Race Information:
Date: May 22, 2021
Event: Toyota Tundra 225 (Race 9 of 22)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (3.426-mile, 20-turn road course)
Format: Three Stages; 12 laps/14 laps/15 laps
Start/Finish: 8th/18th (Running, completed 41 of 41 laps)
Parker Chase finished 18th in his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas despite battling a tight Vertical Bridge Tundra throughout the inaugural Toyota Tundra 225.
Stage One Recap
Chase started from the eighth position after posting an average speed of 74.010 mph around the 20-turn circuit in wet conditions.
In the middle of the first stage, Chase radioed to his Vertical Bridge crew that his Tundra was pushing. On lap 9, crew chief Mardy Lindley summoned Chase onto pit road for a green-flag stop. The over-the-wall crew administered a stop consisting of four tires, fuel and adjustments. After making a couple laps around the circuit, Chase radioed that his Tundra was much better. With the strategy call by Lindley, Chase would finish the stage in the 27th position.
Stage Two Recap:
At the break, Chase radioed that the balance of the Vertical Bridge Tundra was better as the crew asked him to save fuel. With majority of the field coming down pit road for service, Chase would stay out and restart the stage in the fifth position.
During the green-flag run, Chase spun in Turn 20 and had to refire his Vertical Bridge Tundra. After regrouping, Chase radioed that his Tundra was dealing with understeer and was wheel hopping. Chase finished the stage in the 27th position.
Final Stage Recap:
Under the break, Chase asked his Vertical Bridge team if anybody was going to go out on slick tires for the final stage. After a few moments of deliberation, the team elected to remain on the wet weather tires. Lindley summoned Chase onto pit road as the over-the-wall crew changed four tires, added fuel and made adjustments. Chase would restart in the 32nd position. In the middle of the stage, Chase radioed that the Vertical Bridge Tundra no longer had third gear. With the final stage running green to checkered, Chase would finish in the 18th position.
Parker Chase, driver of the No. 51 Vertical Bridge Tundra for KBM
“It was a good run. I think we missed the setup a little bit to be honest. We rolled off eighth and the truck fell off a little bit. I had a little bit of an incident and made a mistake myself and spun kind of put us on the back foot. I lost third gear with about 15 laps to go, so we were running with three gears. We finished 18th. It was fun. I’m glad we made it out here. The rain was fun. I wish we could’ve gotten more out of the truck. I can’t thank Kyle Busch Motorsports enough for the opportunity. Those were a fun two races and hope to be back in the truck soon.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings
After nine races, the No. 51 team sits second on the owner’s championship standings, just 31 points behind the No. 4 team.
Next Race
The No. 51 returns to the track with Drew Dollar when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumes action on Friday, May 28 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Live coverage will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 8:30 p.m. ET.