Wright’s Rollercoaster Results in 21st at Martinsville
Venue: Martinsville Speedway
FINISH: 21st
Start: 28th
NCTS Point Standings Position: 24th
Kris Wright and the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet Silverado RST team finished 21st in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Martinsville Speedway. Wright qualified 28th for the 200-lap event after posting the 23rd fastest time in practice.
Wright moved to 25th on lap two before reporting a tight center and loose exit. He went a lap down on lap 33 while stuck in traffic, but a caution came out three laps later. Crew chief Darren Fraley told Wright to stay out, even without receiving the wave-around, to put the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet Silverado RST in free pass position for a short sprint to the end of stage one. On the lap 44 restart, Wright battled hard through the remaining laps and held onto the free pass position, getting back on the lead lap at the stage finish in 27th. During the stage break, Wright came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel, along with track bar, tire pressure and grille tape adjustments.
Wright restarted 26th for stage two and worked his way through lapped traffic after taking the green flag at the tail end of the field. He settled into 27th before going a lap down again on lap 85. Wright maintained position through the remainder of the stage, taking the green-and-white checkered flag 26th and one lap down.
Wright took the green flag for the final stage 27th and one lap down. After a pair of early cautions and a red flag, he restarted 25th on lap 125 and continued working through traffic. Two consecutive cautions presented opportunities to regain the lead lap, with Wright coming up one position short of the free pass on both occasions before finally securing it on lap 147. Back on the lead lap, he continued to make progress, reaching 20th by lap 165. Wright battled inside the top 25 over the closing laps, moving as high as 19th before taking the checkered flag 21st.
Kris Wright Quote:
“We came away with a decent result tonight given everything we fought through with this F.N.B. Corporation team. We definitely had some speed during certain points of the run, but the balance shifted constantly and we could never quite dial it in. Regardless, we did a great job staying out of trouble and I feel good about completing all 200 laps with the amount of cautions in the later portions. We’ve got one more race together this season and I’m excited to get down to Miami and finish out the year on a high note.”’
