Gresham Finishes 24th at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Despite Setbacks

Sharp-Gallaher Racing driver Max Gresham finished 24th in Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park after drive shaft problems relegated the Milner, Ga., native to the garage area for repairs.

 

Finishing 24th in the first road-course event since 2000 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) left Gresham frustrated. However, he admitted that he had fun and the effort highlighted the work by his Made in USA Brand (MIUSA) crew.

 

“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. We tore the back end of our Chevrolet up in the first practice session on Saturday, and everyone on this Sharp-Gallaher Racing team worked hard to rebuild it,” Gresham said. “It was ready to go when we qualified and started the race.”

 

After starting in the 23rd-postion, Gresham’s truck had drive shaft trouble in Turn 3 and was able to make it to Turn 5c before needing a push back to the garage. The broken drive shaft on the seventh lap forced him to the garage to undergo serious repairs.

 

The 20-year-old Gresham was 17 laps down when he finally returned to the race. He was scored as 28th in the field when he returned to action. Enduring chassis adjustments on two pit stops, Gresham finished 24th and completed 47 of the 64 laps – a significant statistic showing that he never lost another lap after returning to the race.

 

“Most of the time you don’t think there are moral victories in racing,” Gresham said. “This is different. Our race team fought for every position. They refused to give up. It’s something I won’t ever forget. As a driver, it’s a privilege to work with people who are so committed.”

 

This season in the truck series has been especially unique; it not only returned to dirt racing this year, where Gresham enjoyed a top-10 finish, but also made its way back to a road course for the first time in 13 years. The series will return to ovals in the final eight races of this season.

 

“We enjoyed the challenges of racing on dirt and on a road course,” crew chief Chris Showalter said. “The race in Canada really tested everyone on the team. I was proud of the way everyone stepped up. Quitting was never an option.”

SGR PR