Loose Wheel Stifles Gdovic’s Charge to the Front at Indy

Precision Performance Motorsports and Brandon Gdovic returned to NASCAR XFINITY Series racing action at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend in hopes of continuing their growth in the series. Gdovic, in his first trip to The Brickyard, was a quick study of the 2.5-mile track and put up faster times in each practice run. Unfortunately during the race, a loose wheel midway through the race halted Gdovic’s charge to the front, forcing him to return to pit road and costing him precious positions. Gdovic finished the Lilly Diabetes 250 in the 27th position.

The Precision Performance Motorsports team ventured northwest to Indianapolis, Indiana in eager anticipation of Gdovic’s debut at The Brickyard. The No. 46 TCC Culture of Good Chevrolet Camaro showed speed immediately off the hauler, turning practice laps fast enough for 19th position. Gdovic would line up 15th for Heat #2 and powered his Camaro to the 13th position in the 20-lap shootout.

The drivers had to not only battle their competitors, but also the grueling in-car heat exceeding 115 degrees. The Heat #2 challengers had just minutes to change tires and refuel before returning to the track for the main event.

Gdovic started the Lilly Diabetes 250 from the 26th position and began to pass competitors from the onset of the race. By Lap 25, green flag pit stops had begun. Gdovic took his TCC Culture of Good Camaro to the attention of the Precision Performance Motorsports crew for four fresh tires and fuel. Immediately upon Gdovic’s return to the track, he reported a vibration. Sensing the gravity of this issue, Gdovic returned to pit road under green flag conditions to find that he had a loose wheel. The crew remedied the problem, but the issue cost Gdovic multiple laps in an already short race. Gdovic spent the last 20 laps passing a handful of competitors en route to a 27th-place finish.

Brandon Gdovic Quotes:
“I was really excited to have the opportunity to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I have looked forward to this race for a while now, because I wanted the opportunity to get more seat time at longer tracks in preparation of the 2017 season. I still have a lot to learn on the qualifying side like how hard to push these cars. But I feel like we had a good car for the race. I believe we would have had a Top-20 finish but unfortunately we had a loose wheel under green flag pit stops and we had to return to pit road. This hindered us from gaining many more positions from that point. But this was still a learning opportunity and I am looking forward to the next XFINITY Series race.”

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