Townley Atlanta Rewind/Las Vegas Look Ahead

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In: Xfinity Series News

John Wes Townley shined during qualifying at his home track on Saturday morning by nailing down the 13th starting position for the NASCAR Xfinity Series event and a top-five starting spot for the NASCAR Camping World Series 200-miler at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

But the afternoon doubleheader brought a mixed bag of results for the 25-year-old who resides in Watkinsville, Ga.

Townley’s No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro brushed the Turn 2 outside wall during the early laps of the Xfinity race after it unexpectedly shot up the racing surface.

“It just got free. There was no warning,” Townley said.

The Mike Ford-led team went to work during the next caution to massage the right-rear of the Chevy. But the contact proved costly in terms of a reduction of speed for the remainder of the race.

Townley managed to soldier on and post a 27th-place finish.

Just over an hour later, Townley jumped aboard the No. 05 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Silverado in hopes of claiming a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in front of a contingent of his home state fans. He ran consistently in the top-seven during the first half of the second race of the season for the popular Truck Series.

At the mid-point of the event, crew chief Michael Shelton played tire strategy by calling for fuel only during a stop.

But the race defied history and stayed green for the remaining laps, leaving the No. 05 team with a set of sticker tires sitting on the pit wall when the checkered flag waved over the field at a track where new tires mean everything.

“We would have been sitting pretty if we had seen a caution with 15 to 30 laps remaining,” said Townley, who got lapped late by race-winner Matt Crafton and wound up settling for a 12th-place finish. “But it just didn’t play out in our favor.”

With the Truck Series idle until a date in Martinsville, Va. on Saturday March 28th, Townley will head to Las Vegas this week for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at one of his favorite tracks on NASCAR’s junior circuit.

“I’ve always enjoyed racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” said Townley, whose last three Truck Series starts in Las Vegas have resulted in finishes of 11th, seventh and 14th.

“It’s a 1.5-mile track that just seems to fit my driving style. I’ve got a feeling this will be a really good weekend for our No. 25 Zaxby’s team.”

John Wes Townley PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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