Friday, July 29
Track: Richmond Raceway, .75-mile oval
Race: 18 of 23
Event: Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation (250 laps, 187.5 miles)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Pristine Auction Ford F-150
Start: 20th
Stage 1: 23rd
Stage 2: 21st
Finish: 26th
Hailie Deegan qualified 24th for the Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation in her second career appearance at Richmond Raceway. The 21-year-old hovered around her starting position for the race’s opening laps, telling Crew Chief Jerry Baxter and the No. 1 team that she was struggling with a loose condition on corner entry and exit. A pit crew violation would send Deegan to 32nd on the subsequent restart, forcing her to claw through field in order to reach 21st position by the conclusion of stage two. A commitment line violation on the next round of pit stops would relegate Deegan to back of the pack for the final stage, relegating the Temecula, CA native to a 26th-place finish.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Black’s Tire Ford F-150
Start: 19th
Stage 1: 18th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 16th
Tanner Gray qualified 19th for Saturday night’s event at Richmond Raceway. After falling back to 21st at the drop of the green, Gray moved back up to 18th midway through the stage and finished there. After a pit stop for tires, fuel and trackbar adjustments, the 23-year-old maintained in 18th for the duration of Stage 2. Gray was trapped one lap down for much of the final stage and while battling the other drivers on his lap, managed to advance to 16th when the checkered flag flew.
Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150
Start: 24th
Stage 1: 14th
Stage 2: 5th
Finish: 6th
Taylor Gray qualified 24th for the Worldwide Express 250 and wasted no time on the initial start to begin his march forward. By the halfway point of the opening stage, the younger Gray was up to 17th and he gained three additional positions to finish 14th in Stage 1. Chad Johnston called the No. 17 down pit road for tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments at the stage break and that seemed to do the trick as Gray launched into the top-10 on the restart. The Ford Performance F-150 stacked up fifth at the end of Stage 2. After falling back to seventh early in the final stage, Gray re-entered the top-five on lap 178, but a caution with 36 laps to go led the drivers to pit road one final time. The Ford driver cycled to sixth on the final restart and finished there for his first Truck Series top-10 of 2022.
Next event: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on September 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
