Gdovic Finishes 21st in Phoenix International Raceway Debut

Reigning Lamborghini Gallardo World Champion Brandon Gdovic returned to the seat of the No. 46 TCC Culture of Good Chevrolet Camaro this Saturday night for the Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. With an unusually large NASCAR XFINITY Series field attempting to make the 200-lap event, Gdovic not only found the speed to qualify into the event, he went on to finish in the 21st position.

 

Gdovic spent NASCAR XFINITY Series’ practice day learning the unique one-mile track in his first weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Assuming the Camping World Truck Series race and Sprint Cup Series practice would lay down rubber on the track making it tighter, they built in adjustments to the TCC Culture of Good Camaro to compensate for qualifying. The track, surprisingly, behaved differently than the Precision Performance Motorsports (PPM) team assumed, creating handing issues for Gdovic and forcing him to qualify his Camaro in the 30th position. Gdovic, however, took this starting position as a challenge to overcome.

 

Once the green flag flew for the Ticket Galaxy 200, Gdovic wasted no time advancing position, passing four competitors in just his first lap. Race adjustments were spot on and Gdovic radioed affirmations to crew chief Mark Setzer and the entire PPM crew. At midrace, Setzer played pit strategy to the team’s benefit, opting to keep Gdovic on track under a caution. Gdovic took the wave around, gaining a lap back and putting him in the Lucky Dog position. A caution on Lap 148 put him back on the lead lap, allowing him to battle with the lead pack as the laps wound down in the Ticket Galaxy 200. Brandon continued to advance a few more spots in the closing laps and took the checkered flag in the 21st position.

 

“I am pretty happy with our results in my debut XFINITY Series race at Phoenix. It is now one of my favorite short tracks. We had a good TCC Culture of Good Camaro all night and just needed a caution at the end of the race to pick up a few more spots. Overall, I am pleased with the results and am happy to have acquired some valuable experience at Phoenix.”