Thursday, April 7
Track: Martinsville Speedway, .526-mile oval
Race: 5 of 23
Event: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 (200 laps, 105 miles)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150
Start: 31st
Finish: 19th
- Due to the cancellation of qualifying for rainfall, Hailie Deegan lined up 31st by nature of NASCAR’s qualifying order matrix for the Blu-Emu 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
- The 20-year-old took the green flag in the bottom lane and quickly moved her way up the order, reaching the 20th position after a restart for an early incident on lap 24.
- Deegan sustained damage battling for position on the next restart, dropping her to 25th before pitting to rectify the handling issues caused by the incident. After clearing the left front fender and taking a pound out of the left rear, the No. 1 rejoined in 28th.
- Fending off a tight condition that left her unable to stay in the coveted bottom lane, pit strategy and a strong run on old tires kept the Wastequip team in the top-20 as Stage 2 came to a close. On the ensuing restart, Deegan climbed up the leaderboard, reaching as high as 13th and clocking her fastest laps of the contest.
- A caution on lap 156 forced Deegan down pit road to gear up for one last run towards the front of the pack. Restarting 21st, she fought her way to 19th as the checkered flag dropped on the final lap of the race.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Black’s Tire Ford F-150
Start: 13th
Finish: 21st
- Practice and qualifying were rained out on Thursday afternoon, which put Tanner Gray starting 13th by way of NASCAR’s qualifying matrix.
- Gray was running 11th at the first caution flag on lap 39. A few of the leaders came down pit road which moved him up to eighth for the restart. He would finish Stage 1 there for three stage points.
- The 15 team pitted for tires and fuel and rejoined the field to restart 21st. While running 23rd on lap 71, the caution flag waved once more and the team pitted again. During the pit stop, a pit gun malfunction slowed down the stop and caused Gray to go one lap down.
- The Black’s Tire driver restarted 32nd and rode in that position until the end of Stage 2. He was awarded the lucky dog and subsequently pitted for tires and fuel again.
- Gray restarted 27th for the final stage, but a spinning truck on the opening lap squeezed him into another truck and he was forced to pit to clearance all four tires. He rejoined at the tail and worked his way forward to 21st by the time the checkered flag waved.
Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150
Start: 19th
Finish: 26th
- Taylor Gray started 19th after practice and qualifying were cancelled due to rain. He fired off too tight at the drop of the green flag and was in 20th when the caution flag waved on lap 39.
- Chad Johnston called the 17 down pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments. He finished Stage 1 in 24th, but stayed out at the break and restarted 12th for Stage 2.
- The driver reported the handling felt much better and he cracked the top 10 with 14 laps to go in Stage 2 and finished there at the green-checkered. However, the Ford Performance F-150 got tighter as the race wore on, reporting that his speed was hurt by being too tight center off in turns two and four.
- Despite an otherwise strong performance, a late front suspension piece malfunction and last lap pitstop to apply two missing lugnuts rendered the No. 17 team two laps down, with Gray ultimately finishing the Blu-Emu 200 in 26th position.
Next event: Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on April 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
