NASCAR Driver Overcomes Pit Road Penalty to Finish 23rd at Michigan International Speedway
BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 12, 2016) – In his second start at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. had a solid day during the Menards 250, overcoming a mid-race pit road penalty to secure his second consecutive Top-25 finish. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet now has eight Top-25 finishes in his first full NXS season.
Black and his team were fast from the start of the weekend, as they made few adjustments during the two practice session and were happy with the speed being shown. They would go on to qualify 26th for Saturday’s main event.
After the green flag wove on the Menards 250, Black began making his way up through the field and settled in around 20th place for the first half of the race. The team focused on making the car better for restarts, as it had strong long run speed.
Unfortunately, an outside tire violation on pit road just over halfway through the race caused Black to have to serve a pass through penalty and fall to be two laps down.
With the third caution of the day coming out on Lap 79 for debris, Black and his team gambled with their pit strategy and took a wave around instead of pitting for fuel in order to get one of their laps back. Luckily, their plan worked and the final caution of the race came out just a few laps later, allowing them to fuel up for the final segment of the race and fight hard for their 23rd place finish.
“It was an up and down weekend at Michigan,” said Black. “This was the fastest we’ve ever unloaded this season and we had a solid car throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, that pit road penalty cost a shot at racing with the Top-20 today, and I know with our lap times we could have finished up there. But if we keep unloading like we did this time and minimize our mistakes we’ll see the results come our way.”
Next up for Black and his team will be the American Ethanol E15 150 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, June 19.
Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @TeamScubaRacing.
