FONTANA, Calif. (March 20, 2016) – Ray Black Jr.’s first race at Auto Club Speedway was cut short on Saturday when the NASCAR XFINITY Series driver was involved in an accident on Lap 45, damaging his No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet and relegating him to 37th place finish.
Black, who was dealing with a loose-handling race car all weekend, was working his way up through the field from his 33rd place starting spot right before the accident occurred. He spent most of the first 40 laps of the race feeling out the different lines on the track and finding his rhythm in the lower grooves.
It was on Lap 45 that he was passing a fellow competitor when the car got too loose and spun out into the grass, destroying the front end of the car. The team was unable to repair the car and get back out on the track.
“I learned a lot today,” stated Black. “I just learned it the hard way, unfortunately. This track is so long and so wide with such a rough surface that it’s really tricky to master. The car was handling better than it was during Friday’s practice sessions and I was starting to figure out what lines to run, so it’s unfortunate this happened. But, I still have the best team around and I know we’ll be back and ready for Texas!”
Black and the NASCAR XFINITY Series will return at Texas Motor Speedway in two weeks for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 on Friday, April 8. Black has four NASCAR starts at the 1.5-mile track, three of which resulted in Top-20 finishes. The track was also the site of Black’s debut race in the XFINITY Series last November.
Fans can keep up with all of Black’s on and off track adventures by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TeamScubaRacing and @
