Piquet Jr. takes Smith’s 350 in dramatic fashion in Las Vegas

In a dramatic finish, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. passed Matt Crafton on the final lap to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Smith's 350 on Saturday night before a crowd of 24,000 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

For Crafton, the loss was as painful as getting a Brazilian bikini wax.

"That sucks. Plain and simple, it sucks," he said. "I can tell you one thing, I'm not gonna sleep for a week."

Piquet Jr., a former Formula One driver and the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet, dueled with Crafton down the stretch before passing him on the inside of Turn 2 en route to his second victory in 47 NCWTS starts.

"He was running high the whole time. I started attacking the bottom for a few laps at the end, and it worked out on the last lap," he said. "I dived in and had just enough space to clear myself out."

The race featured a LVMS truck series-record 18 lead changes.

The 27-year-old Piquet Jr. led for 30 of 146 laps and pulled out the victory despite his No. 30 Chevrolet scraping the wall about 10 laps from the finish.

"They pushed me into the wall, but I didn't back off," he said. "I said, 'This race is mine.' "

Piquet Jr. won his first NASCAR race in the Nationwide Series in June in Wisconsin and claimed his first truck victory in August in Michigan, but he said Saturday's win was the sweetest of his career.

"There's no better feeling than passing on the last lap and being able to win the race," he said. "We fought for it and we got it at the end and it was very well-deserved."

Crafton, who led for 15 laps in his Toyota, was denied his third win in 289 career truck starts.

Pole sitter Joey Coulter, who led for 40 laps, placed third and Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan made a late charge to finish fourth - his fourth straight top-five finish in the NCWTS.

Two-time truck champion Todd Bodine recovered from a first-lap spin to place fifth and James Buescher took sixth. Only one point separates Buescher (636 points) and series leader Ty Dillon (637), who placed 10th.

Ron Hornaday Jr., last year's Smith's 350 winner, was knocked out of the race on lap 20 with engine trouble.

There were eight caution flags for 33 laps, including one on the frontstretch on lap 116, when Johnny Sauter's Toyota slammed into the side of Justin Lofton's Chevrolet during a three-car accident involving Miguel Paludo.

"If you don't have anything to do tonight, look on YouTube under 'A.J. (Foyt)'s pissed,' " Sauter said. "We have people out here that shouldn't be racing."

Piquet Jr., who joined NASCAR in 2010, is gradually becoming more comfortable racing - and living - in the United States.

"I moved to North Carolina and I love it. Obviously, I love my country, but I don't count the days to go back like when I lived in England and it was miserable, cold and the food was terrible," he said. "Now I live in a place where the weather's great, I love my team and I have nothing to complain about."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.