“Our Food City/Childress Vineyards team came up just a little short – two points to be exact – from advancing to the Round of 12. Our Chevrolet Camaro was tight at the start, Randall (Burnett) made the handling better, then we started to adjust to keep up with the racetrack. At the end of Stage 2, after having to pit a second time to fix a lug nut issue, we were a lap down and found ourselves trying to dig out of a hole. Winners never quit though, and our team certainly didn’t tonight. We kept clawing and ended up with a 12th place finish. One day a break will come our way but until then, we will continue to learn as a group. We may not be racing for a championship now, but there is still a lot of fight left in this team and we will make the most of these final races. Unfortunately, what stings the most is that we certainly gave up more than two spots over the course of this first round. At Darlington or being stuck a lap down at Richmond, there were a number of key opportunities that would have made the difference. It stings right now, missing the second round, but we still get to race for the next seven weeks. There are some good tracks coming up for our No. 8 team, so we will make the most out of those races and look to bring home a checkered flag before Phoenix.”
-Tyler Reddick |