Early Brake Issues Derail Race for Ty Dillon at Kentucky

Coming off a strong performance and chance at victory one week ago at Daytona International Speedway, Ty Dillon and the GEICO Racing team were confident heading into Saturday night’s showdown under the lights at Kentucky Speedway. Unfortunately, brake issues on lap eight derailed the rookie’s performance and left the Germain Racing crew with a 33rd-place finish.

 

Rolling from the 27th starting position, Dillon began the 400-mile event with patience. However, on lap eight, the 25-year-old radioed to the No. 13 team that he had no brakes and smelled fluid in the cockpit. After nine circuits of riding the situation out on-track, Dillon brought his GEICO Chevrolet to pit road for repairs on lap 17, as the brakes were officially gone. The team was forced to go behind the wall to inspect the issue further. They found the cause, replaced the part and allowed Dillon to return to the track on lap 33, 18-laps down to the field.

 

Despite being out of contention, Dillon and the GEICO Racing team took advantage of the opportunity to test strategies and set-ups in order to prepare for future mile-and-a-half events. The team completed the remaining laps and took the checkered flag in the 33rd position.

 

“After the brake trouble we had early tonight, this GEICO Chevrolet SS team ended up really on a different mission tonight,” Dillon said. “We made the most of our laps and gained some information for our mile and a half program. If we could come back and run this race again tomorrow, there would be a much better outcome for this team.”

 

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will now head north to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Dillon and his No. 13 GEICO Racing team will hit the track on Friday, July 14for opening practice at 11:30 am ET, with qualifying following at 4:45 pm ET.

 

The green flag will fly for the Overton’s 301 on Sunday, July 16 at 3:00 pm ET. NBC Sports Network will carry the live television broadcast, with the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 carrying the live radio broadcast.

 

PMI PR