Making his first-career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon, Dylan Kwasniewski and his No. 31 Rockstar Energy team looked to perfect the handling of their Chevy Camaro at the 1.058-mile oval for the 200-lap race. During the two-day show, the NNS had two practice sessions on Friday afternoon where Kwasniewski and his Turner Scott Motorsports team laid down the 12th- and sixth-fastest lap times, respectively. Kwasniewski then went out on Saturday morning and laid down a time of 29.876 seconds in knockout qualifying, good enough for a top-10 starting position for Saturday afternoon’s shootout.
Starting in the 10th positon, Kwasniewski survived two early cautions during the first 15 laps and settled into the 13th position by lap 18. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender continued to hold on to a top-15 position until the first round of green-flag pit stops took place on lap 77. Running in the 12th position, crew chief Pat Tryson called Kwasniewski down pit road for four tires, Sunoco Racing fuel and a track-bar adjustment. Once green-flag pit stops cycled through, Kwasniewski was scored in the 11th position on lap 83. Battling a loose racecar, Kwasniewski was 14th, one lap down, when the fourth caution of the afternoon came out on lap 102. During the caution, Tryson again called Kwasniewski down pit road for four tires and fuel. Restarting 20th on lap 106, Kwasniewski and the field headed into Turn 2 when another competitor spun, causing a multi-car accident. While trying to avoid the wreck, Kwasniewski suffered damage to the left rear and front of his Rockstar Energy Drink Chevy. After quick work by his crew to repair the damage on pit road, Kwasniewski restarted 20th, one lap down, on lap 112. Despite the damage, the Las Vegas native continued to battle for the remaining portion of the race, picking up several positions before ultimately bringing the Rockstar Energy Drink Chevy home in the 13th position.
Dylan Kwasniewski on Racing at New Hampshire:
“I would like to thank my guys for all the effort they put into this No. 31 Rockstar Energy Drink Chevy this weekend. We continue to build great race cars that have a lot of speed. All in all, it was a good weekend. We got caught up in the accident towards the middle part of the race, but we never gave up and we were able to come home with a top-15 finish .“
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