CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 18, 2013) – Dakoda Armstrong and the No. 60 WinField Silverado team entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) NC Education Lottery 200 on Friday night with high hopes after successful practice sessions and a top-10 qualifying effort. Rallying back from an early incident on pit road and damage repair, Armstrong pushed forward from the rear of the field to put himself back into contention. Racing inside the top-five with less than 30 laps to go, Armstrong avoided several close calls on track to claim his second-consecutive 12th place finish.
Breaking away cleanly from his eighth place starting position, Armstrong settled in comfortably inside the top-10 after the drop of the green flag. The first caution period of the evening on lap 17 allowed his No. 60 crew to bring their driver to pit road for a splash of fuel, hoping to gain some track position. Unfortunately, Armstrong made slight contact with another competitor while exiting his pit box, forcing him to come back down pit road for repairs. With only minor damage to the left front bumper, Armstrong was able to confidently return to NCWTS competition at the tail end of the field.
Knowing he couldn’t waste any time, Armstrong began his march back towards the front immediately, climbing from 31st to inside the top-25 in four laps. Another quick caution bunched up the field once more, allowing Armstrong to gain even more positions, surviving three-wide racing to move back inside the top-20 by lap 70. Just as the WinField pit crew was preparing for a green flag pit stop, the caution flag dropped for the third time on lap 73, allowing Armstrong to come down pit road with the rest of the leaders the following lap. Getting four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, Armstrong returned to the track in the 14th position.
The fourth caution of the evening followed shortly after the field returned to green, putting Armstrong in his fuel window to make it to the checkered flag. Crew chief Gere Kennon took advantage of the opportunity, bringing the WinField Silverado down pit lane for a final set of adjustments to help improve Armstrong’s tight handling condition, four fresh tires and fuel.
Returning to the track for his final run to the finish, Armstrong restarted eighth and quickly blasted his way to fourth. However, four cautions in the final 39 laps didn’t work in his favor as Armstrong struggled shifting into fourth gear and fought a tight handling condition, serving him a 12th place finish.
“We definitely had a better truck tonight that what our finish showed,” Armstrong explained. “My entire TurnOne Racing team did a great job getting us setup for tonight and adjusting when the track changed. I just had a hard time shifting into fourth gear on the final two restarts and we lost some spots because of that. But I’m proud of how much speed our WinField Silverado had and it was a solid night in the point standings for us.”
Notes:
– Dakoda Armstrong made his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the 2013 season in the No. 60 WinField Chevrolet Silverado at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Friday night.
– Working on race runs for the majority of all three NCWTS practice sessions, Armstrong’s lap times stayed consistent on longer runs and the WinField Silverado carried good speed during qualifying for an eighth place effort.
– Armstrong dropped to 31st early in the NC Education Lottery 200 after slight damage to the front of his Silverado cost him an extra trip down pit road. Moving up as high as fourth with less than 30 laps remaining, Armstrong slid back to the 12th position at the checkers.
– Friday night’s finish helps Armstrong improve two spots in the NCWTS driver point standings, currently 49 markers out of the lead in the eighth spot.
Practice 1
Position: 23
Fastest Lap: 30.933 sec.
Laps: 18
Practice 2
Position: 23
Fastest Lap: 30.701 sec.
Laps: 37
Final Practice
Position: 9
Fastest Lap: 29.993 sec.
Laps: 24
Qualifying
Position: 8
Fastest Lap: 29.990 sec.
Race
Position: 12
Laps Completed/Total: 134/134
