Xfinity Series News

Team 08 Panini Chevrolet Camaro: 

Gray Gaulding and his No. 08 Panini Chevrolet Camaro team scored a 17th place finish for SS Green Light Racing in his first ever Homestead-Miami Speedway appearance Saturday in the Ford EcoBoost 300.

Gaulding's first laps on the 1.5-mile paved oval came early Saturday afternoon during qualifying after practice was rained out on Friday afternoon. The 21 year-old driver from Colonial Heights, VA. posted a lap of 33.597 seconds, which earned him a 26th place starting position for Saturday's 200 lap race.

The first caution of the day came early after Gaulding's teammate (Ray Black Jr) went up in a cloud of smoke, which ended his day prematurely. Gaulding was able to drive from 26th to 18th in the opening five laps of the race. On lap 14 the caution waved again after the 15 car made contact with the outside wall. Gaulding radioed to crew chief Patrick Donahue that he was fighting a tight handling condition on free roll in the center of the corner. Donahue elected to bring his driver to the pits for a quick wedge adjustment during the caution. Gaulding restarted in the 26th position and was able to drive back up to the 23rd position before the third caution of the day on lap 32. Donahue decided to leave Gaulding on track for the final laps of the first stage. Gaulding restarted in the 12th position on old tires and managed to finish the first stage in the 18th position. 

Donahue called Gaulding to the pits under the stage ending caution and serviced the No. 08 Panini Chevy by adding left front packer, four fresh tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment, and an air pressure adjustment. Gaulding would roll off from the 22nd position for the beginning of the second stage. Gaulding was able to work his way up to the 17th position during a 40 lap green flag run in the stage. On lap 89 caution waved after two cars made contact just before the conclusion of the second stage. The caution would serve as the stage ending break with Gaulding in the 17th position. 

Despite having a few radio issues, Gaulding was able to communicate to his team that the car was pretty good, he just needed to be freed up a bit more. The 08 crew serviced Gaulding with four tires, fuel, and another slight adjustment. Gaulding restarted in the 13th position before another quick caution waved after debris was spotted on the race track. The race resumed on lap 100 with Gaulding in the 14th position, but after a wild restart the 08 dropped back to the 20th position. On lap 123 the seventh and final caution of the day waved after the 98 of Chase Briscoe blew a tire. Gaulding communicated the car wasn't bad, but he needed to fire off better. After a blazing fast pit stop, Gaulding would restart in the 16th position with 73 laps remaining. Gaulding made his final stop of the day under the green flag on lap 160. After a 73 lap run to the finish, Gaulding came across the line in the 17th position. The finish put an exclamation mark on a career year for Gaulding.

In 33 races Gaulding was able to achieve: 13th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings (best non-playoff driver), 0 DNFs, second in most laps completed (99.1%), 28 top-20 finishes, 17 top-15 finishes, four top-10 finishes, and one top five finish (2nd at Talladega). 

Gray Gaulding: 
"I just want to start off by saying how thankful I am to my race team and my team owner Bobby Dotter for believing in this small group to go out and have this awesome season together. This season was a big year for me to go out and prove to myself that I do belong here and I felt that we as a race team turned a lot of heads this year. For me, that was the goal from day one. I had a blast this year and it’s bitter sweet that the season is over; however, I can’t wait for the 2020 season to get started in Daytona. Thank you to all of our partners and fans for their support. It means a lot and we definitely couldn’t make this season happen without them." 

Bobby Dotter Thoughts on the 08 Team:
“Gray and the 08 guys fought hard all day. This track is already challenging and when you mix in no practice time with no previous experience at this track, it makes for a difficult task. I thought Gray handled himself well and was able to deliver a respectable finish. 2019 has been the best year in our team's history and I'm really thankful for everyone's hard work. To finish 13th in points and be the best non playoff team says a lot about our program." 

Team 07 Isokern Fireplaces & Chimneys Chevrolet Camaro: 

Ray Black Jr.'s 2019 season came to an early end after his engine exploded on lap four of 200 in the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

Black was only able to complete 6 laps of practice on Friday before Mother Nature set in at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After final practice was officially canceled, Black's next time on the race track would be qualifying on Saturday morning. Black clicked off a 33.719 second lap, which earned him a 30th place starting position for the 200 lap race. 

The green flag waved and Black quickly began making his way forward. On lap four the No. 07 Isokern Fireplaces & Chimneys Chevrolet was engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke as the engine let go. Black dropped to the inside of the front stretch and spun around in the turn one grass before the No. 07 came to a rest. The blown engine ended Black's day relegating him to a 38th place finish. Despite a rough end to the season, this year marked Black's best career season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 28 year-old driver from Palm Coast, FL. captured 22 top-20 finishes and eight top-15 finishes in 33 races. Black finishes the year 16th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings. 

Ray Black Jr: 
“It's really disappointing to end the season like this with a blown engine; however, it doesn't take away from how proud I am of this team. We fought hard all season and I can't thank Bobby Dotter, Jason Miller and all my guys enough for giving me the opportunity to have the best season of my career. I can't wait to re-group and go at it again in 2020 with this team." 

Bobby Dotter Thoughts on the 07 Team: 
“I hate the 07 team didn't have an opportunity to show what they were capable of today. There's not much you can do when an engine lets go in that capacity. I'm really proud of what Ray and the entire 07 team were able to accomplish this season. This year has been a lot of fun with some great results. We'll see everyone in Daytona." 

Looking Ahead:
Drivers Ray Black Jr. and Gray Gaulding concluded the 2019 season for SS Green Light Racing this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gaulding was able to capture a 17th place finish on Saturday which secured the 13th position in the NASCAR Xfinity point standings. Unfortunately, Ray Black Jr's day came to an early end after his engine expired in the opening laps of the race. Despite a 38th place finish, Black was still able to capture the 16th position in the Xfinity Series point standings. It was announced Saturday ahead of the Ford EcoBoost 300 that Ray Black Jr. will return to SS Green Light Racing for the 2020 season. Further information regarding the status of Gray Gaulding and the No. 08 team will be released in the upcoming weeks. The 2020 season will kick off with coverage of the NASCAR Racing Experience 300 from the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday February 15th at 2:30 PM ET on FS1. 

SS Green Light Racing PR

From the season’s beginning on the Daytona high banks to Saturday night’s very final laps of racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway the 2019 Xfinity Series championship battle was intense; ultimately coming down to a contest of speed, skill and bravado among a familiar lineup of drivers who combined to win 22 of the season’s 33 races.

And for the second consecutive year, it was Californian Tyler Reddick who hoisted a hard-earned Homestead race trophy and celebrated his second straight Xfinity Series championship. He led a race best 84 of the 200 laps Saturday and ultimately prevailed in a good ole NASCAR “slingshot” move that decided an exciting nail-biting lap-by-lap duel in the closing minutes with title challenger Cole Custer.

Reddick took the lead for good with 19 laps remaining and the checkered flag 1.038-seconds ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Custer and rookie Chase Briscoe. The other two championship eligible drivers - eight race-winner Christopher Bell and Justin Allgaier finished fifth and 14th, respectively.

Reddick, 23, becomes only the seventh driver to win back-to-back Xfinity Series championships – a list that includes some of the sport’s greatest names such as Sam Ard, Larry Pearson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And Reddick is the first driver to earn the consecutive titles since Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2011-12.

What also distinguishes Reddick in championship lore is that he is the only driver to earn Xfinity Series titles in back-to-back seasons for two different teams. He earned this season’s championship driving the No. 2 Richard Childress Chevrolet. Last year he drove for the JR Motorsports.

The joy Reddick showed celebrating this impressive accomplishment was honest and exuberant. And it was hard-earned. This year Reddick, Bell and Custer combined for 21 wins. The veteran Allgaier won at Phoenix last week to secure his chance to chase a championship.

Last year Reddick’s championship win was considered by many to be an underdog triumph. Although he had been consistent enough to earn a shot in the Championship 4, he had only two career Xfinity wins when he arrived in South Florida last November. This year – even after switching race teams – Reddick quickly re-established himself as a championship favorite.

His winning performances didn’t take anyone by surprise.

While Bell, who drives the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, quickly showed himself to be a dominant driver again this year. Custer answered the ante all year himself winning seven times. And Reddick came into Homestead with five wins and the regular season championship – his 23 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes were most on the season.

“It was perfect, it came down to us three," Reddick said of his fellow championship contenders. “And that Stage 3 before the caution [flag] we were battling like we have all year long.

“It was just awesome we were able to come out on top of the deal. It’s been a lot of fun racing them and I’m looking forward to racing them and a lot of other talented drivers on Sunday."

That the season finale featured the same kind of competitive zeal that characterized such an ultra-competitive championship run.

“It was on us to give the guy the equipment to contend with," said his crew chief Randall Burnett. “He can elevate a car from third or fifth to a win or at least a pretty good shot at it."

And that’s exactly what happened Saturday night.

The win seems the perfect send-off for Reddick, who will move up into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driving Childress’s No. 8 Chevrolet. He will join both Custer (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) and Bell (No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota) in what will surely be one of the most talented rookie classes.

“I think as a driver I learned a lot about myself," Reddick said of the 2019 season.

It was the fifth series championship for team owner Richard Childress tying Joe Gibbs Racing for the most season titles in Xfinity Series history.

“He’s an amazing talent and I saw that before he won his first championship, his first race," his team owner Richard Childress said. “We’re so excited. I just felt if we could get here we had a great shot at winning the championship and the talent he has I’m excited for next year as I’ve been in a long time."

GMS Racing PR

RCR PR

With his girlfriend expecting a baby, Tyler Reddick confessed on Thursday that he had practiced changing diapers on a pet cat.

Now, after winning Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 and his second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Reddick gets to name the baby.

Finishing 1.038 seconds ahead of hard-charging Cole Custer, Reddick is the only driver to win consecutive titles in the series for two different car owners. The 23-year-old from Corning, Calif., won his first championship for JR Motorsports last year.

After switching rides to Richard Childress Racing, Reddick celebrated the organizations 50th anniversary by delivering his second straight title to team owner Richard Childress—the crowning achievement of a season in which Reddick collected a career-best six victories.

“It’s about this race team, man, and I was just honored to pilot this Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet,” Reddick said. “I’m losing my breath—I’m that excited. This one means so much more. It was just a lot better year, and it was really cool to go back-to-back.”

In winning for the second time at Homestead-Miami, Reddick was once again the quintessential rim rider, running within inches of the fence as he, Custer and fifth-place finisher Christopher Bell battled for the lead early in the final 79-lap green-flag run.

And now he can name his yet-to-be-born son “Beau,” under an agreement he made with girlfriend Alexa De Leon before the championship weekend. De Leon had another name in mind but agreed to let Reddick have his choice if he won the title.

Reddick had been so successful running the top lane in 2018 that Custer studied his in-car video before the race—but to no avail.

“Tyler—he can rip the top here,” Custer acknowledged after the race. “That’s about all you can say about it.”

After the top two drivers separated from Bell on Lap 167, Reddick closed on Custer until he reached his rear bumper. On Lap 182, Reddick dived to the inside into Turn 1 and slid up in front of Custer’s No. 00 Ford. Custer got the lead back briefly into Turn 3 on the same lap, but Reddick crossed over and cleared Custer for good off Turn 4.

In trying to catch the No. 2 Chevrolet, Custer scraped the wall in the closing laps.

“I could kind of match his lap time there and studied his in-car all the way coming here trying to figure out how to run the top better,” Custer said. “I got close. I tried to find a way to close the gap when I was behind and tried too hard and got into the fence.

“It sucks to come home second two years in a row. We’ll take it. We were a lot closer this year.”

Reddick, Custer and Bell all will graduate to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next year—Reddick with RCR, Custer with Stewart-Haas Racing and Bell with Leavine Family Racing. But Reddick is the only one who will do so with an Xfinity title.

Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson ran third and fourth, respectively, ahead of Bell, who claimed third place in the final standings behind the race winner and runner-up.

Despite missing pit road on his first attempt at a green-flag pit stop on Lap 159, Bell grabbed the lead on new tires by pitting three laps before Reddick and Custer. But the two chasers soon ran him down in a thrilling three-way battle for the top spot.

By the time Reddick took the checkered flag, Bell was 17 seconds in arrears.

“We just had great pit stops,” said Bell, who came to Homestead last year as the championship favorite and finished fourth. “Our pit stops would allow us to get up front, and then we would maintain until we started falling off, and then they would drive by me. For some reason, just can’t hit on what I need to, to be able to get around this place for a 30- or 40-lap run.”

A late brush with the wall and resulting flat tire relegated Championship 4 contender Justin Allgaier to a 14th-place finish.