Garcia Grabs Top-15 Finish in His Charlotte Debut

Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway

FINISH: 15th

Start: 15th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 14th

Jake Garcia’s first appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway culminated with a 15th-place finish on Friday night. The driver of the No. 35 Quanta Services Chevrolet Silverado RST picked up his sixth top-15 result in his 10th start of the season, which have all occurred at tracks at which he’s competed for the first time. After 11 races, Garcia remains 14th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers’ standings, with one less start than all other competitors.

Garcia started from the inside of row eight after qualifying 15th on Friday afternoon. From the outset, Garcia battled a loose condition, similar to his teammate Christian Eckes. On lap 15, Garcia radioed that his Quanta Services machine was “really loose” and had minimal rear grip. As a result, he was scored in the 23rd position at the end of Stage 1 on lap 30.

Crew chief Mark Hillman brought Garcia in for four tires, fuel, and a left rear spring rubber adjustment to help secure his handling condition. As Stage 2 went green on lap 37, Garcia continued to wrestle with a lack of rear stability in his Silverado RST. He was scored 21st at the end of the segment on lap 60 and came back to pit road.

Hillman and the No. 35 squad made an adjustment to the left front shock during the four-tire pit stop to improve Garcia’s grip level. He restarted 20th and ran there until a caution on lap 80 allowed the Georgia native to pit for the final time. The final service on pit road of the night for Garcia proved to be beneficial as he began to advance in the waning laps. After restarting 21st on lap 97, Garcia made significant forward progress over the final run and secured a 15th-place finish in his first start at CMS.

Jake Garcia Quote:

“We chased the balance most of the night. We couldn’t find the rear grip and stability we needed to have consistent pace in our Quanta Services Chevrolet. The guys on our team never gave up, kept making adjustments and we wound up getting the balance better after the last stop. We’ll keep working on our platform and go to Gateway next week to hopefully get back inside the top-10.”