DGR NCWTS Race Recap: Darlington Raceway

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Ford Performance F-150

Start: 10th

Finish: 20th

• Deegan started the event from the 10th spot. At the lap-16 competition caution, the Ford driver reported her F-150 was tight in the center of turns 3 and 4 while in the 17th spot. After pitting, she restarted 17th and remained in the top-25 to ultimately finish the stage 21st.
• During the Stage 1 break, Deegan pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help her truck turn better. She started Stage 2 from the 22nd spot. The second stage ran under green until 10 laps to go. Deegan took the opportunity to pit and restarted 21st in a sprint to end the stage. The young driver ended the stage in 19th.
• Deegan started the final stage from the 17th spot. With 41 laps to go in the stage, Deegan was in the 12th position. Under caution with 35 laps to go, Deegan pitted from 14th and restarted 23rd after varying pit strategies. Just after the green flag dropped with 30 laps to go, another caution was displayed. Deegan made evasive maneuvers to miss the melee, but another competitor made contact with Deegan’s truck from behind causing her to pit three times under caution for damage repairs. 
• The No. 1 Ford Performance crew worked diligently to repair Deegan’s F-150 to give her the best shot at earning a top-10 finish. She started 17th with 17 laps to go in the event. Another caution was displayed and Deegan restarted 14th with eight laps to go. The final caution of the race was displayed with a handful of laps remaining and set the field up for a green-white-checkered finish. Deegan restarted 14th but went for a spin on the frontstretch after contact with a competitor on the white flag lap. She was able to limp her No. 1 Ford Performance F-150 home to a 20th-place finish. 

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

Start: 11th

Finish: 33rd

• Gray started the 147-lap event from the 11th position. When caution flag waved on lap 16, the No. 15 pitted from 13th for tires, fuel and adjustments and restarted in the same position.
• The Ford Performance driver advanced three positions to 10th on the restart, but the caution flag waved once again with nine laps remaining in the stage and restacked the field. He would ultimately finish the first stage in 12th.
• After pitting for tires, fuel, air pressure and trackbar adjustments, Gray restarted Stage 2 in 12th. He worked his way up into 10th and was riding there when a caution came out on lap 80.
• The team stayed out under caution intending to earn stage points, however, the rest of the leaders pitted. With the tire disadvantage, Gray fell to 14th in the four-lap shootout to end Stage 2. He pitted for tires, fuel and minor damage repair at the stage break.
• The No. 15 F-150 would line up in 26th for the start of the final stage. Gray had worked his way back to the 14th position when he got loose and made contact with another truck on lap 110. The wreck caused enough damage to end Gray’s day and he was credited with a 33rd place finish.

David Gilliland, No. 17 Black’s Tire & Auto Service Ford F-150

Start: 35th

Finish: 28th

• After starting 35th, Gilliland was 25th when the competition caution was displayed. Gilliland visited pit road for service but was caught speeding on pit road and had to restart at the rear of the field in 35th.  Gilliland was able to work his way forward with a strong Black’s Tire & Auto Service F-150 to end the stage in 18th. 
• Gilliland started Stage 2 in 26th and ended it in 18th. The Ford driver started the final stage from 16th and was up to 10th with 35 laps to go. Just after the green flag dropped on lap 30, a multi-vehicle accident occurred and collected the No. 17 F-150, ultimately ending Gilliland’s night prematurely in 28th.

Next event: Toyota Tundra 225 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on May 22 at 1 p.m. ET.