Race 23 of 33: CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America
Track Details: 4.048-mile road course / 45 laps
No. 08: Gray Gaulding Result: 29th
Team 08 GPS PURE/ Panini Chevrolet Camaro:
Gray Gaulding and his No. 08 Panini team started off the day from the 19th position at Road America. With the race track being four miles long the first two stages were only ten laps each. Gaulding quickly made his way forward in the opening stage. Just before the end of the first stage the 7 car of Justin Allgaier lost a left front tire and got trapped in the gravel pit, which brought out the first caution of the day. The caution also marked the conclusion of the first stage with Gaulding in the 12th position.
Crew Chief Patrick Donahue called Gaulding to the pits for four tires and fuel during the stage break. The pit strategy allowed Gaulding to stay on track for the entire second stage. After restarting in the 19th position, Gaulding found himself in the 7th position at the conclusion of stage two, collecting four valuable stage points.
Gaulding brought his No. 08 Chevy to pit road for service during the final stage break and was ready to go for the third and final stage. Gaulding started the final stage from the 16th position, but it did not take long for him to start moving forward. After just a handful of green flag laps into the run, Gaulding flexed his muscles, driving up to the 11th position. On lap 32 the 19 car brought out the third caution of the day. Gaulding pitted for what was the last planned stop of the day and restarted from the 16th position with 11 laps remaining. With only 4 laps remaining Gaulding’s brake pedal went to the floor and he went for a wild ride through the gravel pit. It was a broken brake line that caused Gaulding to go flying off course. The team was able to limp around to a 29th place finish. It was the team’s worst finish since the season opener at Daytona in February.
Gray Gaulding:
“I thought we had a good run going running inside the top-15 until my left front brake line busted causing my brake pedal to go straight to the floor and pretty much ruined our day. Hate that we didn’t get the result we deserved. It was a good effort though and I learned a ton. Thanks to Panini and PURE for sticking behind me and this SS Green Light Racing team. We’ll get back on the ovals next week at Darlington Raceway next week and hope to have a solid run.”
Bobby Dotter Thoughts on the 08 Team:
““Gray continued to show what kind of speed that 08 car is capable of. Unfortunately, we broke a brake line with 4 laps to go, which ruined our day. I’m confident the team will bounce back next week in Darlington.”