Max Gresham Earns Hard-Fought 22nd-Place Finish at Martinsville

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GMS Racing’s Max Gresham and the No. 23 AmWINS Group Inc. Chevrolet Silverado team exited Saturday afternoon’s action-packed short track race at Martinsville Speedway with a top-22 finish. Gresham started the Kroger 200 from the 17th position and quickly noted to crew chief Ryan “Pickle” London that the No. 23 AmWINS Group Inc. Chevrolet had a tight-handling condition. One of the six Georgia drivers entered in the Virginia event, Gresham moved into the 16th spot before a caution flag slowed the field for the first time on Lap 4. Gresham methodically picked off competitors around the 0.526-mile track and took advantage of the early caution periods to maximize track position. By Lap 60, Gresham moved into the top 10 as the AmWINS Group Inc. team decided not to pit during the fourth caution period. Just past the halfway point of the 200-lap marathon and under caution, London called Gresham to pit road on Lap 104 for four tires, and fuel. A caution flag on Lap 109 awarded the “Lucky Dog” award to the GMS Racing driver, allowing him to rejoin the lead lap. Under caution on Lap 110 Gresham was scored in 24th place.  Once back on the led lap, the Milner, Ga., native steered clear of many accidents and eventually worked his way into the top 11 by Lap 140, and by Lap 160 the 21-year-old driver improved to seventh. From there, Gresham would remain in the top-10 for much of the remaining laps. Gresham maintained the ninth position before a caution on Lap 189 set up the race for a final six-lap dash for the checkered flag, but on Lap 198 Gresham was spun out by another competitor and was forced to settle for a disappointing 22nd-place.

 

Start – 17         Finish – 22         Laps Led – 0

 

Max Gresham Quote:

“Our No. 23 AmWINS Group Inc. Chevrolet Silverado team ran 195 strong laps, but the last five did not show what our GMS Racing team was capable of. We had a very strong Chevrolet Silverado all day. However, I was a little tight most of the day and I couldn’t stop sliding the left-front tire. We were able to move into the top 10 within the first 60 laps. Due to issues with the left-front tire, we ended up a lap down and fought back to a race-high of seventh-place. I ended up being ‘dumped’ by another competitor and that just finished our day.”

 

GMS PR

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