DGR Crosley NGROTS Advance: Pocono Raceway

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In: NASCAR Truck Series News
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
 
Tanner Gray has a busy weekend ahead of him at Pocono Raceway competing in not only the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) on Saturday, but also the ARCA Menards Series race on Friday. Gray has never raced at Pocono before, so the extra seat time in the ARCA race Friday will help him gain valuable experience before Saturday’s truck race.
 
Without having any practice, or qualifying prior to the truck race, the track time he gets on Friday in the ARCA Series will be very important to the 21-year-old rookie. It is a tough time to be a rookie driver in the NGROTS without getting any time in his No. 15 Ford Performance F-150 before each race. In his five starts this season, he has one top-10 finish and that came at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in February when he had over an hour of practice and qualifying before the race.
 
Hopefully this weekend having 80 laps to learn the track during the ARCA race on Friday will prove to be beneficial in the truck race on Saturday.
 
The Pocono Organics 150 from Pocono Raceway will be run on Saturday, June 27. The race will go green at 12:30 p.m., ET, with a live broadcast on FS1. The 60-lap race will be broken into three segments with stage-ending cautions on laps 15 and 30.
 
Gray on Pocono: “I have been frustrated with our results the last few truck races. I know finishing 11th and 12th isn’t that bad, but it’s frustrating when I know I can do better. Not being able to practice has definitely hindered our performance. That’s a big part of why I’m running the ARCA race on Friday. I’ve never raced at Pocono before, so any amount of experience I can get there will be a bonus and help us on Saturday. It looks like a really fun track and I’ve watched a lot of film of last year’s race. It goes so fast, so you have to be good from the start. There isn’t a lot of time to feel it out and think about adjustments. Without being able to qualify, if you start mid-pack you have to get up front as soon as you can and be able to stay there since 60 laps goes by fast.”
 
 
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Crosley Brands Ford F-150
 
Todd Gilliland has been having a pretty good season since racing resumed in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in May. Although an accident took him out of contention at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway late in the race while running in the top five, he earned his best finish of the season (fourth) at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and finished sixth two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. With one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his last two NGROTS starts, he has moved up to fifth in the driver point standings.
 
This will be Gilliland’s third start at Pocono Raceway. He has finished seventh in both of his previous races at the “Tricky Triangle” and hopes to improve on that Saturday. His Front Row Motorsports team is taking the same Ford F-150 he raced at Atlanta earlier this month when he finished fourth. It is one of the team’s favorite F-150’s in the fleet. Crosley Brands, based in Louisville, Ky., will be on board for this weekend’s race with Gilliland.
 
The No. 38 Crosley Brands Ford F-150 will compete in the 60-lap Pocono Organics 150 on Saturday, June 27, at 12:30 p.m., ET. A live broadcast of the race will be shown on FS1. Stage breaks will be on laps 15 and 30.
 
Quick Facts:
Number of Starts at Pocono: 2
Best Start: 2nd
Best Finish: 7th
2020 Driver Point Standings: 5th
 
Gilliland on Pocono: “Racing at Pocono is pretty fun. It’s a short race, so it’s a huge help to be good right away. With the first stage break coming at lap 15, you can make adjustments pretty soon after the race starts if you need to get better. I’m proud of how this Front Row Motorsports team has performed since we started racing again. We’ve had some really solid finishes the last few races which has helped us a ton in the points. Chris (Lawson, crew chief) and I work really well together and since I worked a lot with him in the past we didn’t have to learn how to communicate with each other. I’m looking forward to the race this weekend and hope we can keep clicking off good finishes. It will be cool to have Crosley Brands on our truck. Maybe if I win they will give me my own jukebox for my house.”
 
DGR Crosley PR
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