Texas native Jay Jefferson made his way into the fast 10 for the practice as well.
Here's the top times from first practice: 1) Ryan Kendall - 36.037 (129 laps) 2) Griffin Lynn - 36.049 (130) 3) Craig Martin - 36.063 (122) 4) Jason Thales - 36.097 (126) 5) Kyle Basaglia - 36.276 (120) 6) Donnie Moore - 36.277 (127) 7) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 36.285 (125) 8) Alexander Rowe - 36.303 (117) 9) Jay Jefferson - 36.335 (124) 10) Jake Thomas - 36.338 (130)
Harley drove most of the race in 2nd place to Dwayne Callaway until green flag pit stops. On pit road, Callaway made major contact with polesitter Clint McComb that opened the door for Harley to go by. Obviously that incident put the #49 in the lead, but not everyone added enough fuel to get through the final third of the race. Harley had enough and crossed the line with power.
“Everyone was pushing that boundary, including us,” #49 crew chief Percy Rhys said. “We’ve already won, we’re locked in, we can take risks and we did by banking on the fuel we put in lasting through to the end.” The contact with McComb was enough of a problem for Callaway, but even he didn’t have the gas to make it to the end. The #65 finished 34th on the day. “Disappointed, that’s all I can say,” Callaway said post-race. “I’m not gonna put the blame on Clint, the timing played out poorly is all, but we’re gonna need better communication to keep from messing up leads like that.” While Harley extended his points lead, the front of the field was full of drivers that are looking to get the now-open playoff spot. "A win would be great eventually, but this consistency is great for our team," Conor Mays said after finishing 3rd. "To have the possibility to be in the playoffs in our first year would be huge." “We didn’t run great in qualifying, but I think our crew performed better in the actual situation,” Noah Kim said. “Although we finished 5th today, I still think we’ve got the speed in our #38 Camaro to get ourselves into the Chase.” Unlike the practice sessions, the race was free from on-track incidents. |
Archives
February 2023
Categories |