When it Rains, It Pours at Charlotte
| Race Results Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway FINISH: 31st Start: 20th NCTS Point Standings Position: 22nd |
| The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway was shaped by weather from the start, as rain washed out practice and qualifying and pushed Friday night’s event to Sunday morning. With NASCAR facing a hard noon cutoff due to the Coca-Cola 600 later in the day, teams raced against both the clock and changing conditions in the 134-lap event. Kris Wright and the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation team for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing came away with a 31st-place finish following a late-race incident. Starting 20th based on NASCAR’s metric, Wright and the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation team fought a tight condition from the opening laps as Wright reported the truck was tight entering Turns 3 and 4, losing speed from the center of the corner to corner exit. Wright slipped outside the top-25 early before a lap 34 caution allowed crew chief Darren Fraley to call for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to address the handling concerns. A difficult stop, which included a spin into the pit box and a broken air hose, shuffled the team back before Wright finished Stage 1 in 29th. The No. 81 team continued making gains in Stage 2 as Fraley mixed pit strategy with adjustments to improve track position. Wright climbed to 24th before a caution on lap 37 brought the team to pit road for four tires, fuel and additional checks following the previous stop. A fuel-only call later in the stage helped Wright restart 16th, where he briefly moved forward with an outside pass before getting shuffled in the middle groove and settled for 25th at the second stage break. Wright communicated an improved center turn in Turns 1 and 2 while continuing to search for grip in Turns 3 and 4. Fraley’s strategy put Wright in position to start the final stage eighth,. After another round of adjustments, including tire pressure and track bar changes following a lap 74 caution, Wright continued battling inside the top-25 before becoming involved in an on-track incident that ended the team’s day early and resulted in a 31st-place finish. Kris Wright Quote: “Frustrating weekend overall with weather pushing us back to Sunday, and it felt like things kept stacking up once the green flag dropped. Hate that it ended the way it did because this team worked hard all weekend, but we’ll get back in the shop this week and get ready for Nashville. Proud of everyone on this F.N.B. Corporation team.” |