Richard Petty’s Grandson Unable to Shake Off Truck Series Misery as Rajah Caruth Narrowly Escapes Texas Disaster

The NASCAR Truck Series race kicked off clean but quickly descended into chaos when Thad Moffitt, Richard Petty’s grandson, spun out on just the second lap. Moffitt wasn’t the only one in trouble due to the same—he tried to wrestle control back, but his truck veered sharply left, slamming into Tyler Ankrum and sending both trucks crashing into the wall. FOX speculated that Moffitt might have had a steering wheel glitch that yanked his truck leftward.

The wreck didn’t stop there; Moffitt’s out-of-control truck also clipped Memphis Villarreal. The #46 truck was wrecked beyond repair, and Ankrum, already in his backup truck due to an earlier practice crash, managed to limp his battered truck to the pit road. Meanwhile, Rajah Caruth narrowly dodged the melee, only to spin out later in turn 2, triggering the second caution of the day. Thad Moffitt just before hitting the wall warned his team over the radio.

Thad Moffitt felt his truck was running tight just before he lost control of it

Right before the crash, Thad Moffitt was feeling something off with his truck, telling his team it was running tight. He sensed something was wrong, and before he knew it, things went sideways. Moffitt shared after the race:

“Yeah, so we got free getting off into one and then I like saved it. And then when I tried to stay up, it just came down the racetrack on me like something in the left front, pulled me left. Obviously, that’s what caused a big damage because I thought I had saved it from that point. But Um, unfortunate! It was our best weekend so far like qualifying practice and I thought we were hitting our strides as a team. And then we only ran one lap. Um, Sucks. It’s part of racing, I guess.”

It’s been a tough run for Moffitt, who hasn’t finished better than P25 this season. If it’s not one thing, it’s another—either a wreck or a mechanical failure. This time, it was a bit of both. His team, Faction46, is new and still finding its rhythm with Niece Motorsports, and it looks like they’re in for a few more rough weeks.

But it wasn’t just a tough day for Moffitt; Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth had their share of troubles too.

Tyler Ankrum owned up to his wreck, admitting he should’ve avoided the back of the pack

Tyler Ankrum, who was third in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings going into the night, faced his second major crash of the day after practice, because of Thad Moffitt’s car’s mechanical issue. In fact, it was already the backup truck that he was driving on the track. Reflecting on his bad luck, Ankrum said, “I don’t even know. You hang out with the squirrels, you’re going to get your nuts cracked. It’s honestly my fault for being there in the back anyways. My mistake in practice.”

Meanwhile, Rajah Caruth narrowly missed getting tangled up in the wreck that spun Thad Moffitt and involved Memphis Villarreal. Although Caruth grazed the #46 car, he lost control on lap 12. Luckily, his car didn’t hit anything, but it still caused the second caution of the night.