Worrell Wins Phoenix Thriller as Late Two-Tire Gamble Pays Off

Avondale, AZ — Round 9 of the RLR Checkered Flag Auto Supply Scrambler Series Season 22 rolled into Phoenix Raceway for the penultimate race of the regular season, with the NASCAR trucks taking center stage on the unique one-mile oval. The open dogleg on the front stretch created multiple opportunities for drivers to attack, defend and search for clean air, while the abrasive Arizona surface promised a long evening of tire management. Championship leader Maxime Theriault started from the pole alongside Zach Mitchell, with the pressure mounting as the regular season neared its conclusion.

Theriault immediately established control when the green flag dropped, but the first caution arrived on Lap 5 after the No. 59 truck spun coming off Turn 2. Once the field returned to green, Theriault quickly opened a gap of roughly eight-tenths of a second while James Skelton and the rest of the lead pack battled behind him. The long green-flag run that followed placed tire management at the center of the race as the Phoenix surface steadily chewed through rubber. With a two-stop strategy expected to be the quickest way to the finish, the leaders eventually gathered for a “pit party” around Lap 30, with Theriault, Mitchell and Connor Blasco among those making their stops.

As the race passed halfway, Theriault continued to dictate the pace, but Skelton remained within striking distance, occasionally closing to less than two-tenths of a second. The trucks’ lower horsepower and relatively light rear ends made passing difficult, forcing drivers to protect their momentum through the corners and carefully choose when to attack. Chris Worrell, piloting the No. 06 truck, became one of the most entertaining figures in the field as he repeatedly pushed the limits of grip while working his way through traffic.

The strategy picture changed dramatically when Randy Schuler brought out a late caution in the No. 00 truck during a critical pit cycle. The yellow flag erased much of the advantage built by the leaders and set up another restart with 22 laps remaining. Theriault led Zach Mitchell and Trent Potter back to green, but the compressed field quickly became volatile. A multi-car incident involving Sean Single, Chris Hammett and Tim Combs produced another caution and eventually pushed the race toward a green-white-checkered finish.

During the final round of pit stops, Worrell made the gamble that ultimately decided the race. Instead of taking four fresh tires, he elected to take only two, sacrificing fresh rubber on one side of the truck in exchange for track position. The gamble placed him at the front for the final restart, and Worrell executed the launch perfectly. Despite running on used left-side tires, he maintained control as the field charged toward the final lap.

Maxime Theriault wasn’t ready to surrender the victory. On the final lap, the points leader made a desperate attempt to reclaim the lead with a send into Turn 3, but he carried slightly too much speed into the corner and couldn’t complete the move. Worrell held the line and powered toward the checkered flag, securing his second victory of the season by approximately four-tenths of a second over Theriault. Trent Potter completed the podium, while the late-race strategy gamble transformed Worrell from a contender into the winner.

Worrell credited the unlikely path to victory to his earlier pit stop, which had originally been motivated by a flickering computer mouse rather than some grandmaster racing calculation. That unexpected detour ultimately put him in position to make the decisive two-tire gamble when the race mattered most. With Phoenix in the books, the Scrambler Series now heads to Irwindale for the regular-season finale, where the final playoff positions will be decided in the ARCA cars.