Coming into the race on Friday night, Dylan Kwasniewski wanted to learn his way around the bumpy Kentucky Speedway and come home with good finish. Kwasniewski and his Rockstar Energy Drink team did just that, finishing 11th for Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) at the 1.5-mile track on Friday night. During the action-packed week, the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) had a full day of testing on Wednesday, before having two practice sessions on Thursday night and Friday morning, where Kwasniewski and his TSM team had laid down the 20th and 15th fastest lap times, respectively. Kwasniewski then went out on a hot and steamy Friday afternoon and laid down a time of 31.561 sec., which was good enough for the 17th starting position for the 200-lap shootout.
Taking the green flag in the 17th position, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender settled into the 20th position and reported to crew chief Pat Tryson on lap five that his Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet was loose everywhere. Kwasniewski continued to run inside the top 20 until the first caution of the day came out on lap 43. During the caution. Tryson brought Kwasniewski down pit road for four tries, fuel and adjustments. After a lightning-quick pit stop by the Rockstar Energy Drink crew, Kwasniewski gained three spots and restarted 17th. Kwasniewski worked his way up to as high as 15th and was scored in the 18th position when the third caution of the day came out on lap 103. After just pitting 20 laps before, Tryson made the call to come down pit road for fuel only. After the stop, Kwasniewski restarted 17th. The Las Vegas native would maintain his position until the field started making green-flag pit stops on Lap 145. Ultimately working his way up to as high as ninth, the Rockstar Energy Drink team received a timely caution on lap 157. With some competitors stuck a lap down after pit stops, Kwasniewski was able to hit pit road in the 10th position for four tires, fuel and adjustments. After another quick pit stop by his crew, Kwasniewski restarted ninth. The final caution of the night was displayed on lap 193, setting the field up for one last dash to the finish. During the caution, Tryson decided to bring Kwasniewski down pit road one final time for tires and a small adjustment. The call turned out to be the right one, as Kwasniewski went from 18th to 11th during the final three-lap shootout to end the race.
Dylan Kwasniewski on Racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“What a night. I can’t thank my guys on this Rockstar Energy Drink team enough. We struggled for a good part of the week while we were here, but these guys never gave up and continued to tune on the car to make it better. Pat made some great calls tonight on pit road, and the cautions seemed to fall our way towards the end. We have another short week coming up and I can’t wait to get back to Daytona next Friday night.“
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