Season-opening races in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series over the weekend at Daytona International Speedway were a case of what might have been for Watkinsville, Ga. driver John Wes Townley.
On Friday night, Townley was in position to capture his first NASCAR victory after steering his No. 05 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Silverado to sixth on the leaderboard just shy of the mid-point of the 100 lap event. But trouble developed just in front of him, triggering a multi-truck pileup that relegated the 25-year-old to a 22nd-place finish.
Less than 24 hours later, Townley flexed the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet muscle in his No. 25 Zaxby’s Camaro and was riding seventh with 31 laps remaining when two drivers directly in front of him tangled. The contact left Townley and 11 other competitors with damaged cars.
Following a series of stops for repairs, Tony was able to finish the race but was left staring at a 33rd-place finish in the inaugural race in the Xfinity Series.
“We all know with the tight racing in Daytona, trouble is looming just around the corner,” Townley said. “But you’d think that running that close to the front in both of the races, we’d be out of harm’s way. But as luck would have it, the guys running at the very front of the pack crashed in both of those races.
“That’s just hard to believe.”
Townley and the Athenian Motorsports teams will now regroup and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. for an Xfinity/Truck Series doubleheader on Saturday Feb. 28th.
Atlanta is considered Townley’s home track. He lives in Oconee County, which is about 70 miles northeast of the 1.54-mile oval.
“Atlanta is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit,” said Townley, who launched his racing career at AMS in 2000 while driving a bandolero on the quarter-mile track located on the frontstretch. “It’s tough because it hasn’t been repaved since the late 1990s.
“There’s not a lot of grip. So the cars and trucks will slide around a good bit. However, with cool temperatures in the forecast for this weekend, that should give us a little more grip. But this track is still be all about taking care of your tires.
“I know both of our Zaxby’s teams will give me a great car and truck to drive. I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
John Wes Townley PR
