After a top ten qualifying effort and being a consistent force within the top five most of the day, rookie Jake Drew would settle for a 20th place finish after sustaining heavy damage with three laps remaining in the Love’s RV Stops 250. This finish continues a streak of four consecutive top twenty finishes for the Fullerton California native.
Saturday would get off to an early start with qualifying ahead of the Love’s RV Stops 250. Drew would roll out 19th for his qualifying effort. After making his lap in the first round of qualifying Drew and the Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro would qualify in the 10 out of 40 competitors, moving him through to the second round of qualifying. The second round would show the same result for Drew who would start the Love’s RV Stops 250 from outside row number five.
Early on into the Love’s RV Stops 250 veteran spotter TJ Majors had Drew riding comfortably inside the top-ten for most of the first stage. Drew settled in and went to school, as this was his first start on a Superspeedway. Drew and his Toyota Tsusho Toyota Tundra TRD Pro would look strong in the front of the pack, with a few laps left in the first stage, Drew would get shuffled out of line. This changed the strategy call and he fell back to the 27th position to end stage one.
To start stage two, Drew would use the knowledge gained in stage one to capitalize in stage two. After a slew of cautions, Drew would once again make his way back into the top ten. Drew reported that the overall balance of the truck was neutral which allowed him to work perfectly in either lane. However, once again, Drew would get shuffled out to the back of the pack at the conclusion of stage two. He would finish in the 22nd position. For stage three, Drew would slowly and methodically work his way back to the front just a few laps into stage three. Drew would work his way up to the third position for most of the third stage. Drew was called to pit road with 15 laps in the event to repair a spoiler brace that had fallen off the car. This would put him back in the hornet’s nest of hungry competitors. Drew would once again work his way around the top 15 when “the big one” struck with a few laps to go. Drew would sustain heavy front end damage and would limp the No. 61 home 20th on the day.
Jake Drew Quote:
“Speedway racing is a whole different kind of beast. I really appreciate my spotter TJ (Majors) for helping me adapt to this style of racing so fast. He was giving me all kinds of tips and pointers through the week and it really transitioned well to the track. TJ and Jon (Leonard) put me in great spots all day and it really showed as we ran consistently in the top five for most of the race. It’s unfortunate how our race ended but I think they knew we were there. Hopefully at the next Superspeedway race, guys will be more willing to work with me”
Hattori Racing Enterprises PR
