Wright Secures Top-20 Result at Atlanta
Venue: EchoPark Speedway
FINISH: 18th
Start: 21st
NCTS Point Standings Position: 18th
A rain-filled morning made for an eventful day that carried into the race for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR). The No. 81 First National Bank Corporation (F.N.B.) Chevrolet Silverado RST rolled off 21st in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Stage One went quickly. Kris Wright reported an extremely loose truck and struggled to run the high side. Crew chief Darren Fraley responded, telling Wright to get to the end of the stage, where he crossed the line 22nd.
The Pennsylvania native restarted 16th in Stage 2. On Lap 60, Wright came over the radio to express that the truck was still loose and needed a bigger adjustment. A few laps later, he reported, “I can barely keep it wide open.” The F.N.B. Corp. Chevrolet finished 20th in the stage, and Fraley went to work with a larger tire-pressure adjustment in the rear tires along with a wedge adjustment. Due to the weather delay, NASCAR established a hard cutoff for the race at 4:20 p.m. ET, giving teams about 30 minutes in Stage 3 to get the best result possible.
The No. 81 F.N.B. Silverado started Stage 3 in the 16th position before a Lap 100 incident involving Wright and two other trucks. He reported the truck shot up the racetrack and felt as if the right-front tire was soft, but the crew found a hole in the nose of the truck that likely caused the sensation Wright described. After repairs to the right front and right rear, it became a battle of survival as the truck’s handling deteriorated rapidly. Wright was forced up into the fence on Lap 119 before ultimately crossing the finish line in the 18th position.
Kris Wright Quote:
“Today was another race where we walk away a little bit unhappy with how the race went, but Fraley (Darren, crew chief) made a great adjustment going into Stage 3 that helped out the balance of the truck tremendously. We were sitting there 13th with a handful of laps remaining and I was confident we could move up even further until our unfortunate incident late in the race. Thanks to the crew for working hard all day to fix the truck and get me in a position to have a good result, but it wasn’t our day. On to St. Pete.”
