Scorching Afternoon Brings Wilkesboro Woes for Wright
| Race Results Venue: North Wilkesboro Speedway FINISH: 30st Start: 26th NCTS Point Standings Position: 21st |
| Kris Wright and the No. 81 F.N.B. team finished 30th in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) race at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS). After qualifying 26th, Wright spent much of the 250 lap event battling handling issues that limited his ability to work through the field. Early in the race, Wright reported the front of the truck was too tight on corner entry, forcing him to slow more than he wanted entering Turn 1 to get the truck to rotate. While the rear of the truck had improved compared to earlier in the weekend, the balance shifted later in the run as the truck remained tight through the middle of Turns 3 and 4 before snapping loose on corner exit. The No. 81 crew made a wedge adjustment and removed tape during the first stage break, but Wright continued to fight for track position. An equipment interference penalty on the team’s Stage 2 pit stop further set the team back, despite Wright reporting the truck had good pace when he had clean racetrack. The team elected to stay out at the final stage break to gain track position, restarting 27th, but Wright was shuffled back in traffic and ultimately finished 30th, three laps down. Wright and the No. 81 team will look to rebound next weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Kris Wright Quote: “It just wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for at MHR. Everyone worked really hard to prepare for this race, but we just didn’t unload where we needed to. I thought we made some solid adjustments in practice, and we had better pace in the race, but it’s tough to make up ground when you start 26th and the leaders catch the back of the field so quickly. We’ll take what we learned from this weekend and be ready to fire off at IRP.” |
