NCWTS Rookie Secures His 12th Top-15 Finish of the Season
TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 25, 2015) – It was another wild race at Talladega Superspeedway, but NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) rookie driver Ray Black Jr. avoided multiple wrecks to finish 14th and secure his 12th Top-15 finish of the season. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet also made a dent in the championship points and now sits 23 points out of 10th place.
Black, who qualified 27th for the Fred’s 250, looked forward to returning to restrictor-plate racing as he previously secured a fifth place finish at Daytona International Speedway at the start of the season. Once the green-flagged dropped, he worked to gain momentum in the bottom lane of the superspeedway and began moving forward.
“Going into the race, I knew we had a great shot at it despite starting towards the back,” Black explained. “The team worked hard all week to get the truck set up for me, and it showed. It had lots of speed and handled really well both in the draft and out of it.”
Before claiming his 14th place finish, Black avoided three close calls on the track that could have ended his day much earlier than expected. On Lap 12, fellow rookie driver John Hunter Nemechek spun out a few positions ahead of Black. Nemechek spun back up the track but Black managed to inch up enough to avoid contact.
As the laps winded down, action picked up as Black once again had to save his truck when Matt Crafton clipped his bumper and shoved him out of the draft on a restart. A few laps later, the “Big One” struck and took out many competitors in the closing segment of the race. Black dove down to the bottom of the track with just enough time and skated by without any damage to his ScubaLife.com machine.
“That last one was intense. I just hit the gas and never lifted to get through it,” said Black. “It was a crazy race, but we ran smart and kept it together when others didn’t. It’s a bummer the race ended under a caution, but I’m glad we were able to capture another great finish. Hell of a run!”
With Talladega behind them, Black and the ScubaLife crew now set their sights on Martinsville Speedway, where they earned a 13th place finish earlier this year.
Stay tuned for a special paint scheme surprise coming early next week by following Black and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TeamScubaRacing and @RayBlackJr.
