Race Highlights:
Mike Bliss qualified 17th for the Boyd Gaming 300, followed by Blake Koch in 19th, Cale Conley in 28th and David Starr in 31st.
After an action filled race which included six cautions for 34 laps and 13 lead changes among seven leaders.
David Starr finished the 300-mile race 17th, followed by Cale Conley in 25th, Blake Koch in 35th and Mike Bliss in 39th.
David Starr Finishes 17th in the Boyd Gaming 300
David Starr qualified 31st for Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. When an early caution waved, the No. 44 Zachry team chose to stay out and maintain their track position. While running in the 17th position, Starr came to pit road under the second caution for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Starr was scored in the 24th position on lap 106 and continued to work his way up through the field. On lap 168, Starr had contact with another car on track and received minor damage. The No. 44 Zachry Camry finished the 300-mile race in the 17th position.
Start- 31st Finish- 17th Laps Led- 0 Points- 27 points
Driver QUOTE: “I did the best I could with the car we had. My guys worked really hard, but the loose handling got the best of us. We had a great finish in the Zachry Camry considering the handling of the car. I’m proud of our efforts and look forward to next weekend’s race in Phoenix.”
Cale Conley finishes 25th in the Boyd Gaming 300
The Boyd Gaming 300 weekend began on a high note for Cale Conley and the No. 14 TriStar Motorsports team. They joined forces with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) to help spread their message by running the IAVA logo on the hood and lower quarter panels of the Toyota Camry. Unfortunately, it was difficult for Conley to find speed throughout the 200 laps of the race. The team used the multiple cautions to adjust on Conley’s car and he ended the afternoon in the 25th position.
Start- 28th Finish- 25th Laps Led -0 Points- 19 points
Driver QUOTE: “It’s frustrating not getting the finishes that I know this team is capable of. We went a couple laps down and then narrowly missed getting the Lucky Dog a number of times. This kept us from being able to compete with the leaders. But we’ll build upon this at Phoenix.”
Blake Koch Finishes 35th in the Boyd Gaming 300
After finishing final practice inside the top-10, Blake Koch and the No. 8 LeafFilter Racing Camry were ready for the Boyd Gaming 300. Early into the race, Koch was quiet on the radio and the team chose to stay out under the first caution. Before the second caution flag waved, Koch radioed in and reported that his Camry was tight into turn 1. On the first pit stop of the day, Koch came to pit road for four tires, fuel and minor adjustments. Right after the second restart, Koch hit the outside wall hard and wasn’t able to return the car to the garage. Koch was checked and released from the infield care center and was scored with a 35th place finish.
Start- 19th Finish- 35th Laps Led- 0 Points- 9 points
Driver QUOTE: “This car was one of the best cars we have had. We had a solid LeafFilter Camry in first and final practice yesterday and I knew we had a fast car for the race. I am really bummed for my guys because they worked really hard on this car. On to Phoenix.”
Mike Bliss Finishes 39th in the Boyd Gaming 300
For the second consecutive week Holiday Inn Club Vacations dawned the hood of Mike Bliss’ No. 19 Toyota Camry. With a promising qualifying effort, Bliss started the Boyd Gaming 300 from the 17th position. Hoping to capitalize on his 14th place finish in last year’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Holiday Inn Club Vacations team knew they had what it takes to have a successful 300-mile event. Slipping two spots to 19th Bliss radioed to Crew Chief, Paul Clapprood, that the Camry was a little loose by lap four. Suggesting to his crew, Bliss said the car needed to be tighter center off. With one last comment Bliss said the Camry was “tight, tight, tight” and before completing lap 14 Bliss got extremely loose going in to turn two, which resulted in the No. 19 Holiday Inn Club Vacations Camry making contact with the outside wall. Bliss was checked and released from the infield care center and finished 39th.
Start – 17th Finish- 39th Laps Led- 0 Points- 5 points
Driver QUOTE: “It was a very discouraging event for us. My guys worked really hard preparing a great car. I can’t thank Holiday Inn Club Vacations enough for coming on board this weekend. We will pick ourselves up and move on to Phoenix, one of my favorite tracks.”
TMI PR
