Brennan Newberry and the #24 Qore-24 Hand Purifier Chevrolet Impala team left the jewel of the desert, Phoenix International Raceway, proving to everyone that they have what it takes to bring home wins in 2014. For the Bakersfield, California native the good run came close to Newberry’s west coast roots and in front of hometown friends and family, as well as the Qore-24 executives. Newberry and Crew Chief John Monsam led the 24 troops to a runner-up finish that gives them plenty of momentum going into their next event at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Talking Stick Resort 75 was a spectacular one day show, with both practice sessions, qualifying and race all being held during the heat of the day. After the first of duel 60 minute practices, Newberry and Monsam knew that they a strong Chevrolet Impala with a lot of speed. The NTS Motorsports #24 team recorded their fastest lap of 27.687 and sat fourth on the speed charts following both practice sessions.
For qualifying Newberry rolled off of Pit Road 12th of 29 cars to take time. After two green-flag circuits Newberry posted a time of 27.846, which would give the team a start on the outside of the fourth row in eighth. “Although we didn’t grab the pole in qualifying, the track changes so much as the sun goes down, in the race and I knew we would be fast toward the end”, said Newberry going into the event.
The green flag was displayed at 5:15PM and, after starting eighth, Newberry had already worked his way into sixth when the first caution was displayed on the second lap. Restarts would prove to be the No. 24 team’s strong suit throughout an event that would see several cautions and one red flag condition. “We had a car that was great on short runs so I had to make sure that I made every restart count”, said Newberry after the race.
With the Arizona sun still shining, Newberry was saving his equipment and waiting for the car to come to him as the racing surface cooled closer to sunset. Working lap 15 of 75, Newberry found himself in seventh working lap traffic while staying in contact with the leaders. Caution would be displayed for the second time on lap 28 and Newberry radioed into his team; “We started out a little bit free but the car is really coming to me now”.
With 25 laps to go, Newberry worked his way into the top five and was catching the leaders while laying down lap times that topped the charts. As the track cooled, the Qore-24 Chevrolet heated up and began picking its’ way to the front. After an extended cleanup in turn one, the red flag was displayed with fifteen laps to go. After thirteen minutes of cooling on the backstretch, Newberry would restart inside the top five with twelve laps to go.
With only three laps of scheduled competition remaining, Newberry had placed himself inside the top three when a caution would be displayed to set-up a green white checkered finish and just two laps to catch the leader. Trouble for the second place car would set Newberry on the outside of the front row for a restart in overtime.
Coming to the white flag after the restart, Newberry kept in close contact with the leader and had four corners to make the pass with one mile left to go. Newberry made his way to the bumper of the front runner but raced him clean going into the turn three. With the checkered flag coming at lap 80, Newberry finished a very strong second place. “Phoenix is my favorite track”, he said, “We’ve had a lot of speed in the cars this year and came in with a lot of confidence. At the end, though, I wanted to race the leader clean, so we are happy with second tonight.”
Brennan Newberry’s Post-Race Thoughts:
“After Phoenix we have a lot of positive momentum going into our next event at Bristol. I knew our car was going to be fast in Arizona and I have to thank John Monsam and my entire NTS Motorsports crew for the Chevrolet Impala they gave me to race. Coming close to the end of the race, having a shot at the win against Cole Custer was amazing. Putting on a great show in front of my family and Arizona based sponsor, Qore-24 Hand Purifier, makes the trip back to the east coast even sweeter.”
John Monsam’s Post-Race Thoughts:
“It was a great trip for the Qore-24 NTS Motorsports team. I am so pleased with the progress that Brennan, the team, and I are making with our communication. We have taken a big step in our progression this week and our goal is to always be a top five team. With that comes the opportunity to win race and with wins comes championships. I have thank Bob Newberry, Dwayne Gaulding, Doug Howe, and everyone at NTS Motorsports. I look forward to being a part of Brennan’s first win.”
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