TriStar Motorsports Post-Race Report: Auto Club Speedway

Race Highlights: 

   

Blake Koch qualified 21^st for the Drive4Clots.com 300, followed by Cale Conley in 22^nd, David Starr in 25^th and Mike Bliss in 30^th. 

 

After an action filled race which included three cautions for 12 laps and 13 lead changes among eight leaders.

 

David Starr finished the 300-mile race 15^th, followed by Cale Conley in 16^th, Blake Koch in 19^th and Mike Bliss in 26^th.              

David Starr Finishes 15^th in the Drive4Clots.com 300

After qualifying 25^th in the No. 44 Zachry Camry, David Starr and the No. 44 crew were ready to race. Starr advanced two positions early into the race, but went one lap down and was the “Lucky Dog” recipient on lap 32. Starr reported that the car was tight and had no grip, so he came to pit road for four tires, fuel, a track bar adjustment and an air pressure adjustment. Running 22^nd on lap 47, when the caution flag was shown, Starr came to pit road for four tires and fuel. Starr was scored in the ninth position on lap 77 and led two laps on lap 82 and 83. Coming to pit on lap 84 for four tires, fuel and a windshield tear off, Starr was scored in the 21^st position. Running 18^th on lap 102, Starr would advance three positions to finish the 300-mile race in the 15^th position.

 

Start- 25^th        Finish- 15^th       Laps Led- 2      Points- 30 points

                                                   

Driver QUOTE: “Our Zachry Toyota Camry was pretty awesome today. It didn’t start off very well and we didn’t qualifying very well, but, man, it’s like the Camry on the street I drive – it didn’t let us down. We were able to make some adjustments and it came alive and started driving really good. I give a lot of credit to Greg Conner, my crew chief, and just all the guys on our Zachry team. We never stop fighting and we’re a big, small team and top-15s are important to us. We just need to keep knocking off top-15s and work on our cars and make them a little bit better. I feel like when we finish in the top-15, that’s momentum for us and that’s progress for us. Next race we go to, we’re going to have a new Toyota Camry and I’m excited about that. We’ll just keep digging. Glad we came home 15th – that was good for us – and the Camry was awesome today.”

 

Cale Conley finishes 16^th in the Drive4Clots.com 300 

It was another weekend of improvement for Cale Conley and the No. 14 IAVA team after scoring a 16th-place finish in the Drive4Clots.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway. Raceday started on a high note after Conley advanced into the second round of qualifying with speeds fast enough to start the 300-mile race from the 22nd position. After the green flag flew, Conley was quiet on the radio, using each restart to advance position. Midway through the race, the field began to spread out and Conley fell a lap to the leaders. Crew Chief Eddie Pardue made the call for Conley to remain on track as long as possible as the last round of green flag pit stops began. The strategy worked in the team?s favor as a caution flag flew for debris for 34 laps to go. Conley was able to pit under green, putting him back on the lead lap and in the 15th position for the final restart. He was able to battle for position throughout the final laps, finishing 16th.

 

Start- 22^nd     Finish- 16^th     Laps Led -0      Points- 28 points

                                                   

Driver QUOTE:  “This was our best run of the year. We caught a lucky caution at the end that kept us on the lead lap. The car was tight throughout the race, but still good enough that I could pick a lane, be it top or bottom. We lost a little speed on the long green-flag runs, but gain it back on the restarts. I learned a lot on this first experience in California and this track is officially in my top three favorites. I can’t wait to visit this place again and continue to improve at Texas.”

 

Blake Koch Finishes 19^th in the Drive4Clots.com 300

Blake Koch and the No. 8 AQUAhydrate Camry qualified 21^st Saturday morning and was ready to race in the 300-mile race that afternoon. Early into the race, Koch was quiet on the radio and was scored in the 25^th position. After reporting that his Camry was getting loose in traffic in turn one, Koch’s spotter told him to run a lower lane. When the first caution flag was shown, Koch came to pit road for four tires and fuel. Jumping three positions on the restart, Koch was scored in the 19^th position when the second caution flag was shown and he pitted for fuel only. After the third pit stop of the day, Koch reported a throttle issue and was scored in the 22^nd position. Blake Koch and the No. 8 AQUAhydrate Camry advanced three positions and finished the race 19^th.

 

Start- 21^st        Finish- 19^th       Laps Led- 0      Points- 25 points

                                                   

Driver QUOTE: “I can’t thank my team enough for never giving up during the 300-mile race. A mechanical issue late in the race hurt the No. 8 AQUAhydrate Camry, but my team never gave up. After a 19^th place finish, I am excited to regroup on the two weeks off and then head to Texas Motor Speedway.”

 

Mike Bliss Finishes 26^th in the Drive4Clots.com 300

 

Mike Bliss sought momentum in the 17^th Annual Drive4Clots 300 at Auto Club Speedway, to only be railroaded by mechanical failure starting in the first NASCAR XFINITY Series practice on Friday afternoon. Thinking the No. 19 TriStar Motorsports team spearheaded the issue for final practice, a different mechanical issue plagued the team once again. With minimal laps in the red and white Toyota Camry, Bliss qualified 30^th for the 300-mile event in Southern, California. Bliss maneuvered through the field to the 18^th position by the first caution on lap eight.  Concluding that they hadn’t run enough laps to determine any diagnostics on the 19, Bliss and Crew Chief Paul Clapprood agreed to not pit. Fighting a variable of tight and loose conditions, Bliss brought the Camry to pit road for a green flag pit stop on lap 40. By lap 70, Bliss slips back to 22^nd and informs his team that the car “twitches” over the bumps at the 2-mile speedway. Making several attempts, including pit strategy, to be in the position for the “Lucky Dog”, Bliss and his team continued to come up short and finished the race 26^th.

 

Start – 30^th        Finish- 26^th      Laps Led- 0      Points- 18 points

                                                   

Driver QUOTE: “We couldn’t catch a break! My guys busted their tails to fix the issues from first practice to only have more in final practice, which ultimately lead us into the race not knowing what the car would do. I greatly appreciate their efforts and look forward to re-grouping in the next two off weeks”.

TMI PR