Friday, May 6
Track: Darlington Raceway, 1.36-mile oval
Race: 7 of 23
Event: Dead On Tools 200 (147 laps, 200 miles)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150
Start: 26th
Finish: 29th
- Hailie Deegan took the green flag for the Dead On Tools 200 after qualifying 26th at the infamous Lady in Black. Despite being loose early in the run, she netted six additional places, crossing the line at the end of Stage 1 in 20th position.
- Deegan noted on the radio that she fought the rear end coming around throughout the run, finding it especially difficult to get the nose turned in the bottom lane. Despite these issues, the Temecula, CA native found speed running the top, reaching as high as 16th in Stage 2.
- The 20-year-old’s momentum was ultimately halted after becoming trapped behind a wounded truck, limping its way onto pit road following a blown tire. Deegan would fall to the 25th position, losing valuable track position despite a strong Ford F-150.
- Before the ensuing restart, the No.1 crew made a slight left rear adjustment, climbing back into 20th as the race would enter its final 57 laps. The following restart proved to be disastrous as Deegan was collected in a wreck that critically damaged her left front fender. She rejoined the field for 30 more laps before being forced to retire early with recurring tire failures generated by the damage sustained in the incident.
- When the checkered flag fell on the Dead On Tools 200, Deegan was scored in the 29th position.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Dead On Tools Ford F-150
Start: 17th
Finish: 34th
- Tanner Gray qualified 17th for the Dead On Tools 200. Struggling with a loose handling truck, Gray was running 14th after the opening 20 laps.
- The caution on lap 21 allowed the team to pit for fresh tires and trackbar adjustments. The No. 15 F-150 restarted 19th and cracked into the top-10 on lap 30. Gray ultimately finished seventh in Stage 1 to earn four stage points.
- Still struggling with a loose truck, Jerry Baxter made the call for fresh tires and the addition of a spring rubber to the left rear during the stage break.
- Gray restarted 11th and sustained fender damage in the opening few laps that forced the team to fix it under the lap 59 caution. The Ford driver would go on to finish 15th in Stage 2.
- The Dead On Tools truck fired off 16th for the final stage and was working its way forward when disaster struck on lap 99 and Gray was involved in a multi-truck incident in turn 3 effectively ending his night early. He was credited with 34th position.
Ryan Preece, No. 17 United Rentals Ford F-150
Start: 13th
Finish: 7th
- Ryan Preece rolled off 13th for the 200-mile event. At the drop of the green flag, he quickly moved up to eighth.
- The veteran driver pitted at the lap 20 caution and restarted 17th. He advanced back up to ninth with 17 laps to go in the stage, but as the truck began to build loose he faded back to 17th at the end of Stage 1.
- Preece started Stage 2 from 15th and was running 12th when caution flag waved on lap 59. On the restart, he advanced up to seventh and maintained inside the top-10 as he held on for eighth-place at the end of Stage 2.
- The Connecticut native occupied the eighth position for much of the final stage. When the final caution flag of the race waved with four laps remaining, he was in ninth. He gained two positions in the closing laps and secured his fifth career top-10 in five career NCWTS starts with a seventh-place finish.
Next event: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on May 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
