Sunday, September 5
Track: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, 1-mile dirt oval
Race: 17 of 20
Event: Southern Illinois 100 (100 laps, 100 miles)
Taylor Gray, No. 46 Ford Fusion
Start: 7th
Finish: 5th
- Gray qualified seventh for the 100-lap event at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. An early caution on lap 16 saw the No. 46 up to the sixth position. The team chose to pit for trackbar adjustments and rejoin the field in eighth.
- On lap 23, Gray couldn’t avoid a spinning car in turn two and sustained damage to the nose of the car. He came down pit road to pull out sheet metal and restarted in eighth.
- At the first competition caution on lap 35, the Ford driver had made his way up to the fourth position. Crew chief Chad Johnston called him to pit road for tires, fuel and multiple adjustments to try and free up the car.
- The No. 46 Fusion held steady in fourth for nearly the entire length of the second stage and was running there when the second competition caution came out on lap 70. The team pitted again for tires, fuel and adjustments to aid the tight handling racecar.
- The race resumed with 23 laps to go. Gray held fourth until four laps remaining in the race. While running fifth, he spun in turn 3 coming to the white flag. The caution set up a one-lap dash to the finish and he ultimately finished in fifth.
Next event: Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on September 16 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
