Wright Manages Early Race Adversity At Bristol
| Kris Wright and the No. 81 team came away with a 25th-place finish at “The Last Great Colosseum,” battling throughout the night to overcome early adversity and gain ground as the race unfolded. After qualifying 25th, Wright maintained position inside the top 30 through the opening laps despite handling challenges in traffic. A pass-through penalty on Lap 27 for changing lanes before the start-finish line during a restart put the No. 81 two laps down early in Stage 1. The team remained composed, managing the race from the rear of the field and addressing balance concerns as Wright reported a tight condition in dirty air. A four-tire stop at the stage break helped improve the truck, allowing the team to begin making incremental gains in Stage 2. The final stage highlighted the team’s resilience. The No. 81 cycled forward with strategy and capitalized on multiple cautions, even overcoming right-side damage sustained mid-race without losing additional laps. Wright steadily advanced through the closing laps, reaching 25th by Lap 224 as the team maximized its recovery and closed the gap on the field. Kris Wright Quote: “This was not the result we were looking for, and I took responsibility for the mistake early on. Outside of the penalty, we ran a really clean race and that’s what we need to do from the start. I want to give a huge thanks to not only F.N.B. Corporation, but iHeartRadio for coming on board for Bristol. We’re gonna use these next couple weeks to get ready for the six race stretch coming up and fire off strong in May.” |