FORT WORTH, TX -
On Saturday, the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team competed in the Alsco Uniforms 250 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Drivers Landon Cassill, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Colby Howard, and Ryan Vargas fought through adversity under the grueling Texas sun for 167 laps around the 1.5-mile intermediate track.
Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Chevrolet, started mid pack in 22nd place and continued to build off recent momentum. Cassill finished Stage 1 right where he started in 22nd, and stayed consistent in Stage 2 with another 22nd place finish. As the race’s final stage started, Crew Chief Thomas Machek made some slight adjustments to help the handling on Landon’s Chevy, moving the veteran up the leaderboard. Despite nearly being taken out in a big crash on the front stretch on lap 90, Cassill kept the car clean and took home a 15th place finish, leading the way for the JDM brigade.
Ryan Vargas, driver of the No. 4 Swann Security/Best Buy Chevrolet, had a roller coaster of a race in just his second start at Texas. Vargas was initially slated to start the race from 15th position, but due to a fuel pump issue before the green, he had to start from the rear. The rookie gained nine spots to finish 30th in Stage 1, but a loose wheel on a pitstop in Stage 2 forced the No. 4 crew to have an unscheduled green flag pit stop, leaving Ryan stranded two laps down in 34th at the end of Stage 2. Crew Chief Ricky Viers took to some bold strategy calls in the final stage to assist in making up the two lost laps, giving Vargas a 24th place finish.
Colby Howard, driver of the No. 15 Project Hope Foundation Chevrolet, made his third start at TMS on Saturday. Starting from the 26th position, Howard went to work on making up spots. Handling issues dropped Colby to a 29th place finish in Stage 1, but Crew Chief Wayne Carroll went to work on making big adjustments throughout the remaining laps. In Stage 2, the South Carolina native was back up to 26th and charging. Unfortunately for Howard, contact with the wall cut his right rear tire down, resulting in a spin off turn two on lap 121. The JDM crew worked feverishly at repairing most of the damage, but unfortunately, they were out of contention by the end of the race, where Colby crossed the line in 28th position.
Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver of the No. 0 ForeverLawn Chevrolet, continued to deal with bad luck on the track this weekend. Earnhardt started in 33rd position but quickly moved up through the field to 26th by the end of Stage 1. However, a loose wheel, similar to that of Vargas’s, forced an unscheduled green flag pitstop, dropping Jeffrey to 33rd, two laps down at the conclusion of Stage 2. Good strategy calls atop the pit box earned one of his laps back, but Jeffrey was involved in a hard crash off turn 2 on lap 109, ending his day through no fault of his own. Earnhardt was given a 36th place finish and looks to turn the luck around and rebound next time out at Nashville.
The next stop on the NASCAR Xfinity Series tour is a return to Nashville Superspeedway for the first time in ten years this Saturday. Fans can watch the Tennessee Lottery 250 live on NBCSN at 3:30 PM ET. For all things JD Motorsports, follow along on our social media pages @JDMotorsports01 and visit the team’s official website at www.TeamJDMotorsports.com #TeamJDM
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER TEXAS:
18th. Landon Cassill
24th. Colby Howard
25th. Ryan Vargas
26th. Jeffrey Earnhardt
MEDIA CONTACT:
Leighton Sibille
lsibille@jdavismotorsports.com
O: (864) 488 – 1276 | C: (909) 486 – 5873