DGR NCWTS Race Recap: Las Vegas

 

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Toter Ford F-150

Start: 30th

Finish: 28th

  • During the first Stage 1 caution, Deegan reported the racing surface felt a little bit dirty while in the 30th spot.
  • On lap 20, the California native relayed to the Toter crew that her F-150 was tight in the center.
  • Deegan’s F-150 remained tight until the stage break when she pitted from 27th for several adjustments.
  • The Ford driver began Stage 2 from 25th and halfway through the stage, Deegan was in the 26th spot.
  • As the laps clicked off, Deegan’s Ford handled better but she reported it was still a little tight and ended the stage 26th.
  • Deegan started the stage from 22nd and shortly after the green flag, the caution was displayed with the 19-year-old driver in the 17th. Another caution was displayed on lap 79 and Deegan reported her truck felt, “pretty hooked up,” while she was in the 13th position.
  • “It’s a little loose,” Deegan reported during the lap-89 caution from the 17th spot.
  • On lap 96, Deegan received damage from a multi-truck accident and brought her F-150 to pit road for repairs. The crew worked on the right side and she was able to return to the racing surface and remain on the lead lap in 25th.
  • Unfortunately, on lap 109 Deegan was forced to pit with her damaged Toter machine after the right-rear tire went flat. The team made several repairs to the F-150 and Deegan went four laps down while the race remained under green.
  • The Toter driver finished 28th.
 

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

Start: 22nd

Finish: 12th

  • Gray started 22nd due to points and finishing position from the previous race. He was able to advance five positions during Stage 1 and finish 17th. The team would pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments to help free up the truck.
  • A great pit stop by the Ford Performance crew placed Gray in the 14th position to start Stage 2. Over the next 30 laps, he fell to 17th and battled back up to 12th at the end of the stage while continuing to battle tight handling conditions.
  • After pitting for four more tires, fuel and further adjustments to help the handling, the No. 15 restarted the final stage in 11th. An aggressive start had Gray in eighth on the opening lap and a lap 69 caution restacked the field and allowed him to earn another position to seventh before the next caution on lap 79.
  • When the yellow flag waved on lap 89, Gray was running in the fifth position. Crew chief Shane Wilson called the driver down pit road for the final pit stop of the night. An excellent pit stop got the No. 15 F-150 off of pit road as the first truck with four tires and Gray would restart sixth.
  • The final yellow waved on lap 123 and Gray restarted in eighth with six laps remaining. He would ultimately finish in the 12th position after a hard-fought battle with the latter half of the top-10.
 

David Gilliland, No. 17 DGR Ford F-150

Start: 14th

Finish: 39th

  • With 10 laps to go in Stage 1, Gilliland was in the 13th position, and he ultimately finished the stage seventh and earned four bonus points.
  • Halfway through Stage 2, the veteran driver was in the 10th spot. He ended the stage eighth to earn three bonus points.
  • Gilliland began the final stage from the 13th spot. Throughout several cautions in the stage, Gilliland remained in the top-12.
  • With 39 laps to go, Gilliland pitted and restarted 17th. Unfortunately, Gilliland was involved in a multi-truck accident on lap 96 which ended his night prematurely and relegated him to a 39th-place finish.

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