Purdy Challenges Late, Finishes Top Ten In Inaugural CARS Tour Mid-Atlantic Classic

Chase Purdy and his David Gilliland Racing team made strategy work to their benefit on Saturday night, challenging for the lead late in the Mid-Atlantic Classic at Orange County Speedway, but ultimately were forced to settle for a seventh place finish. It was Purdy’s first race in a super late model at the lightning-fast facility.

 

Chase and company unloaded for Friday testing to sweltering heat and humidity, a factor the team was forced to deal with all weekend long. Despite heat indexes approaching 110 degrees, Chase and the crew continued to work on making his car better, even staying late on Friday to complete changes prior to Saturday’s official practice sessions. The adjustments worked, as Chase found himself fifth fastest in the opening practice and qualified tenth.

 

The unique format of the race, four segments with optional change tires available, provided the team ample opportunities to both work on the car to improve it and leapfrog competitors using strategy. Through the first two segments, Chase paced himself and maintained track position until the second break on lap 100. With cars who changed fewer tires being placed ahead of those who changed more, the DGR team chose to change three tires and Purdy was lined up fourth on the restart.

 

The tire strategy was enough to position Chase with a shot to race for the win over the fourth and final segment. In a daring three-wide maneuver, he challenged Steve Wallace and Cole Rouse for second early, but contact from the pass affected the handling slightly and forced him to settle for seventh after the final green-white-checker restart.

 

“It was a battle this weekend because we struggled with the handling of the car all weekend and in the race, most likely due to the heat which made it so slick,” Chase said after the race concluded. “We made a bunch of adjustments to fix the car and we got a little better, plus I think the team did a good job of getting us track position with the pit strategy we chose. The three wide move was a little bit risky late, but it was time to go and at that point we couldn’t waste any time. I know the heat was hard to handle, but we got through it, didn’t fall out of the seat, and still had a weekend where I was proud of my DGR guys for the work they put in.”

 

Chase’s next event is the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race on July 28 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Ia., the first time Chase will compete on the track and his first combination event with the West division of the series. Following that event, he will head north to test his road racing skills at Watkins Glen International for yet another NASCAR K&N Pro Series contest on Friday, August 4.

 

For more information on Chase Purdy, visit his website at ChasePurdyRacing.com and follow him on Facebook (@ChasePurdyRacing), Twitter (@ChasePurdy12) and Instagram (@chase_purdy).