Ryan Truex and the No. 83 VooDoo BBQ & Grill Toyota Camry team finished 31st in the Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The rookie contender secured the best starting position ever recorded by three-year-old BK Racing, but suffered balance issues throughout the race before rebounding to his fourth top-35 finish of the 2014 season.
Rain showers soaked the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway on Friday afternoon cancelling qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series. Instead, the field was set according to the rulebook and Truex lined up in the eighth starting position as a result of his efforts in Friday’s practices. The accomplishment not only marked the career-best starting position for rookie Truex, but it also marked the record-best starting position for the three-year-old BK Racing organization.
With track conditions differing from Friday’s practice sessions, Truex called into his VooDoo BBQ & Grill team early in the event to report an extremely tight handling condition. As the problem persisted, Truex fought to maintain track position, but fell to the 40th position prior to lap 50. The VooDoo BBQ & Grill team took two major swings at the car, making substantial adjustments during pit stops near lap 100 and again near lap 300. With his car’s balance drastically improved, Truex was able to drive up to the 31st position by the time the checkered flag waved on lap 400.
“Our race was full of highs and lows this week, but I’m really proud of the effort of our VooDoo BBQ & Grill team,” commented Truex. “We started off with a record-best starting position for BK Racing, which was exciting for not only our No. 83 team, but also the entire organization. Then we struggled a bit with the handling during the early portions of the race, but Doug [Richert, crew chief] and I communicated well and we were able to get our car running really well by the end of the race. I’m excited about the improvement we continue to make every week, and I’m looking forward to getting to Talladega [Ala.] Superspeedway next weekend.”
BK Racing PR
