“We fought hard tonight,” said Wallace after the race. “Our LoudMouth Exhaust Mustang was great in the beginning and it was fun to make some moves and get up there to the lead. I hate that we bounced off of the wall but I’m really proud of everyone on this team. They never gave up all night long and we were able to bring home a top-10 finish.”
Wallace began the scheduled 300-lap event from the sixth position after advancing to the third round of knockout qualifying on Friday afternoon. Wallace wasted little time moving forward once the race went green, charging into the second position at the completion of Lap 1 and into the race lead by Lap 2. The Roush Fenway Racing driver would hold onto the lead for four laps before settling in to the fifth position.
Wallace maintained his position inside the top five until a tight condition shuffled the driver of the LoudMouth Exhaust Mustang back to ninth before the first caution of the night came out on Lap 75. On the ensuing restart Wallace again surged forward, racing from eighth back into the top five and up to the fourth position.
Wallace continued to race for position in the top 10 throughout the middle stages of the event before contact following a Lap 160 incident caused a fender rub to the left-rear of the LoudMouth Exhaust Mustang. As a result of the damage, crew chief Seth Barbour called Wallace to pit road for repairs. After returning to the track in 11th, Wallace reported that the car had drastically shifted to the loose side, affecting how he navigated through the center of the corner. This handling condition persisted for several laps and ultimately led to Wallace making contact with the outside retaining wall on Lap 233, damaging the right-rear fender.
Despite the damage Wallace never gave up and drove his way back into top 10 and up to the ninth position before the final caution of the event came out on Lap 295.
In the closing stages Wallace continued to battle for position as the race went into NASCAR’s version of overtime and took the checkered flag in the seventh position.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Road America on Saturday, August 27 at 3:00pm EST.
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