After their best finish to date, Dakoda Armstrong and the No. 43 WinField Ford team looked to build a streak of Top-10s. Battling handling issues throughout the night, the team fought back and made a charge at the end of the race, picking up several positions in the final 10 laps. Armstrong finished in the 17th position and maintains the 12th spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship run.
Armstrong started the race from the 20th position. It didn’t take long for the green race track to claim its first victim. The caution flag flew on Lap 2 for a spin in the front stretch. The race restarted on Lap 8 with Armstrong still in 20th place. Early in the race, the car was tight throughout the corner. Armstrong fought hard to maintain a solid pace, dropping to 22nd position by Lap 20. The caution flag flew on Lap 25 for the competition caution. Crew Chief Frankie Kerr called for two tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. The quick stop yielded great track position, with Armstrong picking up 12 spots on pit road. The race restarted on Lap 30 with Armstrong in the 10th position.
Armstrong reported the car was still “too tight”. Armstrong dropped to the 17nd position over the 43-lap, green-flag stretch. The caution came out on Lap 73 for a spin in Turn Four. Kerr called Armstrong to pit road for a large set of adjustments. The Winfield crew made an air pressure adjustment, changed four tires, added fuel and made a wedge adjustment. The race restarted on Lap 77 with Armstrong in the 15th position.
The caution flag quickly flew again on Lap 81 for an accident in Turn 4. Armstrong stayed out during the caution. The race restarted on Lap 84. Armstrong reported the car was very loose, and the adjustments made the car lose all its side bite. Kerr reminded him to hang on to it and that the car was set up for long runs. By Lap 112, Armstrong lost a lap and dropped to 19th position.
Green flag stops began on Lap 128. As the field cycled through their stops, Armstrong climbed to 11th position, one lap down. Armstrong came to pit road under green on Lap 138. Kerr decided to switch to fuel strategy. The WinField crew changed all four tires, made a track bar adjustment and fully filled the fuel tank. The stop took longer than normal to ensure the tank was full. The tradeoff was Armstrong would be able to make it to the end of the race without pitting again.
After all green flag stops had cycled through, Armstrong was racing in 19th position, two laps down. Armstrong maintained the 19th position until the next caution flag. The yellow flag flew for the final time on Lap 164. Kerr decided against pitting and instructed to maintain track position and take advantage of the wave around. The race restarted on Lap 169 with Armstrong in 19th position, one lap down.
Armstrong spun the tires on the restart and quickly lost ground to his competition. As the laps counted down, Armstrong reported the handling improved. On Lap 190, Armstrong advanced to 18th and reported that this is the best the car had been all night. The No. 43 WinField Ford outpaced the next three cars on the track by two tenths a lap. With three laps to go, Armstrong moved into 17th place and began chasing down 16th position. The checkered flag flew as Armstrong came within striking distance of the next car for position. Armstrong finished in 17h position and gained nine points on 11th place in the points standing.
“This was a tough weekend, and the rain made it difficult for us all.” said Armstrong. “The track time you get during practice and qualifying is valuable. We were a practice session away from having a contender. We fought some handling issues throughout the night. Right at the end of the race, we finally found the speed and grip we were looking for. The race didn’t have many cautions. Our Ford Mustang was much better on the long run, but we didn’t have many opportunities to adjust on it like we would have liked. We took advantage of every pit stop, made good adjustments and have notes to bring here in the fall. We made up some ground on our points gap, and we’re just handful away from 11th place in the points standings. Overall, it was a good night.”
RPM PR
