The NASCAR Xfinity Series wrapped up their final west coast race of the 2018 season this weekend at ISM Raceway. With one last shot to make it to the finale in Homestead, the pressure was at an all time high out in the desert.
Boyd had an excellent start to his weekend Friday in practice. His team made small tweaks to the Grunt Style Chevy throughout both practice sessions and Boyd improved each run. Boyd ended final practice P24 on the board and the team was confident going into race day.
Boyd would roll off from the 32nd position for the Whelen Built to Perform 200. For the third week in a row the Xfinity Series were unable to complete the first lap after the 66 of Akinori Ogata went around. The remainder of the first stage went caution free. Justin Allgaier flexed his muscles early by picking up the stage one victory and Boyd up two positions from the start. Boyd radioed that his Grunt Style Chevy was extremely loose on entry into turn one. Jason Miller brought Boyd down for service on lap 47. Miller called for four tires, fuel, and adjustments to help Boyd’s entry.
During the course of the second stage Boyd continually improved his lap times as he battled for position. The entirety of stage two went caution free. Once again the 7 of Justin Allgaier claimed the stage win. Boyd reported that the previous adjustment helped, but now he was too tight in the center and exit of the corner. Miller made the appropriate adjustments and sent Boyd back out for the final stage. Unfortunately, an uncontrolled tire forced Boyd to restart stage three at the rear of the field.
The final stage began and Boyd wasted no time making his way back through traffic. Spotter Chris Monez reported to Boyd he was running his fastest laps of the race. On lap 136 caution would fly for the 13 of Tyler Hill after he spun on the backstretch. Miller called for Boyd to stay on track and take the wave around to gain a lap back. Caution came out again after the leaders made contact, ultimately causing the most damage to the Justin Allgaier machine. Boyd worked his way up to the 28th position and continued to turn faster lap times throughout the run. The final caution of the day came on lap 155 after the 8 of Tommy Joe Martins blew an engine. When it was all said and done the 20 of Christopher Bell captured the win and punched his ticket to Homestead. Boyd and his Grunt Style team made gains all throughout the day and finished in the 28th position.
After the race Boyd reflected, “ The view pulling up to ISM Raceway is absolutely incredible. The speed we had throughout the weekend was solid. We made gains and raced hard. My Grunt Style Gladiators did an awesome job as well.”
After a solid effort, Boyd finishes in the 28th position at ISM Raceway and sits 26th in driver standings. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Homestead Miami for the final race of the 2018 campaign. Race coverage of the EcoBoost 300 will begin 3:30 PM ET Saturday November 17th on NBCSN.
Spencer Boyd PR
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