Career Day For Mills Cut Short By Talladega Big One

Matt Mills (42) battles Tanner Gray Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Matt Mills had one of his best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series showings ever Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, but didn’t see it pan out after being swept up in the dreaded “Big One”.

Highlighted by his first career Truck Series stage win, Mills led five times for 14 laps at the 2.66-mile oval, second only to eventual race winner Grant Enfinger.

Mills qualified eighth but quickly worked his way to the front on the outside lane, taking the top spot for the first time on lap three and trading the lead back and forth numerous times with Enfinger in the first 20-lap stage.

Though Enfinger edged ahead in the closing laps of the stage, Mills made a last-lap pass of Enfinger to capture his maiden stage victory and give himself a small highlight in a season of frustration.

That frustration became evident in the final stage, when Mills was swept up in an eight-car crash on lap 62, when a stack-up in the draft sent Jake Garcia down the tri-oval banking into Layne Riggs.

The contact hooked Riggs across the track and into the door of Tanner Gray. Mills was racing to Gray’s outside at that moment, meaning his No. 42 J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet Silveradt RST was crunched between Gray’s truck and the outside SAFER Barrier.

Unfortunately for Mills, the crash caused terminal damage that eliminated him from the race, leaving the 27-year-old Lynchburg, Va., native 31st in the final results and understandably disheartened after being checked and released from the infield care center.

“I got a quick replay [of the crash], but I don’t know [what happened],” admitted Mills. “I thought we were just going to kind of ride there, and then all of a sudden someone threw a late block or whatever. The No. 75 truck [Stefan Parsons] kept acting like he had a problem or something. He kept jumping out of line there … so we kept stacking the top lane, but that wasn’t on him right there. That was just a block gone wrong there. Way too aggressive to just be riding.

“I just hate it for J.F. Electric and Utilitra. We were finally going to have a good day there,” Mills lamented. “It’s been a lot of ups and down this year, but the past five weeks have been nothing but downs and I was really hoping to pull something good out there. It was cool to get a stage win, so I can mark that off the bucket list, too.

Mills’ other disappointment? There wasn’t time to give him an in-race interview for the stage win on the FS1 television broadcast, something he joked about lightheartedly.

“I was waiting to talk to Phil (Parsons) and Mikey (Waltrip) in the booth, but they didn’t want to talk to me, I guess,” said Mills with a chuckle. “We’ll get ready for Homestead and try to find some momentum to put into next year.”

Mills leaves Talladega 23rd in Truck Series points, just eight behind his Niece Motorsports teammate Kaden Honeycutt. Both Honeycutt and Mills will race full time in their respective trucks for Niece next year, with Mills’ extension for 2025 announced back on Sept. 24.

With just three races remaining in the season, Mills gets back on track at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway after a two-week break. Broadcast coverage of the 200-mile race is slated for Saturday, Oct. 26 at noon ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.