Late Race Mishap Spoils Delaney's Solid Run At NHMS
Top-10 Run is Spoiled Late in the New England 125
Late race contact cost Dustin Delaney, driver of the No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet, valuable positions in the closing laps of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 125-lap affair at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Delaney settled with a 14th place finish at the checkers.
"We had a good car all week, we had a good qualifying run, and we had a good car in the race," said Delaney. "So a 14th place finish is a little disappointing. We had a solid run until the checkered flag when the 4 car decided to wreck us and took the whole front clip off the car."
Delaney turned a lap of 30.932 seconds in qualifying Thursday afternoon to earn a 15th place starting position on the grid. The race went green from lap 21 until lap 81, but Delaney never faded and continued to run just outside the top-10.
Dustin speeds through the corner at NHMS. (Ken Spring Photo)
When caution flew, it gave the team the opportunity to come down pit road, take on fuel, and change tires. All of the lead lap cars pitted at the same time and Delaney re-entered the race in the 14th position.
"These guys don't get to do these pit stops too much so I was really proud of how fast they got me in and out. They are competing, basically, against Cup teams and we didn't lose anything at all coming in."
Delaney gained a few more spots in the closing laps of the race, but the short runs didn't help. The No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet ran better on the long run, but was solid enough to work towards a top-10 finish. At the checkers, however, Delaney went backwards after contact with the No. 4 of Sergio Pena.
"The car came to us more on the long runs. We were way too loose on the shorter runs, and it would take too long for the car to come to us," said Delaney. "The cautions in the end sure didn't help us, but we were still going in the right direction until the contact with the 4 car."
The New England 125 will be broadcast on SPEED July 1 at 6 p.m.
