Race: UNOH 225
Location: Kentucky Speedway
Starting Position: 9th
Finishing Position: 5th
Owner Points Position: 16th (gained 3 positions)
Huntersville, NC (7-8-11) – Jason White, driver of the No. 23 GunBroker.com Chevrolet, turned a career best start at Kentucky Speedway into a career best finish for Joe Denette Motorsports in Thursday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 225.
Starting 9th, White ran just outside the top-5 for most of the 152-lap event. Good tire wear and handling for his GunBroker.com Chevrolet allowed the Richmond, VA native to utilize pit strategy and ultimately be in contention for his career first victory after 225-miles of racing in the “Bluegrass State.”
On a restart at lap 145, White, running fourth, gained two positions going into turn-1 and was on the fast track to run down the leader, when the caution was quickly displayed with four laps remaining. This forced the field to finish under a green, white, checker condition.
Lined up on the inside of row one, with two laps to go, White spun his tires, making it three-wide and ultimately getting shuffled back, fighting for a top-5 position. Kyle Busch went on to win and White crossed the start/finish line in the 5th position, his first top-5 finish of 2011.
Quotes:
“We were solid right off the truck and it showed all weekend. We did some testing at Rockingham during the off weeks to get our trucks dialed in and learned a lot, it really paid off.”
“It was a great night for Joe Denette Motorsports. This whole team has worked so hard over the last few weeks to get our program back together and it showed tonight. We ran in the top-5 for most of the night, and right there at the end, we had a chance to win it. I spun my tires on that last restart and ultimately, that is what cost us the win. At the end of the day though, it was a great run for us and it shows that we are here and we can run competitively with everyone out there.”
“I really feel like had the caution not come out on that next to last restart where we restarted fourth, we could have really been a contender for the win. We were running second when the caution came out and I knew for the restart, the bottom was going to be real slick so you had to be on the outside getting into one. Restarting second, I was on the bottom and kind of knew we would be in trouble. To come back and finish 5th, our best finish this year, was good. It was a good point’s night for us and its good momentum going into Iowa next week.”
When asked about the track, White replied:
“I think the track was great. Kentucky is my favorite mile and a half track we come to. It’s really bumpy and rough, and there are a lot of different grooves and lines you can run. It’s a great facility, the fans are awesome and I just love coming here.”
Notes:
. Jason White led two laps in the UNOH 225 on Thursday evening.
. 16th is the highest position in owner points Joe Denette Motorsports has held in 2011.
. White is currently 14th in the 2011 NCWTS driver point standings.
. In nine starts, the Joe Denette Motorsports team has one top-5, two top-10, five top-15 and seven top-20 finishes.
. Jason White has not finished outside the top-20 since Martinsville in April.
. White currently has an average starting position of 17.6 and an average finishing position of 17.4 in 2011.
Up next for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee from Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 16. Jason White has only two starts at the .875-mile tri-oval.
For more information on Joe Denette Motorsports please visit: www.JoeDenetteMotorsports.com
For more information on Jason White and GunBroker.com please visit: www.GunBrokerRacing.com
Follow Joe Denette Motorsports on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TeamJDM23
Follow Jason White on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JasonWhite23
Follow GunBroker.com on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/GunBroker
