Chase Purdy’s debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) culminated with a 16th-place finish as Toyota clinched the 2022 Manufacturer’s Championship. The driver of the No. 61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro made his fourth track debut of the season on Saturday afternoon and continues to maintain the 16th position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings with one race remaining.
Purdy started the afternoon from the 10th position after qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather on Friday evening. A tight condition in the Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro restrained Purdy from maintaining touch with the top-10 in the opening stage. After running in 19th on lap nine, Purdy found additional pace midway through the run and climbed to 16th by the end of Stage 1 on lap 30.
Purdy came to the attention of the No. 61 team under the stage caution for four tires, fuel, and adjustments and restarted 14th on lap 37. The Mississippian’s balance, while still tight, improved after the pit stop as he was a fixture inside the top-15 and was scored 15th at the end of Stage 2 on lap 60.
The race’s final restart came on lap 67 and featured a jumbled launch which relegated Purdy back to the 18th position. He switched his line to the top of HMS’ variable banking as the green flag run progressed and radioed the No. 61 team that his balance had swung free while running the top. Crew chief Matt Lucas brought Purdy to pit lane on lap 95 for the final set of fresh tires and fuel. He rejoined the field in 20th position and cycled back to 18th place on lap 103. Over the final 31 laps, Purdy gained two positions to take the checkered flag in 16th position.
Chase Purdy Quote:
“Our Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was mostly on the tight side today. We swung a little free during the final stage when I was running up top, but the guys kept adjusting on it all race and we were moving forward there at the end. It was really hot and there wasn’t a whole lot of grip out there. You were always searching and moving around to try and find a little something extra during those long green flag runs. Thanks to all the guys at HRE for digging hard and we’ll try to close things out in style at Phoenix.”
HRE PR
