot about that, but yeah, added bonus, sweet!” That being said, Sanchez may not have had a shot at the $50,000 if it weren’t for Chris Showalter. So when Sanchez paid tribute to the veteran in front of the Charlotte crowd, Showalter couldn’t hold back his tears.

When asked if this race was his favorite out of the 700 runs, the veteran Truck chief shared an emotional message to the Rev Racing team and fans.  He stated, “It just probably popped to number 1. But it’s a long battle, you know. It’s about people, and I love this group of people. I’ll do anything for this group of people, thank you.”

Whilst it’s safe to say Chris Showalter couldn’t control his emotions on the big day, the Truck Series veteran was prepared to shed a few tears.

‘Emotional’ Chris Showalter expected as much

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Before the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 started, Chris Showalter was interviewed by NASCAR about what the weekend meant to him. With nearly 700 appearances under his belt, Showalter had seen it all in Truck Series racing. But with this year’s race at Charlotte coinciding with his birthday, the veteran had a lot of emotions surfacing as the weekend approached.

Speaking to NASCAR, Showalter stated, “If I could’ve told you 30 years ago that I would still be doing this, I would’ve called you crazy. It’s just a testament to all of the great race teams that I have been with and all of the people that I have surrounded myself with that keep me coming back every week. The Truck Series has always been a big family to me.”

Sharing similar sentiments as his post-race interview, Showalter revealed his contemplation ahead of the weekend as it rained. The veteran thought hard about the emotions that would come with the 700th race. While he wasn’t aware of just how glorious it would be, the Truck Chief could sense something big was coming.

He added, “The family, I believe, is going to show up; they haven’t said a word, so that means they’re coming. The (No. 2) guys haven’t said a whole lot, too, so I’m sure there’s a big surprise coming. I’m sure I’ll be in tears here in a little bit.”

At the end of the Truck Series’ 700th race, all of Chris Showalter’s intuitions came true. With the #2 Rev Racing Truck Chief adding another win to his decorated career, it’s safe to say Charlotte was a fairytale weekend for the man who’s witnessed it all.