Up & Down night in Texas leaves Lofton Empty

Justin Lofton and the No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions/Lofton Cattle Chevrolet team came home in the 22nd position after a challenging night at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, Nov. 2. With a fast Chevrolet, Lofton picked up 14 positions to race in the ninth position by the halfway point. A long green-flag run late in the race and an empty fuel cell relegated the championship contender to a mid-pack finish.

 

Races at Texas Motor Speedway always pose a few special challenges as teams practice during the day and race into the night. Lofton and the No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions/Lofton Cattle team worked hard throughout Thursday’s two practice sessions to find a setup that gave the driver enough grip to easily navigate the corners while holding the throttle on his Silverado wide open.

 

Rolling off in the 23rd position after posting a 30.676-second lap during qualifying, Lofton battled a loose truck on entry during the opening laps of the WinStar World Casino 350. The Weekend Warriors Productions/Lofton Cattle team waited until the lap 32 caution period to bring the No. 6 Chevrolet down pit road adding four tires, fuel and making adjustments to the truck.

 

Lofton continued to race through the field and had worked up to just outside the top 15 when the caution flag waved on lap 66. With Lofton losing grip in the corners from the center of the corner through the exit, the Weekend Warriors Productions/Lofton Cattle crew once again worked on their Chevrolet with four tires and an air pressure adjustment. With a fast pit stop and solid restart, Lofton was able to move into the top 10 by lap 80.

 

Lofton raced as high as the eighth position before his Chevrolet started to run out of fuel and sputtered in the first turn. The championship contender was able to re-fire the engine on the back stretch before running out of fuel again in turn three. Lofton coasted down pit road on lap 115 for fuel and four tires. Following the incident and a round of green-flag pit stops, Lofton found himself in the 24th position. Never giving up, Lofton continued to battle the competition as hard as he could and picked up two additional positions to be scored in the 22nd position by the time the checkered flag waved.

 

“Our No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions / Lofton Cattle Chevrolet was a really strong truck during the race,” commented Lofton. “We started the race mid-pack, but were able to race all the way up to the eighth position. My crew did a great job with fast pit stops all night. Unfortunately, fuel mileage was a challenge for us all weekend and when we ran out of fuel in the race there just wasn’t enough time to recover before the checkered flag.

 

“I will have a lot of family and friends in Phoenix for the race next week since it’s so close to home,” Lofton continued. “The guys have been working really hard to get ready for the last two races of the season, and I’m really looking forward to racing at Phoenix International Raceway with the No. 6 Weekend Warriors Productions/Lofton Cattle Chevrolet.”

 

Justin Lofton PR