
No. 34 Long John Silver's Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
After being fastest in practice in the Long John Silver's 1970s throwback Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Michael McDowell was ready for a good result at the track 'Too Tough to Tame', starting in 16th place. Throughout the first and second stage, McDowell was fighting a tight race car, the every-changing track conditions, and the Lady in Black, enroute to a 19th and 18th stage finish, respectively. For Stage 3, McDowell and the 34 team played the strategy game and made some key adjustments for the long, green flag run of the final stage. On-track incidents featuring Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick, allowed McDowell to gain spots in the final 30 laps of the race and bring home his Ford in 10th place. For McDowell, it's his third-highest finish at Darlington and his first back-to-back Top-10 finish, since Chicago-Atlanta last season.
Start: 16th
Stage One: 19th
Stage Two: 18th
Race Result: 10th
DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:
"It was a hard-fought day, we struggled with the balance early on. We made good changes and capitalized off of a few restarts then everything kind of went our way there at the end. It's a hard day at Darlington; I think I only bounced off the wall about seven times. Thankful to get to the end and glad to get another Top-10. "
No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
Qualifying 15th in his throwback gener8tor scheme, Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 were poised for a strong showing at the historic Darlington Raceway. Getting up on the wheel early in the race and ripping the fence, Gilliland worked his way into the Top-10 before coming to pit road under green for fresh tires and fuel. Gilliland went back to work and finished out the stage in the 6th position and scored stage points. Gilliland started the second stage on fresh tires after coming to pit road under the caution and spent most of Stage 2 fighting a tight race car looking for rear grip. Gilliland finished Stage 2 in the 13th position. Continuing to fight the handling of his Ford Mustang Dark Horse and changing track conditions, Gilliland came to pit road under caution after fellow competitor Kyle Larson spun out and hit the wall. Unfortunately, a long stop put Gilliland further back in the pack, not allowing him to get back up to the Top-10. Gilliland drove hard for the remainder of the race to bring home a 15th-place finish. It was his fourth Top-15 in the last six races.
Start: 15th
Stage One: 6th
Stage Two: 13th
Race Result: 15th
DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:
"I felt all weekend our car had good speed. We kept building on it, but we didn't have our best day on pit road today and it's hard to overcome that when you're racing the best of the best. Our car is in the right direction, and it gives us something to build off of. We're all a team, so we win and lose together, I've made plenty of mistakes before, we just have to minimize them and hit our marks."
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