John Wes Townley wins first Trucks race; Austin Theriault hurt in crash

CREDIT: ESPN.com

John Wes Townley won his first Trucks race in his 89th career start, but the race
was highlighted by a frightening head-on crash of Austin Theriault's truck
into an unsupported portion of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway wall. Robert Laberge/NASCAR/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS -- John Wes Townley won the NASCAR Camping World Truck race Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an event marred by Austin Theriault's head-on crash into a wall.

Townley won for the first time in the series, getting his Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet home on limited fuel after the other contenders ran out of gas or pitted to keep from running dry.

Theriault, driving Brad Keselowski Racing's Ford, made contact with teammate Tyler Reddick's truck on Lap 14 and hit the wall on a part of the track not protected by a SAFER barrier.

Theriault was helped from the truck and briefly stood before sitting down. He left in an ambulance and was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

In a statement released early Sunday, Brad Keselowski Racing said Theriault "underwent a comprehensive CT scan of the upper body, which showed a 10 percent compression fracture of the lower back." He was released from the hospital and will travel back to North Carolina for follow-up treatment with an orthopedic specialist.

No further updates were expected Sunday, the team said.

Townley and crew chief Michael Shelton credited spotter Terry Cook for coaching Townley through the deciding laps.

"I would have run out of gas if it hadn't been for Terry," Townley said. "I took care of this thing tonight and it took care of me. This is amazing, awesome."

The Georgia driver won in his 89th career start.

"It's been a lot of time coming," Shelton said. "He's had a tough career at times."

Timothy Peters was second, followed by Red Horse Racing teammate Ben Kennedy, John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Reddick, Matt Crafton and points leader Erik Jones -- the last driver to finish on the lead lap. Jones has a four-point lead over two-time defending series champion Crafton with five races left.

Townley took the lead when Crafton pitted for fuel with five laps left and finished 3.827 seconds ahead of Peters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.