Justin Lofton and the No. 6 Lofton Cattle/J6Ink team demonstrated speed throughout the day at Chicagoland Speedway. However, as the temperatures dropped and the Westmorland, Calif., native took the green flag he was faced with a tight-handling Chevrolet Silverado that resulted in a 15th-place finish under the lights of the Joliet, Ill. facility. Lofton turned the fourth-quickest lap during qualifying at the 1.5-mile racetrack. Initially climbing to the second position in the opening laps of the race, Lofton fell to the eighth position as the truck’s handling became tight on the exit of the corners. Crew chief Bryan Berry called his driver to pit road during the first caution period on lap 14 for four tires and adjustments. With many teams opting to take only fuel, the No. 6 Chevrolet was placed in the 19th position for the restart. The Berry-led team executed solid pit stops with a series of chassis and air-pressure adjustments on laps 49, 69 and 103, but the tight-handling condition persisted. Lofton was able to climb back into the top 10 by lap 108, but the ensuing green-flag run lasted the remainder of the 150-lap event. Still wrestling with the tight condition, Lofton fell in the running order and was relegated to a 15th-place finish.
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