NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway was welcomed by many drivers and fans alike, including ThorSport Racing’s Dakoda Armstrong. With two previous races at “The Rock” to his record in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, Armstrong carried confidence into Sunday’s Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 presented by Cheerwine. Not able to rejoin the lead lap after early handling issues in Sunday’s race, Armstrong took the checkered flag with the No. 98 EverFi Toyota Tundra in 14th place.
Crew chief Dan Stillman called for changes following Friday’s practice sessions that helped the EverFi Tundra take off in the final practice session on Saturday. Armstrong wheeled to the top spot on the speed charts during that session and laid down a similar lap in qualifying, placing him 11th for the start of Sunday afternoon’s race.
Armstrong was quiet on the radio after the drop of the green until lap 16 when he reported that his Tundra had picked up a significant push on entry and was snapping loose off the corners.The handling issues were a handful for the driver as he slid back to one lap down in 19th place before the first pit stop under caution on lap 63.
Heading back into competition after significant changes, Armstrong soon radioed that his EverFi machine was handling much better and began to click off consistent lap times. He quickly moved up to the 14th spot and began to chase down the rest of the competitors in front of him. On lap 163, Armstrong came over the radio and said his engine was overheating badly and feared it would fail completely. Stillman instructed his driver to take it easy so they could make it to the checkered flag and turn on all of the cooling fans his Tundra had.
The final caution of the afternoon came on lap 175, giving the ThorSport Racing pit crew a chance to pull tape off the grill and cool the engine down. Soon after restarting with the rest of the field, Armstrong mentioned the engine had returned to normal temperatures and continued his fight to get back on the lead lap. Though Armstrong was able to maintain pace with the leaders, the caution period he needed to get back on the lead lap didn’t happen in the final 20 laps.
“The guys did a great job making adjustments throughout the day to make the EverFi Tundra much better. We just lost too much time on the first run when we were really loose and then the engine was overheating for the last 30 laps. Once we made the changes we needed and got the engine temperatures back to where they needed to be, we were in good shape to get back on the lead lap. We just didn’t get that last caution that we needed. I’m happy that we were able to bring it home with no damage and it really wasn’t a bad day overall,” Armstrong concluded.
Armstrong moves up eight spots to 22nd in the point standings after the 14th place finish heading into next week’s SFP 200 at Kansas Speedway. SPEED Channel will have coverage of next weekends action, beginning with practice at 3:00 pm EST on Friday, April 20th. Qualifying will be aired at 10:30 am EST Saturday, followed by the 200 mile main event at 1:30 pm.
ThorSport PR
