Gilliland Finishes 17th, McDowell Scores 19th and Alfredo is 27th in Atlanta
The NASCAR Camping World Truck and Cup Series returned back to the East Coast, racing at the Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Kyle Busch won Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fr8 Auctions 200 event. Todd Gilliland and his No. 38 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors Ford F-150 team finished 17th.
On Sunday, Ryan Blaney became the sixth different winner in six races to start the NASCAR Cup Series season. Michael McDowell and the Fr8 Auctions Ford Mustang team finished 19th. McDowell has finished inside the Top-20 in five of the six races this season.
Anthony Alfredo raced his No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang to a 27th-place finish and gained valuable experience.
It was Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors team taking to the Atlanta Motor Speedway first on Saturday. Gilliland was back racing after a weekend off and started in the ninth spot.
Throughout the race, Gilliland fought grip, especially on short runs. The team found better success on longer runs and Gilliland was able to keep pace with the top-10 or top-15 trucks. But, on older tires, Gilliland didn't have the speed to keep pace. Gilliland finished Stage 1 in 16th and the team spent time on pit road to raise the splitter.
The changes made helped Gilliland, but he needed more. Gilliland advanced through the field after starting from the back in Stage 2. He was able to get to 21st before the stage came to a close.
Again, more changes were made to help Gilliland find grip. The Chicago Pneumatic Compressors pit crew made adjustments, and with a fast stop, put Gilliland 10th to restart the final stage. The truck just didn't hold the speed needed, but Gilliland fought hard to finish 17th.
Gilliland is now 12th in the championship points.
TODD GILLILAND. NO. 38 CHICAGO PNEUMATIC COMPRESSORS FORD F-150. FINISHED 17
"It's just hard because you don't have a lot of time to work on the handling. We were tight and just didn't have grip. We tried, but we needed more adjustments. We had some speed, but not what we needed. We'll continue to work on our intermediate program, but look forward to Bristol."
McDowell and his No. 34 Fr8 Auctions team got back on track with 19th-place finish Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. McDowell was strong all day and stayed with the lead pack. Only a handful of drivers were really dialed in and it was Kyle Larson who dominated Stages 1 and 2. He put nearly half the field a lap down, but McDowell raced his way back on the Lead Lap and stayed inside the top 15 to top-20 throughout the final third of the race.
McDowell needed more grip as he was free throughout Stage 1. In Stage 2, McDowell and the team kept getting faster. They stayed on the Lead Lap and finished the stage 19th. McDowell then raced in that position until the end. He never lost position and beat Bell, Almirola and others at the end to score the Top-20- his best finish at Atlanta.
McDowell has completed all but two laps this season and is sixth in Playoff points.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL. NO. 34 Fr8 AUCTIONS FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 19
"I have to thank Marcus at Fr8 Auctions for giving us a lot of support this season. This is his home track and we wanted a top-10 or better today. But, it's a tough track and a tough race. I just like the gains we continue to make. If we can't be top-10, but we can make gains and be better at all the tracks, we just need to do that. The Fr8 Auctions team worked hard all afternoon and we had a solid day for us at Atlanta. We can be better when we come back in the summer. I appreciate Fr8 Auctions being with us this weekend."
Alfredo and his No. 38 Georgia Peanuts team finished 27th in Sunday's 500-miler. Alfredo gained positions throughout the race and was on the cusp of a top-25 finish before he overshot his pit stall, spun and lost a lap at the end of the race. Nobody was hurt on pit road.
The late race mishap didn't overshadow a tremendous learning experience for Alfredo on the track. He raced clean throughout the day. Although his Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang was tough to drive to fire off- dragging on the splitter- Alfredo was able to keep good speed and race with his fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year competitor, Chase Briscoe, throughout the afternoon.
Alfredo finished Stage 1 in 30th and the team raised the car to help it. The team made the same adjustment later, too. The adjustments helped and Alfredo was 27th at the end of Stage 2. The Georgia Peanuts team was as high as 25th before the final stop. Alfredo finished 27th in his first 500-mile event.
ANTHONY ALFREDO. NO. 38 GEORGIA PEANUTS FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 27
"I am sorry to the 10 team and glad nobody got hurt. I made mistake. It cost us a better finish. We lost ground on restarts, but I then felt that we had good speed. We were gaining positions and moving up. We'll keep fighting and I know that better finishes are coming."
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.
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