What: Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
When: Saturday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. EDT
Where: The ROVAL (2.32 miles, 17 turns), Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Driver: Preston Pardus, Daytona Beach, Fla.
car: No. 91 Chinchor Electric/Garage Oil Whiskey Chevrolet
Crew chief: Dan Pardus
Distance: Stages of 20, 20 and 27 laps (67 laps = 155.44 miles)
Broadcast info: TV – NBC; Radio – Performance Racing Network/Sirius XM Ch. 90
CONCORD, N.C. — Preston Pardus is understandably pumped up about the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Charlotte Motor Speedway this week.
After all, it was on the track’s ROVAL course a year ago that Pardus scored his career-best finish, battling from the 37th starting spot to earn a seventh-place finish. That marked the first of six consecutive races in which Pardus has not only finished, but has finished on the lead lap – something he’s accomplished in all four of his 2022 Xfinity outings.
“We’ve had a lot of speed and haven’t had things kind of go our way in stages two and three,” Pardus said of the current campaign. “It’s still a good year overall. Being on the lead lap means you’re finishing races, and you’ve got to do that before you can have top 10s.
“It’d be nice to parlay our speed into good results.”
He would love nothing better than for the No. 91 Chevrolet to produce the same race-day speed it did last October on the 17-turn layout. Pardus steadily climbed through the field to the top 15, where he raced most of the day, then charged into the top 10 when it mattered most.
“The whole day, we had great speed,” he said. “We didn’t have to play the pit strategy game because we were in the top 15 the whole day. To get a seventh, that was sweet.
“It was great, being able to battle it out with those guys, especially the playoff drivers. I think there were 10-12 playoff drivers, and to finish seventh means we beat guys that were running for a championship. It’s cool when you think about it like that.”
This time, Pardus will find himself battling with 12 championship-eligible drivers, including frontrunners A.J. Allmendinger, who won last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, and Noah Gragson, who leads the series with seven victories. They’re atop the standings with 2,134 points apiece.
“It takes everything to go together for a successful day,” Pardus said of his 2021 career-best day at Charlotte. “We had a great car, a great handle on it, great pit strategy, and I felt pretty good behind the wheel. Everything more or less went right. We were in it all day and came away with a good result.”
The race is Pardus’ first in Xfinity action since mid-August at Watkins Glen International. He competed last weekend in the SCCA National Runoffs at Virginia International Raceway, where he was attempting to become a three-peat champion in the Spec Miata ranks. He qualified second with a new car and was a contender for the win until the final lap, when he got run off course and wound up eighth.
Xfinity action at Charlotte’s roval kicks off Saturday with a 30-minute practice beginning at 10 a.m. Qualifying ensues immediately at 10:30, followed by the green flag on the 67-lap Drive for the Cure 250 at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Pardus’ No. 91 Chevrolet is sponsored at Charlotte by Chinchor Electric (Orange City, Fla.) and Garage Oil – American Badass Whiskey (Austin, Texas).
