Race Highlights:
Cale Conley qualified 20th for the Food City 300, followed by Blake Koch in 29th, David Starr in 32nd and Eric McClure in 34th.
The 300-lap race included eight cautions for 52 laps and 10 lead changes among four drivers.
Cale Conley finished the 300-lap race 18th, followed by David Starr in 20th, Blake Koch in 21st and Eric McClure in 33rd.
Cale Conley Finishes 18th in the Food City 300
Cale Conley and the No. 14 IAVA team headed back to Bristol Motor Speedway with hopes of improving on their last finish earlier this season. Conley started the 300-lap event from the 20th position. He fell a lap to the leaders early, but was able to race into the Lucky Dog position and get back on the lead lap. With 107 laps to go, Conley spun out in Turn 4 but kept his Toyota Camry from making contact with the wall. He pit for four tires and fuel and restarted in the 21st position. A quick caution followed and Conley received the Lucky Dog again, putting him back on the lead lap. He continued to advance position in the final laps and finished the Food City 300 in the 18th position.
Start- 20th Finish- 18th Laps Led- 0 Points- 26 points
Driver QUOTE: “We were in the positions we needed to be in all night and caught a number of lucky breaks to keep us in contention. The spin out caused us to restart at the tail end of the longest line and we just couldn’t close the gap. I think there were a few extra positions we could have gotten, but regardless 18th is a good finish for us.”
David Starr Finishes 20th in the Food City 300
Returning to “Thunder Valley” this weekend, NASCAR XFINITY Series driver David Starr qualified 32nd in the No. 44 Zachry Camry at Bristol Motor Speedway. Starr quickly advanced to 24th by lap ten and held that position until a caution on lap 52. Although Starr reported the Zachry Camry needed more forward bite and was loose, Crew Chief Greg Conner made the call to keep the No. 44 out on track to take the wave around and gain track position. Starr continued to run consistently in the 23rd position until lap 129 when a caution allowed the opportunity for a much needed pit stop. The Zachry Camry pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment returning to the field, once again in the 23rd position. As the Food City 300 progressed, Starr continued to battle the high banking maintaining 23rd until lap 228 where he gained one position to 22nd. Pitting under caution on lap 254 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment, Starr exited the pits scoring the Zachry Camry in the 22nd position. Through a series of cautions and another pit stop for adjustments, Starr advanced to 20th where he ended the night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Start- 32nd Finish- 20th Laps Led -0 Points- 24 points
Blake Koch Finishes 21st in the Food City 300
Blake Koch and the No. 8 Ingersoll Rand Camry qualified 29th for the Food City 300 on Friday afternoon. When the green flag dropped, Koch advanced two positions to 27th by lap 20. On lap 25, Koch came on the radio and reported that his Camry was loose. The first caution flag was waved at lap 51 and the No. 8 Ingersoll Rand team chose to take the wave around and get their lap back. On lap 100, Koch was running in the 24th position. Koch brought the No. 8 Camry to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments when the caution came out on lap 128. By lap 243, Koch had worked his way up to the 23rd position, but reported that his Camry was still “a little tight.” The team came to pit for the final time of the night and the No. 8 crew put on four fresh tires, fuel and made more adjustments. Blake Koch brought the No. 8 Ingersoll Rand Camry home in the 21st position.
Start- 29th Finish- 21s Laps Led- 0 Points- 23 points
Driver QUOTE: “My car was good at times, but Bristol is a hard place to pass. I felt like we could have had a top-20 finish, but avoiding a late race wreck cost me some track position and I couldn’t get it back on the last part of the race.”
Eric McClure Finishes 33rd in the Food City 300
Eric McClure started the 34th Annual Food City 300 from the 34th position. Gaining three positions by lap 20, McClure radioed that the Reynolds Wrap® Camry was “tight in and snappy loose off”. As the first caution fell on lap 52, McClure and team decided to take the wave around to gain back a lap. The second caution, of the events eight cautions, fell on lap 129. This gave the Reynolds Wrap® team a chance to make changes to a car that was lacking security. Four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment and Reynolds Wrap® Camry was back out. Another caution fell shortly after the restart and McClure said his Camry was “bouncing in the front and shifting sideways. On the caution lap the No. 62 of Brendan Gaughan radioed to his spotter to tell the 24 that he saw broken shock on their Camry. Brining the Reynolds Wrap behind the wall, the crew found and broken rear shock mount. McClure was back on track by lap 168 and was marked in the 33rd position. As the field fell under caution again on lap 250, the shock situation reared its head again. The crew again took the Reynolds Wrap® Camry behind the wall to inspect the situation. Back out on track shortly after, McClure was now marked in the 34th position. Knowing they didn’t have much more to gain, McClure and the Reynolds Wrap® Camry finished 33rd in Thunder Valley.
Start -34th Finish- 33rd Laps Led- 0 Points- 11 points
Driver QUOTE: “I hate that we experienced more mechanical issues this weekend. My guys worked hard to fix the problems we had to get me back on track quickly. Although I like racing at my home track, I am really looking forward to one of my favorite places on the schedule next weekend at Road America.”
TMI PR
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