RCR NXS Race Recap: Sonoma Raceway - Speedway Digest

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Show Speed En Route to 12th-Place Result at Sonoma Raceway

12th

6th

5th

“My team brought a fast Whelen Chevrolet to Sonoma Raceway this weekend. During the early stages of the race, we earned stage points and ran inside the top-three. Danny Stockman (crew chief) had a perfect strategy in place to short pit before the stage end, which would put us in a position for a chance at a top-five or the win. When I came to pit road during Stage 2, I almost overshot our pit stall, which was a mistake on my end. I came in at an angle and had to back up when the guys finished the stop, costing us positions on pit road. Our Camaro was good enough to get back to the front, but then I got nose damage on the large pile-up in Turn 2. We pitted for fresh tires and to fix the front end, forcing us to restart in the back again. We got back into the top-10 when I got loose and spun in Turn 10. We kept battling and came home with a 12th-place finish. I hate it for my No. 2 team because I feel like we had a shot at the win. We will rebound at Iowa Speedway next week.”

-Jesse Love

Solid Top-Five Finish for Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team at Sonoma Raceway

5th

3rd

2nd

“It was fast, high-paced racing today at Sonoma Raceway. Overall, it was good to lead laps and have a shot at the win in our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet. The new asphalt made it tough to pass, and I thought it was hard to stay close to the car in front of you without getting aero tight or loose behind. In Stage 2 when I was running eighth, I was going just as fast as the top-three but not necessarily going forward. As soon as we flipped the stage and got to the lead, you were able to see how much track position meant. I had a blast racing with the No. 97 before the caution. I was holding him off really well and doing everything possible to keep him behind me. I started to fade with losing rear lateral in the fast sections and front grip in the slow sections, but all in all, I thought we were going to race it out while battling for the win. On the restart, I’m not sure what happened. We will call it good hard racing I guess and move on to the next race. Our No. 21 team was able to still bring home a top-five finish and have a good points day.”

-Austin Hill

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