Benny Gordon Finishes 13th at Talladega

Benny Gordon, driver of the #17 VSI – SRWR Toyota Camry, earned a 13th place finish this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with new race team, Performance Energy Group. The Winn Dixie 300 marked the first time Gordon has started in the NASCAR XFINITY Series during the 2015 season.
 
Performance Energy Group and Benny Gordon focused on single car runs during the practice session on Friday, landing the #17 in the 30th position, with a lap time of 53.509. After Saturday’s qualifying session, Gordon qualified the #17 VSI – SRWR Toyota in the 25th position.
 
During lap 21 of the Winn Dixie 300, Crew Chief Howard Bixman called Gordon into the pits under green flag conditions for left rear tire vibration. The team took four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel, and sent Gordon back out two laps down.
 
During a caution on lap 43, Gordon came in for two right side tires and fuel. Gordon received the wave around, which allowed him back on the lead lap. Bixman decided to pit again on lap 76 for fuel only and to repair nose damage. The crew sent the #17 VSI – SRWR Toyota back out to restart in the 12th position.
 
Gordon ran in the 8th position during the last lap, but got shuffled out of the draft, resulting in a strong 13th place finish for Performance Energy Group’s first race efforts with Benny Gordon.
 
“We had a real fast car today,” says Benny Gordon. “I can’t thank Howard [Bixman] and the entire crew enough for building a great car and a race team in less than a week. The entire group worked around the clock for four days with little to no sleep. I’m looking forward to our limited schedule for the balance of 2015, and competing for a Championship with Performance Energy Group in 2016. I’m very grateful for this opportunity and thankful for our Marketing Partner’s support.”
 
Bixman stated, “I’m impressed with Benny and this entire team. We built this car in less than a week and came back with a top-15 finish. For such a small team under a short time constraint, we proved a lot this weekend. I know given more time to prepare for the upcoming races, we’ll have more strong finishes to come.”

VSI Racing PR