Wright Rewarded with Late Resilience at Rockingham

Venue: Rockingham Speedway

FINISH: 19th

Start: 20th

NCTS Point Standings Position: 20th

Kris Wright and the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation team showed steady improvement throughout Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) event at Rockingham Speedway, overcoming an early lack of grip to secure a 19th-place finish after 200 laps of competition. 

Wright opened the race from the 20th position and quickly battled a loose condition, slipping back to 22nd by lap seven. As the opening stage unfolded, the handling challenges persisted, with Wright noting the truck was “a little too loose everywhere,” particularly in traffic. The No. 81 Chevrolet ran 27th by the lap 45 stage end, as the team worked to address entry stability and overall balance. 

Wright continued to search for grip, reporting the track had become slick under race conditions. Restarting 28th, he briefly dropped to 30th before the truck began to show signs of life. By the end of Stage 2, Wright climbed to 28th, highlighted by a 23.925-second lap that ranked as the fourth-fastest on track at the time, a clear indication of the truck’s growing speed. Minor adjustments, including a trackbar change, aimed to tighten the balance as the run progressed. 

The final stage marked a turning point for Wright and the No. 81 team. Firing off from 28th, Wright posted four consecutive top-10 lap times early in the run and continued to log competitive speeds, with multiple laps ranking inside the top 15. By lap 122, he had worked up to 26th, but a cycle of green-flag pit stops left him trapped two laps down, limiting his ability to capitalize on the truck’s pace. 

Even so, Wright continued to post some of the fastest laps on track deep into the run, including ninth-fastest times on laps 140 and 141. A caution on lap 166 allowed the team to service the truck with four tires and fuel while majority of the field had previously pitted under green. After restarting 20th, Wright recorded the fastest lap on track, continuing to turn consistent 23.60 second laps over the closing stretch. 

Wright ultimately crossed the line in 20th, and was credited with a 19th-place finish following post-race technical inspection. 

Kris Wright Quote: 

“A Top-20 finish is not where our goals are set, but it’s a result we can manage given the circumstances of our race. I battled a loose truck all day, which put us in a few tough spots, but our F.N.B. Corporation team brought a really fast truck that unfortunately never got the spotlight it deserved. I can’t thank Darren (Fraley, crew chief) and this team enough for their hard work. There’s a lot to be proud of with this group, and with better track position, we’ll be up there fighting in the Top 10. On to Bristol.”