DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2016) – NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. unfortunately had a shorter race than expected Friday night in the Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway, as the driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro was the victim of someone else’s mistake and involved in an accident on Lap 9.
Black had high expectations coming into the Daytona race weekend, as the Florida local hosted a dive earlier in the week with media members including YouTube stars Trevor Martin (Tmartn) and Chelsea Kreiner. Martin and Kreiner, along with many of Black’s friends and family from the area, were in attendance for Friday’s race.
Black and his team knew the Subway Firecracker 250 was going to be a bit of a wild card, as rain on Thursday prevented teams from having much practice time. During the portion of the one practice session they were able to have, Black and his team focused on the draft and how the No. 07 was sucking up to other cars.
After qualifying 36th for the main event Friday night, Black knew he had his work cut out for him but was confident he could get the job done. Unfortunately, on Lap 9 the No. 25 of Scott Lagasee Jr. clipped the No. 90, causing a domino effect where Black was ultimately pinned against the wall with nowhere to go when the No. 97 of Alex Guenette smashed into his front end. The damage was too much for the team to repair and Black was relegated to a 39th place finish.
“I’m frustrated with how Friday night went,” said Black. “We were on our way up through the field and had just ran the fastest lap on the track when we got swept up in someone else’s mess. I hate it for my entire team and all my family and friends that were there. We had a great car but due to how other people were racing so early on we got taken out.”
Black and his team will now focus on the upcoming NXS race at Kentucky Speedway as they get set to compete in the ALSCO 300 on Friday, July 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @
