Two drivers risked everything for a shot at victory in the end.
David Davidson prevailed. A large pack broke up lap after lap as teams couldn't bear to risk their spots after multiple drivers ran out of gas in the earlier parts of the race. After William Brock and Nick Smith pulled off (they still finished 3rd and 4th), Davidson and Dalejrfan8883 were the only two who hadn't pitted and wouldn't have the chance to until the checkered flag waved. The #76 was in front at the line for the white flag, but Davidson had the inside line and kept the block through the next circuit, earning a playoff birth. "It feels so great to finally get a win," Davidson said. "Big thanks to (crew chief) Lou [Pierino] and the rest of the guys for continuing to believe in me throughout the struggles of the season." For Dalejrfan8883, there was a bit of regret for how he approached the final lap. "Glad our #76 Chevy was able to bring us home to a second place finish," he said. "I’ll be kicking myself for not making a move on the #11, but at least we we’re able to give the bowtie a 1-2 finish." Although Davidson could advance to the playoffs with his victory, he is actually not in the position to advance. His win bumped him up to 28th in points after a difficult start to the season, but he must be 25th or better by the end of Race #16. If he does not reach that mark, another open spot on points opens up. That position is currently occupied by the race's runner-up, Dalejrfan8883. The biggest crash of the day took place on lap 2 when Stephen Willey and Jek Porkins made contact, sliding up the track and instigating a multi-car accident that took out Eli Bright and Noah Kars, and wounded big points contenders like Porkins and Brad Stover, the then-points leader. "These guys were desperate, because they were going 5, maybe even 6-wide, and that's never going to work, so a crash like that was bound to happen," said Bruno de Barros, who finished 35th. "I was hit so many times, I think the track was the pinball machine and myself and the other drivers were inside of it." The day was not good for Julio Cesar, who was involved in the first crash and grinded to a halt on his roof. He then ended up holding up faster cars on several occasions after getting back on track, including one that made Jonny Gardner run into the back of the #0 and collect Ryan Maiden. The NFRN issued a warning to Cesar, but he is not expected to receive a penalty. In other playoff news, drivers that were in danger of sliding towards the cut line had solid days, including Amethyst Ashley in 15th and Reece Butcher in 18th. Cesar is now outside the top-10 in points after his tumultuous day.
Veteran drivers William Brock and Tyler Markel followed Baskinger on the chart, while four drivers in total made the top-10 in both practice sessions.
Here's the speediest of the bunch heading into Zen Joltis: 1) Jake Baskinger (R) - 1:27.566 (31 laps) 2) William Brock - 1:27.583 (30) 3) Tyler Markel - 1:27.600 (31) T4) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 1:27.625 (30) T4) Dominic Carranza (R) - 1:27.625 (30) 6) Phillip Fry (R) - 1:27.646 (29) 7) Jett Kraus (R) - 1:27.740 (29) 8) Noah Pontzer - 1:27.844 (30) 9) Stephen Willey - 1:27.880 (30) 10) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:27.935 (30)
The big difference between this year's race and last year's is the incorporation of restrictor plates, which should slow down the cars significantly and allow for drivers away from the pack to slow down in the event of a big wreck. By comparison, the top laps turned last year were 14 seconds faster than this year. Drafting, however, is not expected to be impacted as cars will remain pretty tightly packed.
Here's how the rest of the top-10 look: 1) David Davidson (R) - 1:30.051 (48 laps) 2) Stephen Willey - 1:30.079 (46) 3) Eric Monaco (R) - 1:30.097 (47) 4) Adam Mundinger (R) - 1:30.171 (49) 5) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:30.172 (47) 6) Rambo (R) - 1:30.263 (48) 7) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 1:30.299 (48) 8) Jett Kraus (R) - 1:30.301 (44) 9) Cody Hagen (R) - 1:30.391 (45) 10) John Arndt - 1:30.392 (46)
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