NASCAR Driver Finishes 21st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
LOUDON, N.H. (July 17, 2016) – NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) regular Ray Black Jr. secured his 10th Top-25 finish of the season this past weekend when he placed 21st in the AutoLotto 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro fought hard at the “Magic Mile,” having to race his way up from the back of the field and overcome a pit road miscue.
Black and his SS Green Light Racing team used their two practice sessions of the weekend to dial in the handling of the ScubaLife.com Camaro before qualifying 30th for the main event. However, a broken shock forced the team to make a shock change while cars were impounded after qualifying and sent Black to the back of the field at the start of the AutoLotto 200 as a result.
Once the green flag dropped, Black starting picking off cars as he moved up through the field to the Top-25. As the first caution of the afternoon came out for debris on Lap 50, Black reported that he needed more stability in order to roll better through the corners and prepared to come in for the first pit stop of the race. However, a miscommunication on pit road caused Black to overshoot his pit stall and restart 28th.
Once back under green, Black resumed his march back up through the field before settling into 20th place with a much better handling Chevrolet. He would go on to avoid a late-race wreck that took out multiple cars but lapped traffic pushed Black back one spot to finish 21st.
“Overall it was a great weekend for the team and I,” said Black. “Our practice sessions were solid but having to start from the very back of the field was a challenge. But the team gave me a really good car this weekend, and I was able to push my way back up through the field and contend for a good finish. I wish we could have held on to 20th, but that’s racing and we’ll get them next time.”
Next up for Black and the SS Green Light Racing team is the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 23.
Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @TeamScubaRacing.