NASCAR Driver Finishes 18th in NCWTS Race and 28th in NXS Race
JOLIET, Ill. (September 18, 2016) – It was a busy weekend for NASCAR driver Ray Black Jr., as he completed double duty at Chicagoland Speedway. The 25-year-old driver finished 18th while piloting the No. 07 RTFT All Star Racing League Chevrolet Silverado in the American Ethanol E15 225 Friday night, and came home 28th in his No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro during the Drive for Safety 300 on Saturday.
After two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) practices on Thursday, Black’s double duties really kicked in on Friday, as he had two NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) practices, as well as NCWTS qualifying and the American Ethanol E15 225. During the two NXS practices, Black’s SS Green Light Racing team made a handful of adjustments on the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro, trying to get it to handle the bump of Chicagoland Speedway better.
After the two NXS practices, Black’s focus on Friday shifted to the NCWTS, where he qualified his No. 07 RTFT All Star Racing Chevrolet Silverado 25th. Once the green flag dropped Friday night, Black fought with an extremely tight-handling truck and fell a couple laps down around the 25th position.
On Lap 112, a wreck among some of Black’s competitors took out a handful of cars from the race but Black managed to get through the chaos without a scratch on the truck. After a couple of big adjustments under caution, the truck’s handling freed up and Black was able to gain his laps back and race up into the Top-20 before finishing 18th on the lead lap for the night.
“I had a blast returning to the truck series and getting to race on Friday night,” stated Black. “I really appreciate Bobby (Dotter) for letting me jump in his truck and race it for fun. It means a lot to me. We had a really good piece there once we got it freed up a little bit! I’m proud of how my guys fought all night and we had a great finish to show for it.”
After Black qualified 32nd for the Drive for Safety 300 on Saturday, the main event of the weekend began. Throughout Saturday’s event, Black and his team dealt with a tough-handling racecar and constantly changing track positions. The No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro swung from being way too tight to snappy loose throughout the event.
On Lap 163, the team made what was planned to be their final pit stop of the day but discovered the car would not refire on exit. They were forced to bring the car behind the wall to the garage and examine it further to find the source of the power failure. After discovering the battery went bad, Black’s team was able to change it out and get back on track for the remaining 22 laps before finishing in the 28th position.
“Saturday was a tough one for us,” explained Black. “The track kept changing so much that we really had to keep working on the car to get it to where we wanted it to be. 28th was not the finish we wanted to come out of this weekend with, but I know the team and I will regroup and get back after it at Kentucky next weekend!”
Black and his SS Green Light Racing team will next return to Kentucky Speedway for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 on Saturday, September 24 at 8:00 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 @TeamScubaRacing.
