JD Motorsports with Gary Keller is proud to announce the South Carolina Education Lottery and BJ McLeod will be partnering with the No. 4 Chevrolet for this Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

This will be the South Carolina Education Lottery’s fifth year partnering with JDM. This year, the team plans to honor 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Labonte by running a throwback paint scheme to his 1992 Slim Jim Chevrolet.

McLeod, who currently sits 20^th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings, cites Darlington Raceway as one of his favorite tracks. “I truly am excited to get behind the wheel of the No. 4 South Carolina Education Lottery Chevrolet this weekend. Add in the fact that we’re running the throwback paint scheme to the Slim Jim car, and it feels like I’m back to being a kid again! I mean, I grew up watching that car win races and championships, so this is all really cool for me. I’m sure we will be able to go out and have a good run for all of our supporters and fans,” McLeod said.

In four starts at Darlington, McLeod has a best finish of 23^rd. Entering the weekend, his best finish of the 2019 season is 17^th, which came at Pocono Raceway earlier this year.

“Darlington has been circled on my calendar for a while now, because I feel like I seem to excel at the tracks that are hard to drive,” McLeod said. “We will be slipping around out there on the ragged edge, and that all fits perfectly with my driving style. It will be a fun one, that’s for sure!”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race at Darlington Raceway this Saturday for the running of the Sport Clips 200. The race can be viewed live on NBC, or listened to on MRN. Be sure to tune in to see JD Motorsports with Gary Keller drivers BJ McLeod, Garrett Smithley, Stephen Leicht, and Landon Cassill try to tackle the track dubbed “Too Tough to Tame.” For all things JDM, follow us along on social media with the handle @JDMotorsports01. #TeamJDM

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On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series made its’ final trip out to a permanent road course on the year out at Road America near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This was the series’ third road course race in a month, and it turned out to be a very exciting race for the fans to watch.

Entering the weekend, Ryan Vargas, driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet, didn’t have much road course experience, but he was eager to gain some valuable seat time in just his second career NXS start. Vargas started deep in the field in 33^rd when a slower car blocked his timed lap, but that didn’t prevent him from learning how to pass smoothly and make his way up through the pack. At the end of the caution less Stage One, Vargas was scored in 25^th, and the eighteen-year-old made up some more spots to 22^nd at the end of Stage Two. In the final stage, the NASCAR Next driver was able to climb even further up the leaderboard, coming home with a respectable 18^th place finish in just his second start.

BJ McLeod, who drove the No. 15 Chevrolet on Saturday, continued his learning process on the road courses, where he is self-admittedly unaccustomed to racing on. McLeod drove a clean, conservative race all day, after rolling off the starting grid in 34^th position. A pair of 30^th place finishes in both Stage One and Stage Two were due to the #15Machine crew electing to hang back and keep their Camaro in one piece, but as chaos ensued in the final stage, BJ was able to steer clear of all the mess and come home with a 23^rd place finish. The solid run keeps McLeod scored in 20^th in the drivers’ standings heading into Darlington next weekend.

Garrett Smithley, driver of the No. 0 Chevrolet, had a very promising run going at the 4-mile road course. Smithley practiced in 17^th, and started the race from 21^st, and when it came to race time, many thought he would have a great finish. Stage One showed Garrett in 15^th, with Stage Two showing him 13^th, but unfortunately, on lap 37/45, the engine let go, forcing him behind the wall. Smithley would end up coming home with a 33^rd place finish, keeping him 18^th in the drivers’ points standings.

Stephen Leicht, driver of the No. 01 Chevrolet, faced the same fate as Garrett Smithley. Leicht started his Camaro from the 25^th position, but was able to make up some ground early to 18^th at the end of Stage One. Stephen was all the way up to 11^th at the end of Stage Two, and appeared to have a solid run going, until he lost his engine one lap prior to Garrett. Stephen remains in the 19^th position in drivers’ standings heading into Darlington.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race at Darlington Raceway this Saturday for the running of the Sport Clips 200. The race can be viewed live on NBC, or listened to on MRN. Be sure to tune in to see JD Motorsports with Gary Keller drivers BJ McLeod, Garrett Smithley, Stephen Leicht, and Landon Cassill try to tackle the track dubbed “Too Tough to Tame”. For all things JDM, follow us along on social media with the handle @JDMotorsports01. #TeamJDM

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Team 08 GPS PURE/ Panini Chevrolet Camaro: 

Gray Gaulding and his No. 08 Panini team started off the day from the 19th position at Road America. With the race track being four miles long the first two stages were only ten laps each. Gaulding quickly made his way forward in the opening stage. Just before the end of the first stage the 7 car of Justin Allgaier lost a left front tire and got trapped in the gravel pit, which brought out the first caution of the day. The caution also marked the conclusion of the first stage with Gaulding in the 12th position. 

Crew Chief Patrick Donahue called Gaulding to the pits for four tires and fuel during the stage break. The pit strategy allowed Gaulding to stay on track for the entire second stage. After restarting in the 19th position, Gaulding found himself in the 7th position at the conclusion of stage two, collecting four valuable stage points. 

Gaulding brought his No. 08 Chevy to pit road for service during the final stage break and was ready to go for the third and final stage. Gaulding started the final stage from the 16th position, but it did not take long for him to start moving forward. After just a handful of green flag laps into the run, Gaulding flexed his muscles, driving up to the 11th position. On lap 32 the 19 car brought out the third caution of the day. Gaulding pitted for what was the last planned stop of the day and restarted from the 16th position with 11 laps remaining. With only 4 laps remaining Gaulding's brake pedal went to the floor and he went for a wild ride through the gravel pit. It was a broken brake line that caused Gaulding to go flying off course. The team was able to limp around to a 29th place finish. It was the team's worst finish since the season opener at Daytona in February. 

Gray Gaulding: 

"I thought we had a good run going running inside the top-15 until my left front brake line busted causing my brake pedal to go straight to the floor and pretty much ruined our day. Hate that we didn’t get the result we deserved. It was a good effort though and I learned a ton. Thanks to Panini and PURE for sticking behind me and this SS Green Light Racing team. We’ll get back on the ovals next week at Darlington Raceway next week and hope to have a solid run." 

Bobby Dotter Thoughts on the 08 Team:

““Gray continued to show what kind of speed that 08 car is capable of. Unfortunately, we broke a brake line with 4 laps to go, which ruined our day. I’m confident the team will bounce back next week in Darlington.”

Team 07 Isokern Fireplaces & Chimneys Chevrolet Camaro: 

Ray Black Jr. came into Road America this weekend after a strong 15th place finish last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 07 team had a little work cut out for them after qualifying in the 29th position. Black quickly made his way forward in the opening stage. At the end of stage one, Black had advanced ten positions to the 19th position. 

Crew Chief Jason Miller called his driver in for service during the stage break. Like his teammate, the 07 also stayed on track the entirety of the second stage. After a caution- free stage, Black found himself in the 15th position after two stages. 

Miller once again called his driver to the pits during the stage break, in preparation for the twenty-five lap final stage. After charging through the field, Black would be forced to repeat his performance as he would restart from the 26th position for the final stage. With only 14 laps remaining in the race, Black was able to advance eleven positions to the 15th position before the 19 car brought out the third caution of the day. Miller made the call to stay on the race track during the caution, which put Black restarting in the 12th position. The final caution of the day waved with only 4 laps remaining. Black was able to avoid all the late carnage and power through to a 14th place finish. 

Ray Black Jr: 

“Really proud of our team today! We got better all day and were able to capitalize at the end. On to Darlington!" 

Bobby Dotter Thoughts on the 07 Team: 

“”Ray and the 07 team drove a great race today at Road America. They were able to improve throughout the day and Ray was able to bring it home in 14th. Really solid day for this team.”

Looking Ahead: 
SS Green Light Racing drivers Gray Gaulding and Ray Black Jr. remain 13th and 16th respectively in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings. The Xfinity Series will get prepared for throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. Coverage Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 from Darlington Raceway will begin Saturday August 31st at 4:00 PM ET on NBC. 

SS Green Light Racing PR

Loris Hezemans was impressive in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, running as high as 15th in the closing laps of the CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America before picking up significant damage from a crash in front of him and crossing the finish line 22nd. 

Hezemans was 24th quickest out of 38 competitors in Qualifying, but was forced to start from the back of the grid due to a repair his BJ Mcleod Motorsports team had to perform on the #99 Roux Helmets Camaro. In the first two stages of the CTECH Manufacturing 180, the Dutch driver climbed back up to 23rd and 21st recovering from a couple of slow pit stops, while in the final stage he had to settle for 22nd despite proving a top-15 finish was within his reach.  

A power steering failure and a crash he couldn’t avoid proved to be fatal for Hezemans’ ambitions.

“It was a crazy race. It was funny in many ways but it was just a shame in the end. I was running 15th with two laps to go when the power steering gave up! After that somebody wrecked ahead of us and we had no way to avoid the crash. We got some damage at the front which brought the hood open, so I had to drive full throttle looking through the hood flaps holes. Definitely an eventful last couple of laps,” said Hezemans after the race.

The 22-year-old NWES title contender immediately found himself at ease in the very competitive environment of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and battled door-to-door against some of the best NASCAR drivers in the world, showing an impressive pace on the 4.048-mile road course of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

“I think we progressed well throughout the weekend and we were on the way to a top-15 finish but in the end we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” concluded Hezemans. “I hope I can have an opportunity to run another event, maybe as European Champion, and use this experience to perform better next time.”

Up next for Hezemans are the September 21-22 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Semi Finals at the Hockenheimring. The Dutchman won his first career NWES race at the iconic German track and will enter the playoffs as one of the main candidates to wear the crown of Euro NASCAR Champion, a feature that would definitely open even more doors for him in North America.

NWES PR