Ben Kennedy and the No. 96 Weber team finished 36th in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Irish Hills 250 at Michigan International Speedway. The team advanced into the final round of qualifying and collected a 12th-place effort but a flat tire caused them to start from the rear of the field.
In the early stages of the race, Kennedy reported to crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz that he was aero tight from the center of the corner to exit. Kennedy was battling through the field reaching 22nd in the conclusion of stage one on lap 30. On lap 33, Kennedy brought the No. 96 Weber Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, restarting him in the 18th position on lap 37. On the restart, Kennedy was involved in an incident where a car made contact with him from behind. Kennedy came to pit road multiple times so the GMS Racing team could fix the damage but the five-minute clock expired, relegating Kennedy to finish in the 36th position, multiple laps down.
Quote
“It was a tough day for our No. 96 Weber team. We had a great qualifying effort of 12th but had to start from the rear of the field due to a flat tire. This team rallied from the back and had a really good car. I wish we could have shown what it really had in the second half of the race.”
Additional Info
– Ben is scheduled to be back behind the wheel of the No. 96 Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway.
GMS Racing PR
