Sam Hornish Jr. set a track record at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday, topping XFINITY Series qualifying with a lap of 96.374 miles per hour. “I would have had to take massive chances with our auto to be able to do anything and you still got to pass him. You have to find areas around the track where you can make up a little bit of time and take advantage of other drivers’ struggles”. This season, it’s Justin Allgaier behind the wheel and he’ll start 11th in Saturday’s race.
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The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing driver was able to hold off Sam Hornish Jr. during a torrential downpour after the final restart with three laps remaining. Cars were slip-sliding all over; Marks even went off while leading with 18 laps to go but managed to drive out of the gravel trap at the end of the back straight while losing minimal positions.
Marks took the lead on Lap 66 when then-leader Ty Dillon spun off the track. He pushed it out to 17 seconds before a caution with four laps to go bunched the field.
Erik Jones (3 wins), Elliott Sadler and Daniel Suarez are the only Xfinity regulars to notch a win this year while Blake Koch is holding down the 12 and final Chase spot, two points ahead of Ross Chastain, nine over Dakoda Armstrong and 14 on top of Jeremy Clements. However, in the downpour, he couldn’t run down Marks.
“These are as tough conditions as you can put drivers in”, Marks said.
“Justin … was just a monster in the wet”.
Fast facts: The series visits the second of three road courses Saturday at Mid-Ohio, which features 13 multi-dimensional turns.
“It means the world”, Marks said of the victory, his voice cracking with emotion. This race seems very open, with not many drivers providing a lot of good reason to win. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Brendon Poole also spun trying to avoid the incident. His wife, Erin, gave birth to the couple’s second child, daughter Presley, last Friday.
Marks dedicated the victory to late Chip Ganassi driver Bryan Clauson, the 27-year-old dirt racer who died last Sunday night from injuries in a sprint auto accident in Kansas.
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NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series drivers enjoy a break in the schedule this weekend, Furniture Row Racing gets a new auto and driver and some future Hall of Famers get a special honor at Darlington.
