Just when John Wes Townley was beginning to find his grove on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a faulty alternator cost him a top 15 finish in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 300.
After qualifying 23rd on Saturday morning at the 1.5-mile oval, the 25-year-old Townley from Watkinsville, Ga. knew he would face an uphill battle later in the day against a 40-car field stacked with Sprint Cup veteran drivers and teams in their own backyard.
The start of the 200 lap race didn’t appear to be very promising for Townley, as he ran just outside of the top 20.
But near the halfway point of the event, Townley’s No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet came to life and began running similar lap times as many of the leaders.
However, the cause for joy was short-lived after he radioed to crew chief Mike Ford that his Chevrolet engine had developed a sputter. After pitting on the next caution, it was determined that the alternator was on its last leg.
Following a lengthy stay for a battery replacement and electrical repairs on pit road, Townley would be forced to settle for a 29th-place finish.
“That was a topsy-turvy afternoon,” Townley said. “The car was handling the best it had all weekend and then all of a sudden the alternator goes out. I had no gauges working and I was losing power.”
Townley and his Athenian Motorsports team will regroup and head north to Dover, Del. next weekend, where he will pull double-duty in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Series race and Saturday’s XFINITY Series event at the one-mile Dover International Speedway oval.
“Dover has always been one of my favorite race tracks,” said Townley, fifth in driver points in the Truck Series. “For some reason, I just like the layout of the racing surface. I think we’re in store for two good runs at the Monster Mile.”
Athenian Motorsports PR
