Fourth Place by Cindric Highlights Team BKR’s Night at Kentucky

Austin Cindric Breakdown

Austin Cindric scored a fourth-place finish in the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 Thursday night at Kentucky Speedway, his best effort and fourth top 10 of the season.
 
Rain showers washed out qualifying and delayed the start of the 150-lap race for three hours. Cindric started 13th and had worked his way up to ninth at the time of the first caution on lap 22. He pitted one lap later for four tires and an air-pressure adjustment and restarted 17th when the race went green on lap 26.  Cindric had worked his way up to 13th at the end of Stage 1 on lap 37, and stayed on the track while others on the lead lap pitted during the third caution.
 
He restarted sixth when the race went green on lap 42, and was running seventh when Stage 2 ended on lap 72.  Cindric said he was happy with his LTi Printing Ford F-150 during the run. He pitted on lap 73 for right-side tires and lined up third for the restart on lap 77. As the race neared the 100-lap mark, Cindric ran solidly among the top five, highlighted by a fierce battle with Kyle Busch where they exchanged the third position.
 
Cindric was fourth when the seventh caution slowed the pace on lap 108.  He made his final pit stop on lap 109 for right-side tires and restarted fourth when the race went green on lap 114. 
 
He fell to seventh place by lap 131, but then made a late-race rally. Cindric picked off sixth on lap 136 and then passed Johnny Sauter for fifth place on lap 141. With two laps to go, Cindric muscled his way back around Kyle Busch for fourth, and then held off his rivals on the final lap to claim his top five. Cindric remains 11th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings and gained 21 points in the chase for the final playoff spot.
 
Chase Briscoe Breakdown
 
The challenges started early for Chase Briscoe in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Kentucky Speedway and continued late into the rain-delayed event. Forced to go to a backup Cooper Standard Ford F-150 following a crash at the end of final practice, Briscoe took the green flag from the back of the field in a truck that hadn’t made a single lap. Although he showed speed in clean air, Briscoe faced handling issues in traffic and received a late-race pit road penalty, resulting in a hard-fought 11th-place finish.
 
Late in the NCWTS’ final practice session, Briscoe cut a tire, which sent his truck hard into the outside wall. His BKR team rolled out their backup, but Briscoe was unable to return to the track before the end of final practice. When qualifying was rained out on race day, Briscoe lost both the opportunity to make his first laps in his backup truck and his third-place starting position.
 
Briscoe took the green flag from the tail end of the field and gained 10 positions in the opening lap. He was scored 12th at the conclusion of the first stage of the event. A pit stop following the first caution of the night on lap 22 allowed Briscoe to stay out during the stage break, and the Cooper Standard Ford started Stage 2 from the fourth spot. Briscoe was still scored fourth when the second stage ended, earning valuable bonus points.
 
Reporting that he felt comfortable with the handling of his truck, Briscoe pitted for right-side tires and restarted eighth at the beginning of the final stage. Unfortunately, his Cooper Standard Ford F-150 was too tight, and when the caution was displayed again on lap 108, he pitted for four tires and major chassis adjustments. His troubles were compounded when he received a penalty for a crew member over the wall too soon, and he was forced to start from the tail end of the field for the second time in the 150-lap event.
 
Mired in dirty air at the back of the pack, Briscoe continued to wrestle with the handling of his truck, but battled his way back to the 11th position before the checkered flag waved. The Cooper Standard team’s rebound efforts allowed him to maintain the third position in the NCWTS driver and owner point standings.  
 
BKR PR